The Dam Busters Page #6

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and watch the height of the water.

The operation must be carried out

when the lakes are full.

When is that likely to be, sir?

About the middle of May.

We'll need a good moon as well,

so it looks as though we're tied

to a night between the 12th and 17th.

By the time the next full

moon comes around the

water level will have

started to fall again

so that's our only chance this year,

about five weeks from now.

How's the training going?

Oh, pretty well, sir.

Except for the low-flying.

- I guessed you'd be in trouble over that.

- It's fairly easy by day,

but night-flying over water at 150 feet

is pretty near impossible.

- You can't trust your altimeter?

- Not at the limits that Mr Wallis wants.

He was very emphatic about flying

at 150 feet exactly.

I'd hoped we could get over it by practice

but on still nights,

when the water is smooth,

there's a sort of a no man's land

between the dusk and the water.

I've got the Farnborough experts on that.

I hope they'll come along with an idea.

Wallis is going to test

the full size bomb at Reculver tomorrow.

I'd like you to go down and watch

- Take your bombing leader with you.

- Right, sir.

Can I see your passes, please?

Thank you.

- Hello, Gibson.

- Hello, sir.

This is Bob Hay, my bombing leader.

I'm sorry to drag you here so early.

We had to catch the high tide.

It goes right out here,

so when it's low we can wade in

and find the bombs

and see how they stand up

to the shock of impact.

- Have you started yet?

- Yes, we've dropped two already.

How did they go?

Erm, not too well, I'm afraid

the casing broke. We're testing another.

Well, they're due now, any minute.

Here it comes.

It's broken again.

I'm sorry to bring you all the way here

to see that.

There's no need to worry,

I'll get it right.

I'm sorry, gentlemen.

I shall have to strengthen the casing.

- I'll begin work at once.

- Well, how long will it take?

A few days.

When the tide's out, we'll

collect the fragments

and see what happened.

I said all along it wouldn't work.

I'm afraid you must think me

rather a fraud.

Not at all, sir.

But you know, things nearly always

happen like that first

- when you're trying something new.

- Yes, I'm sure they do.

- How are you getting

on with the low-flying?

- It's awfully hard

to get accuracy,

I mean, to within a few feet -

especially at night over water.

- Still we'll find some way of doing it.

- Yes, yes, it must be very difficult.

Bomb aiming is another headache, sir.

The ordinary bombsight isn't

accurate enough at such a low level.

And you want the aircraft to drop that bomb

dead at the same spot, one after the other.

Yes, yes, within a few feet.

We'll look after our own headaches

and leave you to look after yours.

I'm afraid that's all

we can do at present.

Oh, I should get it right

within a few days.

- You must try and come down again.

- I'd like to, sir.

- Good luck.

- Good luck to you.

- And to those boys of yours.

- Thanks.

The tide is going out, I must wade in

and collect some of the pieces.

- Can we help?

- Oh, no, no. I'm used to it.

I just feel about in the mud with my toes.

Sometimes I get a bit of bomb,

sometimes it's cockles.

How are we going to fly at a level

of 150 feet in the dark?

That's what I want to know.

Maybe if we left a navigator down

on the end of a 150 foot wire:

When he calls out,

we'll know we're too low!

No bombsight that works at low level,

a bomb that falls to bits,

no way of flying at 150 feet

and the raid, at all costs, in five weeks.

Otherwise, everything's marvelous.

We've got to go through London

so let's have a darn good dinner

a bottle of wine, a musical

with lots of dazzling girls and...

and the night train back.

Sing, soldier

as you march along

Sing, sailor sing a shanty song

Let the sound float around

everywhere

Soon the pilots will pick up the air

Zum-tarara!

Sing, worker make a cheerful sound...

She's nice, isn't she?

Let it ring, have your fling

Life's a bird in the spring

And sing, everybody sing

Sing, soldier

as you should march along

Sing, sailor sing a shanty song

Let the sound

float around everywhere

Soon the pilots will pick up the air

Zum-tarara!

Sing, worker

make a cheerful sound

Sweet music

makes the wheels go round

Let it ring, have your fling...

- Don't you think she's nice?

- What?

- A nice kid.

- Yes, quite.

Up a bit...

A bit more.

Now hold it.

Much too much.

Down... down...

Hold it now.

Fine.

Sir, have a drink to celebrate.

- We've done the trick.

- What trick?

Flying at 150 feet. No need for altimeters,

no need for anything else.

- How's that?

- It's simple:
a couple of spotlamps.

One in the nose,

the other in the belly,

trained to shine down and meet together

at 150 feet below the aircraft.

Watch through the cockpit blister

and keep the two spots plumb together

on the ground or the water

and there you are, at 150 feet,

accurate to an inch.

Yeah, but that would mean carrying lights

rights into the attack.

That's better than finishing up

on the drink.

That's wonderful!

How did you think of it?

Genius, pure genius! We gave the idea

to Farnborough and they did the rest.

We still need a bombsight

that works at low level.

When are we getting

some real bombs?

It's annoying not knowing

a damn thing about anything.

I know...

But the old boy has got new trials

on Friday, you ought

to go down again.

He's pretty sure it'll work this time.

Oh my God!

- It's a bad business, isn't it?

- Yes, I'm afraid it is.

- What are you going to do?

- I know the trouble, I

must work in it again.

Well, here we are,

the 22nd of April...

The deadline for the raid

is the 19th of May.

- That's barely four weeks.

- Give me a few more days. A week, at most.

If we're going to change the design

the factories will never do it in time.

I shan't change the design, I must just

strengthen the casing

and try a new method of release.

Well, a week from today.

If it doesn't work then,

we shall have to call it off.

There's nothing else we can do.

Hello, there.

Hello, Gibson.

I was wondering if you were here.

I was watching from down there.

Why didn't you come

and watch it with me here?

I knew how you must be feeling,

I guessed you'd rather be alone.

It's a devil, isn't it?

Yes, it is rather.

It's most disappointing. I shall have to go

all out on some modifications.

- I wonder if I could ask

you to do something.

- Of course, anything I can.

Well you see, it isn't only the structure

of the bomb that's the trouble,

it's in the dropping of it -

we muss lessen the force of the impact.

I asked you originally if you could fly in

over water and drop the bomb at 150 feet.

I wonder if you could do it at 60 feet?

- That's very low...

- Oh, yes. I do realise that.

You'd only have to hiccup

to finish in the drink.

Yes, I've got no right to ask you

to do a thing like that

but I'm afraid it will be our only way.

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