Jon Lake Posted September 20, 2021 Share Posted September 20, 2021 I'm looking to try and find out what was on the name panel on Gabreski's final P-47. It's the red-outlined white panel with black writing in front of the kill tally. (I see that some decals show it as yellow!) From pictures of Robert Johnson's aircraft I'm guessing that it reads something like: PILOT: CAPT.FRANCIS GABRESKI CREW: MSGT STAN LAUREL SSGT OLIVER HARVEY ARM: PFC BUSTER KEATON I'd be very grateful for any guidance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tempestfan Posted September 20, 2021 Share Posted September 20, 2021 Crew: M/Sgt Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cpl. Kurt Russel Armorer: PFC Sylvester Stallone Sorry for being 🥳, I have no idea… 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted September 20, 2021 Share Posted September 20, 2021 First a correction, "Oliver Hardy" would be the name if it's a reference to the comedy team. Having written that, it's not clear to me the text in the photo is consistent with those names. For example, the last name appears longer that Gabreski's. I took a look at the Techmod sheets, but the online images are not quite readable and again don't appear to support that. Not sure I was helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted September 20, 2021 Share Posted September 20, 2021 A bit of searching found this https://www.americanairmuseum.com/person/65786 which has a photo (#28 in the carousel) of Gabreski and his ground crew, which has the following caption "Lieutenant-Colonel Francis S. Gabreski, ace pilot of the 61st Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group, stands with the ground crew who keep his P-47 Thunderbolt in fit shape for combat. They are, from left to right, Crew Chief Staff Sergeant Ralph H. Safford, Assistant Crew Chief Corporal Felix Schacki and armorer Sergeant Michael Di Franza. Printed caption on reverse of print: '53456 AC - Col. Gabreski poses with his ground crew for a picture just after returning from a mission over France. The Col. is commanding officer of his squadron, is the leading ace of the USAAF with 38 German planes to his credit. He holds the Air medals with 3 clusters, DFC with 7 clusters and the Polish Cross of Valor. He formerly flew with the Polish Squadron of the RAF. Left to right: S/Sgt. R. H. Stafford, Ionia, Michigan, crew chief; Cpl. Felix Schacki, Gary, Ind., Asst. crew chief; Sgt. Michael Di Franza, East Boston, Mass., armorer; Lt. Col. Francis S. Gabreski, Oil City, Pa. England" That may or may not be of use. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatgonzo Posted September 20, 2021 Share Posted September 20, 2021 (edited) It's GABRESKI/SAFFORD/SCHACKI/DIFRANZA. The letters should be black though. It is a FB hosting so the link probably will be inactive soon. Edited September 20, 2021 by greatgonzo 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lake Posted September 20, 2021 Author Share Posted September 20, 2021 Thanks all, really helpful input! J 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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