--- product_id: 1296667 title: "Operation PLUM: The Ill-fated 27th Bombardment Group and the Fight for the Western Pacific (Volume 117) (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series)" price: "€ 82.64" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 4 url: https://www.desertcart.hr/products/1296667-operation-plum-the-ill-fated-27th-bombardment-group-and-fight store_origin: HR region: Croatia --- # Operation PLUM: The Ill-fated 27th Bombardment Group and the Fight for the Western Pacific (Volume 117) (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series) **Price:** € 82.64 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Operation PLUM: The Ill-fated 27th Bombardment Group and the Fight for the Western Pacific (Volume 117) (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series) - **How much does it cost?** € 82.64 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hr](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/1296667-operation-plum-the-ill-fated-27th-bombardment-group-and-fight) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Operation PLUM: The Ill-fated 27th Bombardment Group and the Fight for the Western Pacific (Volume 117) (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series) [Martin, Adrian R., Stephenson MD, Dr. Larry W.] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Operation PLUM: The Ill-fated 27th Bombardment Group and the Fight for the Western Pacific (Volume 117) (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series) Review: Excellent Scholarly Work on an Obscure Pre-war Deployment & Early Pacific War Debacle - Few readers, even those who consider themselves conversant on World War II, will know the story this book tells before reading it. I gave it five stars for unearthing a little-known story, telling it well, and adding to the reader's World War II knowledge. Operation Plum was the deployment of the 27th Bombardment Group (Army Air Force) to the Philippines in November, 1941 to beef up MacArthur's defense of the Philippines. 1,209 men were sent to the Philippines, and a year later 20 surviving pilots were rotated back to the United States leaving two enlisted men in Australia in the 3rd Bomb Group. The remainder were all killed or had become POWs under conditions from which only 30% survived to return to the US after the war. This book tells the story of the 27th centering around one pilot, Glenwood Stephenson, destined not be be one of the survivors. The authors tell a fine story, providing just enough background on political and military events affecting the 27th and its personnel to keep the story of the 27th in perspective. MacArthur is featured prominently as are the other commanders in the Philippines and Australia, but without taking sides on his personality and generalship. So what happened, and why did the 27th suffer so dramatically in this incredibly feckless implementation of a critical plan to counter expected Japanese aggression? The 27th was formed in 1940 at Barksdale Airfield across the Red River from Shreveport, Louisiana, and its pilots were brought to a high state of efficiency with twin-engine Douglas A-20 Havoc attack bombers and single-engine Douglas A-24 Dauntless dive bombers at Barksdale, Savannah, and other airbases. The path taken by some pilots to this point is told by following the early life of Stephenson, who was raised in poverty in the Midwest during the depression, and then earned an appointment to West Point and became an aviator. By late in October, 1941, the 27th had been brought up to strength and began moving across country to the West Coast for passage to the Philippines. Unfortunately, peacetime confusion reigned, and the personnel were shipped separately from their planes and equipment. The personnel arrived in Manila on November 20th, but their planes and equipment were shipped in a convoy that sailed from San Francisco on November 14th, stopped at Honolulu, and was in the mid-Pacific when Pearl Harbor was attacked. On December 12th, the convoy was diverted to Brisbane, Australia, sealing the fate of the bulk of the 27th's personnel to fight without planes or arms as infantry on Bataan. Only twenty-three pilots and two enlisted men were flown to Australia to assemble and return with the planes, but they found the aircraft had been haphazardly packed and could be assembled only with much difficulty. Parts were missing, and guns, armor and ammunition were absent. As it turned out, none of those planes would ever be used in the Philippines. Another batch of twelve pilots was dispatched on January 31, 1942, by submarine from Corrigidor to Java. A few of the A-24s were flown to Java from Australia, and the 27th finally fought the Japanese in the air as a unit with their A-24s over the skies of Indonesia. The tiny 27th force, without ground crews to maintain its aircraft, was rapidly decimated by the vastly superior numbers of Japanese aircraft, and after a short time the personnel, including Stephenson, escaped to Australia. In March, 1942, the 27th's survivors were absorbed by the 3rd Bomb Group and flew missions in Mitchell B-25s against the Japanese in the South Pacific until rotated to the States in October, 1942. By then Stephenson had been killed in a plane crash. Throughout all this the authors tell the stories of other 27th Group pilots, their relations with the British, Dutch, Australians, and Army personnel. That they endured many travails goes without saying. They took part in what became known as "Royce's Raid" with B-25s they had literally stolen back from the Dutch, arriving on Mindanao April 12th, three days after the fall of Bataan. The 27th bombed a number of Japanese installations on Luzon and Mindanao, but their operations were hurriedly brought to a close in order to evacuate VIPs to Australia. The list of passengers is given in an Appendix, and includes two newspaper correspondents who were considered more valuable than fighter pilots. This book is important to World War Two experts and newcomers alike. The authors take great pains to put the 27th's activities into the context of the war around them, and that is absolutely necessary although possible annoying to some experts to allow everything to fall into place. I did not discover any glaring errors except a handful of opinion statements that were easily passed by. This book is a great read, well researched and with extensive end notes, excellent appendixes including one giving the later careers of the surviving pilots, and a comprehensive bibliography. It is a great addition to any library on World War II, and I recommend its purchase and reading. Review: Best Book available on USAAF in the Pacific in the early days of WWII - This book captures the desperate straight that the US found itself in fighting back the well establish Japanese war machine chewing its way through the So. Pacific in the early days of WWII. Too often the Naval aviators are glamorized for their brave carrier to carrier campaigns, while the pilots and men of the US Army Air Corp is given little credit for stopping the Japanese push to establish a lock on ultimate victory by invading and controlling the oil in the Indonesian archipelago and backing that conquest with control of No. Australia. WWII in the Pacific would have ended with a much different conclusion had the Japanese been successful in establishing the Asian Co-prosperity Sphere. For the first time, the oft overlooked raid to the occupied Philippines accomplished by a group of eighteen B-25's and three B-17's which materially disrupted the logistical supply centers in the already "conquered" Philippine Islands. The mission called "Royce's Raid" took place 2 weeks after Gen. Doolittle's one time bombing mission over Tokyo and other targets of opportunity in Japan.This strike force began its mission in Darwin Australia and flew 2250 miles into Japanese controlled territory with no back up support. For an entire week Concentrating in Mindanao's harbor in Cebu and the air bases surrounding this key logistical center. 4 ships were sunk including a loaded troop carrier with 3000 Japanese soldiers on board. Stockpile of supplies concentrated in warehouses around Cebu to be used in New Guinea, Indo-China and, ultimately, Australia, were destroyed. This untold mission resulted in the change of Commanders by the Japanese for the Philippines and the strategic command structure in place for the conquest of South Asia and Australia. It put the Japanese timetable for their southern Pacific campaign back 6 months and gave the US and our allies the time necessary to bring men and material into the southern Pacific to allow battles like Guadalcanal, New Guinea and MacArthur's push northward to take place. All in all, Operation Plum is an excellent addition to the recorded history of early WWII in the Pacific. Hopefully, it will stimulate other scholars to look in greater detail to the vital importance of Air Power in stopping the Japanese push southward before it was too late. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #5,644,357 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #4,997 in Military Aviation History (Books) #17,659 in World War II History (Books) #17,979 in American Military History | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (19) | | Dimensions | 6.45 x 1.33 x 9.33 inches | | ISBN-10 | 1603440194 | | ISBN-13 | 978-1603440196 | | Item Weight | 1.8 pounds | | Language | English | | Print length | 384 pages | | Publication date | June 24, 2008 | | Publisher | Texas A&M University Press | ## Images ![Operation PLUM: The Ill-fated 27th Bombardment Group and the Fight for the Western Pacific (Volume 117) (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/512xBapky+L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent Scholarly Work on an Obscure Pre-war Deployment & Early Pacific War Debacle *by A***R on September 20, 2008* Few readers, even those who consider themselves conversant on World War II, will know the story this book tells before reading it. I gave it five stars for unearthing a little-known story, telling it well, and adding to the reader's World War II knowledge. Operation Plum was the deployment of the 27th Bombardment Group (Army Air Force) to the Philippines in November, 1941 to beef up MacArthur's defense of the Philippines. 1,209 men were sent to the Philippines, and a year later 20 surviving pilots were rotated back to the United States leaving two enlisted men in Australia in the 3rd Bomb Group. The remainder were all killed or had become POWs under conditions from which only 30% survived to return to the US after the war. This book tells the story of the 27th centering around one pilot, Glenwood Stephenson, destined not be be one of the survivors. The authors tell a fine story, providing just enough background on political and military events affecting the 27th and its personnel to keep the story of the 27th in perspective. MacArthur is featured prominently as are the other commanders in the Philippines and Australia, but without taking sides on his personality and generalship. So what happened, and why did the 27th suffer so dramatically in this incredibly feckless implementation of a critical plan to counter expected Japanese aggression? The 27th was formed in 1940 at Barksdale Airfield across the Red River from Shreveport, Louisiana, and its pilots were brought to a high state of efficiency with twin-engine Douglas A-20 Havoc attack bombers and single-engine Douglas A-24 Dauntless dive bombers at Barksdale, Savannah, and other airbases. The path taken by some pilots to this point is told by following the early life of Stephenson, who was raised in poverty in the Midwest during the depression, and then earned an appointment to West Point and became an aviator. By late in October, 1941, the 27th had been brought up to strength and began moving across country to the West Coast for passage to the Philippines. Unfortunately, peacetime confusion reigned, and the personnel were shipped separately from their planes and equipment. The personnel arrived in Manila on November 20th, but their planes and equipment were shipped in a convoy that sailed from San Francisco on November 14th, stopped at Honolulu, and was in the mid-Pacific when Pearl Harbor was attacked. On December 12th, the convoy was diverted to Brisbane, Australia, sealing the fate of the bulk of the 27th's personnel to fight without planes or arms as infantry on Bataan. Only twenty-three pilots and two enlisted men were flown to Australia to assemble and return with the planes, but they found the aircraft had been haphazardly packed and could be assembled only with much difficulty. Parts were missing, and guns, armor and ammunition were absent. As it turned out, none of those planes would ever be used in the Philippines. Another batch of twelve pilots was dispatched on January 31, 1942, by submarine from Corrigidor to Java. A few of the A-24s were flown to Java from Australia, and the 27th finally fought the Japanese in the air as a unit with their A-24s over the skies of Indonesia. The tiny 27th force, without ground crews to maintain its aircraft, was rapidly decimated by the vastly superior numbers of Japanese aircraft, and after a short time the personnel, including Stephenson, escaped to Australia. In March, 1942, the 27th's survivors were absorbed by the 3rd Bomb Group and flew missions in Mitchell B-25s against the Japanese in the South Pacific until rotated to the States in October, 1942. By then Stephenson had been killed in a plane crash. Throughout all this the authors tell the stories of other 27th Group pilots, their relations with the British, Dutch, Australians, and Army personnel. That they endured many travails goes without saying. They took part in what became known as "Royce's Raid" with B-25s they had literally stolen back from the Dutch, arriving on Mindanao April 12th, three days after the fall of Bataan. The 27th bombed a number of Japanese installations on Luzon and Mindanao, but their operations were hurriedly brought to a close in order to evacuate VIPs to Australia. The list of passengers is given in an Appendix, and includes two newspaper correspondents who were considered more valuable than fighter pilots. This book is important to World War Two experts and newcomers alike. The authors take great pains to put the 27th's activities into the context of the war around them, and that is absolutely necessary although possible annoying to some experts to allow everything to fall into place. I did not discover any glaring errors except a handful of opinion statements that were easily passed by. This book is a great read, well researched and with extensive end notes, excellent appendixes including one giving the later careers of the surviving pilots, and a comprehensive bibliography. It is a great addition to any library on World War II, and I recommend its purchase and reading. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Best Book available on USAAF in the Pacific in the early days of WWII *by W***S on August 15, 2013* This book captures the desperate straight that the US found itself in fighting back the well establish Japanese war machine chewing its way through the So. Pacific in the early days of WWII. Too often the Naval aviators are glamorized for their brave carrier to carrier campaigns, while the pilots and men of the US Army Air Corp is given little credit for stopping the Japanese push to establish a lock on ultimate victory by invading and controlling the oil in the Indonesian archipelago and backing that conquest with control of No. Australia. WWII in the Pacific would have ended with a much different conclusion had the Japanese been successful in establishing the Asian Co-prosperity Sphere. For the first time, the oft overlooked raid to the occupied Philippines accomplished by a group of eighteen B-25's and three B-17's which materially disrupted the logistical supply centers in the already "conquered" Philippine Islands. The mission called "Royce's Raid" took place 2 weeks after Gen. Doolittle's one time bombing mission over Tokyo and other targets of opportunity in Japan.This strike force began its mission in Darwin Australia and flew 2250 miles into Japanese controlled territory with no back up support. For an entire week Concentrating in Mindanao's harbor in Cebu and the air bases surrounding this key logistical center. 4 ships were sunk including a loaded troop carrier with 3000 Japanese soldiers on board. Stockpile of supplies concentrated in warehouses around Cebu to be used in New Guinea, Indo-China and, ultimately, Australia, were destroyed. This untold mission resulted in the change of Commanders by the Japanese for the Philippines and the strategic command structure in place for the conquest of South Asia and Australia. It put the Japanese timetable for their southern Pacific campaign back 6 months and gave the US and our allies the time necessary to bring men and material into the southern Pacific to allow battles like Guadalcanal, New Guinea and MacArthur's push northward to take place. All in all, Operation Plum is an excellent addition to the recorded history of early WWII in the Pacific. Hopefully, it will stimulate other scholars to look in greater detail to the vital importance of Air Power in stopping the Japanese push southward before it was too late. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Heartbreaking *by J***S on September 30, 2024* This book is well written, reads like a novel. It is frustrating to read of all the mistakes the US made. If we had been more prepared it is possible that lives could have been saved and prevented many from going into the Japanese POW camps. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.hr/products/1296667-operation-plum-the-ill-fated-27th-bombardment-group-and-fight](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/1296667-operation-plum-the-ill-fated-27th-bombardment-group-and-fight) --- *Product available on Desertcart Croatia* *Store origin: HR* *Last updated: 2026-11-12*