|
History
of the ship as HMS Vengeance with the Royal Navy
1944-1956
Please click
here for more information.
|
|
|
|
|
History
of the ship as HMAS Vengeance with the Royal Australian Navy
1952-1955
Please click
here for more information.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Vice Admiral Sir Donald Gibson
(Filed: 04/09/2000)
The
Telegraph Newspaper
VICE-ADMIRAL SIR DONALD GIBSON, who has died aged 84, was one of the
best, and the luckiest, Fleet Air Arm pilots of the Second World War being
ashore when his ship, the Glorious was sunk off Norway in 1940.
In March 1949, when he commanded the 17th Carrier Air Group, he was
flying a Hawker Sea Fury fighter over the Channel, leading some 60 aircraft
from Theseus, Vengeance and Implacable on an exercise strike, when his
engine stopped. He decided to ditch, hit the sea, struggled to get out
of the cockpit, felt a violent wrench on his left shoulder and then "peace,
perfect peace". Apparently, his parachute had opened underwater and plucked
him out of the sinking aircraft. |
