Mr Grandad, COL Harry (Hal) Halverson, was the commander of HALPRO. Everyone on this sight knows the story of HALPRO, the first USAAF attack on the German military at the Ploesti oil refineries. However, most buy the official line that the raid was unsuccessful. Officially, Hal considered it a diversion from his mission to bomb Japan from bases in China.
I've always had several questions about HALPRO. They grow out of Hal's involvement as a pilot with the Question Mark, and later with the first round the world mission. I'd appreciate any research that will help answer several questions..
1. Did the HALPRO attack actually succeed strategically by causing the Germans to divert large resources, especially from the Russian front after the attack on June 12, 1942; resources that were not employed until, tragically, the low level raid on Ploesti a year later?
2. Did HALPRO help satisfy Stalins demand for early support?
3. Did HALPRO help keep Turkey neutral. (This is a trick question that might involve WW2 espionage.)
4. Did HALPRO's tactical support after June 12 help defeat the Desert Fox and scare the Italian navy?
5. Why was Hal recalled?
Any thoughts would be appreciated. HALPRO is fun to study, including the ferry mission, where Hal's plane arrived late because of a nose wheel that did not retract in the flight over the Atlantic!!
Of course, you may think if daft. Many probably do.
I've always had several questions about HALPRO. They grow out of Hal's involvement as a pilot with the Question Mark, and later with the first round the world mission. I'd appreciate any research that will help answer several questions..
1. Did the HALPRO attack actually succeed strategically by causing the Germans to divert large resources, especially from the Russian front after the attack on June 12, 1942; resources that were not employed until, tragically, the low level raid on Ploesti a year later?
2. Did HALPRO help satisfy Stalins demand for early support?
3. Did HALPRO help keep Turkey neutral. (This is a trick question that might involve WW2 espionage.)
4. Did HALPRO's tactical support after June 12 help defeat the Desert Fox and scare the Italian navy?
5. Why was Hal recalled?
Any thoughts would be appreciated. HALPRO is fun to study, including the ferry mission, where Hal's plane arrived late because of a nose wheel that did not retract in the flight over the Atlantic!!
Of course, you may think if daft. Many probably do.