Date
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Target/Topic
|
|
1944-04-04
[6]
|
Railroad targets
|
93
B-17s & 220
B-24s of the US
15th AF escorted by 119
P-38s, after taking the usual route past
Turnu Severin, across the
Southern Carpathians, and up to
Târgoviște and
Snagov, attacked at 1345 hrs. Fifteen minutes before the attack, the citizens of Bucharest were alerted by air-raid alarms, but the majority could not bother, expecting another practice alert. When the raid commenced, the majority of the population were exposed and numerous casualties occurred due to exposure, shock, and suffocation. The principal target was the Bucharest
marshalling yard,
Gara de Nord (tracks were destroyed). Warm weather and strong wind deflected bombs which landed on
Calea Griviței and
Giulești and western/north-western Bucharest was severely hit, destroying hundreds of buildings and killing or injuring over 5,000. Bombs fell on
Calea Victoriei, on the Splendid and
Athénée Palace Hotels; on the German Military Mission; near
Saint Joseph Cathedral (destroying its stained-glass windows); and on
Cotroceni, uprooting
poplars in the
Botanical Garden.
[8] One
bomb shelter was also destroyed.
[8]
USAAF losses: ten B-24s lost from enemy aircraft (flak was slight and inaccurate over the target), and 13 B-24s were damaged and returned.
[9] The
449th BG lost seven B-24s: from the
717th BS were Reluctant Liz, Miasis Dragon, and from the
719th BS, Consolidated Mess, Dixie Belle, Paper Doll #42-7691, Born to Lose, and B-24 #41-28655. The
376th,
454th, and
459th Bomb Groups each lost one B-24. Claims by the USSAF: destroyed/probable/damaged Luftwaffe aircraft were 32/6/5
Bf 109, 6/5/1
Fw 190,
[a] 1/0/0
Me 210, and 0/2/0
Ju 88. Lufwaffe and Royal Romanian Air Force (ARR) registered losses: 3 IAR 81C from
Grupul 6 Vânătoare (ARR),
[11] 5 Bf 109 (Luftwaffe).
|
1944-04-15
[12]
|
Railroad targets
|
257 B-24s escorted by 149 P-38s and 38
P-47s. First large-scale use of the
PFF radar by the 15th AF.
461st Bombardment Group B-24s targeted the
Chitila Marshalling Yard [
ro] in Bucharest. Nine-tenths cloud coverage over the target prevented the crews from observing the effect of the bombing. Official records do not list the damage.
[14] Other sources report that the
University of Bucharest was damaged and the adjacent Cartea Românească building was destroyed in bombing raid.
[15]: 190
USAAF losses: four P-38s (from the
14th FG), four B-24s (three from the
460th BG, and one from the
451st BG which crashed in
Turkey).
|
1944-04-21
|
Railroad targets
|
91 unescorted B-24s of the 15th AF bombed the marshalling yards at Bucharest. No results were observed because of the weather. Flak fire was reported intense and accurate.
USAAF losses: eight B-24s (four from the
455th BG and two each from the 454th and
456th BG).
|
1944-04-24
|
Railroad targets
|
207 B-24s of the 15th AF escorted by 48 P-38s bombed the marshalling yards at Bucharest. The bombers damaged repair buildings, a roundhouse, tracks and choke points. Some bombs also fell on the city.
USAAF losses: two B-24s (451st and 461st BG).
|
1944-05-07
|
Railroad targets
|
157 B-17s and 272 B-24s under the escort of 163 P-38s and 36 P-51s bombed bombed the Grivița and Chitila marshalling yards. The 449th and 450th, as well as most of the 459th BG returned without bombing. At Grivița, an engine depot, warehouses, workshops, and a fuel storage tank were damaged, while at Chitila freight cars were destroyed. Some bombs also landed in the city.
USAAF losses: one B-17 from
97th BG, and three B-24s (two from the 454th and one from the
98th BG).
|
1944-05-07/08
|
Industrial and railroad targets
|
No. 205 Group RAF conducted a night raid on industrial targets and railway yards North West of Bucharest. 76.2 tons of bombs were dropped on the main railway yards and military
barracks. Four bombers were lost: two
Wellingtons from
No. 40 Squadron, one from
No. 150 Squadron, and one from
No. 70 Squadron.
[19]
[20]
|
1944-06-10
|
Româno-Americană oil works, Ploiești
|
Raid by US P-38s. P-38s were used as it was felt that a low level dive-bombing attack could be more effective than the
Tidal Wave high-level bombing where the targets were obscured by defensive smoke screens. The raid took place with three squadrons of
82d Fighter Group doing the attack (
95th,
96th,
97th Squadrons) with three
1st Fighter Group squadrons (also P-38s) providing escorts (
27th,
71st and
94th Squadrons). Mission was flown from
Foggia airfields in
Italy against
Româno-Americană oil works in Ploiești. Attack P-38s carried a 1,000 lb bomb under one fuselage and a long-range tank under the other. The 71st FS also attacked the
Popești-Leordeni airfield south of Bucharest. The success was described as "an incremental contribution to previous bombing missions."
USAAF losses: 1st FG lost 14 P-38s and 82nd FG nine aircraft, translating to 30% losses – equivalent to those of Tidal-Wave (but fewer manpower losses due to single crew aircraft being used as opposed to heavy bombers).
|
1944-06-28
|
Oil refineries
|
The 464th BG & 465th BG bombed the Prahova oil refinery (44°27'00"N / 26°08'40"E) and the 460th BG and
485th BG bombed the Titan-Malaxa oil refinery (44°26'10"N / 26°11'13"E).
[23]
[24]
USAAF losses: three B-24s (from the 485th BG).
|
1944-07-02/03
|
Oil refineries
|
No. 205 Group attacked the Prahova Oil Refinery with 31 Wellingtons, 9 Liberators and 8
Halifaxes. Two Wellingtons of No. 40 Sqr and one Liberator of
31 Squadron SAAF were shot down.
[25]
|
1944-07-03
|
Oil refineries
|
The
Mogoșoaia Oil Storage facility, the Prahova Oil Refinery, and the Titan Oil Refinery were attacked by B-24s. Bombs missed the Titan refinery and hit a nearby brick factory. Thirteen bombers of the 461st BG turned back and bombed the Iron Gate Rail Embankment at Turnu Severin instead.
USAAF losses: two B-24s (451st and 461st BG).
|
1944-07-27/28
|
Oil refineries
|
90 aircraft attacked in two waves, only 50 Wellingtons hit the main target of Prahova Oil Refinery due to the weather. Damage was sustained by The National Bank building, and Băneasa airport, as well as other buildings. At least one Wellington from No. 150 Sqr was shot down.
[27]
|
1944-07-31
|
Oil refineries
|
Two oil refineries at Bucharest, one at
Doicești, and oil storage at
Târgoviște were bombed.
[2]
Archived 2009-03-13 at the
Wayback Machine Twenty B-24s struck the
Creditul Minier refinery.
USAAF losses: two P-51s (
52nd FG), two B-24s (451st and 376th BG).
|
1944-08-06
|
Railroad targets, airfields
|
60 fighters from
Operation Frantic bases in the
Soviet Union attacked the
Craiova marshalling yard and other railroad targets in the Bucharest–Ploiești area claiming an
He 111 and multiple locomotives. The fighters landed at Italian bases.
|
1944-08-17/18
|
Oil refineries
|
No. 205 Group targeted oil refineries with 63 Wellingtons from 231, 236, and 330 Wings; 9 Liberators from
2 SAAF Wing; 6
Halifaxes from
614 Sqn. Raid was aimed at destroying remaining intact refineries. Original target for the raid was the Standard Oil Refinery, but this had been successfully attacked during the day by American Forces and at 16:00 the attack was changed to the Xenia refinery. Remaining aircraft reached the target but AA defences were very active as was the smoke screen resulting in no aircraft being able to pinpoint the target. Bombers were attacked by
Ju 88 and
Bf 109's. 86 tons of bombs dropped but the raid was considered as unsuccessful. Twenty-two aircraft returned to bases because of mechanical failures, 3 performed emergency landings en route and 3 were reported missing.
[29]
|
1944-08-24 & 25
|
Various targets
|
Luftwaffe He 111,
Ju 87 and
Bf 110 bombers escorted by Bf 109 fighters based at
Otopeni and
Băneasa attacked Bucharest between 24 and 26 August, both during the day and night. The
National Theatre Bucharest and many other downtown buildings were destroyed while the
Royal Palace, the
Victoria Palace, and the
Romanian Athenaeum were seriously damaged.
[15]: 212
ARR claimed 45 German aircraft shot down (22 by fighters and 23 by the
anti-aircraft artillery), including three
Me 323 Gigants and four
Ju 52s transporting
Brandenburgers special forces. Another five aircraft were destroyed on the ground. The ARR lost four aircraft in the air (including a friendly fire incident), and another 30 aircraft on the ground.
[30]
[31]
|
1944-08-26
|
Otopeni, Băneasa
|
230 bombers of the 15th AF
[32] attacked Luftwaffe bases at the
Otopeni and
Băneasa airports and the German positions in the
Băneasa Forest. The Germans suffered heavy casualties and Luftwaffe raids on Bucharest stopped. The Romanian 4th Paratroop Battalion also lost half of a
company in the bombardment around Băneasa due to inaccuracy and poor coordination.
[31]
|