Lot 40
World War II in color - England, circa 1945 Ace American Pilot Lieutenant Colonel Francis "Gabby" S. Gabreski Signed color photo, shown in the open cockpit of his P-47. The flags refer to the 31 enemy planes brought down by Gabreski. If you look closely above the swastikas it names the type of plane shot down. Francis S. "Gabby" Gabreski (1919-2002) ranks as the all-time top U.S. Army Air Force ace. He was one of only seven USAF pilots who was an ace in both WWII and the Korean War. Beginning his career flying sorties against the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, the Polish-speaking pilot started to fly Spitfires in January 1943 with the 315 (Polish) Squadron of the RAF. After a few weeks, Gabreski was assigned to Zemke's 56th Fighter Group, flying P-47 Thunderbolts without seeing any action until August 24, 1943, when he scored his first victory. From then on, Gabreski downed 28 enemy aircraft, leading all pilots in the European theatre. After 193 missions, the Air Force was ready to send him home but, shortly before boarding the plane, he discovered that a mission was set for that morning. On July 20, 1944, Gabreski crash-landed during a strafing sortie and hid out for five days. Although he persuaded a Polish-speaking forced laborer to bring food and water, Gabreski was captured and imprisoned in Stalag Luft I, a German POW camp for the remaining eight months of the war. He returned to military service in the Korean War and shot down six MIG 15s. Gabreski was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, a Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, a Bronze Star, the Air Medal and awards from the French and Polish governments. We describe all items to the best of our ability as we are not experts on everything. Please ask specific questions on details or condition prior to bidding, ALL ITEMS ARE SOLD AS IS. We box and ship to keep costs low. We do not use a packaging service, unless the costumer prefers us to use them. We can ship either USPS or UPS
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Dimensions:
- 8" x 10" Condition:
- Very Good Condition
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