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the cover of the book gabby a fighter pilot ' s life by francis gabreskian open book with a picture of a cat on itan open book with a black and white photo of a woman in a pilot ' s uniforman open book with pictures of people in military uniformsan open book with pictures of people and a plane in ita book open to a picture of two men standing in front of an airplanean open book with a picture of a plane on ita book open to a page with a picture of a man and a planean open book with pictures of people and a plane in ittwo pages of a book with a picture of a plane on itan image of a book with a picture of a plane and a picture of a plane on itan open book on a table with a calculator and a calculator on ita menu for a restaurant with a lot of food on it
Maître Lydie BRIOULT

25 - Book: ‘Gabby: A Fighter Pilot’s Life’ A captivating autobiog…
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Estimate €20 - €40
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Description
Book: ‘Gabby: A Fighter Pilot’s Life’ A captivating autobiography of Francis “Gabby” Gabreski, one of the greatest aces in American aviation. The author, Carlton Molesworth, is an American aviation historian particularly renowned for the quality of his various works. Published in an expanded edition by Schiffer in February 1998, this book offers a first-person account of Gabreski’s life, enriched by exceptional visual material comprising over 200 photographs and eight colour profiles of the aircraft Gabreski flew. The son of Polish immigrants, born in 1919, Francis Gabreski had a difficult start to life, narrowly avoiding being failed at flight school. Yet he went on to become a legendary figure during two major conflicts: • the Second World War: An eyewitness to the attack on Pearl Harbour, he initially flew briefly with a Polish squadron in the British RAF before joining the famous 56th Fighter Group of the US 8th Air Force. At the controls of his imposing P-47 Thunderbolt, he shot down 28 German aircraft in 17 months. During his very last mission before his scheduled return to the United States, whilst on a low-altitude strafing run, he was hit by anti-aircraft fire and forced to make an emergency landing, before being taken prisoner and spending the final months of the war in a prisoner-of-war camp. • The Korean War: Returning to active service a few years later, he adapted to the jet age and flew F-86 Sabres. He added a further 6.5 victories to his tally, making him one of the very few American pilots to have achieved ace status in two different conflicts. 176 pages. Book in English. (Grégory Pons Collection)
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About the sale Sale of the Grégory Pons collection and miscellaneous items (Aviation and WW2 Militaria)
Auction location
Auction time 11/14/2026 at 1:30 PM
Lot description modified on 10/06/2026 at 5:04 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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