Ploesti

Ploesti, Romanian town situated north of Bucharest, which provided as much as 60% of Germany's crude oil supply (see also raw materials); about 40 refineries, producing some 400,000 tons of refined petrol annually, were located there. It was first attacked by Soviet bombers on 23 June 1941. It was also raided by 12 US bombers on 12 June 1942, but the best known, and most controversial, raid was the one mounted by 178 US Liberator bombers of the North Africa-based Ninth USAAF on 1 August 1943. By then Ploesti was one of the most heavily defended targets in Europe, and surprise was not achieved as the Germans were reading Ninth USAAF's codes. When the mission's top two navigators were shot down before arriving at the target confusion followed: 54 bombers were lost, 41 of them in action, and 532 of their crews were either killed, wounded, or made prisoners-of-war. It was the only American air action of the war in which five Congressional Medals of Honor (see decorations) were awarded.

The raid destroyed 42% of Ploesti's total capacity, but it had only been running at 60% capacity and within weeks was producing at a higher rate than before the raid. However, attacks on the town continued and in April 1944 a campaign was started against it by Fifteenth USAAF based in Italy which, by the time the Red Army arrived there in August, had totally destroyed all its installations.

Bibliography

Dugan, J., and and Stewart, C. , Ploesti (London, 1963).