Operation Tidal Wave was one of the boldest and most controversial air raids of World War II.
In 1943, the Ploesti oilfields in Romania were Germany’s single most important fuel source, and a key strategic air power target. But the Tidal Wave raid to destroy the refineries, using B-24s flown from Libya, turned into one of the costliest US Army Air Force (USAAF) operations to date, with about a third of the force shot down. Although undoubtedly heroic, with five Medals of Honor awarded, the mission had questionable results. Initial assessments argued that 40 percent of the refinery capacity at Ploesti had been destroyed, but later studies concluded that the damage was quickly repaired and output levels rebounded.
As told by Steven J. Zaloga in his book Ploesti 1943, in his initial report to Berlin, Gen Alfred Gerstenberg (who from Feb. 15, 1942 to Aug. 27, 1944 served as the commanding general of Luftwaffe in Romania) acknowledged the damage to the refineries, but noted that it would not appreciably diminish the supply of fuel to Germany and its allies. Furthermore, the USAAF had suffered crippling losses from the attack. On Aug. 3, 1943, the senior Romanian and German leadership held a conference in Bucharest to discuss the lessons from the Ploesti raid. The meeting included Marshal Ion Antonescu, General de escadra Gheorghe Jienescu (Romanian Air Minister), General de divizie Gheorghe D. Marinescu (Romanian Air Defenses), German Ambassador Manfred Freiherr von Killinger, Gen Gerstenberg, Oberst Woldenga (German fighter forces), Gen Kuderna (commander of 5.Flak Division), and others.
