Op Chastise - 75 years on..

[PPRuNeUser0139]

75 years ago tonight was one of the greatest nights in RAF history.
I'm guessing there'll be a few tributes to 617 tonight on UK TV..
60 ft at night - still gives me the willies!
Aprés moi le déluge..

[Karearea]

I have the movie on dvd, will be re-watching it very soon.

[AirportsEd]

The BBMF Lancaster flypast over the Derwent Dam won't be happening today due to high winds - a 29 Sqn Typhoon will do it instead (12:05 local).
Ed

[rolling20]

Quite fitting , as Gibson was a Flight Commander on 29.

[AirportsEd]

Sadly, the Typhoon didn't make it either due to the weather conditions at the dam.

[treadigraph]

Apparently the Typhoon did... oops.

Crowds annoyed at RAF Derwent Dambusters flypast mix-up - BBC News

[spekesoftly]

Damned if you do, damned if you don't ....

[treadigraph]

Ooh, good pun!

[Jhieminga]

Don't know if it's been in the news at all, but on May 4th a memorial was unveiled at Gilze-Rijen airbase, commemorating the crew of S-Sugar, which was shot down with the loss of its crew during the outbound flight. The son of the captain was there for the ceremony, as well as PA474.

See here:

Vimeo

[Herod]

There is a special screening of the film, tomorrow night, at the Royal Albert Hall. It is being streamed to many cinemas nationwide. My local Odeon is screening it, and I'm going. Search your local cinema listings.

[b1lanc]

Just an amazing story and superb film which I first saw on the tele in the early 60's in the US. It has always been popular in the States - one of the first VHS tapes made available when VHS players hit the market (and the first tape I purchased). A seminal event in WWII and how I fell in love with Lancs and Merlins.

[PPRuNeUser0139]

No promises for the UK and/or elsewhere but this link to the full length film works in France..
Tip: when clicking on the start arrow, delete the first pop up page that appears. Also, watch the film in full screen to avoid the tacky ads that appear around the fringe.

[john_tullamarine]

Works fine in Oz ... thanks for the link, good sir.

[Barksdale Boy]

Just watched it again; still can't see a black dog in the final scene.

[Jhieminga]

Just heard that PA474 overflew the Derwent dam this morning with 'Johnny' Johnson on board.

I've also added a video link to my previous post. Some great shots of PA474 and the new memorial in there.

[MATELO]

The MOD tweeted Radio Transmission content and other info last night in real time as they happened 75 years ago.

[l.garey]

Thanks sidevalve. That link works in Switzerland too. An emotional couple of hours!

Laurence

[Herod]

I saw the film tonight, screened from the RAH. The experts have done a brilliant job with it. The whole film has been left untouched as regards characters, script etc. (Including the "N" word, which has resulted in a higher classification apparently.) What they have done is clean everything up, almost frame-by-frame, so it's up to modern standards. Being able to see it like that, and on a big screen, was excellent. I believe this version will be available soon, and the presentation tonight by Dan Snow is supposedly available as a free download. if I find the link tomorrow I'll post it.
And yes, it's now high definition emotion, but still the same feelings in the gut.

[PPRuNeUser0139]

Richard Todd was made to measure for that role.. He exuded presence in spades. Probably my favourite WWII film.

Who could play that role today? Hard to think of anyone.

[Chris Scott]

Originally Posted by sidevalve

Richard Todd was made to measure for that role.. He exuded presence in spades. Probably my favourite WWII film.
Who could play that role today? Hard to think of anyone.

Agree entirely about the excellence of Richard Todd, although the man-management skills his character demonstrated may have been better than Gibson's. That presence you mention was something to do with his own war record? In the 1950s and '60s, many actors had seen war service - as had senior politicians, of course. I learned recently that Anthony Quayle - another fine actor - had been in SOE in Gibraltar and Albania.

Of the current bunch, I think Tom Hardy might pull it off - if he could string enough sentences together.