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The Refineries Were Finally Completely Destroyed

Liberators leaving the target at low altitude.

The way things were developing, it had become almost a matter of individual survival, with little time to account for our companions. In fact, because of the personal nature of our targets, the three-ship elements were separated to enable each aircraft to attack its own aiming point.

The formation was further widened by the smoke, flame, and the tremendous barrage of antiaircraft fire we encountered in the target area. And because we were using high-though not maximum -power settings, ships to the rear could not readily close up, especially if they were damaged. Nevertheless, the formation was beginning to assemble when all the fighters in Romania seemed to descend on us. From all directions came ME-109s, '110s, and '210s. All this took place not more than three to five minutes after leaving the target area.

The chatter on the intercom was pretty frantic by now, but in all the excitement I understood that a Liberator off to our right was fighting for its life against repeated fighter attacks. Then in a cloud of dust it was on the ground and skidding to a stop. The war was over, apparently safely, for that crew. Nearby, an ME-110 went down and exploded, joined almost immediately by an ME-109, which crashed, leaving a fiery trail through a field of wheat.

I was pulling about thirty-two inches of manifold pressure and indicating 220 to 225 mph as we closed in toward the lead element, when I noticed a twin-engine Dornier 217 just above and to our right. I usually left such matters to my eagle-eyed crew, who had scored five confirmed fighters over Naples not long before, but I yelled to Gibby on the intercom to bring this one to his attention. He called back that we could quit worrying about that one if we were to do anything about the several other fighters on our tail!

With the tail turret out, both Gibby and the waist gunners were busy warding off a number of single and twin-engine fighters that were to stay with us for the next fifteen to twenty minutes. In the meantime, we saw other fighters overshoot us in their pursuit of bombers ahead. It was what could accurately be described as a running fight!

We were flying at about 100 feet now, because I intended to pull into close formation directly behind and under Colonel Johnson and Brandon. To elude the fighters, if we could, we went back down below the level of the scattered treetops. We followed the terrain, once lifting slightly to rise up over a man plowing a field directly in our path. He never left his plow and acted as though American bombers flew over those fields every day. I especially recall two well-spaced trees that I deliberately flew between, thinking to myself under circumstances that seemed very unreal, that I might never have the chance to do that again, legally.

Now the fighters appeared to have turned off, and we could begin to look around cautiously and take stock of our situation. As it turned out, the battle was over for us, but we learned later that the fighting went on for many of the other crews. Some were still being attacked by fighters after they had reached the Mediterranean.

By now, we had lost track of Henderson and Hill, who had taken up a direct route for Malta. It was a long, lonely trip, but they made it. Ed Mitchell, who had been flying on Suzy-Q's left wing, peeled off to land in Turkey. Worden Weaver, who was leading the flight behind, was hit very badly over the target and crashed about forty miles away - about the time we passed over the man plowing the field. Hit severely, with gaping holes in the fuselage and a missing vertical stabilizer, was the airplane flown by Bob Miller and Dexter Hodge, leading the fourth flight. Luckily, three of their engines were spared, and miraculously they made it safely 1,100 miles back to Bengasi. Both of their wingmen were lost.

Some distance away, Col. Jim Posey had led the other half of the 44th, twenty-one B-24s, on a very accurate strike against their separate target. They made it safely over their target, the Creditul Minier refinery at Brazi, five miles south of Ploesti, but lost Elmer Reinhart a short distance from the target. Reinhart was able to gain some altitude, permitting his crew to bail out successfully.

Rowland Houston, an outstanding flyer, was shot down by a fighter moments later and was lost with his entire crew. Despite the two losses, the performance of those twenty- one bombers was one of the few success stories that can be told about the attack on Ploesti.

Eventually, we were well out over the Mediterranean and headed home. Where was everybody? I had taken a position on Suzy-Q's right wing, and Reg Carpenter was trailing somewhat behind us. We were throttled back, maintaining about 145 mph at minimum airspeed to conserve fuel, but primarily to permit Carpenter to keep up with us. "P for Peter - R for Robert," he had called, "keep it slow. We've got some problems." Dabney told me later that Carpenter's airplane looked like a battered wreck even in the twilight. We didn't hear anything more from Reg, and he continued to drop behind.

I could see wounds in Suzy-Q's tail and wingtip, but otherwise it was in good shape and so were we. However, Reg Carpenter and his crew failed to make it that night. They had slowly dropped back and below us. Eventually, they had to ditch. After twenty-nine very difficult and painful hours in a dinghy, they were picked up by an RAF launch in a rare night rescue operation.

It was dark now and at last we could see scattered points of light below, as trucks and jeeps and bombers maneuvered into their parking positions on our home field. Colonel Johnson and Brandon wasted little time; we could see their wing lights peeling off into the traffic pattern.

We were right behind, as we had been for the past thirteen hours and twenty minutes. As we pulled into our parking area and cut those four great engines, we were extravagantly greeted by Howard Moore and a number of our flight-line people - Sgts. Gilbert Hester, Ed Hanley, Marion Bagley, and others. And so it ended up that only two of us were back out of the formation of sixteen assigned to attack White Five. It had been a long day.

Best bombing of the day was done by twenty-one B-24s of the 44th Bomb Group. Led by Col. Jim Posey, they had a clear shot at the Creditul Minier refinery at Brazi, five miles south of Ploesti. The lead element had just dropped its bombs when this picture was taken.

The Ploesti Raid - A Statistical Summary

Figures relating to the mission vary considerably according to source. Those that appear to be most thoroughly researched are from a study by T.E. Davidson Jr. They are: B-24s launched, 177; actually attacking a target, 161; combat-related losses, 44; interned in Turkey, 7. One B-24 crashed on takeoff at Benghazi. Also thanks to Gen. Leon Johnson, Lt. Gen. Keith Compton and Col. William R. Cameron, who helped resolve some conflicting information about the mission.

The following data have been compiled from several sources, not always in agreement. They include: "The Army Air Forces in World War II" (Vol. II), edited by W. F. Craven and J. L. Cate, University of Chicago Press, 1949; "The Mighty Eighth," by Roger A. Freeman, Doubleday, 1970; and Col. W. R. Cameron, USAF (Ret).

• The Distance to target was 1,350 miles with 167 B-24s actually attacking.
• Fighter aircraft numbered 400 and Heavy AA guns numbered at 237 made up the Axis defenses.
• B-24 losses At target area were 54, Crashed at sea were 3, and Interned in Turkey were 7.
• B-24s that returned to Bengasi (55 returning bombers were badly damaged) was 92 and landed at Allied bases were 19.
• Total aircrew members participating was 1,763 with Personnel losses (killed, POW, missing, interned) at 532 and Personnel wounded was 130.
• Bombs delivered were 311 tons with the Results being Refining capacity destroyed was 42% and Cracking capacity destroyed was 40%.

Total losses for the entire campaign against the Ploesti oil resources, including Fifteenth Air Force missions of 1944-45: 286 USAAF bombers; thirty-eight RAF bombers; 2,829 aircrew members killed or captured. The cost to the Ninth Air Force for less than a half hour's work was, indeed, high. This was implicit in the awarding of no less than five Medals of Honor (the highest number for any single air action) to Ploesti raiders, to the quick - Leon Johnson and John Kane - and the dead - Addison Baker, John Jerstad, and Lloyd Hughes.

It Took Longer Than Planned

For lack of airplanes, no more missions were flown to Ploesti until April to August of 1944, when the refineries were finally completely destroyed. These missions were flown from Italy at high altitude. Most vital of the 15th's oil targets was the Ploesti complex of refineries, which contributed about 30% of the entire Axis oil supply and an equal amount of gasoline. Ploesti was protected by 150 first class fighters and 250 heavy flak guns when the 15th, with the cooperation of the RAF 205th Group of night bombers, began a series of attacks against it on April 5.

The campaign continued until Aupust 19. 15th and RAF bombers flew 5287 sorties, dropping 12,870 tons of bombs. The cost was 237 heavies (15 of them RAF), 10 P-38 dive bombers and 39 escorting fighters. More than 2,200 American Airmen were lost. But results were good. At the end of the campaign the refineries were reduced to only 10% of their normal rate of activity and during the entire period from April to August the average production rate was reduced by 60%.

It took longer than planned, but by August 24, 1944, all production had ceased at Ploesti. Five months of sustained bombing had destroyed the refineries, the region had been isolated from Germany, and the Russians were closing in. Air power had delivered a powerful blow to the German war machine. In ever-increasing numbers planes of the German Air Force were kept on the ground by lack of gas, supply trucks were held up, and tanks were unable to move.

Reconnaissance photo of the Romana Americana refinery taken in September, 1944, shows extensive damage. Fourth largest in Rumania, this plant had escaped damage in August, 1943. After that, whenever Ploesti was attacked, citizens fled there for safety in the belief that its ownership by American interests would spare it. However, in May and June, 1944, the refinery was hit by a series of furious attacks that cut production from 109,000 tons in August, 1943, to 12,000 tons in August, 1944.

Romana Americana was hard to finish off because it covered a large area and was more heavily protected by blast walls than neighboring refineries. When the Russians entered Ploesti and saw the wreckage of Romana Americana, they were surprised that the Americans had dealt so harshly with their own property.

On August 23, 1944, Rumania revolted against the Germans, causing bitter battles and air raids against the innocent people of Bucharest and on the hospitals of the prisoner-of-war camps. The city (Ploiesti older spelling: Ploesti) was captured by Soviet troops in August 1944. August 31 and September 1, in just two days, 1,185 Allied airmen were rescued from 400 miles behind German lines, with specially equipped B17s, without a single casualty. Following the war, the new Communist regime nationalised the oil industry, which had largely been privately owned, and made massive investments in the oil and petroleum industry in a bid to modernise and repair the war damage. Ploesti turned out to be one of the most expensive targets of the war.

Col. William R. Cameron, USAF (Ret.). Ploesti!. Air Force Magazine. August 1971.

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The Ploesti Raid Tracing the lead-up to - and the execution of - the raid on the Ploesti oil fields, this heavily illustrated book combines research from original American, German, British, Bulgarian and Rumanian sources with mission reports, photographs and maps from the USAF Historical Research Agency, the U.S. Archives and European collections to present an unparalleled look at the daring mission.

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