Pat Gibbs

Wing Commander Pat Gibbs, who has died aged 92, once crash landed in Malta during the Second World War. He later became a fiercely independent film critic for more than 25 years, from the Daily Telegraph:

Gibbs specialised in torpedo attacks against shipping; the tactics he developed in the Mediterranean against fearsome opposition were subsequently developed for the highly successful Strike Wings that operated from airfields in Britain later in the Second World War..

..As he released his torpedo, his aircraft was badly damaged by fire from an escorting destroyer but he made for Malta, where he made a crash landing. Gibbs remained on Malta with a detachment from No 39, where he combined his force with the resident, but depleted, squadron. Within days, he led the combined squadron to attack an important convoy of oil tankers heading along the Greek coast towards Libya. Gibbs released his torpedo, despite being hit by anti-aircraft fire, and his target limped into an Italian port.

On July 3 this same convoy made another attempt to re-supply Rommel's army. Gibbs took off at the head of 12 Beauforts to intercept it but returned after a fruitless six-hour search. The following day he led eight of the tired crews on another attempt. Four were forced to turn back and two were lost over the target. Gibbs's aircraft was extensively damaged but he managed to struggle back to Malta to make a crash landing. A few days later it was announced that he had been awarded a Bar to his DFC.

One of the RAF's finest operational leaders on Malta, Laddie Lucas, wrote: "There is not the least doubt that the success of his strike operation had a material effect upon the fortunes of our 8th Army in the desert and the outcome at Alamein; there were few operational efforts in World War II to compare with it."

..After returning exhausted from Malta in late 1942, Gibbs worked in the Air Ministry but the strain of the intense flying told and he was medically discharged from the RAF in 1944. By now Gibbs had become interested in the theatre, after seeing and then meeting the actress Muriel Pavlow; this led to his being introduced to W A Darlington, the dramatic critic of The Daily Telegraph, who invited him to review some of the less important productions...