The Allied Balkan bombing campaign chronology of World War II PART I

-

 

Air Raid Ploesti! A B-24 flying over a burning oil refinery at Ploesti, Romania, 1 August 1943.

February 28, 1941, RAF To enable bombing of "Romanian oil installations", a British Expeditionary Force established a 'Balkan front'.

June 1941 - Ploieşti - The RAF bombed Ploieşti.

July 14, 1941 - Ploieşti - 6 RAF aircraft bombed Ploieşti.

June 12, 1942 - Ploieşti (Astra Română) - The Halverson project raid from Egypt was the first US mission against a European target — 10 aircraft bombed the Astra Română oil refinery.

September 1942 - Bucharest - The Soviet Union's VVS bombed the oil installations.

September 1942 - Ploieşti -  The Soviet Union's VVS bombed the oil installations.

May 19, 1943 - The CBO "Eaker" plan was approved and confirmed oil targets as the 4th primary objective ("contingent upon attacks against Ploesti").

May 16, 1943 - Ploieşti - The Advisory Council submitted the Air Attack on Ploesti ("SOAPSUDS") bombardment plan, which the Trident Conference subsequently considered. On June 6 the plan was deemed "an important and desirable operation", and the "Planning Committee" first met on June 25 (Uzal Girard Ent predicted losses of 75 aircraft). Training began on July 20/22 and ended on July 29.

B-24 Liberators at low altitude while approaching the oil refineries at Ploiești

August 1, 1943 - Brazi - Operation Tidal Wave bombed the Creditul Minier refinery in Brazi.

August 1, 1943 - Câmpina - Operation Tidal Wave bombed the Steaua Română refinery in Câmpina.

August 1, 1943 - Ploieşti - Operation Tidal Wave bombed the Astra Română, Columbia Aquila, and Unirea Orion refineries at Ploieşti (four Medals of Honor were awarded for the US Bomber pilots and four Order of Bravery to the Bulgarian fighter pilots to shoot them down)

August 1, 1943 - Ploieşti - Operation Tidal Wave bombed the Astra Română and Concordia Vega refineries at Ploieşti (one Medal of Honor was awarded). The Enemy Oil Committee subsequently appraised that Operation Tidal Wave bomb damage at Ploieşti caused "no curtailment of overall product output".

November 26, 1943 - Hartley Committee - "losses of oil stocks … caused by Allied attacks during the first eight months of 1943 [were] 400,000 tons. … Approximately 75 percent of Romanian crude is a waxy, viscous oil that becomes solid at temperatures below 69" degrees (J.I.C (43) 480).

Left a light Romanian anti-aircraft gun that brought down three US bombers. Right interior of a bomber that crashed in the attack

February 3, 1944 - Budapest, Sofia, Bucharest, and Vienna were identified as second priority objectives for 15AF "area attack"

April 5, 1944 -  Ploieşti - 230 bombers bombed Ploieşti for the 1st time in 8 months, 118  beginning the "1944 Ploesti Campaign" (April 5-August 19: 5,674 sorties, 13,559 bomb tons, 254 aircraft lost).  239  The 5th BW and 47th BW bombed the Ploeşti marshaling yards and adjacent oil facilities, and the 451 BG bombed the Ploieşti oil refineries and marshaling yard Archived 2009-03-16 at the Wayback Machine (marshaling yards were next to an oil plant.)[specify] The Ploeşti marshaling yards were bombed on April 15 by the 15th AF and on April 24, by the 32nd BS, when the first use of the "Mickey" (H2X radar) was against Ploeşti.

April 24, 1944 - Ploieşti - 34 B-24s of the 450 BG targeted the marshaling yards and bombed the "Vega Oil Refinery".

May 5, 1944 - Ploieşti - The marshaling yards and oil refineries were bombed. 153  B-24s also bombed the Braşov 450 BG & Ploieşti marshalling yards on May 6.

May 18, 1944 - Ploieşti (Concordia Vega) - The 464 BG bombed the Concordia Vega refinery.

 

May 26, 1944 -  Ploieşti (Româno-Americană) - The No. 205 Group RAF bombed the Româno-Americană refinery.

 

Columbia Aquila refinery burning after the raid

May 28/29, 1944 - Ploieşti - Ploieşti was bombed.

May 31, 1944 - The 485 BG bombed the Redeventa [sic] Refinery. "Lumina Petromina" was an additional Romanian refinery not in Ploieşti or Bucharest.

 

May 31, 1944 - The intelligence annex to the field order for the May 31 Ploieşti mission stated "Successful attacks on [the aircraft factories at the] Wiener-Neustadter complex have raised oil to high priority. …destruction of remaining active capacity of Ploesti will create [a] critical situation for [the] entire Axis war effort and make possible further important inroads through attacks in Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Italy. [The] Eighth Air Force has now damaged all but 2 of the major synthetic plants in its area making it possible for Fifteenth [Air Force] to destroy sufficient refinery and synthetic capacity to [reduce total] production close to 75 percent. Destruction of vital installations in targets selected will immobilize Ploesti capacity for several months."

Comments

Post a Comment

POPULAR POSTS

14 things that every Yugoslav partisan wore at the beginning of World War II

-
Image
    1.  Partizan armed with a German submachine gun MP41 9mm, popularly known as "Schmeisser", today a rare example of the wooden butt. For a belt carrying a gun "Parabellum" P08 9mm and a hand grenade. Dressed in a civilian coat, the military jacket of unknown origin, the German military pants and cavalry boots. On the stroke has a partisan cap ("Tito hat") with a sewn red star. 2.       Three-pointed cap popularly called "Triglav cap" to the highest peak in Slovenia. Such as a cap made anti-fascist fighters of the Spanish Civil War and the first Junos Croatian partisans. Since 1944, it replaced the cap "Titov ka" a smooth edge. 3.       In September 1941, the partisan Supreme Headquarters ordered that the caps will wear red five-pointed star as a symbol of anti-fascist struggle. 3a. Since April 1942, stipulates that all elite Proletarian Brigade wear the star with a yellow hammer and sickle, the sym...
Read more

JNA, the army that no longer exists: What is all possessed one of the most powerful European armies Part I

-
Image
Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), to its  decomposition , was one of the key pillars of the former Yugoslavia and was based on the doctrine of brotherhood and unity of all Yugoslav nations and nationalities and ideologically dependent on the League of Communists. Along with Tito and the Communist Party, considered to be one of the three pillars of Yugoslavia. Yugoslav People's Army, at its peak, was the fourth military power in Europe, behind the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and France. For JNA specifically, because of its non-alignment and strategic importance, in its possession had weapons of American and Soviet production. The establishment and development Its roots JNA pulling out of the National Liberation Struggle and Yugoslav partisan (POJ). Soon form a volunteer army of Yugoslavia, which soon became the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (NLA), and on 1 March 1945, the NLA has renamed the Yugoslav Army. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of ...
Read more

World War II Weapons: The Italian Carcano rifle

-
Image
Carcano Modello 1891 infantry rifle Carcano is the frequently used name for a series of Italian bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating military rifles and carbines. Introduced in 1891, this rifle was chambered for the rimless 6.5×52mm Carcano cartridge (Cartuccia Modello 1895). It was developed by the chief technician Salvatore Carcano at the Turin Army Arsenal in 1890 and called the Modello (model) 91 or simply M91. Successively replacing the previous Vetterli-Vitali rifles and carbines in 10.35×47mmR, it was produced from 1892 to 1945. The M91 was used in both rifle (fucile) and carbine (Moschetto) form by most Italian troops during the First World War and by Italian and some German forces during the Second World War. The rifle was also used during the Winter War by Finland, and again by regular and irregular forces in Syria, Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria during various postwar conflicts in those countries. Carcano Model 1891 TS Carbine The Type I Carcano rifle was...
Read more

The Underground Airbase Slatina

-
Image
Yugoslavia had about forty objects of strategic importance, including several underground airports which were the largest military secret. Nearly $90 billion have been spent for the construction of these objects. Željava was the most expensive and the largest underground airport in the former Yugoslavia. Around $4.5 billion were spent for the construction of this air base. According to experts, the only airbase that could rival Željava, although much smaller, was the air base Slatina near Pristina. These two air bases represented the first level of defense. The second level of defense were also airports with underground galleries and the conditions for protection against a nuclear attack. Such were underground galleries in Podgorica, Mostar, and Split. The third level of defense was reinforced concrete shelters for aircraft and people. All airports had them. Each plane had its own reinforced concrete shelter. The Yugoslav underground project represents the labyri...
Read more