Thursday, December 29, 2011

Flying Models Magazine January 2012 announcement re: Fogg in the Cockpit



Text from page 12:

Fogg in the Cockpit

Renowned for decades as the world’s foremost railroad artist, Howard Fogg’s career spanned half a century and some twelve hundred 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, which 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.

Articulate and insightful, his diary offers a frank and fascinating glimpse into the life of a fighter pilot, both in the sky and in wartime England. Written during 1943 and 1944 it offers a confidential perspective of life as a “flyboy,” during which Howard flew 76 combat missions and was awarded the Air Medal with three clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross with one cluster.

Presented in its entirety, with supplementary material by Richard and Janet Fogg and supporting illustrations from Fogg himself, including satirical cartoons, military and railroad artwork, Fogg in the Cockpit paints with a broad brush, from the smallest details of a pilot’s day-to-day existence, to air combat, and the strategic and political decisions that influenced the course of the war.

This 6” X 9-1/4” hardcover book contains over 360 pages. The price is $32.95.

CASEMATE PUBLISHERS, 908 Darby Road, Havertown, PA 19083,
610-853-9131, www.casematepublishing.com

Flying Models website

Thursday, December 22, 2011

December 22, 1944 Mission


An excerpt from Fogg in the Cockpit, The Wartime Diary of Howard Fogg:

Wednesday, December 22 (1944): Wretham

Fast moving overcast, broke by noon.

Briefing at 1100. Took off at 1215 with Major Richmond, Baldy, and Hagan. Major really flies smooth. I had Randy’s ship, which is damn good. Enjoyed successful ascent thru the clouds. What a gorgeous sight on top. We essed over the second box of 18 B-17s at 27,500 feet. Impressive to see hundreds of B-17s below you against the dazzling white clouds.

Colonel is really happy about the mission. Four aborts in squadron. Whole group off in 6 minutes 35 seconds. Baldy was low on gas, so he peeled off near Yarmouth.

Downing and Hollis saw a couple of bombs yesterday by their ships. Said, “Hell let’s put ‘em on,” so they had ‘em put on. That was crazy-nuts when they were on sweep as spares. They turned around, got lost, landed with the bombs twice, and finally brought ‘em back here. What a crazy outfit.

Got a new pilot today; Drake, from Palisades Park, New Jersey. 43-G (pilot training class) in “C” Flight. He’s bunking with us.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Books about the 359th Fighter Group

The original History of the 359th Fighter Group. This book is believed to be the work of Captain Tom Raines PRO-Intelligence, 359th Fighter Group, and was sent to all the men of the 359th after they returned home.

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The reprint of the History of the 359th Fighter Group, by the Battery Press.

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Jigger Tinplate & Redcross - The 359th Fighter Group in World War Two was published in 1987 by Academy Publishing Corporation.


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Mustangs & Unicorns, A History of the 359th Fighter Group, was published in 1997 by Pictorial Histories Publishing Company.

Tom Farrish's review of Mustangs & Unicorns: "This book is a fascinating look at the history of the 359th Fighter Group. It contains many pictures and a detailed account of the results of all their combat missions. This is a great book for the WWII Aviation enthusiast, with an emphasis on the P-51 Mustang and P-47 Thunderbolts they flew."

Amazon link

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359th Fighter Group was released in 2002 by Osprey Publishing.

George Hullet, Air Classics Magazine, review of 359th Fighter Group: "Over 130 photographs and 45 color profiles make the book an excellent addition to Osprey's outstanding series and a must for any WWII aviation bookshelf."

Amazon link

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Fogg in the Cockpit, by Richard and Janet Fogg, was released on July 28, 2011 by Casemate Publishing.

Books Monthly review of Fogg in the Cockpit: "Articulate and insightful, his diary offers a frank and fascinating glimpse into the life of a fighter pilot, both in the sky and in wartime England...paints with a broad brush, from the smallest details of a pilot's day-to-day existence to air combat, and the strategic and political decisions that influenced the course of the war..."witting testimony" of the highest calibre, and a most welcome addition to the library of reminiscences of this most recent world conflict. Add to this the genuine and amazing talent of Fogg as an artist, and you have a most fascinating read - the appendix of beautiful colour paintings by Fogg is a welcome addendum. A remarkable book indeed."

Amazon link

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If you know of any other books about the 359th Fighter Group, please let us know!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

P-51C "Betty Jane" vs. 359th FG P-51s

On July 9, 2011, we attended the Wings of Freedom Tour, presented by the Collings Foundation, at the Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport. The Collings Foundation travels the country with several WWII bombers and a dual control P-51C Mustang, “Betty Jane,” a razorback “C” model (as opposed to the bubble-canopy “D” model that came out later in the war).

Several “C” models were modified to carry a passenger in a second cockpit behind the pilot. One of the most famous of these two seat fighters, “The Stars Look Down,” was used by Dwight Eisenhower, and he rode in the back seat of that Mustang over the beaches of Normandy to direct the D-Day invasion.

While looking at our pictures of “Betty Jane,” we realized that we had shots of her similar to several photos from the 359th Fighter Group’s archives, so we thought a side-by-side comparison of those photos might be interesting - a "D" that served the 359th Fighter Group versus a currently flying, dual-control "C."

“Caroline," Lt. Thomas P. Smith's P-51D CS-E 44-13893, versus “Betty Jane.” Left image of "Caroline" courtesy of Thomas P. Smith: Archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association.



“CisCo” P-51D CS-Q 44-15277 is one of the last P-51s assigned to the 359th Fighter Group during their final weeks in the ETO, versus "Betty Jane." Left image of "CisCo" courtesy of Thomas P. Smith: Archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association.



P-51 Instrument Panels: Left image courtesy of Robert J. Guggemos: Archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association.



And here’s one last photo of “Betty Jane” – we had no similar 359th Fighter Group archived photo to compare.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Fighter Group and Squadron Insignia

The 359th Fighter Group Insignia: The unicorn, symbolic of dauntless courage, in white to indicate purity of purpose: reared in a regal manner in pride of performance, against a background of the red blood of courage, severed by a gold band of honor. The whole crested with three white stars against a background of midnight blue. The star points are consecutively 3, 5, and 9 to portray the Group numerical designation. The inscription "Cum Leone" is prophetic of the Group's baptism of fire. (The Royal Seal of Great Britain bears the unicorn emblazoned on the left and the Lion on the right.) The Group winged its way into combat from its base in Great Britain in companionship with the combined operations of the USAAF and the RAF, against enemy forces over Europe.


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The 368th Fighter Squadron Insignia. Over and through a yellow disc, the squadron color designation, the white unicorn holds a red thunderbolt firmly between his teeth. The unicorn, symbolic of dauntless courage, portrays the squadron's speed and evasiveness. Its one horn indicates that the squadron flies single engine planes.


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The 369th Fighter Squadron Insignia. Over and through a red disc, the squadron color designation, intersected by a thunderbolt, the white unicorn appears in full pursuit, as per record drawings. The unicorn, symbolic of dauntless courage, portrays the squadron's speed and evasiveness and the position indicates its aggressiveness. Its one horn indicates that the squadron flies single engine planes.


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The 370th Fighter Squadron Insignia. Over and through a dark blue disc, the squadron color designation, intersected by a red thunderbolt, the white unicorn appears prepared to attack. The unicorn, symbolic of dauntless courage, portrays the squadron's speed and evasiveness and the position indicates its determination. Its one horn indicates that the squadron flies single engine planes.

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Thursday, November 24, 2011

Unit Citation

HEADQUARTERS EIGHTH AIR FORCE
Office of the Commanding General
APO 634
June 19, 1945
200.6

SUBJECT: Unit Citation
TO: Commanding General, 1st Air Division, APO 557.

1. The Unit Citation of the 359th Fighter Group for action against the enemy on 11 September 1944, as published in General Orders No. 436, Headquarters 1st Air Division, dated 2 June 1945, is approved.
2. Subject General Orders have been forwarded to the Adjutant General, Washington, D.C., through channels, requesting confirmation in War Department General Order.
3. You are hereby authorized to advise the 359th Fighter Group that it is entitled to a citation streamer and that all personnel assigned or attached thereto, as defined in paragraph 4a, (1) and (2), Section IV, Circular 333, War Department, dated 22 December 1943, are entitled to wear the Distinguished Unit Badge.

BY COMMAND OF MAJOR GENERAL KEPNER:
/s/&/t/ FRANCIS H. GRISWOLD,
Brigadier General, USA,
Chief of Staff.

A CERTIFIED TRUE COPY:
L.M. STACKLER,
Captain, Air Corps,
Intelligence Officer.
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HEADQUARTERS 1ST AIR DIVISION
Office of the Commanding General
APO 557
2 June 1945

GENERAL ORDERS: NUMBER 436 ) Citation

THE 359TH FIGHTER GROUP is cited for extraordinary heroism, determination, and esprit de corps in action against the enemy on 11 September 1944. On this date the 359th Fighter Group was assigned the task of providing penetration, target and withdrawal support to bombardment forces attacking objectives in Germany. At 0921 hours a total of 49 P-51 airplanes took off from home base in England and proceeded to rendezvous points and assumed escort positions. At 1115 hours in the vicinity of Giessen, Germany, 50 Me 109s and FW 190s were sighted at 32,000 feet preparing to attack the trailing bombardment formation. Pilots of the 359th Fighter Group immediately dispersed and rove the hostile fighters to the deck destroying one and damaging two.

Constantly on the alert for possible interception this unit observed a number of enemy aircraft taking off from an airfield near Gothe, Germany, at 1130 hours and aggressively dived to attack.

Exhibiting the highest degree of courage pilots outmaneuvered and destroyed five (5) Me 109s in the air and then in the face of anti-aircraft fire strafed and destroyed four (4) Ju 88s and Me 210 and damaged four (4) others. Shortly thereafter an estimated thirty (30) Me 109s and FW 190s were sighted heading east at 30,000 feet on the bomber track. Although outnumbered an element of the 359th Fighter Group determinedly attacked the enemy and in close combat destroyed (2) and damaged another. At 1150 hours over 100 hostile fighters were seen at 30,000 feet, north of the bomber formation, and pilots of this unit immediately proceeded towards the enemy. Opening fire with vigor and determination they destroyed four (4), probably destroyed (2) and damaged one (1) and then in individual dogfights destroyed an additional four (4) of the enemy.

Meanwhile other pilots of the group descended to a grass landing ground in the vicinity of Kolleda, Germany, and in diving offensive tactics destroyed four (4) and damaged (9) parked aircraft. At 1205 hours in the vicinity of Eisleben, after the target had been bombed, 15 Fw 190's executed vicious attacks on the bomber formation. The 359th Fighter Group aggressively moved to the scene of this action and in daring offensive tactics destroyed six (6) of the enemy aircraft, probably destroyed an additional two (2) and damaged one (1) other. On the return to home base this unit destroyed seven (7) locomotives. The conspicuous intrepidity, aggressive tactics and esprit de corps displayed by pilots of this unit on this occasion accounted for the destruction for thirty-five (enemy aircraft and contributed to the safe escort of the attacking bombardment formation. The actions of this unit reflect the highest credit upon the 359th Fighter Group and the Armed Forces of the United States.

BY COMMAND OF MAJOR GENERAL TURNER:
/s/&/t/ BARTLETT BEAMAN,
Brigadier General, U.S. Army,
Chief of Staff

OFFICIAL:
/s/&/t/ HARRY T. HANGE,
Major, A.D. G.,
Adjutant General.

A TRUE COPY: L.M. STACKLER,
Capt., Air Corps, S-2

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These documents were transcribed and archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association, from records at HQ USAF Research Center, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

One Big Day


The “one big day” so long awaited by the 359th Fighter Group arrived 11 September (1944), as the Group completed nine months of operational flying over Europe.

On that day the 359th destroyed 26 German aircraft in aerial combat, probably destroyed four, and damaged six, besides running up a score of 9-0-13 on the ground. That meant 35-4-19 for the day. Next afternoon, 12 September, the 359th scored another 10-0-3 in the air and 6-0-8 on the ground. The two-day total of 51-4-28 was one-third the total score compiled in the preceding nine months.

Ten men did not return from the missions on these two days, as a revivified Luftwaffe fought savagely against the joint Anglo-American attempt to make successful a final bombardment softening of the Reich for the ground assault...

...The strategic plan of the Eighth Air Force was to push 75 bombers across Europe on the shuttle run to Russia, under cover of a heavy assault on oil plants of the Leipzig area. This was done, the 20th Group making the long escort ride to Russia, but the Luftwaffe, up in strength, knocked down at least 20 bombers in the other forces (the total loss was 52) and itself suffered losses of 17-23-44 to the bombers, 116-7-23 to the fighters and 42-0-43 on the ground.

The 359th got itself 35-4-19 of these totals, and was officially commended for it by General Griswold. There was combat from 1115 to 1205 and the days’ losses were five men.

There were several remarkable individual performances. Cyril Jones shot down four in the air over a landing field and also destroyed two more on the ground and damaged four others. Captain King got an aerial triple, Claude Crenshaw accounted for two in the air and another on the ground, Grant Perrin, Louis E. Barnett, George F. Baker Jr., and Gilbert Ralston all destroyed two in the air.

One of the four men NYR got separated from his own outfit, joined up with the 4th Group and was seen by them to shoot down an Me109 in the air before crashing to flak on a landing ground. He was identified only by his 359th green nosed airplane.

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Photo: Line up of P-51s starting with CS-H 44-14979 courtesy of Thomas P. Smith: Archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association.

Excerpts from the original monthly narrative History of the 359th Fighter Group for September 1944 dated 4 October 1944 and included in
Fogg in the Cockpit, were transcribed and archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association, from records at HQ USAF Research Center, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

Friday, November 11, 2011

We owe them so much

Although the veterans of World War II are all but extinct, their legacy surrounds us. Every time we read an uncensored newspaper, practice the religion of our choosing, cast a vote, or do any of a hundred little things we take for granted, they are there, looking over our shoulder. Let us never, ever, forget Pop, Baldy, Hag, Bo, Kib, Brownie, Ollie, my father, and all the other members of the armed forces who put themselves in harm’s way then and continue to do so today. We owe them so much.

~ Richard Fogg, Acknowledgements, Fogg in the Cockpit

P-51s lined up after V-E Day, photo courtesy of Stephen Almasy, Crew Chief: Archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Rough Sketch

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 example is presented with Howard’s original notations.Image of 1975 rough sketch by Howard Fogg courtesy of Richard Fogg.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

"Poured on the Blossom" - 15 June 1944

HEADQUARTERS 359TH FIGHTER GROUP
Office of the Group Historian
APO 637 US Army
4 July 1944

The 359th Fighter Group, June 1944

A miscalculation in the briefing time on 15 June led to an unholy rush. The duty intelligence officer that morning misread his table of distances in the hurried tempo of plotting, reading ‘110’ as 1 hour 10 minutes, instead of 110 minutes. Consequently, briefing at 0650 was hurried and Colonel Tacon, leading, “poured the blossom” all the way in a squadron race to rendezvous, which was reached on time, off the Ile de Ré in the Bay of Biscay. The bombers were early and were eventually picked up on the homeward track off St. Nazaire at 0925. The mission was eventful only for the magnificent weather, which gave a sightseer’s view of new country, since the route back was out across Brittany.


B-17s of the 91st BG. Note triangle on tails, which was the symbol of 1st Air Division, for whom the 359th Fighter Group would have provided escort. Photo, NIC in Fogg in the Cockpit, 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 from Fogg in the Cockpit was selected from transcriptions of the original monthly narrative History of the 359th Fighter Group archived at HQ USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. The complete documents were 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.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Fog in the cockpit.

“One of the greatest hazards in flying is fog in the cockpit.”

As told to Richard Fogg by his father Howard Fogg, this phrase was uttered by a meteorology instructor to a class of student pilots in 1942. A gale of laughter, led by Howard, followed this pronouncement.

Air Cadet Howard Fogg at Parks Air College in East St. Louis, June 1942.
Lettering on Fuselage reads:
U.S. ARMY-PT-I9
AIR CORPS SERIAL NO.40-2609
CREW WEIGHT 400 LBS
Photo courtesy of Peter Fogg

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Jigsaw puzzles, plates, mugs, and greeting cards also featured Howard Fogg's artwork

Thanks to his artistic ability and engaging personality, Howard Fogg developed numerous friendships throughout his career, from the humblest rail fan to railroad presidents, from fellow painters to artists in music and film.

Magazine articles featured Howard and his work. Limited edition prints were issued periodically. Jigsaw puzzles, porcelain plates and mugs, playing cards, calendars, and greeting cards featured his art. His illustrations graced the covers and contents of multiple railroad books. In later years, books were written about him and his artwork, including The Railroad Artistry of Howard Fogg, written by two of Howard’s most valued friends, Ronald C. Hill and Al Chione.

While there is no formal accounting, it is estimated that Howard completed more than 1,200 paintings over the course of his 50-year career. A number of these images continue to be printed in calendars and as greeting cards, but the majority of the original paintings reside in offices, businesses, museums, and the homes of those who loved his ability to capture the emotion of railroading.

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Richard Fogg, with a little help from his father, assembles a 1948 jigsaw puzzle which featured one of Howard's early paintings for ALCO.

And here's the puzzle they're assembling, which we still own...

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Got my plane! (13 Nov 1943)

An excerpt from Fogg in the Cockpit, The Wartime Diary of Howard Fogg:

Saturday, November 13, 1943: Wretham

Got my plane!

Captain Pezda of the 370th (Fighter Squadron) and I went to Wattisham in the command car. Captain Irvine flew down to lead us back. I have a P-47D-10, 275104, with a P&W (Pratt & Whitney) R-2800-63 engine. Eleven hours on the ship. Flies beautifully. It’s a thousand pounds lighter than the D-2s.

I landed at dusk with field lights after coming in Xtee (cross-wind) first try. First pilot to land with lights here. Captain Malley (Control) all excited. Me too!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

No Wonder the English Drink Tea

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

Thursday, November 18: Wretham

Painted on plane insignia in cold canvas hangar all day. Hands nearly numb. Paint equipment is poor but it looks fair.

Gall is still fighting trouble in the hydraulic system on my plane.

My cold is worse. Worked on the locomotive model.

Had tea at eleven. Hit the spot. No wonder the English drink tea:
1) to keep warm
2) to prevent starvation

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The following essay, "Tea Call" by Helen Moore, is not included in Fogg in the Cockpit, but Helen would have served tea to Howard many times. Helen, a volunteer, was the Tea Wagon's effervescent, cheerful, kind and always pleasant operator. She and her best friend, Bonnie Cole, became “big sisters” to a whole field of men at Station F-133. Captain John G. Dales, Supply Officer of the 648th Air Material Squadron wrote that, “Helen Moore was a delightful person, so animated and full of life."

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Bonnie and I were filled with trepidation when we first learned that we had to work among American troops. We were excited and rather nervous about our reception.

We had served previously with Czechs, Poles, New Zealand and, Australian, Canadian, South African and British troops of all descriptions, but the thought of working with Yanks was, well, somehow we knew it would be different to say the least. That it was!

Arriving on a day in August, 1943, to welcome our Allies with tea and cakes, we were vastly interested in the different variety of clothes they worked in -- especially the queer little hats with the turned up brim, worn anyway on the head apparently, but the one it was intended for.

At first sight we noticed how pale and thin all the men looked. In amazement we wondered if these were the United States A-1 men! Since then we discovered there had been a very rough crossing and a tedious journey to the station. I now constantly tease everyone by saying how much better they look and how the weight they have put on since partaking of YMCA tea and cakes everyday. And they do!

When we made our first stop the boys crowded round curiously, looked us over and shook our ego immensely by anxiously asking "Could you tell us if there are any American girls 'round here?" They demanded coffee and we persuaded them earnestly that our tea was very good and hot! They found later when the proverbial English winter developed that the hot tea was to be appreciated. Soon we were distributing from 30 to 40 gallons daily in our two vans, which you will admit is a lot of tea when doled out in cupfuls.

We were very cheered when an Officer came up the first day and told us he was from San Francisco and knew Mr. and Mrs. Walter A. Haas who had donated my van to the British War Relief Fund -- It was then we began to think we "really belonged".

When at first we arrived in the morning blowing the horn vigorously the Americans sauntered over slowly. This wasn't the procedure we'd been accustomed to, as the RAF who had been there before made one mad rush when the nose of the van drove into sight.

The GI's soon discovered they had to run fast if they wanted the best cakes or a morning paper and now I wish their folks at home could see them when I turn into the field. They came chasing along on bicycles and every conceivable kind of vehicle. They hang on the van and push and pull to obtain the best position in the "queue".

"Queue" was one word they didn't use before -- only for a Chinaman's pigtail. Now it's used with great frequency and without ever noticing it.

Of course, we had great fun over the difference in the language pronunciation. "Have" was one word that still causes amusement. "Have a cup of tea" is a daily phrase used a thousand times and I pronounce it with a long "A" which still gets a laugh.

When first told we looked "sharp" we looked at each other in amazement as "sharp" is an adjective used over here if a person is particularly intelligent(!). Since I have absorbed so much American slang and expressions that I astound my family by using rather peculiar phrases such as "sweating it out" or "on the beam" -- which just isn't done in polite society and often causes me confusion.

Dealing with the money caused a great deal of fun. The boys handed us out messes of coins of every sort in order to give us, say two pence half penny and many always handed us some huge amount such as ten shillings or a pound note in order to pay one penny for a cup of tea. We feel we helped them considerably from the start to learn the value of our system of exchange.

Bonnie and I became big sisters to a whole field of men. After a time we knew most of them by their first or nick names -- knew their life stories, their troubles, their pleasures, their homesickness and their ambitions.

I've discussed every conceivable problem with the GI's. Those parted from their wives I can readily understand and sympathize with as my own husband has been away from me in the Army overseas for nearly four years.

As time went on we found our tea wagon activities were only a small part of our efforts to promote Anglo-American relations. All our free time gradually got involved with the life of the field.

Bonnie is a professional dancer and she started a weekly dancing class at the Aero Club. As the class grew I was called in to "be practiced on" when she'd taught the steps. Bonnie since left to work with the Y in another area and I found myself doing the incredible by carrying on with about six other girls as partners. These evenings are really fun and are enjoyed immensely by both the girls and the men. Now and again we get a GI to give us a jitterbug lesson -- a lease-end arrangement.

Last year I lent my tennis court four nights a week for the use of the men. This was a great success. I hope to repeat them again this year when the grass is induced to grow again on the bare patches!

Almost overnight we found ourselves gradually doing the personal shopping for the whole base. This started in a small way when somebody said "Helen can you get me a bicycle tyre or tube in town" -- or "Bonnie can you get my pictures developed for me". Soon it grew to such dimensions we spent literally hours each day buying the oddest collection of things imaginable! We've purchased among other things countless tyres and tubes, spokes for wheels, cotter pins, chains, pedals, patches and all the things that go to repair a bicycle. We've bought birthday cards, Easter cards, Christmas cards to be sent to wives, mothers and sweethearts. Those for the girl friend take the longest time (I must be sentimental). Then there's been frying pans, coffee and teapots, a puppy, an electric iron, a mouse trap, cups and mugs, buttons, darning wool, dyes, nails and tacks, brushes, sheets of music, Christmas presents of jewelry and antiques. Photographs to be developed by the hundreds. I've never been on such good terms with the local tradesmen. This, incidentally, is good for us.

We've delivered countless messages 'round the town. Someone rushed up desperately saying "I'm working tonight, can you tell Doris I shan't be in town?" or "Alice is coming down from London or Manchester is there anywhere in town where she can stay?"

Phone calls come from all over the country from friends asking me to deliver messages. Telegrams have to be sent, etc.

Of course, we've assisted in several weddings. For one we arranged, at the last minute, to obtain a bouquet of scarlet dahlias for a bride who unexpectedly arrived without a bridal outfit! I remember driving a frantic bridegroom into town for this occasion to meet trains. Somehow the bride had set out in the wrong direction and mislaid her outfit en route amidst the confusion of it all. She arrived alright and I attended a very charming ceremony and the bride looked beautiful with scarlet bouquet!

Our coming and goings soon became known and the boys found they had a regular van service at their disposal. Now we usually find small bunches waiting, coming or going on passes or furloughs.

So many interesting incidents happen every day it's impossible to record them -- like serving a bride and groom with tea and cake just before their wedding. We grew to love our life on the field just as it was. The boys are always so glad to see us, always so friendly and helpful.

Someone always jumps in the van and helps pour the tea and do the washing up and can now dole out 'Limey' change as well as I.

I didn't realize how we were liked until Bonnie had to go. She was missed very much and I was besieged with enquiries, and still am asked as to her whereabouts and when she is coming back. In fact I began to think it was I who should have gone instead.

If ever we're in trouble with our tea wagon, a puncture or engine trouble, willing hands are always ready to help out. All sorts of odd jobs have been done for me too. One regularly mends the tea strainers when they become the worse for wear. Cake knives are sharpened, even our vacuum cleaner was mended, our poker soldered together, lawn mower and my watch repaired. These things were all next to impossible to be done in war time England.

I feel I have so many friends on the base that when we do visit the States, as I threaten to do one day, I shan't lack companions to show me around. I feel I belong to the base now so much. The personal loss I shall suffer when eventually they leave will be very acute.

If all Anglo-American friendships prosper as ours has the world won't need to worry for many a long day.

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Photo: Helen Moore, a “Tea Girl” for the 359th FG at East Wretham with her “Tea Wagon.”

Photo courtesy of Alfred M. Swiren. Text and photo archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

From the smallest daily details...

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.)

Thursday, September 15, 2011

The 359th Fighter Group, 11 September 1944

HEADQUARTERS 359TH FIGHTER GROUP
Office of the Group Historian
APO 637 US Army
4 October 1944

The 359th Fighter Group, September 1944


The “one big day” so long awaited by the 359th Fighter Group arrived 11 September, as the Group completed nine months of operational flying over Europe.

On that day the 359th destroyed 26 German aircraft in aerial combat, probably destroyed four, and damaged six, besides running up a score of 9-0-13 on the ground. That meant 35-4-19 for the day. Next afternoon, 12 September, the 359th scored another 10-0-3 in the air and 6-0-8 on the ground. The two-day total of 51-4-28 was one-third the total score compiled in the preceding nine months.

Ten men did not return from the missions on these two days, as a revivified Luftwaffe fought savagely against the joint Anglo-American attempt to make successful a final bombardment softening of the Reich for the ground assault.

The Germans fought only when the weather was right. The weather generally was execrable, so bad that it was a distinct achievement and a tribute to the ability of its pilots that the 359th could get up 22 times in the month, though one of these was a two-flight A/S Rescue affair.

On the 22 days on which missions were flown, 1,050 P-51s most of them now the model D, were airborne off the pockmarked, ragged turf at East Wretham, and 112 came back for a sortie total of 938, averaging 5:01 per mission. The total aircraft claim of 58-5-29 was opposed to 16 men listed as MIA as the month ended.

Though a slightly higher total had been scored in May, September generally was regarded as the most encouraging month in the 359th Group’s history. There were two reasons: the grand slam of the 11th, and the emergence of new leaders. Fourteen men returned to the Zone of the Interior during the month as the tour was twice reduced, first from 300 to 285 hours, then to 270 hours. And permission to send men home whenever replacements brought the strength above 121 made the tour even more pliable.

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This excerpt from Fogg in the Cockpit was selected from transcriptions of the original monthly narrative History of the 359th Fighter Group archived at HQ USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. The complete documents were 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.

Photo: Silhouettes of P-51s in flight. Archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association, from records at HQ USAF Research Center, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Then Came Trouble: May 11, 1944

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

Wednesday and Thursday, May 10 and 11: London

Lost Hodges from the 370th. He bailed out over France.

Kibler and his new wingman disappeared strafing. Bad! Everyone landing anywhere for gas, four and one-half hours without wing tanks!! Rough day.

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Report from the Office of the Group Historian for May 1944 dated 4 June 1944:

The 11th was a confused day that turned out badly. FO 335 was preceded by a warning order at 2040 on the 10th that was canceled at 2357 and revived at 0410. The order itself was in at 0755. At 1030, Wing canceled the assignment and put on notice to support heavy bombers at 1700. At 1108, this cancellation was in its turn canceled, and 51 ships were airborne at 1325. A briefed preliminary sweep merged into an early rendezvous at 1507 near Besançon and support around the target at Mulhouse, where the 359th Group withdrew at 1555.

Then came trouble.

In obedience to an injunction in the FO the Group had not carried wing tanks, and many men, especially the new pilots, had “a sweat job” to get home. Worse yet, the debonair Kibler, slim, sandy, politely aggressive young graduate of the Citadel and US Anti-Aircraft office, and the equally nonchalant, black-haired Hodges both led their flights down on Reims-Champagne on the homeward journey. There was no cover for five miles. The Germans saw them coming and there was vicious flak all the way. Kibler, sure, suave, married just before he left the States, did not come back, and there was no radio chatter to give clue to his fate."

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Photo: Lieutenant Ralph E. “Kib” Kibler with dog “Flak.” Photo courtesy of Anthony C. Chardella: Archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association.

Excerpt from the Report from the Office of the Group Historian, included in
Fogg in the Cockpit, was transcribed by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association, from reports filed from 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.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Fogg in the Cockpit Book Reviews!

“Howard Fogg is one of those rare people who managed to keep a diary whilst engaged in fighting during the Second World War. It's "witting testimony" of the highest calibre, and a most welcome addition to the library of reminiscences of this most recent world conflict. Add to this the genuine and amazing talent of Fogg as an artist, and you have a most fascinating read - the appendix of beautiful colour paintings by Fogg is a welcome addendum. A remarkable book indeed.”

~ BOOKS MONTHLY, 2011-08-30

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“A FINE TRIBUTE TO AMERICA'S SECOND WORLD WAR GENERATION

This book represents a labor of love for a family whose father (Howard Fogg), a renowned railroad artist, had served during the Second World War as a fighter pilot with the 359th Fighter Group of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF), which operated out of Britain between 1943 and 1945.

The heart of the book is made up of diary entries that Fogg had made between October 1943 (the month that the 359th arrived in Britain) and September 1944, when he completed his combat tour and returned to the United States. The historical commentary, which is interspersed throughout this book, provides a wonderful touch, which gives an added perspective on the contributions and sacrifices made by the USAAF in Europe towards the defeat of the Third Reich.

The reader is given entree into the day-to-day existence of a fighter pilot and its sometimes mundane aspects aside from the pressures and hazards of combat flying. The book also has a generous collection of wartime photographs and several examples of Fogg's postwar railroad paintings, which showcase his considerable talent.

For me, "FOGG IN THE COCKPIT" was one of the best purchases I made this year. Any student of the Second World War or aviation enthusiast will love this book.”

~ W. Montgomery (Washington DC – USA) August 27, 2011

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Witness to the Resistance by Virgal Sansing, 369th Fighter Squadron, 359th Fighter Group, 20 June 1944


Two weeks after the invasion of Northern France I was half-way through my tour flying P-51 Mustangs out of Wretham. I had returned from an uneventful escort mission, my 50th, when my operations officer was looking for pilots to fly a late mission. German troop trains were converging on Chateau Thierry, France.

We launched at 1715, arrived in the target area about 1830, and found numerous trains in the marshalling yards. We started strafing the rail yards. The claims for this mis¬sion were: three locomotives destroyed, nine damaged; three vehicles destroyed; eight rail cars destroyed, twenty-four damaged.

As I pulled up from a strafing run I was hit by ground fire. I was hit from the rear and my rear fuel tank and cool¬ant radiator were damaged and my radios destroyed. The cockpit filled with smoke and hot coolant so I set course for home and climbed to five thousand feet. I was about forty miles northeast of Paris when the fire got into the cockpit. I jettisoned the canopy and fell free. Training stressed wait¬ing as long as possible to open a parachute so as to avoid detection. I waited before pulling my ripcord and got quite a scare for I did not feel the parachute open. Needless to say I was greatly relieved when I saw that the canopy was fully deployed. I was over an area covered with pine trees. The dinghy (life raft) was open so I pulled it up around me before hitting the trees. The parachute hung up about twenty feet from the ground. I shook lose and hit the ground very hard and my face banged on my knees (two beautiful shiners were with me for a couple of weeks). I hid the parachute in some brush and started walking.

Tar papers covered buildings under the trees. This was a German ammunition storage, later bombed by our Air Force.

On the edge of the woods an elderly lady was working in a garden. My first impulse was to run away, but I decided to take a chance that she was friendly. Using gestures, we com¬municated that I was the one that had just parachuted. It was getting dark and she took me through some alleys to a small shed. In a very few minutes people arrived, all friendly. One man brought some eggs, indicating that I could eat them raw. It took a while to convince him I preferred them cooked.

I was moved to a house and stayed in the attic. This was to be my home for about a week after which I was moved down to a room. I was in the village of Puiseux-en-Retz for about 2 weeks and then moved to Soissons on bicycle. It was then I got a look at my accommodations on a farm that raised trout for restaurants (this accounted for the delicious trout sautéed in butter that I'd been enjoying).

The highway was filled with German military vehicles. Everything possible was sent toward the front. Trucks were equipped with a coke burning gas generator and it was obvious that they were grossly underpowered. There were aircraft spotters hanging on each vehicle and if an aircraft was spotted, the truck was parked and abandoned.

I was taken to a farm on the outskirts of Soissons with a barnyard enclosed by a high stone wall. Here I was introduced to calvados (I had to look this up, it's a kind of home-brewed apple brandy), and the "dos and don'ts" of farm wells. I was in the barnyard one after¬noon and started pumping an old-fashioned water pump and was about to get a drink of water when my host explained there were two wells: one shallow well for livestock and a deep well for people. I had the wrong well.

From here I moved into the coun¬try south of town and was allowed to move around outside. Here I began to see the plight of the Germans. Field kitchens set up along the highways never had enough food so the soldiers were begging. The French would give them nothing so they were going into the fields and gardens eating raw fruits and vegetables. At night the French were blowing up railroad tracks and scattering metal on the roads to punc¬ture tires. During the day our aircraft allowed little movement.

Again I moved farther south and joined two brothers, escapees from a German POW camp, who decided I needed a hair cut. So into town (Fere-en-Tardenois) we went.

The first stop was at a tavern full of German soldiers. We sat down at a long table with a number of French. I was nervous but when one of the French fellows pulled out a pistol and proudly displayed it I was flat scared. The Ger¬mans did not see it fortunately.

We then went to the barbershop. There was a German soldier in the chair “getting the works”: shave, haircut, facial, shine, and a good portion of very strong cologne. I was relieved to get my hair cut and get back to the country, to a French underground base camp. Here were weapons, ammunition, explosives, and other equipment. We spent days cleaning and caring for the equipment and nights harassing the Germans. Oc¬casionally we'd go into the fields and pick mushrooms (I still cannot figure out which are good and which are bad).

I also got introduced to "cuddling" for fish, wading along the banks feeling for holes where the fish stayed. I was very doubtful at first but it really works and we caught quite a few.

One afternoon a P-51 flew over, obviously in trouble. The pilot bailed out and we were able to find him and hide him before Germans arrived. His leg hit the tail of his airplane when he bailed and was pretty well beat up. We carried him to the base camp where a French doctor treated him and gave him crutches to get around on.

It was here someone passed around a bottle of calvados. I took a big swig and thought the top of my head would blow off. It was rougher than any moonshine I have tried. Unfortu¬nately, two of the French got carried away and stopped a German truck and tried to commandeer it. Sadly, the truck was loaded with German troops. They did not return.

Then there came a complete turnaround in German movements. Everyone headed back toward Germany. Soldiers were walking, riding bicycles, motorcycles, horses, cows, wagons, anything to get them home. Equipment was dumped from trucks to make room for personnel. The French Resistance was getting more aggressive every day.

Finally U.S. tanks roared into the village greeted with flowers, wine, and open arms. As best I can recall, it was the 5th Armored Divi¬sion. I identified myself and joined them for the next three days. When a pocket of Germans was found, they would bypass them and let the French do the mopping up.

The second night German reconnaissance dropped flares over us. Everyone was firing straight up. Needless to say everything that went up also came down. I crawled under the nearest tank and waited until the "hailstorm" was over.

The third day I made it to an evacuation hospital in Orleans and was told it would be two weeks before I could get to England. A pilot of a B-24 agreed to let me hitch a ride. The airplane had a floor built in the bomb bay and they hauled a load of flour so we had a white interior. As we got ready to depart the navigator got in the pilot's seat and the engi¬neer got in the co-pilot's seat. The pilot and co-pilot were in the back with me. They assured me everyone knew what they were doing and off we went. We circled numerous towns while the pilots took movies from the rear gunners positions.

In England I was debriefed by Intelligence, got paid, bought new uniforms, and returned to the States.

At the time I was careful not to learn names of the French villagers or locations in the event I was captured.

Dates, names, and places have become fuzzy with the passing of the years. But it was a great experience to see the operation of the French Under¬ground and the turning of the tide for the Germans. I can only say that once was enough.

P.S. I have visited France and met the people that took me in, some even came to the U.S.A. During the war my longest stay was with the Coigne family in Fere. Leon Coigne was in the French Army and was evacuated from Dunkirk to England. He parachuted back into France, was captured by Germans, escaped, worked his way to Spain, and returned to England. He again parachuted into France and was an active member of the Resistance. I have heard a lot of bad remarks about the French but those I met were courageous and loyal friends.

Virgal Sansing

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Virgal "Sandy" Sansing wrote "Witness to the Resistance" for the July 2006 issue of The Outer Circle, the newsletter of the 359th Fighter Group Association.

Virgal went on to serve in Korea and Vietnam. He retired in '73 with the rank of Colonel. Decorations include Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Force Commendation Medal, Purple Heart, and others. He flies/flew WW II aircraft with the Confederate Air Force in San Marcos, TX.

Photo of Virgal "Sandy" Sansing courtesy of Dr. Paul D. Bruns. Text and photo archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

An Officer and a Gentleman

Howard Fogg: The officer…


The gentleman…


The pilot…


Summary of Action:

Captain Howard Fogg flew 76 missions and completed his combat tour with the Army Air Corp in September 1944. He was discharged from the Army in August 1945. Along with the ribbons he earned while with the 359th Fighter Group, Howard was awarded the Air Medal with three clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross with one cluster.

Well respected for his leadership skills and his focused demeanor whether flying escort or strafing trains, Howard was also tasked with teaching young pilots how to fly, both in England and upon his return to the United States. During his combat tour his commanding officers relied on him to accurately and swiftly plot numerous missions. Many inquired whether he would take up a career flying commercial aircraft following the war, but that was not where his heart led him. Instead, he pursued his art, and decades later was regularly acknowledged as the world’s foremost railroad artist.

At the height of his artistic career, when the waiting list for one of his paintings was measured in years, Howard casually mentioned to his son Richard how honored he was to have been selected to fly at President Roosevelt’s interment. He had never spoken of this before and in his typical modest fashion, Howard said, “you could tell which plane was mine, it was the one slightly out of formation.”


But Howard rarely flew out of formation, either in his plane on that long-ago day in 1945, or throughout his life. He married the woman he loved. He and Margot raised three fine sons and sustained numerous life-long friendships. And Howard succeeded beyond his wildest dreams in the artistic career he first envisioned in 1938.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Excerpt from the History of the 359th Fighter Group, August 1944

HEADQUARTERS 359TH FIGHTER GROUP
Office of the Group Historian
APO 637 US Army
4 Sept 1944

History of the 359th Fighter Group, August 1944

In August of 1944, the 359th Fighter Group became, for all practical purposes, a new unit. Of the 86 pilots who had come to England 10 months before, two were casualties during the month, 20 finished their tours and only 15 were left on flying status. And these 15 were almost all so close to the end of their 300 hour combat time that the greatest care was exercised in rationing them to the 29 missions flown in 23 days so that squadron and group leaders would continue to be available.

The result of all this was that the experience level of the 359th Group, which at the beginning of summer had been near the top of the Command, now sank to an average of 116 hours, with 61 pilots having less than 100 hours.

The new men were eager and there were remarkable prospects among them, but they were also green and 12 were combat casualties, while another, Lieutenant Lawrence A. Bearden, was killed on a training flight on 10 August. With Captain Lancaster interned in Sweden and Captain Hawkinson lost strafing, that meant 15 casualties for the month. Against this the 359th could show a phenomenal strafing score, locomotive claims, for example, of 62-0-47, excellent bombing, and 21-1-12 in aircraft.

Landing contol checkered van directing P-51. 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 is an excerpt from the Monthly Narrative Histories of the 359th Fighter Group and included in Fogg in the Cockpit. Excerpts were selected from transcriptions of the original monthly narrative History of the 359th Fighter Group archived at HQ USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. The complete documents were 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.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Howard Fogg: Master Railroad Artist

Described for decades as the world’s foremost railroad artist, Howard Fogg’s fascination for railroading began early, and he sketched his first train when only four years old.


After graduating from Dartmouth College with honors in 1938 with a degree in English Literature, Howard attended the Chicago Institute of Fine Arts.

“Better Make Up Your Mind F. D. Or There’ll Be A Wreck”
February 24, 1940 cartoon by Howard Fogg
Courtesy of Richard Fogg

Appreciative of the many ironies in life and politics he hoped to pursue editorial cartooning, although he also painted, which is where his talent ultimately led him.

The Alaska Railroad was finished in 1923 and owned by the US government until 1985 when it was purchased by the state of Alaska. Mount McKinley looms in the background. 1978 oil painting by Howard Fogg. Image courtesy of Leanin’ Tree, Inc.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The Most Popular Rumors of July, 1944 at East Wretham Airfield

As compiled by S/Sgt James F. Farrelly, HQ, 359th Fighter Group

Following are some of the rumors that swept in, around, and out of AAF Station F-133 during the month of July, 1944. The source of the rumors, in most instances, was dubious. Naturally.

“The sister of a friend of a friend of mine, employed by a large pennant and flag making company in the state of New York, reported in a letter to her brother that the factory had just received an immense order to make several thousands of small banners with thereon ‘Welcome Home Eighth Air Force’. The order, received during the first week of July, was to be completed at any cost before the 15th of August.”

As a result of this, another rumor, of undetermined origin, said that:
“In addition to the ‘Welcome Home, Eighth Air Force’ banners, an order had also been received to prepare as many thousands of pennants that would read, ‘Goodbye, Eighth Air Force’.”

Another possible outcome was:
“News from home” that the statue of Liberty has recently been adorned with a vast neon display, to be lighted some climactic evening with the joyful greeting ‘Hello Eighth Air Force’. There is a possibility that the Ninth Air Force will also be said ‘hello’ to. At any rate the sign is of such magnitude that it can be seen from a very great distance at sea."

Rumors of movement were thick:
“Colonel Tacon, Station and Group Commander, is said to have a bet, amount not known, with Lt. Col. Grady L. Smith, Station Executive that by Christmas of this year the 359th Group will have been to the States, everyone will have had their leaves and furloughs and will then be in another theatre of operations.”

From Eighth Air Force Headquarters came the ‘news’ that bomber divisions were ready to move:
“Tropical serum has been issued, training for the Pacific Theatre has been completed, shipping weight has been calculated, personnel have received new equipment and every Eighth bomber station in the ETO is in a state of eager readiness.”

The Fighter Command was another thing:
“We are not expected to follow the bombers for some time. It is said that the entire command will be put on DS to the Ninth Air Force, to move to France and to operate in a fighter-bomber and ground attack capacity until the bombers are ready for their ‘little friends’ somewhere in the Burma-India-China Theater. No part of the Eighth Air Force, in this move, will go through the United States, but proceed via the Mediterranean Sea the Suez canal and the Indian Ocean to their destination in the tropics. Part of the Fighter Groups will move to fields in France, as they become available.”

There were also other, less exciting rumors:
“Rotation was soon to begin in the Eighth Air Force,” indication enough that home was a thing far away.

From nearby Bodney:
…a visiting crew chief told a friend that the 352nd Group was going “off ops” on the 1st of August, which somehow later became the 15th of August. And the operational career of the 359th in this theatre was drawing to an end, too. By the 15th it was said that we would have nothing more to do than ‘sit around and wait’ for orders to pick up our stuff and go - with China once more the end.

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Text archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Forced Landing: Lt. Elby J. Beal

Excerpt from the 368th Fighter Squadron (359th Fighter Group) History for August 1944:

On August 1st (1944) we furnished ramrod support for heavy bombers of the 3rd Air Task Force who were carrying out provisions of the Buick plan #12, which was to drop supplies by parachute to Free French Forces in Southern France. The mission was uneventful from a combat standpoint. Lt. Elby J. Beal was forced to land on a landing strip on the Normandy Coast because of trouble with his airplane. An account of his experience while on the Normandy beach head, written by Lt. Beal, is as follows:

“I was on a mission near the Swiss border. We were escorting B-17s that were dropping supplies to the Maquis. As we were leaving the target area my prop ran away. I was flying at 11,000 at the time. I lost 2,000 feet altitude trying to stall the prop into high pitch. Started on to Sweepstakes running the engine from 3800 to 3500 RPM, and eighteen inches to 23 inches manifold pressure all the way. Crossed the lines at 4,500 feet. Had radio contact and a steer from Sweepstakes by then. The engine was extremely hot and smoking bad. Gas was low too. I was looking for an open field to land in when I saw a landing strip off to the right. I turned over that way and was nearly there when the engine started quitting. Was going to make a belly landing then decided to lower wheels which made me almost undershoot the strip. I landed on one end, and a shot up B-24 landed on the other. I turned off soon as possible. They sent a Jeep out after me and I reported to flying control then to operations. They had no facilities for repairing P-51s at this base as the P-47s, which the organization used that was stationed at this base did not use the same type prop as the P-51. However the engineering officer said he thought he could get a crew and engine from a strip near there. By that time it was late. I had met a Doctor who invited me to spend the night with his unit. They had a nice hospital set up in an apple orchard near there. They gave me a good meal and a cot. About that time German planes started coming over and I spent most of the night in a fox hole. They had been digging them deeper every day. The most danger seemed to come from our ack ack, which seemed to shoot in every direction. The Jerry planes came over real low and dropped bombs several times, some of which hit pretty close. Next morning I reported to the operations tent, and told them that my plane would be repaired and I was going to fly it home. They had made arrangements for me to go to London with the B-24 crew and said I would have to report to 9th Air Force Headquarters. Orders had been cut sending us back. We were sent up in a truck. Asked the driver to wait until I found out if I could go back with him. I finally got permission to go on back, and went outside and found my flying equipment, but the truck had left. I started hitch-hiking back to where the plane was and got there about 3:00 PM. The crew had just started working on the plane. They were a mobile repair unit. They pulled the plane out under a tree and by 3:30 PM the next day had changed the engine and prop governor. I then ground checked the engine and went to flying control to get a clearance and took off. I was treated very nicely while at this base. The crew that changed the engine did a good job in the shortest possible time. They were very efficient.”

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Archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association, from records at HQ USAF Research Center, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

July 12, 1944 - A Long Ride

This excerpt from Fogg in the Cockpit is from Howard's diary:

Wednesday, July 12: Wretham.

Up at 0815. Briefing at 0930. Took off at 1110. Duplicate of yesterday’s show in every detail but flight time. I led Olson, White, and Keesey. My #2 and #4 planes got lost in very rough air of overcast. Picked up Kosc for #2. Homeyer flew #4 later. Encountered heavy flak near Ruhr so everyone split up as usual. Major Shaw led. I became Blue Flight. We only had eight planes out of 16 for escort duty. Never saw the ground; went from here to Munich and back on instruments.
Couldn’t release my left tank and it pissed me off highly. Then it fell off on my landing approach.

Sure was tired. Up for 6 hours and 10 minutes. A long ride. Plane ran fine, loads of gas. Damn this lousy English weather.

P-51s from the photo archives of Howard Fogg.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

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.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Post-War: ALCO and Howard Fogg's first book cover

March 1946: With the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in the midst of converting from steam to diesel locomotive production, Duncan Fraser, President of ALCO, makes the decision that launches Howard’s artistic career. Hired as ALCO’s new company artist, Howard begins painting their locomotives in the livery of prospective customers, and examples of his work for them can be viewed at foggprints.com.

September 1946: At a three-day gala hosted by ALCO at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, Howard’s paintings are on display, and Lucius Beebe attends. A journalist with the New York Herald-Tribune, Beebe is considering leaving New York to pursue freelance writing and publication of railroad books. Lucius seeks out Howard and a long-term relationship is born, with Beebe buying a number of paintings over the years.

1947: Mixed Train Daily, co-authored by Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg, is the first of many to use a Fogg painting on the cover. The following photo from Howard's archives shows L-R: Clegg, Fogg, and Beebe (seated), in front of the display of six paintings that Howard completed for their book.