It's the Bomber Command Podcast! Hosted by
@LydiaJane13
&
@jamesjhistory
. New episodes every Wednesday. WARNING! May contain Halifaxes! nmtdambusters
@gmail
.com
We're planning a BC family stories episode just before Christmas. Please send in your family stories (preferably between 1000 & 2000 words) & we'll share the best ones on the show. Ground crew, air crew, WAAFS, civilians (both sides)... We want them all! 1/2
Good morning! First full episode is out now, wherever you get your podcasts! Air power strategy, building a bomber base, Blenheims & parachutes... As someone once said, what's not to like?
#NMTD
A massive thank you to the 454 people who have followed Never Mind the Dambusters in the first 24 hours of our existence! We're recording our trailer and first episode tomorrow - we'll let you know when we're up and running.
A big thank you to everyone who came over to James & I at
@WeHaveWaysPod
Fest to say how much they were enjoying the pod. We can't tell you how much we appreciate your support! We've got some great stuff coming up for you in the next couple of months too...
Roll call for
@WeHaveWaysPod
Fest IV at the weekend?? Both of us
@LydiaJane13
&
@jamesjhistory
are speaking this year and we hope to see loads of you there! I'm talking about gardening ops at 8pm Fri, James is doing OVERLORD at 11am Sat.
Ep. 3 out now ... And here are some lovely photos of Tom Davidson & his Australian crew mates from 466 Sqn. He's barely more than a child! What a wonderful man.
#NMTD
#HandleyPageHalifax
Just prepping our next couple of episodes...we've got a two-parter coming up ! In Eps. 4 & 5 we'll be deconstructing a typical bomber operation in 1943. In part 1, we're looking at target selection & strategy, & how a Sqn prepared on the day of a raid. Send us your questions!!
My main takeaways from our first foray into podcast production are:
1. I say "mind-blowing" about 3 times a minute.
2. I'm so northern.
3.
@jamesjhistory
can talk for 5 hours without pausing for breath on any topic 😂
Episode 6 : Bomber Command & D-DAY is out on Wednesday. In this hour-long special we discuss Bomber Command's important & overlooked role in NEPTUNE plus tactical & strategic bombing in support of OVERLORD. We also welcome
@ww2research
to talk about the
@ww2finesthour
project.
Drum roll.... We are now "on air" ! Enjoy our trailer, subscribe on Spotify (still uploading on Apple...) Watch out for our first full episode on Wednesday 3rd April!!
@jamesjhistory
🚨Drum roll... We're thrilled to announce that Ep. 3 - Handley Page Halifax: A Flight Engineer's Story will be going live THIS SUNDAY, featuring our interview with 100 year old Tom Davidson, of 466 Squadron! Here's a taster... (Subtitles available for Southerners...😆)
Good morning! Have we got something special for you! Ep.3 Handley Page Halifax - A Flight Engineer's Story is now live! 100 year old 466 Sqn veteran Tom Davidson chats to James & Jane.
Massive thank you to
@danmadmorgan
for guesting on Ep.2. Now, as promised, here are some great ground crew pics, most featuring
@LydiaJane13
's Uncle, Leo Groark....you can see why they called him Titch! All are from 10 Sqn, RAF Melbourne. 1/2
Coming up on Never Mind The Dambusters...
19 June - The Avro Lancaster with
@SarahLouMiller
3 July - Arthur Harris & Area Bombing with
@Alan_Allport
17 July - RAF Museum with
@MeganEKelleher
&
@rabcooper
31 July - Researching Your Bomber Command Ancestor
In September 1943, BBC war correspondent Wynford Vaughan-Thomas boarded a Lancaster bomber with his recording engineer and a microphone.
Join the crew to fly to the heart of Nazi-occupied Europe. This recreation uses the original recordings.
▶️
Strong representation from the pod at
@WeHaveWaysPod
fest in July! On Friday night at 8pm
@LydiaJane13
will be talking about Bomber Command minelaying ops; on Saturday morning
@jamesjhistory
will be enlightening us on Bomber Command & OVERLORD.
We're currently planning some absolutely belting shows with some big name guests too ...watch this space! We'll be covering Masters of the Air & the USAAF perspective, Coastal Command, the Luftwaffe, Big Week, & loads of other stuff too. There's just SO much to talk about!
Aaaand relax...
84,539 words (92,761 with endnotes & Biblio)
6 appendices
4 maps
2 diagrams
3 graphs
50+ photos
Invisible Campaign is finally finished! Publication by
@tempest_books
later this year 🎉🍾🎉
It's a beautiful day and Ep.9 of Never Mind The Dambusters is out now: Behind the Scenes at the RAF Museum. We chat to
@rabcooper
@MeganEKelleher
about the cultural memory of Bomber Command, remembrance & commemoration. Lots to ponder!
@RAFMUSEUM
We just want to say a massive thanks to everyone who has listened, commented & interacted with the pod so far. If you love what we do, you can support the show & help us create more great content, by becoming a paid subscriber for $3 a month
📢 Ep.5 is out at midnight - part 2 of our examination of the Wuppertal raid of 29/30 May 1943 - 'Firestorm' in which we describe the reality of strategic bombing.
Warning: contains graphic descriptions of war & death - please skip this ep if this may be a trigger for you
Busy researching and preparing for part 2 of the Wuppertal Raid - Firestorm. It's very tough going, as you might imagine, but hopefully
@jamesjhistory
and I can produce an episode which brings home the realities of strategic bombing at the sharp end.
Because we're gluttons for punishment, we'd like your questions! We aim to answer a few in each episode, but that all depends on the depth of the rabbit hole... Please send them to us here or on insta...
Coming up in September ...
4th - Ep. 14: Bomber Command in the Battle of Britain (pt 1)
11th - Ep. 15: Bomber Command in the Battle of Britain (pt 2)
18th - Ep.16: ARNHEM: Glider Pilots & Glider Tugs.
25th - Ep.17 : Masters of the Air ? - The US perspective
Episode 10 drops at midnight tonight - Researching Your Bomber Command Ancestor. To help with research & to accompany this episode,
@LydiaJane13
has written a blog article with a list of tips and resources. We'll post everything here tomorrow morning!
Coming up in our next episode, released on Wednesday 17th July: Behind the Scenes at the
@RAFMUSEUM
! We chat to
@MeganEKelleher
&
@rabcooper
about their work at the RAF Museum Midlands (Cosford). A thought-provoking chat on heritage & remembrance.
ANNOUNCEMENT:
For those that attended my talk today I am delighted to announce that my first book will be published in 2026!
This will be on Operation Margin (a.k.a "The Augsburg Raid") and the daylight raid on Augsburg in April 1942 by Avro Lancasters of 44 and 97 Squadrons
Good morning! Episode 10 - Researching Your Bomber Command Ancestor is now live! There are links to help you with your research in the show notes, and a blog post on Jane's website too (I'll post that link separately)
Coming up in Ep 11 (out Wednesday) - your questions answered! Bomber groups, bomber streams, mid- air collisions post-operational duties, NCO aircrew, plus a LOT of random chit chat ...& some news!
In the woods near Venlo, you can find the dark remains of a German Luftwaffe airfield. Fliegerhorst Venlo contained more than a hundred hangars. It was mainly used by night fighters. When the Germans retreated on 3 September 1944, they blew up all the hangars and buildings.
#WW2
It's a beautiful day and Ep.9 of Never Mind The Dambusters is out now: Behind the Scenes at the RAF Museum. We chat to
@rabcooper
@MeganEKelleher
about the cultural memory of Bomber Command, remembrance & commemoration. Lots to ponder!
@RAFMUSEUM
Coming up this week for your listening pleasure.
Ep 15 ARNHEM: Glider Pilots & Bomber Tugs, with Matt Yates. How do you think all those gliders got to Arnhem? Towed by Halifaxes, Stirlings & Albemarles! Subscribers can listen from midnight tonight, everyone else from Wed 11th.
Photos relevant to Ep. 5...
1. Jack's logbook, including the newspaper cutting of the report of the raid
2. Penny's Prangers, around 10 days later (the aircraft they're with, Z-Zebra, was shot down on 12 June 43, with a different crew).
3. Wuppertal
The Hamburg St Pauli Flakturm transformed... Interestingly, it was always envisaged that they would provide cultural facilities post-war, which is why they were built with window openings.
🚨🚨🚨🚨Rolling out weekly episodes as of this week!
Coming up on ...
Wednesday 21st August -
@danielknowles24
talks about the morality debate
Wednesday 28th August -
@danmadmorgan
@BrazierMary
discuss psychiatric casualties & 'Lack of Moral Fibre'
Sick of hearing the same old same old about D-Day? Listen out for our new episode on Wednesday to hear genuinely new research on Bomber Command's role in NEPTUNE (yes that's right, the naval part of the invasion... It ain't just destroyers, minesweepers & landing craft) ...
Out today Ep 17 - Masters of the Air! We talk about THAT pub scene in ep.2, the cultural memory of the air war in the US & UK, Band of Brothers & The Pacific, with US aviation historian Abby Whitlock.
Out at midnight tonight.. ep 17 - Masters of the Air! We talk about THAT pub scene in ep.2, cultural memory of the air war in the US & UK, Band of Brothers & The Pacific, with US aviation historian
@abby_s_whitlock
We absolutely can't wait! We're both speaking this year:
@LydiaJane13
on the Friday evening, about BC minelaying/gardening ops, and
@jamesjhistory
on the Saturday morning about BC and Overlord. See you all there!
Ep.19 is now live for our subscribers! We talk to Graham Waterton about his uncle, Brian 'Boy' Slade DFC, Bomber Command's Youngest Pilot ( a full tour by 18, a Pathfinder at 19, 59 ops) Brian (left on photo) lied about his age & enlisted at 16. What a story!
This Sunday we're recording a special episode on 'Researching Your Bomber Command Ancestor'. Please reply to this post with questions or email them to us at the address in our bio,or via the send message function on our pod website. This episode will go out on 31 July.
Happy birthday to the main man
@jamesjhistory
... Hearing reports that he's currently stood in the back garden, eyes to the sky, awaiting his flypast from
@RAFBBMF
...
We have 2 cracking episodes coming up for all your summer holiday listening needs!
17 July - Behind the Scenes at the RAF Museum with
@MeganEKelleher
&
@rabcooper
31 July - Researching Your Bomber Command Ancestor
You can support the show here ⬇️🙏🏼
🚨🚨🚨ALAAARMMM!! We have news ...we now offer early access to new episodes to our paid subscribers. If you'd like to listen to
@danmadmorgan
&
@BrazierMary
talking about psychiatric casualties & LMF before everyone else, you can!
We had massive fun recording ep 15 with Matt Yates of
@ChalkCollection
...glider pilots, glider tugs, air landing brigades, Op Market Garden, Arnhem & so much more! Episode released at midnight tonight
#Arnhem80
Many congratulations to the wonderful
@SarahLouMiller
on the publication of 'The Lancaster Story'! We'll be chatting to Sarah-Lou in one of our June episodes.
It’s TODAAAAAY! My second book, ‘The Lancaster Story’, is officially released! Thank you to everyone who has sent pictures of it popping up in bookshops! And huge thanks to everyone who made it happen - especially to
@Seb_Lanc99
for the beautiful foreword!
Out at midnight tonight.. ep 17 - Masters of the Air! We talk about THAT pub scene in ep.2, cultural memory of the air war in the US & UK, Band of Brothers & The Pacific, with US aviation historian
@abby_s_whitlock
The world's first heritage centre dedicated Polish bomber squadrons will open in Lincolnshire next weekend!
RAF Ingham Heritage Centre opens to the public for their first open weekend on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 April 2024, 10am to 3pm.
More details here
Good morning ! Ep 16 is now live ... Listen to
@MissionTooFar
and
@LydiaJane13
debate the thorny topic of veteran testimony, historical accuracy, tall tales & Walts (Stolen Valor for our US listeners!)
"In a (very hasty) change to the published programme..." 😂 you can listen to Jane pining for the fjords & talking about Bomber Command in the Norwegian campaign, from Wednesday (available now to paid subscribers).
Can we just say a huge thanks to Paul at
@BattlefieldGD
for our fabulous logo. Maps, book covers, diagrams of air laid mines 👀...Paul is always our "go to man." Give him a follow.
Good morning! Ep 18 is out today. James is back (huzzah!) and we chat about all sorts of stuff from Chastise to Colditz, and answer more of your questions !
We're always looking for knowledgeable & charming guests! If you'd like to be a guest on the pod, & can witter on about your Bomber Command niche topic for 45 mins, drop us an email (address in bio). We're very interested in fresh perspectives, personalities, strategy, & policy.
I am THRILLED to introduce you to
#Afterburners
– ten of my past full-length academic lectures that have now been transformed into a unique audiobook series! This video outlines how to gain access, whilst a preview of each episode is provided below...1/12
If you're on Instagram, you can find us there too - just search for NeverMindTheDambusters. We'll be sharing photos & videos relevant to future episodes, so do give us a follow. Thank you!
I'm a little late to the game but I finally had the chance to watch
#MastersoftheAir
. I was so excited to see that in episode 4 the show featured a doughnut girl!
So who was Katherin Spaatz & more importantly who were the Red Cross Doughnut Dollies of the SWW ? 🧵1/6
Coming up in Episode 7...we chat to
@SarahLouMiller
about the iconic Avro Lancaster and her new book, The Lancaster Story. Episode released Wednesday 19th June
Good morning to you! Ep 12 is now on the airwaves - we talk to author & historian
@danielknowles24
about cultural memory & the moral debate. Out now wherever you get your podcasts!
This is the Pennicott crew with their ground crew (most of whom seem to have been called Norman!) on 8 March 1944, after completing their final op. These men were very close, as 'Penny's Prangers' were on base for 10 months, and used to socialise together. A 'lucky crew'.
Good morning! Ep 18 is out today for subscribers, and on Wednesday for everyone else . James is back: we chat about all sorts of stuff from Chastise to Colditz, and answer more of your questions !
Ep.19 is now live! We talk to
@GrahamWaterton
about his uncle, Brian 'Boy' Slade DFC, Bomber Command's Youngest Pilot (a full tour by 18, a Pathfinder at 19, 59 ops) Brian (left on photo) lied about his age & enlisted at 16. What a moving story.
Good morning! For our Premium subscribers Ep 17 Masters of the Air is now live (available to all on Wednesday). Jane talks to
@abby_s_whitlock
about MOTA, Band of Brothers & that pub scene in Ep 2...
Out on Wednesday... One of our best episodes yet. Combat stress, psychiatric casualties & 'lack of moral fibre' with
@danmadmorgan
&
@BrazierMary
Paid subscribers can listen now.
Morning! Ep 11 Your Bomber Command Questions Answered - is out! We mull over We Have Ways Fest, talk about our books in progress, & answer questions on group structure, bomber streams, NCO aircrew & loads of other stuff!!