In 1943 a squadron of Lancaster bombers staged one of the most audacious raids in military history: destroying two gigantic dams in Germany's industrial heartland and cutting the water supply to arms factories. Their secret weapon? A revolutionary bouncing bomb invented by British engineer Barnes Wallis. Wallis and the pilots of 617 Squadron-a lively mix of Britons, Australians, Americans, and Canadians-were hailed as heroes who dealt a mighty blow to the German war machine. Now, NOVA recreates the extreme engineering challenges faced by Wallis and the pilots. A crack team of experts, including dam engineers, explosives specialists, mechanics, and aircrew, steps into the shoes of the "dambusters" and attempts to overcome each of the obstacles the original team faced. They must adapt a vintage World War II DC-4 to carry a bomb the size of an oil drum, train to drop it from a dangerously low altitude in pitch darkness, and get it to bounce over obstacles and onto the target, a scale model the German dam struck by the original dambusters. Can they succeed in destroying the dam and unraveling the mysteries of the one-of-a-kind bouncing bomb?

NOVA Season 39 Episodes...

• s39e01 - Engineering Ground Zero
• s39e02 - Surviving the Tsunami
• s39e03 - Finding Life Beyond Earth: Are We Alone?
• s39e04 - Iceman Murder Mystery
• s39e05 - The Fabric of the Cosmos - What is Space?
• s39e06 - The Fabric of the Cosmos - The Illusion of Time
• s39e07 - The Fabric of the Cosmos - Quantum Leap
• s39e08 - The Fabric of the Cosmos - Universe or Multiverse?
• s39e09 - Deadliest Volcanoes
• s39e10 - Bombing Hitler's Dams
• s39e11 - 3D Spies of WWII
• s39e12 - Mystery of a Masterpiece
• s39e13 - Ice Age Death Trap
• s39e14 - Separating Twins
• s39e15 - Cracking Your Genetic Code
• s39e16 - Hunting the Elements
• s39e17 - Deadliest Tornadoes
• s39e18 - Why Ships Sink
• s39e19 - Secrets of the Sun

NOVA Show Summary

Seen in more than 100 countries, NOVA is the most watched science based television series in the world and the most watched documentary series on PBS. It is also one of television's most acclaimed series, having won many major television awards, most of them many times over.