Author(s): John Sweetman

Military

The Dambusters' mission is of enduring fascination and appeal. The breaching of the dams in Germanys industrial heartland was to have a pivotal effect - a triumph for Allied thinking and courage, it convinced Roosevelt to commit to the invasion of Italy and the countdown to the D-Day landings. The Dambusters is the definitive telling of one of World War Twos most remarkable episodes. The book describes how it was down to the ingenuity and persistence of a scientific maverick, Barnes Wallis, that the idea of the backwards-spinning bouncing bomb came about and how the pilots overcame the odds to pull off one of the most astonishing military successes in history. Lavishly illustrated, the book captures the brilliance of the scientists and the bravery of the crews, as well as the enormous impact their success had on the outcome of war.