Helpline: 0300 102 1919
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"We were not allowed to tell anybody anything"
Johnny Johnson, one of the last remaining aircrew who flew in 617 Squadron's Dambuster raid, explained in a one-off interview with the RAF Benevolent Fund about the strict secrecy of information that was enforced by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, during the training that preceded the raid.
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That's what fathers do
Mary, daughter of Barnes Wallis, inventor of the bouncing bomb, explains how she never really felt pressured to keep Wallis' work a secret.
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A washtub, a catapult and some marbles
Most big stories have humble beginnings. Mary Stopes Roe, the daughter of Barnes Wallis, inventor of the bouncing bomb, talked in an exclusive interview with the RAF Benevolent Fund about her father setting up an experiment on the balcony of their house.
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King George VI visits 617 Squadron
This archive footage records the visit of King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth to 617 Squadron at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire.
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That's a hell of a thing to ask
Dambusters bomb-aimer, Johnny Johnson, explains the difficulties of dropping bombs at low heights and how they led to the introduction of spotlights on the aircraft.
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Any fool can invent something
Mary Stopes Roe, the daughter of the inventor of the bouncing bomb, Barnes Wallis, tells of her father’s views on how an invention is meaningless without the people prepared to put it into action.
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My bomb-aimer's gonna get married!
Dambusters veteran, Johnny Johnson, explains how the raid very nearly postponed his wedding – permanently!
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Guy Gibson gets his orders
Air Vice-Marshal Ralph Cochrane became Commander of 5 Group in Bomber Command in February 1943 and one of his first tasks was to organize the Dambusters raid.
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Michael Redgrave as Barnes Wallis in the Dam Busters film
Barnes Wallis, the inventor of the bouncing bomb, was played by Michael Redgrave in the 1955 film The Dam Busters. Barnes' daughter Mary, tells us more.
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RAF Scampton: home of the Dambusters
RAF Scampton, just a few miles north of Lincoln, was already the home of 57 Squadron and then became the home of 617 Squadron as they geared up for the Dambusters raid.
