“She told me that when Gibson was shot down, the people who were recovering the wreckage (Dutch?) only managed to find one of his feet, and they only identified him by the laundry tag on his sock. Very sad that such a hero had to die so tragically in that way.”
According to an article by Roy Nesbit (former RAF Coastal Command Nav-Beauforts) in Aeroplane around this time last year, Gibson was not shot down. According to Nesbitt, the aircraft may have suffered engine failure through fuel starvation. Gibson had apparently only flown the Mossie a handful of times before the fatal flight, and only once at night. He’d also never flown the aircraft to such a distant target, the importance of this being that he’d never had to use the fuel tank selectors behind the seat. Nesbitt’s theory is that Gibson,unfamiliar with the selectors and groping around for them in the dark, selected an empty tank. Eye witness reports from the time state that a light was seen in the cockpit shortly before the crash and it’s thought that they may have used a torch or switched on an interior light to try and see what position the selectors were in after the engines started spluttering. This in turn would’ve done their night vision no favours, which may also have contributed to the crash.
Nesbitt also says that the ticket bearing Gibson’s name was a dry cleaning ticket found in the pocket of his tunic, so it would appear that more than a foot was found,although it’s true that his true identity and significance weren’t initially apparent.
Having read a number of Mr.Nesbitt’s articles, my instinct is to trust what he says.He is a meticulous researcher with wartime flying experience,so he knows what he’s talking about.
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