Returning is Secondary: 93d BG raid Ploesti

  • Published
  • By Alan D. Landers
  • 93d Air Ground Operations Wing historian
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga., --  The Allied bombing of Ploesti, Romania, on Aug. 1, 1943, stands as a defining moment in the history of the 93d Bombardment Group and the war effort in the European Theater of Operations.

The critical mission, to cripple the German war machine through the destruction of vital petroleum, would be one of the most dangerous missions of the war in Europe. More than two years into the war in Europe, many generals believed that if no crews returned and the objectives were destroyed, the mission would have been successful.

Combat crews remained dedicated to completion of the assigned mission even while adapting to mistakes in navigation and heavy defensive fire from below. The mission, while not a failure or a complete success, would build upon and strengthen U.S. Army Air Forces' strategic bombing doctrine that would eventually help cripple Germany.

Allied leaders met in Casablanca, Morocco, Jan. 14 to 24, 1943. The first war conference of Allied leaders during World War II included President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. Distracted by a major offensive against the Germans, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin was unable to attend. The Casablanca directive issued on January 21, 1943, called for, "the progressive destruction and dislocation of the German military, industrial and economic system, and the undermining of the morale of the German people to a point where their capacity for armed resistance is fatally weakened."

The conference identified strategic targets, prioritizing each for allied bombers based in Great Britain. Known as the Combined Bomber Offensive, target objectives were: Submarine construction yards, German aircraft production, Transportation centers, Petroleum plants and other targets in the war industry. Most importantly the Casablanca Conference of 1943 set the direction for the remainder of the war and established the terms for ending the war- unconditional surrender by Germany.

The Combined Bomber Offensive placed a priority on the oil and petroleum that fueled Luftwaffe, ground forces and supported production and logistics of Germans forces. Oil-rich Ploesti, Romania, and its five refineries produced 9 million tons of oil yearly including an estimated 60 percent of Germany's crude oil supply - the single most lucrative petroleum target in the European Theater.

However Ploesti exceeded the range of allied bombers based in Great Britain. In June 1942, Col. Harry A. Halverson led 13 B-24D Liberator aircraft from a base in Egypt to attack several of the refineries that outlined the City of Ploesti. The high altitude mission did minimal damage to the refineries through heavy cloud cover.

The Halverson Raid, the first U.S. Army Air Forces' combat mission over Europe, would also be the first of many on the refineries at Ploesti. Advisor to Gen. Hap Arnold, Col. Jacob E. Smart, viewed the refineries at Ploesti as a tempting target. Through three and a half years of warfare, Ploesti had experienced only the Halverson raid, and two small unsuccessful raids by the Soviets. Smart envisioned a low-level, massive attack by as many as nine groups of B-24's, as low as 50 feet above intended targets.

Air planners assumed the need for large numbers of heavy bombers flying numerous high altitude missions to destroy the oil production of Ploesti. Critics of the radical departure from strategic bombing tactics rebuffed. Brig. Gen. Gordon P. Saville, Army Air Forces authority on air defense called the 2,700 mile mission, "...ridiculous and suicidal." Adopted by Arnold, the plan pressed on, but with only five B-24 groups assigned including 44th, 93d, 98th, 376th and 389th Bomb Groups, due to other ongoing missions in southern Europe.

In July 1943, the Benghazi, Libya-based crews began to prepare for the mission to Ploesti, now code named Operation TIDAL WAVE. The crews trained intensively, learning about the route, targets and defenses to be encountered. In the desert south of the Benghazi base, a flat reproduction of Ploesti and its outlying refineries was created. Crews continually rehearsed formation, timing and the bomb run itself. By the last mock mission on July 29, 1943, one crew member commented, "...we could bomb it in our sleep."

At dawn on Aug. 1, 1943, Operation TIDAL WAVE began. From the Benghazi airfield, 177 B-24s launched and headed north across the Mediterranean Sea. The 376th Bomb Group led the formations of Liberators. Near the Island of Corfu, the mission experienced its first misfortune when the lead navigator's plane failed and went down near the island. Another B-24, carrying the alternate navigator, descended to inspect for survivors and drop rafts to assist. Fully loaded with munitions and falling behind the large formation, the aircraft was unable to catch up.

At the first initial point, the 389th BG, at the rear of the formation, turned toward its assigned objective the Steaua Romana refinery at Campina. All aircraft, now 65 miles from Ploesti, descended to 500 feet in preparation to encounter enemy defensive fire and drop ordinance on the petroleum resources. Without the benefit of experienced navigation, the formation of heavy bombers continued to the target. Heavy cloud cover increased the difficulty of the mission, and divided the 44th and 98th from the 376th and 93d.

Enroute to the second point of reference, the lead aircraft of the 376th turned in error, mistaking the City of Targoviste for the correct point Floresti. It wasn't until the South-bound aircraft approached Bucharest, the headquarters of Romanian Air Defenses, that Lt. Col. Addison Baker, pilot of the lead 93d aircraft, "Hell's Wench," realized the error. Staying in formation behind the lead group, Baker identified Ploesti directly to his left.

Baker calmly turned his aircraft, leading his formation of B-24s directly toward Ploesti. Approaching the city the two groups faced intense fire from ground defenses. Onboard the lead B-24 of the 376th, Gen. Uzal Ent directed the planes to hit any target of opportunity that presented itself. Aircraft of the 376th separated from the formation, turning east toward of the Concordia Vega refinery. The 93d continued toward Ploesti and refineries that offered the best possibility of success.

Anti-aircraft fire becoming heavier, the B-24 severed a barrage balloon cable. Several rounds hit the B-24 and set "Hells Wench" ablaze. Baker and co-pilot Maj. John Jerstad continued toward the target refusing to land the doomed B-24 over suitable terrain below. Crews of other aircraft reported Hells Wench swerving to avoid smokestacks at 150 feet. Baker unsuccessfully attempted to gain altitude for his crewmen to bail out. The aircraft rapidly descended, missing other B-24s and crashing shy of the Colombia Acquilla refinery.

The TIDAL WAVE mission was neither a great success nor failure. Bombers assigned to the mission damaged Ploesti's refineries reduced production output to 40 percent Within weeks, facilities not running at full capacity at the time were able to make up for losses in production.

A total of 54 B-24's were lost during the Ploesti mission resulting in 532 crewmen killed, captured or missing. The mission produced five Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, including Baker and Jerstad of the 93d Bomb Group. The mission marked a growing importance on decreasing Germany's oil supply. By early 1944, General Carl A. Spaatz, Commander of U.S. Strategic Air Forces in Europe, gave the 15th Air Force in the Mediterranean orders to continue operations against petroleum resources. By May, decoded German radio traffic indicated an "incipient shortage of aviation gasoline" that required cut backs in German aviator training, diluting the experience of German fighter pilots sent into battle. Later, Mr. Albert Speer, German minister of Armaments and War production, commented that the focus on the oil industry in southern Europe, and now deep into Germany in late spring of 1944, "meant the end of German armaments production."