Programme Index

Discover 11,128,835 listings and 279,692 playable programmes from the BBC

Timewatch

Dam Busters: The Race to Smash the German Dams

Duration: 1 hour

First broadcast: on BBC HDLatest broadcast: on BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

James Holland presents an analysis of the legendary 1943 Dam Busters raid, a low-level night mission that took 19 Lancaster bombers deep into the heart of enemy territory to destroy German dams with a brand new weapon - the bouncing bomb.

Of the many extraordinary things about the Dams raid, the biggest is that it almost never happened. When finally green lit, it set off an incredible race against time to form and train a new squadron. Their mission was to deliver a weapon that did not yet exist.

Unprecedented by any scale, and even more remarkable because the crews were not the experienced elite that legend sometimes suggests, Holland believes this truly is the greatest raid of all time. Yet, whilst arguing that the true impact of the successful raid has been underestimated, he also sets out to investigate whether the results should have been even greater. Show less

Contributors

Presenter:
James Holland
Producer:
Aaron Young
Director:
Aaron Young

About this data

This data is drawn from the data stream that informs BBC's iPlayer and Sounds. The information shows what was scheduled to be broadcast, meaning it was/is subject to change and may not be accurate. More