The entry begins:
The outstanding character in The Hunt for Hitler’s Warship is Wing Commander James ‘Willie’ Tait, the man who landed the bomb on the battleship Tirpitz that finally sent her to the bottom. He was such an unusual character that it is hard to think of a bygone actor to play him, let alone a contemporary one. Tait was the commander of 617 Squadron, The ‘Dam Busters’ who were formed specially to destroy the great dams of the Ruhr valley, the heartland of Germany’s war industry. Mission accomplished, they went on to perform many other extraordinary feats. Tait was their third real leader. The first was Guy Gibson who led the Dams raid. Gibson [played by Richard Todd in the 1955 movie, The Dam Busters] was brash and vain but also rather troubled and insecure. When taken off operational flying to make propaganda tours of Britain and the U.S. he became depressed, begged to return and was shot down and killed on his first raid. After a stop-gap appointment he was replaced by Leonard Cheshire. Cheshire was an equally great warrior but had a completely different personality...[read on]Learn more about the book and author at Patrick Bishop's website.
The Page 99 Test: The Hunt for Hitler’s Warship.
My Book, The Movie: The Hunt for Hitler’s Warship.
--Marshal Zeringue
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