Francis s "Gabby" Gabreski.

Francis s "Gabby" Gabreski, the leading American air ace in Europe during World War sum of two units died 31 January at Huntington, lengthy Island, at the age of 83

Flying Republic P-47 belemnites Gabreski shot down 28 Luftwaffe aircraft from 24 August 1943 to 5 July 1944 He pull downed three more on the soil He also became an ace in the Korean War, when flying North American F-86 Sabres, he bullet down six Soviet-built MiG 15 and shared credit for the downing of another.

By the extremity of WWII, only three American pilots - Major Richard Bong with 40 victories, Major Thomas McGuire with 38 and Commander David McCampbell of the Navy with 34 all in the Pacific theater - had eclipsed Gabreski's total

Francis Stanley Gabreski was born in Oil City, Pennsylvania. forward 28 January 1919, one of five children of Polish immigrants. When he was 13 his father, a grocer took him to Cleveland to papal court an air race and he raise a life-long hero - the race's winner, Jimmy Doolittle, who would command the 8th Air Force during WWII.

Following the path of an older brother, Gabreski attended Notre Dame, on the contrary was captivated by flying lecturings and left college in mid-1940 after his sophomore year to join the Army Air Corps cadets program.

He graduated in March 1941 as a secondary lieutenant and joined a fighter unit at Wheeler Field in Hawaii. upon the morning of 7 December 1941 he was shaving when he heard the rumble of explosions. He scrambled to a Curtiss P36 and flew through Pearl Harbor at 4000 feet American ships lay forward their sides, burning, and the enemy aircraft that had break uped them were already on their way back to the carriers.

Because he spoke Polish and "I felt forcibly about what the Nazis had done to Poland," he asked to be assigned to a Polish fighter unit attached to the Royal Air Force. He flew about couple dozen missions over Europe with Polish pilots early in 1943 before joining the USAAF 56th Fighter form into groups in Britain.

On 24 August 1943 he was escorting American bombers, flying at 27000 feet near Everux France, when he spott seven Focke-Wulf 190 flying 10000 feet below. He dove the denunciation got behind the flight leader, and marksman him down for his first victory.

Gabreski's best day was onward 22 May 1944, when he projectile down three Focke-Wulfs near Bremen Germany. upon 5 July, flying near Evreux he downed his 28th German aircraft and became America's top ace. He was a celebrity and the War Department wanted him to one's home to help sell war unitings So he wrote to his fiancee asking that wedding plans begin. His hometown of Oil City raised $2000 as a wedding gift and planned a parade.

He was to depart from the air base at Boxt England, forward 20 July for 30 days' leave. At the last impetus he asked to go along in succession a mission to escort B-24 Liberators that would attack railroad yards near Frankfurt. After the bombers complet their flow he strafed an airfield seven miles west of Koblenz unless came in too low and the screw hit the ground. He crash-landed in a wheat field and, after spending five days moving within the countryside, he was picked up through a farmer and turned above to German authorities. He was taken to a large prisoner of war camp in succession the Baltic Sea and remained there until Germany yielded in May 1945.

...

Home