Document created: 1 June 03
Air & Space Power Journal - Summer 2003

Ploesti: The Great Ground-Air Battle of 1 August 1943, rev. ed., by James Dugan and Carroll Stewart. Brassey’s (http://www.brasseysinc.com/ index.htm), 22841 Quicksilver Drive, Dulles, Virginia 20166, 2002, 336 pages, $21.95.

Memorable among images of air combat from the Second World War is the photo of a single B-24 Liberator bomber flying a low-level bomb run during the Allied attack on the German-controlled oil refineries in Ploesti, Romania. The US Army Air Forces bomber is so low that it appears to barely miss the tallest smokestacks in the target complex (many of the B-24s flew at 200 feet or lower- sometimes much lower). The remarkable air strike on Ploesti, its excessive cost, and the aftermath for both sides make up the account laid out in Ploesti: The Great Ground-Air Battle of 1 August 1943. Largely based on personal interviews, diaries, and letters, this revised edition- which includes a new foreword and more photographs- improves upon its predecessor, published in 1962, despite the passage of time and the fading of memories.

This particular battle invites such revisiting. Controversial even in the planning stages, the bombing effort- dubbed Operation Tidal Wave- involved 178 B-24s in seven bombardment groups; 1,763 volunteer airmen; and a 2,400-mile, 18-hour flight from Benghazi, Libya, in North Africa to central Romania and back. Total time over the target area was only 27 minutes. The oil refineries, which supplied one-third of the needs of the German war machine, were critical to the Nazis. Consequently, the air defenses and fighter-aircraft support around Ploesti were the most concentrated in the European theater. This air raid was definitely not a milk run.

Yet, the stakes were high enough in the middle years of the war to take risks in order to deliver a telling blow to Hitler’s "taproot of German might." The price was even higher- the loss of 52 bombers. Of the 88 Liberators that returned to home base in Libya, over 50 showed battle damage, and almost 550 airmen were killed, missing, or shot down, becoming prisoners of war. Despite the expense, the bomb damage to the Romanian oil complex proved not as severe as planned or assessed. Subsequent strategic assaults on Ploesti reduced the refineries’ capacity but did not cost as much proportionally in men and planes. The raid of August 1943, however, was an extraordinary drama well worth retelling.

Many of the aircrew members distinguished themselves in battle. Five earned the Medal of Honor, and everyone received the Distinguished Flying Cross. In the postwar years, several reached top levels in the US Air Force. George Brown, who took over the battered 93d Bomb Group at Ploesti, went on to become Air Force chief of staff and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Jacob Smart, a key planner, became commander of Pacific Air Forces. Medal of Honor winner Leon Johnson led the 44th Bomb Group during the battle, later assuming command of Continental Air Command. And Rockly Triantafellu, a lead B-24 bombardier, served as the Air Force’s chief of intelligence. But the real story is the daring mission itself. The revised edition of Ploesti: The Great Ground-Air Battle of 1 August 1943 will not disappoint its readers, especially those who have a keen interest in air combat.

Dr. Frank P. Donnini
Newport News, Virginia

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.