Innovation history: the bouncing bomb
One highlight of my research in innovation history is the story of Barnes Wallis and the bouncing bomb of WWII.
In short: The Allies needed a way to destroy Nazi dams and no ordinance of the time was sufficient for the purpose. Barnes developed a way to drop a bomb, on water, several hundred yards from the dam, and have the bomb, weighing several tons, bounce (that’s right) it’s way on the surface until it reached the dam wall.
It’s an amazing story of technology, inspiration, frustration, politics, persistence and eventual success.
I watched it first on the PBS Special Secrets of the Dead, but you can watch parts of the Dangerous Missions series about the bomb on Google Video here. There’s also a feature film from 1954, and rumors (mostly dead) of a Peter Jackson produced remake.