Gibbs Patrick Libri

In 1940, Patrick Gibbs was first assigned as a squadron commander of Beauforts in 22 Squadron at North Coates in Lincolnshire. After completing his flying tour at the end of 1941, he was awarded the DFC and sent to the Middle East, where he initially served in the air staff at headquarters in Cairo. By late spring 1942, he was appointed to 39 Squadron Beauforts in the Middle East as a squadron commander. Following several operations from desert airfields, he proposed relocating his squadron to Malta, where it became the core of a wing composed of Beauforts and Beaufighters, attacking enemy convoys supplying Rommel's army. For his combat actions from Malta, he received the DSO. The author wrote the manuscript of this book in 1943, capturing events and actions while they were still fresh in his memory. His work reveals a lesser-known aspect of the aerial and naval engagements that took place in Africa and the Mediterranean.

Patrick Gibbs, syn úspěšného rejdaře z Cardiffu vstoupil roku 1934 na akademii RAF Cranwell. Po jejím úspěšném absolvování sloužil u různých jednotek a létal na mnoha typech letounů. Jako pilot FAA sloužil na konci třicátých let na letadlových lodích Fourious a Courageous. Po vypuknutí války působil nejprve jako letecký instruktor, později byl převelen k peruti torpédonosných Beaufortů. Naši čtenáři už měli možnost seznámit se s knihou P. Gibbse Konečně Malta!, která je jakýmsi volným pokračováním knihy Proti lodím a přístavům.