Frederick Joseph Christensen | American Air Museum

Frederick Joseph Christensen Jr

Military

Captain Frederick J. Christensen, of the 56th Fighter Group with his P-47 Thunderbolt. Printed caption on reverse: 'AP 30306. Top Scoring U.S. Fighter Group. Captain Frederick J. Christensen of Watertown, Massachusetts, an ace in the "Zemke Wolf Pack," the top-scoring U.S. fighter group in England, has shot down 22 enemy planes, six of these on Independence Day, July 4, 1944. He is the holder of the Air Medal and three clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross with the four clusters and the Silver Star. The "Z

media-401303.jpg FRE 2552 Captain Frederick J. Christensen, of the 56th Fighter Group with his P-47 Thunderbolt. Printed caption on reverse: 'AP 30306. Top Scoring U.S. Fighter Group. Captain Frederick J. Christensen of Watertown, Massachusetts, an ace in the "Zemke Wolf Pack," the top-scoring U.S. fighter group in England, has shot down 22 enemy planes, six of these on Independence Day, July 4, 1944. He is the holder of the Air Medal and three clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross with the four clusters and the Silver Star. The "Zemke Wolf Pack," attached to the Eighth U.S. Air Force and led by Colonel Hubert Zemke, former Assistant Air Attache In Moscow, has accounted for more than 540 enemy planes and has 38 aces ... men with over five victories each. Associated Press Photo No. 269800. Not For Use In British Isles, Western Hermisphere, Berne, Dublin, Stockholm, Australia, New Zealand Or South Africa. Serviced by London OWI. Certified As Passed By SHAEF Censor.' On reverse: Associated Press and B.L. Davis [Stamps]. Roger Freeman Collection

IWM, Roger Freeman Collection

Object Number - FRE 2552 - Captain Frederick J. Christensen, of the 56th Fighter Group with his P-47 Thunderbolt. Printed caption on reverse: 'AP 30306. Top Scoring U.S....

Fred Christensen was assigned to the 56th Fighter Group in the Summer of 1943, as a replacement pilot. He shot down his first aircraft in November 1943. On 7 July 1944, Christensen became the first pilot in the 8th Air Force to shoot down six enemy aircraft on one mission. He claimed a total of 21.5 aircraft.

Whilst serving with the 56th Fighter Group, Christensen adopted a stray cat, which he named Sinbad. Sinbad supposedly flew missions with Christensen, who felt he was a good luck charm- they both returned to the United States on the completion of Christensen's tour of duty in September 1944. Following the war Christensen became a pilot in the Air National Guard, he retired in 1970.

Aircraft included P-47s 'Rozzi Geth,' 'Miss Fire' and 'Rozzi Geth II. '

Part of Zemke's Wolfpack.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

56th Fighter Group

Unit Hierarchy: Group
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Fighter

62nd Fighter Squadron

Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Fighter

Aircraft

42-26628

Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
Nicknames: Miss Fire / Rozzie Geth II
Unit: 56th Fighter Group 62nd Fighter Squadron

42-75207

Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
Nicknames: Rozzi Geth Eradicator
Unit: 56th Fighter Group 62nd Fighter Squadron

Flying Officer Lee Gover of No. 133 Eagle Squadron, RAF in the cockpit of his Spitfire Mk. V nicknamed "Sondra-Lee", 1942. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'F/O Lee Gover RCAF, 133 Eagle Sqdn, 1942.'

BL722

Aircraft Type: Spitfire
Nicknames: Sondra Lee IX
Unit: 4th Fighter Group 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group 107th Reconnaissance Squadron 336th Fighter Squadron No 133 'Eagle' Squadron

Places

Boxted

Site type: Airfield

Halesworth

Site type: Airfield
Known as: Holton

Horsham St Faith

Site type: Airfield

Kings Cliffe

Site type: Airfield
Known as: Kingscliffe, Apethorpe

Events

Event	Location	Date	Description
Born	Watertown, Massachusetts	17 October 1921
Enlisted	Boston, MA, USA	4 February 1942
Other Crashed	Cross City Airport - CTY, 508 NE 241 St, Cross City, FL 32628, USA	14 January 1943	Taxiing Accident Cross City AAB, FL Cat 3 damage Lt Fred J Christensen Jr, 14-Jan-43. P-47D 42-22256 - 305FS 338FG
Other Crashed	Atcham, Shrewsbury, UK	6 May 1943	Taxiing Accident Atcham/Sta 342 Cat 3 damage Lt Fred J Christensen Jr, 6-May-43. Spitfire Vb BL722 - 552FTS* 495FTG* 8AF
Based	Boxted	27 August 1943	Assigned to 62FS, 56FG, 8AF USAAF.
Other E/A Destroyed	26871 Papenburg, Germany	26 November 1943	Me110 destroyed Papenburg, Germany 26-Nov-43. P-47C 41-6193.
Other E/A Destroyed	Roermond, Netherlands	1 December 1943	Me109 destroyed Roermond, Netherlands 1-Dec-43. P-47D 42-75207.
Other E/A Destroyed	Elberfeld, Wuppertal, Germany	5 January 1944	Fw 190 destroyed Elberfeld, Germany 5-Jan-44. P-47D 42-75207.
Other E/A Destroyed	Frankfurt, Germany	4 February 1944	Fw 190 destroyed Frankfurt, Germany 4-Feb-44. P-47D 42-75207.
Other E/A Destroyed	Frankfurt, Germany	11 February 1944	Me 109 destroyed Frankfurt, Germany 11-Feb-44. P-47D 42-75207.
Other E/A Destroyed [1.5]	Dümmer, Germany	20 February 1944	1.5 Me109 destroyed Dummer Lake, Germany 20-Feb-44. P-47D 42-75207.
Other E/A Destroyed	Dümmer, Germany	6 March 1944	E/A destroyed Dummer Lake, Germany 6-Mar-44. P-47D 42-75207.
Other E/A Destroyed [2]	Brunswick, Germany	15 March 1944	2 x E/A destroyed Brunswick, Germany 15-Mar-44. P-47D 42-75207.
Other E/A Destroyed [2]	Augsburg, Germany	16 March 1944	2 x E/A destroyed Augsburg, Germany 16-Mar-44. P-47D 42-75207.
Other E/A Destroyed [2]	Flensburg, Germany	15 April 1944	2 x Fw190 destroyed Flensburg, Germany 15-Apr-44.
Other E/A Destroyed	Villeneuve, France	27 June 1944	Me109 destroyed Villeneuve, France 27-Jun-44. P-47D 42-26628.
Other E/A Destroyed	34500 Béziers, France	5 July 1944	Fw190 destroyed Béziers, France 5-Jul-44. P-47D 42-26628.
Other E/A Destroyed [6]	Gardelegen, Germany	7 July 1944	6 x Ju52 destroyed Gardelegen, Germany 7-Jul-44. P-47D 42-25522.
Other Promotion	Boxted, Colchester, UK	13 August 1944	Promoted to Major.
Other Crashed	Harrison Charter Township, MI 48045, USA	29 July 1946	Landing Accident Selfridge Fld, MI Cat 3 Maj Fred J Christensen Jr, 29-Jul-46. P-51H 44-64311 146AAFBU SAC
Died	Northborough, MA, USA	4 April 2006
Other Promotion	Boxted, Colchester, UK		Promoted to 1st Lieutenant.
Other Promotion	Boxted, Colchester, UK		Promoted to Captain.
Other End Tour Duty (ETD)			Ended Tour Duty (ETD).
Buried	Connery Ave, Bourne, MA 02532, USA		Massachusetts National Cemetery Bourne Barnstable County, MA
Enlisted

Revisions

Date11 Jan 2018 19:50:21

ContributorAl_Skiff

ChangesChanges to events

Sources

https://www.fold3.com/page/83384477-fred-j-christensen-jr/facts
https://www.fold3.com/record/1748460-fred-j-christensen
http://littlefriends.co.uk/search.php?searchString=Christensen&Submit=S…
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbapi.asp?Pilot=Christensen%2C+F…
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26473049/fred-joseph-christensen

Date11 Jan 2018 19:49:10

ContributorAl_Skiff

ChangesChanges to events

Sources

Date11 Jan 2018 18:30:11

ContributorAl_Skiff

ChangesChanges to events

Sources

Date11 Jan 2018 18:28:51

ContributorAl_Skiff

ChangesChanges to service number, role, awards, events, unit associations and aircraft associations

Sources

Date4 Mar 2015 10:21:15

Contributorgeneral ira snapsorter

ChangesChanges to aircraft associations

Sources

Associated aircraft from :
- "The Mighty Eighth" by Roger A. Freeman
- Little Friends at http://www.littlefriends.co.uk
- http://www.cieldegloire.com

Date18 Feb 2015 09:38:24

ContributorLucy May

ChangesChanges to service number, biography, events and media associations

Sources

Combined entries for Christensen into a single entry. Now includes information from the following sources:
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list / www.56thfightergroup.co.uk/personnel.htm
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Unit History

Date2 Oct 2014 13:46:24

ContributorEmily

ChangesChanges to middlename, nickname, biography, awards, events and place associations

Sources

Freeman, The Mighty Eighth, p. 275.
http://acepilots.com/eto/christensen.html

Footage of Christensen and Sinbad: http://www.britishpathe.com/video/american-airfield-1/
Further information on Sinbad: http://www.purr-n-fur.org.uk/featuring/war01.html

Date27 Sep 2014 18:10:26

ContributorAAM

ChangesAAM ingest

Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / The Mighty Eighth by Roger Freeman

Frederick Joseph Christensen: Gallery (17 items)

Capt. Frederick J. Christensen of the 62nd Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group, holds up six fingers to show the number of aircraft he shot down during a mission on 7 July 1944. Passed for publication 8 July 1944. Printed caption attached to print: 'U.S. airman overnight becomes fighter ace shoots down 6 Nazi planes in one combat. Captain Frederick Christensen, Jr. 22 years old of 11, Wilmit St., Watertown, Mass. A 8th Air Force fighter pilot of a P-47 Thunderbolt "The Rozzie Geth" named after his girl f

Object number: FRE 177 -

Captain Frederick J. Christensen, P-47 Thunderbolt pilot of the 62nd Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group.

Object number: FRE 200 -

Object number: FRE 2552 -

Captain Fred Christensen, of the 56th Fighter Group with his P-47 Thunderbolt. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Fred Christensen.'

Object number: FRE 2580 -

Captain Fred Christensen of the 56th Fighter Group. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Christensen.'

Object number: FRE 2583 -

Captain Fred J Christensen, Colonel Francis S Gabreski, Lieutenant-Colonel David Schilling and Colonel Hubert Zemke of the 56th Fighter Group. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Christensen, Gabreski, Schilling, Zemke. Credit USAAF. 012-137.'

Object number: FRE 2618 -

Captain Fred J. Christensen of the 56th Fighter Group. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Ace 11. P-94603. Maj. Fred. J. Christensen as Capt.'

Object number: FRE 2620 -

Captain Fred Christensen of the 56th Fighter Group, with his P-47 Thunderbolt, 17 July 1944. Passed for publication 17 Jul 1944. Printed caption on reverse: 'Top Scoring U.S. Fighter Group. Associated Press Photo Shows:- Capt. Fred Christensen of 11 Wilmot Street, Watertown, Mass., one of Zempke's[sic] leading pilots. He has shot down 22. On Independ[ence] Day he shot down six. GLE 269800. 17-7-44.' On reverse: Associated Press, SHAEF Field Press Censor and US Army General Section Press & Censorship Burea

Object number: FRE 2681 -

A P-47 Thunderbolt of the 56th Fighter Group, flown by Captain Fred Christensen strafes a ground target, 19 July 1944. Gun camera image. Handwritten caption on reverse: '19-7-44. 56th Fighter Group (WWII). Capt. Christensen.'

Object number: FRE 2685 -

Lieutenant-General Spaatz awards Colonel Hubert Zemke, commanding officer of the 56th Fighter Group the Distinguished Service Cross at Halesworth,March 1944. Handwritten caption on reverse: '3-17. Lt. Gen. Spaatz C/Gen. Allied Air Forces - Europe pins the Distinguished Service Cross on Col. Hub Zemke, C.O. 56th Fighter Group, Officers Mess, Halesworth Air Base, Mar. 1944. Back row: Lft. to Rgt.: 1. Walker Mahurin. 2. Gerald Johnson. 3. D.C. Schilling. 4. Mike Quirk. 5. James Stewart. 6. Joe Powers. 7. Fre

Object number: FRE 2697 -

Brigadier General Jesse Auton awards the Air Medal to Lieutenant Frederick J Christensen of the 56th Fighter Group. Colonel Hubert Zemke (56th Fighter Group) has handwritten on reverse: 'Brig Gen Jesse Auton pining the Air Medal on Lieutenant (then) Fred J Christensen. Auton was the CG of the 65th Air Div Wing. Christensen ultimately registerd 22 air victories & became a Major in the 56th.'

Object number: FRE 9914 -

Lieutenant Colonel David C Schilling, Francis S Gabreski and Colonel Hubert Zemke of the 56th Fighter Group with Captain Fred Christensen after he shot down five aircraft in his P-47 Thunderbolt. Zemke has handwritten on the reverse: 'Seated: 1- Captain Fred Christensen. 2- Lt Col David C Schilling, Flying Executive. 3- Francis S Gabreski- CO 61st Ftr Squadron. 4- Col Hub Zemke, CO 56th Fitr Group. Christensen is seen explaining how he shot down (5) enemy aircraft on the same mission. Caught a string of

Object number: FRE 9985 -