The Swing Shift Shuffle is a radio program of swing, big band, jazz, boogie woogie and other popular music from the 1930's and 40's that airs every Wednesday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (US Central Time) on WEVL 89.9 FM in Memphis, Tennessee, with a live webcast at wevl.org. In addition to the radio show, this blog is dedicated to all aspects of the Swing Era, including art, automobiles, cartoons, comics, history, movies, music, news, science, technology, and anything else that happened during that time. It also includes announcements about events in the Memphis/Mid-South area related to the Swing Era, such as classic movies, concerts, dances, lectures, etc. If you see something that fits the description, send it to me at tim@wevl.org. If you would like more information about the radio show, just go to the Radio Show FAQ page.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Dambuster Bomb Test In A Garden

During World War II, the British wanted to destroy a couple of German dams, but conventional bombs were not proving effective.  A man named Barnes Wallis came up with the idea of a "bouncing bomb," that would skip along the surface of the lakes formed by the dams, and then strike the dams at their most vulnerable point.  This photo, posted on Retronaut, shows Mr. Wallis testing the idea using marbles and a washtub in his garden.  The experiment and the mission it inspired is told in the 1955 movie, The Dam Busters

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