Francis "Gabby" Gabreski - U.S. Army Air Corps/Air Force 1940-67

Francis Stanley "Gabby" Gabreski was an American career pilot who served in both WWII and Korea. Although best known for his credited destruction of 34½ aircraft in aerial combat and being one of only seven U.S. combat pilots to become an ace in two wars, Gabreski was also one of the Air Force's most accomplished leaders. In addition to commanding two fighter squadrons, he had six command tours at group or wing level, including one in combat in Korea, totaling over 11 years of command and 15 overall in operational fighter assignments. Gabreski, a Polish-American, was stationed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7th 1941 and soon volunteered to fly in Europe with the 315 Polish Fighter Squadron. After the United States officially entered the war in Europe Gabreski became part of the 56th Fighter Group, flying a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, assigned to the 61st Fighter Squadron, and quickly became a flight leader. This story was directed and videotaped by Chris Gamboni who has graciously shared this story with USA Warrior Stories so that we can share Francis Gabreski story with our audience. If you have a story you would like to share, please contact us at [email protected]. 0:00 - Opening credits 0:25 - Newsreel - Presenting Colors to Col. Gabreski 1:04 - Cleveland Air Show, Jimmy Doolittle 2:08 - 1939 - Germany invades Poland 2:36 - Army Air Corps 3:15 - Pearl Harbor Dec 7th, 1941 5:32 - Volunteering for Polish Air Force and RAF (Royal Air Force) 6:50 - Joining 56th Fighter Group 7:50 - Engaging the enemy, Luftwaffe 8:15 - 1st Confirmed Kill 10:23 - Crashing in Germany behind enemy lines 11:26 - Trying to get back to Allied Territory 17:00 - Captured by the enemy 18:39 - Camp Oberursel 19:06 - Russians liberate Camp Oberursel 19:55 - Newsreel - Col. Gabreski Korean War