The Return of the Dambusters

Back when reading Roy of the Rovers, chewing Hubba Bubba and listening to Modern Romance were de rigueur – the early 80s in short – we used to love listening to our Nan telling us stories about the war. Tales of doodlebugs, Spitfires and cinemas in Sheffield getting blown to smithereens used to get our pre-pubescent minds racing like nowt else (well, apart from Penny Clayton in Year 7 but that’s another story).

But one story above all else used to prick our inquisitive imagination: the bouncing bomb and the boy’s own adventures of The Dambusters. The ingenuous invention was the brainchild of aircraft engineer Barnes Wallis, however little is known of how he achieved this feat. That’s why we’re dead giddy about a forthcoming Channel 4 documentary, The Return of the Dambusters (May 2, 8pm), in which Cambridge boffin Dr Hugh Hunt attempts to recreate Wallis’s immortal invention. As the below clip demonstrates, it promises to be a thoroughly energetic 90 minutes.

Oh, and a word to the wise: be careful with the volume if viewing at work. There’s a bit of rum Anglo-Saxon language in there. Don’t want to get a two-game ban from work or something.

(Image: Allstar)