357th Fighter Group ace dies
Sat Oct 14, 2006 8:21 am
Bob Schimanski passed away on October 7th. May you rest in peace sir after serving our country so well. My sincere condolences to the family.
Lieutenant Colonel ROBERT G. SCHIMANSKI
Born in Spokane, Washington in 1920, Bob Schimanski graduated as a fighter pilot, and was posted to join the 364th Fighter Squadron,
357th Fighter Group in England. During his tour of duty onP51s at Leiston, he flew 70 combat missions, getting on the score sheet with
the first of his victories on 13 September 1944. He became an Ace on 2 March 1945 when he downed an Me109 south of Magdeburg. By
the end of his tour had achieved 6 air victories, all but one against Me109s, plus a further two on the ground.
Here's a recent interview with him.
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/sections ... asp?ID=ace
Dennis
Lieutenant Colonel ROBERT G. SCHIMANSKI
Born in Spokane, Washington in 1920, Bob Schimanski graduated as a fighter pilot, and was posted to join the 364th Fighter Squadron,
357th Fighter Group in England. During his tour of duty onP51s at Leiston, he flew 70 combat missions, getting on the score sheet with
the first of his victories on 13 September 1944. He became an Ace on 2 March 1945 when he downed an Me109 south of Magdeburg. By
the end of his tour had achieved 6 air victories, all but one against Me109s, plus a further two on the ground.
Here's a recent interview with him.
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/sections ... asp?ID=ace
Dennis
Sun Oct 15, 2006 9:08 am
RIP
Sun Oct 15, 2006 5:23 pm
I wrote to Col. Schimanski several times and had the great pleasure of spending some time with him in Seattle a couple of years ago. He was a gentleman and a class act. Like so many of his generation he felt what he did was no big deal. We are all the poorer for the passing of such men.
Lest we forget
Blue Skies Colonel
Gary
Lest we forget
Blue Skies Colonel
Gary