Bobby Gibbes

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For persons of a similar name, see Robert Gibbs (disambiguation).

Bobby Gibbes
Wing Commander
UnitNo. 23 Squadron (1940)
No. 450 Squadron (1941)
No. 2 OTU (1944)
No. 80 Wing (1944–1945)
Commands heldNo. 3 Squadron (1942–1943)
Battles/warsWorld War II
Awards
Medal of the Order of Australia
Other workBusinessman

Robert Henry Maxwell Gibbes,

North Africa
from February 1942 to April 1943, apart from a brief period when he was wounded.

Born in rural

Medal of the Order of Australia
in 2004. He continued to fly until the age of 85.

Family and early career

The only son of Henry and Cora Gibbes, Robert Henry Maxwell (Bobby) Gibbes was born on 6 May 1916 in

jackaroo.[6][7]

Gibbes was working as a salesman when he joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) on 2 February 1940.[8][9] He exaggerated his height, which was below the minimum requirement, to gain entrance.[6] In a 1990 interview, he related that he had undertaken flying lessons at his own expense before enlisting, but "when war was declared, I thought I'd wait for King George to pay for the rest".[7] He further recalled that he applied to join the Royal Australian Navy at the same time, but was still waiting for a response.[10] After completing flying training at Mascot and Richmond, New South Wales, and Point Cook, Victoria, Gibbes was commissioned a pilot officer on 28 June 1940.[8][11] His initial posting was to No. 23 Squadron, which operated CAC Wirraways and Lockheed Hudsons out of Archerfield, Queensland.[12][13] He was promoted to flying officer on 26 December 1940.[11]

Two of Gibbes' cousins—both born in 1915 and, like Bobby, only sons—were also pilots in the RAAF.

Malayan Campaign.[1][16][17] Rodney died in action over Italy on 16 May 1943.[18]

Combat service

Middle East

Informal high-angled portrait of fourteen men in light-coloured military shorts and shirts, with a dog in the foreground
Gibbes (front, left) with fellow pilots in the Middle East including John Jackson (back, left), June 1941; the next month, the two men shared an aerial victory whose credit went to Gibbes on the toss of a coin.

In April 1941, Gibbes was posted to the Middle East as

Fiat G.50s and damaged three more, as well as a Messerschmitt Bf 109. Five days later he destroyed a G.50 over Tobruk.[25] On 22 January 1942, he brought down a Junkers Ju 87 and damaged two G.50s.[8][23] He was promoted to acting flight lieutenant the same month.[2]

Raised to acting

Macchi C.202) during the siege of Tobruk on 7 May.[8][27] On 26 May, he was shot down while leading an attack on a heavily escorted force of Luftwaffe bombers near El Adem. After firing at and probably destroying a Bf 109, Gibbes was hit by fire from a Ju 88 and had to bail out. Part of his parachute became entangled with the tailplane of his stricken aircraft and he struggled to escape.[8][28] He broke his ankle in the landing but within six weeks was flying again, his leg still in a cast.[12][29] Due to his enforced absence, fellow ace Nicky Barr was given command of No. 3 Squadron until he himself was shot down and taken prisoner on 26 June, at which point Gibbes again took charge of the unit.[11][28] Barr later said that although Gibbes was not a brilliant shot, he had the keenest eyesight of any pilot he knew when it came to locating enemy aircraft and alerting his fellows for the attack.[30] Another No. 3 Squadron pilot, Tom Russell, agreed that Gibbes was particularly adept at finding targets, and said that "if we got scattered in a dogfight he had the uncanny ability to get us back into formation in a very short space of time".[31]

Informal head-and-shoulders portrait of grinning man in peaked cap surrounded by four others
Squadron Leader Gibbes as commanding officer of No. 3 Squadron, North Africa, shortly after being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in July 1942

Gibbes was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on 28 July 1942 for his actions on 26 May, the citation noting his "exceptional skill and gallantry".[32] On 1 September, he destroyed a Bf 109 and damaged two others during the Battle of Alam el Halfa, east of El Alamein.[23][33] He claimed No. 3 Squadron's 200th victim, a Bf 109F, during the Battle of El Alamein on 28 October.[34][35] Air Marshal Sir Peter Drummond, Deputy Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Middle East, sent him a signal reading "Heartiest congratulations to you and all ranks in the squadron on the achievement of your double century—not out."[36] Around this time Gibbes also managed to fly Bf 109F and G fighters captured from the Germans, and came away impressed.[12][20] He was credited with another Bf 109 on 17 November.[23] On 21 December, he landed his Kittyhawk in rugged terrain near Hun, Libya, to rescue a fellow pilot who had been forced down. Gibbes threw out his own parachute to make room in the cockpit for his passenger and lost part of his undercarriage taking off, necessitating a one-wheeled landing back at base.[37][38] Recommended for the Victoria Cross for this action, he was instead awarded the Distinguished Service Order, which was promulgated on 15 January 1943 and cited his "outstanding qualities of leadership and enthusiasm".[29][39] Gibbes crash landed behind enemy lines on 14 January 1943, walking 50 miles (80 km) in the desert before being picked up by a British Army patrol.[37][40] He was awarded a bar to his DFC for this feat, and for his "exceptional leadership, skill and courage, contributing in a large measure to the success of the squadron he commands".[41] The award made him the most highly decorated pilot in the RAAF.[1]

On 22 January 1943, Gibbes claimed his last kill, a C.202.[23] He was officially credited with 10¼ victories,[42][43] also reported as a score of 12, including 2 shared.[6][12][40][44] He was further credited with 5 "probables", and another 16 damaged.[12][44] During his tour of duty in the Middle East, he flew 274 sorties and became No. 3 Squadron's longest-serving wartime commanding officer.[6][20] Squadron member Bob Smith recalled him as lacking somewhat in administrative ability, but an "Errol Flynn" in the air.[45] Gibbes, for his part, later admitted to being in "an absolute state of terror" before missions, only to "sort of become mechanical" once the shooting started.[46] He described his post-combat feelings thus:[47]

Man becomes animal when he thinks he is about to die. As you fly back to your base, now safe at last, a feeling of light-hearted exuberance comes over you. It is wonderful to still be alive and it is, I think, merely the after-effect of violent, terrible fear.

South West Pacific

Two men sitting in and beside the cockpit, and another sitting astride the nose, of a military aircraft
Ground crew service Gibbes's Spitfire "Grey Nurse" on Morotai, Dutch East Indies, in 1945

Gibbes handed over command of No. 3 Squadron to Squadron Leader

wing commander on 1 July. In October he was posted to Darwin in the Northern Territory, flying Supermarine Spitfires as wing leader of No. 80 Wing.[11][51] The role made him deputy to Group Captain Caldwell, the wing's commanding officer.[51] Gibbes later suffered burns in a crash landing following engine failure.[40] In December he met, in his own words, "a little dark-haired popsy" named Jeannine Ince, a volunteer with the Red Cross who had nursed him in hospital.[6][29] They married on 23 January 1945.[2]

No. 80 Wing had begun transferring to the

Air Officer Commanding No. 1 TAF, Air Commodore Harry Cobby, himself shortly to be dismissed over the "mutiny", restored Gibbes to squadron leader effective 23 April.[56][57]

Post-war career and later life

Informal full-length portrait of woman in skirt and blouse and man in light-coloured military uniform standing on steps in front of a building
Wing Commander Gibbes with wife Jean in Darwin, 1945

In July 1945, Gibbes was assigned to the staff of RAAF Headquarters, Melbourne.[11] Following his discharge from the Air Force on 11 January 1946, he was initially employed as a stock and station agent in Coonamble, New South Wales.[9][58] He flew a Butler Bat twin-engined aircraft to facilitate his work, reportedly the only New South Welshman in his profession to do so at the time.[59] Gibbes spent much of the next 30 years in New Guinea, pioneering the island's transport, coffee and hospitality industries. In January 1948, he formed Gibbes Sepik Airways using, among other types, three German Junkers Ju 52s, one of which was said to have been the personal transport of senior Luftwaffe commander Albert Kesselring.[20][58] He was joined briefly in this venture, headquartered at Wewak, by Nicky Barr.[60] Gibbes also established a tea and coffee plantation at Mount Hagen, New Guinea, in 1950, and served as a member of the RAAF Active Reserve, based in Townsville, Queensland, from 1952 until 1957.[40][61] In 1958, he sold his share in Gibbes Sepik Airways to Mandated Airlines, which was later bought out by Ansett Australia. He continued to develop coffee plantations in New Guinea, and built a large chain of hotels beginning with the Bird of Paradise in Goroka.[6][29]

Gibbes sold his interests in New Guinea in 1972.

Grey Nurse" livery of one of Gibbes' World War II aircraft overflew the church, along with four F/A-18 Hornet jet fighters from No. 3 Squadron in a "missing man" formation.[40][64]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e "The "Fighting Gibbes" of the RAAF". Daily News. Perth: National Library of Australia. 30 July 1943. p. 5. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Chisholm, Who's Who in Australia 1947, p. 361
  3. ^ Humpherson, Andrew (3 June 2004). "Tribute to Mr Bobby Gibbes". Hansard & Papers. Parliament of NSW. Archived from the original on 12 February 2006. Retrieved 20 October 2007.
  4. ^ a b Dulhunty, Beryl (1959). "The Dulhunty Papers: Chronicle of a Family". Archived from the original on 28 August 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2007.
  5. ^ Gibbes; Stokes, "Gibbes, Robert Henry Maxwell 'Bobby'", p. 5
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Carman, Gerry (14 April 2007). "Air ace was born to fly: Bobby Gibbes 1916–2007". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  7. ^ a b Gibbes; Stokes, "Gibbes, Robert Henry Maxwell 'Bobby'", p. 3
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Garrisson, Australian Fighter Aces, p. 133
  9. ^ a b "Gibbes, Robert Henry Maxwell". World War 2 Nominal Roll. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  10. ^ Gibbes; Stokes, "Gibbes, Robert Henry Maxwell 'Bobby'", pp. 3–4
  11. ^ a b c d e f g "Wing Commander Robert Henry Maxwell (Bobby) Gibbes, DSO, DFC and bar". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Newton, Australian Air Aces, p. 87
  13. ^ RAAF Historical Section, Bomber Units, pp. 69–70
  14. ^ a b "Gibbes, Augustus Rodney". World War 2 Nominal Roll. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  15. ^ a b "Gibbes, Peter John". World War 2 Nominal Roll. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  16. ^ "No. 34945". The London Gazette. 13 September 1940. p. 5488.
  17. ^ "No. 35837". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1942. p. 5638.
  18. ^ "Augustus Rodney Gibbes". Roll of Honour. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 18 September 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  19. ^ Gibbes; Stokes, "Gibbes, Robert Henry Maxwell 'Bobby'", p. 7
  20. ^ a b c d e "Wing Commander Bobby Gibbes". The Times. London. 1 May 2007. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  21. ^ Thomas, Tomahawk and Kittyhawk Aces, p. 8
  22. ^ Thomas, Tomahawk and Kittyhawk Aces, p. 9
  23. ^ a b c d e Shores; Williams, Aces High, p. 161
  24. ^ Shores; Ring, Fighters Over the Desert, pp. 63–64
  25. ^ Thomas, Tomahawk and Kittyhawk Aces, p. 18
  26. ^ "Wing-Commander Robert Gibbes". The Scotsman. 18 April 2007. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  27. ^ Thomas, Tomahawk and Kittyhawk Aces, pp. 31–32
  28. ^ a b Herington, Air War Against Germany and Italy, pp. 231, 244
  29. ^ a b c d e f g "Wg Cdr Bobby Gibbes". The Telegraph. London. 25 April 2007. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  30. ^ Barr; Stokes, "Barr, Andrew William 'Nicky'", pp. 15–16
  31. ^ Russell; Stokes, "Russell, Thomas Leslie", p. 17
  32. ^ "No. 35646". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 July 1942. p. 3302.
  33. ^ Shores; Ring, Fighters Over the Desert, p. 169
  34. ^ Thomas, Tomahawk and Kittyhawk Aces, p. 43
  35. ^ Shores; Ring, Fighters Over the Desert, p. 197
  36. ^ "Double century—not out". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 2 November 1942. p. 12. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  37. ^ a b Wilson, The Brotherhood of Airmen, pp. 88–89
  38. ^ a b Thomas, Tomahawk and Kittyhawk Aces, p. 45
  39. ^ "No. 35864". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 January 1943. p. 330.
  40. ^ a b c d e f Stackpool, Andrew (3 May 2007). "WWII ace farewelled". Air Force News. Archived from the original on 14 September 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  41. ^ "No. 36027". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 May 1943. p. 2319.
  42. ^ Odgers, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 125
  43. ^ Dornan, Nicky Barr, pp. 279–280
  44. ^ a b Thomas, Tomahawk and Kittyhawk Aces, p. 102
  45. ^ Smith; Stokes, "Smith, Robert Bruce 'Bob'", p. 12
  46. ^ Gibbes; Stokes, "Gibbes, Robert Henry Maxwell 'Bobby'", p. 15
  47. ^ Gibbes, Bobby. "Bobby Gibbes writes on fear". 3 Sqn Association. Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  48. ^ RAAF Historical Section, Fighter Units, p. 7
  49. ^ Gibbes; Stokes, "Gibbes, Robert Henry Maxwell 'Bobby'", pp. 40–41
  50. ^ Alexander, Clive Caldwell, pp. 139, 158
  51. ^ a b Alexander, Clive Caldwell, pp. 166, 272
  52. ^ Alexander, Clive Caldwell, pp. 166–168, 178
  53. ^ a b Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 123–124
  54. ^ Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 443–445
  55. ^ Alexander, Kristen (1 September 2004). ""Cleaning the Augean stables". The Morotai Mutiny?". Sabretache. Military Historical Society of Australia. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  56. ^ Alexander, Clive Caldwell, pp. 202–203, 212
  57. ^ "R. H. Gibbes reduced in rank to squadron leader". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 1 June 1945. p. 1. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  58. ^ a b c d e Turner, The RAAF at War, p. 162
  59. ^ "Bobby Gibbes in air with job". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, New South Wales: National Library of Australia. 17 September 1946. p. 7. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  60. ^ Dornan, Nicky Barr, p. 273
  61. ^ Alexander, Who's Who in Australia 1955, p. 308
  62. ^ "The Quiet Man". Australian Story. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 April 2002. Archived from the original on 17 August 2002. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  63. ^ "Gibbes, Robert Henry: Medal of the Order of Australia". It's an Honour. 26 January 2004. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  64. ^ "WWII veteran Bobby Gibbes farewelled by Spitfire". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 17 April 2007. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2013.

References

Further reading

  • Gibbes, R. H. (1994). You Live But Once. Collaroy, New South Wales: Self-published.

External links
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