Happy 70th Anniversary.
 

http://www.itv.com/news/2013-05-16/7...tion-chastise/

Still very much associated with my City - Even us Football fans are called the 617 Squadron and the team walks out to the unforgettable music. To see 1000 fans when we rarely score all singing/shouting/humming "Der der der der der der edr der" is always a good sight.

Fortunate enough to have the BBMF (Battle of Britain Memorial flight) 10 miles from home so the sound of the 4 Rolls Royce Merlin engines are a regular sound but they still make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.

Brave and very skilled men, mostly gone but most certainly not forgotten certainly in Lincoln where they will always be heroes.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/...69_966x509.jpg

And a beautiful sight to welcome them home ;)

Re: Happy 70th Anniversary.
 

Tonight - 70 years on . 'Apres Moi Le Deluge'

Re: Happy 70th Anniversary.
 

What channel bud, i'll download it.

Re: Happy 70th Anniversary.
 

A lot of my friends are heading to Derwent reservoir tomorrow to watch the flypast. I would love to be there.

Re: Happy 70th Anniversary.
 

We are all aware that despite being cool as ****, the Dambuster mission wasn't actually that damaging / successful....right?

Re: Happy 70th Anniversary.
 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/lat...ambusters.html

BBC2 7pm UK

Re: Happy 70th Anniversary.
 

I lived very close to the Mohne dam in Germany, interesting walk around for visitors.
The actual bombing was successful but the Germans used slave labour to rebuild very quickly. In order to build on that success regular attacks should have been scheduled to harass and stop the rebuilding. However the main aim of the attacks was achieved, which was a huge morale boost to the UK. Here we were fighting back in the very heart of Nazi Germany, bombing them with British genius technology. In addition Guy Gibson and many other crews toured America giving talks on what they'd done, more grist to the mill in the effort to continue the American lend/lease support we'd been getting.
Maybe a small bombing victory but an absolutely MASSIVE boost in the arm to a UK population who were getting a bit weary of being bombed without seemingly much ass being kicked back (until Bomber Harris was given free rein).

Re: Happy 70th Anniversary.
 

Operation Chastise knocked out a lot of power for a few weeks and hampered a lot of food production. The success of the mission was more with the crews skill and the morale boost it gave a country that was being splattered by the luftwaffe. 617 Squadron became a specialist unit after that operation and I think helped sink the Tirpitz. And it was a good movie.

Re: Happy 70th Anniversary.
 

The Oxford dictionaries definition for obsessed: The British with WWII

Re: Happy 70th Anniversary.
 

Almost as much as the English and 1966 ;) Although they didn't do so well 900 years before that ;)

Re: Happy 70th Anniversary.
 

Sorted that for you.

How someone cannot be proud of a small Island standing up to a lunatic like Hitler is beyond me. The rest of Europe capitulated whilst so few men gave so much.

Re: Happy 70th Anniversary.
 

Of course it was a great bit of publicity. I just wish the love was shared with more of the other squadrons who rand successful missions.

Re: Happy 70th Anniversary.
 

It's easy to focus on one 'team' and big them up rather than the massive Bomber Command which tends to dilute the praise. Morale etc. is a very nebulous thing.

Re: Happy 70th Anniversary.
 

As I said, I think the movie helped out in that respect. Anyone who has pulled on the uniform and risked their life for our freedoms is worthy of respect and praise.

Re: Happy 70th Anniversary.
 

Film is proper cool.

Dambusting is the kind of thing that the Yanks dream up but never have the bollocks / brains / nouse (sp) to actually try....