The Dam Busters
617 Squadron, the bouncing bomb, and the breaching of the Ruhr dams in May 1943.
The Verdict
Paul Brickhill wrote the original account of the most famous air raid in history, and he wrote it so soon after the war that some of the technical details were still secret. The Dam Busters tells how 617 Squadron, a special unit formed for a single impossible task, used Barnes Wallis's bouncing bomb to breach the great dams of the Ruhr in May 1943 — and what became of the squadron afterward. Brickhill, himself a former prisoner of war and airman, writes with an insider's feel for the cost behind the ingenuity. The book the legend grew from.
Who Should Read It
Read it if you want
- The Ruhr dams raid in full
- Wartime engineering ingenuity under pressure
- The original account, written near the events
- The story behind the legend and the film
Look elsewhere if you want
- The wider bombing campaign and its morality
- A critical reassessment
- The German side
Why We Rated It 4.3
Historical Context
The Dam Busters (1951) recounts Operation Chastise, the May 1943 RAF raid in which 617 Squadron used Barnes Wallis's 'bouncing bomb' to breach dams in Germany's Ruhr valley, and the squadron's later operations. Brickhill, a former RAF officer and prisoner of war, also wrote The Great Escape; the book inspired the celebrated 1955 film.
Events Covered
Editions & Reading Notes
Read It Alongside
Where to Buy
ISBN: 978-1853672286
Read This Against
The same events seen from a different vantage point. The fullest understanding often lives in the space between accounts that don't agree.
Other Books About the Same Events
More by Paul Brickhill
Frequently Asked Questions
- What was Operation Chastise?
- The 1943 RAF raid by 617 Squadron that breached dams in the Ruhr using a purpose-built bouncing bomb — the 'Dam Busters' raid.
- Who wrote The Dam Busters?
- Paul Brickhill, a former RAF pilot and POW who also wrote The Great Escape.