|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hub Zemke
| Colonel Hub Zemke (deceased) Best known as leader of the legendary Zemkes Wolfpack, Hub Zemkes famous 56th Fighter Group was the top scoring Fighter Group in the European Theater of operations. Zemke pioneered the use of the P-38 Droop Snoot as a bomb aiming aircraft which led the bomb-loaded P-47s on to the target with great accuracy and success. He later commanded the 479th Fighter Group P-38s. One of the outstanding fighter leaders of the war, Hub Zemkes personal tally 17.5 victories. Sadly, he passed awway on 30th August 1994. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Text for the above items : |
Clipped Signature - Hub Zemke. Best known as leader of the legendary Zemke's Wolfpack, his famous 56th Fighter Group was the top scoring Fighter Group in the European Theater. He pioneered the use of the P-38 Droop Snoot as a bomb aiming aircraft which led the bomb-loaded P-47s on to the target with great success. One of the outstanding fighter leaders of the war, his personal tally was 17.5 victories. He died in 1994. |
Dawn Chorus by Nicolas Trudgian. (B) June 1944, dawn is breaking over a sleepy English village, and P-38 Lightnings shatter the silence as they climb out from a nearby air base, en route to the Normandy beach heads. |
Ploesti, The Vital Mission by Robert Taylor. Col Leon Johnson aboard the damaged Suzy Q emerges through an inferno of intense ground fire and dense palls of acrid burning oil. More seriously hit and smoking, another B-24 Liberator completes its bombing run. By the end of that first day of May 1943, the Ploesti oil fields were in ruins and the B-24 crews of the 8th and 9th Air Forces had dealt a vital blow to the Axis war machine. |
Return from Schweinfurt by Robert Taylor. B-17 Fortresses of the American 8th Air Forces 1st Wing, fighting their way back from Schweinfurt on 17th August 1945. |
The Wolfpack by Robert Taylor. The 56th Fighter Group was led by some of Americas greatest fighter leaders of World War II and was home to many of its leading fighter Aces. Under successive commanders Hub Zemke, Robert Landry and David Schilling, the 56th destroyed more enemy aircraft in combat than any other fighter group in the Eighth Air Force. Arriving in England in January 1943 under the command of Colonel Hub Zemke, a master tactician and fearless leader, the 56th quickly emerged as an outstanding fighting unit. The only Eighth Air Force Group to fly P-47 Thunderbolts throughout the war, the 56th spawned more fighter Aces than any other USAAF group - legends such as Gabby Gabreski, Robert Johnson and the colourful Ace Walker Bud Mahurin. Under Hub Zemkes mercurial leadership they became known and feared as Zemkes Wolfpack. On 26 November, 1943, the P-47s of the 56th Fighter Group were tasked to escort B-24 Liberators of the 392nd Bomb Group on a dangerous mission to attack the heavily defended industrial and dockyard facilities in the German port of Bremen. Zemke knew the Luftwaffe would be waiting for them as they approached the target, and they were - in force! It was to become a day of high drama. With the Luftwaffe throwing all the fighters they could muster at the American heavy bombers, a massive aerial battle ensued. In the running dogfights high over Bremen, the Wolfpack claimed their most successful action of the war with 23 confirmed kills, 3 probables, and 9 damaged, creating an all-time record in the European Theatre. The 392nds B-24 Liberators could not have been in safer hands on that eventful day. |
Gathering of Eagles by Robert Taylor. SOLD OUT. |
Outward Bound by Robert Taylor. 78th FG Thunderbolts preparing to depart Duxford - with two visiting 361st FG Mustangs in the background while overhead other 361st FG Mustangs climb away from Bottisham. |
Zemkes Wolfpack by Robert Taylor. Hub Zemke was a fighter pilot and commander who led from the front. A great tactician too, it was in no small measure due to the air combat tactics introduced to the 56th Fighter Group by its mercurial leader that by the end of WW2 it had become the top-scoring Fighter Group in the USAF. This highly successful unit spawned some of the top fighter aces in the European theatre : Gabby Gabreski with 34.5 victories, Robert Johnson with 28 victories, and the colourful Ace, Walker Bud Mahurin who shot down 21 German aircraft. High over Germany at the extremity of its range, the P-47 of Hub Zemke is seen leading his pilots in to defend a stricken B-17 against the persistent attacks of marauding Fw190s. Already damaged, the B-17 has dropped from the relative safety of the formation, and protection from the P-47s is now its only chance of survival. |
|
Contact Details |
|
Sign Up To Our Newsletter!
This website is owned by Cranston Fine Arts. Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu, Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269. Email: cranstonorders -at- outlook.com
|
|
|
