Flying Through Hell to Bomb Hitler's Oil | "Ploesti" the Documentary

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This is the story of Operation Tidal Wave - the famous B-24 Liberator bombing raid on Ploesti, Romania on August 1st of 1943 to strike the oil refineries of the Nazi war machine. The became a horrific disaster by the United States air force. This was made using the World War II flight simulator War Thunder. Hope you enjoy!
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[@desperadolighfoot8534]

My father was a Romanian fighter pilot, actually an ace. He flew the battles of Ploesti and downed several bombers. On that specific raid, not only did he defend Ploesti, but actually went also to defend Bucharest as his family lived there, as the Americans diverted some bombers over Bucharest as well. At the time he flew the IAR80, the plane in your animation.

[@gregkerr725]

My uncle William Kerr was a gunner on a B-24 on the 1943 raid on Ploesti. They flew out of some fields in North Africa. Heavily damaged over the target and afterwards, they mad it back to the Mediterranean with damaged engines and were slowly losing altitude. The pilot, feeling he could not make it across the Sea told the crew they could bail out if they wanted to. Being that was probably a death sentence over the ocean, everyone opted to stay with the plane. The pilot then told the crew to lighten up the aircraft by throwing out everything they could including guns and ammo. The men also carried flight bags containing high altitude cold weather clothes, thermoses for coffee etc. They also tossed them out as well. Somehow the flight mechanic managed to release the rear tail gun position as well. The plane made it over the beach but belly landed (near or on the airfield?). My uncle had a picture of the plane taken after it's return.. It's a black and white, but it's clear the color was desert sand colored...Bill said almost pink. Well a couple months later when my uncle drew his pay he had some money docked from his pay. Turns out it was for his personal issue .38 caliber revolver which had been in his flight bag. Everything else thrown out was considered the planes equipment over which the pilot had the authority to jettison if needed. It was a small amount by today's standards (I forget the dollar amount..12 bucks or something) but still a large amount for an enlisted man. Uncle Bill was pissed.

[@jeffnewman9735]

In 1991, I walked into a barbershop in Scranton, Pa. As Michael, the barber, was an older man and he had a framed print of a painting of the Ploesti raid on the wall, I asked if he had been on that raid. No, he replied. He had been a waist gunner and caught the flu on the eve of the raid. The plane, with his replacement, did not return. I'm here because I had the flu that day.

[@jimfinlaw4537]

Very nice documentary video. Thankyou for sharing. My father flew on that Ploesti raid as a co-pilot for the 512th Bomb Squadron, 376th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force based in Benghasi, Libya in North Africa. My father suffered from PTSD after that mission after witnessing so many bomber crews get slaughtered by flak and fighters near the target area. He did not like talking about what he saw. Little did they know there were two German spies at Benghasi that had tipped off the Germans to the upcoming raid. These two spies were eventually caught, tried and executed for their actions. This mission was so messed up that there was no coordination between bomber groups so the 376th decided to bomb targets of opportunity and get out of there as fast as they could. Over the target area, even my father's B-24D was hit where an 88mm shell went clear through the right wing, puncturing a fuel tank. The flight engineer at the time was busy helping the ball turret gunner because his gun turret had jambed due to desert dust getting inside the electric motor causing it to short out. Fortunately, my father was cross trained as a flight engineer and he quickly transferred fuel from the damaged fuel tank to another fuel tank onboard to conserve as much fuel as possible. Once fuel transfer was complete, he resumed his co-pilot duties. To conserve even more fuel my father pulled the mixture controls back beyond limits to what the tech orders had recommended. My father had all four engines running on the verge of detonation. They crippled the rest of their way to their alternate airbase in Italy, knowing they did not have enough fuel to get back to Benghasi. By the time they landed safely in Italy, all four engines on their Liberator were junk, but the airplane got them home safely with very little fuel to spare. Dad returned home to the states after this mission where he became an instructor pilot in B-24 Liberator bombers at Maxwell Field in Montgomery, Alabama in 1944. He also taught B-17 training at MacDill Field in Tampa, Florida and also taught B-17 and B-24 training at the gunnery school at Buckingham Field in Ft. Meyers, Florida in 1944. By January 1945 he was in B-29 school and he became a B-29 pilot-in-command in July 1945 with orders to report for combat duty at Guam. As it turned out, he and his assigned B-29 crew missed the war in the Pacific Theatre of Operations by only two weeks. The war with Japan was over.

[@johngeverett]

If the pilots received the Medal of Honor, their crews should have, also. They also performed their duty with extraordinary courage.

[@rayfl502]

A friend of mine that was much older than me passed away in 2014, his name was James Mervin Rossman and he was the co pilot on the Heaven Can Wait B 24 with the 44th, Flying Eight Balls and he use to tell me stories about this raid. He gave me a German Soldiers belt buckle and he was o e of the finest men that I have ever had the honor of knowing. Jim is buried about 15 minuets from me with his dear wife Elizabeth and once in a while I stop by to pay my respects. God Bless all of the men who gave all for our country, we sure could use them today!

[@larrybone4565]

My former Boss was a Captain in Army Air Corp. He watched as his B 24s left to go bomb the target.

[@edwarddiviney5226]

Awesome video! My dad was shot down on a later mission, he was filling in for a nose gunner that was sick that day. I was told that it was the Co Pilots responsibility to get the nose gunner out of the nose ball. The Co pilot panicked and jumped leaving dad in the turret Dad had to somehow dislocate his shoulder to get himself out. The plane was very close to the ground by then. He opened his parachute and threw it out trying to get it deployed before jumping, it tore on the damaged fuselage. He broke his pelvis when he hit the ground. He was sent to a German Aid station, put in a cast from his waist down and kept there for 3 weeks being shelled by allied artillery. Later sent to a civilian hospital until the country was liberated.

[@rjwintl]

My Dad’s best friend in flight school in Texas , Robert Thomcheney was on a B-24 during the raid on Ploesti … he was declared MIA until townspeople in the early 21st century found buried crash victims in a massive grave that the Nazis had forced wartime residents to dig … the DoD contacted living relatives after positive identification of the Allied crash victims … yes sir , the greatest generation made our peacetime freedom possible for millions through their extraordinary courage and sacrifice !!!

[@7575dwilson]

My grandson was in the honor guard for a funeral in Mississippi a few months ago for an airman that was shot down on the raids. He was finally identified and brought home from Romania. He knew how important it was to bring the man home. I am very proud of him. 10th Mountain Division.

[@lt.petemaverickmitchell7113]

It’s simply impossible to imagine the bravery and discipline that these men displayed how...impossible.

[@familylines52]

Another bit- Julian Darlington was the pilot of "The Witch" a 98th BG plane. He and his crew were from the 389th, though. He crash landed in Yugoslavia and all of his crew survived. He was a math professor at the university I attended in the early 70's (Furman University) but I didn't know it at the time. What great conversations we could have had if I had only known he was there. I made a detailed model of "The Witch"

[@warrenfoster8535]

If this ever becomes a movie it better be insanely action packed because that’s how it was in reality!

[@tomelder1803]

My dad was the co-pilot of a B-17 that went down. Spent three days on the run before being captured by some citizens and turned over to the Germans. Spent 1 1/2 years in a POW camp outside Barth Germany.

[@almehaffey1353]

I had the honor of knowing Wayne Kincannon who was a bombardier and participated in the big raid over Ploesti. He said they flew so low the flames went up at least the height of the planes.

[@3seidel]

Wow! Just wow. I’ve read about this raid many times and believe it should be made into a movie. You, sir, have accomplished just that. Your attention to detail and perfect narration knocked it out of the park.

[@JamesTierney]

My grandfather, Robert C Tierney was on the Hail Columbia b24 liberator on this mission. I can see his picture standing next to the plane right here. Thanks for making this. It puts it all in perspective. My grandpa always told me that his plane survived by angels holding them up and now I can see why he said that.

[@meanstavrakas1044]

My father's best friend, Professor Roy Moose PHD UNCC, was the man who gave the final briefing to these Pilots & Crews before they went on this very mission. Roy was a gentleman in every sense of the word. He was a graduate of Oxford University and was tutored in Shakespear by JRR Tolkien from 1937-1941. Roy joined the US Army Air Forces in 1942. US Military Intelligence expected light opposition to this raid, and this is what Roy conveyed to these Pilots & Crews during the mission briefing. When these Crews returned from the mission they almost beat Roy to death with their fist. He spent the next 3 months recovering from the beating he received from these "noble" pilots & crews. Roy, aka Dr Shakespear, taught English at UNCC in Charlotte, North Carolina until the mid 1990s. I had the honor of taking him to see The Two Towers in 2002. Roy passed away in December 2003. He was one of the very best men I have ever met. He did not deserve to be beaten almost to death for Army Intelligence's failing.

[@terrysmith4831]

When I was growing up our neighbor across the street had been a Liberator pilot during WWII. He was on this bombing mission, in the 2nd. wave. His name was Bill Foster. 🇺🇸