这是作者的叔叔戴维·马尔比和机组人员的故事，1943年，他和机组人员一起参加了著名的大坝突袭行动。就在五个月后，他们从一次失败的多特蒙德Ems运河爆炸任务中返回，他们的飞机在北海坠毁时全部遇难。只有大卫的尸体被找到，一天后被冲上岸，并由他18岁的妹妹——作者的母亲——确认身份。
大卫是第五艘兰开斯特J-Johnny号的飞行员，他向莫尼大坝投下了一枚炸弹，导致大坝最终决口。当时他只有23岁，但已经做了30次手术，并以自己的名义接受了一次D.F.C。
这本书讲述了机组人员的故事，是什么让他们在面临如此高的风险时加入英国皇家空军，命运如何将他们团结在一起，一名机组人员参加突袭是什么样的，以及在“惩戒行动”和他们死亡之间的五个月里，他们发生了什么。除了这次突袭之外，我们还要看看后来发生了什么，以及留下来的家庭是如何受到影响的。他们的儿子、兄弟和父亲可能已经成名了，但他们不得不像其他成千上万的英国家庭一样应对生命和损失。
Breaking the Dams: The Story of Dambuster David Maltby and his Crew
This is the story of the author’s uncle, David Maltby and the crew with whom he flew on the famous Dam Raid in 1943. Just five months later, on their return from an aborted mission to bomb the Dortmund Ems Canal, they all died when their aircraft went down in the North Sea. Only David’s body was recovered, washed ashore a day later, and identified by his 18 year old sister – the author’s mother.
David was the pilot of the fifth Lancaster, J-Johnny’ to drop a bomb on the Möhne Dam and cause the final breach in the dam. He was then just 23 years of age, but already had 30 operations and a D.F.C. to his name.
This book tells the story of the crew, what made them join the RAF when they new the risk was so high, how fate threw them together, what it was like for one crew to take part in the raid and what happened to them in the five months between Operation Chastise and their deaths. It goes beyond the raid to look at what happened afterwards and how the families left behind were affected. Their sons, brothers and fathers might have become famous but they had to cope with life and loss in the same way as did thousands of other British families.
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