Dan Explains: The Dambusters Part 1
Dan Snow's History Hit
History Hit
4.7 • 13.7K Ratings
🗓️ 9 May 2023
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On the night of the 16th of May, 1943, 133 RAF airmen in their iconic Lancaster bombers took off from England, and headed for Germany. Armed with specially designed 'bouncing bombs', the highly-trained crews were tasked with interrupting German industry by destroying three enormous dams in the Ruhr Valley. It was a risky mission of unprecedented precision, from which over a third of the aircrew would never return. The Dambusters Raid, as it came to be known, is remembered as one of the greatest feats of daring and airmanship in British military history. In this two-part Explainer, and with the help of the late, great RAF veteran Johnny Johnson, Dan delves into the crew's preparations as well as the events of the historic raid itself.
Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi everyone, Dan Snow here. I'm embarking on an epic road trip of England and I'm taking the podcast with me. |
| 0:06.5 | We're covering over 500 miles and 1 million years of English history, |
| 0:11.5 | stopping at the places that tell the incredible story of this country. |
| 0:18.0 | From the south coast where the Romans arrived on Britain's rugged shores |
| 0:23.5 | to the nuclear defence bunkers of the northeast. |
| 0:27.5 | We're going to hear about the Monks, the rulers, bloody battles, murder and mayhem. |
| 0:32.5 | Dan Snow's history is the best place to go up close to history. |
| 0:36.0 | My story of England's series starts on Monday 22 May. |
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