Operation Tidal Wave was an air attack by bombers of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) based in Libya on nine oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania, on 1 August 1943, during World War II. It was a strategic bombing mission and part of the "oil campaign" to deny petroleum -based fuel to the Axis powers. [4] .

Aug 3, 2020 · Ploesti produced all the aviation fuel used by the Luftwaffe. The raid was conceived by Colonel Jacob Smart, at the time considered one of the best planners in the U.S. Army Air Forces.

On that fateful day, 178 Consolidated B-24D Liberator bombers of five heavy bombardment groups, carrying more than 500 tons of bombs, left bases in Libya to undertake the longest and most audacious aerial raid in history, a raid codenamed “Tidal Wave.”

After a journey of 1200 miles from Benghazi, Libya, an air armada of 178 B-24 Liberators arrived at their destination in the early afternoon of August 1, 1943. Maintaining strict radio silence, the aircraft had taken a route via Corfu and the Pindus Mountains.

Smart, the principle architect and planner for Operation TIDALWAVE, proposed, in complete antithesis of USAFF bombing policy, a low-level massed raid on the nine most important Ploesti refineries by five B-24 bomb groups, two from North Africa and three borrowed from Eighth Air Force in England .

Operation TIDAL WAVE. B-24D Liberators attack the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The bombers flew low to avoid radar detection and dropped time delayed bombs. Out of the 177 B-24s that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57 B-24s were lost in total; 54 over Ploesti and 3 in the sea.

Sep 12, 2018 · Officially known as Operation Tidal Wave, the Ploesti Raid occurred on 1 August 1943, and because it marked the second highest loss suffered by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) in a single operation, it was afterward nicknamed Black Sunday.

On August 1, 1943, the USAAF staged Operation Tidalwave—a daring, surprise low-level B-24 raid against the Axis’ critical source of fuel, the oil fields in Ploesti, Romania. During the unescorted 1,000 mile flight from Libya, clouds broke the formation,

Nov 30, 2015 · On 1 August 1943, 178 B-24 Liberator bombers flew over 1200 miles from a base in North Africa to Ploesti and staged a daring, low level attack that devastated the targets. The raid was not part of any campaign, but stood alone as a singular blow to an important component of German war-making capability.

Jul 10, 2020 · Operation Tidal Wave—one of the most daring, and costly, raids of World War II —had begun. The target of the raid was the oil refineries near Ploesti, Romania, which provided about...