Bobby Gibbes Australian WWII Flying Ace

Australian Top Guns Bobby Gibbes, Bruce Watson and Ted Sly!

Shark Patrol © Troy White

Available as a signed & numbered limited edition print. Overall print size: 22" x 28".
Edition Size: 300 @ $135 each with 30 Artist Proofs @ $300 each

Prices are in US Dollars

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Each print co-signed by 12 victory ace Wing Commander Bobby Gibbes DFC,

Squadron Leader Bruce Watson DFC and Flight Lieutenant Ted Sly DFC.

Sales of these prints will benefit the Spitfire Memorial Defence Fellowship, for more information click here

In Shark Patrol we see Deputy Wing Commander Bobby Gibbes leading No. 457 Squadron RAAF on a sortie over a tropical island. The Mk VIII Spitfires of the "Grey Nurse" Squadron were based at Morotai island in the Halmaheras in mid 1945. Flying on Gibbes' wing is F/L Ted Sly in ZP-Q while S/L Bruce Watson leads another section in ZP-W. No. 457 Squadron was formed in the United Kingdom in June of 1941 and saw combat on the Channel front before being withdrawn and sent to Australia in mid 1942 to deal with the Japanese which had been bombing the Australian mainland since February of that year. Together with Nos 54 and 452 Squadrons, 457 Squadron became part of No 1 Fighter Wing under the command of the legendary Wing Commander Clive Caldwell. Equipped with the Spitfire Mk Vc No 1 Wing moved into the Darwin area in February of 1943. No 457 Squadron began receiving the new Mk VIII Spitfires in 1944 and in early 1945 deployed to Morotai along with Nos 452 and 79 Squadrons. In May 457 & 452 Squadrons advanced to Labuan Island during "Operation Oboe" the invasion of Borneo.

Detail of Shark Patrol showing W/C Bobby Gibbes with F/L Ted Sly on his wing.

Above left: F/L Ted Sly photographed in the cockpit of a 452 Squadron Spitfire in the Darwin area in 1944. Prior to joining No 457 Squadron F/L Sly saw combat in North Africa with with No 92 Squadron RAF where he scored three victories. At center: S/L Bobby Gibbes in North Africa after scoring the 200th victory for No 3 Squadron RAAF. At right: F/L Ted Sly, Bruce Watson and Bruce's dog in early 1945.

Above are two shots of Bobby Gibbes' Spitfire Mk VIII in full Grey Nurse markings complete with his final scoreboard. Bobby Gibbes passed away in April 2007. The photos are from the Hopton collection and appeared in the May - July 2002 issue of Flightpath magazine Volume 13 No. 4 and are used here with permission

Above left: S/L Bruce Watson's Mk VIII being serviced at Livingstone Field near Darwin in 1944. Note the earlier version of the shark mouth nose art. Watson' Spitfire was the first aircraft in the squadron to get a shark mouth. At right are three members of No 457 Squadron in early 1945. Photos: Joe Redmond collection.

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