Born: January 28, 1919, Oil City, Pennsylvania, USA
Died: January 31, 2002, Huntington, New York,USA
Distinguished Service Cross citation
Major Francis S. Gabreski
U.S. Army Air Forces
Date of Award: November 26, 1943
Headquarters: U.S. Strategic Forces in Europe, General Orders No. 25 (1944)
Citation: The President of the United States of America, under the provisions of the Act of Congress approved July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Francis S. Gabreski (0-406131), Major (Air Corps), U.S. Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as pilot of a P-47 fighter airplane in the 61st Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group, Eighth Air Force, in aerial combat against enemy forces on November 26, 1943, in the European Theater of Operations. On this date Major Gabreski shot down two enemy aircraft, bringing his total to this point in the war to more than 30 victories. Major Gabreski's unquestionable valor in aerial combat is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the Eighth Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.
Early days. Gabreski's parents had emigrated from Poland to Oil City, Pennsylvania, in the early 1900s. His father (Stanley) owned and operated a market where the whole family worked. In 1938 Francis started attending the Notre Dame University. During his second year, Army Air Corps recruiters visited the campus. Their offer impressed him and he enrolled, reporting in July 1940. In 1938, during his first year at Notre Dame, Gabreski developed an interest in flying. He took lessons in a Taylor Cub and accumulated six hours of flight time. However, his autobiography indicates, he struggled to fly smoothly, having been advised by his instructor that he did not "have the touch to be a pilot". At the start of his second year at Notre Dame, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, angering him and re-kindling his interest in flying. Gabreski enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, volunteering as an aviation cadet. After his induction into the U.S. Army at Pittsburgh, Gabreski undertook primary flight training at Parks Air College, near East St. Louis, Illinois, flying the Stearman PT-17. He advanced to basic flight training at Gunter Army Air Base, Alabama, in the Vultee BT-13, and completed advanced training at Maxwell Field, Alabama, in the North American AT-6 Texan. Gabreski earned his wings and his commission as a second lieutenant in the Air Corps in March 1941, then sailed for Hawaii aboard the SS Washington to his first assignment.
Career. Assigned as a fighter pilot with the 45th Pursuit Squadron at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii, 2nd Lt. Gabreski trained on both the Curtiss P-36 Hawk and the newer Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Gabreski joined several members of his squadron in flying P-36 fighters in an attempt to intercept the attackers, but the Japanese had withdrawn before their reaction. During the spring and summer of 1942, Gabreski trained on newer model P-40s and in Bell P-39 Airacobrasthat. Gabreski followed closely reports on the Battle of Britain and the role played in it by Polish RAF squadrons, especially by the legendary No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron. He became concerned that the US did not have many experienced fighter pilots. This gave him an idea: since Polish squadrons had proved to be capable within the RAF and since he himself was of Polish origin and spoke Polish, he offered to serve as a liaison officer to the Polish squadrons to learn from their experience. The idea was approved and he left Hawaii for Washington, D.C. in September 1942, where he received a promotion to captain. In October 1942, Gabreski reported to the Eighth Air Force's VIII Fighter Command in England. After a lengthy period of inactivity, he tried to arrange duty with 303 Squadron, but that unit had been taken out of action for a period of rest. Instead he was posted to No. 315 (Deblin) Squadron in January 1943. Gabreski flew the new Supermarine Spitfire Mark IX, flying patrol sweeps over the Channel. He first encountered Luftwaffe opposition on February 3, when a group of Focke-Wulf Fw 190s jumped his squadron. Too excited to make a "kill", Gabreski learned that he had to keep calm during a mission, a lesson that served him well later in the war. He later spoke with great esteem about the Polish pilots and lessons they taught him. On February 27, 1943, Gabreski became part of the 56th Fighter Group, flying the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, and quickly became a flight leader. He was immediately resented by many of his fellow pilots, and the fact that he was opinionated and verbose did little to ease the situation. In May, shortly after the group moved to RAF Halesworth and entered combat, Gabreski was promoted to major. On June 9, he took command of the 61st Fighter Squadron. He recorded his first credited kill, of an Fw 190 near Dreux, France, on August 24, 1943. On November 26, 1943, the 56th FG was assigned to cover the withdrawal of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers that had bombed Bremen, Germany. The P-47s arrived to find the bombers under heavy attack near Oldenburg and dived into the fray. Gabreski recorded his fourth and fifth kills to become an ace, but had a close brush with death on December 11, when a .79 in cannon shell lodged in his engine without exploding, destroying its turbocharger. Low on fuel and ammunition, Gabreski outmaneuvered a Bf 109 until it succeeded in placing a burst of fire into the P-47, disabling its engine. Gabreski stayed in the airplane, however, until it restarted at a lower altitude where the turbocharger was not needed. In November 1943, the 56th, was alternately led by Gabreski. In February 1944, Gabreski brought into the 56th two Polish pilots including future USAAF ace Squadron Leader Boleslaw "Mike" Gladych. With Gabreski's support the 61st FS in April accepted five other Polish Air Force pilots into the squadron as the "Polish Flight".Gabreski's victory total steadily climbed through the winter of 1943-44. By March 27, he had earned 18 victory credits and had six multiple-kill missions to rank third in the "ace race" that had developed within VIII Fighter Command. He downed only one more aircraft in the next two months, during which time the two pilots ahead of him were sent home. In April 1944, Gabreski was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He resumed command of the 61st FS when its commander was transferred to VIII FC headquarters. On May 22, Gabreski shot down three Fw 190s over a Luftwaffe airfield in northwest Germany. He tied Johnson as the leading ace in the European Theater of Operations on June 27 and on July 5, 1944, became America's leading ace in the ETO, with Gabby's score of 28 destroyed matching the total at the time of confirmed victories of the Pacific Theatre's top American ace, Richard Bong. This total was never surpassed by any U.S. pilot fighting the Luftwaffe. On July 20, 1944, Gabreski had reached the 300-hour combat time limit for Eighth Air Force fighter pilots and was awaiting an aircraft to return him to the US on leave and reassignment. He found, however, that a bomber escort mission to Russelheim, Germany, was scheduled for that morning, and, instead of boarding the transport, he requested to "fly just one more." Returning from the mission, Gabreski observed Heinkel He 111s parked on the airfield at Bassenheim, Germany, and took his airplane down to attack. Gabreski was dissatisfied with his first strafing run on an He 111, and he reversed for a second pass. When his tracers went over the parked bomber he dropped the nose of his Thunderbolt to adjust, and its propeller clipped the runway, bending the tips. The damage caused his engine to vibrate violently and he was forced to crash land. Gabreski ran into nearby woods and eluded capture for five days. After being captured and interrogated Gabreski was sent to Stalag Luft I. He was liberated when Soviet forces seized the camp in April 1945. Gabreski flew 166 combat sorties, and was officially credited by the USAAF with 28 aircraft destroyed in air combat and 3 on the ground. Following his repatriation, Gabreski returned to the United States. After a 90-day recuperative leave, Gabreski became Chief of Fighter Test Section at Wright Field, Ohio, and at the same time completed test pilot training at its Engineering Flight Test School. In April 1946, he left the service, worked for Douglas Aircraft for a year, then was recalled to active duty in April 1947 to command the 55th Fighter Squadron, at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. His command of the 55th FS was brief. The Air Force sent him to Columbia University in September 1947 to complete his degree and study Russian. In June 1949, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. He returned immediately to flying, becoming commander of his former unit, the 56th Fighter Group, now flying F-80 Shooting Stars at Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan. While in command of the 56th, Gabreski oversaw conversion of the unit to North American F-86 Sabres and was promoted to colonel on March 11, 1950. Gabreski flew in combat again during the Korean War. In June 1951, Gabreski and a group of selected pilots of the 56th FIW accompanied the delivery of F-86Es of the 62d FIS to Korea aboard the escort carrier USS Cape Esperance. The planes and pilots joined the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Group at K-14 (Kimpo) Air Base, where most engaged in combat. On July 8, 1951, flying his fifth mission in an F-86, Gabreski shot down a MiG 15, followed by MiG kills on September 2 and October 2. During its first seven months as an F-86 wing, the 51st,under the command of Gabreski, with only two operational squadrons, scored 96 MiG kills, comparing favorably to the 125 of the veteran 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing. Gabreski scored 3˝ more kills to become a jet ace. Gabreski's Korean tour was due to end in June. On his return to the United States, Gabreski received the key to the city. Gabreski's 6˝ MiG-15 kill credits make him one of seven U.S. pilots to become an ace in more than one war. Gabreski was officially credited with 123 combat missions in Korea, totaling 289 for his career. Although he flew many F-86s in combat, his assigned aircraft was F-86E-10-NA 51-2740, nicknamed "Gabby". Gabreski's Air Force career continued for another 15 years, during which time he held three wing commands totaling nearly nine years of duty. Gabreski retired on November 1, 1967. Per his USAF official biography, he retired with more than 5,000 flying hours, 4,000 of them in jets.
Personal. Francis and Kay Gabreski had nine children. Two of Gabreski's three sons graduated from theUnited States Air Force Academy and became career Air Force pilots. His daughter-in-law Terry L. Gabreski was promoted to lieutenant general in August 2005, the highest-ranking woman in the USAF until her retirement in 2010. Kay died as the result of an automobile accident as she and her husband were returning from the Oshkosh Air Show on August 6, 1993.
Awards and decorations. Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star (with oak leaf cluster), Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross (with 12 oak leaf clusters), Bronze Star, Air Medal (with six oak leaf clusters), Prisoner of War Medal (retroactive award), American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (with one battle star), European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (with two battle stars), World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal (with one service star), Korean War Service Medal (with four battle stars), Air Force Longevity Service Award (with five oak leaf clusters), Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom), Légion d'honneur (France), Croix de Guerre with Palm (France), Croix de Guerre, with Palm (Belgium), Krzyż Walecznych (Cross of Valor - Poland), United Nations Service Medal.
Legacy. Suffolk County Air Force Base in Westhampton Beach, New York, was renamed Francis S. Gabreski Airport in 1991. The collocated New York Air National Guard installation at the airport was also renamed Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base. In 1978, he was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame. Gabreski Road at Shaw AFB, SC, is named in his honor
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