15 min.
AERIAL ASSAULT The day Fortress Europe fell
In June 1944, the European War had dramatically reversed from four years previously. When Adolf Hitler’s Wehrmacht conquered Western Europe in 10 weeks, Nazi Germany seemed unstoppable. But since the Battle of Britain in 1940 and the growing Allied bomber offensive, with German defeats in the Mediterranean and Russia, the grand alliance stood poised to pounce from Britain, across the English Channel, and liberate Occupied Europe.
That spring, the American public avidly followed the European Theater “ace race” as Thunderbolt and Mustang pilots vied for the highest score. The 4th Fighter Group competed with the 56th to produce the top gun, and by June 5, the highest scores were Capt. Robert S. Johnson, rotated Stateside with 27, Maj. Francis S. Gabreski with 22, and Capt. Don Gentile, also rotated, with…
