Guy Gibson shot down by own side

[Mike K]

I don't know if anyone read this. But it has come to light that the famous Dam Buster leader was shot down in a friendly fire incident . The authorities hushed it up during the war and research by a film maker has almost proved beyond doubt what happened. The gunner in a Lancaster mistook Gibsons Mossie for a JU 88 and poured 600 rounds into the aircraft. The Mossie came down in Holland and all they found of him was a sock . The poor gunner chap kept it a secret until just before he died in 1992 ..he made a audio confession on tape.

They were returning from a raid and Gibson was piloting a Mossie pathfinder . He appeared out of the blue behind the Lancaster and the gunner reacted and fired .

[US6]

My ex father in law was a navigator for the Pathfinder squadron and flew with Gibson as Navigator on a number of missions. He told me emphatically, in the 1980's that Gibson was brought down by friendly fire, and that it was a well known fact within the squadron.

[Mike K]

If you read the whole article, some people are doubters and are saying he wasn't familiar with the Mosquito and he ran out of fuel because of his big ego .... sounds rather thin to me . Can you imagine a highly experienced pilot taking off on a mission with less than full tanks. And, why didn't the other 9 mossies on the mission run out of gas. The poor gunner chap admitted doing it and the records and crash co-ordinates proved what happened.