ANDREW ROBERT BREEN wrote:

In article ,
Hamisha3 wrote:
Not to take anything away from BarnesWallis but why does a simple torpedo not
do the same as the boune bomb, detonate against the dam wall at a pre set
depth?

The simple torpedo runs into a simple anti-torpedo net before it reaches
the dam. The bouncing bomb skips over the net. The germans had thought
of torpedo attack against the dams and laid nets. The bouncing bomb,
it may fairly be said, must have come as something of an unpleasent
suprise.

--
Andy Breen ~ Interplanetary Scintillation Research Group
http://users.aber.ac.uk/azb/
"Time has stopped, says the Black Lion clock
and eternity has begun" (Dylan Thomas)

I think you have all missed the point of the bouncing bomb.

Not only did it skip over the anti-torpedo nets, but its backwards spin then drove
it against the wall of the dam as it sank - it was actually a depth charge, not a
'bomb'.

It was designed to explode at the BASE of the dam - underwater.

Trials had shown that exploding that amount of explosive against the top of the
dam had little effect - but put the same charge underwater - and the water acted
like a buffer - forcing the blast against the dam wall.

It multiplied the force of the charge by a large factor.

They also waited for the reservoir to be at its fullest before attacking - to get
maximum benefit from the resultant flooding.

So, given that you needed to place a charge underwater at the base of the dam, you
only had a few choices.

Use divers to place the charge - how to insert and recover them ??
Drop a mine - you couldn't do it accurately.
A torpedo would not work - because of the nets and its blast effect would be
neglible.
etc etc

There was an early plan to land a Sunderland flying boat - filled with explosives
- on the lake and 'taxy' it towards the dam - after the crew had taken to their
dinghies.

Thank heavens that scheme was rejected!

No, Barnes Wallis' brilliant scheme was the only practical way of doing it given
the technology at the time.

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Ken Duffey - Flanker Freak & Russian Aviation Enthusiast
Flankers Website - http://www.flankers.co.uk/
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