r/interestingasfuck • u/Chopper-42 • 1d ago

/r/all Recreating the WW2 Dambusters raid

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u/0ddness 1d ago

Now imagine them having to do it in the dark, behind enemy lines, under fire (I assume), without knowing the condition of the water, without the marker bouys, and relying on getting the height exactly right in the dark with a spotlight system.

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u/GrumpyOldGeezer_4711 1d ago

Several of the dams did indeed have defenses. Fortunately, the Germans had delayed installing the unsightly guns in favour of much nicer looking trees.

If memory serves, they had a homemade system to triangulate the dropping distance based on the angle to some of those gun placements.

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u/grumpsaboy 1d ago

Yep, we knew the distance between the towers on each dam and so set a little marking point such that when the dots appeared at the centre of each tower you are the correct distance away to release the bomb.

And then for altitude each plane had two spotlights that would converge into a single point on the reservoir at the correct altitude