Just curious as to how many of you have read Guy Gibson's book "Enemy Coast Ahead". Which gives a true first hand account of the breaching of the Ruhr Valley dams from the man who lead the assult, as well as everything else he experienced while flying for the R.A.F. until his death.
shareIve read it and found it really interesting. i recommend it to anyone!x
'And there are voices that want to be heard, so much to metion but you can't find the words...'
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I read it once, back in 1989.
A mini-series based on that might be problematic. Most people would really just want to see the Dams Raid.
However, on the plus side, it could show -through Gibson's operations- how Bomber Command progresses through the war. He starts out flying Hampden bombers in 1939-40 when raids were often a -literally- hit or miss affair. Then it goes through the Command's growth...the Thousand Bomber raid on Cologne in 1942...until the Dams Raid in May of 1943.
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I read a paperback about 20 years ago. I think it was entitled THE DAM BUSTERS. That chronicled the history of the unit. The actual part that the movie was based on was only about 30 or 40 pages. I remember extensive explanation of the block buster bombs that were designed before the bouncing bomb. As well as the endless number of crews that were lost. Remarkable, heroic, tragic. moves me to tears to just think about it now.
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"Ive read one of the early editions that was reprinted in the 50's and still had information in it that was still secret, such as Squadron X not 617 and details of the weapon".
"A updated version edited by Chaz Bowyer in the 90's change theses details that are no longer secret".
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I don't recall Gibson keeping the squadron number a secret in his book.
After the Dam's Raid, his picture and those of his crews were all over the newspapers. The knowledge that the squadron's number was 617 was all over the place. It was even broadcast over the radio the morning after the raid.
I recall that Gibson didn't mention Wallis' actual name in the book. He describes him as "Jeff" and says that it was indeed a cover name. (As Gibson had written that when the war was still on, and Wallis' participation likely had to be kept secret. If Gibson had survived the war, he probably would have amended his book to put in Wallis' real name. After all, Paul Brickhill freely mentioned him only a few years later.)
According to Paul Brickhill's account, the squadron was formed in such a hurry that one of the things they didn't have was a squadron number. The name "X" was nothing to do with security but was a short-term solution until someone within the bowels of the RAF "got off his bottom and gave them a squadron number" (Brickhill again). The number was allocated well before the Dams raid, but that was only when the squadron was twelve weeks or so old!!!
In "Enemy Coast Ahead" (Gibson's splendid book) Barnes Wallis is referred to as "Jeff", with the admission that that was a cover name. Also Mutt Summers is not named at all, yet both men are fully named in Brickhill's book. This is purely an accident of time, as Guy Gibson's book came out in very quick time after the end of the war whereas Paul Brickhill's was (I think) published in 1954, when a lot more detail could be revealed.
The code name for the operation is now largely accepted as "Chastise", but the strange thing is that "Chastise" never appears in Paul Brickhill's work. He quotes Barnes Wallis as saying that the codename was "Downwood". I suppose it's one of those things that will never be satisfactorily proven, one way or the other.
Here's the Wikipedia entry for the book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemy_Coast_Ahead
I'm assuming he started writing this off his own bat and intended it for publication. Was he thinking of cashing in on his fame after the war or did he simply want to put it all down in case he didn't make it? This came out in 1946. Were wartime memoirs very popular after war?
I didn't realise the 2003 edition was uncensored and has more detail on his views about other pilots and tactics, so I will buy it soon. The one I have is a hardback 1946 edition.
If you liked Gibson's book, I would recommend the biography of Leonard Cheshire who took over in command of 617 squadron. It's 'Cheshire V.C' by Russell Braddon. Unfortunately it's not been reprinted so you will have to fork out a fiver on ebay or somewhere.