Operation Tidal Wave - 178 B-24 Bombers vs. Hitler's Gas Station
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- The city of Ploiești, Romania, was better known during World War 2 as Hitler's gas station. The country produced a third of the Reich's oil supply, which made it a prime target for the Allies.
At the beginning of 1943, American President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill, along with other key military leaders, met for the Casablanca Conference. In it, the Allies carefully outlined a surprise mission against Ploiești.
The plan was to send 178 B-24 bombers to the city, flying at a low altitude to avoid German radar detection. Then, the aircraft would drop time delayed bombs over the unsuspecting town.
The Germans, however, had fortified the city against any possible attack. Luftwaffe commander in the area, Colonel Alfred Gerstenberg, had hundreds of anti-aircraft guns, many of them hidden in rail cars and empty buildings, around Ploiești's refineries. Gerstenberg also summoned three Luftwaffe fighter units inside the city limits.
Immediately after the operation began, the Allied B-24 formations discovered the challenges of flying in radio silence. The situation got so bad that the formations did not arrive in Ploiești simultaneously. Once over the city, they came upon Gerstenberg's unique traps...
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My grandfather took part in this raid, he was a tailgunner in a B24 named "Cajun Kate" in the 460th bomb group, a few months after this he was shot down over Budapest Hungry and became a POW held in Stagluft IV in northern Germany until he was liberated by a Canadian tank division in 1945
Wow, my dad was in the regular army infantry the ground pounders, and in the Corps of Engineers love that castle emblem dearly.
Send in the Canadians. Just give us a stick. We'll figure it out. Eh.
Real heroes don't wear capes.
@@jeffshaw526 They wear uniforms
@@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647 they sit in tail guns on bombing runs
I'm a plumber, by trade. I was on a service call one time for an older couple, he in his chair on O2. I noticed a framed pic on the wall of an airman, set of wings and numerous ribbons next to it. I asked if he was in fighters or bombers. 'Big boys, he replied. 8thAF out of England, I ask... No, I flew B24s out of Africa bombing oilfields.. I froze, turned and looked at him and said ' You went on the Ploesti raids? Sir, let me shake your hand'... His jaw hit the floor when he realized I knew what his target was...lol... I was always requested by them, whenever they had plumbing issues, after that...
Cool
He ever tell you any tales?
@@calvinv3478 Sorry, no. He was reluctant to talk about any missions...
I was lucky to meet Paul Tibbets abd his navigator, Theodore (Dutch) van Kirk at an airshiwcin Miami..and to meet Ev Alvarez at another air show...you have no idea how wonderful it was to shake their hands also...I met Carlos Hathcick at the Dallas S H O T show in 1995...again...an HONOR to talk with him and to shake his hand!!!!
@@Lobotomy59 I don’t blame him. It was a hellish mission. I have the upmost respect for him. Is he still alive?
Excellent report. In Memoriam: First Lieutenant Philip P. Phillips, Jr., "Sonny," co-pilot of a B-24 Liberator died August 2, 1943, last seen entering the smoke and flames over his target during Operation Tidal Wave to destroy the Nazi oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. This mission was one of the costliest for the USAAF in the European Theater, with 53 aircraft and 660 aircrewmen lost. It was the second-worst loss ever suffered by the USAAF on a single mission, and its date was later referred to as "Black Sunday." Five Medals of Honor and numerous Distinguished Service Crosses were awarded to Operation Tidal Wave crew members.
During the War, Sonny flew numerous combat missions. He was awarded two Purple Hearts, a WWII Air Medal, and the Distinguished Flying Cross for "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight." My great uncle. My grandmother's brother.
When I was a young boy in the early 1970's, during the Cold War, I remember my father confiding in me that my grandmother still held out the most remote hope that Sonny would return home one day, believing it somehow possible he was held behind the Iron Curtain. Some thirty or more years later, when my father and I took my grandparents to visit the newly erected WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C., I noticed my grandmother sitting on a bench in the memorial with a thousand-yard stare on her face. As I sat next to her, holding her trembling hand, I asked her what was on her mind. "Sonny. My brother. I miss him." We wept together.
May we never forget. And in my grandfather's favorite words, love one another.
Thanks for sharing bro 🙏 God bless those men
Thank You B. Johnson. Good comment, very good.
Was a Romanian oil refineries not nazi, sorry for you loss but we need to survive, soviets occupy our land and we need an ally, unfortunately Germany.
@@adysc74 you're right to point that out. Despite this history, Americans often overlook the role Romania played in World War II. Ignoring it is a major mistake. Formally joining the Axis states in November 1940, Marshal Ion Antonescu, the leader of an extreme right-wing government in Bucharest, became one of Nazi Germany’s most reliable allies. Two Romanian armies contributed to Hitler’s “crusade” against Bolshevism, seeing extensive and brutal combat in Ukraine, Crimea, and in the Battle of Stalingrad. The Antonescu regime was principally responsible for the annihilation of between 280,000 and 380,000 Jews from Bessarabia and Bukovina (provinces lost to Stalin in 1940 and regained the following year), and Transnistria, the area of Ukraine occupied by the Romanian military. This represents the highest number of Jewish men, women, and children murdered by an Axis nation other than Germany.
For the Allies, though, what commanded their attention was the crucial economic support Antonescu provided Hitler. Eventually, the Ploesti oilfields and complex supplied some 60 percent of the Third Reich’s crude oil. The failure of the Wehrmacht’s 1942 offensive to seize Soviet oil reserves in the Caucasus only enhanced the importance of Romanian oil. Sorry for any civilian losses, but at that time Romanian government hands were not clean as they were a major and willing Axis supporter.
@@bjohnson6108 “..eventually the Ploesti oilfields.. supplied 60%..” etc. Well, if the rest of your post is as accurate as your resource summary I’ll reserve my concern, because by 1944 the Germans were only importing 22% of their oil from ALL sources, not just Ploesti. By far the bulk of German oil needs were being supplied by synthetic fuel plants. Your stats are bs. Likewise your characterization of the Nazis as more evil than Stalin’s Bolsheviks. Yeah, right.
Having nothing else to offer, I simply scrolled down and upvoted anyone who had kin involved in this action. My silent salute them.
You need to speak slowly
@@jimbartram7223 maybe you ought to read slowly. Made perfect sense to me.
Likewise...
My granddad was in the 44th bomb group. I still have his old uniform. Just recently found out he was in this raid. He was a flight engineer on a B24 named “SNAFU.” TSGT James L. Corrigan. Thank you for this. It is part of my life’s work to piece together his story. He never talked to anyone about the war and he passed away when I was 3. So I never really knew him. That didn’t stop him from becoming one of my heroes. He remains so to this day. I’ll see you someday Grampa...
Feel.,the same about my dad they say time that time heels,but I. Am miss him and would rather have him than any $$
Keep up your great work. Thanks.
The 44th? Dude same here my great grandfather was in fascinatin witch, his name was Daniel W Rowland, his plane had to crash land during the mission but he survived, he also has a distinguished flying cross
@@HanzTheODST thx to your grandpa we have freedom 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
Therealman mans also a legend, and survived ridiculous odds, because the chances of surviving all of his missions was a 30% of survival, plus the extra missions he flew and the mission over Romania
My uncle was the co-pilot of Ol’ Kickapoo on that raid. They were shot down after being hit by anti-aircraft fire, and despite being in flames they continued on their bomb run and delivered their bombs on target. They crashed shortly after while trying to crash land in a dry creek bed. There were only two survivors. The pilot received the MOH for for their actions that day.
Your uncle's aircraft was actually "Ole Kickapoo" 42-40753
I looked it up and that's quite a horrific story even for this raid. American Air Museum Britain web site...it is worth the read.
However, Lt Hughes did not fly his airplane into the target. Sorry Dark Docs. you got that part wrong too.
"Pulling away from the target and still burning fiercely, Ardery saw that Hughes seemed to attempt to pull his plane into a slight climb to allow his crew to bail out, and, then, he appeared to try to slow his burning airplane and bring it down for a crash landing. It looked as if he would be able to land in the dry river bed of the Prahova River ahead of him, when, suddenly, the left wing blew off, and the plane cartwheeled into the ground. "
Another B-24 named simply "Kickapoo" was on the raid. All killed crashing after take off trying to return to the field also fully engulfed in fire. What hero's we all walk behind. RIP Warriors.
On Edit: To be very clear, 2LT Hughes flew his plane, leaking fuel, into the target area, already ablaze, at low level, dropped his bombs on target, and then "pulling away from the target...."
Ardery (later General Ardery) was above and behind Hughes' aircraft in the formation.
Sorry to hear about your loss. That sounds like a terrible mission to be on. Bad luck to name the plane after Kickapoo, a defeated and subjected American Indian tribe.
Did you ever ask him how he felt about destroying European brothers instead of a communist dictator
@@ROOSTER333 nazi allied, therefore a target.
@@flaviojunior4218 yeah, we can see how that mindset worked out for you, lol.
Shall we silently salute the brave men who risked their lives and also always be remembered
The B-24s were so low when they arrived on the target the machine gunners were actually exchanging fire with the German flak guns. One group even had a running gun battle with an armed flak train.
A drive by?
Fly by?
The gunners finally holed the steam engine and the Liberators left the train behind.
Wow, I had never heard of this before. Wow, thanks for that story.
That legitimately sounds like a mission in GTA. CJ all you had to do is follow the train
My dad was pilot of Tarfu. They had tremendous damage to the plane, but all made it back to Africa. What hero's they were.
My grandfather was a civilian who was injured by a bomb. Interesting thing, he was in a field not CLOSE to any of the target points(the closest it was VEGA but like 5-6 km AWAY. He survived and had alot of sharpnels in his body, some of them the doctors couldn't extract. But he lived happily 83 years. Anyway, he was Born in Blejoi-Ploiesti. I remember what he told me:
There were AAs even on trains and they shot while moving Boldesti Scaieni,Blejoi, Campina, Ploiesti. Always moving.
IARS were present and dealt alot of damage too
7 of 11-12 refineries were damaged. Heared some of them were not even touched.
Lots of CIVILIANS died.
Lots of americans captured.
My uncle was the co-pilot of Jersey Bounce they were shot down and half the crew died. He said the operation was screwed form the start when an idiot at command sent a recon B24 to take pictures the week before. Up to that point the Germans thought the refinery was out of range of our bombers and had only 3 ant-aircraft guns for the entire city and no fighters. Once the Germans realized they WERE withing range, they pulled in over 200 anti-aircraft batteries from up to 300 miles away and the 3 fighter squadrons. On top of that they were supposed to hit in 3 waves 5 minutes apart with time delay fused bombs. The flights got messed up and the last wave came in fist, so when the other waves came in a few minutes later they were being hit by their own bomb fragment going off under them as much as the AA batteries (they were flying at about 50 feet, there is a picture out there of my uncles plane flying between the smokestacks just before they were shot down).
My uncle was a waist gunner. Crew bailed out over allied territory on the way back, fuel everywhere, waiting to explode or try to make allied lines.
There was also the Romanian AAA and the Romanian Air Force. They are responsable for some of the American loses. One Romanian pilot downed a bomber and rammed another, causing it to fall down. One downed Liberator was recuperated, repaired and flown by the Romanian Air Force for a year or so, by a team led by engineer Frimu- untill the plane was destroyed in an attack by the Luftwaffe in august 1944.
Yes of course but they didn't mind putting it in the video probably because no american cares a shit about Romania.
@@mihairo615 No, it is because the fact is not known outside a very small circle. I don't think 99,99% of Romanians know it. By the way, how many times did you find the episode mentioned in the Romanian news, books, TV shows?
Maybe you're right I'm sorry
Thank you for this great story. I’m proud to say my father was a B-24 pilot on this mission.
Semper fi dad🇺🇸🙏🏼👍🏻
You got the right to be proud. My dad was in the medical corps. Stationed in Bristol, Eng. and
Bar le Duc, Fr. AND he had a son who was (1970's) somewhat sucessful in the alternative (independent) weekly news biz, as a young adult in southern Commiefornia, Er, I mean Conformistia. Care to guess who that son just might be?
@@phillipmel who?
You👍🏻
@@jpturner171 Or whoever. The Brady is a "pen-name" It also serves as a block to personal-accounts hackers. So I do use it frequently. And yeah, I can fill up a large blah-blah essay about me, my brother Bucaneer Tom, and our uncle James Brady (a Regan staffmember) who was shot at in the Regan assasination attempt. These last two comments about my "bro." and my "uncle" are, of course, bs, but theres something about a good common Irish-American name like Brady. !!
A British Marine? If US I didn't realize we had Marine B-24 pilots.
My great-uncle was among those who perished in this raid
So sorry for your family's loss. He made the ultimate sacrifice and did his part to crush evil...
God rest his soul
F
My great uncle was also part of this raid, but he was shot down a few months later.
@@ryanpoitras6285, so sorry for your family's loss. I, as many others, appreciate and thank him for his service...
I knew a B-24 waist gunner that flew these missions to Ploesti. He told me that the smoke was so thick that they couldn't see their actual targets.
Damned sad to lose so many brave men. I SALUTE all those involved, and the families that lost their fathers, brothers and sons. 😢
There's a very good documentary out there somewhere called "Wing and a Prayer: The Saga of Utah Man". It has the only depiction I've ever seen of the fight between Killer Kane and the flak train, which is not mentioned in this doc. Kane''s Pyramiders took heavy losses, but they wrecked the train. Kane's aircraft, "Hail Columbia", took more than 20 hits. but Kane circled after bombing to coordinate what was left of his command. He used up too much fuel and crash-landed.
Utah Man was named by its pilot, Walter T. Stewart, a Mormon from rural Utah. He'd played football in college, and he painted a Ute Indian throwing a bomb on the nose of his aircraft. Heavily damaged, he did get his crew back to base safely.
Much of the 1993 PBS documentary was narrated by Stewart himself.
Actually , after Tidal Wave's failure, there were many other attempts to bomb-out the Ploiesti refineries.
Another famous low altitude bombing attempt using P-38 Lightnings was the worst ever defeat of the P-38s, in the whole war. In an epic dogfight, Romanian 6th Fighter Group flying the agile by aging Romanian-made IAR-81 fighters, downed 23 Lightnings with a loss of only four IARs. The last big success of Romanian IAR-81 fighter.
Very good comment, G. S. However, you kinda leave us wondering about the details of that P-38 raid(s), so do fill us in!
@@phillipmel all i could find with 5 mins of looking lol
Lightnings Over Ploesti
Frustrated with the results of conventional bombing, Fifteenth Air Force commanders decided to send P-38s to dive-bomb the Romana Americana refinery. On June 10, the 1st Fighter Group escorted bomb-armed 82nd Group Lightnings on one of the longest fighter missions yet, a 1,300-mile round trip. The ingress this time would be at low level, in an attempt to surprise the refinery’s defenders before they could crank up their smoke generators.
Nothing went according to plan.
Amid the 48 escorts that day was Minnesotan 2nd Lt. Herbert Hatch. Distracted by Dornier Do-217s, Hatch’s flight leader had turned toward the “easy meat” when the roof fell in. The Romanian 6th Fighter Group had scrambled 23 IAR 81Cs, which the Americans mistook for Focke-Wulf Fw-190s.
“I looked up to my left and there was a whole flock of Fw-190s headed in from 10 o’clock,” Hatch said. “We all broke hard to our left to meet them head on and, as I turned, a lone 190 came across in front of me. He was so close all I could see in my sight was the belly of his fuselage and the wingroots. He wasn’t more than 75 yards away. I opened fire with my four .50-caliber and the 20mm cannon and damned near blew him in half….Shooting at him pulled me further around to my right and I looked up at 2 o’clock and there were another four 190s.”
At that point the fight turned to hash. The Minnesotan and his wingman took the offensive, firing whenever an enemy fighter crossed their noses. Hatch saw three P-38s shot down but, turning and climbing, he gunned down four more enemies. He came so close to one of his victims that he lost 3 inches off his left rudder.
“I looked up at 2 o’clock and saw another one coming right at me,” recalled Hatch. “It was too late for me to turn. I just shut my eyes and hunched down in my cockpit. I thought I’d bought the farm, but he missed me without even putting a hole in my ship.” Hatch then dived on another bandit and got off a few rounds before running dry.
Of the 16 Lightnings of Hatch’s 71st Fighter Squadron that participated in the mission, only eight returned. In all, out of the two groups’ 96 aircraft, they lost 24 to interceptors and AA guns. The Romanian 6th Fighter Group chalked up 23 Lightnings in the confused dogfight, two of which were credited to its commander, Captain Dan Vizanty, for the loss of four IARs. It would be the last major success for the nimble but aging Romanian fighter.
With enough warning, the Romanians produced smoke over two of the 82nd Group’s three targets. Post-strike recon photos showed visible damage to the refinery, though it continued to produce oil.
Romania designed fighter aircraft? Were they heavily derived from something else?
@@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music LOL and you must be an eternal Hungarian "friend", who does not know how to play football, correct? I truly believe that you need to study a bit before coming here to comment.
@@gs637 I've studied a lot and have never heard of Romanian aircraft in any context before.
Years ago I read a great book on this raid - Ploesti: The Great Ground-Air Battle of 1 August 1943, by James Dugan and Carroll Stewart. It's still available and highly recommended. It would make a great base for a blockbuster Hollywood movie. It has everything, great characters like Colonel John Riley "Killer" Kane, or the Japanese American sergeant who was a flight engineer and top turret gunner, or the British turret gunner who was lent to one of the groups and his skill helped save his airplane.
Even the opening quote in the book would look great splashed across the movie screen in the opening scene of the film:
"He who owns the oil will own the world, for he will rule the sea by means of the heavy oils, the air by means of the ultra-refined oils, and the land by means of petrol and the illuminating oils. And, in addition to these, he will rule his fellow men in an economic sense, by reason of the fantastic wealth he will derive from oil.
Henri Berenger - 1921
Are you listening Hollywood?
John ‘Killer’ Kane was part of the Baylor Basketball team involved in a bus-train wreck in Round Rock, TX on their way to a game w/Texas. The ten killed are called ‘The Immortal Ten’ & have a Memorial Plaza & statues outside the Baylor Coliseum.
Good comment, D.B.C. especially the story of Sgt./Col. John R. Kane. Many people just don't know about the many tri-lingual US patriots, from other countries in the war. One of the most sucessful prisoner-taker infantry soldiers in the Pacific (Asian) war zone was from Mexico.
@@phillipmel - Sorry my comment was not written more clearly. Kane was a colonel who led one of the bomber groups. The sergeant was a Japanese American (can't remember his name). IIRC correctly he was on one of the last planes to land back at the home base in Benghazi. As he got off his plane he saw many ground crewman still waiting for their planes to return and he started to cry because he knew many would be waiting in vain for planes that would never return.
@@deplorable_bitter_clinger7482 His name is Ben Kuroki.
My grandmother lived in Ploiesti during the War. She lived less than a mile from 2 of the refineries and was blown up by an American bomb that hit her house.
So sorry for your lose. War is bad ❤️❤️❤️
War is hell... Let's not repeat the mistakes of the past.
Churchill and communist sympathetic american military were monsters.
Remember Dresden, remember USS liberty
@@ROOSTER333 And remember just who started WW II. Or maybe you'd prefer if the Germans had won?
@@turningpoint6643 if germans won, you would not be telling that to him now. Second, i think he is kinda nazi
Who watches this and gives it a thumbs down? Like why are you even looking at this then? This team does a better job than the history Channel has in the last 10 years
Communists
The subject matter, the production and the research are great. And I mean no disrespect. But the tense narration style is nearly impossible to follow.
my uncle was one of the pilots. he volunteered for a extra mission and was shot down and killed
Sorry
That was the same for my great uncle "Sonny." They flew out of North Africa. He was supposed to rotate home after reaching his limit, but this was such a big and important mission and they needed experienced air crew. He too volunteered, and never returned. God bless these men.
Idiot
my Dad said that volunteering was the single thing you could do to end up dead !!! … he flew P-40’s in the Pacific , his friend Robert Thomcheney volunteered for Operation Tidal Wave flew a B-24 on the Ploesti raid and ended up shot down and dead !!!
Look up B-24 "Lady Be Good" story, another chapter of this Operation.
Also Brewery Wagon which ended up leading the mission
The Lady B wasn’t involved in Tidal Wave, , but was involved on a raid on Naples April ‘43
Yes...PLEASE do a story on that aircraft!!!!
pretty sure he already did a video on the “Lady Be Good”
My grandfather served during these times on the b17 bombers. Those guys were so brave to fight in a plane with such little protection. Some of the stories he told felt like they were out of a horror film. The fight they fought for us to be free is so under appreciated.
It’s a third of Germany’s oil, how could they not expect that place to be crawling with defense measures
imo it was obvious they knew but were happy to send fraction of there people on a suicide mission to make it harder for germany to fuel there army.
@@MCJC42 I think it very unlikely that "they" were happy to send a bunch of young men on an especially dangerous mission.
I think this video is a bit misleading. As MCJC pointed out it was expected there would good defences hence the attempt at radio silence and getting under the radar. But even further the damage that was caused was almost certainly worth the cost. Even a few percent reduction is the Nazi oil supply was a massive deal. Oil was the Nazi bottleneck. More than any other asset including people. Bombers and crews were not a bottle neck for the allies. Buying the Soviets time and space was.
Too bad they didn't have YOUR plan in how how to win the war.
I read the Raid on Ploiesti on August 1, 1978 (my Dad--flew PBYs in the Pacific gave it to me) on the 35th anniversary of the raid. I was 14, captivated, and amazed at the heroism. Read it again on August 1, 2013 on the 70th. Nothing changed, but the gray hair, a wife, two kids, and a dog because real MEN like them did the impossible. Far from a tactical failure -- this ought to stir the soul of every single American. We truly stand on the shoulders of GIANTS! My son is 14 and he knows about the Raid and these men ... lest we never forget.
@7:26 "survivors later reported debris like branches and barbed wire hitting and entering their bombers" My stepfather was a B-24 tail gunner. Idk if he was on this raid, he passed two years ago. He said he was very lucky to make it back alive because a lot of tail gunners didn't.
Yeah, your stepfather was quite the kool dude. My favorite war story is about a great-uncle, who was a tail gunner who was nearly blown completely out of the plane's tail! J.C. Thomas, from Arkansas, lived a full life in either Amarillo or east Texas.
My dad's best friend was a tail gunner in a Halifax bomber. He told me that if the plane went down, he would have to crawl back into the plane to get his parachute, put it on and then try to bail out as the G-forces squish you against the fuselage. So essentially, if the plane went down, he went down with it.
IIRC tail gunners were the highest casualty American specialization during that war.
@@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music That probably belongs to a flame thrower operator in the Pacific. A flame thrower operator on Iwo Jima had a life expectancy of 90 seconds.
@@warrendubeau851 Problematic technology?
Thanks for bringing to light a lesser known war event. 👍👍
To anyone even remotely familiar with WWII, this operation is extremely well known. Very famous (infamous) raid.
I take exception to the narrators statement that the AAF did not make anymore attempts to destroy Ploiesti. Fifteenth Air Force went back time and again and when the Russians took the oil fields they found ALL the refineries bombed to junk. Hitler was forced to go to synthetic oil (oil from coal and even under the best of circumstances was never enough.
Just came across this. Many others have pointed out some of the inaccuracies in the story and the visuals. I still appreciate that it sheds light on the mission and the bravery of the men who participated. There are many published and unpublished detailed accounts dedicated to Tidal Wave which rely on interviews of those who flew the mission; my father one of them. Co-pilot of Hitler's Hearse. 389th BG(H). 567th BS. Last element over Red Target - Steaua Romana refinery (near Campina).
I Am from Ploiești and my village is right next to the oil rafinery. I love in the few houses that remained whole during the attack
Love it man. Always good stuff on ALL of the Dark channels.
As someone who doesn't like learning history I agree
The cost was high, but it wasn't that the raid was a failure, it was that the Germans repaired everything pretty quickly. Even if every bomber had dropped their bombs, the target was too important for them not to be repaired quickly. That can be said most raids, like the Dam Dusters or destroying railways, you do as much damage as you can but it's always going to only be a temporary effect, but still contributing to the overall continued effort, as well as ensuring the Germans kept alot of Guns & Fighters in the area incase of more raids.
Yeah, John D. good comment. !!!
Transportation assets are easily repairable but I would have thought a refinery would be a much more complex undertaking. Analysis shows though that Allied strategic bombing didn't really have that much of an impact on Germany, surprisingly.
@@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music Pretty much all strategic bombing done by the allies(except on oil infrastructure) in hindsight is now scene as a waste. But yea the raids were not a failure. Oil was Nazi war machine bottle neck and unlike transport the oil was decently concentrated making for a good target. Even small reductions meant a huge deal. Each of those bomber crewmen who died almost certainly saved 10 to 100x more lives than their own on the soviet front.
@@peterisawesomeplease If the Germans had been able to capture (and actually exploit, another huge issue) the oil fields in the Caucasus and/or Egypt do you think that would have changed the outcome of the war?
@@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music No. Oil was there bottle neck but they were behind in pretty much everything. WW2 was not close. The allies won by a huge margin. Not only was there oil running out but their encryption system was broken, they had no spies but the allies had many, both the US and USSR were producing more tanks and planes, the Manhattan project was ahead, they were way behind in radar. I could go on. But if they had managed to get oil the war would have gone on longer with more loses.
I remember driving through Ploiesti in 1999 and then recalling why I knew of it. An old friend of my father was a pilot on that mission.
God damn it he may be talking about how one of the cities in my country got bombed and how we chose the wrong side(again) but god damn is it ever good to see my country get covered in videos. Love from Romania ❤️🇷🇴🇷🇴🇷🇴🇷🇴
Good comment, I.B. I do frequently tell people that there's a big difference between the people of any country, and it's military leadership, and your output leads me to make this comment). A LOT of countries bordering Russia had either: (1) no choise, or (2) teaming up (AND changing, too) with whichever side so as not to loose out. "Like" from the Briggs Road area of Santa Paula, (southern) Ca.US (Ventura). ( : - )-|~~~
Spent some time with your military back in 2000. Wonderful country, great people and driving across Ploiești was an eye opener...that's some gas station. I kept imagining the planes coming in from all directions.
Yeah, seeing this makes me feel embaresed of what we were back then
On a different day in a different context that route to the target would have been a scenic wonder.
Allies: we failed, the Germans are back in oil production.
Russia: fine, I'll do it myself.
Just wanna say what I feel needs to be said. Thank you for your service to all who served in all our wars. Too many people risked and gave their lives so we can be free. It sucks that our soldiers had and have to go through what they did and still do because of all these governments from everywhere showing their asses! So thank you for your service all branches.
Operation Tidal Wave actually generated 2 records on Aigust 1, 1943. They were :
1) the most awarded U.S. action of the Army Air Corps ie. the 5 Medals of honor, of course, plus many other lesser medals to be sure, and
2) Many of the B-24's came in so low for the element of surprise and greater accuracy (anywhere from 500 to 50 ft. off the ground) that it remains the greatest U.S. air to ground machine gun fire fight between the plane's defensive gunners and the ground small arms of the Germans. They were too low for the German 88's to be able to fire on them. If you search as I did on AOL, you'll see an autographed picture from the air showing a few B-24's (parallel to whoever took the photo) with the lead B-24 no more than 75 - 100 ft. off the ground (if indeed that much) explosions in the background. It is signed with the pilot's name, the date, air group and "Polesti"on it. Perhaps from a war bond drive back in the states? I mean that lead B-24 was low enough that if it weren't booking so face, relatively speaking, that I'd have been able to hit it from the ground with my trusty Colt Model 1911.
In any event, great men fighting a war for others, our allies and friends, the likes of which most citizens can't relate to today. It was indeed a hell of a mission.
Also deserving mention, some planes that came in after the first fires were started, and were flying higher, upon flying through the super heated fumes from the ground fires reportedly caught fire themselves (at the right temp. aluminum will combust and support it's own immolation).
My father was not on the first mission but he was a bombardier on six missions over polesti. He was based on leche Italy. He flew 49 missions in Europe before he was hit with shrapnel over the Brenner pass in Austria. He was paralyzed from the waist down, later regaining it, and still managed to get himself to the bombsite to drop the bombs. This was significant because he was the lead bombardier for the mission. He was the recipient of the silver star but he didn't receive it until the mid 90s when my mother contacted the senator to look into it. He passed 2016 at the age the age of 95. He was in the air corp/air force till 52.
Damaged infrastructure is always repaired eventually. That doesn’t mean it was less than a successful raid. Such an audacious plan is inevitably going to suffer heavy losses. Definitely daring do!
The Allies had to do something about NAZI oil production. There weren't many choices. These men were heroes knowing it was probably a suicide mission.
If you can find it there is a great documentary called On a Wing and a Prayer the Saga of Utah Man. It's about the B-24 Utah Man and the raid on Ploiesti.
I met Walt Stewart, the man highlighted in Utah Man. He was a great guy.
Was planning a sort of offbeat comment about my grandfather who was a waist gunner on a B17 in the Eighth Air Force as a "sort of" not really a joke. I didn't feel that the sacrifices of these brave B24 crews really rated an inane comment. I think it's one thing to be a pilot on these missions, but something completely different to be part of the crew on on of these missions. I sometimes think that when they gave the pilots Distinguished flying crosses, or the MOH, it's not fair to the poor bastards who were riding in the back of the planes and trying to shoot down enemy fighters that zipped by in a matter of seconds. Not to mention how much discomfort they suffered as aircrew, what with the cold and low oxygen that required heated suits and masks so their open firing positions could be manned. Sorry for the kind of long comment... 🤔
You’re fine. Much appreciated
Good comment. Crews did get frostbite above 23,000 ft. The bombers had to fly as high as they could to run the gauntlet of anti-aircraft fire. Your comment is NOT too long at all. Good for you! And thank you.
My favorite part of this story is where two teams came together head on by accident and narrowly missed hitting each other. The Germans on the ground thought it was intentional and the most insane, professional flying they'd ever seen. 😆
My Great Uncle Carl O. Bostrom flew here three times with his B-24 from the 485th bombardment group, 831st squadron. He was the pilot of the second Blue letter B aircraft. The first Blue Letter B aircraft crashed and killed all aboard. All were high level bombing missions after this failed low level attempt.
Holy shit I never thought I’d see a story I was told firsthand by a vet relative to actually come through on this channel. Pretty cool to see it explained in a way I can understand. When he was alive his storytelling wasn’t the best😅
My father flew B-24s and joined the 343rd squadron of the 98th (Killer Kane's squadron) months after the Ploesti raid. But some pilots and crew that remained (some on their second and third tours) had flown the mission. Said it was screwed up before they took off and the subsequent mistakes - especially turning at the wrong IP - completely doomed it.
Follow up air raids would have been required to keep Ploesti production low. A price the army refused to pay
Hats off to all brave men who served and even more to the hero’s that didn’t make it home, so I can be safe and comfy in my home! I salute you all and thank you for your sacrifice. My prayers are with you. The era of real men and all hero’s God bless.
My grandfather Jack O'Donnell, dedicated his life to the Airforce including my uncles and grandmother whom was in the British Airforce
The botched and simultaneous north to south and south to north bomb runs did have one positive result: the German AA gunner's were awestruck as the bombers dodged and weaved madly to avoid midair collisions with one another; the enemy believed they were witnessing a superb display of airmanship by the highly skilled American raiders, never realizing these guys were flying as if their lives depended on not colliding- which it was.
I’ve been subbed to all the Dark Channels from day 1 & I still love the content now as much as then! If not more
Sort of like the dambuster missions. Yes the enemy can eventually repair the damage, but that necessarily is drawing resources away from some other sectors of the war effort. So it was definitely a setback for the enemy.
your voice is perfect for documentaries
too bad he doesn't know how to talk normally, it's just stupid
Jimmy Stewart said the only difference between the B-17 and the B-24 is that the B-17 had a better press agent.
YESS thank you so much for this, libs, and especially ploesti raids are so under reported.
my grandad was shot down over one of his raids (taken pow) and it always saddens me how absolutely no one covers the raids, despite the great sacrifices
Failures are swept under the rug because it's bad image. [looks at vietnam]
If you know WWII aviation history, then you know about Operation Tidal Wave, which is very well known, and not a deep, dark, swept-under-the-rug secret. If you don't, and this little snippet is the first you've heard of it, then you make stupid comments about "libs."
@@tomterific390 I'm the only one i know both online and in real life who seems to remember tidal wave, and my comment about "libs" i feel is valid. The b24 is a greatly overlooked and overshadowed by the B17. most movies and documentaries seem to cover events and only mention fortresses. the liberators are rarely seen or mentioned
@@randomnwah4329 Ah, "libs" for Liberators. I get it I thought you were injecting stupid politics into this. Incidentally, my hometown, San Diego, was the home of Consolidated, Aircraft Co. who made the B-24.
Fun fact...if you fly into Romania from the ex Yugoslavia you come from west or south west...not east
My great great uncle Zelwood Gravlin was shot down in a B-24 during this operation and MIA until literally a couple weeks ago. He is finally home!! Someone found a mass grave and most of his remains where in it. We got a phone call a couple weeks ago.
My great uncle, Pilot Charles T. Merrill was on this raid flying B-24 Liberator 42-40127, Thar She Blows Again.
You didn't mention the Romanian fighter units were involved, the numbers of Romanian anti-aircraft guns, if any high awards were given to AXIS forces ecta.
True
The video story has to stop somewhere.
Death by a thousand cuts is still death.
Excellent documentary. All props.
But please, dont talk so fast as its a bit hard to understand in a few occasions.
I've heard from a few different books and movies (mainly the story of ww2, by Donald l Miller/Henry Stinson) that the air defense around the oil field was so thick that there was a visible 4 mile diameter solid ring of flak burst around the city.
Wow. Almost 200 bombers.
"Officer Hughes crashed his plane into the target". Fuk'in hard core.
YESSSS I’ve been waiting for u to cover this operation it was insane
Note that not only germans defended Ploiesti. There was also a romanian fighter group - Grupul 6 Vanatoare - with IAR 80/81 romanian fighter planes. They inflicted heavy casualties to US bombers and P38 Lightnings.
I justcwanna say first off thank you all service men and women as well who served during a horrid time and saved the world from a tyranist..
My great uncle was actually a part of this raid he was one of the pilots wish I could have heard the stories about this from him
It nice to see the british get a mention. How ever small it was!
Yeah, very good one A.B. '89 One of my favorite comments is all about the b.s. notion that the US "saved" Britain and Europe from the Third Reich's conquest. Just not true. Most of the turning-point Battle of Britain was fought in 1940/01/02, when the US was only a materials supplier, and was "neutral". For sure, later US bombing raids were VERY helpful, but not of the main decisive factors. Hello from Ventura Co., California.
Well, we were allies and you were in it first the king and family stayed put to show a united front, and despite if any flaws W. Churchill had or any lies that have been told on him recently and now everyone believes now, he stood strong unlike N. Chamberlian literally licking someone's you know what and begging don't but did control the channel islands so needs more than a mention well the channels here has done that.
@@phillipmel is that coming from an american's point of view?
@@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647 Good comment. Your last one on the channel islands could use a bit of follow-up. Also, Islands off of the coast of S.B. Co. and Ventura County are also called the "Channel Islands" but you don't mean those ones. Thanks. Two thumbs up!
@@-CLUMSYDIYer- Yes, I'm, in the US, California, a born US citizen. But "coming from" an american's point of view? Many US people, are so unaware of europe (or US) history that some, asked where Paris is located, say: "London".
My father flew in this mission.
William Warren Gooch.he said they crash landed in Malta, and the holes were so large, they walked through them instead of using the doors.
He was captured on another mission in Italy, becoming a POW for the remainder of the war.
He was in seven or eight prison camps in Germany.
I wish I knew the name of his plane.
He was in the 98th
Romanians' attitude towards prisoners: The civilian population and the Romanian authorities showed feelings that the American and British aviators did not expect. With few exceptions, most of them declared that after parachuting, as soon as they found out that they were Americans and not Russians, the villagers "stopped any molestation" and took them to their houses where they "sat down at the table, they gave them something to eat and drink, they talked with them, they gave them a small supply of food, after which they informed the gendarmes and handed them over". Otherwise, they expressed thanks for the way they were treated and asked "not to be handed over to the German authorities".
The raid was a disaster with the lead aircraft crashing by itself early on and, for a time, the first wave becoming somewhat lost. In any event a testament to the courage and tenacity of the airmen.
Airforce was born in 1947, up they went into the wild blue yonder to touch the face of the creator gently
My uncle was a co-pilot of one of the B-24's that went down. He was on one called Jersey Bounce.
5:00 What does an attacker learn from a small attack on an important target? Do it again, harder.
What does a defender learn? They will try again but harder. Be ready with more defense.
The attacker didn't think like a defender.
As others have pointed out this is misleading. The allies knew there was a huge risk hence the precautions. But we were also desperate to put pressure on the Nazis. The US had vast untapped resources compared to everyone else but was having trouble utilizing them. Even high risk operations were worth it at that stage of the war. And the operation was not a failure. Maybe not as big of a success has hoped. And certainly way more costly than hoped. But even small reductions in oil capacity and distractions for the German air force were valuable to the Soviets.
If you’re looking for Dark Docs’ inevitable Wrong Plane Footage, try 7:23 and 7:36
Stuka's dive bombing bombers . . funny
can you fathom being later than 49 seconds
39 second gang
6 minutes :(
Short answer - Yes
Colonel Kane's Medal of Honor is on display at The American heritage Museum in Hudson, Massachusetts
If you set the playback speed to 85% the narration sounds perfect.
Watch at .75x speed to actually comprehend what he is saying.
Any hindered production is a positive outcome. It's easy to look at something like this and call it a failure or say it didnt achieve the stated goals, however anyone who has served in any conflict knows that a disruption like this would have had catastrophic effects on the tactical level of operations. Someone out there had a harder time getting fuel or didnt get fuel when they needed it and that in return allowed the Allies to have more time or give them a chance to get the jump on said enemy. There is no doubt in my mind that this operation saved many many Allied lives due to the chaos it created. Additionally, an operation like this forces the enemy to commit more resources to defending the asset in the future because now they know you have the capability to attack it. There are few analysts out there who would make a serious argument that this operation had no positive outcomes.
I wonder what would have happened if they used Mosquitos with incendiaries. The B-24 had a max speed of 295 MPH. The Mosquito had a top speed of 415 MPH, the Mosquitos could have out run the fighters and air defenses.
High altitude Precision bombing.
Code for get as close as you can and try to hit the target and hope to god you can get out of there in one piece.
Absolutely incredible how these men were able to accomplish their job and survive.
But alas, a vast majority of them did not return home.
Absolutely love this guy's channel!!! Wake up drink coffee and get on RUclips to dive into this channel
or just read wikipedia verbatim to his audio lol. yeah it's like that, but I give him a pass
It would be kinda interesting to have soil from around the areas where Germans had the anti-aircraft artillery for this raid and see how much metal fragment content it might have from all those shells being fired. It must have been raining fragments all over the place, not to mention probably lots of chunks of sheet metal as it shredded the B24 flying so low.
My Great Uncle died in this mission. He was in the 93rd bombardment group.
"Romanians do their best to make us as happy and comfortable as possible. We no longer call our camp a prison because it is not run like a prison. The food has been good since the beginning and is becoming more Americanized by the day. They have broad views and try everything we suggest” (Lieutenant W.A. Kine);
"I am in excellent condition and perfectly healthy. We are treated really well, more like guests, not like prisoners. We're just locked in" (Lt. James W.Stone);
"We are well treated and it is like a vacation for our crazy crew" (Lieutenant John A. Leins);
"The Romanians are exceptionally polite to us and treat us better than their soldiers" (Lieutenant Frederich C. Mee);
"I fell in love with Romania. It is a very beautiful country, with almost everything you want, from forests to rivers" (Lieutenant Ros N. Buzzard);
"I am in a prison camp in Romania and they treat us excellently. I do not say this because they tell us so, but because it is a camp like you have never read in any book or newspaper" (Lieutenant Harold W. Brazier);
"Every Sunday we have a religious service, which I am grateful for" (Thomas Fallon);
"What amazes me more is that even though we are legally at war with this people, they still don't care, or so it seems. Even the gendarme who arrested me arrived with an air of business, greeted me and called me comrade, shook my hand in a very friendly way and said he was sorry he had to search me for the gun" (Lieutenant Jackson F. Dunn);
"We were treated as honored guests by the Romanians who caught us and even after we were handed over to the Romanian military authorities, we were treated with camaraderie and goodwill" (Lieutenant Jimmy P. Robinsson);
"All our days pass in the same way. Breakfast at 8, lunch at 12 and dinner at 6. We can walk around the garden from 10 - 12 and from 4 - 6 p.m. The food is good. We also have a small canteen that prepares cakes, candies, etc." (Louis Falvo);
"Romanians, to my great surprise, do not love war. They treat us well, they give us 3 good meals a day and clean housing" (Sergeant Bernard Artz);
"Our treatment is very good. In fact, I am still puzzled by the way we are being treated” (Lieutenant Frederick L. Modorin);
"The Romanians treat us very well and I can't understand why we bomb their towns" (sergeant John v. Szezun);
"We are detained by the Romanian government, which complies with the Geneva international rules for the detention of prisoners of war. It provides us with medical care and other things for our good living” (Lieutenant Roscoe H. Wilkes);
"I am in a Romanian hospital; they have the best European medical equipment here and the world treats us exactly as if we were their own. You can be sure that no one is twisting my hand for saying this. We eat the same food that soldiers and civilians eat. You must know that we are prisoners of the Romanians, not of the Germans. This is a great advantage in my favor” (James E. Mann);
Im 47 and while growing up I was VERY lucky to have spent time with and have guidance from men who served in WW2 and Korea and their spouses. I always told my children while they were growing up to respect their elders...and that just because they may appear old and feeble, dont think of them as such....using Star Wars as an example, the two idiots who picked a fight with the old Obi-Wan Kenobi in the cantina scene didnt realize they were picking a fight with the man who put Darth Vader into his life support suit.
GOD BLESS THE AMERICAN MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN 😀🇺🇲
A few months? That's huge! Imagine the Nazi operations that where probably affected by that fuel shortage in those few months? The sacrifice was most likely totally worth it. The Soviets were Hammering the Germans and Kurske was just ending and the Germans were retreating from the Ukraine, The allies invaded Italy. The only "offensive" the German's were on until at least December that year was Occupying Northern Italy. Not that hard of a thing considering they were already basically holding it.
Also the daytime bombing precise and highly effective? Effective yes, in the long run. Precise? Hello no. Most bombers were more likely to miss than hit the intended target, Its why so many places required multiple bombing missions.
I'm told that we Americans had a little help to win WWII in the last few months of the war. What was this help? And who was this country? My history teacher says that we won the war on our own, and that we needed no help from other countries. My teacher gave the class a list of the US inventions that won us the war, and that we use today. Radar, jet engines, the enigma machine, the bouncing bomb that broke the German dams, Microwaves and the wrist-watch to name but a few. What a wonderful country we live in; don't you agree?
Peace. 🕊️
Hitlers Gas station eh.. super unintentional pun
I’m furherious
@@cjclark2002 did nazi that coming
I see what you did there.
All your videos should have over 1 million likes the reason they don’t is because your videos are so good we forget to hit like and just jump in to the next one LOL thank you for your hard work I always look forward to watching your videos sitting in my shed after a long day of work and smoking a fatty 👍🏼🇺🇸
Love the smoke screen. The 491st bomb group was in the raid. They were stationed at North Metfield England. See 491st BG history at the Dayton air museum. Btw Iknow this because my father was a B24 navigator with the 855th BS of the 491st BG.
I absolutely love this channel
It says a lot about the industrial might of America then. The Germans had virtually no strategic bombers while we mass-produced so many B24's they were our most produced major plane. Unwieldy and unpopular to fly, the B24 won the war for us. Not only did it do a ton of work in the air over Europe with the RAF and our own B17's, but it also was absolutely essential winning the crucial Atlantic war against the U-boat menace...
These are the losses you will not learn from big screen movies about the war.
The only direct battle in history between USA and my country Romania. Wow and we won.