二次世界大戰資料庫 (WW2DB)

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbasePloieşti, Romania was Germany's only oil field within her borders, and the city was surrounded by refineries that turned oil into fuel for the German war machines, which naturally attracted attention of Allied commanders. The first attempt at attacking Ploieşti saw aircraft sent from the Middle East in spring 1942 with little result. The first raid was conducted before Dwight Eisenhower had taken command of the theater; when Allied leaders suggested to conduct another raid, Eisenhower objected in arguing that German refining capacities were actually in abundance, so the destruction of refineries would achieve little. Actual sources of oil should have been the primary target and not the refineries. He also argued that the attacks on Ploieşti would be better conducted as a series of small raids to disrupt production, instead of a single raid with damage that could be repaired within weeks. Nevertheless, Allied leaders pressed on with their wish, and got their attack.

ww2dbaseThe attack was named Operation Tidal Wave and was launched on 1 Aug 1943. 117 B-24 Liberator bombers inflicted heavy damage but at a high cost. Five Medals of Honor were awarded as a result of this raid, reflecting the gallantry of the pilots, however as Eisenhower had advised earlier, the damage inflicted by the attack were quickly repaired, and Ploieşti became productive again rather quickly.

ww2dbaseEisenhower would not see his wish for continuous raids on Ploieşti until Apr 1944.

ww2dbaseSources: Crusade in Europe, Wikipedia.

Operation Tidal Wave 互動地圖

Photographs

Maps

Operation Tidal Wave Timeline

Visitor Submitted Comments

Show older comments

1.  Alan Chanter says:
15 Jan 2013 05:06:19 AM

The five Medal of Honor recipients were: Lieutenant Colonel Addison Baker and his co-pilot, Major John L. Jerdtad (93 BG in Hell's Wench), Colonel Leon Johnson (389 BG), Colonel John 'Killer' Kane (98 BG), and Second Lieutenant Lloyd H. Hughes. All but Johnson and Kane were awarded posthumously. It was the only raid in history for which five Medals of Honor were awarded.