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89-599: Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson , VC , DSO & Bar , DFC & Bar (12 August 1918 – 19 September 1944) was a distinguished bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War . He was the first Commanding Officer of No. 617 Squadron , which he led in the "Dam Busters" raid in 1943, resulting in the breaching of two large dams in the Ruhr area of Germany. He

178-422: A Bar to his DFC. Again, as a rest from operations, Gibson was due to be posted to an OTU, this time No. 51 OTU, RAF Cranfield as Chief Flying Instructor. By now he had decided he wanted to return to bombers. Despite a visit to HQ No. 5 Group on 15 December to petition for a transfer, Fighter Command insisted he had to go to Cranfield. His opportunity came a few weeks later when on 22 February 1942, Arthur Harris

267-551: A Heinkel , was claimed in flames on 3/4 May. On 6 July he downed a Heinkel He 111H-5 of 8/KG4 near Sheerness . His AI radar operator on all his successful claims was Sergeant R.H. James, who was awarded a Distinguished Flying Medal . However, the Luftwaffe ' s bombing offensive was tailing off and Gibson started to become bored by the relative safety, and began to describe patrols as "stooge patrols" in his log book. He made some further interceptions but his guns or cannons failed. He

356-475: A "probable" kill. He was promoted to flight lieutenant on 3 September 1940. His last operation with the squadron was to Berlin on 23 September 1940. Arthur Harris , then the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) No. 5 Group, later described Gibson as the "most full-out fighting pilot" under his command at this time. As was usual practice, to give pilots a rest from operations, Gibson was posted as

445-433: A Canadian navigator, Fred Spafford, an Australian bomb-aimer, and Richard Trevor-Roper, rear gunner. The front gunner was George Deering, another Canadian, and the flight engineer was John Pulford. Although Gibson's crew comprised experienced men, in the end some crews had not completed one tour, with some individuals having flown fewer than ten operations. Gibson was strict in screening the crews during training. That not all

534-458: A drinking problem which escalated into alcoholism . Her behaviour became increasingly erratic and sometimes violent towards her children. The school organised lodgings for Gibson and his brother during the school holidays. Nora's younger sister, Mrs Beatrice ("Gwennie") Christopher, gave Gibson his own room at her house. Her husband, John, helped Nora out with school fees. They also both attended some school functions to support their nephews. Gibson

623-544: A few pilots each at Ternhill, Kirton and Wittering and with no more than half at Digby at any one time. Gibson flew six operations in Blenheims. The squadron started to convert to the Bristol Beaufighter I and Widdows personally supervised his pilots during their conversion. Gibson's first flight in a Beaufighter was on 1 December 1940. He then undertook some intensive training on AI radar procedure. He found

712-573: A flying instructor to No. 14 Operational Training Unit (OTU) at RAF Cottesmore . He was there for two weeks, part of which was spent on leave, but he did not settle. He was then transferred to No. 16 OTU at RAF Upper Heyford . Meanwhile, Air Marshal Sholto Douglas , Deputy Chief of the Air Staff , and Air Vice Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory , AOC No. 12 (Fighter) Group , made an appeal to Harris for bomber pilots with their night-flying experience to fly night fighters. Gibson volunteered. Harris wrote

801-429: A flying rating of "average". However, his rating as a companion was below average owing to his sometimes rude and condescending behaviour towards junior ranks and ground crews in particular. Gibson's initial posting was to No. 83 (Bomber) Squadron , stationed at RAF Turnhouse , west of Edinburgh . He was assigned to 'A' Flight and was placed under the supervision of Pilot Officer Anthony "Oscar" Bridgman. The squadron

890-450: A full briefing and therefore could not be told the targets. Wallis was able to explain the design and operation of the new weapon, Upkeep and showed him films from its trials. It was a depth charge which, if rotated with backspin and dropped at the correct speed and altitude, would bounce across the surface of a body of water towards a target. This bouncing behaviour gave it its nickname the bouncing bomb . The crews usually referred to it as

979-475: A further interview the following day when he was told that he was to command a new squadron, which would be required to fly low at night with an objective that had to be achieved by 19 May. At this meeting, he was introduced to Group Captain John Whitworth , the commander of RAF Scampton where the new squadron was to be stationed. A circular was sent by 5 Group to all its squadrons, asking them to provide

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1068-463: A good relationship with Syerston's station commander Group Captain "Gus" Walker . In October, they were required to conduct low-level training exercises with aircraft flying in formations of threes and sixes. This training was put to use in a raid on the 17th on Le Creusot in France. Gibson and Hopgood were among the pilots sent to attack the electric transformer station at nearby Montchanin . Later in

1157-544: A letter introducing the pilots, which included the comment "a hand-picked bunch of which Gibson is the best". Harris agreed to help Gibson's career when he had completed this tour with "the best command within my power". Gibson was ordered to report on 13 November 1940 to No. 29 Squadron as the commander of 'A' Flight. The squadron was stationed at RAF Digby in Lincolnshire, but flew from a small satellite field at RAF Wellingore about six miles away. The officers' mess

1246-530: A live Upkeep, which took until 11 May. Most of the crews were able to practise at Reculver on the Kent coast from 11 to 14 May. Gibson practised at Reculver in Lancaster ED932/AJ-G, the aircraft he used on the raid. The aircraft's call letters were the same as his father's initials: AJG. On 14 May the squadron flew on a full dress rehearsal designed to simulate the routes, targets and the geography of

1335-537: A long cross-country flight the day after, 5 July. He made his first operational flight in a Lancaster on 8 July with Dave Shannon as his second pilot. They were together again on 11 July when they went to Danzig . They were appalled when they were sent on a daylight bombing raid to the Krupp Arms Works in Essen on 18 July. It was known as a difficult and dangerous target at night, expected to be much worse in

1424-415: A marathon flight to Gdynia on 27 August 1942. The targets were Gneisenau and Scharnhorst . Gibson again flew with Shannon and they swapped places during the flight. There was significant unexpected haze over the target when they arrived. Gibson's bomb aimer, Squadron Leader Richardson, a bombing instructor from RAF Manby , requested twelve practice runs over the target, but they still failed to damage

1513-525: A mine. On 27 March Group Captain Satterley provided Gibson with "most secret" written orders, including a description of the attack and the general plan for the squadron's preliminary training. From these Gibson learnt that the targets were "lightly defended special targets" which reduced his suspicion that they were training to attack the Tirpitz . The orders included a list of nine lakes and reservoirs in

1602-463: A move to RAF West Malling in Kent. Gibson flew down with him on 25 April to inspect the facilities. The full squadron flew down on 29 April. Gibson was promoted to acting squadron leader towards the end of June 1941 and started to deputise for the commander in his absence. Widdows was promoted to station command and was replaced by Wing Commander Edward Colbeck-Welch. Gibson claimed two more kills which were confirmed. Another unidentified bomber, possibly

1691-569: A picture of his boyhood hero, Albert Ball VC , the First World War flying ace , on his bedroom wall at his aunt's house. His ambition was to become a civilian test pilot. He wrote for advice to Vickers , receiving a reply from their chief test pilot, Captain Joseph "Mutt" Summers , who wrote that Gibson should first learn to fly by joining the RAF on a short service commission. Gibson applied to

1780-431: A pilot and crew for a new squadron, for a special one-off operation. No copies of the circular survive, but it would seem to have specified that the crew should be experienced, even perhaps have completed a full tour. Bomber Command then stated they should have completed or nearly completed two tours of operations. Squadron Leaders Maudslay and Young were appointed as his flight commanders. The selection of Young resulted in

1869-533: A plane at night. Gibson was recalled from leave back to Scampton by telegram on 31 August 1939. Gibson flew on 3 September 1939, two days after the start of the Second World War. He was one of the pilots selected to attack the German fleet, which was near Wilhelmshaven . He took off at 18:15. The operation was aborted owing to bad weather and he landed back at Scampton around 23:00. On 5 September while in

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1958-542: A reputation for being seemingly fearless, particularly as he was willing to fly in marginal weather. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on 9 July 1940. He was trained for a low-level attack on the Dortmund-Ems canal , but he missed the actual raid on 12 August. On his return from a raid on Lorient on 27 August, he spotted a Dornier Do 215 and attacked it. He was credited with

2047-419: A selectivity towards harder targets rather than easier ones. He expected the same determination from everyone on the squadron. He was ruthless in screening crews for reliability. The station's Medical Officer became expert in determining which crews were simply unlucky in contrast with genuine malingerers. However he was capable of serious misjudgements on occasions, and could be prone to unreasonable outbursts and

2136-624: A similar rank insignia. The rank was used in the Royal Canadian Air Force until the 1968 unification of the Canadian Forces , when army-type rank titles were adopted. Canadian group captains then became lieutenant colonels . In official Canadian French usage, the rank title was lieutenant-colonel d'aviation . In the 1990s, the Canadian Forces Air Command (the post-1968 RCAF) altered

2225-530: A sinus or middle ear problem. He was then sent on two weeks convalescent leave. This absence meant he was unable to participate in Operation Millennium, the "1000 Bomber raids", the first of which was made on Cologne on 30 May 1942. He found this frustrating because this raid saw the introduction of the Bomber stream . This was where the aircraft were concentrated together in an attempt to overwhelm

2314-421: A thousand flying hours by the end of April and Gibson was able to report to Whitworth, that they could fly pinpoint to pinpoint at low level at night, could bomb using a rangefinder and fly over water at 150 ft (46 m). On 24 April Wallis made a request for the altitude to be reduced to 60 ft (18 m). Gibson reported on 27 April that it was possible and the training was adapted accordingly. Gibson

2403-536: Is normally commanded by a wing commander but is occasionally commanded by a squadron leader for small units. In the Air Training Corps , a wing commander is usually the officer commanding of a wing. The rank insignia is based on the three gold bands of commanders in the Royal Navy and consists of three narrow light blue bands over slightly wider black bands. This is worn on both the lower sleeves of

2492-591: Is usually equivalent to the rank of commander in the navy and the rank of lieutenant colonel in other services. The equivalent rank in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force and the Women's Royal Air Force (until 1968) and in Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (until 1980) was wing officer. The equivalent rank in the Royal Observer Corps (until 1995) was observer commander, which had

2581-472: The Admiralty objected to this simple modification of their rank titles, it was agreed that the RAF might base many of its officer rank titles on naval officer ranks with differing pre-modifying terms. It was also suggested that RAF lieutenant colonels might be entitled reeves or wing-leaders. However, the rank title wing commander was chosen as wings were typically commanded by RAF lieutenant colonels, and

2670-927: The United States Navy (USN), a wing commander is also a command billet, not a rank. The equivalent USN rank is a captain . Navy wing commanders are either Naval Aviators or Naval Flight Officers who typically have command of a carrier air wing or a "functional" air wing or air group such as a strike fighter wing, a patrol and reconnaissance wing, a tactical air control group, or a training air wing, with several squadron commanding officers reporting to him/her. Those officers commanding carrier air wings are called "CAG," dating back to when carrier air wings were called carrier air groups. Those officers commanding functional air wings and air groups are called "commodore." Unlike USAF, "group" commands in USN are either equal to or senior to an air wing. The Civil Air Patrol ,

2759-449: The Bar to Gibson's DSO with the comment "any Captain who completes 172 sorties in outstanding manner is worth two DSOs if not a VC. Bar to DSO approved". Gibson was informed on 25 March, after he left the squadron. Gibson was expecting to go on leave to Cornwall and was therefore shocked when he received a call from HQ No. 5 Group to inform him he was being posted there to write a book. After

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2848-535: The Derwent Reservoir and a third to the Wash. On 10 May, Satterly sent the draft handwritten operation order to Whitworth for review and revision, to be returned by 1600 on 12 May. It included, how the squadron would be split into waves to attack the targets, reserves, likely defences and exit routes; Gibson provided detailed comments. Despite Gibson's confidence, there still had not been a successful release of

2937-689: The Government of Canada announced that the name "Air Command" was being changed to the air force's original historic name of Royal Canadian Air Force . Though traditional insignia for the RCAF was restored in 2015, there has been no restoration of the traditional RCAF officer rank structure that paralleled the RAF. On 1 April 1918, the newly created RAF adopted its officer rank titles from the British Army, with Royal Naval Air Service captains and Royal Flying Corps colonels officially becoming colonels in

3026-648: The Mess, he was bitten by a dog. His arm was put in a sling and he was granted 36 hours leave. This allowed him to attend his brother's wedding in Rugby, where he was Alick's best man. On his return, the squadron had moved to Ringway near Manchester under the Scatter Scheme. They were there for 10 days. The squadron did not fly on another operation until December, during the Phoney War . In February 1940, Gibson

3115-562: The Midlands and North Wales, for training flights and target practice. They included Eyebrook Reservoir , near Uppingham , Rutland, Abberton Reservoir near Colchester and Derwent Reservoir in the Peak District. Some of the earliest flights made by the new No. 617 Squadron, were reconnaissance flights over these bodies of water. A recommendation to maximize the training time available was to use simulated night flying as developed by

3204-672: The RAF, but was rejected when he failed the Medical Board; the probable reason that his legs were too short. His later application was successful, and his personal file included the remark "satisfactory leg length test carried out". He commenced a short service commission in November 1936. Gibson commenced his flying training on 16 November 1936 at the Bristol Flying School, Yatesbury , with No. 6 Flying Training Course and with civilian instructors. Owing to poor weather

3293-423: The RAF. In practice, there was some inconsistency, with some former naval officers using their former ranks unofficially. In response to the proposal that the RAF should use its own rank titles, it was suggested that the RAF might use the Royal Navy's officer ranks, with the word "air" inserted before the naval rank title. For example, the rank that later became wing commander would have been "air commander". Although

3382-485: The Type 464 Lancasters as he intended to control the operation while over the target, an early example of what became the master bomber role. On 28 March, Gibson made his first flight to explore the low-flying requirement. He took Hopgood and Young with him and found low flying during daylight satisfactory but during an attempt at dusk the difficulty of their task became apparent, when they nearly ditched. On 29 March, Gibson

3471-532: The USAAF. This required the cockpit to be covered in blue celluloid and the pilots and bomb aimers to wear goggles with amber-tinted lenses. Gibson wanted six aeroplanes converted but only two became available, the first on 11 April. Another important factor was the need for a specially adapted version of the Lancaster, the B.III (Special), officially the "Type 464 (Provisioning)". The bomb bay doors were removed and

3560-575: The comment "could do well". He was due to leave the RAF, but was retained owing to the outbreak of hostilities in Abyssinia . In June he was promoted to flying officer. On 25 July the squadron made a long-distance flight to the south of France. They participated in Home Defence exercises over London in August. He then went on his summer leave. At this stage of his career, he had never flown or landed

3649-418: The course did not conclude until 1 January 1937. After some leave, he then moved to No. 24 (Training) Group at RAF Uxbridge for his RAF basic training. He was commissioned with the rank of acting pilot officer with effect from 31 January 1937. He then underwent further flying training as a member of the junior section of No. 5 Flying Training Course at No. 6 Flying Training School RAF , RAF Netheravon . He

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3738-458: The crews were known to him is reflected in how two crews were posted off the squadron as not satisfactory and another crew chose to leave after their navigator was deemed unsatisfactory. Gibson arrived at Scampton on 21 March. His office was on the 1st floor in No.2 Hangar. His immediate task was to get the general administration organised. He delegated this and the adjutant assigned from No. 57 Squadron

3827-420: The daytime, and they were relieved to be recalled when near Vlissingen . They jettisoned their bombs over the sea before returning. The squadron was selected for special training in the use of two kinds of new bombsight for use with a special bomb designed for attacks on capital ships. However, Gibson advised that the aircraft should not attack any ships below 8,500 feet. They put this training into practice with

3916-507: The decision was made to attack the Ruhr dams, Harris decided to hand the direct responsibility for the detailed planning, preparation and execution to Air Vice Marshal Ralph Cochrane , AOC No. 5 Group. Harris told him he must form a new squadron and nominated Gibson as the CO. On 18 March 1943 Gibson attended an interview at HQ No. 5 Group where Cochrane asked him if he was willing to fly on "one more trip". Gibson indicated that he was. He attended

4005-467: The defences, with each allocated a specific place, height band, and time slot. This period saw the introduction of aiming-point photography. Gibson tried it out and then encouraged all aircrews to become "photo minded". Obtaining good aiming point photographs quickly became a competition both within, and between squadrons. On his return he continued to build up his experience with the Lancaster. He flew with his friend, pilot John Hopgood on 4 July and then on

4094-437: The deputy leader, and Hay, the squadron's bombing leader. He had obtained Cochrane's verbal agreement for Hopgood and Hay to attend, which proved beneficial as Hopgood was able to point out the new defences at Huls. After the meeting broke up, Whitworth informed Gibson that his dog , named Nigger, had been killed in a road accident. It did not seem to affect Gibson outwardly. He was aware how superstitious some aircrew could be, as

4183-430: The dog was the squadron's mascot. Wallis feared it was a dreadful omen. Wing commander (rank) Wing commander ( Wg Cdr or W/C ) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force . The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence . Wing commander is immediately senior to squadron leader and immediately below group captain . It

4272-450: The efficiency of the squadron such as maintenance of aircraft, engines or weapons He was responsible for the emergence of an inner circle of officers who shared his intensity for operations. Their off-duty activities included swimming, water polo and shooting. However, his behaviour towards NCOs and ground crews could still be a problem. Soon after his arrival, the NCOs perceived one incident he

4361-527: The ends of the bay were covered with fairings. Upkeep was suspended on pivoted, vee-shaped struts which sprang apart when the bomb-release button was pressed. A drive belt and pulley to rotate the bomb at 500 rpm was mounted on the starboard strut and driven by a hydraulic motor housed in the forward fairing. The mid-upper turret was removed and a more bulbous bomb aimer's blister was fitted. The first adapted aircraft arrived at Scampton on 8 April. Gibson also had VHF radios (normally reserved for fighters) fitted to

4450-524: The four-engined Avro Lancaster , equipped with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines as soon as they became available. Gibson eased himself back into bomber operational flying with a mine-laying operation in the Baltic on 22 April 1942. and completed three more sorties in the Manchester during the following 3 weeks. April 1942 was a good month for the squadron. They flew on eighteen nights, six consecutively and

4539-991: The group HQ relocated to the Bell Hotel in Gloucester but three months later, on 19 January 1941, it moved to Hindlip Hall , situated near Worcester . Over three and half years later it moved to RAF Credenhill , near Hereford , in October 1944, and four months later, in February 1945, it then moved to RAF Halton. In December 1945 the group HQ moved to Green Park , (Aston Clinton), Aylesbury . It remained in Buckinghamshire for eight years and then moved to RAF Spitalgate , on 25 March 1954, before finally settling at Rudloe Manor in Wiltshire, on 1 September 1958. RAF Technical Training Command disbanded in 1968 and

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4628-400: The improvements in performance were noted by analysts at both No. 5 Group and Bomber Command. The Lancasters started to arrive during May and an ad hoc training plan was started while normal operations were maintained. Gibson made his first flight in a Lancaster in early May. As a commander, Gibson's main concern was to be seen to share the risk. He continued to show unremitting aggression with

4717-534: The month they started to attack Italian targets including Genoa, Milan and Turin. In November 1942 Gibson was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). On 8 December Gibson did not fly. He was in the control room with Walker watching the aircraft taxiing for take-off. Walker noticed some incendiaries which had fallen out of the bomb bay of a reserve Lancaster located near the main bomb dump. The incendiaries had ignited. Walker drove out to

4806-463: The night-fighter culture very different from bombers as the two-man crew had to work as a team with the pilot relying on the guidance of the AI operator to find their targets. Gibson made his first operational flight in a Beaufighter on 10 December with Sergeant Taylor as his AI operator. That winter saw bad weather and he flew only three operations in the whole of January. He claimed a kill on 12 March, but it

4895-455: The operation would succeed. He repeated this optimism in his weekly report to Whitworth on 4 May where he described the squadron as "ready to operate". On 6 May he held a conference with the pilots to explain the tactical aspects. They flew a rehearsal that evening with Gibson directing a group by radio telephony (R/T) on the spot over the Eyebrook and Abberton Reservoirs. A second group went to

4984-459: The outcome, as he always wanted to communicate what life was like for the aircrews. On 12 March, he made his final flight with the squadron to Stuttgart . He flew on three engines and was forced to stay low throughout the raid. Bussell recommended Gibson for a Bar to his DSO, but this was reduced to a second Bar to his DFC at HQ No. 5 Group owing to the recent award of the DSO. However, Harris confirmed

5073-445: The persecution of some crews and their members. Like Widdows, he carefully supervised new crews and eased them into operational flying with "Nasturtium training" – mine-laying and then easier targets. He was pressured to expose them earlier to greater risks, and acquired a reputation for not accepting any interference in how he ran the squadron. Gibson's exercise of summary discipline tended towards constructive tasks aimed at improving

5162-459: The plane and tried to move the incendiaries with a rake. He lost his arm in the subsequent explosion of the 4000 lb "cookie" bomb still in the aircraft's bomb bay. He was replaced by Group Captain Bussell. On 16 January 1943, Gibson took BBC war correspondent Major Richard Dimbleby on a sortie to Berlin. Dimbleby described the raid in a later radio broadcast. Gibson was very pleased with

5251-598: The raid. Gibson took Whitworth with him and described the outcome in his log book as "completely successful". Cochrane travelled to Scampton on 15 May to inform Whitworth and Gibson that the operation would take place the following evening, over 16/17 May. At about 16:00, Gibson travelled with Cochrane on his return to Grantham. Here he discussed the draft operation order with Satterly and Wing Commander Dunn, No. 5 Group's chief signals officer. He returned to Scampton and at 18:00 at Whitworth's house, along with Wallis, he briefed Young and Maudsley, his flight commanders, and Hopgood,

5340-557: The same school as his sister, West Cornwall College. His mother then moved to London and he was sent as a boarder to Earl's Avenue School, a preparatory school , later known as St George's, in Folkestone , Kent. In 1932 Gibson started at St Edward's School, Oxford , the same school as Douglas Bader where he was also placed in the same house, Cowell's. Gibson's housemaster was A. F. "Freddie" Yorke who became Gibson's guardian. Following her return from India, Gibson's mother developed

5429-540: The ship. In fact no ships were damaged during the raid, but the squadron's preparation for the raid was noted by Harris and Air Commodore Alec Coryton , the AOC No. 5 Group. On 30 September the squadron moved from Coningsby to RAF Syerston in Nottinghamshire . They expected this move to be only temporary while the runways were concreted, but problems at Coningsby meant it became permanent. Gibson quickly formed

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5518-892: The son of Alexander James Gibson and his wife Leonora (Nora) Mary Gibson. At the time of Gibson's birth, his father was an officer in the Imperial Indian Forestry Service , becoming the Chief Conservator of Forests for the Simla Hill States in 1922. In 1924, when he was six, his parents separated. His mother was granted custody of Gibson, his elder brother Alexander ("Alick") and sister Joan, and decided to return to England. As her family came from Porthleven , Cornwall, Nora Gibson settled first in Penzance . Gibson started school in England at

5607-554: The squadron up to a satisfactory standard. The squadron then underwent a period of intensive training. The period from April to September 1940 was one of the most operationally intense periods of Gibson's career. He completed 34 operations in 5 months, with 10 in June. The type of operation varied from "gardening" – laying mines in various seaways and harbour entrances – to attacks on capital ships, as well as attacks on ground-based military and economic targets. During this time, he acquired

5696-529: The structure of those bases under its control, redesignating them as wings. The commander of such an establishment was re-designated as the "wing commander" (or "Wg Comd"). Like the United States Air Force usage, the term "wing commander" (as used in the Canadian Forces and again in the RCAF) is an appointment, not a rank. A wing commander usually holds the rank of colonel . On 16 August 2011,

5785-524: The term wing commander had been used in the Royal Naval Air Service. The rank of wing commander was introduced in August 1919 and has been used continuously since then. In the early years of the RAF, a wing commander commanded a flying wing, typically a group of three or four aircraft squadrons . In current usage a wing commander is more likely to command a wing which is an administrative sub-division of an RAF station . A flying squadron

5874-566: The transfer of the whole of 'C' Flight from No. 57 Squadron into the new one. Some crews or pilots were known to Gibson including Hopgood and Shannon, who by this time had transferred from No. 106 squadron to the Pathfinders and No. 83 Squadron. He selected Harold "Mick" Martin for his low-flying expertise. Of Gibson's regular crew from No. 106 Squadron, only Robert Hutchison, the wireless operator, volunteered for this new one. Three more members of his crew came from 50 Squadron, Harlo Taerum,

5963-466: The tunic or on the shoulder of the flight suit or the casual uniform. The command pennant is two triangular command pennants used in the RAF. Two thin red lines differentiate this one from the other. During 1941-45 RAF Fighter Command 's wing leaders (of wing commander rank) were also allowed to use their own initials as aircraft identification letters on their personal aircraft, e.g., Wing Commander Roland Beamont 's personal Hawker Tempest , JN751 ,

6052-480: The volunteer auxiliary of the USAF, follows the USAF rank structure. The CAP divides the nation into 52 wings (each corresponding to a state, territory, and District of Columbia). Each wing is headed by a CAP colonel, who holds the position of wing commander. No. 24 Group RAF No. 24 Group was formed on 26 June 1918 at Castle Grove , Leeds , as No. 24 (Northern) (Operations) Group . On 8 August 1918 "(Northern)"

6141-465: Was also concerned by his relative lack of success compared with his fellow flight commander Bob Braham . He seems to have been happy at West Malling and said "Of all the airfields in Great Britain, here, many say, including myself, we have the most pleasant". His final patrols with the squadron were flown on 15 December. He left with both flying and gunnery ratings of above average. He was awarded

6230-554: Was an average student academically and played for the Rugby Second XV. His interests included science and photography. At one stage as a teenager, he seems to have become interested and quite expert in the workings of cinema organs . He read all kinds of books, especially the Arthurian legends and Shakespeare . His favourite play was Henry V . He was made a house prefect . From an early age Gibson wanted to fly. He had

6319-542: Was appointed Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of Bomber Command. Harris fulfilled his promise made in September 1940. He called Gibson for an interview. On 22 March, Harris wrote to Air Vice Marshal John Slessor , AOC No. 5 Group, explaining his intention to promote Gibson to acting wing commander to put him in command of a Lancaster squadron. Harris suggested No. 207 Squadron . Slessor exercised his discretion and appointed Gibson CO of No. 106 Squadron . Gibson

6408-496: Was arrogant, bombastic and a strict disciplinarian but "had something to be bombastic about" and was a "true leader ... though he never spoke to or even acknowledged me." In an interview with the RAF Benevolent Fund in 2013 Johnson praised Gibson's leadership qualities on the day of the raid though. On 11 May, Gibson was hospitalised at RAF Rauceby in Lincolnshire. The exact reason is unknown, but suggestions include

6497-573: Was awarded his pilot's wings on 24 May 1937. As part of the Advanced Training Squadron, during summer 1937, he participated in further training at No. 3 Armament Training Station , Sutton Bridge , Lincolnshire. He opted for bombers as these gave experience in multi-engined planes, this being typical for individuals planning on a civilian flying career. He returned to Netheravon and graduated on 31 August 1937. He passed all his ground exams first time, with an average of 77.29% and

6586-573: Was awarded the Victoria Cross , the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces, in the aftermath of the raid in May 1943 and became the most highly decorated British serviceman at that time. He completed over 170 war operations before being killed in action at the age of 26. Gibson was born in Simla , British India , on 12 August 1918,

6675-524: Was closely involved with discussions about the design, trial and approval of the solutions developed for the various technical issues encountered. These included the Dann bomb sight and the 'Spotlight Altimeter Calibrator', which was the name given to the spotlights attached to the Lancasters, to ensure the determination of the correct height above a body of water. Security was Gibson's constant concern and he

6764-505: Was coded "R-B", Wing Commander John Robert Baldwin 's personal Hawker Typhoon was coded "J-B". In the United States Air Force (USAF), a wing commander is a command billet, not a rank. The position is most often filled by a colonel (some USAF wings are commanded by a brigadier general ) who typically has command of an air wing with several group commanders (also a position, not a USAF rank) reporting to him/her. In

6853-422: Was especially displeased to learn from his bombing leader Watson that he had been shown details of the targets within days of his arrival at RAF Manston. Gibson wrote to Cochrane who raised his concerns about this 'criminal' breach of security at the highest levels. From the beginning of May squadron training shifted to the tactical aspects of the operation. On 1 May Gibson communicated to Wallis his confidence that

6942-405: Was flying Hawker Hinds . He joined a settled group of officers from similar minor public school backgrounds. As some stayed with the squadron for a few years, promotion was slow. He was promoted to pilot officer on 16 November 1937. His behaviour towards the ground crews continued to be perceived as unsatisfactory and they gave him the nickname the "Bumptious Bastard". In March 1938, the squadron

7031-471: Was involved in with them as particularly high-handed and the ground crews quickly gave him the nickname "The Boy Emperor". Gibson got on better with his own class and background than with "other ranks and colonials". Bomb-aimer George "Johnny" Johnson of Joe McCarthy's crew said that on 106 Squadron he was known as the 'Arch-Bastard' because of his strict discipline, and he did not mix with the lower ranks or talk to NCOs, ground crews or Canadians. A little man, he

7120-579: Was nearby in The Grange. When he arrived, the Commanding Officer, Squadron Leader Charles Widdows, was in the process of rebuilding the squadron following an outbreak of indiscipline that nearly led to its disbandment during July 1940. He was weeding out under-performing pilots and replacing his flight commanders. Gibson attracted some hostility from some longer-standing members of the squadron, because as one of these new flight commanders, he

7209-430: Was not confirmed. However, his kill on 14 March was confirmed as a Heinkel He 111 . He went to Skegness to collect the tail assembly as trophy for the squadron and the crew's dinghy for himself. He was attacked by an intruder when landing at Wellingore on 8 April. Gibson was unharmed, but his AI operator, Sergeant Bell, was injured in the leg. In April, Widdows obtained a transfer for the squadron from 12 to 11 Group and

7298-401: Was one of the members of the squadron put on temporary secondment to Coastal Command at RAF Lossiemouth . On 27 February, he participated in an operation that was sent to attack a U-boat . However, owing to various communications problems, one of the aircraft dropped its bombs on a Royal Navy submarine . The senior officers involved with the incident were censured for their failure to bring

7387-404: Was posted from No. 51 OTU and sent on leave until April, which he spent in south Wales. When the newly promoted Wing Commander Gibson, aged just 23, joined No. 106 Squadron at RAF Coningsby , morale was good, but there was serious disappointment with the new twin-engined Avro Manchester because its Rolls-Royce Vulture engines were unreliable. Therefore, the squadron was scheduled to convert to

7476-529: Was quickly replaced with Flight Lieutenant Humphreys from Syerston. Humphreys was instrumental in the rapid establishment of the squadron. The ground staff started to muster from 21 March and were fully present by 27 March. Flight Sergeant (Discip) Powell inspected them and weeded out those he felt other squadrons had off-loaded. The aircrews started to arrive from 24 March. On 24 March Gibson travelled to Burhill near Weybridge for his first meeting with Barnes Wallis . Wallis discovered Gibson had not been cleared for

7565-580: Was removed from the designation and later on the group HQ moved to Moor House, Leeds. It planned to move the HQ to Bramham Moor Aerodrome on 24 May 1919, but disbanded on 13 June 1919. The group reformed as No. 24 (Training) Group on 10 July 1936 at RAF Halton . It was initially within RAF Training Command , but moved to RAF Technical Training Command on 27 May 1940, being redesignated as No. 24 (Technical Training) Group . On 3 November 1940

7654-412: Was seen as part of Widdows' reforms and he had been chosen over an existing member of the squadron. He had also come from a Bomber squadron. The root cause of the low morale was a lack of combat success. The Bristol Blenheim was not designed as a night fighter and the aircraft interception (AI) radar was still in its very early days of development. Also, Widdows was required to split the squadron up with

7743-511: Was shown scale models of the Moehne and Sorpe dams by Cochrane at HQ 5 Group. He then attended a further meeting with Wallis at Weybridge. At this meeting he rejected Wallis's proposal of a daylight raid. The squadron commenced daily flying training at the beginning of April with long cross-country flights with precise turning points to develop their navigation skills. They then started to practise low flying over water. The squadron completed over

7832-509: Was then sent on convalescent leave, returning to the squadron in late January. In Spring 1939 the squadron took part in an armaments training camp at RAF Evanton near Invergordon in Scotland. With the likelihood of war increasing and as part of a plan to improve standards, Gibson was sent on a navigation course at Hamble near Southampton . He did not appear to take the course seriously, but passed with an average mark. The instructor added

7921-543: Was transferred from No. 2 Group to No. 5 Group and relocated to RAF Scampton . In June they moved to RAF Leuchars for an armaments training camp. From October the squadron started their conversion to the Handley Page Hampden , which was completed by January 1939. At a Court of Inquiry in October 1938, Gibson was found guilty of negligence after a taxiing incident at RAF Hemswell . He spent Christmas Day 1938 in hospital at RAF Rauceby with chickenpox . He

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