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Dambuster
Lincolnshire May 1943. Twenty Lancaster bombers stand poised to fly one of World War 2's most daring and dangerous missions, 617 Squadron's legendary bouncing-bomb attack on Germany's dams. Success could shorten the war, the crews are told, but will inevitably come at a cost. Many of them, hand-picked by their charismatic if volatile leader, Guy Gibson, will not be coming back. After two tours of duty and fifty-nine missions, combat-seasoned pilot Peter Lightfoot and his loyal crew are already on borrowed time. Narrowly escaping death on a disastrous final operation over the Alps, a flight which ends by ditching their wrecked Lancaster into the Atlantic, the seven men are at last relieved from operational flying, job done. But haunted by a face from his past, Lightfoot cannot rest, and unknown to his crew applies to join Gibson's 617 Squadron, and fly the dams mission. A mission many see as certain suicide. Tense, thrilling, and meticulously researched as always, Robert Radcliffe's DAMBUSTER - like his bestselling UNDER AN ENGLISH HEAVEN - is an old-fashioned adventure of the most gripping sort.
339 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2011
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41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 20, 2018
Robert Radcliffe (pseudonym for Robert Mawson) has written several books about the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and the RAF and the USAF in the Second World War, which is no surprise because he is a trained commercial pilot himself. His books are well-researched and always mix battle scenes with personal stories of the protagonists, with a love story incorporated for a bit of war-time romance. His book “Under an English Heaven” was the first of his books that I read and I have read most of his other books since. They are a joy to read.
The story of “the Dam Busters”, the squadron that attacked the dams, has been told many times in non-fiction books, film and documentaries. Robert Radcliffe adds a work of fiction to this list, in which he introduces a fictional flight crew with Flying Officer Peter Lightfoot as the pilot. Radcliffe takes his time to tell Peter’s personal story as well as giving insight into some of the other characters’ personal lives, while also giving a detailed account of the newly formed bomber squad and the build-up to the attack on the German dams. The addition of fictional characters is his strength because he knows how to use them to pull the reader into the story and create a palpable atmosphere of wartime Britain, seen through the eyes of his fictional protagonists. While fictional characters do interact with real historical ones, they are just there as part of the story and therefore not really fleshed out.
As with his book “Under an English Heaven”, this story will also appeal to readers who are interested in WW II but don’t want the book to be just about fighting. Like his other books, this book is well-researched and the raid on the dams really happened, so, if you don’t mind getting your head around some flight – and fight-related technical jargon, you learn about a true historical event while enjoying a well-written work of fiction. Highly recommended.
The story of “the Dam Busters”, the squadron that attacked the dams, has been told many times in non-fiction books, film and documentaries. Robert Radcliffe adds a work of fiction to this list, in which he introduces a fictional flight crew with Flying Officer Peter Lightfoot as the pilot. Radcliffe takes his time to tell Peter’s personal story as well as giving insight into some of the other characters’ personal lives, while also giving a detailed account of the newly formed bomber squad and the build-up to the attack on the German dams. The addition of fictional characters is his strength because he knows how to use them to pull the reader into the story and create a palpable atmosphere of wartime Britain, seen through the eyes of his fictional protagonists. While fictional characters do interact with real historical ones, they are just there as part of the story and therefore not really fleshed out.
As with his book “Under an English Heaven”, this story will also appeal to readers who are interested in WW II but don’t want the book to be just about fighting. Like his other books, this book is well-researched and the raid on the dams really happened, so, if you don’t mind getting your head around some flight – and fight-related technical jargon, you learn about a true historical event while enjoying a well-written work of fiction. Highly recommended.
January 27, 2018
617 Squadron, Guy Gibson’s Dambusters, still inspire justified awe at their amazing achievements after over 70 years. Peter Lightfoot and his crew are the fictitious addition to the real roster and the author is at his best describing the flying and the bombing as the accompanying love story is not as strong. Still, some exceptionally well-drawn characters, particularly a badly-burned ex-pilot pivotal to the mission and the melodrama, whilst the sheer scale and audacity of the enterprise is most impressive.
September 24, 2020
A whole new perspective
Robert Radcliffe is without doubt an accomplished author who researches his topics meticulously and this book is no exception.
Immensely enjoyable yet it does not shirk emphasising the horror and waste of war. Nor does it fail to justify the necessity for a generation to protect what they hold dear by aggression and courage
Robert Radcliffe is without doubt an accomplished author who researches his topics meticulously and this book is no exception.
Immensely enjoyable yet it does not shirk emphasising the horror and waste of war. Nor does it fail to justify the necessity for a generation to protect what they hold dear by aggression and courage
November 10, 2018
A book that kept the reader's attention from page one. The flying sequences in particular were impressive and gave a sense of terror and excitement - a feeling, I'm sure, experienced by the aircrew at the time.
My gripe is the contrived ending of the romances of Credo and Lightfoot.
My gripe is the contrived ending of the romances of Credo and Lightfoot.
February 19, 2023
A well crafted blend of reality and fiction - Dambuster is on the money for a cracking story set against the back drop of one of the most remarkable aviation missions of WW2. Great characters, great story, you’ll love it!
October 29, 2019
A fantastic account of this iconic raid from World War 2.
April 29, 2020
Another superb book by Robert Radcliffe: I really felt I was up there in one of those planes - this book has given me a whole new appreciation of our brave fighter pilots
April 27, 2021
It was okay, not as good as his previous books that I had read. Ending wasn't to my liking either...
May 7, 2012
This review is from: Dambuster (Hardcover)
Product Description (from back of the book)
Lincolnshire May 1943. Twenty Lancaster bombers stand poised to fly one of World War 2's most daring and dangerous missions, 617 Squadron's legendary bouncing-bomb attack on Germany's dams. Success could shorten the war, the crews are told, but will inevitably come at a cost. Many of them, hand-picked by their charismatic if volatile leader, Guy Gibson, will not be coming back. After two tours of duty and fifty-nine missions, combat-seasoned pilot Peter Lightfoot and his loyal crew are already on borrowed time. Narrowly escaping death on a disastrous final operation over the Alps, a flight which ends by ditching their wrecked Lancaster into the Atlantic, the seven men are at last relieved from operational flying, job done. But haunted by a face from his past, Lightfoot cannot rest, and unknown to his crew applies to join Gibson's 617 Squadron, and fly the dams mission. A mission many see as certain suicide. Tense, thrilling, and meticulously researched as always, Robert Radcliffe's DAMBUSTER - like his bestselling UNDER AN ENGLISH HEAVEN - is an old-fashioned adventure of the most gripping sort
Review
Not my normal type of read, i usually like my historical fiction set in ancient history, but i do also love my war films, and who can pass up a tale as great as the Dambusters?!
The main story is known so to have it told with the human side behind it, the real lives of the flyers is a whole new fresh angle, and in the main worked brilliantly, i felt close to all the characters, especially the crew of V for Vicky, and felt the pain of Credos burns and the loss of each crew, its told that well.
The only down side for me was the 2 or 3 chapters before the last, if got a little jumbled in the story line the plot a little mixed when it could either have been a longer book or just told in a simpler manner.
Overall though a book a would recommend, not just because it shows true courage and endurance, but also the humanity behind it, but its also one of those proud moments in our history that needs to be remembered, and this is a great way to do it. (Parm)
Product Description (from back of the book)
Lincolnshire May 1943. Twenty Lancaster bombers stand poised to fly one of World War 2's most daring and dangerous missions, 617 Squadron's legendary bouncing-bomb attack on Germany's dams. Success could shorten the war, the crews are told, but will inevitably come at a cost. Many of them, hand-picked by their charismatic if volatile leader, Guy Gibson, will not be coming back. After two tours of duty and fifty-nine missions, combat-seasoned pilot Peter Lightfoot and his loyal crew are already on borrowed time. Narrowly escaping death on a disastrous final operation over the Alps, a flight which ends by ditching their wrecked Lancaster into the Atlantic, the seven men are at last relieved from operational flying, job done. But haunted by a face from his past, Lightfoot cannot rest, and unknown to his crew applies to join Gibson's 617 Squadron, and fly the dams mission. A mission many see as certain suicide. Tense, thrilling, and meticulously researched as always, Robert Radcliffe's DAMBUSTER - like his bestselling UNDER AN ENGLISH HEAVEN - is an old-fashioned adventure of the most gripping sort
Review
Not my normal type of read, i usually like my historical fiction set in ancient history, but i do also love my war films, and who can pass up a tale as great as the Dambusters?!
The main story is known so to have it told with the human side behind it, the real lives of the flyers is a whole new fresh angle, and in the main worked brilliantly, i felt close to all the characters, especially the crew of V for Vicky, and felt the pain of Credos burns and the loss of each crew, its told that well.
The only down side for me was the 2 or 3 chapters before the last, if got a little jumbled in the story line the plot a little mixed when it could either have been a longer book or just told in a simpler manner.
Overall though a book a would recommend, not just because it shows true courage and endurance, but also the humanity behind it, but its also one of those proud moments in our history that needs to be remembered, and this is a great way to do it. (Parm)
August 4, 2015
This is the my third book by this author and to be honest I read it with some trepidation. The reason for this is my doubts about taking one of the best known Bomber Command raids of all time and inserting a totally fictional crew into the operation. How would this work?
The book itself is very accurate in its historical aspects, ably telling the background detail to the mission, the difficulties encountered during development, training and the raid itself. The human aspect, not just of the crews but also the 'background boys' and families, is exceptionally well told.
However, even at the end, my trepidation remained and, as with another reviewer, I felt making the fictional crew the heroes of the bursting of the Eder Dam was wrong. That honour should remain with Les Knight and his crew, the real life heroes that actually dropped the bomb which caused the dam, the second after the Mohne to be breached on that night, to go.
As a novel of Bomber Command in WW2, this is an excellent romp with plenty of detail and human interest. However, I feel that in the end it was wrong of the author to take a genuine operation and insert this fictional crew and make them the heroes in place of the real crews.
The book itself is very accurate in its historical aspects, ably telling the background detail to the mission, the difficulties encountered during development, training and the raid itself. The human aspect, not just of the crews but also the 'background boys' and families, is exceptionally well told.
However, even at the end, my trepidation remained and, as with another reviewer, I felt making the fictional crew the heroes of the bursting of the Eder Dam was wrong. That honour should remain with Les Knight and his crew, the real life heroes that actually dropped the bomb which caused the dam, the second after the Mohne to be breached on that night, to go.
As a novel of Bomber Command in WW2, this is an excellent romp with plenty of detail and human interest. However, I feel that in the end it was wrong of the author to take a genuine operation and insert this fictional crew and make them the heroes in place of the real crews.
November 24, 2012
I have to confess to being a huge devotee of the real dams raids and have read a lot of material surrounding chastise and the later exploits of 617. I wasn't therefore sure what to expect from this - after all the real stories of the men who flew the raids are so legendary, the thought of adding a fictional crew to this story could have gone horribly wrong. However it turned out to be a triumph - a thrilling read that really brought the story to life in a fresh new way. Of the fictional characters, Quentin Credo was written beautifully and you really feel his pain and dignity throughout. One thing prevented me giving it 5 stars.SPOILER ALERT- on the actual raid, I felt that it was wrong to have Peter's crew becoming the plane that successfully breached the Eder which I felt detracted from the real life achievement of Les Knight's crew in N-Nuts. Perhaps I'm being pedantic but the real mission involved such skill and sacrifice, I don't think anything should be written - even in fiction - to detract from it. That aside this was a wonderful read.
May 26, 2016
Another thrilling read.
I have read all of Robert Radcliffe's wartime novels and found them all hugely enjoyable. He has managed to weave fictional characters into a factual plot in a convincing way. My only nitpick would be that he has completely omitted the existence of Gibson's dog, presumably to avoid it's rather unfortunate name! No matter. Excellent stuff.
I have read all of Robert Radcliffe's wartime novels and found them all hugely enjoyable. He has managed to weave fictional characters into a factual plot in a convincing way. My only nitpick would be that he has completely omitted the existence of Gibson's dog, presumably to avoid it's rather unfortunate name! No matter. Excellent stuff.
December 3, 2012
Not up to the standard of his earlier stuff
Want to read
March 10, 2016I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13897311
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13897311
April 28, 2013
The first chapter was a great mission in itself, the book is well worth a read.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews