TVT Productions Prepping D-Day and the Dambusters

TVT Productions is set to produce a documentary exploring the role of the RAF Dambusters bomber squadron on D-Day for the Smithsonian Channel in the U.K. and the U.S.

D-Day and the Dambusters (working title) will follow historian and former RAF navigator John Nichol as he reveals how 617 Squadron fooled Hitler and the German high command into believing the Allies were invading Calais, instead of Normandy, by creating the impression of a fake fleet with their Lancaster bombers. He will use once-classified documents and logbooks to chronicle the mission and other precision bombing operations that 617 Squadron carried out, earning them the nickname The Dambusters. Nichol’s journey takes him to France, Germany and Finland to see where the Dambusters changed the course of history and helped win World War II.

Marking the 76th anniversary of the Allied landings in June, D-Day and the Dambusters is executive produced by Charles Thompson and directed by Matthew Wortman. Joy Galane and David Royle serve as executive producers for Smithsonian Channel.

Charles Thompson, executive producer for TVT Productions, said: “D-Day and the Dambusters is an unusual insight into the little-known history of how the brave RAF personnel of 617 Squadron spent the rest of the war following their incredible achievements as the Dambusters. John Nichol is a war hero himself (he was shot down in Iraq in 1991) and is able to uniquely relate to one of the most daring war-time raids of all time by speaking to some of those involved on both sides, while also uncovering new facts and visiting key historic locations.”

David Royle, chief programming officer for Smithsonian Channel, added: “We love to take a well-known story such as the Dambusters, and then surprise our audience with new insights and information. Theirs is a tale of human drama and unimaginable courage, and their actions on and after D-Day helped changed the course of history.”