EIGHTY YEARS after the August 1, 1943, raid on the Ploiești oil refineries, the mission still captures the imagination of military historians and general public alike. How could it not? American air crews carried a daring and dangerous low-level attack with Consolidated B-24s on one of the most heavily fortified and important strategic targets on the continent of Europe.
I will admit when I first set out to write this piece it took me quite a while to think about the legacy of the raid and what it meant in 1943 and what it means today. After the raid much of the public attention has centered on the aircrews who flew the mission. That in many respects has become the legacy of the raid 80 years later. Yet for those who study the raid more deeply see the mission as one of the most disastrous air operations ever conducted.
The Allies gained little from the raid. American losses in equipment and combat crews set back Allied air and ground operations in both the European Theater and Mediterranean theaters of operations in 1943. In that context, the raid should be remembered as an absolute disaster.
