Guy Gibson

Early Life and Entry into the RAF

Guy Penrose Gibson was born on 12 August 1918 in Simla, India, the son of Alexander James Gibson, a forest conservator for the Indian Civil Service. His childhood was unsettled, his parents’ marriage disintegrated, his father returned to India, and Guy and his siblings were effectively raised by relatives in England. He attended St Edward’s School in Oxford, where he showed aptitude for sport and an early fascination with aircraft.

He applied to join the RAF in 1936, was accepted to No. 6 Flying Training School, and received his wings in 1937. Posted to No. 83 Squadron at Turnhouse flying Hawker Audaxes and later Hampdens, the young pilot officer began the operational career that would make him one of the most celebrated airmen of the war.

Early War: Hampdens and Manchesters

Gibson flew his first operational sortie in September 1939, days after war was declared. Over the next two years with No. 83 Squadron, he flew Handley Page Hampdens on night operations over Germany, completing his first full tour of thirty operations. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1940.

Rather than rest, Gibson volunteered for a second tour, this time with Fighter Command, flying Bristol Beaufighters on night defence operations with No. 29 Squadron. He shot down three enemy aircraft and was awarded a bar to his DFC.

In 1942, he returned to Bomber Command, taking command of No. 106 Squadron flying Avro Manchesters and shortly afterwards, the new Avro Lancaster. His period commanding 106 Squadron marked him as an exceptional operational leader. He was awarded the DSO in November 1942 and a bar in March 1943, by which point he had completed over 170 operations. By any measure, he had already done more than enough.

617 Squadron and Operation Chastise

In March 1943, Gibson was asked by Air Vice-Marshal Ralph Cochrane whether he would be willing to undertake one more operation, the nature of which could not yet be disclosed. He agreed. Within days, he was forming a new unit, No. 617 Squadron, at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, selecting crews from across Bomber Command on the basis of exceptional ability.

The target, revealed only as training progressed, was the dams of the Ruhr valley. The Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe, which provided water and power to Germany’s industrial heartland. Barnes Wallis had designed a bouncing bomb that could skip across the surface of the reservoir, sink against the dam wall, and detonate at depth. Delivering it required flying at exactly 60 feet, at exactly 232 mph, at exactly 425 yards from the dam face, a precision that pushed crews to the absolute limit of skill and nerve.

On the night of 16-17 May 1943, nineteen Lancasters took off from Scampton. Gibson led the first wave against the Möhne dam himself, then, after the dam had been breached, flew on to the Eder dam to guide subsequent attacks, deliberately drawing flak fire to protect the bombing aircraft. Eight of the nineteen aircraft were lost; 53 of the 133 aircrew who took off did not return. The Möhne and Eder dams were breached. Gibson was awarded the Victoria Cross.

“He was the sort of man who inspired confidence — and who, by his own example, made others believe they could do things they had thought impossible.”

Air Vice-Marshal Ralph Cochrane, AOC 5 Group

Death and Final Operations

After the Dambuster Raid, Gibson was stood down from operations and sent on a publicity tour of the United States and Canada. He wrote his memoir, Enemy Coast Ahead, which was published posthumously. By 1944, increasingly restless, he lobbied to return to operational flying.

On 19 September 1944, Gibson flew a de Havilland Mosquito as a controller aircraft for a raid on Rheydt and Rheinberg. His aircraft failed to return. He was 26 years old. The cause was never definitively established, friendly fire, fuel exhaustion, and enemy action have all been proposed. He is buried in the Roman Catholic cemetery in Steenbergen, the Netherlands.

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