Colonel Francis S. "Gabby" Gabreski

Colonel Francis S. Gabreski was the top American Air Ace in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) with 28 enemy fighters destroyed in aerial combat plus three (3) on the ground. Colonel Gabreski was also an Ace in the Korean War with 6.5 fighters shot down in aerial combat. The military aviation career of Colonel Gabreski began in July 1940 when he graduated from Maxwell Army Air Field, Alabama, in March 1941. He was assigned to the 45th Fighter Squadron of the 15th fighter group in Hawaii. Gabreski was at Wheeler Field when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and despite the fires, destruction, and confusion he managed to get into the air but without any success.. Gabreski was sent to England in November 1942 and served as Liaison Officer to to the RAF's 315th (Polish) Squadron and flew Spitfire IX's over German occupied France in 1943. This assignment was due in part to his fluency in the Polish language. He flew Spitfires in 20 combat missions. Gabreski was transferred to the 56th Fighter Group of the USAAF based in England in February 1943. During nine missions he shot down more than one enemy fighter with his P-47. Gabreski led a series of fighter sweeps over the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), eventually surpassing Eddie Rickenbacker's World War I record. On July 5, 1944, he scored his 28th kill, making him America's leading ace. Colonel Gabreski was on furlough awaiting transportation directions to the United States in July 1944, when he volunteered to lead his squadron into Germany. Returning from the mission Gabreski elected to hit a German air field that had a large number of planes parked on it. On his second low lever pass over the field, his prop tips hit a small rise in the runway and he was forced to make a crash landing. Gabreski escaped from his aircraft and eluded the Germans for five days. After being captured he was a prisoner of war for 10 months in Stalag Luft 1, and was liberated by the Russian Army in April 1945. Colonel Gabreski flew 166 combat missions in British Spitfires and American P-47's during his tour in the European Theater of Operations. Colonel Gabreski returned to the United States after liberation from the German prisoner of war camp in April 1945, and was assigned to Wright Field, Ohio, as Chief of the Fighter Test Section. At this time, he attended the Engineering Flight Test School qualifying him as a test pilot. He remained in this capacity until April 1946, when he separated from the Army Air Force to accept a position with the Douglas Aircraft Corporation in California. In April 1947, Colonel Gabreski was recalled to active service and assigned as Commanding Officer of the 55th Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Group, Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. He served in this capacity until September, 1947, when he entered Columbia University under the Air Force Educational Program to study the Russian language and Political Science. In August 1949, Colonel Gabreski was reassigned to the 56th Fighter Group at Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan, as Commanding Officer. In June, 1951, he was assigned to the 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing in Korea and later as Commander of the 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing. While with the 51st, Colonel Gabreski became history's eighth "Jet Ace" on 1 April 1952. Colonel Gabreski returned to the United States June 16, 1952, and was assigned to the Office of Inspector General, USAF, at Norton Air Force Base, California, where he was Chief of Combat Operations Section. In 1954, Colonel Gabreski was chosen to attend the USAF Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, graduating in 1955. He was then assigned to Headquarters, 9th Air Force, Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, as Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations. In the summer of 1956, he was assigned to Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, South Carolina, as Commander of the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing. After 4 years at Myrtle Beach, Colonel Gabreski was assigned to command the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing, F-100 unit at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. In 1962, he was selected by General Emmet "Rosy" O'Donnell to be his Executive Officer at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. In the summer of 1963, the Colonel assumed the post of Inspector General for the Pacific Air Forces. His last assignment before retiring from the military was Commander of the 52nd Fighter Wing at Suffolk County Air Force Base, New York, from August 1964 to November 1967. Colonel Gabreski was integrated into the regular Air Force as a First Lieutenant on May 29, 1947. On March 11, 1950, he was promoted to temporary rank of Colonel and attained his permanent rank of Colonel on 1 December 1959. As eighth "Jet Ace" in aerial history, he has accumulated over 5000 hours flying time, with 4000 hours of this being jet time. Colonel Gabreski has a combined score of 37.5 enemy aircraft destroyed (34.5 aerial victories) during World War II and the Korean Conflict. Colonel Gabreski was awarded thirteen Distinguished Flying Crosses. Ten for service during World War II, and three for service during the Korean War. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for service during World War II. RIP January 31, 2002 Colonel Francis (Gabby) Gabreski, 83, who for many years was known as "America's Greatest Living Ace," died Thursday (January 31, 2002) after a heart attack at his home in Dix Hills, N.Y. Gabreski, who recorded 37 1/2 kills as a fighter pilot in both World War II and the Korean War, joined the Army Air Corps in 1941. Funeral services were held February 6, 2002, at St. Matthews Church in Dix Hills, N.Y., on Long Island. The Colonel was buried at Calverton National Cemetery, Calverton, N.Y., also on Long Island. He was credited with a record 31 downings of enemy planes in WWII. He added 6 1/2 more kills, sharing credit for one, during the Korean War. Colonel Gabreski was shot down over Europe and spent the last eight months of the war in a German prisoner of war camp. He later worked for Grumman Aerospace. Gabreski wrote about his military career in "Gabby, A Fighter Pilot's Life." An airport in Westhampton Beach on eastern Long Island bears his name. Brig. Gen. Terry L. Gabreski, director of logistics for Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is Colonel Gabreski's daughter-in-law.