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  • Published: 1 May 2010
  • ISBN: 9780753517871
  • Imprint: Virgin Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 352
Categories:

Dambusters

A Landmark Oral History




One of the most daring missions of WW2, told by those who were there, now in paperback for the 75th Anniversary of Operation Chastise.

On the night of 16-17 May 1943, nineteen Lancaster bombers from 617 Squadron headed for Germany. Their mission, for which they had been trained under a cloak of absolute secrecy, was to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley and in doing so cripple the Nazi industrial war effort. It was to become one of the most famous raids of WW2.

For the first time, acclaimed oral historian Max Arthur has gathered together the voices of the 'Dambusters', including Guy Gibson, commander of the mission and Barnes Wallis, who developed the iconic Bouncing Bomb. These voices tell of the hard training and sheer bravery that went into this legendary mission. We also hear from the German civilians who suffered the attack, who speak of the devastation that was wrought in their lives. This was a raid like no other, and in this extraordinary collection Max Arthur has created an enduring record of a unique event in British military history.

  • Published: 1 May 2010
  • ISBN: 9780753517871
  • Imprint: Virgin Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 352
Categories:

About the author

Max Arthur

Max Arthur is an author who specialises in first-hand recollections of historical events. He has worked closely with the Imperial War Museum to bring together two books in the Forgotten Voices series, Forgotten Voices of the Great War and Forgotten Voices of the Second World War.

Previous titles include The Manchester United Air Crash; Above All Courage; Northern Ireland: Soldiers Talking; Men of the Red Beret; There Shall Be Wings: The RAF 1918 to the Present; The True Glory: The Royal Navy 1914 to Present.

Prior to becoming a writer, he served with the Royal Air Force and for some years was an actor.

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Praise for Dambusters

A gripping tale capturing the exhilaration of the expedition, while contrasting the sense of loss of 56 men of Bomber Command. A thrilling read for anyone with a nose for a good true tale

News of the World

May well rival his seminal Forgotten Voices of The Great War ... hard to put down ... His precis of the complex story of how the scientist Barnes Wallis overcame all the obstacles to breaching the Dams, in which British bureaucracy proved as daunting as German efficiency, is a masterpiece of concise storytelling

Sunday Express

Not only can Arthur make people talk; he also doesn't flinch from what he hears

Sunday Express

What a story. And I do not believe that it has ever been better told

Stephen Fry, from the foreword