Clark Photo Gallery

56th Fighter Group

From the Family of 1st. Lt. James J. Clark

AcePilots Main Page USAAF ETO Aces Top Aces of the 56th FG: Robert Johnson Francis Gabreski David Schilling Bud Mahurin Hub Zemke, CO

First Lieutenant James J. Clark flew with the famed 56th Fighter Group in WW2. His son, Joe Clark, has been kind enough to share these photos from his family's personal collection. As shown in the thumbnail images (click on any of them to see full-size picture), they feature several pictures of Gabby Gabreski and other pilots of the 56th FG.

I believe that all the pilots shown served with Gabreski and Clark in the 61st Squadron of the 56th Group.

The 56th FG, commanded by Hub Zemke, flew P-47 Thunderbolts over Europe. Along with their Mustang-equipped rivals, the 4th FG, they were one of the top-scoring Fighter Groups in the ETO.

	Lt. Clark receiving his Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)		Gabby Gabreski in flying gear
	Gabreski, Heaton, and Gerrick (l. to r.)		Gabreski and Gerrick. 2nd Lt. Steven Gerrick, 61st FS, shot down 5 German airplanes between March and June, 1944
	Lt. Hertel		Lt. Leuculick
	Lt. Warren S. Patterson Jr., 61st FS, shot down one German plane, June 27, 1944		Lt. James Clark
	Lt. Dieppi Smith		Official record of Lt. Clark's 73 sorties from May - Nov. 1944, credits (1 confirmed Fw190 kill), and medals (3 Air Medals and a DFC)
	V-mail to Lt. Clark, from his father-in-law, Mac Parker, including a newspaper clipping about Clark's aerial victory

References:

• Valor, April 1995, Vol. 78, No. 4, by John L. Frisbee
• Robert S. Johnson and Martin Caidin, Thunderbolt!, Honoribus Press, 1958
• Jerry Scutts, P-47 Thunderbolt Aces of the Eighth Air Force, Osprey Publishing, 1998

56th Fighter Group, by Roger Freeman Number 2 in Osprey's Aviation Elite Units series. 96 pages, paperback. Charts the whole wartime career of 'Zemke's Wolfpack'. Lots of authentic photos, planes in profile view, and info about the 56th Fighter Group. Buy '56th Fighter Group' at Amazon.com