65th Anniversary of what air-raid,

Question

65th Anniversary of what air-raid,

Answer 1

The mission to Ploesti was 1 August 1943.  B24s launched from N Africa to hit the oil refineries in Romania.  Instead of the normal, and practiced, tactic of high-altitude (FL200-240) close formation, to confuse air defense radars, they opted for a med-lo altitude penetration.  Due to the loss of the lead nav, several squadrons lost their timing, and went off course.  In a way this may have saved several crews, as the aircraft came over the target from different directions-complicating the German and Romanian response.

Surviving film shows the low altitude penetration, and the attacking aircraft coming in from all directions.