The story of Major John H.

Hoefker
M
any accounts have been writ
ten about Fighter Aces in
the European Theater of
World War Two. When the
term "Fighter Ace" is used we usu
all y think of the fighter pilot defend
ing the bombers from Luftwaffe
fighters during the high altitude,
long range bombing missions over
Germany. However, as we shall see,
that is not the total portrait of the
Fighter Ace.
This is the story of a man who
became an Ace even though his pri
mary mission was tactical recon
naissance in support of Patton's
Third Army during its drive across
Europe. These TAC R pilots flew in
two plane formations and operated
at altitudes from 3500 to 6000 feet
in order to find and fix enemy for
mations and installations for the
ground troops. Even at these low al
titudes encounters with enemy fight
ers were not uncommon, and quite a
few enemy pilots paid the ultimate
price when they tri ed to bounce these
"unsuspecting" targets.
Like so many other young men
during the late 1930s and early
1940s John Hoefker was beginning
his life in the business world. In his
case it was joining with his father
in the family meat market in Cov
ington, Kentucky. However, as the
possibility of war looked more and
more imminent John began to give
some thought as to how he would
serve. Already the thought of being
an infantryman had been rejected
and the thought of becoming a pilot
was entering'his mind. Having never
flown before and being unsure as to
how well he would adapt to flying,
John decided to test it out first. For
a period of time he had some local
pilots take him up over the northern
Kentucky-Cincinnati, Ohio, area and,
after several flights, decided that the
Army Air Corps would be his choice.
After enlisting in the Army in
August 1941 Cadet Hoefker was sent
to King City, California, to begin his
flight training. By March 1942 John
had completed all phases of his train
F-60 01 the 15th TRS during a photo run
over a German city in April 1945. (S.
Wilson)
ing and was commissioned a Second
Lieutenant. Along with his new gold
bars came orders assigning him to
the 153rd Observation Squadron,
67th Observation Group at Esler
Field, Louisiana. Lt. Hoefker's ar
rival at Esler was quite timely be
cause the Group was in the process
of doing away with the old obsolete
observa tion planes and re-equipping
with modern fighter aircraft such as
the Curtiss P-40, the Republic P-43,
and the North American P-51A. For
the next several months the pilots
familiarized themselves with the new
planes, and at the same time worked
on the development of new recce
doctrines lMld . tactics. The training
ended in September 1942 when the
Group was declared combat ready.
Shortly thereafter the 67th OG sel
. sail for England and assignment to
the 8th Air Force.
The Group arrived in England in
November 1942 and set up operations
at Membury. The squadrons received
reverse Lend-Lease Supermarine
Spitfires and began functioning in
an operational training status. Dur
ing the first few months in England
the pilots flew numerous training
flights designed to familiarize the
pilots with European flying. In April
1943, Lt. Hoefker was reassigned to
the 107th Recon Squadron, 67th RG,
and in August 1943 he, like other
members of his squadron, was indi
vidually assigned to temporary duty
with an RAF fighter squadron. John
was assigned to No. 165 Squadron at
Kenley, and the training they pro
vided included both tactical training
exercises and actual combat missions.
While with No. 165 Squadron Lt.
Hoefker flew eleven comba t missions,
to include convoy patrols, bomber
escort, and fighter sweeps over the.
Continent. This period with the RAF
stands out vividly in John's memory,
and he credits their training for a
great deal of his success in combat.
In November 1943, the 67th Group
was reassigned to the 9th Air Force
and moved to its new base at Middle
Wallop on 11 December. Concurrent
with their move the Group began re
ceiving brand new Mustangs to re
place their aging Spitfires, and every
one now knew that their entry into
combat was close at hand.
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 France 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 :March 1944, Cap
tain Hoefker and his CO, Major
Lloyd Warren, took off from Middle
Wallop and headed for France 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 France and Bel
gium. In May the Group continued
its BDA work but its primary mis
sion was now watching 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
air classics 15
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 support 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 France. 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)
air c/"'ssics 17
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 France 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)
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 dispatched 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
of several hori'e drawn wagons plus
a number of rail cars sitting at sid
ings-aIl perfect targets for the
fighter-bombers . However, while Cap
tain Hoefker was watching and re
cording the enemy's movements be
low, he and Lt. Waits were being
watched from above by four Bf 109
pilots. The encounter was described
bv Captain Hoefker in his report.
"We were sixteen miles southwest
of Bernay flying at 4000 feet when
we observed four 109s approaching
us from the southwest at 4500 feet.
As we climbed for the clouds the
109s turned and dove for us from
behind and I was attacked from be
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 France had end
ed in September because of a short
age of fuel and supplies. Third Army
was now in the process of resupply
ing and preparing for its next offen
sive. With no movement on the
ground the 15th TAC R's duties
were to carry out visual recce sorties
deep into enemy territory behind the
front. They were to keep track of
enemy road and rail traffic and troop
movements. In doing so the TAC R
pilots were hampered by some very
foul weather, vicious flak, and a
resurgent Luftwaffe. It was, in fact,
on his very first mission after return
ing to the front that Captain Hoef
ker learned that the Luftwaffe was
still a force to be reckoned with.
On that mission, which took place
on 11 October, he and hie: wingman
air classics 19
FlO Henry Lewis ran into a huge
gaggle of over forty E I A over
Worms, Germany, 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 pass 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 Germany'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
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 of his F-60.
(J.H. Hoe/ker)
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 Hoefker 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)
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, France,
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 TAC 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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8a

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
support 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 pass
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 passing 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 pass. 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 joined 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, fi r ing
at the Ju-188. After t e fi rst two
passes 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
while 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 t h ~ 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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air classics 23
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(Continued from page 23)
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
support 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 Captain 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 immedia 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 he ,,"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
Spitfire Mk. V of the 107th Tactical
Reconnaissance Squadron returning to
Membury, England, in the winter of 1942.
(W. Edwards)
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 support of Patton's
drive toward Prum, Germany.
By 1 March 1945 Patton had cap
tured Trier, Germany, 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
68 air classics
core his most unusual victory. On
31 March he was flying a visual
reconnaissance mission in the vicin
ity of Eisnach, Germany, 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 Germany. 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 joined 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, Germany, 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
passes 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 69