Never Mind The Dambusters

Send us a message or question! What happened to RAF Bomber Command after the Second World War? In this episode, Jane Gulliford Lowes and guest co-presenter Jamie Heffer from the RAF Bircham Newton Heritage Centre are joined by Erik Parker to explore the command's evolution from 1945 until its merger into Strike Command in 1968. The immediate post-war years brought new responsibilities, includ...

Send us a message or question! In this episode of Never Mind the Dambusters , Jane Gulliford Lowes is joined by bestselling author and journalist Will Iredale to talk about his new book, Churchill’s Pirates . The book tells the story of the Royal Naval Patrol Service – the men who served in what was effectively a navy within the Royal Navy. Many were fishermen, trawlermen and civilian sailors who...

Send us a message or question! The Lancaster is probably the most recognisable aircraft associated with RAF Bomber Command. But what did an ordinary 24 hours actually look like on a Lancaster squadron? In this episode of Never Mind the Dambusters , Jane Gulliford Lowes is joined by military aviation historian and author Michael Napier to explore the Lancaster not simply as an aircraft, but as the...

Send us a message or question! Jane Gulliford Lowes welcomes author, editor, and aviation historian Dan Sharp to dig into the Luftwaffe’s bomber plans, from prewar requirements to late war jet concepts. The conversation focuses on how German bomber strategy was shaped by speed, range, and technological ambition, and why so many of the most advanced ideas never arrived in time. They also unpack the...

Send us a message or question! Ep. 75 – Stanley Booker: Airman, Prisoner, Saviour, Spy, with Sean Feast  How does a young RAF observer go from flying operations with 10 Squadron to becoming one of the few Allied airmen imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp? In this episode of Never Mind the Dambusters , Jane Gulliford Lowes and James Jefferies welcome back acclaimed aviation historian and author...

Send us a message or question! Ep. 74 – Easy Elsie: The Battle to Save a Lost Lancaster What happens when a wartime Lancaster disappears into a Swedish bog—and eight decades later, a dedicated team sets out to bring her home? In this episode of Never Mind the Dambusters , Jane Gulliford Lowes is joined by Dave King , a British adventurer and expedition leader based in Sweden, to discuss one of the...

Send us a message or question! Ep. 73 – A Memory Owed : Bringing Bomber Command to the Big Screen How do you tell the story of RAF Bomber Command in a way that resonates with modern audiences while remaining faithful to the experiences of those who served? In this special episode of Never Mind the Dambusters , Jane Gulliford Lowes and James Jefferies are joined by Martin Hemingway-Moseley , writer...

Send us a message or question! Ep. 72 – Karlsruhe: Life Under the Bombs With Kathy Quinlan-Flatter What was it like to live beneath the bomber stream? In this episode of Never Mind the Dambusters , Jane Gulliford Lowes and James Jefferies explore the air war from a perspective we don't often hear: that of the German civilians who endured RAF bombing raids firsthand. Joining us is journalist a...

Send us a message or question! Welcome Back to Never Mind the Dambusters!  We're delighted to tell all our listeners that series 5 will be launching on 15/16 July  - paid subscribers can gain early access from 11 July.  So much to look forward to !  Support the show Please subscribe to Never Mind The Dambusters wherever you get your podcasts. You can support the show, and help us produce grea...

Send us a message or question! Episode available on general release on Wednesday 1st April.  Episode Summary In the final episode of Series 4, Jane and James are joined by historian and former RAF intelligence officer Andrew White to explore a lesser-known aspect of the Second World War air war: the internment of Allied airmen in neutral countries. When aircraft came down in neutral territory, air...

Send us a message or question! Join us for a deep dive into the nuanced and often overlooked areas of RAF Bomber Command during WWII. In this episode, we answer listener questions, discuss key incidents, and explore technological debates shaping strategic bombing. Main Topics Covered: Details of the July 1941 raid on Scharnhorst at La Palis and its significance The complexities of bombing accuracy...

Send us a message or question! This week Jane and James have a good old chinwag and answer YOUR  questions, on some very diverse topics: Why wasn't Harris replaced after Nuremberg or the Battle of Berlin? Which aircraft would've benefited from Merlin engines? What were Special Recognition Flights? Why weren't bomber streams supported by more night-fighter escorts or intruder ops? Wh...

Send us a message or question! Hosts: Jane Gulliford & James Jefferies (although Jane disappears after the intro due to tech issues!) Guest: Joe Wilding Episode Summary In this episode of Never Mind the Dambusters , Jane and James are joined by aviation enthusiast and aircraft designer Joe Wilding to explore the evolution of the bomber during the Cold War — a period that lasted nearly half a c...

Send us a message or question! After the Firestorm – Bomb Disposal in Wartime Hamburg With Thomas Rost Never Mind the Dambusters – Series 4 Content Note This episode includes discussion of forced labour, concentration camp inmates, and civilian casualties. Listener discretion is advised. In this episode, Jane Gulliford Lowes turns to a largely hidden chapter of the bombing war: bomb disposal in Ha...

Send us a message or question! 2 Group  Bomber Command and the Rotterdam Raid With Erik Parker Never Mind the Dambusters – Series 4 In this episode, Jane Gulliford Lowes and James Jefferies turn their attention to a little-known Bomber Command raid on Rotterdam , carried out during the early years of the Second World War by the light bomber squadrons of 2 Group . While Rotterdam is most often asso...

Send us a message or question! Hitting the Target – Bombing Accuracy, Altitude, and the Physics of Air Power With Matt Doncaster Never Mind the Dambusters – Series 4 In this episode, Jane Gulliford Lowes and James Jefferies are  joined by Matt Doncaster , a former RAF Harrier pilot , for a deep dive into one of the most fundamental — and often misunderstood — challenges of the air war: how to hit...

Send us a message or question! The Schweinfurt Raids With Mike Peters Never Mind the Dambusters – Series 4 Presented by Jane Gulliford Lowes and James Jefferies In this episode, Jane Gulliford Lowes and James Jefferies turn their attention to the USAAF bombing raids on Schweinfurt , among the most dramatic, costly, and consequential operations of the Allied strategic air campaign in 1943. Schweinf...

Send us a message or question! ( Buy tickets for Jane's talk at the International Bomber Command Centre, Lincoln, on 5 March 2026 here )  In this episode, Jane Gulliford Lowes is joined by historian Professor Alan Allport for a wide-ranging discussion of his new book, Advance Britannia , which re-examines Britain’s war effort from 1942 onwards — a period when the nation moved from survival to...

Send us a message or question! In this episode, Jane Gulliford Lowes is joined by author and military historian Sean Feast to examine one of the most strategically important — and morally complex — operations of the bombing war: RAF Bomber Command’s attack on the German V-weapons research centre at Peenemünde in August 1943. Peenemünde was no ordinary target. As the heart of Germany’s V-1 and V-2...

Send us a message or question! Episode Description / Show Notes: In this episode of Never Mind the Dambusters , host Jane Gulliford Lowes is joined by John Lilley from the People’s Mosquito Project to explore the extraordinary story of one of the Second World War’s most innovative and versatile aircraft: the de Havilland Mosquito . Often described as “the wooden wonder,” the Mosquito defied conven...

Send us a message or question! In this episode of Never Mind the Dambusters, host Jane Gulliford Lowes is joined by Jonathan Falconer, a leading authority on the RAF and the Second World War, to discuss the Short Stirling, Bomber Command's first four-engine heavy bomber. They explore its development, operational history, and the unique challenges it faced. Jonathan shares insights into the ai...

Send us a message or question! Welcome back and a happy new year !  🇨🇦 In this episode of "Never Mind the Dambusters," host Jane Gulliford Lowes is joined by Dr. Dan Ellin and Canadian historian Greg Kopchuk . The team explore the Canadian contribution to RAF Bomber Command, and the formation of 6 Group, from the perspective of 429 Bison Squadron. Greg explains how the Squadron got off t...

Send us a message or question! SERIES 4 OF NEVER MIND THE DAMBUSTERS IS ON THE WAY! Brand new episodes drop Wednesday January 7th 2026 (available from Saturday 3rd for our paid subscribers).  We're returning with our most ambitious series yet — filled with new interviews, untold stories, and in-depth explorations of RAF Bomber Command. Here’s a glimpse of what’s coming up: ✈️ The Short Stirli...

Send us a message or question! Have we got a treat for you...Something different - U-boats instead of aircraft! In our final episode of this series, “The U-boat War - Wolfpack,” we explore the U-Boat War from the German perspective with historian and author Roger Moorhouse, whose new book Wolfpack: Inside Hitler’s U-Boat War   will be published on 9 October 2025 . Hosts James Jefferies and Jane Gu...

Send us a message or question! In Episode 56 ( the penultimate episode of series 3), we delve into a chilling chapter of World War II history: the murders of Allied airmen in Germany. As the war raged on, downed airmen often found themselves at the mercy of their captors - military, civilian authorities and sometimes ordinary citizens. This episode uncovers the fate of one Allied airman, missing i...