Wing Commander Guy Gibson, Commander of 617 Squadron (Dambuster), With His Crew

Image size: 1600 x 1211 pixel. 538 KB
Date: Thursday, 22 July 1943
Place: Scampton, Lincolnshire, England
Photographer: Unidentified Royal Air Force official photographer

24 year old Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, Commander of 617 Squadron (Dambuster), with members of his crew. Left to right: Wing Commander Guy Gibson, VC, DSO and Bar, DFC and Bar (award for Dambusters Raid: Victoria Cross); Pilot Officer Frederick Michael Spafford, bomb aimer (award for Dambusters Raid: Distinguished Flying Cross); Flight Lieutenant Robert Edward George Hutchinson, wireless operator (award for Dambusters Raid: bar to Distinguished Flying Cross); Pilot Officer Andrew Deering (award for Dambusters Raid: Distinguished Flying Cross) and Flying Officer Torger Harlo Taerum, gunners (award for Dambusters Raid: Distinguished Flying Cross).  Wing Commander Guy Gibson, who led the Royal Air Force's 617 Squadron, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery during the raids - but was tragically killed when his plane was shot down in September 1944, just months before the war ended. Born in India in 12 August 1918, Gibson moved with his family to Cornwall in 1924. He attended St Georges's Prep School in Folkestone, Kent, from the age of eight and later studied at St Edward's School, Oxford. In 1936, Gibson joined the RAF, becoming an Acting Pilot Officer and later a Pilot Officer. He learnt to fly at No 2 Flying Training School at RAF Scopwick in Lincolnshire. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Gibson was a bomber pilot with 83 Squadron, flying the Handley Page Hampden. After completing his first tour of duty, the young pilot volunteered for RAF Fighter Command, avoiding the normal six-month rest from operations at a flying training establishment. He was posted to 29 Squadron, flying Bristol Blenheims in a day fighter and bomber escort role. In April 1942, Gibson was promoted to Wing Commander, aged just 23, and was later posted back to command 106 Squadron RAF Bomber Command. His bravery was apparent from an early age, and he won the Distinguished Flying Cross and later the Distinguished Service Order in recognition of his leadership qualities. In 1943, Gibson was selected to command the RAF's new 617 Squadron, tasked with destroying dams in the German Ruhr Valley, as part of Operation Chastise, later nicknamed 'Dambusters'. To accomplish this, the pilots were provided with bouncing bombs, developed by Barnes Wallis, which had to be dropped from a height of 18m to roll into the dams and explode at a predefined depth. Despite losing 53 men in the mission, the Dambusters raids were ultimately successful and provided a huge propaganda boost to Britain's war effort. Gibson was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1943 in honour of his role in the attacks. After a brief period away from active service, the wartime hero returned to duty in 1944. He was killed during a bombing raid on Rheydt, Germany, when his plane was shot down under mysterious circumstances. It is now believed that Gibson's aircraft may have crashed after being attacked by friendly fire. He left a wife, actress Eve Moore, whom he married in 1940 after meeting her at a party in Coventry. The couple had just bought a family home in London when Gibson was killed. Gibson was remembered by his colleagues as tough, brash and often aloof. When he died, aged 26, he was widely recognised as one of the most experienced bomber pilots in the RAF.

Source:
Imperial War Museums (IWM) TR 1127
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205123900

Sir Arthur Harris Debriefing Guy Gibson's Crew, 617 Squadron, After Dambusters Raid

Image size: 1600 x 1223 pixel. 380 KB
Date: Monday, 17 May 1943
Place: Scampton, Lincolnshire, England
Photographer: F. Bellamy

The aircrew of 617 Squadron Commander (later Wing Commander) Guy Penrose Gibson (August 12, 1918 - September 19, 1944) are debriefed after Operation Chastise, which destroyed the Mohne and Oder Dams in the Ruhr on May 16/17 1943 to disrupt electricity generation for munitions factories. From left to right: Standing are Head of Bomber Command Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Travers Harris (April 13, 1892 - April 5, 1984) and 5 Group Commander Air Vice Marshal Sir Ralph Alexander Cochrane (February 24, 1895 - December 17, 1977) as they observe the debriefing. Seated facing the camera are Intelligence Officer Squadron Leader Townson; Bombardier Pilot Officer Frederick Michael "Spam" Spafford (June 16, 1918 - September 16, 1943) of Wayville, Adelaide, Australia; and Navigator Pilot Officer Torger Harlo "Terry" Taerum (May 22, 1920 - September 16, 1943) Seated with their backs to the camera are, in the foreground, Rear Turret Gunner Flight Lieutenant Richard Algernon Dacre Trevor-Roper (May 19, 1915 - March 31, 1944) of Isle of Wight, England; obscured are Flight Engineer Sergeant John Pulford (???? - February 13, 1944) of Hull, England; Front Turret Gunner Flight Sergeant George Andrew "Tony" Deering (???? - September 16, 1943) of Ireland and Canada; and Wireless Operator Flight Lieutenant Robert Edward Hutchinson (1918 - September 16, 1943) of Liverpool, England. This crew flew an Avro Lancaster B Mark III Special, serial #ED932, marked AJ-G, modified to carry the 9,250-pound (4196-kilogram) Vickers Type 464 spinning bomb codenamed "Upkeep" designed by Sir Barnes Neville Wallis (September 26, 1887 - October 30, 1979). This bomb was rotated as it hung exposed in the bomb bay of the Lancaster, and then dropped from 60 feet (18.2 meters), which was maintained by visually observing two spotlights mounted fore and aft and angled to intersect at that altitude. A simple bombsight of a stick with two nails aligned with the towers of the Mohne Dam for optimal release distance at 400 yards (365 meters). Nineteen of twenty-one Lancasters of 617 Squadron attacked the dams; Gibson's crew took off at 2139 Hours. Gibson later said, "We were flying so low that more than once 'Spam' yelled at me to pull up quickly to avoid high-tension wires and tall trees." Gibson's bomb exploded short of the dam itself at 0028 Hours, but two other Lancasters successfully breeched the Mohne Dam minutes later. Gibson then led the remaining Landcasters against the Eder between 0130 and 0200 Hours, again successfully breeching the dam. However, eight of the nineteen bombers were shot down or caught in the explosions of their own bombs. Due to the low altitude, only three of the downed airmen survived to be taken prisoner. Gibson and 76 other aircrew of 617 Squadron returned to base; 53 were killed. On the ground, 1,650 people were killed in the resultant flooding of the Ruhr Valley; 1,026 were prisoners of war, including 526 Soviet women in the town of Neheim. Unknown numbers of livestock perished, and much viable farmland flooded, which impeded food production the following season. Power generation was restored within a week due to an emergency pumping station, and the war production plants were largely unaffected. For Allied morale, the raid was a great success, and Gibson toured the United States and Canada selling war bonds and making appearances before returning to combat. Gibson won the Victoria Cross, and the crew all received the Distinguished Flying Cross, except for Pulford, who as an enlisted man received the Distinguished Flying Medal. Gibson and his entire crew died during the war, in various combat actions and accidents. He was killed flying a Mosquito over Germany. Four of them died in the same Lancaster when it was lost in action exactly four months later. 

Source:

Imperial War Museum (IWM) CH 9683 

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0032