Tribute to Hubert 'Hub' Zemke by Ivan Berryman. [Original Painting]
Tribute to Hubert 'Hub' Zemke by Ivan Berryman. [Original Painting]
Hub Zemke lends his name to 'Zemke's Wolf Pack', the 56th Fighter Group that became deadly with the P-47 Thunderbolt thanks to his tactics with the machine. He scored a total of 17.75 victories in the war, mostly with this unit, but is depicted here on 26th September 1944 flying a P-51 Mustang with the 479th Fighter Group. He scored just 2.5 victories with this unit, but the one depicted here is over the German Ace Alfred Grislawski in his Me109 - a victory that injured Grislawski and meant he took no further combat role in the war. At the end of October, Hub Zemke's airframe failed in turbulence and he bailed out to be taken prisoner for the rest of the war. Amongst his many decorations are the Distinguished Service Cross and Distinguished Flying Cross as well as the Purple Heart. He died aged 80 in 1994.
Oil on canvas
Size 16 inches x 12 inches (41cm x 31cm).