The Dam Busters

The_Dam_Busters_(1955) ,BR_MKV_H264(ABPC,Eng) 960x720

- I've lost it, Daddy. I can't find it. - I've got it.

- Here it is, Daddy. - Thank you.

Watch it, Christopher.

Four, three, two, one, fire!

Fine, that's good! Mark it, Mary.

Right, well let's...

Hello, old Doc! I'm sorry. Have you been here long?

No, I've just come. What all this going on?

Oh, it's... just a little thing I'm trying to find out.

Here, can you just hold that for me? Just over the centre of the tub.

Got it?

Right, we'll make a note of this one.

13 foot 3. That's all right now. Thank you very much.

- Hello, Doc. - Hello, darling.

Are you going to look at Elizabeth? I hope it isn't tonsils.

She looks all right. Where's your mother?

- ln the house. - Let's go in, shall we?

- I'll be in in a minute. Stay for some tea.

Thanks very much.

Well, now listen. Let's try to get one or two more shots before it's too dark.

Thank you.

Watch out, Mary.

Watch it, Christopher.

I don't think there's anything to worry about here.

The temperature is all right.

Quite a lot of these throats are running around this spring.

- She'll be all right in the morning. - Good.

Now, along to bed, darling. I'll bring you up some supper later on.

Oh, but I've got to help Daddy play marbles.

No, it's too late now, dear.

- Good night, Doctor. - Good night, Elizabeth.

All right, let's try one more.

- Good night. - Good night, darling.

Three, two, one, fire!

He seems to be having a fine old game out there.

What's it all about?

Just some problem he's trying to solve before tomorrow afternoon.

He's been at it for days now.

He was out there at 5 o'clock this morning in the rain.

Doctor, when I called you this afternoon it wasn't really about Elizabeth.

- It was Barnes. - You don't think he's well?

He's all right at present, but he won't be for much longer.

He can't be if he goes on like this:

2 and 3 and 4 o'clock night after night.

And after a hard day at his real job at Vickers.

He hardly went to bed at all last night.

He's wearing himself out.

I wish you'd have a talk with him, I think he might listen to you.

I'll see what I can do, but you know how he is.

- How is Elizabeth? - Oh, she's all right.

- You don't think it's tonsils? - No, no, no.

But I'll keep an eye on her, don't you worry.

The tea is stone cold, Barnes. I called you twice.

Oh, I'm sorry. But you know I got a lot of very useful stuff here.

It's only a question now of working it out on paper.

- Another late night? - I don't know, it depends.

In any case, this part is easy compared with what's coming.

- Have a cup of tea, Doc. - Well, if you're going to...

- I'll make some fresh. - Don't worry, I'll do it.

No, no, you sit down and take off those wet shoes.

- Better see to the blackout first. - I'll give you a hand.

Wait a minute.

Come out here and listen.

Hmm, sound like another big one.

Surely they won't be able to stand up to many raids like these.

They wouldn't if we could really get at them, but we don't.

It's like trying to kill a giant by firing at his arms and legs

with thousands of peashooters instead of a clean bullet through the heart.

You know what happened when they tried to wipe out London.

Here's your tea, Barnes. Don't let this get cold.

I'm coming.

Doc, do you remember about that earthquake bomb idea of mine?

Yes, that was the time of Dunkerque.

You told me the idea, but not what you wanted it for.

Come over here.

Do you know how much water it takes the Germans to make a ton of steel?

- Haven't the least idea. - One hundred tons.

Now just look at this.

The whole of this great arsenal of war factories in the Ruhr

depends for its water on three enormous dams:

The Möhne, the Eder and the Sorpe.

They control the level of the canals and supply a lot of hydroelectric power.

When those are full, they hold 400 million tons of water.

Just think of the chaos if we could break those walls down.

Now, this is what I wanted to do.

Drop a 10 ton bomb from 40 thousand feet

that would seal itself in the roots of the wall.

The shockwaves would be tremendous, a real earthquake.

But could you hit a target that size from 8 miles up?

I reckon that a near miss, even 50 feet, would do the job.

Is there an airplane that will carry a 10 ton bomb?

- No, but i was going to design one. - What happened?

Well, a committee was set up and we went into it

but I hadn't made sufficient allowance for the cushioning effect of the water.

We should need a 30 ton bomb - too heavy for any aircraft at present.

- Sugar? - No, thanks.

- Oh, carry on. - Well, just a little.

Do you know, Barnes?

I still don't see why you need such a special bomb.

This dam is about 1 20 feet thick: Solid masonry all through.

We've proved that a bomb 20 times the size of the biggest bomb now

wouldn't even tickle it.

Besides, we can't float anything down the lake

because they've got these two huge booms stretching right across it.

We can't even get it in under the water

because these booms support thick steel nets

which would stop a flotilla of submarines let alone torpedoes.

I see.

You can't bomb it, you can't float a mine against it

and you can't torpedo it.

- Looks impossible. - Yes, it does, doesn't it?

The other day I thought of a new, a wonderful idea.

- You've found a way to do it? - I think so.

The committee that's enquiring into my original idea is meeting again tomorrow

and I rather expect they'll want to wind the whole thing up.

Well, if they do, I'm done.

Why don't you go ahead with your new idea until you're ready

and then get them to form a new committee?

My dear fellow, you talk as if I could pull committees out of a hat.

It took months...well, years almost to get Whitehall to start this one.

Somehow or other I must just keep it alive until I'm ready.

Oh, I'm sorry! You want to get back to your surgery.

Well, I ought to really.

- Barnes? - Hmm?

- Will you promise me something? - If I can...

Would you try to get away for Easter? You do need a rest, you know.

You think I'm going crazy? A lot of people do, you know.

No, but you can't go on day and night. Nobody can.

All right, Doc.

- Hello, Dr Pye. - Hello, Wallis.

- Would you do something for me? - I'll try.

You've got a lot of influence over those fellows in there.

Will you try to stop them winding the thing up right away?

- They'd need a very convincing reason. - I've got a new idea.

It's quite different only...l must have time.

- Can you explain to them what it is? - That's just the point, I can't.

If I were to try explain it to them now they'd only laugh at me.

- It's difficult without knowing more... - Yes, I do see that, but...

We'd better go in.

Surely Mr Wallis must realise the false position he's putting us into.

We were appointed to examine a definite proposition.

I don't think we were confined to any definite proposition.

We were appointed to examine every possibility of air attack on these dams.

I know, but Mr Wallis did put forward a

theory that was hopelessly wide of the mark.

And on the strength of this, he wants time to explore a completely new theory

that's too fantastic even to explain.

I'm only asking for one simple thing: I want you to give me sufficient time.

To discover how much explosive would be needed to breach these dams

if we could explode a bomb directly against the wall.

How do you propose to get the bomb directly against the wall?

That is what I'm working on now.

Yes, but surely you can give us some idea.

I don't think that we can press Mr Wallis to do that.

If I had a partly formed theory, I certainly shouldn't want to talk about it

until I'm sure that it is all clear.

Quite so.

How long would you need to carry out these new experiments?

If Glanville will let me have the model dams at St Harmondsworth again

I would say... a week or ten days.

- How do you feel about that, Glanville? - We'll be of any help we can.

Right. Then I should like to propose that we formally adjourn for two weeks.

Can I take it that the committee agrees to this?

Splendid!

I'm so glad you could come down. I think you'll find this very interesting.

Glanville's people have rigged up two charges.

This first one is equivalent to a 10 ton bomb, 50 feet from the wall,

as in the earlier experiments.

This second one is only half that charge but fixed to the wall itself.

Both are at a depth equivalent to 30 feet.

- Are we all ready, Collins? - All ready, Dr Glanville.

- You want to take cover? - No, I don't think so.

Not for the first one.

If you all stand back over there...

All right, Collins, go ahead!

There. You see? It isn't even scratched?

A very slight shock is recorded and then it returns to normal.

This is where I was wrong before.

The cushion of water between the explosion and the wall

absorbs the shock almost completely. Shall we have the second one?

- When you're ready. - This should get our feet wet.

Watch it.

Fire.

- Good heavens! That's wonderful. - Wonderful.

And that is only half the charge of the first one.

Do you see the difference when it's placed against the wall at the right depth?

The cushion of water acts in our favour sending shockwaves right through the wall.

If we use this as a basis, Glanville and I have calculated

we should one need 6,000 pounds of this new explosive, RD X,

to breach the Möhne dam itself.

I can cut the case weight down

and make a complete bomb of less than 5 tons.

We shouldn't need a specially constructed aircraft either.

The new four engine Lancaster can carry a 5 ton bomb right through to the Ruhr.

- If you can make the bomb... - Naturally.

And get it to explode exactly in the right position, hard against the dam wall.

- despite the protecting torpedo nets? - Of course, that's essential.

But you still don't tell us how.

Well, if you're satisfied with what you've seen