Thu May 07, 2009 3:32 pm
fotobass wrote:
We used to dreeeaaammmm of 'aving a bombsight. We 'ad to make do wiv a popsicle stick sticking out the nose plexi, and when it were pointin' right, we 'ad to roon back to teh bombbay wiv a screwdriver and joomp oop an' down 'til the bomb let go.
(Sure hope some of you know the Python sketch 'The Four Yorkshiremen', otherwise I've just wasted yer time)
Oh, we didn't even have a popsicle stick. That was used for the gear lever. Why, we used a scrap piece of safety wire, taken from the fuel valve bolts. Jump up and down on the bomb?? Blimey! Poor Geoffery had to hold the bomb shackle with his hands for half the mission, he did.
Seriously, wasn't the dam busters bombsight a board with a couple of pegs in it? Or something similar?
Thu May 07, 2009 3:37 pm
close.., it was a stick in the shape of a 'Y' -ish shape
They had lights on the bottom of the plane that they would shine forward.., and reflect off the water. When the lights converged and lined up with the ends of the stick.., BOMBS AWAY!
Also, of note:
The attack on the "Death Star" in the final scenes of Star Wars is heavily influenced by the climactic sequence of The Dam Busters.
In the film rebel pilots have to fly through a trench while evading enemy fire and use a single special weapon at a precise distance from the target in order to destroy the entire base with a single explosion; if one run fails another run must be made by a different pilot.
Some scenes from are very similar to those in The Dam Busters and some of the dialogue is nearly identical in the two films. These scenes are also heavily influenced by the action scenes from the war film 633 Squadron, which depicts a fictional air raid.
Star Wars also ends with an Elgarian-style march, like The Dam Busters.
All hail the Brits!!
They had lights on the bottom of the plane that they would shine forward.., and reflect off the water. When the lights converged and lined up with the ends of the stick.., BOMBS AWAY!
Also, of note:
The attack on the "Death Star" in the final scenes of Star Wars is heavily influenced by the climactic sequence of The Dam Busters.
In the film rebel pilots have to fly through a trench while evading enemy fire and use a single special weapon at a precise distance from the target in order to destroy the entire base with a single explosion; if one run fails another run must be made by a different pilot.
Some scenes from are very similar to those in The Dam Busters and some of the dialogue is nearly identical in the two films. These scenes are also heavily influenced by the action scenes from the war film 633 Squadron, which depicts a fictional air raid.
Star Wars also ends with an Elgarian-style march, like The Dam Busters.
All hail the Brits!!
Thu May 07, 2009 5:05 pm
Star Wars sucks!
Thu May 07, 2009 5:38 pm
your close, there were lights on the plane, and when they converged the plane was at the correct altitude. The bombaimer had the sight, The sights were for a dedicated target, when the up rights on the ends of the arms lined up with the towers on the dam, the bomb was released.
Thu May 07, 2009 5:53 pm
Most of the bombardiers never used the makeshift sites regardless
Thu May 07, 2009 8:01 pm
the330thbg wrote:The attack on the "Death Star" in the final scenes of Star Wars is heavily influenced by the climactic sequence of The Dam Busters.
To see how much infuence 'Dam Busters' had on 'Star Wars', watch this video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NMfBKrdErY
Cheers,
Matt
Thu May 07, 2009 10:55 pm
I rest my case!! 
Now, just rent 'The Hidden Fortress' and you will know all of Lucas' secrets!!
HAH
http://www.secrethistoryofstarwars.com/kurosawa2.html (way off topic.., sorry)
Now, just rent 'The Hidden Fortress' and you will know all of Lucas' secrets!!
HAH
http://www.secrethistoryofstarwars.com/kurosawa2.html (way off topic.., sorry)
Fri May 08, 2009 9:45 pm
I was telling Mrs. Mudge about the re-make and she said she'd never seen the original. I said, "I don't know you".
We watched the original tonite and she liked it except for the part where "Nigg"...oops...the dog gets killed.
I'm gonna' force her to sit through "633 Squadron" and "Mosquito Squadron" this weekend. When she saw the cover of "Mosquito Squadron", her comment was..."Was Ducky ever that young?"
Mudge the obtuse
If you don't watch NCIS, you won't understand her question?
We watched the original tonite and she liked it except for the part where "Nigg"...oops...the dog gets killed.
I'm gonna' force her to sit through "633 Squadron" and "Mosquito Squadron" this weekend. When she saw the cover of "Mosquito Squadron", her comment was..."Was Ducky ever that young?"
Mudge the obtuse
If you don't watch NCIS, you won't understand her question?
Fri May 08, 2009 10:18 pm
Mudge wrote:I'm gonna' force her to sit through "633 Squadron" and "Mosquito Squadron" this weekend. When she saw the cover of "Mosquito Squadron", her comment was..."Was Ducky ever that young?"
I wouldn't force anyone to sit through Mosquito Squadron... That's mean.
BTW, in pedant corner, the RAF had 'bomb aimers' not 'bombardiers'.
Sat May 09, 2009 10:52 am
Mudge wrote:"Was Ducky ever that young?"
Mudge the obtuse
If you don't watch NCIS, you won't understand her question?
In one episode of NCIS someone asked Gibbs what Ducky looked like when he was young, Gibbs replied, "He looked like Illya Kurayatkin."
Mon May 11, 2009 2:26 pm
So, do they have any 'real' flying Lancasters in this movie?
Mon May 11, 2009 4:40 pm
Mon May 11, 2009 11:02 pm
@cubs @fotobass
Coo, din't YOU have it posh? We use'ta DREAM of a popsicle stick for an aimin' device! An' a screwdriver to loose the bomb? An ACTUAL screwdriver? Oy suppose it was a gen-you-wine American Sears Craftsman, at that. Sleepin' on lambswool, too, no doubt.
WE 'ad to poke out our left eyes wi'a bit of shrapnel so as to aim proper-like, then when the light cones merged, we'd crawl back to the bomb bay and chew through the release shackles with our teeth.
And you think YOU 'ad it rough.
Coo, din't YOU have it posh? We use'ta DREAM of a popsicle stick for an aimin' device! An' a screwdriver to loose the bomb? An ACTUAL screwdriver? Oy suppose it was a gen-you-wine American Sears Craftsman, at that. Sleepin' on lambswool, too, no doubt.
WE 'ad to poke out our left eyes wi'a bit of shrapnel so as to aim proper-like, then when the light cones merged, we'd crawl back to the bomb bay and chew through the release shackles with our teeth.
And you think YOU 'ad it rough.
Tue May 12, 2009 12:23 am
Cant resist...
"Chew through the release, gouge out your own eye?
LUXURY.
We 'ad to land before we took off, build the dams for the Jarmans, from sand using only our tongues, make the bombs from our own snot, then carry them to the target on our own, on our backs, while making aeryplane noises. One we threw the bombs at the dams, we ad to push the water uphill to disrupt the Jarman economy, using only our toenail clippings, and beat Gobbels to death using a wet kipper before our dad, Mr Churchill, would whip us to death before we could get up from going to sleep after working 64 hours a day.
And you tell young people today how we 'ad it in the war, and they don't believe you."
"Chew through the release, gouge out your own eye?
LUXURY.
We 'ad to land before we took off, build the dams for the Jarmans, from sand using only our tongues, make the bombs from our own snot, then carry them to the target on our own, on our backs, while making aeryplane noises. One we threw the bombs at the dams, we ad to push the water uphill to disrupt the Jarman economy, using only our toenail clippings, and beat Gobbels to death using a wet kipper before our dad, Mr Churchill, would whip us to death before we could get up from going to sleep after working 64 hours a day.
And you tell young people today how we 'ad it in the war, and they don't believe you."