Tidal Wave Footage Photos, 15th AAF and Luftwaffe, 'Black Sunday', 1 August 1943

Hello Alex, I didn't find anything in my database for this B-24 nr.43.
It is not on the TidalWave mission rooster.

Actually you are right I should have known from the begining on because the aircraft rolling on sand would have caused a T/O crash should have been one...so yes is on landing and yet the 376Bmb Grp saying Miss Incindiary was allocated to Ploesti under an other acft name or number....after somany years all details are scanty and its hard to determine who was what especially that Johnson is not listed anywhere. If I get it right you say that Johnson was flying as observer at SUZI Q .....I would wonder why because, Compton, Wood, Kane, Bakker , Jerstad were flying as command pilots and only Gen Ent was an observer......Its still a mistery with Leon Johnson on why he would fly as observer while Ent was listed under Compton plane as Observer .....Johnson wouldnt be listed anywhere in no records

AL

This post has been edited by alexkdl on January 04, 2005 10:24 am

Dan this photo with Stoyanow standing near the PRINCE CHARMING wing I havent seen it anywhere before and is a piece of rarity, my friend from 44th and 376 would love to see it !!! where did you get it from ? Also those of the air tactics on B-24 models of ARR pilots is again something rare ! Where these things showed up from after somany years ?

Alex

Stoyan Stoyanov plane in 1943

Profile from:

http://www.elknet.pl/acestory/stojanov/stojanov.htm


Iama

Attached Image

Dan

I think you've posted stunning photos and lets see if after all Spielberg may wana do a movie by the time we will get off this topic. For me there is an mistery left into the TIDALWAVE which is less retaled to flying or commanding skills of the pilots involved .

1. Why Compton who was the youngest Colonel Pilot of the Army Air Force would
be lecetd as flagship for Gen Uzal Ent airborne command platform and not an
aircraft with more experienced pilots . Why the experienced Navigator assigned
for TEGGIE ANN would be all of a sudden sick prior departure, get in hospital
and collect medals by flying a hospital bed ? Why would Col.Keith Compton
whos wrong navigational error over Jugoslavia and wrong turn to Bucharest
would cost somany lives later on end the war as General, be promoted to 2 and
3 star General and become the deputy Strategic Air Command during the cold
war era ? Bytheway Keith Compton died in June 2004.

2. Out of other groups only Johnson and Compton be promoted later to major
tasks within the USAF , while the rest such as Kane , Caldwell, Halpro Group
and the other wont be heard very often of .

3. Why was Johnson not clearly listed on the raid ?

4. Why most of the lead airplanes would escape Ploesti inferno ( except
Bakkers plane) and why would the other pilots of Compton formation who
would decide on their own to leave the errand formation of Compton and
fly out of the formation protection ( Box Formation ) to Ploesti without any
major citations and CHM awards ?

5. Why would for years after the war people avoid getting deeper into who did
what and where....

Well one thing it has happened ineed Brig Gen Uzal Ente was gone " with the wind" after the raid eventhough no direct fauilt of his can be assesed to what has occured
ocerthere .

I think there are many other puzzles such as gun camera fils and photos of the raid stored at 2nd Air Divsion of the 15th Archives in Virginia not yet released to public......so who knows what else went wrong

Al

I'v got it from a (english language) bulgarian site.
http://odin.prohosting.com/~vstoyano/Fight...WW2Stoyanov.htm

In fact Stoianov flew a Bf-109G ( not E-model ) in august '43.

In romanian air force was common for the pilots to learn tactics with the help of scale models of fighters and bombers. I saw pictures with IAR 80 models ( aprox 1/48scale) used by pilots prior to Tidal Wave.
Also other metodes were used to teach tactics. Among them one used by 52sq who cut the grass on their arfield in a form of a B-24 1/1 scale and the pilots made diving attacks shooting in the B-24 contour. But they were not aware about the power of the real B-24 guns ( covering all the angles ) until they met in combat.

These things doesn't showed many years because of the repression regim of comunist countries ( WWII military archiv closed for long period for ordinary people) and the cold war.

Dan

I saw Stoyanow page I am not aware that he damaged a second B-24 on the Tidalwave i though he was accounted only for the PRICE CHARMING the secon Pilot who was accounted in damaging the SNOW WHITE or an other from the Snow White & Prince Charming formation was Stefan Marinopolsky. As you stated Stoyanow didnt fly the G model. Bellow the photo from TARGET of TODAY PLOESTI

Alex

Alex, there are many mistery unsolved ( like Kennedy death ) in the case of Tidal Wave mission I have myself many questions similar with yours but like in the past in the present and in the future the wars have many contradictory decisions from the leaders involved ( Mostly based on politics and not for the safe of the human life )
Maybe people from around the world would learn to live together on this blue planet called Earth and choose better leaders to avoid this ancestry hobby for wars beetwen human races. ( maybe it's only a dream but let's start everybody with this dream)

Dan.

Dan

Here's the pilot of JOSE CARIOCA 1st Lt Nicholas Stampolis . It was the last mission of his aircraft and crew . A few miles out from Ploesti while hit over ploesti he would crash the ill fated B-24 into the local women prison first floor. Irronically until 1940 Anna Pauker was held there into the custudy until exchanged through a trade off deal with the Russians for a Roumanian Army spy held in Russia.

Al

Here the photo of Unterofizzier Erich Hanfland (Luftabwehr) who would shut down at least one B-24 of the Kanes formation from the famous AA train called Caterpillar

Alex

An inspection photo just a few days before the TIDALWAVE by a General Leutenant der Luftwaffe A.Gerstenberg (left) Commandiernden Offizier der Deutsche Streitkraefte in Roumania with an uknown ARR General taken near Ploesti. Goering would know why would he appoint a Luftwaffe General as CO of German troops in Roumania instead one of the regular Army ( Heer)

Al

This post has been edited by Victor on February 09, 2006 07:01 pm

Looks like Ermil Gheorghiu.

The ARR General could be Jienescu ( it looks like him).