Author Topic: T for Tommy  (Read 721 times)

Offline GScholz

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T for Tommy
« on: April 30, 2014, 06:14:43 AM »
Came across this work of art elsewhere and thought I'd share...



"2330 on 16 May 1943: Having got through the “very hot reception” from searchlights and flak guns on the Dutch coastal islands that had been alerted by earlier aircraft, 617 Squadron’s backup Type 464 Lancaster, AJ-T (“T for Tommy”), flown by American Flt Lt Joe McCarthy, heads into Gelderland at extremely low level with its Upkeep bomb now primed. Unbeknown to the crew, they are the only bomber left from Operation Chastise’s northern wave that is going to make it through to the Ruhr dams - to drop its weapon on the Sorpe, accurately but unsuccessfully."
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."

Offline Hap

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Re: T for Tommy
« Reply #1 on: April 30, 2014, 07:36:23 AM »
My!  :aok

Offline GScholz

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Re: T for Tommy
« Reply #2 on: May 01, 2014, 09:32:27 AM »
Another one by the same guy...

"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."

Offline BuckShot

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Re: T for Tommy
« Reply #3 on: May 02, 2014, 12:12:53 AM »
Seen "dam busters?" Good flick about the development of the upkeep through the mission.

The method they used for attitude judgment on the deck over water was clever.
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Offline GScholz

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Re: T for Tommy
« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2014, 05:14:48 AM »
Very good film. I hear Peter Jackson is working on a remake; hope he doesn't ruin it, but it looks good so far:

"Work on a remake of The Dam Busters, produced by Peter Jackson and directed by first time director Christian Rivers, began in 2008. Jackson said in the mid-1990s that he became interested in remaking the 1954 film, but found that the rights had been bought by Mel Gibson. In 2004, Jackson was contacted by his agent, who said Gibson had dropped the rights. The rights were purchased by David Frost, from the Brickhill family in 2005. Stephen Fry is writing the script of the film. It will be distributed by Universal Pictures and StudioCanal. Filming was planned to commence in early 2009, on a budget of USD 40 million, although no project-specific filming had begun as of May 2009. The project has been delayed because Jackson decided to make The Hobbit.

Weta Workshop was making the models and special effects for the film and had made 10 life size Lancaster bombers. Gibson's dog "cupcake" will be called "Digger" in the remake.

The last living pilot of the strike team, Les Munro, joined the production crew in Masterton as technical adviser. Jackson was also to use newly declassified War Office documents to ensure the authenticity of the film."
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."

Offline nrshida

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Re: T for Tommy
« Reply #5 on: May 02, 2014, 07:31:05 AM »
Here's some pictures of the Derwent Reservoir in Derbyshire where they practiced:











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Offline Ack-Ack

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Re: T for Tommy
« Reply #6 on: May 02, 2014, 04:20:35 PM »
The Soviets did a similar mission against a dam on a river on the eastern shore of Lake Ladoga in order to drain the reservoir so the invading Soviet forces could cross the river during the start of the Karelia campaign against the Finns in 1944.  The Soviets didn't use bombs though, the A-20s dropped mines that were modified with timed delay fuses.

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Offline Hap

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Re: T for Tommy
« Reply #7 on: May 02, 2014, 06:23:06 PM »
Scholtz,  I like many of your posts.   :aok

Offline GScholz

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Re: T for Tommy
« Reply #8 on: May 03, 2014, 08:52:39 AM »
 :)
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."

Offline save

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Re: T for Tommy
« Reply #9 on: May 06, 2014, 07:39:48 AM »
Also interesting is that Germans used same tactic to slow down Advance in Netherlands by flooding large parts of the country.
My ammo last for 6 Lancasters, or one Yak3.
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