Customer Reviews

Black Sunday: Ploesti!

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As a researcher on this topic for a relative of one of the 98th pilots lost on 1 Aug 43. I can only support and endorse the comments from tdolson@byu.edu from Provo UT , July 10, 1998 Stunning history & photography outweigh typographical errors Michael Hill has re-visited one of the most dramatic bombing missions of World War II. It was the longest bombing mission to date in the war, by the only bomber with the range to do it. He leads you through the exact targets and squadron placements, by name of pilot of each B-24 aircraft (178 of them), and simultaneously unfolds the "big picture" of the low-level raid on the oil refineries of Ploesti, Romania. At least one bomb group was told in their final briefing, "coming back today is secondary." What a nice send-off to crews who had been training in the Libyan desert with exercises in formation 50 feet above the sand dunes! This dramatic mission resulted in the loss of over 360 crew. Some planes returned with corn stalks in their cowlings! The extensive list of crews, by airplane, and many photographs of planes and crews make this a must purchase for those whose relatives participated in the raid. The main distraction from the book is the extensive typographical errors, inconsistencies and mis-spellings of crew names, names of planes, and so on. But I am richer and my family history is stronger because I have read this book. Thanks, Michael, and thanks to the publisher for investing in a visually and textually compelling work. (If a second edition or printing is planned, perhaps a re-editing to keep the errors to fewer than can be found in this review could be undertaken.)

This book is very well written, and the minute by minute sequence of the Ploesti raid is exciting to follow. Much of the text is written in a first person point of view, and is not the usual boring documentation of historical events. As you read through, you feel as though you are hearing the crewman's stories firsthand. The smell of burning fuel and the heat of the flames is not hard to imagine, if you let your mind wander a bit. The numerous photographs are some of the best reproductions I have ever seen in a WW II volume. They follow the text accordingly, and are not all jammed in one spot as some books tend to do. The only "flaw", in my opinion, is the lack of extensive interviews and photographs from the German and Romanian defenders on the ground at the time of the raid. Other volumes on the Ploesti raid have touched on these interviews and photos, so the information is out there. Perhaps a volume two on this subject will appear in the future.

Michael Hill has re-visited one of the most dramatic bombing missions of World War II. It was the longest bombing mission to date in the war, by the only bomber with the range to do it. He leads you through the exact targets and squadron placements, by name of pilot of each B-24 aircraft (178 of them), and simultaneously unfolds the "big picture" of the low-level raid on the oil refineries of Ploesti, Romania. At least one bomb group was told in their final briefing, "coming back today is secondary." What a nice send-off to crews who had been training in the Libyan desert with exercises in formation 50 feet above the sand dunes! This dramatic mission resulted in the loss of over 360 crew. Some planes returned with corn stalks in their cowlings! The extensive list of crews, by airplane, and many photographs of planes and crews make this a must purchase for those whose relatives participated in the raid. The main distraction from the book is the extensive typographical errors, inconsistencies and mis-spellings of crew names, names of planes, and so on. But I am richer and my family history is stronger because I have read this book. Thanks, Michael, and thanks to the publisher for investing in a visually and textually compelling work. (If a second edition or printing is planned, perhaps a re-editing to keep the errors to fewer than can be found in this review could be undertaken.)

Hill's book provides a detailed description of the famous Ploesti raid, from the preparation for the incursion, to its execution. This exposition is aided to an extraordinary degree to the many photographs, drawings, and maps. This treaty includes official drawings of the refinery facilities provided by the USAF--drawings which I think were first made to aid in guiding the attack. The order of battle is provided as well, with drawings of the mass of planes for each bomb group and the names of the crew for each plane. The photographs themselves are simply amazing. Some photographs show adjacent planes in the attacking bomb group as well as Romanian countryside and houses. A 1943 high altitude areal photo shows the city of Ploesti itself.

Of special interest to me are photographs of the nose art for many of the B-24 bombers that participated in the raid. Many of the painted figures were somewhat salacious in nature, depicting shapely young women in various states of undress. These include Valient Virgin, Satan's Angels, The Urgin' Virgin, Flak Alley, Available Jones, Trouble, Sack-Time Sally, Touch of Texas, Blonds Away, The Oklahoman, Tondelao, The Sad Sack, Daisy Mae, Shanghai Lil, Li'l De-Icer, Yen-Tu, Fertle Myrtle, the Vulgar Virgin, and Baby. Various cartoon characters (including Daisy Mae as already mentioned) including Li'l Abner, Joe Carioca (a parrot), and Dopey of the Seven Dwarfs with bomb in hand as "Little Joe." The whiskey brand "Old Crow" is also represented. These various inspirations for naming aircraft remind me of the P-51 piloted by my Dad's first cousin, the son of a revenuer (i.e. U.S. Dept. of Revenue agent whose tasks included destroying illegal moonshine stills), which was named after the Li'l Abner character "Moonshine McSwine."