Lighthunmust
Banned
During the planning of Tidal Wave intelligence indicated it was a heavily defended target and more importantly that the strike force designed could significantly damage known production capability. Intelligence failed in determining the actual defensive strength and more importantly the actual production capability of the various refineries. If these two factors were known, a strike on Ploesti would have been delayed, as future strikes were until resources and closer airfields were available. The strength of defense had little to do with failure of the mission. If all the bombers sent had bombed and bombed accurately it would still have been impossible to meet the strategic objective of significantly reducing production.
Sources:
Ploesti: The Great Ground-Air Battle of 1 August 1943 by James Dugan Carroll Stewart
Black Sunday: Ploesti by Michael Hill
Target Ploesti by Leroy W. Newby
Ploesti: Oil Strike by John Sweetman
Sources:
Ploesti: The Great Ground-Air Battle of 1 August 1943 by James Dugan Carroll Stewart
Black Sunday: Ploesti by Michael Hill
Target Ploesti by Leroy W. Newby
Ploesti: Oil Strike by John Sweetman
Last edited: