Knockout Blow? The Army Air Force's Operations Against Ploesti and Balikpapan
Abstract
This study analyzes the U.S. Army Air Force's Ploesti and Balikpapan oil refinery bombing operations in World War II. The author recounts the first low-level raid against Ploesti, Romania, on August 1, 1943. The 177 B-24 bombers took off from their base in North Africa. It was a low-altitude attack, with bombs released below 1,000 feet. The target was almost completely destroyed, but only 33 of the 177 planes returned to their base in condition to fly again. The author concludes that the strategic and tactical thinking behind this raid were flawed, which led to heavy losses without any appreciable benefit, as the refinery was soon repaired. The author then describes the U.S. Strategic Air Force's (USSTAF) sustained operations against Ploesti during 1944. The Americans linked these attacks with a more realistic strategy and thus contributed significantly to Allied war aims. But slow tactical change characterized the 1944 operations, leading to heavy cumulative losses in the pursuit of strategic effects. Next, the author compares the bombing of Ploesti to the bombing of refineries in Balikpapan, a city on the eastern coast of Borneo island. He describes the first two large-scale bombing operations during September and October 1944, and concludes that these initial operations, like the first Ploesti attack, contained major strategic and tactical flaws. The Far East Air Forces (FEAF) radically revamped its tactics and overwhelmed Japanese air defenses in the following raids. Unfortunately, FEAF's strategy remained flawed, and the raids contributed little to the defeat of Japan. The author concludes that USSTAF, with its strategically focused leader and large bureaucratic organization, was well-equipped to develop strategy but not predisposed for rapid tactical adaptation. FEAF, on the other hand, with its tactically focused leader and flat organizational structure, was optimized for tactical innovation but ill-prepared to link these operations with a broader purpose.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA477018
Entities
People
- John G. Bunnell
Organizations
- Air University