John H. Hoefker 4x321

The story of Major John H. Hoefker ing and was commissioned a Second any s have been writ­ Lieutenant. Along with his new gold ten about Fighter Aces in the European Theater of bars came orders asg him to World War Two. When the the 153rd Observation Squadron, term "Fighter Ace" is used we usu­ 67th Observation Group at Esler ally think of the fighter pilot defend­ Field, Louisiana. Lt. Hoefker's ar­ ing the bombers from Luftwaffe rival at Esler was quite timely be­ fighters during the high altitude, cause the Group was in the process long range bombing missions over of doing away with the old obsolete . However, as we shall see, observa tion planes and re-equipping that is not the total portrait of the with modern fighter aircraft such as Fighter Ace. the Curtiss P-40, the Republic P-43, This is the story of a man who and the North American P-51A. For became an Ace even though his pri­ the next several months the pilots mary mission was tactical recon­ familiarized themselves with the new naissance in of Patton's planes, and at the same time worked Third Army during its drive across on the development of new recce Europe. These TAC R pilots flew in doctrines lMld . tactics. The training two plane formations and operated ended in September 1942 when the at altitudes from 3500 to 6000 feet Group was declared combat ready. in order to find and fix enemy for­ Shortly thereafter the 67th OG sel mations and installations for the . sail for England and assignment to ground troops. Even at these low al­ the 8th Air Force. titudes encounters with enemy fight­ The Group arrived in England in ers were not uncommon, and quite a November 1942 and set up operations few enemy pilots paid the ultimate at Membury. The squadrons received price when they tried to bounce these reverse Lend-Lease Supermarine "unsuspecting" targets. Spitfires and began functioning in Like so many other young men an operational training status. Dur­ during the late 1930s and early ing the first few months in England 1940s John Hoefker was beginning the pilots flew numerous training his life in the business world. In his flights designed to familiarize the case it was ing with his father pilots with European flying. In April in the family meat market in Cov­ 1943, Lt. Hoefker was reassigned to ington, Kentucky. However, as the the 107th Recon Squadron, 67th RG, possibility of war looked more and and in August 1943 he, like other more imminent John began to give of his squadron, was indi­ some thought as to how he would vidually assigned to temporary duty serve. Already the thought of being with an RAF fighter squadron. John an infantryman had been rejected was assigned to No. 165 Squadron at and the thought of becoming a pilot Kenley, and the training they pro­ was entering'his mind. Having never vided included both tactical training flown before and being unsure as to exercises and actual combat missions. how well he would adapt to flying, While with No. 165 Squadron Lt. John decided to test it out first. For Hoefker flew eleven comba t missions, a period of time he had some local to include convoy patrols, bomber pilots take him up over the northern escort, and fighter sweeps over the. Kentucky-Cincinnati, Ohio, area and, Continent. This period with the RAF after several flights, decided that the stands out vividly in John's memory, Army Air Corps would be his choice. and he credits their training for a After enlisting in the Army in great deal of his success in combat. August 1941 Cadet Hoefker was sent In November 1943, the 67th Group to King City, California, to begin his was reassigned to the 9th Air Force flight training. By March 1942 John and moved to its new base at Middle had completed all phases of his train­ Wallop on 11 December. Concurrent with their move the Group began re­ ceiving brand new Mustangs to re­ place their aging Spitfires, and every­ F-60 01 the 15th TRS during a photo run one now knew that their entry into over a German city in April 1945. (S. combat was close at hand.

M

Wilson)

Nine days later on 20 December 1943 the 67th RG received orders for its first combat mission, and the honor of flying the mission went to the 107th Recon Squadron. At 1120 hours a flight of two P-51As piloted by Lts. John Hoefker and Frank Dillon departed Middle Wallop en route to on what would be­ come the USAAF's first tactical re­ connaissance mission in northern Eu­ rope. On that same day the 67th's newest squadron, the 15th Tactical Recon Squadron, was moving into its new base at Aldermasten. The 15th TRS would replace the 153rd Squadron which had been redesig­ nated as a liaison squadron. Because of its late arrival in England there was an urgent need to bring the 15th TRS into an operational status. To help give the 15th some needed ex­ perience Lts. John Hoefker, Lyon Davis, and "Robbie" Robertson were transferred to the squadron and be­ came flight leaders. Along with his transfer Hoefker received a promo­ tion to the rank of Captain. For the next two months the 15th was engaged in an intensive training program and, in March 1944, the unit was ready for operations against the enemy. On 26 :M arch 1944, Cap­ tain Hoefker and his CO, Major Lloyd Warren, took off from Middle Wallop and headed for on the 15th's first mission. Their mis­ sion was to photograph German in­ stallations in Normandy, and the re­ sults of this first mission were so outstanding that they received a commendation from General Pete Quesada. During April 1944, the 67th Re­ connaissance Group was actively en­ gaged in providing bomb damage as­ sessment photos of targets struck by 9th AF bombers in and Bel­ gium. In May the Group continued its BDA work but its primary mis­ sion was now wa tching and photo­ graphing German coastal positions, fuel and ammo dumps, bridges, mar­ shaling yards, and troop movements. By the end of May 1944, the 9th Air Force's two recon groups, the 10th PRG and the 67th RG, had provided General Eisenhower and his staff with thousands of photos which were extremely vital to the invasion

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John H. Hoefker during his advanced trahing days at Stockton, California, dur­ ing 1942.

Mustangs of the 15th TRS at Furth, Ger­ many, during May 1945. (R. Gaudette)

planners. With these photos the Al­ lied planners could clearly see what the troops would be facing, and were able to make the final preparations. D-Day missions for the 15th TAC R Squadron began at 0500 hours. Its Mustangs were to patrol the areas behind the invasion front and report any German troop movements to the fighter-bombers. In the course of these missions its pilots became in­ volved in a little extra-curricular activity. Their historian described the morning of 6 June as follows: "As the first day of the greatest air, land, and sea assault drew to a fiery intennission and scalps as well as noses were counted, the Allied high command was faced with the aston­ ishing fact that TAC R had knocked down the first enemy plane over Europe after Zero Hour and made a whirlwind finish with a score of three certains and one probable." The first kill of D-Day had gone to Lt. Joe Conklin, and the other two were claimed by Lts. Clyde East and Ernest Schonard. The 15th history continued, "Ground fighters, fighter-bombers, and all the other aircraft reported that the Jerry was far scarcer than snowballs on the powder-blackened beaches, but the 'Eyes of the Army' and the advance agents of the combat teams came home with the maps, photos, and the brace of enemy fighters."

The scoring continued when the 15th TRS returned to action on 7 June. The squadron was again recon­ noitering the German rear lines of communications when enemy aircraft appeared. The day's encounter took place in the vicinity of Le Mans where John Hoefker was on a route recce. John recalled the encounter as follows: "I saw a flight of 109s that was preparing to intercept us so I pulled up and into their path and attacked their leader. Apparent­ ly this fellow was an old hand be­ cause it was only after a long and determined dogfight that I was able to bring him down. When the rest of the Gennans saw their leader go down they turned and headed home; we continued the mission." Victory No.1 was only the begin­ ning of what was to become a most eventful month in the combat career of John Hoefker. Ten days later an urgent request came in for an impor­ tant photo mission over the Loire Valley. The high command needed to know the status of bridges along the Loire River, and they couldn't wait for the weather to clear. The assignment was given to Captain Hoefker, and he flew it from a for­ ward airstrip in . In terrible weather he headed for the heavily defended target area. When he ar­ rived the ceiling was so low that he had to go down to the vulnerable

Spitfire Mk. V of the 107th TRS at Membury, England. The aircraft is coded AX-D. (Col. R. Stone)

altitude of 5000 feet to make his run. The best description of the mission is contained in the citation from his commanding officer, which read, "Undeterred by heavy flak he en­ countered at Nantes and with the protection of only one other aircraft he continued over a fifty mile area at less than 5000 feet. Little envasive action could be taken because of the number of targets. Notwithstanding Captain Hoefker succeeded in obtain­ ing excellent oblique stereopairs of eighty bridges along the target area with only three negatives. Detailed visual reconnaissance of five bridges was also obtained. Without disregard for personal safety, and without su­ perior courage and flying ability, this mission could not have been carried out." For this mission, which was one of the longest single-engined reconnaissance missions in Europe at that stage of the war, Captain Hoefker received the Distinguished Flying Cross. Republic P-43 Lancer of the 67th Observation Group at Esler Field, Louisiana, during the summer of 1942. (USAF Museum)

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On 20 December 1943, Lts. John H. Hoelker and Frank Dillon 01 the 107th TRS flew the 67th RG's first operational mission. Lt. Dillon flew this P-51 A on that mission. (Col. F. Dillon)

By 20 June the weather began to clear and the 15th dispatched a rec­ ord number of sorties. One of the sections that went to was the team of Captain John Hoefker and Lt. James McCormick. Their mission was to check the roads and rail lines in the vicinity of Argentan. North­ west of the city, six Bf 109s bounced the section and a twisting and vio­ lent dogfight ensued. Finally the pair of recce pilots outmaneuvered the German fighter pilots and Mac sent one of the 109s out of the fight trail­ ing heavy smoke. While that was going on Captain Hoefker chose his victim and ripped the 109 apart with several bursts of fire from his fifties. The Messerschmitt exploded in mid­ air and Hoefker had his second con­ firmed victory. The squadron histo­ rian ended the day's entry with this remark. "With this victory Captain Hoelker climbs into a 15th TRS Sptilire

Mk. V for a training mission. (L. Davis)

low and to my rear by an enemy aircraft that opened fire at 500 yards. I broke left and we went into a Lufbury. I broke from the Lufbury while looking for Waits and was again attacked from my left rear. I pulled up into an Immelman and dove onto another 109 and fired three short bursts of l/z second each. After the third burst I saw brownish-white smoke pour from the aircraft's en­ gine, and then he rolled over and went down in a 60-degree dive, ex­ ploding as he hit the ground. The pilot did not get out." After the crash of the 109 the other three Germans left the scene and Hoefker and Waits headed back to their base. With his third victory in less than a month Captain Hoefker had clearly established himself as the top gun in reconnaissance. Even though TAC R pilots were supposed to leave aerial combat to the fighter pilots and stick to observing activities on the ground, the Squadron was ob­ viously quite proud of Captain Hoef­ ker's accomplishments. The squad­ ron historian noted the mission of the 29th as follows: "Captain Hoef­ ker, the Nemesis of the Messer­ schmitts, boosted his total to three with a kill near Bernay . Four 109s bounced the redoubtable Captain and his wingman Joe Waits. The Captain modestly acknowledged that these boys have been out of flying school a long time, but the old spe­ cialist proved equal to the occasion." As it turned out the mission of 29 June was to be the last of Captain Hoefker's first tour in Europe. After nearly two years of flying over Eu­ rope he was granted a Stateside leave and headed home to Kentucky for a well earned rest. By the time he returned to his squadron in October 1944 the battle front had stalemated. Patton's mag­ nificent drive across had end­ ed in September because of a short­ age of fuel and supplies. Third Army was now in the process of resupply­ of several hori'e drawn wagons plus ing and preparing for its next offen­ a number of rail cars sitting at sid­ sive. With no movement on the ings-aIl perfect targets for the ground the 15th TAC R's duties fighter-bombers . However, while Cap­ were to carry out visual recce sorties tain Hoefker was watching and re­ deep in to enemy territory behind the cording the enemy's movements be­ front. They were to keep track of low, he and Lt. Waits were being enemy road and rail traffic and troop watched from above by four Bf 109 movements. In doing so the TAC R pilots. The encounter was described pilots were hampered by some very bv Captain Hoefker in his report. foul weather, vicious flak, and a "We were sixteen miles southwest resurgent Luftwaffe. It was, in fact, of Bernay flying at 4000 feet when on his very first mission after return­ we observed four 109s approaching ing to the front that Captain Hoef­ us from the southwest at 4500 feet. ker learned that the Luftwaffe was As we climbed for the clouds the still a force to be reckoned with. 109s turned and dove for us from On that mission, which took place behind and I was attacked from be­ on 11 October, he and hie: wingman

well underway both Groups would soon be assuming the respom;ibility of providing aerial reconnaissance for an American field army. The 67th would cover the First Army, and the 10th RG would cover Patton's Third Army. To accomplish their respective missions each Group would have to be able to provide both photo and T AC R coverage to the forces on the ground. So on 13 June, the 67th Recon Group traded two of its TAC R squadrons, the 12th and 15th, to the 10th PRG for two photo squad­ rons, the 30th and 33rd PSs. The actual move for the 15th TRS took place on 27 .June when it headed for its new base at Chalgrove. The squadron's first missions un­ der the 10th Photo Recon Group took place two days later on 29 June. The weather was marginal but five missions were dispa tched over the Continent. Three of the five had to be aborted due to heavy cloud cover, but the other two were quite suc­ cessful. One of the successful mis­ sions was flown by Captain Hoefker with Lt. Joe Waits as his wingman . They were to make a visual recce of Laigle, Bernay Belleme. and AI­ lencon, and during the mission Hoef­ ker was able to record the movement

Pilots of No. 165 Squadron, RAF, at Kenley. John Hoefker was trained by the unit in August 1943 and flew his first eleven missions under their supervision. (J.H. Hoefker)

Hoefker established himself as the squadron's high scorer and a definite Bf 109 specialist." While these missions were going on a plan was being implemented by the 9th Air Force to reorganize its two reconnaissance groups. Up to now the 67th RG had operated with four TAC R squadrons and the 10th PRG had four unarmed photo squad­ rons. Since the invasion was now

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15th TRS ground crews prepare the cam­ eras and guns of 5M-B for a mission from Middle Wallop during the spring of 1944. (H. Edwards)

Captain Hoefker in front (J.H. Hoe/ker)

FlO Henry Lewis ran into a huge gaggle of over forty E I A over Worms, , and it took some fancy flying on their part to evade the German fighters. Captain Hoefker's next encounter with the Luftwaffe took place on 1 November, and it too ended in total frustration. He and Captain Bob Dawson were checking the ac­ tivity at several German airfields when they ran into a flight of five Me-262s near Crielshiem. The pilots of the German jets did not exhibit 20

air classics

a whole lot of aggressiveness al­ though one of them did try to make a at Hoefker's Mustang. John saw the move and turned inside of the 262, closing to within 300 yards. What an opportunity, a chance to down one of 's vaunted jets! He lined up the jet in his sights and pushed the firing button. Only one gun fired and it jammed after ten rounds. Cursing his luck John pulled over and gave the lead to Bob Daw­ son who was able to get off only one V2-second burst before the Ger­

of his F-60 .

man poured on the coal and disap­ peared. After seeing their prize get away unscathed, the two headed back to base. The squadron historian noted, "What Captain Hoefker thought when his guns jammed at the crucial point is as unprintable as it is understandable." On 8 November 1944, General Pat­ ton resumed the offensive and with his attack, the 15th's activities in­ creased. The Luftwaffe wasn't about to let this incursion into their air­ space go unopposed and the nurn r of encounters rose. It was 19 Novem­ ber when Captain H oefker go 8 ­ other crack at an enemy fighter. . mission for the day was to photo· graph five marshal - g yard in >eT­ many and to monitor lh airfield at Giessen. John had j t turned on his camera for a photo run over the Frie­ burg marshaling yards when he was bounced from above by an FW-190. Just as his wingman, Lt. Richard Youll, called out a warning, the Ger­

man opened fire. The shots missed and within an instant Captain Hoef­ ker had pulled up into a steep Im­ melman turn and maneuvered into firing position on the tail of the 190. The German tried a series of evasive turns but to no avail. Several short bursts from John's fifties found their Captain Hoefker on the wing of his F-6C Mustang (SM-G) after scoring his third aerial victory on 29 June 1944. (J.H. Hoefker)

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mark and the German jettisoned his canopy and attempted to jump. In doing so he struck the horizontal tail surfaces of his plane and was killed by the impact. After watching the Focke Wulf crash John formed back up with Lt. Youll and continued the mission. They were able to photo­ graph all of the assigned target areas and along with his fourth victory Captain Hoefker returned with ex­ cellent pictures of the marshaling

yards, and information about other potential targets for the bombers. The major news story of 19 No­ vember though was that the city of Metz had fallen to Patton. It was the first time since 451 AD that Fortress Metz had fallen to assault troops. With the fall of Metz Patton was able to continue his drive toward the Siegfried Line. The 10th PRG con­ tinued covering the Third Army front while making a move itself. This move was to Giraumont, , a field that would put them closer to the front. As December 1944 began our forces in the air and on the ground noticed the increased vigor of German de­ fenses_ Especially noticeable was the heavy artillery fire falling into XX Corps area_ More ominous was the number of reinforcements TAC R had reported entering the German lines. Immediate calls came for heav­ ier TAC R coverage of the battle area. During the first two weeks of December the T AC R pilots flew as often as the worsening weather would allow, and continued to pick up dis­ turbing bits of information which in­ dicated the Germans were up to something. The facts they reported were that the Germans were moving large numbers of men and equipment

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Hoefker's F-6C during the fall of 1944. Mission symbols and victories are in red.

by rail and road, and the Luftu}affe was unusually aggressive in trying to keep them away from the area surrounding the Ardennes Forest. All these indicators should have spelled out to Army intelligence that something big was about to happen but somehow the significance of all this activity was missed. It was under the cover of some of the worst flying weather of the winter that three German Armies totalling twenty-five Divisions struck on a seventy-mile front defended by only six Divisions. Like a runaway steamroller the powerful armored columns broke through the Allied lines in a number of places. The most notable breakthrough occurred south of St. Vith and by nightfall of the 17th, elements of the 5th Pan­ zer Army had entered Luxembourg and headed toward the Meuse River by way of Bastogne. With Army commanders unsure as to the dispo­ sition of their own troops it became the task of T AC R to pinpoint our troop positions as well as the enemy's. 17 December began with a flurry of air activity on both sides. TAC R put up a maximum effort, and the Luftwaffe was also out in force to the offensive. The aggressive­ ness of the Luftwaffe was first felt by TAC R during the morning mis­ sions and some of the missions had to be aborted because of large bands 22

air classics

of marauding German fighters. Dur­ ing the afternoon the enemy con­ tinued to fill the skies with aircraft but this time the "tables were turn­ ed." In three separate encounters, all of which took place in the Frank­ furt-Giessen-Wiesbaden area, seven German planes were blasted out of the sky by T AC R pilots. The first fell to Clyde East of the 15th T AC R and numbers two and three fell to Lt. Ron Ricci of the 12th TAC R, however the main bout took place in the area covered by Captain John Hoefker. In this battle Captain Hoef­ ker was to have his biggest day of the war. The mission was a rou te recce cov­ ering the highways and rail lines in the Frankfurt-Giessen-Hanau area. As Captain Hoefker and his wing­ man, Lt. Charles White, flew over Giessen two 109s flew right under them. Before the German pilots could react Captain Hoefker had pulled in behind one of them and began firing. As he fired a burst at the 109 from a range of 250 yards down to 75 feet, Hoefker noticed hits all over the plane. The German pilot jetti­ soned his canopy but was prevented from jumping when his plane whip­ ped into an uncontrolled wingover and crashed. As the first 109 crashed the second 109 tried to get into firing position but Captain Hoefker out­ maneuvered him. Seconds later the Messerschmitt took a hail of bullets from John's guns and pieces were torn from its fuselage and right wing. The German then climbed to 1500 feet, did a wingover and leveled out

just above the trees, but found to his horror that the persistent blue­ nosed Mustang was still there and its guns were firing. On this Captain Hoefker closed to within 100 feet and tore the already damaged 109 apart with a two-second burst and sent it crashing to the ground. After photographing the wreckage of the 109s, Hoefker headed south along the Autobahn toward Kirch and within minutes observed an FW­ 190 ing under him. In a flash John was on the 190's tail and firing. Smoke began pouring from the Focke Wulf's engine as Hoefker completed his . The German tried to break away from the fight but he could not shake the ever-present P-51. With three final bursts Captain Hoefker dealt the 190 a fatal blow and its pilot took to his parachute. With three victories under his belt Captain Hoefker ed back up with Lt. White to continue their mission. For the next 45 minutes they noted the movement of rail, highway, and canal traffic and then headed back to base. As they flew homeward a Ju-188 blundered into their path over Wiesbaden. This time the German pilot was more alert and began lak­ ing evasive action while his gunne fired at the approaching Mu tan ::-. The defensive fire from the German bomber was very ina lIrale and for the next few moment aptain Hoof­ ker and Lt. White took tum, fir ing at the Ju-188. After t e fi rst two es its right engine was blazing, and the German tried to escape by diving away. He pulled out at 4000

Hoefker's F-6D coded 5M-A , sin 44-14597. Hoefker was shot down by enemy flak wh ile flying this aircraft on 23 December 1944. (J.H. Hoefker)

feet but as he leveled off Captain Hoefker hit the 188 with one more volley of machine gun fire. That burst did it and seconds later the crew of four abandoned their burn­ ing plane just before it crashed into

a house on th~ outskirts of Wies­ baden. With these 3% victories Cap­ tain Hoefker raised his total to 7 1/ 2 kills and became the ETO's first reconnaissance Ace in World War (Continued on page 66)

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(619) 287·3933 /461·3514

MUSEUM QUALITY

FULL COLOR PHOTOS

BY • UDD DAVIISOII'

Two. Additionally this mission which was to earn him the Silver Star medal was only the beginning of an incredible two-week period for the Captain, one which would also see him decorated for outstanding recce given to the beleagured troops at Bastogne. As the battle increased in intensity the 101st Airborne Division found itself surrounded in the key Belgian city of Bastogne. So important was it to hold the city and to reinforce the 101st that Ike ordered General Patton to tum the Third Army around and rush back to Bastogne. To coincide with Patton's move to the Bastogne area, all T AC R routes were cancelled and operations were shifted to the breakthrough area. A large portion of the battlefield coverage fell to the 15th T AC R during the period of 23 December through 31 December and they per­ formed the task so well that the Squadron received a Letter of Com­ mendation from General Maxwell D. Taylor, the Commanding General of the 101st stating in part, "The suc­ cess of this defense is attributed to the shoulder-to-shoulder cooperation of all units involved. This Division is proud to have shared the battle­ field with your command." A great deal of this help came from missions flown by Captain Hoefker beginning with his mission of 23 December. On that mission as he and Lt. White covered their area and reported en­ emy positions until they were bounc­ ed by seven P-47s of the 358th FG. In taking evasive action the two were separated and Captain Hoefker flew into intense flak from the German lines. The engine seized, and John took to his chute. His plane nearly crashed into the U.S. 4th Infantry Division's mess hall, and that result­ ed in another ordeal. Thinking they had been bombed the infantrymen started blazing away at John with their rifles. It took quite a bit of work on his part to convince them of their error. He recalled, "It was prob­ ably the blistering profanity I hurled at them that stopped the shooting, no German could have known those colloquialisms." The next day he was delivered back to the base by his 4th Division hosts. On 26 December, Captain Hoefker returned to the skies over Bastogne. During the mission he observed an

enemy column of fifteen plus Pan­ ther or Tiger tanks and five plus motor vehicles moving toward a col­ umn of U.s. tanks. Realizing that time was short, he began circling over the enemy tanks in sight of the American column, then dived and fired his guns at the enemy forma­ tion from an altitude that could be seen by the U.S. tankers. He then circled the U.S. tanks and returned to the enemy's position until the Americans could deploy into battle formation and go into action. After­ wards he reported another eight sightings of enemy motor vehicles. On the 27th, Captain Hoefker re­ ported two enemy tanks, nineteen locations of enemy vehicles in groups of three to 100, and twelve gun em­ placements. No missions were flown on the 28th, but he returned on the 29th of December and located six dug-in enemy tanks, three small con­ voys of enemy vehicles, and a large concentr ation of enemy vehicles hid­ ing in the woods. In his mission of 30 December Cap tain Hoefker was able to find eight tanks in two loca­ tions, thirteen groups of enemy ve­ hicles, and rend red a follow-up report on the concentration of ve­ hicles he had found the previous day. When Captain Hoefker returned to the Bastogne area on 31 December his luck ran out, and he had to jump for the second time in eight days. He was over enemy lines look­ ing for a hole in the thick overcast when the sky around him was sud­ denly filled by those deadly "orange golfballs." His Mustang shuddered under the impact of several rounds of 20mm flak and burst into flames. The flames quickly spread to the cockpit area, and John knew he hBd to abandon ship immed ia tely. Re­ membering an "ejection" technique taught to him by the RAF be open­ ed the canopy and jammed the tick forward with both feet. The tffil worked fine except lhat ,,"as ejected with such force lila lo!".t his flying boots. Mornen la r .John landed in deep snow hind enemy lines. After gathering up his pa ra­ chute Captain HoeCker hended for ref uge in some nearby woods. Once in the wo ru e ripped up his chute and ....-rapped his freezing feet and then used the remainder of it for camouflage covering over his dark flying gear. For the next day and a

he

Spitfire Mk. V of the 107th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron returning to Membury, England, in the winter of 1942. (W. Edwards)

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air classics

Navigation Officer. The Battle of the Bulge was now over and the Allies had resumed the offensive. With the Germans now falling back TAC R was heavily occupied with the task of locating Wehrmacht convoys and directing fighter-bomber attacks against them . A second major func­ tion was directing artillery fire into German lines. Captain Hoefker's first mission after his return to the Group was a very successful artillery spot­ ting sortie in of Patton's drive toward Prum, . By 1 March 1945 Patton had cap­ tured Trier, , and the air­ field at Evren along with it. On 15 March the Group began its move to its new airfield and initiated its coverage of Patton's drive to the Rhine. Third Army was striking hard at the crumbling German war machine and its rapid advances press­ ed the 10th PRG to keep up with the demand for intelligence and infor­ mation. The photo squadrons ranged far and wide over the Third Army front performing BDA and mapping missions while the TAC R pilots tracked the highway and rail move­ ment. The Luftwaffe was still an ac­ tive force during this period and the T AC R pilots continued to add to their victory list. It was during ibis period that Captain HoeCkel' was to

core his most unusual victory. On 31 March he was flying a visual reconnaissance mission in the vicin­ ity of Eisnach, , when he spied a German liaison plane which had just taken off and was climbing. John closed on the plane in order to get a good look and then turned in front of it. In the middle of his turn Captain Hoefker looked back and the German had crashed, the propwash of his powerful Mustang had flipped the light aircraft over at low altitude and sent it into the ground (the German aircraft was of­ ficially recorded as an Hs-126, but more than likely it was a lightweight Fiesler Storch). This unique victory extended his score to 8% victories. By 4 April 1945, Patton had cap­ tured Fulda, Hersfeld and Kassel and opened up a fifty-mile corridor into eastern . However, be­ fore he could start a new offensive Third Army was ordered to slow down so First and Ninth Armies could catch up. During this lull the 12th and 15th T AC R Squadrons moved to a new base at Ober-Olm to be closer to the Third Army front. Just as Patton predicted, the slow down of Third Army's advance caus­ ed the German defenses to stiffen and fighting intensified. This was especially true in the air. TAC R

F-6C DIMPLES awaits its next mIssIon from Chalgrove, England, in July 1944. (V. Krasnickas)

pilots were engaged in numerous air battles during the next several days and claimed a number of vic­ tories. Captain Hoefker ed in the action with the 15th TAC R on 8 April 1945 and scored one of those victories. He and Lt. Charles White were checking the rail lines near Wettenburg, , when White spotted a twin engined aircraft ap­ proaching from 8 o'clock and sun­ down. Captain Hoefker recognized it as an He-1ll and attacked. After two es at the bomber, John's gunfire had hit both engines and they were trailing smoke, and there was an ex­ plosion on the left wing root. After his wing and fuselage started burn­ ing the German pilot headed for the ground and crash-landed his heavily damaged bomber. As the Heinkel slid to a stop Captain Hoefker took pictures of it with his vertical camera. Two days later Captain Hoefker and Lt. White were again patrolling the German rail systems. Near Riesa they spotted an FW-190 loafing along under them. White was in­ structed to go after the Focke Wulf, but while they were in the turn he lost sight of the enemy fighter. Hoef­ ker's encounter report went on to say, "... I realized that White had lost him, and not wanting the 190 to get away, I attacked and hit the German with a concentrated burst. The 190 caught fire, dived into the ground and exploded." After watch­ ing the 190 crash John swung his Mustang around and swooped over the scene to photograph it.

Spitfires of the 107th TRS and 12th TRS over England in the summer of 1943. (Col. Robert Stone)

The victory of 10 April 1945 was Captain Hoefker's final victory of World War Two. During the remain­ der of the war he flew only three more missions, all of which were uneventful. Four weeks later the war in Eu­ rope was over and the 10th Photo Recon Group settled into its occu­ pation duties. Because of his long overseas tour Captain Hoefker was one of the first men in the unit to go home. During that long combat tour he carried out his duties as a tactical reconnaissance pilot in an exceptional manner. When you add his 10% aerial victories to that ex­ cellent reconnaissance record, Cap­ tain John H. Hoefker was truly a "Recon Pilot Supreme." For his dis­ tinguished service to his country he was awarded the Silver Star, the Dis­ tinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, and over thirty Air Medals. He was promoted to the rank of Major upon his return to the United States and remained in the Air Force until late 1946. In 1947 he returned to his native Kentucky and became a very successful grocer. He is now retired from business, but is quite active in local politics and various veteran's organizations. The author would like to thank the following individuals and organiza­ tions for their help with this article: Mr. John H. Hoefker, Mr. Lyon Davis for providing copies of 15th TRS unit records, Colonel Robert Stone (Ret.) of the Michigan ANG who provided records of the 107th TRS; The 15th Tactical Reconnais­ sance Squadron Association, Mr. J. Griffin Murphey for photo-copy work, Air Force Museum Research Center. Photo contributors: John H. Hoef­ ker, Lyon Davis, Colonel Robert Stone (Ret.), William Edwards, Hal Edwards, Colonel Frank Dillon (Ret.) , Raymond Gaudette, Victor Krasnickas and Stewart Wilson. ~ air classics

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