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Into the Fire: Ploesti, The Most Fateful Mission of World War II
A detailed and vivid account of the World War II disaster."—Booklist
"Into the Fire shimmers with historical parallels and modern resonances. . . . Schultz combed an impressive body of material for this account." —Washington Times
"This bittersweet tale of arrogance, wishful thinking, sacrifice, and heroism is recounted with grace and empathy." —Military.com
"Schultz combines a historian's meticulous research and a novelist's hypnotic prose to produce this memorable popular history... Shultz's intimate account of this controversial episode is a timely reminder of the horrors of war and a moving tribute to Ploestl's heroes." —Publishers Weekly
"We knew it was a disaster and knew that in the flames shooting up from those refineries we might be burned to death. But we went right in." —Lt. Norman Whalen
"We were dragged through the mouth of hell."—from a Ploesti Mission debriefing report
Planned by Winston Churchill, authorized by Dwight D. Eisenhower, and executed by five specially trained American bomber units, the attack on the oil refineries of Ploesti, Romania, was among the most daring and dangerous missions of World War II. If the raid succeeded, the Nazi war machine would suffer a devastating blow. On August 1, 1943, nearly two hundred B-24 bombers flew from Benghazi, North Africa, with directions to descend on Ploesti at treetop level, bomb the refineries, and return. The low-level bombers could evade enemy radar and were thought to be more difficult to shoot down. But despite warnings that a German heavy flak train had been moved into the area and that the secrecy of their mission had been compromised, the bombers were sent out. Minutes from the target, one of the commanders made a wrong turn, leading the formations away from Ploesti. Recovering from this mistake, most of the bombers relocated the refineries, but the mission was doomed. The ensuing air-ground battle claimed dozens of the bombers, and many of those that survived the ordeal were forced to ditch in the ocean or in remote areas due to lack of fuel or structural damage.
In Into the Fire: Ploesti, The Most Fateful Mission of World War II, Duane Schultz re-creates this great battle, combining original research and interviews with survivors in order to capture the tension, drama, and heroics of the warring sides. More Medals of Honor were awarded for this mission than any other aerial combat enterprise in the history of the United States. But the medals are bittersweet testimony to the courage of the 1,726 young men who risked all on a fateful attempt to cut off the Nazi supply of "black gold.
"Into the Fire shimmers with historical parallels and modern resonances. . . . Schultz combed an impressive body of material for this account." —Washington Times
"This bittersweet tale of arrogance, wishful thinking, sacrifice, and heroism is recounted with grace and empathy." —Military.com
"Schultz combines a historian's meticulous research and a novelist's hypnotic prose to produce this memorable popular history... Shultz's intimate account of this controversial episode is a timely reminder of the horrors of war and a moving tribute to Ploestl's heroes." —Publishers Weekly
"We knew it was a disaster and knew that in the flames shooting up from those refineries we might be burned to death. But we went right in." —Lt. Norman Whalen
"We were dragged through the mouth of hell."—from a Ploesti Mission debriefing report
Planned by Winston Churchill, authorized by Dwight D. Eisenhower, and executed by five specially trained American bomber units, the attack on the oil refineries of Ploesti, Romania, was among the most daring and dangerous missions of World War II. If the raid succeeded, the Nazi war machine would suffer a devastating blow. On August 1, 1943, nearly two hundred B-24 bombers flew from Benghazi, North Africa, with directions to descend on Ploesti at treetop level, bomb the refineries, and return. The low-level bombers could evade enemy radar and were thought to be more difficult to shoot down. But despite warnings that a German heavy flak train had been moved into the area and that the secrecy of their mission had been compromised, the bombers were sent out. Minutes from the target, one of the commanders made a wrong turn, leading the formations away from Ploesti. Recovering from this mistake, most of the bombers relocated the refineries, but the mission was doomed. The ensuing air-ground battle claimed dozens of the bombers, and many of those that survived the ordeal were forced to ditch in the ocean or in remote areas due to lack of fuel or structural damage.
In Into the Fire: Ploesti, The Most Fateful Mission of World War II, Duane Schultz re-creates this great battle, combining original research and interviews with survivors in order to capture the tension, drama, and heroics of the warring sides. More Medals of Honor were awarded for this mission than any other aerial combat enterprise in the history of the United States. But the medals are bittersweet testimony to the courage of the 1,726 young men who risked all on a fateful attempt to cut off the Nazi supply of "black gold.
294 pages, Hardcover
First published October 31, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 2, 2011
Crisp and Concise Summary of a Suicide Mission ..., July 15, 2011
It often appears that every Allied operation intending to deliver Germany a decisive blow or "end the war early" only resulted in disaster and an early grave for many Allied soldiers. While the raids on Schweinfurt, Operation Market Garden and Operation Shingle come to mind, the 1943 raid on the Ploiesti oil refineries was no exception. With his book, INTO THE FIRE, Duane Schultz has nicely encapsulated the dramatic events surrounding the disastrous Ploiesti mission (Operation Tidal Wave nee Operation Soapsuds).
INTO THE FIRE introduces readers to one of the lesser known tactical operations that intended to instantly disrupt Germany's ability to wage modern warfare by crippling its precious fuel supply with a single bombing raid. The general plan was bold, the method of delivering the plan was even bolder ... B-24 bombers flying the 1,600 mile round trip to and from the massively defended oil facilities in Ploiesti, Romania ... unescorted and at tree top level to avoid detection. Schultz does an excellent job in quickly guiding the reader through the planning and training phases in order to get to the mission itself. Enough background information is presented to suggest that many of the men flying the mission were keenly aware of the odds they would not be returning. The reader also senses that the short time lapse between planning and implementation would likely lead to problems and a lot of men were going to be killed.
The bulk of the book is dedicated to the dreadful mission itself ... and it is a disaster from the start. The reader boards the bombers and flies the mission with the men as they grapple with navigational problems that puts almost all the groups off course and the perils of flying at such a low level (low enough that the men could see children waiving, old farmers diving for cover and enemy soldiers hitting the planes with small-arms fire). Scattered in all directions and the element of surprise no longer a factor, the low-flying, lumbering bombers, over-loaded with bombs and fuel, serve as can't-miss targets for Ploiesti's defenders. Innocent haystacks suddenly reveal machine guns and barn walls fall to uncover anti-aircraft guns. I have never read an account of a bombing mission where so much detail of happenings on the ground being provided by those in the planes. The chaos and misery described is tangible, the wall of jagged metal the planes rumble through shreds both machine and man. Off course, the bombers are arriving at their target from all directions, the delayed fuses on the bombs means that many groups of bombers are flying through the explosions of bombs dropped by the previous bomber groups. Most all the planes are critically damaged in some manner, engines are destroyed, fuel tanks are ruptured and many planes are on fire before reaching their target. Schultz bounces the reader from plane to plane giving us a visceral account of each bomber's horrifying experience over Ploiesti and in many cases, the bomber's demise.
After the bombing part of the mission is complete, the next phase is simply to escape the inferno by whatever means possible (crash landing, flying to nearby Turkey, gaining enough altitude to bail out or for a few lucky crews, willing their limping plane back to Benghazi). The details of the surviving bomber's plight leaving Ploiesti is as compelling as any part of the book. The manner in which captured American airmen were treated by the Romanians is particularly interesting, as was the mission to get the men out of Romania, ahead of the advancing Red Army. The book concludes with a succinctly written aftermath which details the postwar lives of the Tidal Wave planners and the bomber group leaders.
INTO TO THE FIRE is a well written, simplified overview of a small, but significant air operation that could easily be forgotten as being just another piece of the massive World War II puzzle. Schultz captures the drama of Operation Tidal Wave in a manner that most readers should enjoy and appreciate. Additionally, INTO THE FIRE serves as a great tribute to the bravery (5 Medals of Honor awarded, most of them posthumously), selflessness and dedication to duty that these airmen exhibited under such dire circumstances.
It often appears that every Allied operation intending to deliver Germany a decisive blow or "end the war early" only resulted in disaster and an early grave for many Allied soldiers. While the raids on Schweinfurt, Operation Market Garden and Operation Shingle come to mind, the 1943 raid on the Ploiesti oil refineries was no exception. With his book, INTO THE FIRE, Duane Schultz has nicely encapsulated the dramatic events surrounding the disastrous Ploiesti mission (Operation Tidal Wave nee Operation Soapsuds).
INTO THE FIRE introduces readers to one of the lesser known tactical operations that intended to instantly disrupt Germany's ability to wage modern warfare by crippling its precious fuel supply with a single bombing raid. The general plan was bold, the method of delivering the plan was even bolder ... B-24 bombers flying the 1,600 mile round trip to and from the massively defended oil facilities in Ploiesti, Romania ... unescorted and at tree top level to avoid detection. Schultz does an excellent job in quickly guiding the reader through the planning and training phases in order to get to the mission itself. Enough background information is presented to suggest that many of the men flying the mission were keenly aware of the odds they would not be returning. The reader also senses that the short time lapse between planning and implementation would likely lead to problems and a lot of men were going to be killed.
The bulk of the book is dedicated to the dreadful mission itself ... and it is a disaster from the start. The reader boards the bombers and flies the mission with the men as they grapple with navigational problems that puts almost all the groups off course and the perils of flying at such a low level (low enough that the men could see children waiving, old farmers diving for cover and enemy soldiers hitting the planes with small-arms fire). Scattered in all directions and the element of surprise no longer a factor, the low-flying, lumbering bombers, over-loaded with bombs and fuel, serve as can't-miss targets for Ploiesti's defenders. Innocent haystacks suddenly reveal machine guns and barn walls fall to uncover anti-aircraft guns. I have never read an account of a bombing mission where so much detail of happenings on the ground being provided by those in the planes. The chaos and misery described is tangible, the wall of jagged metal the planes rumble through shreds both machine and man. Off course, the bombers are arriving at their target from all directions, the delayed fuses on the bombs means that many groups of bombers are flying through the explosions of bombs dropped by the previous bomber groups. Most all the planes are critically damaged in some manner, engines are destroyed, fuel tanks are ruptured and many planes are on fire before reaching their target. Schultz bounces the reader from plane to plane giving us a visceral account of each bomber's horrifying experience over Ploiesti and in many cases, the bomber's demise.
After the bombing part of the mission is complete, the next phase is simply to escape the inferno by whatever means possible (crash landing, flying to nearby Turkey, gaining enough altitude to bail out or for a few lucky crews, willing their limping plane back to Benghazi). The details of the surviving bomber's plight leaving Ploiesti is as compelling as any part of the book. The manner in which captured American airmen were treated by the Romanians is particularly interesting, as was the mission to get the men out of Romania, ahead of the advancing Red Army. The book concludes with a succinctly written aftermath which details the postwar lives of the Tidal Wave planners and the bomber group leaders.
INTO TO THE FIRE is a well written, simplified overview of a small, but significant air operation that could easily be forgotten as being just another piece of the massive World War II puzzle. Schultz captures the drama of Operation Tidal Wave in a manner that most readers should enjoy and appreciate. Additionally, INTO THE FIRE serves as a great tribute to the bravery (5 Medals of Honor awarded, most of them posthumously), selflessness and dedication to duty that these airmen exhibited under such dire circumstances.
November 30, 2009
A love of mine is aerial warfare, particularly the bomber raids of WWII. The epic struggle, the heroics, the drama; such a great thing to read about. Something that’s been lacking in my reading of the bomber raids was on Ploesti. To further my knowledge on Ploesti I decided to pick up Mr. Schultz’s Into The Fire.
Into The Fire describes the 1943 raid on Ploesti (the low level attack, not the later raids). Mr. Schultz opens his story by describing conditions prior to the war, an earlier raid on Ploesti, the planning for the low level raid, the groups involved, and of course a quick description of the B-24 and it’s ‘abilities’ for the raid. Mr. Schultz follows this up describing the training and preparations for the raid, then it’s time for the main piece; the raid itself. For the raid Mr. Schultz provides detailed accounts of each of the groups, often providing first hand accounts of the struggle within individual aircraft. Mr. Schultz concludes by describing the after action,; the recovery from the mission and the plight of those that were shot down.
This is a very nice book. Mr. Schultz’s descriptions are sharp and direct, getting to the point while providing good descriptions of events. The action is crisp with a good layout that permits the reader to easily follow the history and learn some interesting things (while the description of the raid was very good, I thought the after action accounts of the men who were shot down was great). If there’s a weakness to this book it’s that Mr. Schultz’s analysis was a little short and there wasn’t a whole lot of follow up on what happened to participants after the raid (other than those that were shot down). Because of this I’m calling it a very solid 4 star book.
Into The Fire describes the 1943 raid on Ploesti (the low level attack, not the later raids). Mr. Schultz opens his story by describing conditions prior to the war, an earlier raid on Ploesti, the planning for the low level raid, the groups involved, and of course a quick description of the B-24 and it’s ‘abilities’ for the raid. Mr. Schultz follows this up describing the training and preparations for the raid, then it’s time for the main piece; the raid itself. For the raid Mr. Schultz provides detailed accounts of each of the groups, often providing first hand accounts of the struggle within individual aircraft. Mr. Schultz concludes by describing the after action,; the recovery from the mission and the plight of those that were shot down.
This is a very nice book. Mr. Schultz’s descriptions are sharp and direct, getting to the point while providing good descriptions of events. The action is crisp with a good layout that permits the reader to easily follow the history and learn some interesting things (while the description of the raid was very good, I thought the after action accounts of the men who were shot down was great). If there’s a weakness to this book it’s that Mr. Schultz’s analysis was a little short and there wasn’t a whole lot of follow up on what happened to participants after the raid (other than those that were shot down). Because of this I’m calling it a very solid 4 star book.
August 20, 2008
Excellent look at one of the most dangerous missions of WWII, Where B-24 bombers flew at treetop level to wipe out Hitler's main supply of oil. Most interesting aspect of the book for me was that most of the commanders who flew the mission thought it was a suicide mission but their superiors ordered them to fly the mission as planned (at tree top level or they (the superior officers would get people who would.
March 26, 2018
A pretty good overview of Operation TIDALWAVE, the concerted massive bombing mission against the Ploesti refineries.
The book does a good job of putting you in the bombers as they roared at low-level toward the target. It also gives a good tactical view of just how the mission went awry.
There are a few errors in here; most the casual reader won't pick up on. The author did get my grandfather's name wrong, but that's just a personal quibble!
The Allied airmen from WWII deserve our respect ... they went through hell, the mission to Ploesti was quite hellish!
The book does a good job of putting you in the bombers as they roared at low-level toward the target. It also gives a good tactical view of just how the mission went awry.
There are a few errors in here; most the casual reader won't pick up on. The author did get my grandfather's name wrong, but that's just a personal quibble!
The Allied airmen from WWII deserve our respect ... they went through hell, the mission to Ploesti was quite hellish!
August 19, 2021
Avery good book!
September 15, 2023
Very good. Best of the half dozen books on this raid that I've read so far.
September 5, 2025
Gripping and heart stopping.
My grandfather was shot down and killed over Ploesti in June 1944. I wanted to understand more about the mission that cost his life.
My grandfather was shot down and killed over Ploesti in June 1944. I wanted to understand more about the mission that cost his life.
January 21, 2014
Wrong aircraft and wrong plan, but still in depth coverage of a horrific air raid over Romania, the crews, the planes that barely made it home, those who didn't. Most effective was the unknown to me story of the POW airmen who were cared over by local royalty and in time rescued by allied forces.Worth reading.
August 8, 2008
Excellent book on the disastrous raid by the 9th Air Force on the oil field of Ploesti during the Second World War. A great companion to Masters Of The Air by Donald Miller, the story of the 8th Air Force and their missions over Europe.
July 6, 2016
everyone who reads and is a student of WW2 has heard of this raid, but may not know of all the background. A very readable and enjoyable book dealing with this small but important part of history. Recommended!!!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews