His chute was afire when he jumped

This excerpt from Fogg in the Cockpit is from the narrative History of the 359th Fighter Group, Office of the Group Historian, June 1944 dated 4 July 1944:

On D plus 2, the heavies went after the bridges over the Loire, seeking to snap the fabric of the railroads there as medium bombers had previously chopped every line over the Seine.

There was a FO (377) but it was not in until 0425 and the effect was a hurried briefing at 0515 by Colonel Murphy.

Again the weather was execrable, haze and low ceiling, but Colonel Murphy discussed all that in a memorable line (“Weather is weather, and all weather is bad.”) and by 0627, when 45 planes took off, the mist had in fact cleared, although scud and mist rolled back over the field for the landing at 1150. There was a great score for strafing, especially in the 369th Squadron, which caught a German convoy control point at a crossroads and wiped out 26-odd vehicles.

But by now the Germans had light flak guns by the dozen at every vulnerable point, and there were two losses, 1st Lieutenant Benjamin M. Hagan III, one of the 368th Squadron originals, and Lieutenant Robert B. Sander, of the 369th. Sander was believed to have crashed in the woods near the control point but Hagan jumped after being hit in a wild strafing bee on a train southeast of Breteuil. The tall, lean, dour-faced jokester owned a questing mind, fortified by a rare depth of spirit. Aged 19 when he arrived in England, he had lived a curiously full life, although all of this was customarily masked in the prankery by which he was best known. He habitually explained he had become a fighter pilot to escape the perils of the explosives plant where he had been working and it was usually impossible to decide at what, if any point, his fantasies ceased to be fact. Two friends, Earl Perkins and Bill Simmons, followed him down and though his chute was afire when he jumped, both saw it later, empty, in a field.

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Photo: Brigadier General Edward W. Anderson presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant Benjamin M. “Hag” Hagen III. April 13, 1944 photo courtesy of R. Hatter: Archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association.

Transcribed by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association, from reports filed by Maurice F. X. Donohue, 359th Fighter Group historian and combat intelligence officer, from the original monthly narrative History of the 359th Fighter Group archived at HQ USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

The 359th FG is Inspected by the Russians

The 359th Group was chosen by General Anderson as a model station for the inspection of Major General Ivan Skliarov of the Russian Army on 9 August (1944). This was a full-dress affair, with the aircraft and all equipment shown the Soviet visitors, who spent an hour overtime in the briefing room with Colonel Swanson discussing escort and air combat tactics.

Photo:  Visiting Russian officers inspecting East Wretham USAAF Station Number 133. Four men at front of photo, from left: Unknown pilot in flight gear, Captain Howard Fogg, Major Petrosky (Russian Interpreter), Major General Ivan Skliarov of the Russian Army; at back of photo: Colonel Linquist with his back to the camera, other two unknown. August 9, 1944 photo courtesy of R. Hatter: Archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association.

This excerpt was selected from transcriptions of the August 1944 original monthly narrative History of the 359th Fighter Group archived at HQ USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. The complete document was transcribed by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association, from reports filed from December 1943 through September 1945 by Maurice F. X. Donohue, 359th Fighter Group historian and combat intelligence officer.

Rough Sketch of UTLX Pressure Car

We recently discovered final images for two of the pencil sketches included in Fogg in the Cockpit, and thought we would share one of those with you today.

Howard Fogg would often create a “rough sketch” for a customer to ensure that his vision for the final painting matched their expectations. Depending on the circumstances, the sketches were done in either pencil or watercolor. This pencil sketch example is presented with Howard’s original notations, and now you can compare the sketch to the final painting.

The 50,000 gallon UTLX pressure car rolls through southern Georgia in 1963:

Book Jacket Text

Renowned for decades as the world’s foremost railroad artist, Howard Fogg’s career spanned half a century and some 1,200 paintings. However, while his art has been welcomed for decades, few of his enthusiasts have been aware of his prior career, as a fighter pilot in the U.S. 8th Air Force during World War II. Fortunately Fogg left behind a detailed diary of his experiences, proving himself as adept with a pen as with a brush, and his day-to-day comments illuminate this brief but exciting aspect of his life, as he engaged in direct combat with the Luftwaffe at the controls of P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs.

Based in England with the 359th Fighter Group, Captain Fogg flew 76 missions in bomber escort and ground attack roles. From his backstage encounter in a London theater with Lawrence Olivier and Vivian Leigh, to the pre-dawn chaplain’s benediction on June 6, 1944, to a mission escorting B-17s as they flew below the snow-capped Alps dropping supplies to French freedom fighters, his diary offers a firsthand look at his fascinating and often unexpected wartime career.

Fogg in the Cockpit offers a frank and fascinating glimpse into the life of a fighter pilot, both in the sky and in wartime England. Through 1943–44 it offers a confidential perspective of life as a “flyboy,” during which Howard was awarded the Air Medal with three clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross with one cluster.

The diary is supplemented with material by Richard and Janet Fogg as well as excerpts from the Chaplain’s Informal Monthly Reports of Morale, and the Monthly Reports of the 359th Group Historian. It also incorporates period photographs and examples of Howard’s artwork, including previously unpublished political cartoons and preliminary drawings.

From the smallest daily details of the airmen’s life to the strategic and tactical decisions that affected their fates, Fogg in the Cockpit presents a hidden side of one of the 20th century’s great artistic geniuses, with a vivid look at the life of a fighter pilot in World War II.

(Text from inside front book jacket.)

August 30, 1944

Excerpt from Fogg in the Cockpit, the Wartime Diary of Captain Howard Fogg:

Wednesday, August 30, 1944: Wretham

           

Lousy, grey, rainy morning. Released until noon. Briefing at 1300, took off at 1400. Escort B-17s to Kiel above weather. Moose Nose raised Hell on take off. I slammed on the brakes, stopped on the edge of the field. Got stuck in a rabbit hole taxiing back with brakes on fire. Nuts!! Now they’ll put in a new carburetor.

"Moose Nose" P-51D-5 CV-D 44-13762.

Photo courtesy of Ira J. “John” Bisher.

Archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association.

 No action on the mission. They were out for four hours.

           

Olin Drake, the old bum, is okay and in an English hospital. He went down in France on June 10th.  Also Sansing of the 369th. Must have been picked up in the present drive into France.

           

Fixed up Hunter’s battle jacket. Never meant to fit him and is a bit big for me. I’ll pay Randy, who picked it up for Hunter. Billiards with Raines and Jeff (Geoffry) Darlington the S-2 RAF wing liaison guy. Swell evening.

The first Me 163 is conquered

16 August was a reasonably historic day, Colonel Murphy became the first Allied pilot to destroy one of the new and still-mysterious German liquid-rocket fighters, an Me 163. The Colonel damaged another, which Cyril Jones, his wingman, destroyed and Jimmy C. Shoffit, also of the 370th, engaged in a long and educational combat with a third, which was damaged. The story received a greater play in the world press than any other single story of an Eighth Air Force pilot.

Briefing on FO 518 was early, at 0630. Before rendezvous, tanks were dropped when the enemy struck at Erfurt, and Colonel Murphy left his briefed course to rendezvous early. In addition, Major Cranfill and Lieutenant Lux each shot down a more orthodox 109. There was considerable excitement in higher HQ at news of the first victory over the Me 163s, and some confusion on the station, since Colonel Murphy’s film had been sent to Honington to go up to Fighter Command by courier. The film was retrieved and flown to Command by Lieutenant Gilmore that night. Earlier in the afternoon, Colonel Swanson had his promised long talk with the 15 pilots who returned early from the mission.

Photo:  Colonel John B. Murphy of the 370th Fighter Squadron, 359th Fighter Group. Photo courtesy of Elsie Palicka, wife of Ed Palicka, 370th Fighter Squadron Photographer: Archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association

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This excerpt was selected from transcriptions of the August 1944 original monthly narrative History of the 359th Fighter Group archived at HQ USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. The complete document was transcribed by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association, from reports filed from December 1943 through September 1945 by Maurice F. X. Donohue, 359th Fighter Group historian and combat intelligence officer.

The 359th Fighter Group

During its 17 months of operation, members of the 359th Fighter Group, comprised of the 368th Fighter Squadron, the 369th Fighter Squadron, and the 370th Fighter Squadron, excelled at escort missions and at the very hazardous jobs of "killing" trains and destroying aircraft on the ground. Although often frustrated at the restrictions placed on pursuing enemy aircraft that endeavored to lure them away from protecting their "big friends," the bombers, the pilots of the 359th faithfully fulfilled the escort missions that comprised approximately 75 percent of their flights.

The 359th Fighter Group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation as well as numerous battle ribbons, including:

• The Air Offensive Europe ribbon, for preparation for the invasion of Normandy

• The Normandy ribbon, for invasion support and subsequent break out of the beach head areas

• The Northern France ribbon, for support for the drive across France

• The Rhineland ribbon for supporting the airborne invasion of the Netherlands as well as the drive into the Rhine

• The Ardennes-Alsace ribbon for support during the Battle of the Bulge

• And the Central Europe Ribbon for supporting the final actions across Germany

There were 13,455 sorties flown by the pilots of the 359th. In addition to guarding the "heavies" they shot down 241 enemy aircraft, with an additional 33 probables and 69 damaged. Another 122 were destroyed on the ground plus 107 damaged. Almost 500 locomotives and 1,400 railway cars were destroyed or damaged. Other ground attacks supported troop movements and targeted infrastructure. To do all of this 1,000,000 rounds of .50 calibre ammunition was expended along with nearly 900 bombs of varying poundage.

The 359th Fighter Group lost 121 pilots.