One of the most famous and dramatic air attacks in history took place during the night of May 16–17, 1943. Nineteen Lancaster bombers from 617 Squadron took off from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire to destroy three German dams. The operation, codenamed CHASTISE, would require enormous skill and courage, and the use of technology not yet combat proven.
The brainchild of a British aircraft engineer named Barnes Wallis, the weapon that was key to the success of the dams raid was a bouncing bomb inspired by the childhood game of ducks and drakes, in which a spinning stone skips across the surface of the water.
Wallis’s spherical bomb was expressly designed to attack targets such as hydro-electric dams, or warships hiding in Norwegian fjords, as it would simply bounce over the top of their protective torpedo nets and explode right up against them. This ensured that the blast would be effective, rather than being dissipated by the distance of even a near miss. The very nature of the bomb’s arrival would contribute to its accurate delivery and, as a result, its destructive power.
The two converging beams of light shining from the bottom of the Lancaster’s fuselage were used by the pilot to ensure he flew at exactly the right altitude to drop his bomb.
Delivering Wallis’s weapon, though, demanded both great skill and courage. Flying low and straight over the water on their attack run, the Lancasters exposed themselves to withering anti-aircraft fire. Of the nineteen aircraft taking part, eight were lost. Fifty-three men were killed. But the attack succeeded in destroying the Möhne and Edersee dams in the heavily industrialized Ruhr valley, and forced an already overstretched enemy to divert resources it could ill afford to their reconstruction. For his leadership during the raid, Squadron Leader Guy Gibson was awarded the Victoria Cross.
By the time the classic movie about the raid was released in 1955, 617 Squadron was already the most famous unit in the Royal Air Force, known to all simply as the “Dam Busters.”
It was always with thoughts of the Dam Busters in mind that, as a boy, I forced myself to learn how to skip a stone across the surface of a pond. I’m sure I wasn’t alone. And even if the exploits of Guy Gibson and his men are far from the minds of children learning how to play ducks and drakes today, it remains a rite of passage.
Of course, there’s now a ducks and drakes world championship. While I always reckoned anything more than four or five bounces was pretty good going, the world record, held by Russell “Rock Bottom” Byars, stands at fifty-one. Quite a feat, for sure. But, you know, if it’s all the same to Mr. “Rock Bottom,” I think I’ll stick with Guy Gibson for inspiration.
1. Look for the smoothest, flattest, most circular stone you can find.
2. Hold the stone like a disc, resting it on your middle finger with your thumb on top, and keeping your index finger curled round the edge. Keep your grip loose. Soft hands are important.
3. Perhaps crouch down a little. Pull your arm back, then chuck the stone using a flick of the wrist. You want to feel as if you’re throwing the stone flat, rather than angling it down toward the surface. As you throw, use your index finger to give the stone a tweak to get it spinning horizontally like a discus (or a flying saucer).
4. Ideally—scientific research apparently confirms this!—the stone needs to hit the surface of the water with the front edge angled up 20 degrees above horizontal. This will ensure that it presents its broad, flat underside to the surface of the water, not the narrow leading edge (which will have it diving beneath the surface rather than skipping). The same research has shown that, as satisfying as it is to get the stone spinning as you launch it, spin is less important in multiple bounces than forward speed and angle of attack.
5. Keep practicing until you have fifty-one bounces in your sights, then be sure to contact Guinness World Records.
