John Albert Axel Gibson
Encyclopedia
John Albert Axel "Johnny" Gibson DSO
, DFC
(24 August 1916 – 1 July 2000) was Royal Air Force
officer and a noted World War II
air ace.
on 24 August 1916, and in 1920 he moved to New Zealand
, where he was educated in Auckland
and at New Plymouth
Boy's High School. He returned to the United Kingdom
in 1938, where he began a short service commission in the Royal Air Force
. He was commissioned as an acting pilot officer
on probation on 9 July 1938. His commission was confirmed on 16 August 1939, just a few weeks before the UK entered World War II in September 1939.
by Nazi Germany
, Gibson was posted to No. 501 (City of Bristol) Squadron
, Royal Auxiliary Air Force
, and his squadron was dispatched from RAF Tangmere
across the English Channel
to Bétheniville
. The squadron flew Hawker Hurricane
s, which Gibson had not flown before, and on 27 May he scored his first kill when he destroyed a Heinkel 111 bomber, and shared in another kill, before being shot down and landing close to Rouen
. He was again shot down on 10 June over Le Mans
, and a week later his squadron withdrew to Jersey
and then regrouped at Croydon Airport
. On 29 August after shooting down a Me 109, he was rescued from the English Channel after his aircraft was shot down and he parachuted to safety. The next day he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
, the citation read:
He was promoted flying officer
on 3 September 1940, and later in the month he was wounded and hospitalised.
In May 1941, Gibson was posted as an air firing instructor, and returned to flying as a flight commander with No. 457 Squadron
, Royal Australian Air Force
. On 3 September 1941 he was promoted to war substantive flight lieutenant
. In May 1942, the Squadron moved to Australia
and Gibson was posted to New Zealand
with the Royal New Zealand Air Force
. He joined No. 15 Squadron
of the Royal New Zealand Air Force and went to Tonga
and flew Kittyhawks
as a flight commander.
Gibson returned to New Zealand in December 1942 and attended a course at the Staff College in April 1943. In December 1943, he rejoined 15 Squadron at New Georgia
in the Solomon Islands
as Commanding Officer
. He was confirmed as a temporary squadron leader
on 1 July 1944. On 16 March 1945 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
. He returned to Europe and joined No. 80 Squadron
flying the Hawker Tempest
, and was again shot down and injured in March 1945. After recovering, he formally transferred to the RNZAF on 1 December 1945. However, he soon returned to RAF service, and served successively as pilot and aide to Bernard Montgomery and Arthur Tedder. He resigned his commission in 1950, but returned to the RAF in 1952, initially reverting to the rank of flight lieutenant. He was promoted to squadron leader again on 1 January 1953. He finally retired from the RAF on 31 December 1954.
In the 1960s, Gibson formed Bechuanaland National Airways
and Botswana National Airways
. Beginning with a Douglas DC-3
, he expanded the airlines until they operated two DC-3s, two Douglas DC-4
s, and a presidential aircraft for Batswana President Seretse Khama
. During the Biafran War, Gibson was operating from Gabon
, and with his son Michael as co-pilot, he flew in supplies and helped to evacuate children. He later formed a charter airline Jagair, and after it ceased operations due to financial difficulties, he was employed by his friend and fellow wartime Royal Air Force pilot, Ian Smith
, the Prime Minister
of Rhodesia
, as an aviation operations officer.
Gibson retired in 1982, and returned to the United Kingdom in 1987 where he settled in Nottingham
. He died on 1 July 2000.
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, DFC
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
(24 August 1916 – 1 July 2000) was Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
officer and a noted World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
air ace.
Early life
Gibson was born in BrightonBrighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
on 24 August 1916, and in 1920 he moved to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, where he was educated in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
and at New Plymouth
New Plymouth
New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....
Boy's High School. He returned to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1938, where he began a short service commission in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. He was commissioned as an acting pilot officer
Acting Pilot Officer
Acting Pilot Officer is the lowest commissioned grade in the Royal Air Force, being immediately junior to Pilot Officer. Unlike other RAF ranks which officers may hold in an acting capacity, Acting Pilot Officer is maintained as a separate grade. It normally denotes an officer who has recently...
on probation on 9 July 1938. His commission was confirmed on 16 August 1939, just a few weeks before the UK entered World War II in September 1939.
World War II
In May 1940, as France was invadedBattle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, Gibson was posted to No. 501 (City of Bristol) Squadron
No. 501 Squadron RAF
No 501 Squadron was the fourteenth of the twenty-one flying units in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, the volunteer reserve part of the British Royal Air Force. The squadron won seven battle honours, flying Hurricane, Spitfire and Tempest fighter aircraft during World War II, and was one of the most...
, Royal Auxiliary Air Force
Royal Auxiliary Air Force
The Royal Auxiliary Air Force , originally the Auxiliary Air Force , is the voluntary active duty reserve element of the Royal Air Force, providing a primary reinforcement capability for the regular service...
, and his squadron was dispatched from RAF Tangmere
RAF Tangmere
RAF Tangmere was a Royal Air Force station famous for its role in the Battle of Britain, located at Tangmere village about 3 miles east of Chichester in West Sussex, England. American RAF pilot Billy Fiske died at Tangmere and was the first American aviator to die during World War II...
across the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
to Bétheniville
Bétheniville
Bétheniville is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France....
. The squadron flew Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
s, which Gibson had not flown before, and on 27 May he scored his first kill when he destroyed a Heinkel 111 bomber, and shared in another kill, before being shot down and landing close to Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
. He was again shot down on 10 June over Le Mans
Le Mans
Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...
, and a week later his squadron withdrew to Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
and then regrouped at Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport was an airport in South London which straddled the boundary between what are now the London boroughs of Croydon and Sutton. It was the main airport for London before it was replaced by Northolt Aerodrome, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport...
. On 29 August after shooting down a Me 109, he was rescued from the English Channel after his aircraft was shot down and he parachuted to safety. The next day he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
, the citation read:
He was promoted flying officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
on 3 September 1940, and later in the month he was wounded and hospitalised.
In May 1941, Gibson was posted as an air firing instructor, and returned to flying as a flight commander with No. 457 Squadron
No. 457 Squadron RAAF
No. 457 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force fighter squadron of World War II. The squadron was formed in England during June 1941 as an Article XV squadron equipped with Supermarine Spitfire fighters...
, Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
. On 3 September 1941 he was promoted to war substantive flight lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
. In May 1942, the Squadron moved to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Gibson was posted to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
with the Royal New Zealand Air Force
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
. He joined No. 15 Squadron
No. 15 Squadron RNZAF
15 Squadron RNZAF formed 1 June 1942 at Whenuapai, Auckland under Squadron Leader A. Crighton. It served in Tonga, Guadalcanal, New Georgia, Espiritu Santo, Bougainville and Green Island. The squadron was equipped with Kittyhawk and, later, F4U Corsair fighters. Re-equipment with the P-51...
of the Royal New Zealand Air Force and went to Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
and flew Kittyhawks
Curtiss P-40
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational...
as a flight commander.
Gibson returned to New Zealand in December 1942 and attended a course at the Staff College in April 1943. In December 1943, he rejoined 15 Squadron at New Georgia
New Georgia
New Georgia is the largest island of the Western Province of the Solomon Islands.-Geography:This island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most of the other larger islands in the province...
in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
as Commanding Officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
. He was confirmed as a temporary squadron leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
on 1 July 1944. On 16 March 1945 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
. He returned to Europe and joined No. 80 Squadron
No. 80 Squadron RAF
No. 80 Squadron RAF was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force squadron active from 1917 until 1969. It was operative during both World War I and World War II.-Establishment and early service:...
flying the Hawker Tempest
Hawker Tempest
The Hawker Tempest was a British fighter aircraft primarily used by the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. The Tempest was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, and one of the most powerful fighter aircraft used during the war....
, and was again shot down and injured in March 1945. After recovering, he formally transferred to the RNZAF on 1 December 1945. However, he soon returned to RAF service, and served successively as pilot and aide to Bernard Montgomery and Arthur Tedder. He resigned his commission in 1950, but returned to the RAF in 1952, initially reverting to the rank of flight lieutenant. He was promoted to squadron leader again on 1 January 1953. He finally retired from the RAF on 31 December 1954.
In the 1960s, Gibson formed Bechuanaland National Airways
Bechuanaland National Airways
Bechuanaland National Airways was an airline of the Bechuanaland Protectorate and was based in Francistown.The airline was formed on 1 October 1965 with a government grant by Johnny Gibson and took over the route network of privately-owned Bechuanaland Safaris...
and Botswana National Airways
Botswana National Airways
Botswana National Airways was an airline based in Gaborone, Botswana.The airline took over services from Bechuanaland National Airways which ceased operations in late 1966. The airline was formed by Johnny Gibson under the leadership of D...
. Beginning with a Douglas DC-3
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
, he expanded the airlines until they operated two DC-3s, two Douglas DC-4
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
s, and a presidential aircraft for Batswana President Seretse Khama
Seretse Khama
Sir Seretse Khama, KBE was a statesman from Botswana. Born into one of the more powerful of the royal families of what was then the British Protectorate of Bechuanaland, and educated abroad in neighbouring South Africa and in the United Kingdom, he returned home—with a popular but controversial...
. During the Biafran War, Gibson was operating from Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
, and with his son Michael as co-pilot, he flew in supplies and helped to evacuate children. He later formed a charter airline Jagair, and after it ceased operations due to financial difficulties, he was employed by his friend and fellow wartime Royal Air Force pilot, Ian Smith
Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID was a politician active in the government of Southern Rhodesia, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe Rhodesia and Zimbabwe from 1948 to 1987, most notably serving as Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 1 June 1979...
, the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Rhodesia
The Prime Minister of Rhodesia was the head of government in the colony of Rhodesia. Rhodesia's political system was modelled on the Westminster system and the Prime Minister's role was similar to that of the same position in other countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New...
of Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
, as an aviation operations officer.
Gibson retired in 1982, and returned to the United Kingdom in 1987 where he settled in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
. He died on 1 July 2000.