Col. Walter Stewart \"Ploesti Raid\" Autographed 8x10 Picture Romania 1943 B-24
![Col. Walter Stewart \](img-large/g/ZoMAAOSwUKxYeUfu/s-l1600/Col-Walter-Stewart-Ploesti-Raid-Autographed-8x10-P.jpg "Col. Walter Stewart \")
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Col. Walter Stewart \"Ploesti Raid\" Autographed 8x10 Picture Romania 1943 B-24:
$59.95
This sale is for a rare authentic, autographed 8X10 picture signed byCol. Walter Stewart(B-24 \"Utah Man\") pilot, that flew in the famous \"Ploesti Raid\", bombing the Nazi oil refineries at Ploesti Romania on aug. 1 1943 called \"Operation Tidal Wave\". It was the most decorated mission of WW2. 178 planes of the 93rd bomber grouptook off from Libya for a 2,000 mile round trip. 54 planes were shot down and 532 men didn\'t return. Col. Stewart returned with 365 holes in his plane. It is signed, \"Col. Walter T. Stewart, b-24 pilot, \"Utah Man\" B-24 Liberator, Ploesti Raid,Romania, 1 Aug. 1943\" Returned with 365 holes in plane...The autograph is guaranteed to pass any authentication service!!! Winner will receive a lifetime guarantee certificate from The Autograph House..
FREE SHIPPING.
Operation Tidal WaveFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search Operation Tidal WavePart of Oil Campaign of World War IIA B-24 Liberator called \"Sandman\" during a bomb run over the Ploiești Astra Romana refinery during Operation Tidal Wave.[1][2]Date1 August 1943LocationRomanian refineries:[3]
Câmpina: Steaua Română (Target \"RED\")
Ploiești: Româno-Americană (\"WHITE I\")
Ploiești: Concordia Vega (\"WHITE II\")[4]:161,172
Ploiești: Standard Petrol Block, Unirea Speranţa (\"WHITE III\")
Ploiești: Astra Română, Unirea Orion (\"WHITE IV\")
Ploiești: Columbia Aquila (\"WHITE V\")
Brazi: Creditul Minier (\"Target BLUE\")[5]ResultStrategic Allied FailureBelligerents United States Germany
Romania
BulgariaCommanders and leaders Lewis H. Brereton
Uzal G. Ent Alfred GerstenbergStrength177 B-24s (162 over the target)[6]Heavy anti-aircraft defenses, 52 Bf 109s, Bf 110s, and IAR-80sCasualties and losses53 B-24s
440 KIA and 220 POW/MIA2 Bf 109s
16 killed and 50 injured[7][hide]
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Operation Tidal Wave was an air attack by bombers of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) based in Libya on nine oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania on 1 August 1943, during World War II. It was a strategic bombing mission and part of the \"oil campaign\" to deny petroleum-based fuel to the Axis.[5] The mission resulted in \"no curtailment of overall product output\", and so was deemed unsuccessful.[8]
This mission was one of the costliest for the USAAF in the European Theater, with 53 aircraft and 660 aircrewmen lost. It was the worst loss ever suffered by the USAAF on a single mission, and its date was later referred to as \"Black Sunday\". Five Medals of Honor and numerous Distinguished Service Crosses were awarded to Operation Tidal Wave crew had been a major power in the oil industry since the 1800s. It was one of the largest producers in Europe and Ploiesti was a major part of that production. (see Bombing of Romania in World War II).[9][10] In 1943, crude and refined oil from the Ploiești oil fields provided about 35% of all Axis oil supplies.[citation needed]
German air defenses[edit]In June 1942, 13 B-24 Liberators of the \"Halverson project\" (HALPRO) attacked Ploiești. Though damage was small, Germany responded by putting strong anti-aircraft defenses around Ploiești. Luftwaffe General Alfred Gerstenberg built one of the heaviest and best-integrated air defense networks in Europe. The defenses included several hundred large-caliber 88mm guns and 10.5 cm FlaK 38 anti-aircraft guns, and many more small-caliber guns. The latter were concealed in haystacks, railroad cars, and mock buildings.[11] The Luftwaffe had three fighter groups within flight range of Ploiești (52 Bf 109 fighters and Bf 110 night fighters, and some Romanian IAR-80 fighters).[4] Gerstenberg also counted on warnings from the Luftwaffe signals intelligence station in Athens, which monitored Allied preparations as far away as North Africa.
Mission plan[edit]The Ninth Air Force (98th and 376th Bombardment Groups) was responsible for the overall conduct of the raid, and the partially formed Eighth Air Force provided three additional bomb groups (44th, 93rd, and 389th). All the bombers employed were B-24 Liberators.[12]
Colonel Jacob E. Smart planned the operation, based on HALPRO\'s experiences. HALPRO had encountered minimal air defenses in its raid; so the planners decided Tidal Wave would be executed by day, and that the attacking bombers would approach at low altitude to avoid detection by German radar.[citation needed] Training included extensive review of detailed sand table models, practice raids over a mock-up of the target in the Libyan desert and practical exercises over a number of secondary targets in July to prove the viability of such a low- level strike. The bombers to be used were re-equipped with bomb-bay fuel tanks to increase their fuel capacity to 3,100gallons.
The operation was to consist of 178 bombers with a total of 1,751 aircrew, one of the largest commitments of American heavy bombers and crewmen up to that time.[13] The planes were to fly from airfields near Benghazi, Libya. They were to cross the Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea, pass near the island of Corfu, cross over the Pindus Mountains in Albania, cross southern Yugoslavia, enter southwestern Romania, and turn east toward Ploiești. Reaching Ploiești, they were to locate pre-determined checkpoints, approach their targets from the north, and strike all targets simultaneously.
For political reasons, the Allied planners decided to avoid the city of Ploiești, so that it would not be bombed by accident.[5]
Flight to Romania[edit] B-24D\'s fly over Ploiești during World War II Columbia Aquila refinery after the bombing, with bomb craters, largely intactEarly on the morning of 1 August 1943, the five groups comprising the strike force began lifting off from their home air fields around Benghazi. Large amounts of dust kicked up during take-off caused limited visibility and strained engines already carrying the burden of large bomb loads and additional fuel. These conditions contributed to the loss of one aircraft during take-off, but 177 of the planned 178 aircraft departed safely.
The formation reached the Adriatic Sea without further incident; however aircraft #28 \"Wongo Wongo\" belonging to the 376th Bombardment Group (the lead group, about 40 B-24s)[6] and piloted by Lt. Brian Flavelle began to fly erratically before plunging into the sea due to unknown causes. Lt. Guy Iovine—a personal friend of Flavelle and piloting aircraft #23 Desert Lilly—descended from the formation in order to look for survivors, narrowly missing aircraft Brewery Wagon piloted by Lt. John Palm. No survivors were seen, and due to the additional weight of fuel, Iovine was unable to regain altitude to rejoin the formation and resume course to Ploiești.
The resulting confusion was compounded by the inability to regain cohesion due to strict radio silence maintained as per mission guidance. Ten other aircrews opted to return to friendly air fields following the incident and those aircraft which remained faced the 9,000ft (2,700m) climb over the Pindus mountains, which were shrouded in cloud cover. Although all five groups made the climb around 11,000ft (3,400m), the 376th and 93rd, using high power settings, began to lose the trailing formations, causing variations in speed and time which disrupted the careful synchronization of the group attacks deemed so important by Smart. The possible threat to successful execution was deemed to be of secondary concern to the operational security of the mission by senior leadership. The American leaders were unaware that while their intentions were not precisely known, their presence had been duly noted by the Germans. Although the need to rebuild their formations was clear and well within the contingency for breaking radio silence, the strike would proceed without correction, a judgment that would later prove costly.
Although now well strung out on approach to Piteşti, all five groups would make the navigational check point 65mi (105km) from Ploiești. At Câmpina, the 389th Bomb Group departed as planned for its separate but synchronous approach to the mission target. Continuing from Piteşti, Col. Keith K. Compton and Gen. Ent made a navigational judgment that would prove especially costly. At Târgovişte, halfway to the next check point at Floreşti, Compton followed the incorrect railway line for his turn toward Ploiești, setting his group and Lt. Col. Addison Baker\'s 93rd Bomb Group on a course for Bucharest. In the process, Ent and Compton went against the advice of their airplane\'s navigator and the Halverson Project (HALPRO) veteran Cpt. Harold Wicklund. Now in the face of an impending disaster, many crews chose to break radio silence and draw attention to the navigational error. Meanwhile, both groups flew headlong into Gerstenberg\'s extensive air defenses around the Bucharest area, which they would now face in addition to those still awaiting them around Ploiești.
Attacks[edit]Lt. Col. Baker and his co-pilot Maj. John L. Jerstad, who had already flown a full tour of duty while stationed in England, would now succumb to the effects of the extensive air defense array . Continuing through the intense defensive barrage, damage to their aircraft forced Baker and Jerstad to jettison their bomb load in order to maintain lead of the formation over their target at the Columbia Aquila refinery. Despite heavy losses by the 93rd, Baker and Jerstad maintained course and, once clear, began to climb away. Realizing the aircraft was no longer controllable, both men maintained the climb in order to gain time for the crew to abandon the aircraft. Although none survived, both Baker and Jerstad would be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for maintaining their successful approach to Columbia Aquila and their efforts to save the crew of Hell\'s Wench.[1]:77
Maj. Ramsay D. Potts flying The Duchess and Maj. George S. Brown aboard Queenie, encountering heavy smoke over Columbia Aquila, would take two additional elements of the 93rd and successfully drop their payloads over the Astra Romana, Unirea Orion, and Columbia Aquila refineries. In all, the 93rd lost 11 aircraft over their targets in Ploiești. One of the bombers, Jose Carioca,[14] was shot down by a Romanian IAR 80 fighter, which went into a half roll and moved swiftly under the B-24 upside down, raking its belly with bullets. The bomber crashed into Ploiești Women\'s Prison. The three-story building exploded in flames, and only 40 women survived the disaster.[15] There were no survivors from Jose Carioca crew.[14]
On Oct-06-10 at 21:33:15 PDT, seller added the following information:ALL AUTOGRAPHED PHOTOS COME WITH A LIFETIME GUARANTEE CERTIFICATE FROM \"THE AUTOGRAPH HOUSE\"
Col. Walter Stewart \"Ploesti Raid\" Autographed 8x10 Picture Romania 1943 B-24:
$59.95