title: Guy Gibson

text: Following her return from India, Gibson's mother developed 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: From an early age Gibson wanted to fly. He had 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 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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 6 Flying Training School, RAF Netheravon. He was awarded his pilot's wings on 24 May 1937.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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".


title: Guy Gibson

text: In March 1938, the squadron 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 was then sent on convalescent leave, returning to the squadron in late January.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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 a plane at night.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: In February 1940, Gibson 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 the squadron up to a satisfactory standard. The squadron then underwent a period of intensive training.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: As was usual practice, to give pilots a rest from operations, Gibson was posted as 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 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".


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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, but flew from a small satellite field at RAF Wellingore about six miles away. The officers' mess 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 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 airborne interception (AI) was still in its very early days of development. Also, Widdows was required to split the squadron up with 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 procedure. He found 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 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: In April, Widdows obtained a transfer for the squadron from 12 to 11 Group and 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 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 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 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 a Bar to his DFC.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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 was posted from No. 51 OTU and sent on leave until April, which he spent in south Wales.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 the four-engined Avro Lancaster, equipped with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines as soon as they became available.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: April 1942 was a good month for the squadron. They flew on eighteen nights, six consecutively and 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: As a commander, Gibson's main concern was to be seen to share the risk. He continued to show unremitting aggression with 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 the persecution of some crews and their members.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson's exercise of summary discipline tended towards constructive tasks aimed at improving 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 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 or ground crews. A little man, he 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."


title: Guy Gibson

text: On 11 May, he was hospitalised at RAF Rauceby. The exact reason is unknown, but suggestions include 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 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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 Mohling raid to the Krupps in Essen on 18 July. It was known as a difficult and dangerous target at night and they were relieved to be recalled when near Vlissingen. They jettisoned their bombs over the sea before returning.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson quickly formed 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 the month they started to attack Italian targets including Genoa, Milan and Turin. In November 1942 Gibson was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: After 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: On 18 March 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 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: A circular was sent by 5 Group to all its squadrons, asking them to provide 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Squadron Leaders Maudslay and Young were appointed as his flight commanders. The selection of Young resulted in 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, 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson was strict in screening the crews during training. That not all 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: On 24 March Gibson travelled to Burhill near Weybridge for his first meeting with Barnes Wallis. Wallis discovered Gibson had not been cleared for 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 a mine.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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 and 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 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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 . On 24 April Wallis made a request for the altitude to be reduced to . Gibson reported on 27 April that it was possible and the training was adapted accordingly.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson 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 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.


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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 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 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 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 the raid. Gibson took Whitworth with him and described the outcome in his log book as "completely successful".


title: Guy Gibson

text: 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, 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 the dog was the squadron's mascot. Wallis feared it was a dreadful omen.


title: Guy Gibson

text: The first thing Gibson did early on the morning of 16 May was to report to the Medical Officer because of pains in his feet. The MO had previously diagnosed gout but he could not prescribe painkillers as these might affect Gibson's alertness when flying. As Gibson felt he had no choice but to fly, he decided to continue as he was. The first briefing was at midday when Gibson and Wallis explained the details of the raid to the pilots and navigators. The next one was at 14:30 and included the bomb aimers and gunners. At 18:00 all the aircrew were called to a final briefing in the upper briefing room, which was guarded.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson explained how they were going "to attack the great dams of Germany". He then introduced Wallis who explained how Upkeep would be used against the dams. Cochrane then spoke and emphasised how they would do "a tremendous amount of damage" but their exploits would remain secret. Gibson explained the operational details again and made it clear no crews were to return with their mine. He handed over to Wing Commander Dunn who explained the signals procedures. The meeting broke up and the crews went for their meal at 19:30.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson was driven out to his aircraft AJ-G by his regular driver, Eileen Strawson. Cochrane came out to Gibson's aircraft to wish him well. A photo was taken of the crew entering the aircraft beforehand. Gibson took off at 21:39 with Hopgood and Martin. They flew out over Skegness and Cromer. The winds were stronger than forecast, as a result they made landfall later and further south than expected. Gibson had the route adjusted to Roosendaal and they flew on unopposed to the Rhine. Again they were too far south, about from the expected landmark and received flak from barges on the river and batteries on the banks. They had similar navigation problems until they reached the target. They found the defences at the Möhne Dam as described at the briefing. There was an active light flak battery but no searchlights or barrage balloons.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson made a dummy run over the dam to look the target over and reported how he "liked the look of it". The second formation of three led by Young arrived at this point. Gibson made his bombing run but the bomb was released short and did not damage the dam. It took about five minutes for the water to settle down after the explosion. He then called in Hopgood to make his attack. He watched as Hopgood's aircraft was hit by flak, caught fire and then exploded. Hopgood's crew had managed to release their bomb but it overshot and destroyed an electrical station below the dam. Gibson waited again for the water to settle. He then called in Martin to make his attack but this time decided to fly with him, parallel and slightly ahead, to draw off the flak. Martin's mine did not damage the dam. Gibson called in Young and Martin flew alongside him, whilst Gibson flew along another evasive path. It was not obvious until Maltby started the next bombing run that Young's mine had breached the dam. At 00:56, Hutchinson sent the code word "N I G G E R" (sic), the name of Gibson's recently killed dog, to signal the breach to HQ 5 Group and then confirmed it on their request. Martin and Maltby departed for home.


title: Guy Gibson

text: After breaching the Möhne dam, Gibson flew with Young as his deputy and the remaining aircraft that still had their mines, to the Eder See. Shannon had arrived with Young while Maudslay and Knight had arrived while Hopgood had been preparing for his bombing run. The flight to the Eder See lasted about 14 minutes. They did not fly in formation and did not encounter any opposition. The dam was difficult to find and there was early morning mist starting to gather over the water. Shannon arrived too far west and found the Rehbuch dam. Gibson's aircraft fired red Very lights to help him find the others. Although the dam's defences consisted of only two sentries with rifles, it was still a difficult target owing to the approach. Shannon flew three dummy runs and then Maudsley flew two. Shannon flew two more dummy runs before finally releasing his bomb, which did not breach the dam. When Maudslay released his bomb it hit a parapet and his plane appeared to get caught in the explosion. However, there were messages from the aircraft and it is possible that it survived this and crash-landed later. Gibson called in Astell but did not seem to realise he was not present. He then called in Knight, who made a single dummy run before releasing his bomb. It breached the dam. At 01:54, Hutchinson signalled the breach and then confirmed it.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson returned via the Möhne dam and the third exit route. At 02:10, he received an enquiry from HQ 5 Group, asking whether any crews were available to attack the Sorpe. He replied that there were not. He had an uneventful flight home and landed at 04:15 with just three small holes in his aircraft's tail. He attended a debriefing and like all the pilots who returned from this raid, he had to complete a special questionnaire about the target and behaviour of the weapon. The pilots were invited to make additional comments. Gibson's comments included how VHF had proved a "perfect" method to control the raid.


title: Guy Gibson

text: One of Gibson's first tasks after his own debriefing was to deal with the early returns. He accepted that Munro's aircraft had sustained significant damage and Rice's mine had fallen off. Gibson was furious with Anderson because he returned with his bomb, despite the instructions at the briefing. The crew were posted off the squadron with immediate effect, although the squadron's official records show they left in early June. At 08:30 he received a lengthy message from Cochrane thanking him for his efforts in making the raid a success.


title: Guy Gibson

text: On 27 May the King and Queen visited Scampton. There was lunch in the officers' mess followed by an inspection of the squadron. Gibson showed the King models and photos of the dams. The King chose the motto for the new squadron 'Apres Moi Le Deluge'. On 28 May Archibald Sinclair, the Secretary of State for Air visited Scampton. Gibson then went on a fortnight's leave to Cornwall where he spent most of his time fishing.


title: Guy Gibson

text: As the full extent of the losses – eight aircraft and 56 crew – became apparent, Wallis became distraught at the human cost. Humphreys and Hevron started the task of informing the next of kin. A party was organised at RAF Woodhall Spa on the evening of 17 May and Gibson attended but he made sure a beer was sent to Humphreys with his compliments. It took three days to complete the telegrams and follow-up letters. Gibson continued his usual practice of adding personal comments to letters where possible.


title: Guy Gibson

text: On 18 May, there was a parade where Cochrane and Gibson made speeches to the squadron members. He then released the air crews from duty on seven days' leave and half the ground crew on three days' leave. Gibson went on weekend leave to Penarth. On the Sunday he received a call from Harris to inform him he had been awarded the Victoria Cross (VC). His response was subdued as he felt responsible for those he had recruited and who had not returned, particularly Hopgood. He was reported as saying: "It all seems so unfair".


title: Guy Gibson

text: On 22 June, Gibson and all the other newly decorated members of 617 Squadron attended an investiture at Buckingham Palace. It was performed by the Queen as the King was in North Africa. She presented Gibson with his VC and the Bar to his DSO first, and in making him the most highly decorated serviceman in the country. After the investitures all the crews went on to the Hungaria Restaurant to a dinner arranged by AV Roe, the builders of the Lancaster. Gibson was presented with a silver model of a Lancaster by the company's chairman, Thomas Sopwith. Also at the dinner were Roy Chadwick, the designer of the Lancaster, and Wallis.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Harris made arrangements to ensure Gibson was rested from operations and on 24 July he and his wife were invited to lunch at Chequers as guests of the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. Here Gibson was shown a film smuggled out of Germany about the concentration camps. On 2 August, Gibson made his last flight with 617 Squadron. He flew with his regular crew and his successor, Wing Commander George Holden, to Eyebrook Reservoir to familiarise him with the technique to release Upkeep.


title: Guy Gibson

text: On 3 August Gibson travelled to London to join the party accompanying the Prime Minister to the Quadrant Conference in Quebec City, Canada. Around midnight they were taken by a special train to Faslane where they boarded the "Queen Mary", setting sail around 17:30 on 4 August.


title: Guy Gibson

text: The party included some of the most senior military figures such as Lord Louis Mountbatten, Chief of Combined Operations and Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, Chief of the Air Staff. Gibson was therefore an outsider, like fellow passenger, Brigadier Orde Wingate, the Chindits leader. However, unlike Wingate, he seems to have found it easier to enter into shipboard life. Mary Churchill, who was travelling as her father's aide-de-camp, found Gibson "had all the aura of a hero" and also "very agreeable and debonair to talk to". On the last evening of the voyage, on 8 August, after dinner, Gibson was invited to address the whole party on the Dams Raid.


title: Guy Gibson

text: On 9 August they arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and were transferred by special trains to Quebec. A certain amount of disinformation circulated around their arrival including how Gibson had acted as the pilot on the aircraft that had flown Churchill across the Atlantic. They arrived at a time of significant tension between the British and Canadian governments. The Canadians were unhappy with the relative lack of credit being granted to the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) contribution to the war effort. On 11 August, Gibson attended a select luncheon with the Prime Minister, where he was introduced to the Canadian Prime Minister, Mackenzie King. He spent the rest of the afternoon at an RCAF recruiting centre.


title: Guy Gibson

text: On 12 August Gibson attended a Press Conference arranged in his honour. It was hosted by C.G. Power, the Canadian Minister of National Defence for Air and attended by hundreds of journalists from around the world. Gibson responded to questions about the Dams Raid and revealed the Prime Minister called him "Dam-buster". Reports of the conference were enthusiastic. He attended engagements in the Quebec area. On 17 August, President Franklin D. Roosevelt arrived at the Conference. Churchill arranged for Gibson to meet the President at a private meeting.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson left Quebec on 20 August to start the Canadian leg of his tour. It was a punishing schedule and included civic receptions and speeches, motorcades, interviews, broadcasts, along with travel. He went to Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and London (Ontario). As Churchill was in New York, on 5 September, Gibson was diverted there to make a radio broadcast which was heard on station WJZ New York. In Winnipeg he met the family of Harvey Glinz, who had been killed on the Dams Raid when flying as the front-gunner in Barlow's crew. He then went on to training bases at Carberry, Rivers, Dafoe, Moose Jaw and Moss Bank.


title: Guy Gibson

text: On 11 September he arrived in Calgary. Here he met the mother of the navigator in his own Dams Raid crew, Mrs Taerum. He spent time with her at home the following day. He also met Leading Aircraftman Robert Young, the younger brother of Squadron Leader Young, also killed on the Dams raid. He continued on to Vancouver and Victoria before returning to Montreal and Ottawa in the east. He had a week's rest at the Seignory Club in Ottawa from 28 September to 3 October.


title: Guy Gibson

text: On 4 October he began the United States leg of his tour in Washington, D.C. He attended a major Press Conference at the offices of the British Information Service in New York on 7 October. This was "at a time when the first American airmen were coming home 'tour expired' after 25 operations. During questions one young lady asked, 'Wing Commander Gibson, how many operations have you been on over Germany?' He replied, 'One hundred and seventy-four.' There was a stunned silence".


title: Guy Gibson

text: On 19 October, Gibson was invested with the Commander's Insignia to the Legion of Merit by General Henry H. Arnold at Bolling Field near Washington D.C. The decision to award him with the Legion of Merit was taken quickly. It was also exceptional. To avoid duplication American awards were, in general, not accepted for actions which had already earned a British medal. This allowed them to be restricted to cases where Americans wished to express particular gratitude. For example, they were often given for the air/sea rescue of American personnel. The award was announced formally in Britain in December 1943.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson continued on to Chicago, Minneapolis and then to Los Angeles, where he stayed with the film director Howard Hawks. Most his time was spent in private, his reward for his gruelling tour. However, it is possible he might have been giving technical advice on a proposed film of the Dams Raid. Hawks had commissioned Roald Dahl to write a script for the film and had started to build models of the dams and Lancaster bombers. He was encouraged by Bomber Command's PR Department. However, when Wallis was shown the script, he thought it absurd, and the project was scrapped.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson returned to Montreal and flew back to Britain in a B-24 Liberator being ferried across the Atlantic. He landed at Prestwick on 1 December and was met by a representative from the Ministry of Intelligence. On his return he was exhausted, but still went straight from home in London to Scampton to visit 617 Squadron. When he arrived he was informed that they had moved to Coningsby, and was driven over. He visited HQ 5 Group in an attempt to obtain an operational posting, but was declared non-operational sick and sent on a month's rest leave. At the end of his leave he was due to be posted to the Directorate of Accidents with the order to write a book. During this time he was hospitalised with Vincent's Angina on 17 December.


title: Guy Gibson

text: The view emerged that as a result of the tour he had acquired and retained an increased sense of his own importance. In July 1944 Harris wrote to Cochrane to comment that the Americans had "spoiled young Gibson". Therefore, this route was not pursued again later in the war with other highly decorated airmen, such as Leonard Cheshire.


title: Guy Gibson

text: In January 1944, Gibson was posted to the Directorate for the Prevention of Accidents, where he appears to have been under orders to write a book. This posting was effectively a cover to give him the time and access to the resources he needed to complete it. It is possible either the Ministry of Intelligence or the RAF's publicity department wanted him to complete a book in order to counter the increasing criticisms of the Strategic Air Offensive.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson was seated in a small back room and had access to a dictaphone and typist. He did not seem to take well to his assignment initially; when Heveron travelled from Scampton to deliver some information about 617 Squadron, he found Gibson depressed and with long hair.


title: Guy Gibson

text: However, Gibson did seem to become increasingly enthusiastic about writing, and his wife remembered his writing at home during weekends while he was at Staff College during March–May 1944. The typescript survives of a draft Gibson submitted in summer 1944, which his wife later donated to the RAF Museum at Hendon. The writing style has Gibson's characteristic style of comments and humour, implying that the book was not ghost-written, as some have suggested. The typescript includes corrections in his own hand, which may suggest he had the help of a professional editor while he was writing. The text was passed by the censors, who edited out some of his more intolerant political and social views as well as operational information. He completed his final draft in September 1944.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Garfield Weston, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Macclesfield, was due to retire and was looking for a replacement. In February 1944 he approached Gibson to suggest he consider standing for Parliament. Gibson agreed, but first he had to be selected by the local party. Gibson made visits to Macclesfield to campaign for selection. On one occasion he shared a platform with Lord Vansittart, who gave his name – Vansittartism – to a form of collective German guilt for the war. A short-list of candidates was drawn up, which also included Air Vice Marshal Don Bennett. Gibson was selected by a narrow margin and became the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for the constituency. Despite the constituency party's having taken him on knowing his circumstances as a serving officer, Gibson resigned as their candidate in August 1944 citing the demands of his service career.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson attended a staff course at the RAF Staff College at Bulstrode Park near Gerrards Cross from the end of March to May 1944. He then went on leave. During the last week, he became very restless as he learned about the D-Day landings. He feared the war would end before he could get back into the action. On his return, he appealed straight to Harris. Four days later, he was appointed as a staff officer at No. 55 Base, RAF East Kirkby to understudy to the Base Air Staff Officer (BASO). Duties included operational planning and liaison between the units within the Base.


title: Guy Gibson

text: On 5 July, he flew in a Lancaster for the first time since leaving No. 617 Squadron. It was a test flight and the crew commented that he handled it well considering how long it had been since he had last flown. On 19 July he joined a Lancaster crew, possibly from No. 630 Squadron, located at East Kirkby, during an attack on a V-1 flying bomb launch site at Criel-sur-Mer in France. He pasted an aiming point photo from the operation in his log book.


title: Guy Gibson

text: On 2 August, he was posted to No. 54 Base, RAF Coningsby, where he arrived on the 4th. Coningsby was a centre for tactical innovation and home of the elite No. 54 Base Flight. Here he was exposed to intelligence that increased his concern that the war would end without him getting back into the action. At this stage, he may have had Cochrane's consent for limited operational flying, provided it was non-participatory, short time over target and he could bail out over Allied-controlled territory.


title: Guy Gibson

text: On 15 August, he flew in a Lightning as an observer on a daylight raid over Deelen in the Netherlands. He made a similar flight in a Lightning a few days later to Le Havre. On 2 September, he flew a Mosquito to Scasta in Shetland.


title: Guy Gibson

text: On 19 September, an order came through from Bomber Command for No. 5 Group to prepare for an attack on Bremen. Planes from No. 5 Group would be responsible for all aspects of the operation, including target illumination and marking and control of the raid. Cochrane, the AOC, would be responsible for tactics and route planning. As the day progressed, the weather forecast changed, and at 16:45 an order came through to change to the reserve targets at Rheydt and Moenchen-Gladbach.


title: Guy Gibson

text: At the flight planning conference it was decided that three areas would be attacked simultaneously; they were designated as red, green and yellow. The red area was Rheydt town centre, where the attack would be fully controlled by a master bomber who would monitor the marking and coordinate the main force bombing. The tactics – dispersed marking – were untried and unrehearsed, and therefore would require expertise from the controller and markers. The announcement that Gibson would be the controller was met with general incredulity. It was assumed it would be regular controller from No. 54 Base Flight or a qualified one from No. 627 Squadron. Some suspicion started to circulate that the proposed complexity may have come from Gibson and his lack of experience in marking techniques.


title: Guy Gibson

text: As Gibson did not have a regular navigator, one had to be found to fly with him. The first choice was ill, so Squadron Leader Jim Warwick was selected. He was the Station Navigation Officer and therefore screened from operations. There was also no serviceable Mosquito available at Coningsby for Gibson to use, so it was decided to use the reserve aircraft of No. 627 Squadron, located at RAF Woodhall Spa. Gibson and Warwick were driven over. When they arrived about 18:30, for unknown reasons, Gibson rejected the reserve aircraft "KB213" and insisted on using the Mosquito B.XX "KB267" instead. The crew who were expecting to fly in "KB267" were unhappy with the change. As the two crews were performing different functions, the bomb loads had to be swapped. They took off at 19:51.


title: Guy Gibson

text: When they arrived at the target, the marking of the red area went badly wrong owing to a series of mishaps. The three markers could not identify the marking point and one aircraft had engine problems. Gibson attempted to mark it himself but his Target Indicators (TIs) did not release. As the illumination from the flares was fading, he called for more flares and warned the red section of the main force not to bomb. He then commanded them to stand by, so they started to turn away from the target. This was potentially dangerous and exposed them to further risk from flak and night fighters. Some started to bomb the green area, either out of confusion or nervousness. He then authorised the remaining aircraft to bomb the green area. The red area was eventually marked, but it was too late to direct any of the main force's aircraft to attack it. The raid concluded at 21:58. The time of Gibson's departure from the target is unknown. It is possible that he loitered in a wide, high orbit to assess the outcome and left around 22:00. One crew from No. 61 Squadron claimed they heard him say he had a damaged engine.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson's aircraft crashed at Steenbergen in the Netherlands at around 22:30. Witnesses heard an aircraft flying low, saw that its cockpit was illuminated and then it crashed. At first, Gibson's failure to return to Woodhall Spa was not considered out of the ordinary, as it was assumed he had landed at Coningsby. Likewise at Coningsby there was no immediate concern as there was fog and it was assumed he would have landed elsewhere. However, it soon became apparent he had not returned. The rumour spread rapidly around No. 5 Group that he was missing. He was not posted officially as missing until 29 November, although Prime Minister Winston Churchill was informed on 26 September: "The Air Ministry have told us that Wing Commander Gibson, V.C. is reported missing from a recent raid in which he flew a Mosquito to Munchen Gladbach".


title: Guy Gibson

text: At Steenbergen, the Germans cordoned off the crash site at the Graaf Hendrikpolder. Human remains were recovered which confirmed there had been one person in the plane and therefore initially it was suspected the other member may have bailed out. However, with the discovery of a third hand, the presence of a second person was confirmed. Jim Warwick was identified from his identity tag. The laundry tag in a sock identified the other person as a "Guy Gibson". The remains were placed in a small specially constructed coffin.


title: Guy Gibson

text: The local deputy mayor, Mr. Herbers, wanted to give the men a proper funeral. They hired a horse-drawn hearse from nearby Halsteren. The coffin was draped with the flag of the Netherlands and was laid to rest in the Catholic cemetery. The funeral was attended by the Catholic priest, Father Verhoeven and the Protestant Pastor van den Brink. As they did not know the men's religion they performed the funeral between them. Father Verhoeven read the psalm, "De Profundis" and Pastor van den Brink spoke the Lord's Prayer in English. A cross was erected over the grave with Warwick's full rank and name with the name "Guy Gibson" underneath. When it was later confirmed who "Guy Gibson" was, a new cross was constructed with Gibson's rank, name and decorations.


title: Guy Gibson

text: The exact cause of Gibson's crash is unknown. There are number of theories, some more likely than others. Various factors may have contributed to the loss of his Mosquito. One theory advanced is that the accident was due to Gibson's lack of experience flying Mosquitoes. His log book, which he had last updated on 16 September, detailed 9 hours and 35 minutes flying Mosquitoes. It was observed it took him three attempts to land at Scatsta. He had been on one training flight on 31 August to learn how to dive bomb, and Mosquito crews knew they had to practise regularly, particularly in pulling out of dives. Also, he had not rehearsed the emergency procedures to exit a Mosquito, which could take 30 seconds, even on the ground.


title: Guy Gibson

text: The same lack of experience flying the Mosquito applied to his navigator, Squadron Leader Warwick, who had never flown in one operationally. That a letter was found with Warwick's address (RAF Coningsby) on it suggests Warwick's inclusion on the flight was a very late decision. He was experienced and would have known not to take anything like an addressed letter with him under normal circumstances.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Harris wrote that Gibson appointed himself as the controller. It is possible he seized this opportunity in Air Commodore Sharpe's absence when the late change in target was announced. There were some instances of Mosquitoes breaking up because of their wooden frames. Harris considered this as a possibility, however, it is unlikely. Lack of fuel is the explanation most favoured by members of No. 627 Squadron at the time. In December 1985 the site was excavated and wreckage from the plane recovered. No enemy damage was noticeable. It has therefore been suggested that Gibson and Warwick had failed to switch fuel tanks at the correct time. It has also been suggested there was a fault with the fuel tank selector. Further, it is possible that a lack of familiarity with the Mosquito resulted in neither Gibson nor Warwick being able to find the switches to swap the fuel supply. This would also be a reason to explain why the cockpit was illuminated: they were attempting to locate the switches. In either case, the result would be that the aircraft simply ran out of fuel.


title: Guy Gibson

text: If Gibson left Rheydt at 22:00 then it is estimated he was about 70 miles short of the expected location if the aircraft had been operating normally. Therefore, it is possible the aircraft was flying underpowered at the time of the crash. This would suggest some sort of damage to the aircraft.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Speculation persists that Gibson's Mosquito may have been shot down by German jet fighter ace Kurt Welter. On the night of the raid, 19 September 1944, Welter was the only German pilot to have claimed a Mosquito shot down that night, and Gibson's Mosquito the only one lost. However, a listing of "Luftwaffe" claims transcribed from the original microfilms shows that Welter's claim was on the night of 18/19 September, and was north of Wittenberg, in the area southwest of Berlin, more than 500 km (310 miles) from Steenbergen. Welter claimed his Mosquito at 23:05 hours near Gütersloh, and recent research indicates that it was actually an intruder Mosquito FB.VI PZ177 of No. 23 Squadron. The crew, Flying Officer K. Eastwood and navigator Flight Lieutenant G.G. Rogers, were both killed.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson was possibly not where others might have expected him to be. During the briefing for the raid, he was advised to use an exit route that would put him over France. However, he disagreed and insisted he would return by the shortest route at low level.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson's death was formally announced on 8 January 1945. However, many knew of his loss before this date.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson met Eve Moore, a show dancer and actress, in December 1939 when she was performing in the revue "Come Out To Play" at the New Hippodrome Theatre, Coventry. He later claimed that they met at a party. She claimed he saw the revue three nights in succession before introducing himself to her on the fourth and accompanying her to a cast party.


title: Guy Gibson

text: She was born Evelyn Mary Moore in Penarth, Wales, on 27 December 1911, which made her seven years older than Gibson. He became infatuated with her and travelled to meet her during his leave whenever he could as the revue progressed around the country. He also found opportunities to pursue her while on duty. He volunteered to fly Hampdens to RAF St Athan, only twelve miles from Cardiff and conveniently close to Penarth. He managed to arrange a stopover in Glasgow when travelling to Lossiemouth.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson proposed to Eve in October 1940 and she accepted. On 21 November, he flew down to Cardiff in a Blenheim. They were married in Penarth's Anglican Church on 23 November. Gibson's Aunt Gwennie and Uncle John attended, but reports that Gibson's father attended his wedding with his new wife are regarded as untrue.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Eve returned with him to Lincolnshire. They lodged in a bed-sit room in the Lion and Royal pub in Navenby. She was on her own most of the time and quickly became very unhappy. When No. 29 Squadron moved to West Malling, they moved into a cottage, Clare Cottage. She joined in the station's social life taking part in revues and musicals. She could also travel more easily to London from Kent. When Gibson was posted to Cranfield, she decided to return to Penarth. In summer 1942 she found a job in London and moved there, where she shared a flat with a girlfriend. They both had casual relationships outside their marriage. They last met in August 1944 around Gibson's birthday, and he seems to have been ready to discuss a divorce, although she seemed to want to try again when the war had finished.


title: Guy Gibson

text: After Gibson's death, Eve moved to South Africa in 1948 to marry Jack Hyman, a South African businessman. They divorced and she returned to Britain in 1954. She reverted to the surname Gibson, so many people did not realise she had remarried. She died on 3 November 1988, the same day as Harold Martin.


title: Guy Gibson

text: In the early 1990s, during research for his book, Richard Morris interviewed Margaret Masters, who formed a close relationship with Gibson during late 1942–44. As Margaret North, she was a member of the medical team called out on 8 December 1942 from RAF Rauceby to RAF Syerston to attend to Group Captain Walker. She was a WAAF corporal and a theatre nurse in the Crash and Burn Unit. When Gibson returned to Rauceby the following day to visit Walker, she and Gibson started talking and he asked her out. They would visit pubs and go to the cinema. As she was part of the RAF, she understood his world and she became his confidante. She helped him with an incident of operational stress in mid-January 1943. As he was married and therefore unavailable, in February 1943 she decided to marry someone else. They kept in contact and Gibson became her son's godfather. She moved to live with her mother in Bognor Regis and they met there for the last time in summer 1944.


title: Guy Gibson

text: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) maintains Gibson's and Warwick's graves, which are still in Steenbergen's Catholic Cemetery. After the war, the CWGC suggested the graves be moved back to the United Kingdom or to their cemetery in nearby Bergen op Zoom. However, both Eve and Gibson's father preferred that they be left where they fell.


title: Guy Gibson

text: The town of Steenbergen has since honoured Gibson and Warwick by naming a street after each of them ("Gibsonstraat" and "Warwickstraat"); as well as after the Lancaster and the Mosquito. The "Gibsonstraat" and "Warwickstraat" are in the vicinity of the fatal crash; the exact location is marked by brick mosaics of the British flag and the year ""1944"" at "5, Mosquitostraat", between the ends of "Gibsonstraat" and "Warwickstraat".


title: Guy Gibson

text: Also in Steenbergen is the Dambusters Memorial Park. In the park is a memorial to Gibson and Warwick. It is a granite stone topped by the twisted propeller of a Lancaster. It was unveiled by Group Captain Leonard Cheshire on 7 May 1990.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Also there has been a local council initiative that has achieved a citywalk named after Guy Gibson, named "the Gibson walking route", available free of charge, at any local tourist office. The route goes past all relevant places connected to Warwick and Gibsons last flight, their crashsite and honoured graves. Also there has been a small exhibition at the local Hotel Aarden, next to the town entrance and harbour. This is maintained by a local living Englishman and with kind help from (modern) ex-No. 617 Squadron crew members. The RAF have an annual visit planned to visit and honour the Fallen in Steenbergen. No. 617 Squadron was disbanded in 2014, but was later reformed to be the first RAF squadron with the newest fighter aircraft, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, in 2018.


title: Guy Gibson

text: As Gibson had family connections, the Cornish fishing village of Porthleven has named a street after Gibson, Gibson Way. There is a memorial in the village cemetery bearing his name. His name also appears on the village War Memorial overlooking the harbour.


title: Guy Gibson

text: A plaque commemorating Gibson has been mounted in the harbour-facing wall of the institute at Porthleven, located at the southern end of Institute Hill. It reads:


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson's book, "Enemy Coast Ahead", was first serialized in the "Sunday Express" during December 1944. The book was published in February 1946 by Michael Joseph and was very well received. It has remained in print most of the time since 1946. A new edition of the work was issued by Greenhill Books in 2019, with additional material by Dr Robert Owen, Official Historian of the No. 617 Squadron Association, and historian and broadcaster James Holland.


title: Guy Gibson

text: A 1955 film, "The Dam Busters", was made of the exploits of No. 617 Squadron; Gibson was played by Richard Todd in the film.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson appears as a fictionalized character in Stephen Baxter's "The Time Ships", the authorised sequel to "The Time Machine". Barnes Wallis also has a role in this story.


title: Guy Gibson

text: To commemorate Gibson's residency there is a blue plaque at 32 Aberdeen Place, St John's Wood, north London.


title: Guy Gibson

text: A plaque also marks the house of Eve's parents, where he and Eve occasionally lived between their marriage and 1943, on Archer Road, Penarth.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Gibson's Victoria Cross and other medals are on display at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, England.


title: Guy Gibson

text: Initially Eve Gibson presented them to the Imperial War Museum. However, in 1956 she presented them to Gibson's father. He wore them to the Remembrance Day parade in 1956. He then passed them on to St Edward's School and they were placed in the school's memorial library until his death in 1968.


title: Bell P-59 Airacomet

text: The Bell P-59 Airacomet was a single-seat, twin jet-engine fighter aircraft that was designed and built by Bell Aircraft during World War II, the first produced in the United States. As the British were further along in jet engine development, they donated an engine for the United States to copy in 1941 that became the basis for the General Electric jet used by the P-59 a year later. Because the plane was underpowered, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was not impressed by its performance and canceled half of the original order for 100 fighters, using the completed aircraft as trainers. The USAAF would instead go on to select the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star as its first operational jet fighter. Although no P-59s entered combat, the aircraft paved the way for later generations of U.S. turbojet-powered aircraft.


title: Bell P-59 Airacomet

text: Major General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold became aware of the UK's jet program when he attended a taxiing demonstration of the Gloster E.28/39 in April 1941. The subject had been mentioned, but not in-depth, as part of the Tizard Mission the previous year. He requested and was given, the plans for the aircraft's powerplant, the Power Jets W.1, which he took back to the U.S. He also arranged for an example of the engine, the Whittle W.1X turbojet, to be flown to the U.S. on 1 October in a Consolidated B-24 Liberator, along with drawings for the more powerful W.2B/23 engine and a small team of Power Jets engineers. On 4 September, he offered the U.S. company General Electric a contract to produce an American version of the engine, which subsequently became the General Electric I-A. On the following day, he approached Lawrence Dale Bell, head of Bell Aircraft Corporation, to build a fighter to utilize it. Bell agreed and set to work on producing three prototypes. As a disinformation tactic, the USAAF gave the project the designation P-59A, to suggest it was a development of the unrelated Bell XP-59 fighter project which had been canceled. The design was finalized on 9 January 1942, and construction began. In March, long before the prototypes were completed, an order for 13 YP-59A pre-production aircraft was added to the contract.


title: Bell P-59 Airacomet

text: The P-59A had an oval cross-section, all-metal stressed skin semi-monocoque fuselage that housed a single pressurized cockpit. The mid-mounted, straight wing had two spars plus a false spar in the inner panel. The electrically-powered tricycle landing gear was attached to the center spar. The pair of General Electric J31 turbojets were positioned under the wing roots in streamlined nacelles. The armament was located in the nose of the aircraft; two of the three XP-59As and most of the YP-59As had a pair of M10 autocannon. Later aircraft, including the production models, had one M10 autocannon and three AN/M2 Browning heavy machine guns. The aircraft carried a total of of fuel in four self-sealing tanks in the inner wing panels. Both production models could carry drop tanks under the wings. In addition, the P-59B was provided with a fuel tank in each outer wing panel.


title: Bell P-59 Airacomet

text: The crated prototype had been built on the second floor of a disused Pierce-Arrow factory, but its components were too big to fit through any elevator and required a hole to be broken in the brick outer wall to remove the first XP-59A. It was shipped to Muroc Army Air Field (today, Edwards Air Force Base) in California on 12 September 1942 by train for flight testing. The aircraft first became airborne during high-speed taxiing tests on 1 October with Bell test pilot Robert Stanley at the controls, although the first official flight was made by Colonel Laurence Craigie the next day. While being handled on the ground, the aircraft was fitted with a dummy propeller to disguise its true nature. When heavy rains flooded Rogers Dry Lake at Muroc in March 1943, the second prototype was towed to Hawes Field, an auxiliary airfield of Victorville Army Airfield, later George Air Force Base, over a public road. After one flight on 11 March, security concerns caused the jet to be transferred to nearby Harper Lake where it remained until 7 April.


title: Bell P-59 Airacomet

text: Five of the Airacomets, a pair of XP-59As, two YP-59As, and a P-59B had open-air flight observer cockpits (similar to those of biplanes) fitted in the nose with a small windscreen, replacing the armament bay. The XP-59As were used for flight demonstrations and testing, but one of the latter pair was used as a "mother ship" for the other modified YP-59A during remote control trials in late 1944 and early 1945. After the drone crashed during take-off on 23 March, a P-59B was modified to serve as its replacement. During diving trials in 1944, one YP-59A was forced to make a belly landing and another crashed when its entire empennage broke away.


title: Bell P-59 Airacomet

text: Over the following months, tests on the prototypes and pre-production P-59s revealed a multitude of problems including poor engine response and reliability (common shortcomings of all early turbojets), poor lateral and directional stability at speeds over , so that it tended to "snake" and was a poor gunnery platform. The performance was greatly hampered by the insufficient thrust from its engines that was far below expectations. The Army Air Force conducted combat trials against propeller-driven Lockheed P-38J Lightning and Republic P-47D Thunderbolt fighters in February 1944 and found that the older aircraft outperformed the jet. It, therefore, decided that the P-59 was best suited as a training aircraft to familiarize pilots with jet-engine aircraft.


title: Bell P-59 Airacomet

text: Even as deliveries of the YP-59As began in July 1943, the USAAF had placed a preliminary order for 100 production machines as the P-59A Airacomet, the name having been chosen by Bell employees. This was confirmed on 11 March 1944 but was later cut to 50 aircraft on 10 October after the procurement bureaucracy had digested the earlier evaluation.


title: Bell P-59 Airacomet

text: The 13 service test YP-59As had a more powerful engine than their predecessor, the General Electric J31, but the performance improvement was negligible, with top speed increased by only 5  mph and a reduction in the time they could be used before an overhaul was needed. One of these aircraft, the third YP-59A (S/n: "42-108773") was supplied to the Royal Air Force (receiving British serial "RJ362/G"), in exchange for the first production Gloster Meteor I, "EE210/G". British pilots found that the aircraft compared very unfavorably with the jets that they were already flying. Two YP-59A Airacomets ("42-108778" and "42-100779") were also delivered to the U.S. Navy where they were evaluated as the "YF2L-1" but were quickly found completely unsuitable for carrier operations. Three P-59Bs were transferred to the Navy in 1945–1946, although they kept their designations. The Navy used all five of its jets as trainers and for flight testing.


title: Bell P-59 Airacomet

text: Faced with their own ongoing difficulties, Bell eventually completed 50 production Airacomets, 20 P-59As and 30 P-59Bs; deliveries of P-59As took place in the fall of 1944. The P-59Bs were assigned to the 412th Fighter Group to familiarize AAF pilots with the handling and performance characteristics of jet aircraft. While the P-59 was not a great success, the type did give the USAAF and the USN experience with the operation of jet aircraft, in preparation for the more advanced types that would shortly become available.


title: Raheem Morris

text: Raheem Morris (born September 3, 1976) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009 to 2011 and interim head coach for the Atlanta Falcons in 2020. Morris also was an assistant coach for the Falcons, Washington Redskins, and the Buccaneers.


title: Raheem Morris

text: Morris graduated from Hofstra University with a degree in physical education in 1998 after playing safety at Hofstra from 1994 to 1997. That same year he began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Hofstra University, where he was responsible for coaching the offensive scout team, developing scouting reports and handling video breakdown and computer input and analysis. In 1999, he was hired by Cornell University as their defensive backs coach and special teams assistant. After 1999, he returned to Hofstra as defensive backs coach. He also spent time in 2001 as a defensive minority intern with the New York Jets.


title: Raheem Morris

text: Before the 2002 season, Morris was hired by the Buccaneers to become their defensive quality control coach, where he helped them have the top-ranked defense and win the franchise's first ever Super Bowl, beating the Oakland Raiders 48–21 in Super Bowl XXXVII. In 2003, he became a defensive assistant. From 2004 to 2005 he was the assistant defensive backs coach. After 2005 he went to Kansas State to be their defensive coordinator.


title: Raheem Morris

text: Morris spent one season with the Kansas State Wildcats in 2006, as defensive coordinator under then-head coach Ron Prince. He helped improve the defense in several statistical categories including total defense, scoring defense and pass defense. He helped the Wildcats upset the #4 Texas Longhorns during the 2006 season.


title: Raheem Morris

text: Before the 2007 season, Morris returned to the Buccaneers to be their defensive backs coach, replacing Greg Burns. After the team's pass defense fell to 19th in 2006, Morris helped the pass defense achieve the league's top ranking in 2007.


title: Raheem Morris

text: In December 2008, it was announced that Morris would take over as defensive coordinator for the Buccaneers for the 2009 season after Monte Kiffin announced that he would be leaving the team to join his son, Lane Kiffin, at Tennessee. Just a month later on January 16, 2009, head coach Jon Gruden was fired by the Buccaneers and Morris was named the team's head coach. Morris had also interviewed for head coach with the Denver Broncos before being hired by Tampa Bay.


title: Raheem Morris

text: After starting the season 0–7, Morris earned his first victory as a head coach in week 9 against the Green Bay Packers. On November 24, 2009 Morris took over defensive coordinator duties after relieving Jim Bates of his duties. He finished his first year as the head coach, leading the team to last in the NFC South with a 3–13 record. In his second season, the team finished 10–6, barely missing the playoffs. That seven game turnaround was the best in franchise history. In 2010, Morris became the first coach since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger to start at least 10 rookies and finish with a winning record.


title: Raheem Morris

text: During Week 13 of the 2011 NFL season, against the Carolina Panthers, Morris banished defensive tackle Brian Price to the sideline after Price shoved Panthers guard Mackenzy Bernadeau well after the end of a third-quarter play in which Cam Newton was sacked for a four-yard loss. Price was penalized for unnecessary roughness. Morris was incensed because the sack would have forced the Panthers into a 3rd-and-14 situation. However, the resulting 15-yard penalty gave the Panthers a first down, allowing them to complete a touchdown drive that put the game out of reach (the Panthers won 38–19). After the game, a visibly angry Morris called Price's actions "foolish" and "selfish." The move drew comparisons to then San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Singletary banishing Vernon Davis from the sideline after a personal foul in 2008. On January 2, 2012, Morris was fired as head coach of the Buccaneers after a 4–12 season, including losing their last 10 games.


title: Raheem Morris

text: On January 26, 2015, it was announced Morris was joining the Atlanta Falcons as assistant head coach/defensive backs. On January 25, 2016, Morris was named the wide receivers coach and no longer the defensive backs coach.


title: Raheem Morris

text: In the 2016 season, Morris and the Falcons reached Super Bowl LI, where they faced the New England Patriots on February 5, 2017. In the Super Bowl, the Falcons fell in a 34–28 overtime defeat.


title: Raheem Morris

text: On October 12, 2020, Morris was promoted to interim head coach, following the firing of Dan Quinn after an 0–5 start to the season. The Falcons finished with 4–7 record under Morris but finished with a 4–12 overall record and 4th in the NFC South.


title: Raheem Morris

text: On January 21, 2021, Morris was hired by the Los Angeles Rams as defensive coordinator under head coach Sean McVay, replacing Brandon Staley, who left to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. On February 13, 2022, Morris won his second Super Bowl as the Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: Josef Allen Hynek (May 1, 1910 – April 27, 1986) was an American astronomer, professor, and ufologist. He is perhaps best remembered for his UFO research. Hynek acted as scientific advisor to UFO studies undertaken by the U.S. Air Force under three projects: Project Sign (1947–1949), Project Grudge (1949–1951) and Project Blue Book (1952–1969).


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: In later years, he conducted his own independent UFO research, developing the "Close Encounter" classification system. He was among the first people to conduct scientific analysis of reports and especially of trace evidence purportedly left by UFOs.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: Hynek was born in Chicago to Czech parents. In 1931, Hynek received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Chicago. In 1935, he completed his PhD in astrophysics at Yerkes Observatory of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago. His thesis advisors were Otto Struve and William Wilson Morgan. Hynek joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Ohio State University in 1936.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: He wrote with George Gamow on the origin of the solar system in 1945. He specialized in the study of stellar evolution and in the identification of spectroscopic binary stars.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: During World War II, Hynek was a civilian scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, where he helped to develop the United States Navy's radio proximity fuze.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: After the war, Hynek returned to the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Ohio State, rising to full professor in 1950. In 1953, Hynek submitted a report on the fluctuations in the brightness and color of starlight and daylight, with an emphasis on daytime observations.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: In 1956, he left to join Professor Fred Whipple, the Harvard astronomer, at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, which had combined with the Harvard Observatory at Harvard. Hynek had the assignment of directing the tracking of an American space satellite, a project for the International Geophysical Year in 1956 and thereafter. In addition to over 200 teams of amateur scientists around the world that were part of Operation Moonwatch, there were also 12 photographic Baker-Nunn stations. A special camera was devised for the task and a prototype was built and tested and then stripped apart again when, on Oct. 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched its first satellite, Sputnik 1.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: After completing his work on the satellite program, Hynek went back to teaching, taking the position of professor and chairman of the astronomy department at Northwestern University in 1960.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: In response to numerous reports of "flying saucers", the United States Air Force established Project Sign in 1948 to examine sightings of unidentified flying objects. Hynek was contacted to act as a scientific consultant to Project Sign. He studied UFO reports and decided whether the phenomena described therein suggested known astronomical objects.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: When Project Sign hired Hynek, he was skeptical of UFO reports. Hynek suspected that they were made by unreliable witnesses, or by persons who had misidentified man-made or natural objects. In 1948, Hynek said that "the whole subject seems utterly ridiculous," and described it as a fad that would soon pass.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: In his 1977 book, Hynek said that he enjoyed his role as a debunker for the Air Force. He also said that debunking was what the Air Force expected of him.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: In April 1953, Hynek wrote a report for the "Journal of the Optical Society of America" titled "Unusual Aerial Phenomena," which contained one of his best-known statements:


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: Ridicule is not part of the scientific method, and people should not be taught that it is. The steady flow of reports, often made in concert by "reliable" observers, raises questions of scientific obligation and responsibility. Is there ... "any" residue that is worthy of scientific attention? Or, if there isn't, does not an obligation exist to say so to the public—not in words of open ridicule but seriously, to keep faith with the trust the public places in science and scientists?


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: In 1953, Hynek was an associate member of the Robertson Panel, which concluded that there was nothing anomalous about UFOs, and that a public relations campaign should be undertaken to debunk the subject and reduce public interest. Hynek would later lament that the Robertson Panel had helped make UFOs a disreputable field of study.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: As UFO reports continued to be made, some of the testimonies, especially by military pilots and police officers, were deeply puzzling to Hynek. He once said, "As a scientist I must be mindful of the lessons of the past; all too often it has happened that matters of great value to science were overlooked because the new phenomenon did not fit the accepted scientific outlook of the time."


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: In a 1985 interview, when asked what caused his change of opinion, Hynek responded, "Two things, really. One was the completely negative and unyielding attitude of the Air Force. They wouldn't give UFOs the chance of existing, even if they were flying up and down the street in broad daylight. Everything had to have an explanation. I began to resent that, even though I basically felt the same way, because I still thought they weren't going about it in the right way. You can't assume that everything is black no matter what. Secondly, the caliber of the witnesses began to trouble me. Quite a few instances were reported by military pilots, for example, and I knew them to be fairly well-trained, so this is when I first began to think that, well, maybe there was something to all this."


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: Hynek remained with Project Sign after it became Project Grudge (though he was far less involved in Grudge than he had been in Sign). Project Grudge was replaced with Project Blue Book in early 1952, and Hynek remained as scientific consultant. Air Force Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, Blue Book's first director, held Hynek in high regard: "Dr. Hynek was one of the most impressive scientists I met while working on the UFO project, and I met a good many. He didn't do two things that some of them did: give you the answer before he knew the question; or immediately begin to expound on his accomplishments in the field of science."


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: Though Hynek thought Ruppelt was a capable director who steered Project Blue Book in the right direction, Ruppelt headed Blue Book for only a few years. Hynek has also stated his opinion that after Ruppelt's departure, Project Blue Book was little more than a public relations exercise, further noting that little or no research was undertaken using the scientific method.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: Hynek began occasionally disagreeing publicly with the conclusions of Blue Book. By the early 1960s—after about a decade and a half of study—Clark writes that "Hynek's apparent turnaround on the UFO question was an open secret." Only after Blue Book was formally dissolved did Hynek speak more openly about his "turnaround".


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: Hynek speculated that his personality was a factor in the Air Force keeping him on as a consultant for over two decades.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: Some other ufologists thought that Hynek was being disingenuous or even duplicitous in his turnaround. Physicist James E. McDonald, for example, wrote to Hynek in 1970, castigating him for what McDonald saw as his lapses, and suggesting that, when evaluated by later generations, retired Marine Corps Major Donald E. Keyhoe would be regarded as a more objective, honest, and scientific ufologist.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: It was during the late stages of Blue Book in the 1960s that Hynek began speaking openly about his disagreements and disappointments with the Air Force. Among the cases about which he openly dissented with the Air Force were the highly publicized Portage County UFO chase, in which several police officers chased a UFO for half an hour, and the encounter of Lonnie Zamora, a police officer who reported an encounter with a metallic, egg-shaped aircraft near Socorro, New Mexico.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: In late March 1966 in Dexter, Michigan, two days of mass UFO sightings were reported, and received significant publicity. After studying the reports, Hynek offered a provisional hypothesis for some of the sightings: a few of about 100 witnesses had mistaken swamp gas for something more spectacular. At the press conference where he made his announcement, Hynek repeatedly and strenuously stated that swamp gas was a plausible explanation for only a portion of the Michigan UFO reports, and certainly not for UFO reports in general. But much to his chagrin, Hynek's qualifications of his hypothesis were largely overlooked, and the term "swamp gas" was repeated ad infinitum in relation to UFO reports. The explanation was subject to national derision.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: In his reply dated October 7, 1968, to a request for scientific recommendations regarding Blue Book from Colonel Raymond Sleeper, commander of the USAF Foreign Technology Division, Hynek noted that Blue Book suffered from numerous procedural problems and a lack of resources, which rendered its efforts "totally inadequate". Hynek also noted that one wag had bestowed upon Blue Book the epithet of "Society for the Explanation of the Uninvestigated".


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: Hynek was the founder and first head of the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS). Founded in 1973 in Evanston, Illinois (but now based in Chicago), CUFOS advocates for scientific analysis of UFO cases. CUFOS's extensive archives include valuable files from civilian research groups such as NICAP, one of the most popular UFO research groups of the 1950s and 1960s.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: In November 1978, Hynek presented a statement on UFOs before the United Nations General Assembly's Special Political Committee on behalf of himself, Jacques Vallée, and Claude Poher. The speech was prepared and approved by the three authors. Their objective was to initiate a centralized, United Nations authority on UFOs.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: At the MUFON annual symposium in 1973, held in Akron, Ohio, Hynek first expressed his doubts regarding the extraterrestrial (formerly "interplanetary" or "intergalactic") hypothesis, in a speech titled "The Embarrassment of the Riches". He was aware that the number of UFO sightings was much higher than was reflected in the Project Blue Book statistics. "A few good sightings a year, over the world, would bolster the extraterrestrial hypothesis—but many thousands every year? From remote regions of space? And to what purpose? To scare us by stopping cars, and disturbing animals, and puzzling us with their seemingly pointless antics?"


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: In a paper presented to the Joint Symposium of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics in Los Angeles in 1975, he wrote, "If you object, I ask you to explain—quantitatively, not qualitatively—the reported phenomena of materialization and dematerialization, of shape changes, of the noiseless hovering in the Earth's gravitational field, accelerations that—for an appreciable mass—require energy sources far beyond present capabilities—even theoretical capabilities, the well-known and often reported E-M (electro-magnetic interference) effect, the psychic effects on percipients, including purported telepathic communications."


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: In 1977, at the First International UFO Congress in Chicago, Hynek presented his thoughts in his speech "What I Really Believe About UFOs". "I do believe", he said, "that the UFO phenomenon as a whole is real, but I do not mean necessarily that it's just one thing. We must ask whether the diversity of observed UFOs ... all spring from the same basic source, as do weather phenomena, which all originate in the atmosphere", or whether they differ "as a rain shower differs from a meteor, which in turn differs from a cosmic-ray shower." We must not ask, Hynek said, simply which hypothesis can explain the most facts, but rather which hypothesis can explain the most puzzling facts.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: Regarding hypotheses of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) and extradimensional intelligence (EDI), Hynek continued, "There is sufficient evidence to defend both". As evidence for the ETI hypothesis, he mentioned the cases involving radar as good evidence of something solid, as well as the cases of physical evidence. Then he turned to defending the EDI hypothesis: in addition to the observations of materialization and dematerialization, he cited the "poltergeist" phenomenon experienced by some people after a close encounter; the photographs of UFOs, sometimes in only one frame, and not seen by witnesses; the changing of form in front of witnesses; the puzzling question of telepathic communication; that in close encounters of the third kind, the creatures seem to be at home in Earth's gravity and atmosphere; the sudden stillness in the presence of the craft; levitation of cars or people; and the development by some of psychic abilities after an encounter. "Do we have two aspects of one phenomenon or two different sets of phenomena?" Hynek asked.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: Finally, he introduced a third hypothesis. "I hold it entirely possible", he said, "that a technology exists, which encompasses both the physical and the psychic, the material and the mental. There are stars that are millions of years older than the sun. There may be a civilization that is millions of years more advanced than man's. We have gone from Kitty Hawk to the moon in some seventy years, but it's possible that a million-year-old civilization may know something that we don't ... I hypothesize an 'M&M' technology encompassing the mental and material realms. The psychic realms, so mysterious to us today, may be an ordinary part of an advanced technology."


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: In Hynek and Vallee's 1975 book "The Edge of Reality", Hynek published a stereoscopic photograph of a UFO he took during a flight. According to the book, the object stayed in sight long enough for Hynek to unpack his camera from his luggage and take two exposures. UFO researcher Robert Sheaffer writes in his book "Psychic Vibrations" that Hynek seemed to have forgotten the photographs when he later told a reporter for "The Globe and Mail" that he had never seen a UFO. The article states that in all the years he had been looking upward, Hynek "has never seen 'what I would so dearly love to see. Oh, the subject has been so ridiculed that I would never report a UFO even if I did see one—not without a witness'".


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: In his first book, Hynek published the "Close Encounter" scale that he had developed to better catalog UFO reports. Hynek was later a consultant to Columbia Pictures and Steven Spielberg for the popular 1977 UFO movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", named after a level of Hynek's scale. He made a cameo appearance in the film. At the end of the film, after the aliens disembark from the "mother ship", he can be seen, bearded and with pipe in mouth, stepping forward to view the spectacle.


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: Hynek and his wife, Miriam (Curtis) had five children. Hynek's son Joel is an Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor. He oversaw the design of the camouflage effect for the movie "Predator", and won the Best Visual Effects Oscar for his work on "What Dreams May Come".


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: In 2019, The History Channel created and aired a highly-fictionalized TV show based on his UFO research and the organization he worked for dubbed "Project Blue Book".


title: J. Allen Hynek

text: On April 27, 1986, Hynek died of a malignant brain tumor, at Memorial Hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was 75 years old, and was survived by his wife Mimi, children Scott, Roxane, Joel, Paul, and Ross, and his grandchildren.


title: Lost Horizon (1937 film)

text: Lost Horizon is a 1937 American adventure drama fantasy film directed by Frank Capra. The screenplay by Robert Riskin is based on the 1933 novel of the same name by James Hilton.


title: Lost Horizon (1937 film)

text: The film exceeded its original budget by more than $776,000 and took five years to earn back its cost. The serious financial crisis it created for Columbia Pictures damaged the partnership between Capra and studio head Harry Cohn, as well as the friendship between Capra and Riskin.


title: Lost Horizon (1937 film)

text: In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".


title: Lost Horizon (1937 film)

text: It is 1935. Before returning to Britain to become the new Foreign Secretary, writer, soldier, and diplomat Robert Conway has one last task in China, rescuing 90 westerners in the city of Baskul. He flies out with the last few evacuees, just ahead of armed revolutionaries.


title: Lost Horizon (1937 film)

text: Unbeknownst to the passengers, the pilot has been forcibly replaced and their aircraft hijacked. It eventually runs out of fuel and crashes deep in the Himalayas, killing their abductor. The group is rescued by Chang and his men and taken to Shangri-La, an idyllic valley sheltered from the bitter cold. The contented inhabitants are led by the mysterious High Lama.


title: Lost Horizon (1937 film)

text: Initially anxious to return to civilization, most of the newcomers grow to love Shangri-La, including paleontologist Alexander Lovett, notorious swindler Henry Barnard, and bitter, terminally ill Gloria Stone, who, miraculously, seems to be recovering. Conway is particularly enchanted, especially when he meets Sondra, who has grown up in Shangri-La. However, Conway's younger brother George and Maria, another beautiful young woman they find there, are determined to leave.


title: Lost Horizon (1937 film)

text: Conway eventually has an audience with the High Lama and learns that his arrival was no accident. The founder of Shangri-La is said to be two hundred years old, preserved, like the other residents, by the magical properties of the paradise he has created, but is finally dying and needs someone wise and knowledgeable in the ways of the modern world to keep it safe. Having read Conway's writings, Sondra believed he was the one; the Lama had agreed with her and arranged for Conway's abduction. The old man names Conway as his successor and then peacefully passes away.


title: Lost Horizon (1937 film)

text: George refuses to believe the Lama's fantastic story and is supported by Maria. Uncertain and torn between love and loyalty, Conway reluctantly gives in to his brother and they leave, taking Maria with them, despite being warned that she is much older than she appears. After several days of grueling travel, she becomes exhausted and falls face down in the snow. When they turn Maria over, they discover that she had become extremely old and died. Horrified, George loses his sanity and jumps to his death.