# Bombing run on a bridge, best way? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 30, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699 "2009-10-30T04:21:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/21 "2009-10-30T15:29:40Z")
[quote=“1920s Style “Death Ray”, post:18, topic:515699”] There’s a relatively famous movie about this called [“The Dam Busters”](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046889/) [/QUOTE] Of which a [remake](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0855775/) is in development. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/22 "2009-10-30T15:35:48Z")
> [@Spezza](#): > > Actually, the bombing accuracy rate during WWII was abysmally low. I thought that was the reason they pretty much blew up the entire neighborhood to hit the bridge/factory/whatever in the middle. There was no other way with high altitude bombers. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/23 "2009-10-30T15:48:58Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > I wish I knew what this video was called. A couple years ago I watched a special on PBS where they followed everything that was involved with bombing a dam in Germany. At least one of the original crew was in this show and it went over how they handled sighting for the run and other concerns. They made a special low tech sight for the bomb runs. This would be a very informative video to watch if anybody knows what it was called. In one of his Teeming articles, \*\*CalMeacham \*\*pointed out that this movie was almost certainly the source for the attack on the Death Star in the original Star Wars Movie. I’ll post the link when I find it. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/24 "2009-10-30T16:28:13Z")
[quote=“1920s Style “Death Ray”, post:18, topic:515699”] There’s a relatively famous movie about this called [“The Dam Busters”](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046889/) [/QUOTE] > [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Of which a [remake](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0855775/) is in development. I thought there was already a remake, called “Star Wars” back in '77. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/25 "2009-10-30T16:57:15Z")
Airplanes miss targets long and short, not left and right. Attack runs are made along the long axis, unless that would put friendlies in the way. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/26 "2009-10-30T17:22:57Z")
I have a follow-on question for you bomb savvy people. My mother was stationed with the Admiralty in Bath, England during WWII. The story is that they moved there because Bath is in a surrounded by hills, which would make dive bombing more difficult. Of course, the Germans then used high altitude bombing so it became moot. Does that story makes sense? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/27 "2009-10-30T19:32:09Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Of which a [remake](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0855775/) is in development. The [IMDb.com](http://IMDb.com) page is almost blank; the Wiki article has more detail: [The Dam Busters (film) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dam_Busters_(film)) ---
**Author:** ![in\_hiding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c5a1d2/32.png) [@in\_hiding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/in_hiding)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/28 "2009-10-30T19:41:35Z")
Whatever you do, if it’s not destroyed, you shouldn’t go around and try a second run. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/29 "2009-10-30T20:04:33Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Of which a [remake](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0855775/) is in development. I bet they change Gibson’s call sign for the successful breaching of the Möhne Dam. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/30 "2009-10-30T20:14:36Z")
Thanks, **Elendil’s Heir**. I grabbed the URL while the page was still loading … or so I thought. Turns out, that was the page. 🙂 And I bet you’re right, **Patch**. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/31 "2009-10-30T21:31:40Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Right. It is something of a scandal how its effectiveness was badly inflated, and the money and men that were expended in a surprisingly wasteful way. One quote I recall is that “Two percent of bombs hit within 2 miles of the target.” (This may be a bit harsh.) Well, it wasn’t just the bombing itself. Done under good conditions, it wasn’t too inaccurate. But conditions were never ideal. You mentioned flak, and indeed bombers never wanted to just fly in a low, straight line in clear skies, because it was suicidal. That made it much harder to aim bombs. The other problems was the issues of navigation. It is not easy to target even a large, distinctive structure with numerous landmarks available to guide you (assuming of course you can see the landmarks at all in the weather, etc.) Finding a bridge isn’t easy, either. You can locate the river most of the time, but trying to follow its course like that is predictable and therefore dangerous. If not, you have maybe one shot assuming you angle properly to hit the target, when even a hundred feet of space means the bombing run is wasted. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/32 "2009-10-30T23:31:26Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > I thought there was already a remake, called “Star Wars” back in '77. George Lucas has apparently claimed inspiration from the fjord attack scene from [633 Squadron](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/633_Squadron) - which fits better with the trench attack on the Death Star. However, 617 Squadron (the Dam Busters) used a gyroscopic bomb sight that gave them unprecedented accuracy for the time. Several times, Tallboys hit impossibly small targets like bridges and the Tirpitz. Si ---
**Author:** ![Lungfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d78d45/32.png) [@Lungfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lungfish)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/33 "2009-10-31T00:10:46Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > I bet they change Gibson’s call sign for the successful breaching of the Möhne Dam. 🙂 Not to mention the name of his dog. ---
**Author:** ![Chickenwrangler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chickenwrangler/32/91_2.png) [@Chickenwrangler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickenwrangler)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/34 "2009-10-31T02:05:48Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > **Chickenwrangler** –just _what_ are you training those chickens of yours to _do?_ :eek: In the current economic climate I’m trying to create new job opportunities 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chickenwrangler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chickenwrangler/32/91_2.png) [@Chickenwrangler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickenwrangler)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/35 "2009-10-31T02:15:23Z")
As always good informative replies posted, goto love this place 😃 Just as a follow up thought, how would a an aircraft flying a tight circle over the bridge above the range of AA have worked? Would the load of bombs have dropped in a sort of shotgun effect with better chance of scoring a hit? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spezza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Spezza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spezza)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/36 "2009-10-31T02:49:36Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > I thought that was the reason they pretty much blew up the entire neighborhood to hit the bridge/factory/whatever in the middle. There was no other way with high altitude bombers. No, they really did try to hit the targets. However, as other have noted, there were a variety of elements that, combined with the technology available during WWII, prevented any real “strategic” bombing accuracy. While I don’t have my sources with me at the moment, Wikipedia’s entry conforms to my memories in that _at best_ only 20% of ordnance hit within 1000 feet of the target. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/37 "2009-10-31T02:51:37Z")
To be fair, targets were often not specific point targets like a bridge but factory complexes within an industrial district within a city. Even if you didn’t hit your specific target that well, you caused some useful damage. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/38 "2009-10-31T03:05:08Z")
> [@Lungfish](#): > > Not to mention the name of his dog. I know about the issue with his African American dog 😉 but what was unusual about the callsign? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/39 "2009-10-31T03:05:11Z")
I used to have a book by Martin Caidin called Air Force that had a high-altitude pic of a skinny little bridge being blown up by a single bomb. The book in question can be found on Google Books, but the specific page doesn’t seem to be available. There is, however, this nice shot of a [near-miss by a B-25](http://books.google.com/books?id=bT1tfRMvD3IC&pg=PA84&lpg=PA84&dq=martin+caidin+%22air+force%22&source=bl&ots=d9KLBiXwr6&sig=xO6vlCGRmHzrQYoVH7O8fYAR3zs&hl=en&ei=t6frSvaPNJDutAPVtO3pBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=mediums%20hammered%20all%20targets&f=false). (I think you’ll have to click on the page number to see the photo.) ---
**Author:** ![manila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@manila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manila)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699/40 "2009-10-31T03:21:45Z")
[quote=“1920s Style “Death Ray”, post:38, topic:515699”] I know about the issue with his African American dog 😉 but what was unusual about the callsign? [/QUOTE] It was the same as the mutts name > **[Nigsy? Trigger? N-word dilemma bounces on for Dam Busters II](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/news/nigsy-trigger-nword-dilemma-bounces-on-for-dam-busters-ii-1680148.html?action=Popup&ino=4)** > > Name of Wing Commander's dog is headache for remake's producers ps sorry I cant find the damn apostrophe on this stupid keyboard! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bombing-run-on-a-bridge-best-way/515699.md?page=3)