Description
Physical description
Obverse design: Tudor rose and interlaced RAF cypher within a winged central roundel, surrounded by a laurel wreath and surmounted by a crown. The whole over a cross in the form of aeroplane propellers, the horizontal arms of which are obscured by the roundel's wings, which in turn is superimposed upon the principal cross whose horizontal and lower vertical arms terminate with bomb motifs, the upper vertical arm terminating in a rose.
Reverse design: GRI cypher, ornate and interlaced with date '1918', all within a central roundel, remainder of reverse plain. Inscription engraved on reverse: '1941'.
Suspender: straight bar with laurelled supports.
Bar design: straight bar, raised in the centre, superimposed with a RAF eagle. Inscription engraved on reverse: '1942'.
Ribbon: violet and white diagonal stripes (each 3 mm wide).
History note
Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar awarded to Wing Commander Reginald Patrick Mahoney 'Pat' Gibbs DSO DFC & Bar in September 1941 and June 1942 respectively.
The recommendation for his first DFC, submitted by Wing Commander F J St G Braithwaite of 22 Squadron to the Station Commander of Thorney Island in August 1941, reads as follows:
'This officer has shewn quite exceptional powers of leadership, and to him must be given much of the credit for the present high morale of the Squadron. He has himself completed 27 operations and given evidence of unusual courage and determination, as will be seen by a selection of his operations, which are cited below:
2. On his first operation with the Squadron, he attacked a 2000 ton minelayer which was surrounded by four flak ships. During the attack his aircraft was hit by four pom-pom shells, one exploding in the turret wounding the gunner, one in the navigator's cockpit, one in the pilot's cockpit wounding the navigator who was sitting beside the pilot, and one through the port mainplane. The hydraulics were shot away and the elevator controls severed, and the control column left free to move in a fore and aft direction without affecting the trim of the aircraft. F/Lt. (as he then was) Gibbs succeeded in flying the aircraft back, using the elevator trimming tabs and throttles to control the aeroplane in the fore and aft axis. The weather was very bad, with clouds down to 200 feet and poor visibility on the English coast. Despite the lack of flaps and the state of his aircraft, F/Lt. Gibbs succeeded in landing it safely at Sutton Bridge without further damage, having lowered his undercarriage by means of the emergency cartridge system.
3. On another operation, he was detailed to drop a land mine on Lorient. Owing to the heavy defences and the glare of the searchlights he had considerable difficulty in locating his target, and he made no less than four runs at a height of only 4,000 feet before he succeeded in dropping his TIM in the middle of the target area. During the course of the last run up, his aircraft was hit and the navigator wounded, but this did not deter F/Lt. Gibbs from completing his mission successfully.
4. On November 29th. 1940, he carried out a particularly determined attack on a ship of 8,000 tons sailing in convoy in the Heligoland Bight, and he sank this ship with a torpedo. The sinking of this vessel was subsequently confirmed beyond doubt.
P.S. On the same evening as the last operation cited above, F/Lt. Gibbs was involved in a night flying crash and his injuries prevented him from flying for some months. Since his return to the Squadron he has been promoted, and, as Flight Commander, has set a really inspiring example to everyone.
History note
The London Gazette citation for the Bar to his DFC reads as follows:
'Squadron Leader Reginald Patrick Mahoney GIBBS, D.F.C. (33250), No. 39 Squadron.
Early in June 1942, Squadron Leader Gibbs attacked and sank a large enemy merchant vessel. Some time afterwards this officer participated in an attack on an Italian naval force. Despite opposition from enemy fighters and in the face of defensive fire from the naval vessels, Squadron Leader Gibbs successfully launched his torpedo at the leading warship. He flew his extensively damaged aircraft safely to base where he executed a skilful landing. This officer has at all times displayed great skill and devotion to duty. He has contributed materially to the operational efficiency of his squadron.'
History note
Reginald Patrick Mahoney 'Pat' Gibbs, born 2 April 1915 in Penarth, Wales, was commissioned as an officer in the Royal Air Force in 1936. Following a two year secondment to the Fleet Air Arm and a period as an instructor at the Torpedo Training School at Gosport, from October 1940 Gibbs flew anti-shipping operations with 22 Squadron, Coastal Command, in the North Sea as well as bombing raids on the Biscay ports, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in September 1941 (see OMD 8962). On 27 April 1942, he was posted to 39 Squadron at Sidi Barrani, Egypt, a Bristol Beaufort squadron which was heavily depleted following a disastrous raid on an enemy convoy on 14 April, in which 17 of the squadron's aircrew were reported killed or missing.
Initially given command of 'A' Flight, his first successful strike on a convoy took place on the morning of 4 June, when his Beaufort's torpedo made contact with the Italian 6,847-ton merchant ship 'Reginaldo Trieste', which subsequently sunk. On 15 June, the squadron was detailed to attack the Italian fleet as part of Operation Julius, which sought to relieve the island of Malta via two convoys sailing from Gibraltar and Alexandria. The squadron were attacked by Bf 109s en route to their target, with two Beauforts being shot down and five more having to turn back owing to damage. Gibbs and the four remaining Beauforts carried on, and attacked the Italian fleet when they located it 250 miles east of Malta. Gibbs sustained damage from heavy anti-aircraft fire during his torpedo strike, and was forced to crash-land on Malta. For his role in both strikes, Gibbs was awarded a Bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross (see OMD 8962).
From 22 June 1942, Gibbs led a detachment of five 39 Squadron Beauforts from Malta, having realised that this would put them in closer range to Axis shipping lanes. Operating with Beauforts from 217 Squadron, this composite unit delivered several successful strikes against enemy shipping from late June and into July. On 21 July, Gibbs was promoted to Wing Commander and given temporary command of all Beauforts on Malta, which operated from Luqa aerodrome and now included additional Beauforts from 86 Squadron. Gibbs continued to lead several successful strikes on enemy shipping from Malta into August, flying his final operation on 30 August when he sunk the Italian oil tanker 'San Andrea'.
The attacks that Gibbs led and was involved in from June to August 1942 were incredibly dangerous as they were typically carried out from a very low level while under heavy anti-aircraft fire and/or enemy fighter attacks. As a result, 39 Squadron lost several crews and aircraft, while Gibbs himself was forced to crash-land twice. The mental strain from the constant danger he experienced, as well as losing many men under his command, saw Gibbs relieved from flying duties and rested from 11 September 1942. On 18 September 1942, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (see OMD 8963). After working a desk job at the Air Ministry, he was invalided out of the RAF on medical grounds in February 1944.
After the war, Gibbs became a film and theatre critic for the Daily Telegraph. He wrote two memoirs of his Second World War service: 'Not Peace, But a Sword' (1943) and 'Torpedo Leader' (1992), of which there are copies of both in the IWM library.