Description
While Fortress Ploesti is the narrative history of the entire air campaign to deny the Ploesti oil complex to the Axis powers, Stout, who served as a Marine F/A-18 pilot in the First Gulf War, asks questions about the aerial strategy and combat history relating to this crucial campaign. 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 defences 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, and explains the developments in anti-aircraft defences, such as the technique of obscuring the Ploesti complex with smoke, which defined the campaign's combat strategy.
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 both tactical and strategic levels is impressive.
About the Author
Jay A. Stout, a retired U.S. Marine Corps fighter pilot, is a senior aviation consultant for a leading defense corporation and has appeared on Fox News as a combat aviation expert. His previous books include Fortress Ploesti (978-1-932033-18-2) and Hammer from Above (978-0-89141-871-9). He lives near San Diego, California.
Book Information
ISBN 9781935149392
Author Jay A. Stout
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Casemate Publishers
Publisher Casemate Publishers