WWII Pilot Combat Report - John Vogt

John Vogt

56th Fighter Group 08/19/1943

OFFICE OF THE INTELLIGENCE OFFICER 63RD FIGHTER SQUADRON COMBAT REPORT 1st Lt. John W. Vogt, Jr. Field Order No. 40/108

a . Combat b . 1 9 August 1943 c . 6 3rd Fighter Squadron , 56 th Fighter Group d . 1 62 5 hours e . Near Walcheren Island f . Vis. 10 miles, ground haze, no cloud. g . Me 109 h . 1 Me 109 d estroyed i . While flying Postaget Yellow 3 position on a B-17 escort mission, our flight (Capt. Mahurin, Lt. Ludwig, Lt. Vogt, Lt. Whitley) encountered three Me 109's preparing to make a head-on attack on the bombers. At that time the bombers were approximately 10 miles from the coast on a course out, while the 109's were just on the coast line, near Walcheren Island, preparing to go in at them. At about 1625 hours we bounced the enemy from about 21,000 feet and from above up sun so it is doubtful if they saw us before it was too late. I pressed home my attack on one ship which attempted to evade by breaking left. I fired a short burst of about 2 rings deflection in front of him whereupon he attem t ped to reverse his turn. This put me right behind hm at about 100 yards where a 4 second burst caused him to explode in a sheet of flame. In the meantime my wing man, Lt. Whitley (Yellow 4) had singled out another ship and successfully destroyed it. Yellow 1 and 2 (Capt. Mahurin and Lt. Ludwig) who had found it too difficult to turn into the attack at first due to a high diving speed, effectively covered us during the entire attacks and witnessed the whole show. I claim one M e 10 9 destroyed . JOHN W. VOGT, JR. , 1st Lt. , Air Corps . This report is further substantiated by a supplementary report of Capt. Sylvester V. Burke, and by the combat reports of Capt. Walker M. Mahurin, 1st Lt. Vance P. Ludwig and 1st Lt. Edgar

D. Whitley.

NAME AIRCRAFT NO : AMMUNITION USED : 1st Lt. John W. Vogt, Jr., 41 – 6325 673 rds .50 cal A.P. & I.

Official US Army Air Forces Combat Report by John Vogt of the 56th Fighter Group. This material is a transcription of official reports-testimonials of John Vogt's combat experience.

Donations

Do you have WWII memorabilia that you are not sure what to do with it? The children don't want it? Then let us help you preserve this history by donating these items to the Army Air Corps Library and Museum.

We are accepting donations in the form of uniforms, medals, ribbons, patches, photos, memorabilia, papers, gear and equipment.

We also accept monetary donations to support our operations and long term plans.

Donate

This website is part of the Army Air Corps Library and Museum, and as a 501(c)(3) Non-profit, your qualifying donations are tax deductible.

Volunteering

Are you an AAC, AAF or USAF Veteran, family member, historian or WW2 enthusiast? We Need YOU! Contact us today to see how you can help the Army Air Corps Library and Museum, a Texas Not-For-Profit Corporation.

We need your help! We are looking for volunteers that can help us with the following tasks.

(1) Typing and Transcriptionists: One of our big projects is extracting data from the thousands of documents we have and putting this data into a database where we can display the information on a website such as this one. (2) Photography and Document Scanning.

Historical Artifacts

We are looking for photos, documents and other types of artifacts including uniforms and gear of the 8th Air Force in World War II as well as other units and commands. We accept electronic/scans or originals of pictures and paper records. A General Order could be an award document that contains information on many servicemen. Special Orders may contain transfers or other information. Flight records, accident reports, maintenance logs, after action reports, pilot encounter reports, diaries and biorgraphies; all of these types of documents help us support or mission: preserving your history! Contact us today for instructions on sending us this material.