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Low Level Mission
The story of the low-level B-24 raid on Ploesti.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published December 31, 1972
About the author
Leon Wolff
2 booksLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Frances Parkinson Prize winning historian who wrote Little Brown Brother, Lockout, Low Level Mission and In Flanders Fields.
Frances Parkinson Prize winning historian who wrote Little Brown Brother, Lockout, Low Level Mission and In Flanders Fields.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 23, 2014
This book is about the bombing of the Ploesti (pronounced Ploy-esht') oil fields by the United States Army Air Force during WWII. I was hoping the Wings of War series was entirely made up of memoirs. The several books from the series I have read so far have been but this one is a history written a veteran who was not there. However, he talked to many people who were and it appears he did a reasonable amount of research and his history appears sound.
There is some analysis about the destruction of the ability of the German military to acquire sufficient gas and oil shortened the war and limited their options for both attack and defense. The initial raids had minimal effect but eventually a great deal of damage from air raids.
He relates direct quotes from a variety of the people who were there to give the reader an idea of what it was like to be a member of the mission. I should have liked to get a bit more info perhaps on what happened to some of the men captured after they were shot down.
There is some analysis about the destruction of the ability of the German military to acquire sufficient gas and oil shortened the war and limited their options for both attack and defense. The initial raids had minimal effect but eventually a great deal of damage from air raids.
He relates direct quotes from a variety of the people who were there to give the reader an idea of what it was like to be a member of the mission. I should have liked to get a bit more info perhaps on what happened to some of the men captured after they were shot down.
February 7, 2012
I got this book mostly for reading to my fiancé, who is a WWII and aviation buff (he does the cooking in the house, but I read to him while he cooks), and mostly because we enjoyed the author's book about the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars.
Like the author's other book, this one was extremely well-written and well-researched — he gives very good background and explains the whys and wherefores of the plans and actions of the Ploesti raid. He goes into all the arguments for and against from all sides, which actually helps a lot in giving a better understanding about the whole thing. It's why I enjoyed his other book so much.
For me, though, the subject is not that interesting. I am not really into planes or World War II, but I did enjoy reading the book.
Like the author's other book, this one was extremely well-written and well-researched — he gives very good background and explains the whys and wherefores of the plans and actions of the Ploesti raid. He goes into all the arguments for and against from all sides, which actually helps a lot in giving a better understanding about the whole thing. It's why I enjoyed his other book so much.
For me, though, the subject is not that interesting. I am not really into planes or World War II, but I did enjoy reading the book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews