January 28, 1919 - Oil City, Pennsylvania - Franciszek Stanisław Gabryszewski is born
June(?) 1(?), 1938 - Oil City - Graduates from Oil City High School
July 1(?), 1940 - Maxwell AF Base, Montgomery, Alabama - Enters pilot training at Maxwell AF Base, Alabama
March 14, 1941 - Maxwell AF Base, Montgomery, Alabama - Earns his wings and his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Corps =(START)
April(?) 1(?), 1941 - Charleston, South Carolina - Assigned to the 45th Fighter Squadron of the 15th Fighter Group at Wheeler Field, Hawaii. Sails for Hawaii aboard the SS Washington
April(?) 5(?), 1941 - Panama Canal - SS Washington transits the Panama Canal
April(?) 10(?), 1941 - San Francisco - SS Washington stops for two days in San Francisco
April(?) 16(?), 1941 - Honolulu, Hawaii - After 4 days, SS Washington arrives in Honolulu
April(?) 18(?), 1941 - Wheeler Field, Hawaii - Arrives at Wheeler Field, Hawaii
March 1, 1942 - Wheeler Field, Hawaii - Promoted to First Lieutenant
September 15(?), 1942 - Honolulu | San Francisco - Reports to Honolulu and flies to San Francisco in a Martin Flying Boat
September 20(?), 1942 - Washington D.C. - Leaves San Francisco for Washington D.C.
September 25(?), 1942 - Lisbon, Portugal - Two days in Lisbon
October 1(?), 1942 - RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire - Reports to the HQ of the 8th Air Force VIII Fighter Command in England
October 16, 1942 - RAF High Wycombe - Promoted to Captain
December 1(?), 1942 - RAF Norholt - Posted to No. 315 (Dęblin) Squadron at RAF Northolt, flying the Spitfire Mk.IX
February 3, 1943 - RAF Norholt - Mission to St.Omer. Finds opposition for the first time over the Channel - FW190s
February 27, 1943 - RAF Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire - Francis Gabreski reports for duty with the 56th Fighter Group at King's Cliffe
April 5, 1943 - RAF Horsham St.Faith, near Norwich - The Fighter Group relocates to RAF Horsham St.Faith
May 15, 1943 - RAF Horsham St.Faith - Gabreski damages an Fw190 on a rodeo mission to Zanvoort, Holland
May 17, 1943 - RAF Horsham St.Faith - Leads the full squadron for the first time on a sweep to Morlaix, France
June 9, 1943 - RAF Horsham St.Faith - Zemke makes Major Gabreski the new 61st Squadron Commander, due to his earlier combat experience with the RAF
June 13, 1943 - RAF Horsham St.Faith - Gabreski leads a flight on the day of Robert S. Johnson's first confirmed kill
June 26, 1943 - RAF Manston - 48 P-47Cs left a forward operating base at RAF Manston late in the afternoon to provide escort for B-17 bombers returning from a mission against Villacoublay airfield in the Paris suburbs.
July 8, 1943 - Halesworth, N of Ipswich - The Fighter Group relocates to Halesworth, North of Ipswich.
July 19, 1943 - Halesworth - Gabreski is promoted to Major
August 24, 1943 - Halesworth - Mission over Dieppe - Gabreski shoots down 1 FW190 over Dreux (1 total)
September 3, 1943 - Halesworth - 1 FW190 shot down over St.Germain (2 total)
November 1(?), 1943 - Halesworth - The group commander of the 56th, Colonel Hubert Zemke, was replaced in command for two months by Colonel Robert Landry, a staff officer at VIII FC. Because of Landry's inexperience, combat missions of the 56th were alternately led by deputy commander Lieutenant Colonel David C. Schilling and Gabreski, who acted as deputy group operations officer
November 3, 1943 - Halesworth - Ramrod mission to Wilhelmshaven
November 11, 1943 - Halesworth - 1 FW190 shot down over Rheine (3 total)
November 26, 1943 - Halesworth - RAMROD mission to Bremen. 2 Me110 shot down over Oldenburg (5 total)
November 29, 1943 - Halesworth - 2 Bf 109 shot down over Bremen (7 total)
December 1, 1943 - Halesworth - Escort mission to Solingen. Gabreski returns to base after being badly shot up by an Me 110
December 11, 1943 - Halesworth - Escort mission to Emden. 1 Bf 110 shot down over Emden (8 total). He has a close brush with death when a 20 mm 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 his P-47, disabling the engine. Gabreski stayed in the airplane, however, until it restarted at a lower altitude, where the turbocharger was not needed.
January 19, 1944 - Halesworth - Zemke resumes command and Gabreski relinquishes command of the 61th FS
January 20, 1944 - Halesworth - Major Gabreski becomes Deputy Flying Executive and Operations Officer
January 23, 1944 - Halesworth - Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
January 29, 1944 - Halesworth - 1 Bf 110 shot down over Emden (9 total)
January 30, 1944 - Halesworth - 1 Bf 109 and a Me 410 shot down over Lingen (11 total)
February 1(?), 1944 - Halesworth - Brings two polish pilots into the 56th Fighter Group, who had flown with him in 1943 while serving with the RAF, including Squadron Leader Boleslaw "Mike" Gladych
February 20, 1944 - Halesworth - 2 Me 410 shot down over Koblenz (13 total)
February 22, 1944 - Halesworth - 1 Fw190 shot down over Paderborn (14 total)
March 2, 1944 - Halesworth - Escort mission to Frankfurt. On the return, Gabreski and Johnson strafe an airbase south of Aachen
March 16, 1944 - Halesworth - 2 Fw190 shot down over Nancy (16 total)
March 27, 1944 - Halesworth - 2 Bf 109 shot down over Nantes (18 total)
April 6, 1944 - Halesworth - Strafing mission east of Schleswig
April 13, 1944 - Boxted, Essex - The 56th FG moves to Boxted. Gabreski takes command of the 61st Fighter Squadron
May 8, 1944 - Boxted - 1 Bf 109 shot down over Celle (19 total)
May 16, 1944 - Boxted - The 56th Fighter Group is awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for its performance in combat. The First three P-47D with "Bubble" canopy arrive at Boxted. They are allocated to Zemke, Gabreski and Dade
May 22, 1944 - Boxted - Shoots down 3 Fw190s over Höperhöfen, northwest Germany (22 total)
June 7, 1944 - Boxted - 1 Bf 109 and 1 Fw190 shot down over Dreux (24 total)
June 12, 1944 - Boxted - 2 Bf 109 shot down over Évreux (26 total)
June 27, 1944 - Boxted - 1 Bf 109 shot down over Connantre (27 total)
July 5, 1944 - Boxted - 1 Me109 shot down over Évreux (28 total) - Gabreski becomes the top american scoring fighter pilot in the Europe Theatre of Operations
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| Gabreski's P-47, near Bassenheim |
July 25, 1944 - near Bassenheim, Germany - After 5 days on the run Gabreski is captured. He is collected at the small jail by two Luftwaffe airmen
July 29, 1944 - Stalag Luft I, Barth, NE Germany - Gabreski is transfered to Stalag Luft I, a prisoner camp for allied airmen
April 30, 1945 - Stalag Luft I - The prisoners are ordered to evacuate Stalag Luft I in the face of the advancing Soviet Red Army, but the Senior American Officer, Colonel Hubert Zemke, refused to give the order. After negotiations between Zemke and Commandant Oberst (Colonel) Gustav Warnstedt, it was agreed that to avoid useless bloodshed the guards would go, leaving the POWs behind
May 1, 1945 - Stalag Luft I - Soviet troops liberate Stalag Luft I
May 21, 1945 - New York City - Gabreski lands at LaGuardia Field in New York
June 11, 1945 - Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin - Gabreski marries Kay Cochran
November 1, 1945 - Wright Field, near Dayton, Ohio - Gabreski, Gentile and Godfrey check a captured german Me-262 jet fighter
April 1(?), 1946 - ? - Leaves the US Air Force
April 7, 1947 - Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina - Recalled to active duty to command the 55th Fighter Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina
September 1(?), 1947 - New York City - The Air Force sends him to Columbia University to complete his degree and study russian
June 1(?), 1949 - New York City - Graduates with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science
March 11, 1950 - Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan - Promoted to Colonel
May 1(?), 1951 - Honolulu, Hawaii - On his route to Korea, Gabreski runs into John C.Meyer, who had commanded the 4th fighter group in Korea, and they have dinner together
May 15(?), 1951 - Johnson AF Base (Iruma Air Base), Sayama, Japan - Reports to the 4th Fighter Wing at Johnson Air Force Base, Japan
June 1(?), 1951 - Kimpo Air Base, South Korea - Gabreski and a group of selected pilots of the 56th FIW accompanied the delivery of F-86Es of the 62nd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron to South Korea aboard the escort carrier USS Cape Esperance. The planes and pilots joined the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Group at K-14 (Kimpo) Air Base
June 17, 1951 - Kimpo Air Base, South Korea - First combat mission with the F-86A Sabre
July 8, 1951 - Kimpo Air Base - Mission covering F-80s attacking ground targets near Pyongyang, North Korea. 1 Mig-15 shot down over North Korea (29 total)
September 2, 1951 - Kimpo Air Base - 1 Mig-15 shot down over North Korea (30 total)
October 2, 1951 - Kimpo Air Base - 1 Mig-15 shot down over North Korea (31 total)
November 8, 1951 - Suwon Air Base, South Korea - Transferred to the 51st Fighter Wing at K-13 (Suwon) Air Base
December 1, 1951 - K-13 Suwon Air Base - 51st Fighter Wing First F-86 mission
January 11, 1952 - K-13 Suwon Air Base - 1 Mig-15 shot down over Dandong, China (32 total)
February 20, 1952 - K-13 Suwon Air Base - 1 shared over Yalu River, North Korea (32,5 total)
April 1, 1952 - K-13 Suwon Air Base - 1 Mig-15 shot down over North Korea (33,5 total)
April 12, 1952 - K-13 Suwon Air Base - 1 Mig-15 shot down over North Korea (34,5 total)
June 4, 1952 - K-13 Suwon Air Base - Receives orders sending him home
June 17, 1952 - San Francisco - Gabreski receives the key to the city from San Francisco Mayor Elmer E. Robinson and is given a ticker-tape parade up Market Street
June 24, 1952 - Washington D.C. - US President Harry S.Truman welcomes Francis Gabreski from Korea to the White House
July 1(?), 1952 - Norton Air Force Base, California - Chief of Combat Operations Section, Office of the Inspector General
July 12, 1952 - Burbank, California - Visit to the Lockheed factory in California
November 1(?), 1953 - Edwards Air Force Base, California - First flight in the new F-100 Super Sabre during a visit to North American Aviation
January(?) 1(?), 1954 - Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama - Student at the Air War College
July 1(?), 1955 - Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina - Deputy Chief of Staff, Headquarters Ninth Air Force
September 10, 1956 - Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, South Carolina - Commander, 342d Fighter-Day Wing — (September 10, 1956 – November 19, 1956) (inactivated before operational and succeeded by 354th TFW)
November 19, 1956 - Myrtle Beach Air Force Base - Commander, 354th Tactical Fighter Wing (F-100 Super Sabre) — (November 19, 1956 – July 13, 1960)
January(?) 1(?), 1958 - Myrtle Beach Air Force Base - Flies to Sola, Norway, in na F-100 using air-to-air refueling during Mobile Foxtrot deployment - Myrtle Beach - Bermuda - Azores - France - Sola. Same route back
August 8, 1960 - Kadena Air Base, Okinawa - Commander, 18th Tactical Fighter Wing (F-100) — (August 8, 1960 – June 19, 1962)
July 1(?), 1962 - Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii - Director of the Secretariat, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces — (July 1962 – July 1963)
July 1(?), 1963 - Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii - Inspector General, Pacific Air Forces — (July 1963 – August 1964)
August 17, 1964 - Suffolk County Air Force Base, New York - Commander, 52d Fighter Wing (Air Defense) (McDonnell F-101 Voodoo) — (August 17, 1964 – October 31, 1967)
October 31, 1967 - Suffolk County Air Force Base - Retires from the US Air Force
July 1(?), 1978 - Dayton, Ohio - Inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame
February 26, 1981 - New York City - Resigns from the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
September 15, 1983 - Chicago - Gabreski and Hanns Scharff reenact an interrogation at a reunion of Stalag Luft III POWs
August 6, 1993 - Wisconsin - His wife dies as the result of an automobile accident as they both were returning from the Oshkosh Air Show
January 31, 2002 - Huntington, New York - Francis Gabreski dies of an heart attack, aged 83 =(END)
~Work in Progress~
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