I was looking thru the new offerings at Books--a-Millions website when I came across this interesting title due out in May, "Fogg in the Cockpit: Master Railroad Artist, World War II Fighter Pilot".
Digging deeper, it appears Mr. Fogg kept very detailed journals during his time serving the country in WWII. His son? and daughter-in-law have compiled the book from these notes and combined some railroad info too.
Anyone else have any more info on this book? Looks like it might be an interesting read. BTW, the book is due out in May '11.
Jay
Hello Jay. Thanks for the plug for Fogg in the Cockpit! I am the oldest of Howard's 3 sons. My wife Janet and I used my dad's WWII diary as the focal point for the book. He flew P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs out of England from October 1943 to September 1944 (76 missions in bomber escort and ground support roles). He loved trains and railroading as a young boy and his career as a railroad artist often saw him referred to as the dean of american railroad artists. While the diary's main focus is the war effort, he has several references to the British railroad system in it.He never took us camping when we were kids but I remember some awe-inspiring moments chasing Union Pacific 800's, 3900's and Big Boys between Cheyenne and Laramie, stopping to grab a picture as they thundered by and then racing ahead to pace them for a while. By the time I was old enough to drive they were all retired, but I got to chase the 844 (later numbered 8444) on fan trips. The book is due to be released in late May, and will contain appx. 30 of his paintings in addition to photos of the planes, base, pilots, etc. If you are interested in seeing more of his art there are three books about him: Fogg and Steam, Fogg and the Diesel Image, and The Railroad Artistry of Howard Fogg, which is the most comprehensive of the three. Unfortunately all three are out of print but are often available on Amazon, as is Fogg in the Cockpit.Dick Fogg
Dick,
Thanks for the post here and WELCOME!
There are many of us who drop by here that grew up with or have enjoyed your father's chronicling of his interests in railroading with his paintings. Hope you will stop by often, and post here as well!
The fact of your father's service is a welcome layer to his talents,
I look forward to reading " Fogg in the Cockpit"!
[EDIT To Add]
A tip o' the Hat to Howard Fogg (From Utah Rails website): http://utahrails.net/up/up-4-12-2-sounds.php
FTL::"...UP's 4-12-2 Steam Locomotive — Howard Fogg's recording of a Union Pacific-type 4-12-2.
Howard Fogg recorded UP 4-12-2 9009 in September 1954 in Brady, Nebraska, and along U. S. 30..."
Dick Fogg Hello Jay. Thanks for the plug for Fogg in the Cockpit! I am the oldest of Howard's 3 sons. My wife Janet and I used my dad's WWII diary as the focal point for the book. He flew P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs out of England from October 1943 to September 1944 (76 missions in bomber escort and ground support roles). He loved trains and railroading as a young boy and his career as a railroad artist often saw him referred to as the dean of american railroad artists. While the diary's main focus is the war effort, he has several references to the British railroad system in it.He never took us camping when we were kids but I remember some awe-inspiring moments chasing Union Pacific 800's, 3900's and Big Boys between Cheyenne and Laramie, stopping to grab a picture as they thundered by and then racing ahead to pace them for a while. By the time I was old enough to drive they were all retired, but I got to chase the 844 (later numbered 8444) on fan trips. The book is due to be released in late May, and will contain appx. 30 of his paintings in addition to photos of the planes, base, pilots, etc. If you are interested in seeing more of his art there are three books about him: Fogg and Steam, Fogg and the Diesel Image, and The Railroad Artistry of Howard Fogg, which is the most comprehensive of the three. Unfortunately all three are out of print but are often available on Amazon, as is Fogg in the Cockpit.Dick Fogg
Thanks for the info. It is nice that your dad kept detailed records of his WWII experiences as such accounts are fast disappearing with each lose of our WWII veterans.
Back in the mid '80s/early '90s, I worked for William F. (Bill) Higgison, a true southern gentleman, who once flew B29s off Tinian Island during WWII. During some of our slack times he would tell of his experiences--roping up the smallest crewmember and lowering him thru busted bomb doors while in flight so that the bomb doors could be cabled closed which allowed them to get back on the tight fuel supply--or when they were first assigned the plane and still limited to the base, out of pure boredom the crew waxed the whole B29--or, as a side trip while doing business in DC, accompanying him on his first visit to the Air & Space Museum's WWII exhibit.
His B29, Miss America 1962 (named such because this was the first year most of his crews' daughters would become age eligible for Miss America pageant), is still with us as it has been preserved at Travis Air Museum in California.
A bigger thanks to you and your wife for preserving this history byr writing this book. I will definitely order a copy.
Looks like a book I will be gettng come May. Sorry but anything that is related to the Greatest Genaration I love to get my hands on. 43-44 if he had flown in Italy he could have escorted my Grandfather but out of England he would have been part of the Mighty 8th AF. My grandfather was in the 15th as a Ball Turret on a B-24.
Thanks to all for the kind comments. From my admittedly limited exposure this appears to be a class forum.Sam, nice to see you are aware of my father's recordings. They were done just as a hobby for his personal enjoyment but I'm glad he was persuaded to make the records.Jay, I had to laugh at the thought of waxing a B-29! My father mentions doing the same thing to his planes, but a couple of times he called it "simonizing" - a confusing term I'm sure for most younger folks.Ed, those B-24 guys out of Italy really had it rough. There are many places I wouldn't have wanted to be in WWII but I think a sub or bomber might top the list.As an FYI for those of you with old (or very old) copies of Trains, the December 2000 issue has a great article about my dad. Going all the way back to December 1982 there is an article entitled "The Lady and the Pennsy". which was written by my mother and details her experiences as a ticket seller in the early '40s - when it was pretty rare for a woman to hold that job. Thanks, guys, for remembering not just my father but all the men and women who served so selflessly then (and now!).Dick Fogg
Dick this should give you a clue my Grandfathers first mission was to Ploesti on the Low Level Raid. He wrote in a Dairy I donated to be preserved at the USAF Museum that I Hope they are NOT ALL LIKE THAT. He also had the privalage of having his plane saved by a flight of the 332nd Fighter Group. On a later mission of his tour his B-24 was a Straggler so basically dead meat for the Luftwaffe 2 engines shot out 3 wounded gunners one waist Tail and Top Turret were hit. All of a sudden 4 Red Tailed P-51's started flying close cover all the way back to his base. He wrote that I want to find those boys and buy them a Drink. His pilot took those that were able over to the 332nds base and then took the pilots to a local club. The owner refused to serve the Pilots of the 332nd. My Grandfather and his Crew that was with him all left saying if your not going to serve them then we are ouit of here also. Now my Grandfather was from The deepo south and not the niceset man at times Yet his atttude changed big time towards how African Americans should be treateed by the 332nd men.
Ed, a great story - thanks for sharing. My dad often talked about picking up stragglers when returning from missions. Sometimes, when the bomber was OK and just separated from the rest of the group the fighter guys would mess around buzzing the "heavy" and the bomber would respond. Must have been lots of fun and a good way to wind down after the pressure of a mission. There is an entry in his diary where he says something to the effect that "those B-17s can really turn!" I'm sure such activities were frowned upon but it was probably good training as well as fun.Dick
Dick my father never had a clue what his dad did in the war. He was always told he was a Mechanic on the B-24 then I found the DIary and my dad went that would explain alot on why his dad was always refused to talk about his wartime service. Seeing your buddies blown out of the sky will change you. Out of his crew he was the only one to not get a Purple Heart. 60% of his crewmates got theirs Posthumosly what does that tell you about the men that flew the Bomber missions. They would climb into those planes mission after mission knowing that on the early missions 25% of them may not come back. But as my grandfather said in his diary many times we fought our way in and out and always dropped our bambs on target. It was the least we could do for all the men that did not make it back to base and are either Dead Wounded or Missing in Action.
This is a most interesting thread. Dad flew as a navigator in the 306th Bomb Group (8th Air Force) in 1944 and did not make a big deal of it. Consider the conditions: Flying in an unpressurized plane at 30,000 feet, outside temp is -30F, breathing oxygen from a mask, wearing an electrically heated flying suit but frostbite is still a risk, cramped quarters with a desk about the size of a folddown tray on an airliner, and there are a bunch of guys outside the plane who are trying to kill you. Returning alive from 32 missions was an accomplishment all by itself.
Ed,
One of my former customers, a pilot, always maintained he 'played no significant part in WW II'
To this day I have trouble believing that and think he was just being modest.
Norm
Never got to meet my Grandfather he died in 71 4 years before I was born. The Pilot was a major part of the crew just like the Bombibder Navigator and the Gunners. Think about it without the Gunners the plane was a sitting duck in the air. Yet there is only one USAAF Gunner listed as an Ace Staff Sargent Ben Warner with 9 Planes. Helps he got 7 on one mission. The crews of the B-24's and B-17's were the Brave ones. Yet everyone wanted to say it was the Fighter Pilots that one took the Air from Germany. Yes they did a large part of it however the Bombers flying Day in Day out shooting down Hundreds of Fighters helped. Destroying the Oil fields Transportation sites helped. We bled the enemy dry.
The guys that waxed the B-29 must have really been bored! However, fighter pilots, both Allied and Axis waxed their planes because, believe it or not, that slick surface would give them a few more knots of airspeed. That little bit of an edge could be just enough to keep them alive. And by the way, we've GOT to remember all the men and women who've fought our wars and given so much, and the fathers and mothers who were left with a heartbreak only the grave could erase. *** us all if we ever forget!
Every Memorial day weekend I make the Triangle as I call it. Rock Island Arsenal where my Dads Stepfather is Buried he was in the Navy Pacific Theatre in WW2 on a Transport then and then served on a LST when they were built. He was at every invasion from the Canal to Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He told me one time I bought the boys of any Jeep Carrier anything they wanted after Letye they saved my Butt there. Then from there I go to Rockford were my Grandfather that was the Ball Turret Gunner is Buried. Then from there I go to Marasailles were there is a Memorial wall for Every Solider that has died in the Middle east and I have a few frends that have sons that are on there. Gets to me everytime. Last I comne home and pay my respects to at the VFW by buying a round to the ones that served and came home.
Wow - this thread has taken on a life of its own. All of your interest and input is truly gratifying to Janet and me because that is the reason we wrote the book. We certainly won't get rich from it, and my dad already has way more than his 15 minutes of fame. We did it to remember and honor not just him but all the men and women who served as well as those who were left behind to carry on and all too often to pick up the pieces. My parents got married in April of '43 and 6 months later my dad was in England. In many ways I think it must have been tougher on my mom. Of course the combatants put their lives on the line, but they also had the adventure, camaraderie and a sense of purpose to sustain them. The folks back home had that terrible wait coupled with a lack of information brought about by the need for secrecy as well as poor communications. Greatest Genereration? They've got my vote!Dick
I can hear you on tough on your Parents. This was my Dads Parents Marrige. Married early in 42 when he came home on Leave from overseas. My father was born in 43 while his dad was Overseas. 9 Months after they got married. His sister was born 3 years later after the wa was over and dad came home from the war. However the marriage ended a few years later my Grandmother never got used to how quiet my grandfather was after he came home. She then remarried a few years later to another war vet that had not been in as much Combat the man I got to know as my grandfather and they stayed married til she died in 91 they got married in IIRC 61 and I miss them both he died in 2005. What made him special to me was he was the kind of man that lived his life to the fullest everyday. He realized that he was one of the lucky ones to have survived the war doing what he did I think.
My father has told me the same thing about his dad also that he lived his life to the fullest I have realized that tends to be a trait of alot of the WW2 vets. They are not afaird to take a chance on something. Maybe it was they took that risk in combat and kept them and their buddies alive 65 years ago might be the reason they made it.
Firelock76 The guys that waxed the B-29 must have really been bored! However, fighter pilots, both Allied and Axis waxed their planes because, believe it or not, that slick surface would give them a few more knots of airspeed. That little bit of an edge could be just enough to keep them alive. And by the way, we've GOT to remember all the men and women who've fought our wars and given so much, and the fathers and mothers who were left with a heartbreak only the grave could erase. *** us all if we ever forget!
Firelock,
They had the same results after waxing the B-29. IIRC, they picked up two or three knots. I never did ask how long it lasted.
IIRC from what I read in my Grandfathers diary they got a unpainted plane later on in the war also. They waxed it and gained the speed also. It lasted 4 weeks then they had to redo it.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.