To the Fallen of Ploesti
To you who fly on forever I send that part of me which cannot be separated and is bound to you for all time. I send to you those of our hopes and dreams that never quite came true, the joyous laughter and showery tears of our boyhood, the marvelous mysteries of our adolescence, the glorious strength and tragic illusions of our young manhood, all these that were and perhaps would have been, I leave in your care, out there in the Blue.

John Riley ("Killer") Kane, Colonel, U.S.A.F. (Ret.)

One of the most infamous missions in the entire WWII Air War was "Operation Tidal Wave" an attack on the Nazi oil refineries of Ploesti, Rumania. Army Air Corps brass reasoned that destruction of the Ploesti facilities would leave the German military hopelessly short of fuel and hasten the end of the war. The refinery sat nestled between two mountain ridges and was heavily defended by antiaircraft batteries, flights of Messerchmitt Me-109 and Me-110 fighters, and an extensive network of RADAR. Air corps planners decided that the best way to minimize losses and maximize effectiveness was to abandon high altitude in favor of an uncharacteristic "treetop" level raid.

On the morning of August 1st, 1943 (a day to become known as "Black Sunday"), nearly 180 heavily loaded B-24s of the 9th Air Force took off from Benghazi, Libya bound for Ploesti. Struggling with their overweight payloads, the B-24 squads soon became separated in a dense cloud cover. With the precise timing of the raid foiled, the mission devolved into chaos. Lumbering bombers flying as low as 50 feet were shredded by anti aircraft fire, and were often caught in the explosions of their comrades' bombs. Swarms of Luftwaffe fighters mercilessly harassed the bombers on their exit course, adding to the casualty count.

The loss totals for the Ploesti mission were nothing short of staggering. 30 percent of the bombers who participated in the bomb run were shot down by fighters or groundfire. The crews suffered a casualty rate of over 31% (540/1,725 men) Of the 177 planes that took part in the mission, only 33 returned to their bases in North Africa in flying condition.

Opinions vary widely on the effectiveness of the raid, but a standard estimate is that 40% of the refineries' capacity was disabled for at least 6 months.

2,500 decorations were awarded for service in Operation Tidal Wave. 430 wounded survivors received Purple Hearts, and five Medals of Honor were awarded--three of them posthumously.

Fire Over Ploesti (Artwork)

Operation tidal Wave (Artwork)

Ploesti: Into the Fire and Fury (Artwork)

USAF Museum Ploesti Information

USAAF Ploesti Movie (AVI File)

Ploesti: A Departure From Doctrine

Operation Tidal Wave

Black Sunday!

Raid on Ploesti

Destroying Hitler's Oil

To celebrate the first anniversary of its existence, the 8th Air Force planned a daring "dual strike" deep into the heart of the Third Reich. Scheduled for August 17th, 1943, the two pronged attack was to leave the airfields of Britain virtually simultaneously, and head for Frankfurt to keep the Luftwaffe guessing as to their final destination. Near Frankfurt, the two columns were to split off to bomb two separate targets; the Messerschmitt aircraft factories of Regensberg and the ball bearing plants of Schweinfurt.

Uncooperative weather greeted the air crews when they awoke on the morning of the raid . A heavy and low cloud cover had socked in the airstrips. In a fateful decision, Brigadier-General Fred Anderson, commander of the 8th Air Force, decided to launch the 4th Bombardment Wing for Regensburg immediately, and hold the 1st Wing on the ground until the weather broke. The attacks would now be launched 5 hours apart, defeating the "simultaneous attack" aspect of the plan.

Curtis LeMay's 4th wing ran into a meat grinder almost as soon as they reached Belgium. German Pilots were well aware that U.S. P-47s did not have the range to escort the Fortresses all the way to the target. When the Thunderbolts turned back for England, the Luftwaffe swarmed over the bombers. German pilots had been well trained in the deficiencies in the early model B-17's defensive capabilities. Without the powered chin turret (that would later arrive with the G model), Flying fortresses were highly susceptible to slashing attacks from the front. Constant harassment by the Luftwaffe had cost the 4th wing nearly 20 bombers by the time they were over the target. Despite the heavy enemy resistance, the rugged forts and their crews steadfastly battled through to their targets, on and were able to inflict a fair amount of damage to the aircraft plants.

It was nearly 11:00 when the Bob William's 1st Bombardment Wing finally got underway for Schweinfurt. A snafu in communication left them without adequate fighter support as they crossed into Germany. To make matters worse, there was such a delay between the two raids, the Germans were able to refuel, rearm, and re-launch many of the same fighters that had laid waste to the 4th Group. The Luftwaffe threw almost everything they had at the Schweinfurt raiders, a total of nearly 300 planes. As in the Regensburg raid, losses were severe. Nearly 30 Fortresses had gone down in flames. Sadly, in addition to the massive losses, little damage was done the the ball bearing plants, and the 8th would have to revisit Schweinfurt a few months later, in a equally disastrous mission known as "Black Thursday."

In all, 60 aircraft were lost in the two raids, another 27 were damaged beyond repair. A bomber loss rate of 23%. Personnel casualties totaled 539.

Black Thursday

Due to the modest results of the first Schweinfurt raid, the Flying Fortresses of the 8th Air Force revisited the city in what would become the largest air battle in history. In all, 251 B-17s participated in the mission, with a horrifying total of 77 falling victim to the Fighters of the Luftwaffe. Wave after wave of German aircraft harassed the Forts all of the way to and from the target. The battle was so expansive that Luftwaffe pilots often had time to land, refuel, and rearm, and head back into the sky to rejoin the fight. USAAF personnel casualties approached 650 men. Of the attacking fleet of 251, only 53 aircraft did not require extensive repairs before they could be returned to action.

The immense losses of man and machine in the Summer and early fall of 1943 forced the Army Air Corps to rethink its philosophy of daylight precision bombing. The British were having far more success (in terms of air crew and equipment lost) with their policy of nighttime carpet bombing. It was becoming painfully evident that, despite its moniker, the "Flying Fortress" would not be the self-defending, self-sufficient bombing platform the AAF had hoped.

The Army Air Corps now faced some very tough decisions.

The Allied "Combined Bomber Offensive" outlined a "one-two punch" game plan in regards to the strategic bombing of Hitler's "Fortress Europe." The Royal Air Force would concentrate on their preferred practice; nighttime "carpet" bombing, while the USAAF would continue shier far more accurate (but clearly more dangerous) theory of daylight "precision" bombing.

In the summer and early autumn of 1943, the USAAF absorbed shockingly high losses of aircraft and men in their massive, unescorted, deep penetration raids into Germany.

In warfare, commanders often deal with the concept of "acceptable loss", and the gruesome task of putting a "value" on human lives in making loss vs. return assessments of battles and strategy.

Using primary and secondary sources, make a BRIEF (~1 page) argument in favor of or against the philosophy of daylight precision bombing as it was being carried out by the AAF in the latter half of 1943.

Post your argument in the "Unit 4" forum, and take the time to read and critique as many of your classmates' work as possible.

Continue work on Learning Task #2 as specified in your learning contract. Continue work on Learning Task #3 (final project).

As always, post any course questions or concerns to the Anonymous "Suggestion Box" Discussion Board.

To complete Unit 4

• Read the Introductory Narrative
• Research supporting publications
• Explore the provided Links and Multimedia
• Participate in any active Course Discussions
• Complete the Unit 4 "Position Paper"
• Post your argument in the "Unit 4" forum

Remember: Unit 4 runs through Week Nine, check the Course Timeline for details. Stay on Target!