Ploesti: The Great Ground-Air Battle of 1 August 1943, Revised Edition (Brassey's Aviation Classics) [Paperback]

James Dugan (Author), Carroll Stewart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2002 | Series: Brassey's Aviation Classics

On August 1, 1943, an enormous armada of America B-24 Liberator bombers roared at nearly treetop level over the peaceful farms and villages of Romania. This mission was Operation Tidal Wave. Its target—“the taproot of German might,” Hitler’s giant oil refineries at Ploesti. Hundreds of U.S. airmen had volunteered for the mission despite warnings that half might not return. In thirty minutes, more firepower was exchanged than in two Gettysburgs, and five men earned the Medal of Honor. Ploesti presents a vivid reconstruction of a dramatic and controversial mission.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Carroll Stewart and the late James Dugan both served in the Eighth Air Force. Stewart, a longtime newspaperman, lives in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc.; Revised edition (August 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574885103
• ISBN-13: 978-1574885101
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #940,157 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #72 in Books > History > Europe > Romania

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book back in print, January 1, 1999

By 

Daniel D. Hogan "Danno" (Slingerlands, New York (Outside Albany)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ploesti: The Great Ground-Air Battle of 1 August 1943 (Paperback)

I was surprised to find this book back in print; the last time I read it was around 1970. I wanted a copy of the book because my father, John V. Hogan (not John B. as listed in the book) in featured in the chapter "Zero Raiders" (pages 47-49). Since the book arrived shortly before X-Mass, I have read this book from cover to cover three times. It is a remarkable history which allows the reader to feel the excitement and terror that the crews of the B-24-D's must have experienced. In someways it reminded me of Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff" (which was published at least a decade later), in that it features one hero's air war (Norman Appold) throughout the story to provide a backdrop to this great, though tragic battle. Well written and detailed by men who knew the combatants, it is a very real history. As a child I grew up hearing about Norm Appold, General Ent, Killer Kane and K.K. Compton. Reading this book made me wish that my father was still alive to tell me more. Someone should send this book to Steven Speilberg suggesting it as a powerful follow-up to "Saving Pvt. Ryan". Highly recommeded to anyone looking for a better understanding of the people who fought against incredible odds to win WWll.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Memorable Account of a Legendary Air Raid of WW2, May 4, 2005

By 

Glenn R. Urbanas (Richmond Hill, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ploesti: The Great Ground-Air Battle of 1 August 1943 (Paperback)

I first read this book in 1964 when I was fifteen & never forgot
its description of the battle which one squadron of B-24s (flying so low that at least one plane returned with corn stalks stuck in its rear wheel well) fought at machine gun range with a Nazi armored flak train traveling in the same direction as the overtaking bombers -- to Ploesti. A mix-up caused three groups to approach the target simultaneously from three different directions at three different altitudes, stunning the German flak commander with what he thought was incredible American air tactics. I re-read it fifteen years ago & would like to read it again but find it is almost impossible to find at a reasonable price in its original edition -- so many libraries have ditched it due to wear or lack of interest. A great shame because it is one of the best accounts of a bombing mission I have ever read. My own dad was a teenage engine mechanic (fresh out of Aviation H.S. in NYC) of a B-29 -- 'Bengal Lancer' -- in India and on Tinian Island in the Pacific.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best and Most Accurate for the time, November 24, 2002

By 

S. E MCGOWAN "Sam McGowan" (Missouri City, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ploesti: The Great Ground-Air Battle of 1 August 1943 (Paperback)

I am overjoyed that this great book is once again in print. Dugan and Stewart, both of whom served with the Army Air Forces in World War II and knew many of the participants, were in a unique position that later writers are not. While they were somewhat handicapped in that some of the documents related to World War II were still classified when they were writing, their information was based on knowledge provided by the participants when they were still young men, with the memories fresh in their minds, and less convulted by the effects of the distance of years and their own personal aging. I bought and read the original while on my way to US Air Force basic training in the summer of 1963 and it is still one of favorite books. Although modern enthusiasts attempt to pick it apart, it will always remain the most important book on the Ploesti campaigns.

Sam McGowan, Author "The Cave", a novel of the Vietnam War