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27/1/42., No* No 620$ Air Ministry A OF AIR MINISTRY AND MINISTRY There is 'nothing to report- 27.1*42 - No. 4 - Ministry Bulletin No, 6199 FOR OR USE ON CLUB .' -, .JJOT PUBLICATION, BROADCAST,. TAPES BEFORE "'"" I ' , 08..50 HOURS ON JANUARY-'27? ...1.902.? •.■■...< THIS SHOIILD--BE', RES'rECTIJD OVERSEAS BI'RREFACING ANY ; - ’ ‘ 7*! ' ? ‘1 ' ‘ ’ A:. SENT.RImi RE3 EB.AE. .’ •, V ’>4. ... " ~ t : t* J.-. • :i ‘ ‘* • -. .%• . -.» • i ■ • • - ;’• • •♦. ROYAL -AIR \ FORSA-rA'-uiRDS No.- 320 ■. .... , ■ ... has.Been to . The-King- graciously .pleased approve the f.oil,owing-<awards: •*• ■' i ■ • • • ' '' .. ' V: t ’’ '• •' ,/ 'JJv 1. •. <.-• •« 7•• # * • . * ’ •. • •.a In recognition of-^gallantry.-.-displayed in flying operations ..agqinst the . * ? •• ..7 . -s .- , enemy;.- •-. -7-•• .. • _ t •: { 4 :;a ~ .... ;-\ ■ ■•? v.- 4 ;- ? ; ■ DISTINGUISHED FAZING CROSS .... 'k..,7 . ,\ . ~..'• Squadron .Leader Edward Philip.Patrick GIBBS. No. 150 Squadron. .'" ‘This of fkccr has been engaged.on active,, operations, .over a. long period and has. part.icipate.d in ■'. sorties over France. a 4 7 many ...g During, ’sortie--pear Calais, in July 944,. <. Leader Gibbs involved in combat with was four enemy fighters and"shot down one and damaged another of the attackers. Since assuming command of No. flJOr;Squadron, .-Squqdron Leader Gibbs has, by his excellent leadership and devotion ,t"o- the unit to a high standard of In operational efficiency, December 194-1, during a bombing attack on Brest, Squadron Le.ader ..attempted <t ere s, 109 s which p,.int briber ... , c-.77-' "'7'"' r .-' ; ■-. • ’ :‘1 ■ ; vvri’w; ‘ ; - < ' " Flying Officer Peter John GUNDY,.'ilo* 120 Squadrpxi. ' ’,,. ...' . - r Pilot Officer RonaLd- Roxpurgh .PiiBEL, Royal Ait Force Volunteer Reserve'd". , . ; ' No. 120 Squadron. In January Flying Officer CUNDY and Pilot'Officer FABEL were respectively captan .and nayigqto.r. of-.a Liberator aircraft : on. patrol, in . the of 7 ■■ Bay Biscay. ' r • i ;7 - .... .... A Heinkel 115 floatplane v/as encountered' and at once' ’attacked. By skilful manoeuvring,.Flying Officer .C.undy ..enabled .his gunners .to bring, effectiye fire, to bear on the ...enemy aircraft, ‘.'which brclce.Xdff,.the. combat' and escaped .into cloud ' with one engine on fire.’ ’ ' . :.''..■.. 7i An .tanker v/ith,.a .s.ubmaripe alongside was then sighted. ...pj-ying . enemy . it Offieer Gundy immediately-nttaqked the -suhraarine" with bombs fire' "'\ and the submarine disappeared beneath' the'surface leaving a large patch of oil. The tanker was then...bombed and ,p.ttacked..with cannon .fire, A second .Heinkel 1 floatplane which appeared was’ engaged and driven off with smclse.’ pd'uring ’ffom'. it. 'Flying Officer Gundy thin .resuydcd h'is '..attack on ..the. tanker ..with gtinfire ' ' and. scored, many further hits. Throughout,- ; he ahWe'd’-gh'eat determination' and 'de-VOtiOh'--to'.:duty.Rend•. vras' ably r assisted by‘the • efficiency 'of Pilot Officer Fabely' whoj woa t occasion in bad yfehtbefi at nightwas mainly responsible for'-the-.,safe return • 0f.!.. • - his aircraft vzhen the wireless apparatus failed. Acting Warrant Officer Thomas James MYGOCK (754-674-) Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No. 97 Squadron, One night in January 194-1, Warrant Officer Mycock was the captain of an aircraft which carried out a low level attack on the battle cruisers Gneisenau and. Scharnhorst at Brest. The task demanded a high degree of skill and initiative and, although the night was, extremely dark, V/arrant Officer Mycock finally approaehe7'~'tKe''’'’tErge'u'' in the desired direction. In spite of heavy opposition from the enemy’s defences a daring and determined, attack was made from a height of only 500 feet. This non-commissioned officer has at all times performed his operational tasks with great keenness and enthusiasm, (0 ont ’d) DISTINGUISHED FLYING MEDAL Can/R, 78203 Sergeant Charles Lome BRAY, Royal Canadian Air Force, N0.103 Squadron. Aus. 404553 Sergeant Douglas Wilberforce SPOONER, Royal Australian Air- Force, No. 103 Squadron. One night in January 1941, Sergeants Bray amd Spooner were 2nd captain and pilot respectively of an aircraft which participated in an attack on Wilhelmshaven. Sergeant Bray carried out a determined attack in spite of intense when anti-aircraft fire but, making a second run over the target, a violent explosion Shook the aircraft and an ignited flare was blown from the rear of the bomb compart- ment into the fuselage, where it set fire to the fabric# the floor and the beam gun seat. The aircraft was now brightly illuminated so that it was an easy target and, whilst held in a concentration of some 30 searchlights, was subjected to intense enemy fire. The situation began to appear hopeless, and Sergeant Bray ordered the crew to escape by parachute. He then set the controls and, when making his way to the rear of the aircraft to ensure that the crew had left safely, he observed Sergeant Spooner still battling with the flames. Serge-ant Bray thereupon returned to the control and skilfully and coolly extricated his aircraft from a perilous situation. The flare eventually burned its way through the floor of the aircraft and Sergeant Spooner, having exhausted the extinguisher,, finally'subdued the flames with his gloved hands. He then went forward and, to enable Sergeant Bray to fulfil the duties of navigator, took over the controls. Although suffering acoutely from the effects of the fumes, he flew the aircraft safely back to this country. Throughout, thes'e airmen showed great courage and set an example worthy of the highest praise, NOTES ■ ON CAREERS ■ t * Squadron Leader C-IBBS was bom in 1910 at Singapore. His home is at Oving, Sussex. He was educated at Beaumont House, tjleronsgate and Cranleigh School, He served in the 28th London Territorial Regiment from 1928 to 1930, and was commissioned in the R.A.F. in 1932. He served in Aden on flying duties in 1935, and later as flying instructor. He transferred to the reserve in 1938 and was called out for service in November 1939* He was promoted squadron leader in January 1941* Flying Officer GUNDY was bom in, 191 6at Bognor. His home is at Diss. He held a commission in the 9th Middlesex Territorial Regiment from 1937, and was commissioned in the R.A.F, in April 1940. •■.r • • . Pilot Officer FABEL was born in 1917 at Ealing. His home is at High Xycombe., He was at Rossall School, and was a sergeant in the R.A.F.V.R. when he was commissioned in July 1941 as air observer. Warrant Officer MYCOCK was bom at Prestwich, Manchester, where his home still He is. was a calico printer before enlisting as pilot in September, 1939- Sergeant BRAY was 'born in 1919 at Bronte, Ontario. His home is at Milton West, Ontario. He enlisted in the R.C.A.F. in October, 1940, and was trained under the Commonwealth Joint Air Training Plan as pilot. Sergeant SPOONER was in 1917 at Edithvale, Victoria, His home is at Innisfail, Queensland. He was a clerk before he enlisted in the R.A.A.F. in October, 1940. He was trained as pilot under the Commonwealth Joint Air Training Plan. ' 27.1.42. - No.9* HOW U,433 WAS DESTROYED It stated that the can now be U-boat which was destroyed by the corvette H.M.S. MARIGOLD (Lieutenant J. Renwick, R.N.R.) on 16th November, 1941, in the area in which H.M.S. ARK ROYAL had been torpedoed only two days before, was U-433* U-433 was a 500 tons U-boat, commanded by Oberleutnant zur sec Hans iy, iy was bom in Hanover in 1916 and his U-boat had been "adopted” by the city of Hanover. He had been awarded the Iron Cross First Class for his services in other U-boats before joining U.433. built U-433 was by the Schichauwcrft at Danzig and was commissioned in May 1941* ' After a long period of trials U-433 sailed on her first operational cruise towards end the of August 1941. This cruise was entirely unsuccessful and at the end of it U-433 put into St. Nazaire without a single "victory pennant" flying. On the 9th November, 1941, U-433 left St, Nazaire under sealed orders on her second and what was to prove her last operational cruise. She was destined for the Mediterranean and passed through the Straits of Gibraltar during the night of 13th November. She spent only three days in the Mediterranean before and in had being destroyed this time not carried out a single attack. On the of and night November 16, the sea was calm with a slight swell the visibility was about one mile when H.M.S. MARIGOLD sighted a U-boat. It is interesting to note that those on the bridge of U-433 thought that H.M.S. MARIGOLD ■was a light cruiser. of sort Mistakes this may account for.some of the exaggerated claims made the by enemy. her to to and H.M.S. MARIGOLD put helm over try ram. U-433 crash-dived H.M.S. MARIGOLD'S first depth charges were not sufficiently close to cause damage to the U-boat. It appears that Oberleutnant zur see iy was over confident and thought that he had the situation well in hand but H.M.S. MARIGOLD continued to hunt patiently and efficiently and she completely deceived the Commanding Officer of the U-boat. About half an heur later the corvette again attacked with depth charges. From the* evidence of iniV5X-*-vors reP orts from H.M.S. MARIGOLD the following sequence of events//the doomed U-boat can be reconstructed. The depth charges dropped by the MARIGOLD were veiy close. The U-boat heeled over and plunged deeply, leaking forward.