What was the purpose of the bouncing bomb?

What was the purpose of the bouncing bomb?

A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb’s speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be pre-determined, in a similar fashion to a regular naval depth charge.

What was the purpose of the Dambusters raid?

The aim of the Dambusters raid was to cause a dramatic reduction in the production of machinery and weapons for the German war effort by flooding the Ruhr valley and destabilising key infrastructure.

Where did they practice dropping the bouncing bomb?

Chesil
From December and into early January 1943 testing was carried out using metal spheres dropped from a Wellington Bomber at Chesil in Dorset. However they were being badly damaged when they hit the water rather than bouncing across the surface.

How did the bouncing bomb detonate?

The bomb was released about half a mile in front of the dam, bounced five or six times and sank just short of the wall. At the required depth of 30ft the pressure of water triggered the explosion right next to the dam wall.

How many died in Dambusters raid?

1,300 people
Of the 133 aircrew that took part, 53 men were killed and three became prisoners of war. On the ground, almost 1,300 people were killed in the resulting flooding. Although the impact on industrial production was limited, the raid gave a significant morale boost to the people of Britain.

Was the Dambusters raid worth it?

Britain’s bomber supremo, Sir Arthur Harris, who had opposed the raid as harebrained all along, with some justification, wrote later: “I have seen nothing… to show that the effort was worthwhile except as a spectacular operation.” Senior Nazis downplayed the damage after the war.

Who dropped the bouncing bomb?

Commander Guy Gibson
On the night of 16-17 May 1943, Wing Commander Guy Gibson led 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force on an audacious bombing raid to destroy three dams in the Ruhr valley, the industrial heartland of Germany. The mission was codenamed Operation ‘Chastise’.

How many people died from the bouncing bomb?

Of the 133 aircrew that took part, 53 men were killed and three became prisoners of war. On the ground, almost 1,300 people were killed in the resulting flooding. Although the impact on industrial production was limited, the raid gave a significant morale boost to the people of Britain.

What plane carried the bouncing bomb?

Operation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16–17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, later called the Dam Busters, using a purpose-built “bouncing bomb” developed by Barnes Wallis….

How did the bouncing bomb work in World War 2?

Under intense anti-aircraft fire, the crews dropped “bouncing” bombs, specially designed by the British engineer, Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, to skip across the water en route to the target. If released at the right moment, these could bypass the torpedo nets the Germans had placed to defend the dam.

Why was the atomic bomb used in World War 2?

The main argument in support of the decision to use the atomic bomb is that it saved American lives which would otherwise have been lost in two D-Day-style land invasions of the main islands of the Japanese homeland. The first, against the Southern island of Kyushu, had been scheduled for November 1 (Operation Torch).

Where did they build the bouncing dam bomb?

Simulated bouncing “bombs” were constructed from scratch, then dropped by aircraft flying just 60 feet above the surface of a lake in British Columbia, Canada, to destroy a 130-feet wide dam. The project was led by Dr Hugh Hunt, from the Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge,…

Why did the Allies bomb German cities in World War 2?

The rest were squarely aimed at city centers and civilians, not because their weapons were “inaccurate” or “unsophisticated” but because it was planned. Allied bombing would be killing thousands of German civilians a day by the later stages of the war because of this homicidal, morally corrupt and largely unsuccessful policy.