Robert William Foy (March 13, 1916 – March 25, 1950) was a

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

fighter pilot and triple-

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

who was credited with 15 aerial victories during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life

Foy was born on 1916 in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Military career

On April 2, 1942, he enlisted in the

United States Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

and entered flight training, and on May 20, 1943, he graduated from flight training. Upon completion of his flight training, he was assigned to the

363d Fighter Squadron 363rd or 363d may refer to: *363d Expeditionary Operations Group, inactive United States Air Force unit * 363d Bombardment Squadron or 19th Antisubmarine Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 363d Fighter Squadron or 164th Airlift Squad ...

of the

357th Fighter Group The 357th Fighter Group was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War. The 357th operated P-51 Mustang aircraft as part of the U.S. Eighth Air Force and its members were known unofficially as the Yoxford ...

Tonopah, Nevada Tonopah ( , Shoshoni language: Tonampaa) is an Unincorporated towns in Nevada, unincorporated town in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Nye County, Nevada, Nye County. Nicknamed the Queen of the Silver Camps for its mining-rich hi ...

, flying

P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by th ...

World War II

In November 1943, the

was assigned to

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater (warfare), theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It command ...

and was stationed at

RAF Leiston Royal Air Force Leiston or more simply RAF Leiston is a former Royal Air Force station located northwest of Leiston and south of Theberton, Suffolk, England. History USAAF use Originally intended as a fighter station for RAF Fighter Command ...

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, where the unit was now equipped with the

North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kin ...

s. On May 19, 1944, he shot down three

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...

s northwest of

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

, Germany, his first aerial victories. On June 29, while leading 'Cement Green flight' on a bomber escort over

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, Germany, they encountered four

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (Shrike) is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the ...

s. Foy shot down one Fw 190 while in a Lufberry circle. He then shot down a Bf 109 that was attacking another P-51 and also shot down another Bf 109, bringing his total aerial victories to six and earning him the title of

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

. On 25 July, he shot down a Bf 109 over

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, France, his seventh aerial victory, before he returned back to the United States for

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. In November 1944, Foy returned to the 357th FG for a second tour of duty. On November 18, while leading his flight to

strafe Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such a ...

an aerodrome in

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, they encountered eight Bf 109s circling around the aerodrome. Foy shot down one Bf 109 and damaged another. Before the end of 1944, he shot down three more enemy aircraft, bringing his total to 11 enemy aircraft destroyed. On January 14, 1945, Foy led a flight escorting

3rd Air Division The 3rd Air Division (3d AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, assigned to Fifteenth Air Force, being stationed at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. It was inactivated on 1 April 1992. T ...

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

es over

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, Germany. Upon reaching the target, the flight encountered a formation of Fw 190s and Bf 109s. In the dogfight, Foy destroyed two Fw 190s. After the dogfight, Foy and his wingman strafed an enemy airfield where he managed to destroy one enemy aircraft on the ground before flying back to the home base. On March 19, 1945, Foy took part in a flight escorting

es to targets in

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

, Germany. While over

Giessen Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the Germany, German States of Germany, state () of Hesse, capital of both the Giessen (district), district of Giessen and the Giessen (region), administrative region of Giessen. The population is appro ...

, Germany, Foy spotted three jet-powered

Messerschmitt Me 262 The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed (German for "Swallow") in fighter versions, or ("Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messers ...

s bouncing on a flight of P-51s. He then chased the Me 262s and before they were able to accelerate out of his range, he managed to shoot at one of the Me 262 with shots hitting the aircraft's left engine. The Me 262 rolled over and crashed, crediting Foy with his fourteenth aerial victory. His fifteenth and final aerial victory was on March 24, when he shot down a Bf 109 over

Gütersloh Gütersloh () is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe and the administrative region of Detmold (administrative region), Detmold. Gütersloh is the administrative centre for a Gütersloh (distric ...

, Germany. During World War II, Foy was credited with the destruction of 15 enemy aircraft in aerial combat plus 2 damaged, and 3 destroyed on the ground while strafing enemy airfields. While serving with the 357th FG, he flew P-51s bearing the names "Reluctant Rebel" and "Little Shrimp". During his combat tours, he was forced to ditch twice in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

after being shot by enemy fire, and was rescued.

Post war

After the war, Foy left from active duty at the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. He joined

California Air National Guard The California Air National Guard (CA ANG) is one of three components of the California National Guard, a reserve of the United States Air Force, and part of the National Guard of the United States. As militia units, the units in the Californi ...

and commanded a fighter wing, and worked as a public relations representative for

North American Aviation North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F- ...

. On March 25, 1950, while flying a

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served ...

converted for civilian use, from

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, Texas to

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, California, he was killed with five other occupants when the aircraft broke up in mid-air over

Gilbert, Arizona Gilbert is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Located southeast of Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, Gilbert is home to 288,128 residents. It is the fifth-most populous municipality in Arizona and is considered a suburb of Phoenix. I ...

Aerial victory credits

::::SOURCES: ''Air Force Historical Study 85: USAF Credits for the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II''

Awards and decorations

Silver Star citation

:Foy, Robert W. :Major (Air Corps), U.S. Army Air Forces :363d Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group, Eighth Air Force :Date of Action: June 29, 1944 :Citation:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foy, Robert W. 1916 births 1950 deaths American World War II flying aces United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Military personnel from New York (state) Aviators from New York (state) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1950 Accidental deaths in Arizona Shot-down aviators