The story of the British-made bombs, Upkeep and Highball, successfully
dropped on Nazi dams “has never been told in such depth before”
(Daily Mail, UK). The night of May 16, 1943: Nineteen specially
adapted Lancaster bombers take off from an RAF airfield in
Lincolnshire, England, each with a huge nine-thousand-pound
cylindrical bomb strapped underneath it. Their mission: to destroy
three hydroelectric dams that power the Third Reich’s war machine.
It was a suicide mission from the outset. First the men had to fly
extremely low, at night, and in tight formation over miles of
enemy-occupied territory. Then they had to drop with pinpoint
precision a complicated spinning cylindrical bomb that had never
before been used operationally. More than that, the entire operation
had to be put together in less than ten weeks in order to hit the dams
when water levels were still high enough for the bombs to be
effective. The visionary aviation engineer Barnes Wallis hadn’t
even drawn up plans for his concept when the bouncing bomb was
green-lighted. What followed was an incredible race against time that,
despite numerous setbacks, became one of the most successful and
significant bombing raids of all time. “Holland has delved into the
new trove” of declassified documents “to shed light on this
weapons program, the politics of its development and the eventual
mission” (The Wall Street Journal). “An impeccably researched
work in the style of a fast-paced techno-thriller.” —Publishers
Weekly “Extremely detailed but never dull . . . Holland
offers a definitive, nuts-and-bolts history.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A well-written study of engineering and invention operating under
great pressure. . . . For all World War II history buffs.”
—Library Journal, starred review
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780802193063
Publisert
2014
Utgiver
Vendor
Atlantic Monthly Press (ORIM)
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter