Wing Commander Guy Gibson D.F.C. RAF Pilot's Flying Log Book No2

It seems only appropriate we should list this item today, exactly 75 years to the day after Wing Commander Guy Gibson led 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force on an audacious bombing raid to destroy three dams in the Ruhr valley, on an operation codenamed 'Chastise' that took place on the night of 16-17 May 1943.

Clearly this example is a replica, with the original Flying Log Book held as a national archive item at the Public Records Office. Despite this these copies are now also incredibly rare and have become a sought after collector's item in its own right. This was published in a single run by 'After the Battle ' magazine in 1975 and sold out very quickly and is now only very occasionally available on the second hand market. I will certainly never be selling my own copy but we have now been fortunate enough to find a further example that is offered for sale here.

Guy Gibson's Log Book No. 2 was faithfully replicated from the original copy held in the Public Record Office, London. The first and last pages have been stuck together as in the original book. The photograph that had been inserted on the page following the entry for the Dams raid on May 16, 1943, is missing in the original and is missing here. The log book cover, which is now showing some age related foxing (which actually adds to the authenticity in our view) is marked 'Log Book No2' ;it is not known what happened to Guy Gibson's original log book covering the period up to November 15, 1940. The written entries end of September 15, 1944. Just Three days later, on September 19, Gibson piloted a Mosquito to Rheydt in Germany, acting as Master Bomber for a raid on communications. At 21.53 hours he turned for home but three-quarters of an hour later crashed in flames at Steenbergen, Holland. Mystery continues to surround his loss but the current theory is he was mistaken for a Luftwaffe aircraft and was sadly shot down and killed by 'friendly fire'.

Don't just take our word for it just how good this facsimile is and I quote from Amazon. com reviewer J. R. Perkins: "As an historic document, this item ranks up there with the best. Especially if you have an interest in aviation from the Second World War, as Guy Gibson is one of the best known pilots of the Royal Air Force and to have a reproduction of his Log Book is something really special. Some of his less known sorties are listed here, being his time as a night fighter pilot with 29 Squadron flying Blenheims and then Beaufighters defending the skies of England against German night bombers. Truly a very special book to own and treasure. Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson VC DSO DFC (12 August 1918 – 19 September 1944), was the first CO of the Royal Air Force's 617 Squadron, which he led in the "Dam Busters" raid (Operation Chastise) in 1943, resulting in the destruction of two large dams in the Ruhr area. He was awarded the Victoria Cross and died later in the war. He had completed over 170 operations at the age of 24."

As mentioned these copies, that were made in a one off limited edition, hardly ever come on the market these days although we have noticed one is currently listed on Amazon. com at £352.00 We are happy to list ours at a rather keener price so make your choice! This example does have age related wear to the cover as already mentioned but the binding remains strong. Inside the entries are all clear and remain bright and the pages are generally clean with again just minor foxing in places, that adds rather than detracts to the authentic look of this amazing replica. Grab it whilst you can on this 75th anniversary of the raid as it is almost certain prices for these will continue to rise. Please also check out the 617 Squadron 'Honours Board' we have also listed on the site today.