COL WALTER STEWART AUTO 8X10 B24 UTAH MAN 8/1/1943 OPERATION TIDAL WAVE PLOESTI for Sale

On eBay Now...

COL WALTER STEWART AUTO 8X10 B24 UTAH MAN 8/1/1943 OPERATION TIDAL WAVE PLOESTI For Sale

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

COL WALTER STEWART AUTO 8X10 B24 UTAH MAN 8/1/1943 OPERATION TIDAL WAVE PLOESTI:
$34.99

COL WALTER STEWART AUTOGRAPHED 8x10 B-25 UTAH MAN PLOESTI, ROMANIA, 8/1/1943 OPERATION TIDAL WAVE
Walter Stewart was born in Benjamin, Utah in 1917. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps at the beginning of World War II because he thought flying was better than being on the ground even though he had never flown before. Col Stewart was assigned to the 93rd Bomb Group (BG) and had flown over Europe with the 8th Air Force prior to his transfer to Benghazi, Libya in North Africa. He had already completed the required 25 missions and could have opted out of the Ploesti mission but the closeness of the crew and his sense of duty prevailed and he continued to fly. The Ploesti mission was Col Stewart’s 31st of the war and his plane was named \"Utah Man.\"Ploesti was the prime oil-producing city in Nazi controlled Romania and as such was critical to the German war machine. The Allies had in fact bombed Ploesti in June of 1942 in an operation labeled the Halverson Project No. 63. But this raid was relatively ineffective so renewed planning began in January of 1943 for a substantial raid on the Ploesti oil refineries. This new raid ultimately would be known as Operation Tidal Wave. The Germans also realized Ploesti\'s value and set out to defend it accordingly. The numerous refineries somewhat randomly surrounded the city. They were not centrally located nor concisely laid out. The defensive positions were numerous and consisted of almost 120 88mm guns, 150 rapid fire 20mm and 37 mm cannons and many wing-severing and target obstructing barrage balloons. In addition, there were three Luftwaffe fighter squadrons as well as Romanian fighter aircraft available to defend Ploesti.From the launching point of the raid in North Africa, Ploesti would be at the extreme limit of the B-24s range so all the bombers were equipped with extra wing and bombay gasoline tanks. Each would be loaded with an average of 3,100 gallons of high octane fuel, 10 men and an average of 4,300 lbs. of 500 and 1,000 pound bombs plus bundles of thermite incendiaries and all the ammo they could carry for their .50 cal. machine guns. All of the 178 B-24’s that flew Operation Tidal Wave were over-loaded and they would be flying low. Even though the bomb crews were originally trained for high-level bombing missions, the decision was made to attack the oil fields of Ploesti at low level, in fact, at the lowest possible level. For weeks the pilots and crews were retrained in low-level bombing techniques as the mission called for treetop flying as the final target was approached with bombing runs from 50\' to 250\' off the ground. Such extreme flying would call for all bombs to be set with delayed action fuses that would allow the B-24s time to escape the blasts. Operation Tidal Wave called for five Bomb Groups in seven flights to approach Ploesti from the southwest after crossing the Mediterranean Sea and flying over the mountains in Albania and Yugoslavia. After the mountains the flights were to run in low over the countryside in an effort to avoid Nazi radar and Luftwaffe fighter patrols. One flight was to take out a refinery target to the northwest of Ploesti while the other six would turn to the east and follow a rail line into Ploesti and their designated targets. At least that was the plan.On the approach to the mainland the first two bomber groups, the 376th and the 93rd became separated from the others (the 98th, 44th, and 389th Bomb Groups). Upon approaching their Initial Point (IP) to begin the turn, the commander of the lead group of the 376th turned prematurely following the wrong rail line east. The 93rd BG (Col. Stewart\'s) had to make the turn as well or risk flying into the trailing elements of the leading bomber group. Many of the pilots realized this error but radio silence was the order and the hand signals were of no use when the mistake had already been made. The first two groups were now headed to the southeast and Bucharest while the remaining three groups, because of the separation, continued on to the northeast and their correct IP. Capt. Stewart\'s group commander, Col. Addison Baker realized the error and as soon as he could signaled for the 93rd BG to turn north to Ploesti as the 376th continued to the wrong target. Eventually they too would realize the error and correct their course but this left the 93rd as the first group to enter Ploesti and Col Stewart was in the first flight of three planes.Because of their premature turn, the 93rd Bomb Group now would be flying over the heaviest defenses around Ploesti. Stewart recalled, \"We were going over cows, trees, and mice. We were really on the deck.\" As they neared their targets the German defenses opened up and Walter\'s two accompanying planes were both shot down leaving “Utah Man” to be the first to bomb Ploesti. But coming out of his bomb run, Col Stewart had to avoid a radio tower that loomed up unexpectedly and caused him to fly at an angle with his left wing dropping to within 20 feet of the ground. As he flew with his right wing up toward the sky and the left going down the center of a street in town, anti-aircraft ground fire shot up his right wing.By this time \"Utah Man\" had a large hole in the left vertical stabilizer, the left side was riddled by a 20mm pom pom gun, the forward bombay had been hit as well as cables, hydraulic lines and bomb release lines. The forward bombay door was blasted from the tracks and flapping in the wind. Now gasoline was running from engine #3 and Walter ordered that no guns should be fired from that side of the plane to prevent the aviation fuel from igniting. Since \"Utah Man\" was losing so much fuel, Col Stewart made the decision to crash land until he was notified that two 1,000 lbs. bombs had failed to drop. Now with two unexploded 1,000 lbs. bombs hanging on the under side of his B-24, there was no way to crash land. That left only one solution, fly “Utah Man” home. So Col Stewart fought to gain altitude and distance as two of the crew fought to release the jammed bombs. Just as they succeeded in jettisoning the unexploded bombs, the fuel leak subsided. But due to the heavy damage sustained by ground fire and Luftwaffe fighters, \"Utah Man\" could barely make a top speed of 130 mph. After being the first plane to bomb Ploesti, \"Utah Man\" would be the last plane of their Bomb Group to land in North Africa some fourteen hours after takeoff.
In the meantime, the raid had turned into a chaotic riot. With the first two bomb groups rerouted and approaching Ploesti from the south and southeast they were crossed by the other bomb groups coming in from the west. The planes were all flying at from 50 to 250 feet and trying to avoid each other. They had been forced to take targets of opportunity rather than the assigned targets. The delayed action fuses were blowing the bombs up as additional bombers flew over. The Germans had all their anti-aircraft fire going and the Luftwaffe squadrons were now airborne. The damage to the refineries was significant and storage tanks were blowing up with fire and smoke everywhere.But the Allied losses were high in the operation that would be nicknamed “Black Sunday”. Of the over 1,700 U.S. airmen participating in the raid, some 310 were killed in action. Another 150 were wounded and 185 taken as prisoners. Out of the 178 bombers that participated in the raid, 54 bombers were lost and 58 were damaged. The raids continued on Ploesti for another year and ultimately over 350 aircraft were lost and over 2,800 men. But this first major raid destroyed 46% of the refining capacity at Ploesti and it completely destroyed its ability to produce aviation fuel needed by the Luftwaffe. The Ploesti raid of 1 Aug. 1943 was the most highly decorated American mission of any war with five Medals of Honor, 430 Purple Hearts, and numerous Distinguished Service Crosses, Distinguished Service Medals, Silver Stars, Bronze Stars, and Legions of Merit being awarded. Walter Stewart received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions over Ploesti and retired from the service with the rank of Colonel.
Includes above description card and COA.$4.25 USPS Shipping