Operation Tidal Wave

Operation Tidal Wave Menu

Mission Briefing

During the early stages of World War II, petroleum production and distribution facilities emerged as critical targets for strategic bombing campaigns. Among these, Ploesti, Romania, stood out as a key hub, hosting a concentration of oil refineries which together were responsible for approximately one-third of Germany's liquid fuel needs. Situated deep within enemy territory, Ploesti presented one of the most heavily defended targets in Europe, defended by both Romanian and German Forces.

The Germans, as it turned out, knew the extraordinary importance these oil refineries held towards their continued war effort. As such, and following a smaller attack in June of 1942, they began to strengthen their defenses around Ploesti.

In January 1943, Allied leaders devised a plan to launch a bombing raid on the Ploesti oil fields. Colonel Jacob Smart took charge of planning the operation, proposing a low-level bombing raid targeting the nine most important refineries in Ploesti. The mission would involve five bomb groups, two from the 9th Air Force in North Africa and three from the 8th Air Force in England.

The bomb groups were composed of the 376th "Liberandos" led by Colonel Keith Compton, the 98th "Pyramiders" led by Colonel John "Killer" Kane, the 44th "Eight Ballers" led by Colonel Leon Johnson, the 93rd "Traveling Circus" led by Colonel Addison Baker, and the 389th "Sky Scorpions" led by Colonel Jack Wood. These 5 groups would soon fly through one of the deadliest air spaces in the war, but they didn't know it yet. All they could do was stick to the plan and have faith in their pilots, commanding officers, and fellow crewmen.

Click here for interactive map of operation flight paths

Approximate flight route to Romania. The journey to the Ploesti oil fields was long and arduous. The pilots would have to fly 1200 miles from Benghazi, Libya over the Mediterranean sea and high mountains while maintaining formation.

Planned paths of attack for each bomb group. The mission's success was predicated on the bombers maintaining formation and timing accurately in order to inflict maximum damage and overwhelm the defenses.

Romania was located beyond the reach of bombers stationed in Britain but was accessible from bases in North Africa. Still the long distance that needed to be covered from the North African Airfields to the middle of Romania would require a larger aircraft capable of carrying both extra fuel and a full load of bombs. For this reason, the choice in aircraft fell on the Consolidated B-24 Bomber, renowned for their long-range capabilities and ability to carry substantial bomb loads and fuel reserves necessary for the lengthy flight.

The five bomb groups were to take off from airfields near Benghazi, Libya and fly north across the mediterranean towards Greece. After reaching the island of Corfu off the coast of Albania, the bombers would have to climb to a higher altitude in order to make it over the high mountains. The bombers would stay in “loose formation” so that they would be more spread apart and reduce the risk of collisions.

After gaining altitude over the mountains the bomb groups would continue over farmland towards the city of Ploesti in Romania. During the last leg of the flight the bombers would drop to extremely low altitudes in order to avoid enemy radar and, hopefully, gain an advantage during their bombing runs.

Liberators practicing low level flying in the deserts near Benghazi. Mock buildings and targets were set up to mimic the layout of the refineries in Ploesti. Pilots had to learn to fly their B-24's at only 200-300 feet from the ground.

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Bomb Groups That Participated in Tidal Wave

Group Number	Nickname	Commander	Air Force
389th Bombardment Group	Sky Scorpions	Colonel Jack Wood	Eighth Air Force
93rd Bombardment Group*	Traveling Circus	Colonel Addison Baker
44th Bombardment Group	The Eight Ballers	Colonel Leon Johnson
376th Bombardment Group	Liberandos	Colonel Keith K. Compton	Ninth Air Force
98th Bombardment Group*	Pyramiders	Colonel John “Killer” Kane

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*The 93rd was Alfred Pezzella's group, he flew with Colonel Addison Baker in Hell’s Wench.

*Bob Sternfels flew The Sandman in the 98th while Colonel "Killer" Kane led the group in his own aircraft.

The operation was composed of 5 bomb groups from two separate air forces, the Ninth Air Force and the Eighth Air Force. This was one of the first operations conducted by the USAAF in which a massive number of heavy bombers took part in a low-altitude attack on a target. The commanding officers in charge of planning the raid believed this would give the bombers a strategic edge and overwhelm the enemy with shear numbers. The final number of bombers used in the raid reached 178 with 1,751 aircrew. This made Operation TIDAL WAVE one of the biggest commitments of heavy bombers and crew at the time.

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Fortress Ploesti: The Impenetrable German Defenses

The German forces had fortified the Ploesti oil refineries in anticipation of an Allied attack, recognizing the strategic importance of the facilities. Alfred Gerstenberg, the Luftwaffe commander in the region had ensured Ploesti would be one of the most heavily defended airspaces in all of Axis Europe. Hundreds of heavy anti-aircraft batteries, including the infamous 88mm Flak cannon, were set up in and around the refineries. Anti-aircraft gun nests armed with smaller caliber, yet still devastating, 37mm guns, along with machine gun emplacements were strategically positioned to repel incoming bombers.

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Mock buildings and haystacks concealed gun nests, while barrage balloons tethered to thick steel ropes hindered low-flying aircraft. Smoke pots and burning oil drums obscured visibility, creating dense clouds of black smoke to disorient and blind approaching pilots.

Further fortifications, such as blast walls and hidden anti-aircraft guns along the railroad tracks leading into Ploesti, underscored the meticulous preparation undertaken by the German forces to safeguard the vital oil refineries.

The German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was a formidable fighter along with its counterpart the Messerschmidt Bf-109. Together they made up the backbone of the fighter division of the Luftwaffe.

The German Luftwaffe had stationed an increased number of fighter planes at airfields near Ploesti, ready to be dispatched when in the event of an attack. Not only did the bombers have to deal with the intense anti-aircraft coverage, but also had to fend off enemy fighters that eventually made their way to the Ploesti airspace to defend it.

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Costly Mistakes and a Plan Gone Awry

An Ambitious Plan

Problems with the operation could be traced back to the very beginning stages of the mission and its planning process. Colonel Jacob Smart’s plan called for tactics that had not been used before in the USAAF. Simultaneously, his plan demanded extraordinary levels of precision and endurance from the pilots flying the B-24 bombers. These pilots were tasked with controlling the bulky Liberators while navigating the long journey of over 2000 miles. The sheer demands placed on both the aircraft and the crews tested the limits and capabilities of the bomb groups at that time, contributing to the mission's ultimately disastrous outcome. It was a tall order, and although the pilots were capable, they had their misgivings about the mission as well.

The decision to execute a low-level mass raid went against the established policy of the USAAF, presenting a departure from conventional tactics. Traditionally, the USAAF employed high-altitude precision bombing, which allowed bombers to stay out of range of enemy anti-aircraft fire while delivering their payloads. Instead, Operation Tidal Wave called for aircraft to fly at heights of only 100 to 300 feet above the ground. US officials hoped that this directive would ensure the aircraft weren’t immediately detected by radar on their approach and allow the bombers more of a chance to inflict damage without a full-fledged response by the enemy. This decision, ultimately, exposed the bombers to intense enemy fire and increased the risk of airmen casualties.

Advantage Lost

What the US forces weren’t aware of was the fact that the German’s had known about their mission far in advance. In fact, the German’s had decoded a message from Benghazi stating that the aircraft had taken off. The Germans knew they were coming, but not where their destination would be. Along the flight path towards Ploesti, the B-24s were instructed to fly at a high altitude before reaching Romania. Through these stretches of airspace, German occupied areas, like the island of Corfu, could have detected the massive number of bombers and radioed the information to German headquarters.

Flying Blind

One notable challenge in the planning process was Colonel Smart's limited experience with flying B-24D bombers. Despite completing training in these aircraft shortly before the operation, Smart had not yet undertaken a flight check in a B-24 bomber. This lack of firsthand knowledge regarding the aircraft's capabilities raised concerns among the pilots tasked with executing the mission. Many expressed doubts about their ability to maintain formation and execute crucial maneuvers while flying towards Ploesti, highlighting potential obstacles in the operational execution of the plan.

The planning phase of Operation Tidal Wave suffered from inadequate reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, as recon craft were not dispatched to photograph the Ploesti oil fields beforehand, fearing alerting the Germans to an impending attack. Consequently, crucial information about the heavy anti-aircraft fortifications and barrage balloons defending the target area was overlooked. Additionally, the decision to maintain radio silence further hindered communication and coordination among the bomber formations, exacerbating the challenges of maintaining formation integrity and executing precise bombing runs.

The Sandman, flown by pilot Robert Sternfels as part of Kane's 98th Bomb group. This photo was taken by a tail-mounted camera on a nearby Liberator, just after Sternfels narrowly avoided a catastrophic crash. The Sandman had flown into a steel cable tethering a barrage balloon to the ground. Sternfels describes his utter terror as he heard the sound of the cable striking the side of the liberator. He feared the wing was torn off and a crash was imminent. By sheer luck, the Sandman's propeller had cut through the steel wire. Sternfels then maneuvered the plane through dense smoke clouds, avoiding collisions with smoke stacks and eventually made and emergency landing in Cyprus following the raid.

Navigational Nightmare

Once the mission was underway, difficulty maintaining formation quickly became apparent, with the 376th and 93rd bomb groups surging ahead at maximum power, while other groups lagged behind at lower power settings. Navigation errors compounded the chaos, with Colonel K.K. Compton's lead plane veering off course at the second check point, leading the entire 376th and 93rd astray. Despite attempts by other pilots to alert Compton to his error, communication breakdowns and oversight prevented timely course correction.

Navigational issues persisted throughout the mission, with the bomb groups scattered and lacking proper formation, the bomb waves and timing of the attacks were strewn out and unorganized. Often bombs dropped by the Liberators were timed to explode after a delay. Because of the timing issues, some unfortunate aircraft flew over targeted areas as the earlier squadrons bombs would detonating, often inflicting damage or even causing the aircraft to go down. This was a form of "friendly bombing." Furthermore, the resulting confusion and disarray left many bombers vulnerable to enemy fire, with several succumbing to heavy flak and small arms fire from German and Romanian defenses.

Mission Successful?

Operation Tidal Wave stands as a stark reminder of the risks inherent in large-scale military operations. Despite the courage and determination of the pilots and crews involved, the mission's fatal flaws in planning, execution, and intelligence gathering proved to collectively lower the chances of success. Colonel Smart's plan relied on too many factors being executed perfectly, with no room for error. Ultimately, these mistakes and oversights led to it's downfall. The failure to execute a coordinated, timed attack prevented Operation Tidal Wave from achieving a decisive blow to the oil production capacity of the Axis powers, resulting in heavy losses and minimal damage to enemy targets. While the mission's objectives may have been ambitious, the toll it exacted in terms of lives lost and aircraft destroyed serves as a sobering testament to the harsh and unforgiving nature of war.

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Black Sunday: One of the Costliest Days in Air Battle History

On August 1, 1943, Operation Tidal Wave commenced, marking the first large-scale low-altitude attack by US heavy bombers. The daring mission involved a round trip of approximately 2,100 miles from airfields near Benghazi, Libya, to the oil fields around Ploesti, Romania, where the targets lay hidden amidst treacherous defenses.

A total of 178 B-24 Liberators, organized into five bomb groups, embarked on the perilous journey. Each group, comprised of multiple squadrons, faced the daunting task of navigating through enemy territory and evading hostile fire.

The takeoff of so many bombers in the Libyan desert caused a large amount of dust and sand to be kicked up, reducing visibility, and putting further strain on the aircraft. The bombers, already burdened with large bomb loads and extra fuel, struggled to climb after takeoff. One desert weathered bomber, nicknamed the Kickapoo, went down after taking off, likely due to these complications. None of the crew survived. The mission had already claimed its first victims.

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Shortly after takeoff, the 376th and 93rd bomb groups, led by Colonel Compton, surged ahead at maximum power towards the target, leaving the other three bomb groups trailing behind. This oversight caused a disruption in formation, jeopardizing the timing and coordination of the impending bombing runs over Ploesti. Orders to maintain radio silence also prevented the groups from regaining cohesion. Smart's plan called for strict formation and timing of bomber waves to strike the target and ensure maximum damage. The confusion at the start of the mission already spelled disaster for the raid going forward.

Upon entering Romanian airspace, the mission was thrown into complete disarray when the lead plane, Teggie Anne, piloted by Colonel Compton, made its faithful wrong turn. The entire formation was now disrupted and any hope of making a decisive blow on the oil refineries was quickly slipping away. Despite attempts to rectify the situation, the chaos proved insurmountable, leading to a disorganized attack on the oil refineries.

Map of flight paths and wrong turn over Ploesti

The 93rd and 376th bomb groups made the wrong turn towards Bucharest at their checkpoint Târgoviște, when they should have headed towards the correct checkpoint of Băicoi (not shown here). The 98th bomb group which was heading on the correct course was also lagging due to Compton’s higher power setting, and the 98th's weathered aircraft. The 93rd changed course to bomb targets in Ploesti, but the 376th didn’t correct their route until they saw the church spires of Bucharest.

Compton and General Ent, realizing their mistake, decided that it would be better to issue an order to “hit targets of opportunity.” Because of this, some planes broke off from formation to drop their bombs. As a result of the confusion, very few of the 376th B-24’s bombed a refinery. This further diminished the effect the raid had on the Ploesti’s oil production.

Flying over intense German and Romanian defenses, the US forces faced relentless anti-aircraft fire, flak, and machine gun attacks, resulting in catastrophic losses. German aircraft were also dispatched from nearby airfields to aid in the defense, devastating multiple bombers and making the situation all the more dangerous. The dense smoke-filled airspace compounded the challenges, making it difficult for surviving airmen to discern the fate of their comrades, let alone accurately hit their targets.

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Artwork depicting many different B-24 Liberators as they flew in Operation Tidal Wave, which would later come to be known as Black Sunday.

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A Flying Boat: The B-24

The B-24 Liberator bomber was a large heavy bomber designed by Consolidated Aircraft. The bomber was much larger than the more slender B-17 "Flying Fortress." It was able to travel long distances with a sizeable bomb load. However, due to its size, it was slow to maneuver. Pilots and airmen alike joked that it was the plane they shipped the B-17 in.

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B-24 Liberator

B-24 cross section showing crew stations and inner components

B-24 Liberator

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The B-24 boasted the newly designed Davis Wings, which allowed it to maneuver at low altitudes. The B-24 became one of the most highly produced aircraft in military history.

The B-24 sported multiple guns that could be operated by various airmen around the plane. These would be crucial to fending off attacking fighters. Nose art and names for each aircraft were also common practice for the men, giving each plane it's own personality. The crew would be able to easily bond with their aircraft and fellow airmen who would often be assigned on multiple missions together.

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Photographs of the actual planes that participated in Tidal Wave and some of the crewmen who flew them. Click on the pictures to see them in expanded view.

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Aftermath: Casualties and Consequences

The exact details of Operation Tidal Wave are still disputed to this day. Reports conflict on what really happened inside the Teggie Anne and between General Ent and Colonel Compton which ultimately made them change course and divert the squadrons away from their targets. Nevertheless, the aftermath of Operation Tidal Wave was marked by significant losses. A total of 54 planes and 532 airmen were lost during the raid, with 3 planes lost at sea and 54 over Ploesti itself. Between 235 to 310 men were killed, while 108 were captured by Axis powers. The German and Romanian forces had their share of losses as well, with multiple fighters and soldiers killed. In addition, one of the US bombers tragically crashed into a woman's prison contributing nearly half of the total 101 civilians killed and 238 injured in the raid.

78 airmen were interred in Turkey, where their planes had landed, remaining there for the duration of the war as the aircraft were barred from taking off again. Survivors of downed planes in Romania were taken as prisoners of war. Despite the significant loss of life, damage to the oil fields was moderate, and the Germans were able to quickly rebuild the refineries, restoring fuel production to almost 100% efficiency.

In the aftermath of the raid, local recovery efforts were initiated to locate and inter the fallen soldiers. These efforts primarily fell to Romanian citizens, who faced the challenge of dealing with extensive casualties. Over the course of three days following the attack, citizens endeavored to recover and bury the deceased. Casualties were placed in caskets and interred in the existing hero's section of the civilian and military cemetery of Bolovan within Ploesti. The casualties outside the city were buried in various other cemeteries around Romania.

However, due to the poor condition of many remains, which were badly burned and fragmented, identifying the casualties proved challenging. Romanian citizens often collected remains using civilian vehicles such as trucks and farm wagons as they discovered crash sites and remains around the city. Consequently, many casualties were buried as unknowns, remaining where they were interred until the end of the war.

Lessons Learned

The airmen who undertook missions during World War II understood the high risks involved, with commanders sparing no words on the likelihood of death. They were reminded that even if all men involved were to perish, as long as the mission succeeded, it would be deemed a success by the US Army. This harsh reality underscored the sacrifices made for victory, as soldiers and airmen braved battle despite the looming possibility of death.

Initially hailed as a success, the bombing raid on Ploesti only temporarily disrupted a portion of the refineries' output capacity. While widely reported as a decisive blow to the German war machine, the reality was that the operation proved costly for the US Air Force. Over a third of the aircraft used in Operation Tidal Wave were lost or damaged, with hundreds of men killed, interred, or missing. Furthermore, the German forces were able to repair the damaged refineries shortly after, reaching almost 100% production again only months after the raid.

The failed operation provided a crucial lesson for US generals, leading to improvements in future air raids. It emphasized the importance of accurate intelligence, as insufficient information about enemy defenses contributed to the high casualty rate. Additionally, the operation revealed the need for innovation in tactics and technology, prompting developments in low-level bombing techniques, electronic warfare, and communication disruption to counter enemy defenses.

Despite the losses, Operation Tidal Wave served as a valuable learning experience for the USAAF, driving the evolution of strategies for conducting air raids and bombing operations throughout World War II and beyond.

The Ploesti refineries would continue to be bombed throughout the course of the war in Europe.

Later, Colonel Kane of the 98th bomb group, the "Pyramiders" wrote a moving epitaph dedicated to the brave men who flew in Liberators that morning August 1st, 1943.

Crew of Hell Cat

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‘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 dreams that never quite came true, the joyous laughter of our boyhood, the marvelous mysteries of our adolescence, the glorious strengths and tragic illusions of our young manhood, all of these that were and perhaps would have been, I leave in your care, out there in the blue.

- Colonel John R. Kane