Hi,
more info on this encounter...
The Vancouver Courier has a in depth article with Luftwaffe pilot Franz Stigler back in 2004, he talks about other experiences during his time with the Luftwaffe, and life out in British Columbia after the war, also meeting up with Charlie Brown the B-17 pilot.
There are also numerous references to this event when typing keywords in a search engine.

http://www.vancourier.com/issues02/112102/news/112102nn1.html

Alan

Index434 wrote:

---

.

Could British Intelligence please advise when the remake of the Battle Of Britian is scheduled for release? I'm looking forward to this film. Also does anyone know if any other WW2 films are being produced.

Thank you in advance. 

---

Linda wrote:

---

Rick- It IS the Dambusters they are remaking and i also would like to know when its coming out,not for a while, i imagine as they are still filming,from what i have heard,in Lincolnshire.If anyone knows anything more please tell!

---

I have searched the net High and low and found little other than this at wikipedia, the film is set for a 2008 release date which is also when Tom Cruise's "the Few" is supposed to be released (maybe that was the Battle of Britain film that Rick was thinking of).

Dambusters is a war film to be produced by Peter Jackson and directed by first-time director Christian Rivers. It is a remake of the 1954 film The Dam Busters, telling the story of No. 617 Squadron RAF and the Operation Chastise attack on German dams on 17 May 1943 in World War II using bouncing bombs. It will be distributed by Universal Pictures and StudioCanal.

Much of the film will be shot in Wellington, New Zealand, with some filming in the United Kingdom also likely. Ten full-size models of the Avro Lancaster aircraft will be built by Weta Workshop.

Jackson has said in the mid-1990s he became interested in remaking the 1954 film, but found that the rights had been bought by Mel Gibson. In 2004, Jackson was contacted by his agent, who said Gibson had dropped the rights.

Title: 'The Damn Busters - Based on a True Story'

US army Col. Hellraiser (played by Tommy-Lee Jones) is sent to the UK in 1940, at the height of the Battle of Britain, to sort out the Brit code breaking effort, which, up to that time, has been failing miserably.

It turns out that his son, Capt. Hellraiser Jnr. (played by Tom Cruise), a USAAF volunteer fighting in RAF Fighter Command, is killed on the very day of his father's arrival when single-handedly breaking up a Luftwaffe raid on London. Col. Hellraiser vows revenge....

He takes along with him the lovely Miss Linda Brightspark (Kelly McGinnis), a PhD Mathematician who manages to break the code (gaining valuable information about Hitler's intentions), improve the Rolls-Royce Merlin and ensure that the Battle of Britain is not lost.

A year later, Miss Brightspark meets a young (?) RAF Bomber pilot and falls in love. S/L Mel Gibson RAAF (played by Mel Gibson) leads a crack bomber squadron crewed by misfits and other black sheep.

It turns out that Brightspark intercepts a top level communication concerning the production of heavy water at the Moehne Dam for the Nazi nuclear program.

Hellraiser immediately informs President Roosevelt (the role is reprised by Jon Voight) and following consultation with Churchill (Rowan Atkinson), Roosevelt orders Hellraiser to form a crack team to go into Germany and uncover information.

The Navy Seals team lead by Master Chief Rock (Steven Segal) parachutes into Germany, captures a top Nazi scientist and, following a hair-raising escape, gets back to the UK. The top US interrogator (played by Dale Dye) is called in. soon the secrets of the Nazi Nuclear program are exposed - a nuclear warhead will be ready to drop on London within six months.

As it turns out, eccentric scientist Barnes Wallis (Christopher Lloyd, who else?) has a new weapon to blast the Nazi dams, only requiring the accuracy of the top-secret Norden bombsight.

S/L Gibson's crack squadron is called in. It is found that the Norden bombsight doesn't fit into the Lancaster bomber so the RAF borrows a dozen-and-a-half Boeing B17s from the Mighty 8th.

Training day and night, Gibson's men race against time to prepare for their deadly mission. In addition, Gibson's relationship with Brightspark is strained when it is revealed that she doesn't want him to fly the mission.

Hellraiser keeps a close eye on the Squadron's progress as the mission date draws near. Nerves are taunt - the week before the mission, Gibson's squadron gets into a bar brawl with some British AA gunners. Hellraiser arrives amid the carnage as the MP's drag the culprits away. Surveying the damage, he exclaims, "You Damn Busters!" A bloodied Squadron pilot overhears this and uses the phrase in the design of the Squadron crest that he prepares that very night.

The big day comes and Hellraiser manages to convince the powers that be to allow him along on the mission as Gibson's bomb aimer.

The B17s take off into the dark night. Half of the force is lost to the deadly flak, including the young artistic pilot. Three attempts are made to breach the dam but it holds steadfast.

Now only Gibson remains to drop his weapon. The freedom of the civilized world is at stake in this moment. Gibson brings his ship in admit the hail of flak. Through the bombsights, Hellraiser spots a pickle barrel sitting on the dam in to exact spot where the bomb needs to be dropped. He lines up the sight, thinking only to avenge his dead son.....the crosshairs cross the centre of the barrel and he presses the tit....

Hell, a hang up! Moving quickly, Hellraiser enters the bomb bay and furiously works to free the bomb. Without hesitation, he straddles the beast, knowing that working it free will spell out his own doom.

Finally, a smack with a spanner frees the jam and the bomb, with Hellraiser on top, fails from the B17.

Waving his cowboy hat in crazed excitement, Hellraiser watches as the pickle barrel grows larger. A vision of his late son flashes across his mind.

The face of the dam explodes and after a minute of nerve-raking tension, the dam wall breaks amid a torrent of water, washing away the Nazi hopes of being the first to the Bomb.

Back at base the celebrations start. A moment's silence is observed for Hellraiser, who will be awarded the VC. Someone finds the finished Squadron crest while clearing out a Nissan hut. Gibson decides to adopt the title "The Damn Busters", in memory of Hellraiser.

Medals are awards from the hands of the King (Vinnie Jones) and a special banquet is held. It is found that an error on the menu by the printers inadvertently refers to the squadron as "The Dam Busters"....