The well-seasoned Poles, who had been fighting the Germans since 1939, accepted Gabreski, if reluctantly at first. Squadron Leader Tadeusz Andersz helped him transition to the Spitfire and fly the squadron’s “finger-four” formation as well as “rodeo” and “circus” maneuvers designed to entice Luftwaffe pilots to come up and fight. Andersz also taught Gabby how to hold his fire until he got close behind an enemy aircraft, as well as to resist the tendency to overshoot by going too fast. And there was that basic lesson every fighter pilot should learn: Always be alert for enemy fighters attacking out of the sun. Gabby remembered an early combat mission with the Poles that reinforced this imperative. “One moment I had looked back into an empty sky above me,” he recalled, “and the next moment it had been full of [Focke Wulf] 190s that seemed to come out of nowhere. I was lucky to have survived the lesson; a lot of inexperienced pilots didn’t.”

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Gabby’s experience with No. 315 Squadron gave him confidence in his abilities as a fighter pilot, which he might not have gained had he been sent immediately to an American unit upon his arrival in Britain. Although he didn’t score any victories, he was awarded the Polish Cross of Valor. In February 1943, he was transferred to the Eighth Air Force’s 56th Fighter Group under the leadership of Colonel Hubert Zemke. Gabby transitioned into the early “razorback” models of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, later flying turbosupercharger-equipped versions offering better high-altitude performance.

Lieutenant Les Smith recalled 40 years later that the group’s pilots at first did not accept Gabreski. “That was unfortunate,” he said, “but I think not unexpected, since he had not trained with us in the States, had not shipped with us, and had no personal relationships within the group. There was another unfortunate factor over which he had no control—his rank as captain. This put him in direct competition with the old captains already assigned and in indirect competition with our older first lieutenants who hoped to become captains. We new second lieutenants were not really involved in this rivalry, but we held the older pilots in great esteem, and if they didn’t like the new stranger, we weren’t going to be too friendly either. We eventually recognized Gabby’s superior ability as a pilot and his very aggressive fighting spirit, and we respected him for them.”

After several missions under Zemke’s leadership with no enemy opposition, Gabby damaged an Fw-190 over Holland on May 15 in his first active combat action with the 56th. He was gradually given more responsibility as flight leader, squadron operations officer and squadron commander, as well as a promotion to major. Although he gained confidence on every flight, a simple mishap almost ended his career as a fighter pilot. He was hand-propping a Piper L-4 for a short flight when the engine backfired, causing the prop to kick back, barely missing his head and striking his right hand. One finger bled profusely, attached only by a piece of skin and a tendon. At first when Gabby was whisked to a nearby hospital it seemed the finger couldn’t be saved, but a surgeon managed to set it in a permanently curved position. Gabby was grounded for the next three months.

Gabreski’s first mission following his return to duty was disappointing, since he was forced to break off when his belly tank malfunctioned, while the remaining pilots downed five Messerschmitt Me-110 twin-engine fighters with no losses. That day, August 17, 1943, was called “Black Thursday” after the bomber force they were escorting lost 60 planes.

Gabby scored his first confirmed kill, an Fw-190, on August 24. He described his feelings afterward: “That evening before I went to sleep I thought about the implications of what I had done that day. I had killed a man, I was sure of it. Yet I felt no remorse. It wasn’t that I particularly wanted to kill people, Germans or otherwise. But this was war, and for three years I had been preparing myself mentally and physically for the day when I would begin shooting down enemy aircraft. Yes, there was a man inside of the Fw-190 I’d destroyed today, but I never saw him, never heard him, never knew his name or what he looked like.”

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