The relic is shown housed in the former Victorian Regimental Institute on Knights Road on the western side of the Castle. This building still contains Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol and the Naafi Restaurant but the bomb fragment has been moved elsewhere.
Barnes Wallis' bouncing bombs were used by the Royal Air Force's 617 Squadron (led by Guy Gibson) in the RAF Dambuster Raid of 1943 during the Second World War.
The information board reads:
This is a prototype of the 'bouncing bomb' which was used in the famous Dambuster operation. This operation, which breached the Mohne Dam and Eder Dam in Western Germany, was carried out by No. 617 Squadron of the RAF on 16th May, 1943.
These special bouncing bombs resembled giant garden rollers and needed to spin away from the Lancaster aircraft, which were travelling at 220 mph at a height of 60 ft above ground.
This prototype was drop tested in April 1943 off Reculver beach, Kent and was rediscovered in June 1996.
More information (including sources used and a Google Earth satellite map) can be found on this photo's original webpage at:
The Barnes Wallis 'Bouncing Bomb' at Dover Castle (UK)
Links to the main Images of Dover website:
The English Heritage "Pastscape" entry for Dover Castle states:
"Medieval castle possibly originating as a pre-1066 motte and bailey castle, remodelled during the reign of Henry II (Curtmantle), to became a castle with concentric defences, one of the first examples of its kind in western Europe."
All castle photos first appear under the Dover Castle tag.
The castle is one of Dover's Grade I Listed Buildings and a Dover English Heritage site.
John Latter / Jorolat
Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town
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