Concrete Dam Blows Up "Spectacularly" For British Documentary

WINDFALL FILMS AND JAMES BELLAVANCE

Hugh Hunt sought to replicate a WWII RAF attack on Germany’s Ruhr Valley in 1943, dramatized in the film The Dam Busters, in which the original attack used a “bouncing bomb”. Almost 440 concrete blocks were used in construction for the project. 
 

PETER KENTER

correspondent

Wanted: Use of construction site, anywhere in the world, located on open water.

Must be willing to allow construction and demolition of a concrete dam using Second World War-style aerial bomb.

That’s the gist of an advertisement placed on the internet by Windfall Films of London, England and Hugh Hunt of Cambridge University’s department of engineering.

Hunt wanted to replicate an intricately planned WWII RAF attack on Germany’s Ruhr Valley in 1943, dramatized in the 1955 film The Dam Busters.

The original attack employed a “bouncing bomb” developed by British aeronautical engineer Sir Barnes Wallis.

However, a flood had destroyed most of the papers surrounding the technical aspects of the operation in 1960.

If a site could be found, the filmmakers would document the entire exercise.

The ad was seen by James Bellavance, at the time an economic development officer with the District of Mackenzie, B.C.

Williston Lake, a reservoir engineered by BC Hydro 13 kilometres north of the community, would provide the body of water necessary to complete the experiment.

“They’d been looking for two years to build this project, but hadn’t found any place willing to allow them to blow up a dam,” said Bellavance.

“I thought it would be a great economic benefit to the district, so we mailed our application to Windfall and a few weeks later they were on site.”

Bellavance had a background in cement production and prior experience as a building contractor.

His ideas on how a one-third scale concrete dam could be constructed impressed the film’s producers.

“Initially, they wanted to form and pour a concrete dam on the bottom of the lake bed, but I convinced them that concrete lock blocks would provide a better construction material,” said Bellavance.

“Rather than build a cofferdam at lake bottom level, we excavated 175,000 cubic metres of soil to 40 feet below lake level near the dam.

http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id46980/–concrete-dam-blown-up-for-documentary

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