Fortress Ploesti: The Campaign to Destroy Hitler's Oil

While Fortress Ploesti is the narrative history of the entire air campaign to deny the Ploesti oil complex to the Axis powers, it is also a launching point for the author's inquiries into many aspects of the American strategic bombing effort in World War II. It delivers across the board.

Stout, who served as a Marine F/A-18 pilot in the First Gulf War, asks questions about aviation combat history and technique that any modern combat pilot would be dying to ask. He carries the ball far beyond the goal post set by all other Ploesti historians. He has gone out of his way to describe the defenses throughout the campaign, and he brings in the voices of Ploesti's defenders to complement the tales of Allied airmen who brought Ploesti to ruin. He describes the role of the bombers, that of the fighters, the ant-aircraft defenses, even the technique of obscuring the Ploesti complex with smoke.

In the end, Stout's narrative describes the entire Ploesti effort for the very first time in print, and, by proxy, guides the reader through the intricacies of the entire Allied strategic bombing campaign in Europe, and all the weapons and techniques the Axis powers used to parry it. His lucid presentation of complex issues at the tactical and strategic levels is impressive.

Jay Stout's previous books include Hornets Over Kuwait, his Gulf War memoir and, as co-author, The First Hellcat Ace.

This a must read for WW II buffs, especially for those air crew members of the past and for todays "fly boys" that have a need to understand their heritage. Jay Stout has covered the complete Ploesti Story. I strongly recommend Fortress Ploesti.


The Entire Ploesti Campaign, Told Well!   November 20, 2003
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

Having read the advance review copy, I am pleased to record my impressions of this title.

First, let me say that there is a deluge of WWII books coming out these days. Unfortunately, most rehash often-told stories of the war. Fortress Ploesti is not that kind of book. It breaks new ground entirely, and that fact alone makes it a worthwhile addition to the literature on the subject.

The author, himself a combat pilot veteran (Iraq) has long been fascinated with the massive and well-known single bombing expedition of August 1943 against Ploesti. This book, however, includes that mission but also covers in depth all those missions that followed in 1944, a massive strategic campaign of more than twenty missions that had a significant (and yet ironically overlooked) effect on the course of the war.

The author's style is very conversational--easy to read, enjoyable, entertaining, and very enlightening. Included are interviews and recollections of the pilots who participated, including Third Reich pilots, which provides an entirely new perspective on this phase of the war. Stout's experience as a fighter pilot helps describe what these men recalled and experienced. There are also two galleries of photographs, many previously unpublished, but they were not included in my copy of the advance galley.

If you enjoy World War II books in general, and aviation books in particular, you should add this book to your library. You will not be disappointed. Highly recommended.


Air Raid on Ploesti: A Must for any Second World War Enthusiast or Scholar   February 11, 2009
Dr Victor S Alpher (Austin, Texas, U.S.A.)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

There are now so many books on Ploesti, it is difficult to recommend one book over another, because there is no dispassionate "history" yet available to recommend itself. However, although many know that Hitler's interest in the Caucasus had to do with obtaining petrol, few will know that Ploesti was one of the early sources of gasoline refining for the Third Reich, and as such, one of the earliest bombing targets of the U.S. Army Air Force. The accomplishment of this mission with B-24 "Liberators" shipped through North Africa, which was largely disastrous for the Allies, MUST be understood by anyone who wants to have an overview of the history of the Second World War.

As an early military enthusiast, I am thankful to the veteran who pointed out my lack of knowledge about Ploesti and its importance. This book is a good place to begin--but once bitten by this bug, you'll want to know more.


A well researched book   May 18, 2009
D. Clewett (Sydney, Australia)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I think Stout has done a great job in covering the missions to attack the Romanian oil fields at Ploesti. It is well researched and gives a good insight into reasons certain tactics were used, and also gives good first hand accounts of the action. His knowledge of the subject and his understanding of the practicalities of the fluid nature of air combat from his flying background make this a sound work.

I would have given it five stars apart from the fact I found the book a little disjointed at times. I would have liked a little more structure from an editing standpoint.


72 y o female response   June 30, 2006
M. J. Potts (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
1 out of 5 found this review helpful

Very hard to read and much technical stuff that I did not understand as I am not an air plane person nor military.