Result
Only 88 B-24s returned to Libya, of which 55 had battle damage. Losses included 44 to air defenses and additional B-24s that ditched in the Mediterranean or were interned (e.g. a few landed in neutral Turkey). Some were diverted (e.g. to the RAF airfield on Cyprus). One B-24 with 365 bullet holes in it landed in Libya 14 hours after departing . Its luck was due to the light arming of the Bulgarian Avia B-534 (4 x 7.92mm machine guns).
310 aircrewmen were killed, 108 were captured by the Axis, and 78 were interned in Turkey. Three of the five Medals of Honor (the most for any single air action in history) were awarded posthumously. Allied assessment of the attack estimated a loss of 40% of the refining capacity at the Ploiești refineries, although some refineries were largely untouched. Most of the damage was repaired within weeks, after which the net output of fuel was greater than before the raid. Circa September, the Enemy Oil Committee appraisal of Ploiești bomb damage indicated "no curtailment of overall product output" as many of the refineries had been operating previously below maximum capacity.
Through emergency bomb drops on secondary targets, there were casualties at Drenta, Elena, Byala, Ruse, Boychinovtsi, Veliko Tarnovo, Plovdiv, Lom and Oak - Tulovo.
Given the large and unbalanced loss of aircraft and the limited damage to the targets, Operation Tidal Wave is considered a strategic failure of the American side; though one view considers it as an indirect tactical victory for the Allies under the assumption that it bought the Soviets time against the invading German forces.
For a list of Ploiești bombing missions, see Oil Campaign of World War II (Chronology).Read more about this topic: Operation Tidal Wave
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