Factual error: The system devised to get the height right was, in the film, said to have been thought of by the 617 Sqn crews following a visit to the theater. In reality it was devised by the 'boffins' at Farnborough.
The Dam Busters (1955)
Plot summary
Directed by: Michael Anderson
Starring: Michael Redgrave, Richard Todd, Basil Sydney, Charles Carson, Ursula Jeans
British inventor designs a bomb that bounces on water. The RAF want to use it to blow up dams in Germany. They equip a squadron with the bombs, and they blow up the dams.
Nikki Williams
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: See many previously posted 'mistakes' of this type and the standard correction: this is not a documentary and never pretended to be. It is a war drama and many facts were changed to fit the action.
Those correction are often made in fallacy. Dramas based on historical accounts have liberty to change small or inconsequential things, like adding a person that may have never existed, or change a relationship for dramatic purposes. Despite not being a documentary, unless it's a fantasy film, changes in historical facts are mistakes (for example, a drama can't have the Eiffel Tower in London just because it's not a documentary).
Suggested correction: This was the version given in Brickhill's book. The real story wasn't published till many years after the film was made.
Gibson: How many guns do you think there are, Trevor?
Trevor-Roper: I'd say there are about ten guns - some in the field, and some in the tower.
Trivia: A (corrected) entry states that a USAAF B-17 'Flying Fortress' bomber is visible in the film. In fact in some prints produced for release in the US irrelevant stock footage of a B17 was randomly cut into the film to make it more acceptable to American audiences. This was a deliberate alteration of the film done very much against the wishes of the producer and director, and it explains the 'error' - the contributor has seen one of the non-canon US prints.
Question: Isn't Gibson (Richard Todd) shown wearing a VC ribbon on his dress tunic? I thought he was awarded this for the raid itself.
Answer: I think Gibson is shown wearing the ribbons (and rosettes) of the Distinguished Service Order and Bar and Distinguished Flying Cross. He was awarded these medals before the Dam Busters raid. In black and white, the ribbon for the VC with its miniature cross can look similar to the DSO with a rosette for a second award.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.