Mission 115.

B-24D serial 42-40609 departed Site #7, Benghazi on August 1, 1943 as part of the low-level attack on the Ploesti oil refineries in Romania. The aircraft carried a crew of ten to twelve men and was one of 33 aircraft from the 93rd Bomb Group participating in the mission. On interrogation after the mission, returned crews stated the aircraft was last seen as the formation left the target area. One engine was smoking but the aircraft appeared to be under control, with the pilot seemingly searching for a place to land. A separate eyewitness account noted that this aircraft and another were seen entering cloud cover over Yugoslavia on the return route in close formation. Two aircraft were subsequently observed falling, apparently after a mid-air collision, and were later seen burning on the ground. Three descending parachutes were observed at approximately the same location. The MACR was filed on 12 August 1943 by Capt. J. S. Davis. Major Ramsey D. Potts Jr. (O-451039) was identified as having last sighted the aircraft. No search was conducted.

The aircraft was lost on August 1, 1943, during the low-level mission to Ploesti, Romania — Operation Tidal Wave. The plane departed Benghazi at 7:40 a.m. and was hit over the target area. No. 1 engine was windmilling and No. 2 engine was on fire when the crew was forced out of the aircraft. The wing buckled and the plane crashed with flames covering it. The aircraft did not explode on ground impact. None of the crew bailed out by parachute. The crash site was in or near Ogresnie, Romania. Sgt. Doll reported seeing four members of the crew alive on the ground after the crash, accompanied by an observer, but did not examine the wreckage.

B-24D serial 41-24121 was assigned to the 330th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd Bombardment Group, operating from Site No. 7, Benghazi, North Africa. The aircraft was lost on August 1, 1943, during the low-level raid on the Ploesti oil refineries in Romania — one of the most costly missions flown by the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces during World War II. The aircraft was lost as a result of a mid-air collision with another aircraft identified in the report as "MACK 334." The last known position was recorded at approximately 41°55'N 23°30'E, placing the aircraft over Bulgaria at 1330 GMT. The collision occurred roughly one hour after the crew had left the target. The aircraft carried a crew of ten plus one passenger, F/O Nelson R. Collins. Weather at the time included heavy cumulus clouds. Six crew members perished in or as a result of the collision, three survivors bailed out over Bulgaria, and one gunner (Pearson) bailed out but was killed when his parachute collapsed. Bulgarian Army personnel confirmed Pearson's death and his personal effects were later seen in Sofia. The aircraft struck the ground in mountains southwest of Sofia, Bulgaria. The wreck contained the bodies of the pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier, engineer, and radio operator, all of whom were likely killed in the cockpit and nose section during the collision. The Missing Air Crew Report was prepared on August 12, 1943, and transmitted to Headquarters Army Air Forces by the Ninth Air Force on September 13, 1943.

The aircraft was on fire when the crew bailed out over the Ploesti area on August 1, 1943 (the low-level Ploesti raid, Operation Tidal Wave). The bailout occurred at approximately 100 to 150 feet altitude. Reed reported seeing five dead bodies in the airplane after reaching the ground. The plane was completely destroyed upon crash — Reed examined the wreckage and reported nothing was salvageable. He believed the plane exploded on impact. The crash was at approximately 5:15 PM local time in the Ploesti area. The crash site and fate of most crew members were confirmed via the Romanian Army's death list, on which Reed reported seeing unidentifiable bodies listed.

The aircraft was part of the low-level Ploesti mission flown on August 1, 1943, departing Bengazi at 7:00 AM. It sustained flak damage including a hole in the left vertical stabilizer and at least two additional hits, one of which struck the waist section and set the rear of the aircraft on fire. The top turret gunner and right waist gunner were both wounded before the aircraft went down. Surviving crewmen attempted to bail out at an extremely low altitude of 100 to 200 feet. The source was uncertain whether the plane exploded on impact or whether other crew members successfully bailed out. Reed, the reporting crew member, believed most of the crew were either killed in the crash or burned to death. He noted that even those who bailed out would have had little chance of survival given the extremely low altitude at the time of bailout.

The aircraft was hit by 20mm and 34mm AA fire in the nose during the low-level attack on Ploesti on 1 August 1943. Fires broke out under the navigator's table, in the rear at the waist, and on the flight deck. The plane was burning violently. The aircraft crashed approximately 3/4 mile from the bail-out point. Five crew members were found burned in the wreckage. Sgts. Reed and Vest visited the crash site and reported the plane was completely burned.

The aircraft was lost on August 1, 1943 during the low-level Ploesti mission (Operation Tidal Wave), approximately 10 miles southwest of the target at around 1515 hours. Two engines were shot out and a third was hit, with the tail section badly damaged. The pilot crash-landed the aircraft rather than ordering a bail-out. None of the crew used parachutes. The plane did not explode on impact but was totally wrecked. Seven of the ten crew members were injured in the crash. Navigator 2nd Lt. Thompson reported seeing all crew members after reaching the ground. The crew was subsequently taken into Romanian custody and held as internees before being repatriated to Allied control in September 1944.

The aircraft was on its second mission when it was struck by heavy anti-aircraft fire and ground machine gun fire approximately eight miles past the target at Ploesti, Romania. The plane crashed at approximately 3:00 PM on August 1, 1943. No crew members bailed out; the entire crew crashed with the plane. The aircraft did not explode on striking the ground. Several enlisted men and two officers were wounded before the crash. Following the crash, all crew members were eventually accounted for and freed except for the bombardier, 1st Lt. J. Little, who was buried at Senia (Sinaia), Romania.

The aircraft was badly shot up by anti-aircraft fire over Ploesti on 1 August 1943. Two engines were knocked out and fire broke out in No. 1 engine. The crew did not bail out; instead the aircraft crash landed. Upon impact it began burning. Only the nose section, wing tips, and vertical stabilizers survived — the rest of the aircraft was reduced to ashes. Six crew members survived the crash landing. The tail gunner (Havens) was killed in the turret before the crash. The engineer was pulled from the wreckage by the bombardier, Adams, but died of his wounds later.

The aircraft departed Bengasi, Libya at approximately 07:30 AM on August 1, 1943, as part of the low-level mission against the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The plane was from the 93rd Bomb Group, 330th Bomb Squadron. The aircraft crashed at approximately 4:00 PM, approximately 15 miles southwest of Bucharest, Romania. At the time of the crash the plane was entirely in flames, with the exception of part of the tail. The aircraft exploded approximately 30 seconds after striking the ground. No crew members bailed out. The co-pilot (Bassett) reported that the bombardier and navigator were believed killed in the crash as both were in the nose of the plane. The radio operator was killed by enemy fighter action before the crash. The engineer, tail gunner, and top turret gunner were also believed to have died in the crash. Romanian authorities subsequently reported one man died; the method of identification was unknown.

The aircraft was lost on August 1, 1943, during the low-level Ploesti mission (Operation Tidal Wave), departing Benghazi at 7:30 AM. The plane sustained catastrophic damage, with the left wing torn off and engines No. 1 and 2 knocked out, leaving it out of control. The plane crashed on a mountainside in Serbia at approximately 4:45 AM (likely local time after a long flight) and was burning fiercely upon impact. Only three enlisted gunners successfully bailed out; the mountain police informed S/Sgt. Murray after his capture that the rest of the crew had been killed. Murray examined the wreckage and confirmed the aircraft was destroyed on the mountainside. The plane did not explode on striking the ground, though it burned fiercely. All parachutes of the three survivors opened successfully; Murray's chute opened just above the treetops.

The aircraft took off from Benghazi at 07:31 on August 1, 1943, on a bombing mission. The plane went down over Bulgaria at approximately 5:00 PM. S/Sgt. Koen bailed out at approximately 2000 feet along with the two waist gunners and the tunnel gunner; their parachutes opened. The plane did not explode on impact but caught fire and burned. After reaching the ground, Koen observed two men who had been thrown from the plane without parachutes. Seven crew members were subsequently buried, believed to have gone down with the plane.

B-24D serial 42-40265, assigned to the 409th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group, departed Site #7 Bengasi on 1 August 1943 on a combat mission to the Ploesti oil fields in Romania. The aircraft was lost as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during the low-level attack. Anti-aircraft damage forced the aircraft down at approximately 1150pm on 1 August 1943 near the town of Ploesti, Romania. The aircraft crash-landed in flat terrain approximately 5 to 10 miles from Ploesti. Several crew members were seen standing near the aircraft on the ground. The forced landing was confirmed by photographs taken by the 44th Bomb Group, which flew over the same area approximately 15 to 20 minutes later. The aircraft was described as riddled during the low-level attack, with no altitude remaining for any alternative to a crash landing.

B-24D serial number 42-86897 was the aircraft assigned to Lt. Col. Addison E. Baker and his crew for the August 1, 1943 low-level attack on the Ploesti oil refineries, flown from Bengasi (Site No. 7) as part of Operation Tidal Wave. The aircraft was lost to enemy anti-aircraft fire over Ploesti, Romania. According to intelligence officer statements, 38 aircraft of the 93rd Bomb Group reached the target on this mission. Returned crews reported that this aircraft crashed in the town of Ploesti from an altitude of 300 feet or less and burned. The aircraft was observed to crash and burn by multiple witnesses including Major Pate, Major Brown, and Captain Barthel. The MACR was filed on January 18, 1943 (date-stamped; likely a clerical error for August 1943), and received by the Air Adjutant General's office on October 9, 1943. Engines listed on the report carry AAF serial numbers 42-85864, 42-86277, 42-86900, and 42-86318. The aircraft was flying at an extremely low altitude — 300 feet or less — consistent with the low-level attack profile of Operation Tidal Wave.

B-24D serial 42-40612 (designated A/C No. 612-K in unit records) departed Benghazi on August 1, 1943 as part of the low-level mission against the Ploesti oil fields in Romania. The aircraft was lost over the target as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire. Weather conditions at the time of loss were not available. The aircraft carried a crew of eleven. Engine serials recorded: (a) 42-62861, (b) 42-62807, (c) 42-62784, (d) 42-62037. The MACR was prepared on 14 July 1944 by 1st Lt. George D. Weisel, Air Corps, Intelligence Officer. Two crew members, Dickson and Boswell, were interred in the village cemetery of Plop, Commune of Harsa, District of Prahova, Romania. A sketch of the cemetery was attached to the MACR file.

B-24D serial 42-40612 (designated A/C No. 612-K in unit records) departed Benghazi on August 1, 1943 as part of the low-level mission against the Ploesti oil fields in Romania. The aircraft was lost over the target as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire. Weather conditions at the time of loss were not available. The aircraft carried a crew of eleven. Engine serials recorded: (a) 42-62861, (b) 42-62807, (c) 42-62784, (d) 42-62037. The MACR was prepared on 14 July 1944 by 1st Lt. George D. Weisel, Air Corps, Intelligence Officer. Two crew members, Dickson and Boswell, were interred in the village cemetery of Plop, Commune of Harsa, District of Prahova, Romania. A sketch of the cemetery was attached to the MACR file.

On the mission of 1 August 1943, B-24D serial 42-40617 (call sign 617-H) was flying on the right element of the wave ahead of the 409th Bomb Squadron formation. The aircraft departed Benghazi as part of the low-level Ploesti oil fields raid (Operation Tidal Wave). At approximately 1400 hours, while flying at a height of 25-50 feet on the outskirts of Ploesti, the aircraft received a direct flak hit in the forward section of the bomb bay. The bomb bay tanks were likely struck and caught fire. Within 15-30 seconds the entire bomb bay was enveloped in flames and the aircraft began going down. Within another 30 seconds the aircraft crashed and exploded in the center of Ploesti, starting a large fire. A second eyewitness account described the plane flying on briefly in a definite glide before crashing into a flat, large building near the center of the city at an estimated airspeed of 250-350 mph, immediately exploding on impact. No crew members were seen to bail out before the crash. Eyewitnesses reported that it was too late and the aircraft too low for any escape. It was considered very improbable that any crew member survived the explosion.