On August 1, 1943, the 44th, 93rd, 98th, 376th and 398th Bomb Groups left Benghazi, Libya on Operation Tidal Wave to bomb the Romania oil refineries in Ploesti. Historians cite the mission as the most intensively prepared and experienced ever flown in aerial warfare.

For Hitler’s massive forces, Romania was a valued ally. Governed by Marshal Ion Antonescu, the country was among the world’s largest producers, eventually supplying almost 60 percent of the Third Reich’s thirsty crude oil needs. The Fuhrer’s precious black gold was guarded by 300 flak guns, hundreds of machine guns, a deadly flak train, concealed emplacements, 120 German fighters and 200 Romanian Air Force fighters.

In the early afternoon of August 1, 1943, an armada of B-24 Liberators arrived at Ploesti after a journey of 1,200 miles from Benghazi, Libya. Planned as a surprise attack under strict radio silence, five groups would drop their bombs from 200 to 800 feet, expecting an ensuing inferno. But German General Alfred Gerstenberg, who had cracked the Allied codes, knew they were coming.

A Liberando from New Jersey:

William Lawrence Flavelle, a landscape nursery farmer, and Edna Woolley Flavelle welcomed their third son on December 16, 1914, to their home in North Caldwell, Essex County, New Jersey. The couple completed their family with the birth of their fourth boy several years later.

At the time of his United States Selective Service registration on October 16, 1940, Flavelle, a graduate of the University of Oregon, lived in Eugene. He entered the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) as an aviation cadet in Newark on July 14, 1941.

In April, 1943, Lt. Flavelle volunteered for the low-level attack on the ferry terminals at Messina, Sicily and San Giovanni, Italy. Described by Lt. Jerome Dufour, the bombers came in at full throttle over the water at 25 feet, a harbinger of dreaded conditions expected at Ploesti four months later.

August 1, 1943, Lost at Sea:

The Liberandos, commanded by General Keith Compton, included four bomb squadrons from the 376th Bomb Group. The 512th Bomb Squadron’s B-24, #42-40563 Wongo Wongo, was piloted by First Lieutenant Brian Woolley Flavelle.

Captain Flavelle and crew were the lead aircraft from Berca Two, south of Benghazi, one of seven bombers in the second section attacking White I targets. Lieutenant Robert F. Wilson was aboard as mission navigator. Over the Ionian Sea, approaching Corfu and Greece, the aircraft developed a wing wobble with its nose pitching up and down at ever-higher degrees. At approximately 2,000 feet, Flavelle made a steeply banked turn, then Wongo Wongo stalled and fell away sharply to the left.

Flavelle attempted to pull up but went into a tight spiral, spin-diving violently into the water. The aircraft detonated upon impact. Witnesses watched the 30-second incident in disbelief as a column of smoke rose from the fiery circle. Against USAAF regulations, Flavelle’s wingman, Lieutenant Guy Iovine, broke formation and descended to search for survivors but found no trace of the B-24 or its crew. His over-loaded aircraft could not climb back to reach the section and had to return to Libya, taking the deputy route navigator.

Some historians now cite improper manual fuel transfer as a possible reason for the crash, though, that conclusion cannot be stated with any certainty. Given the catastrophic last moments of the flight, the incorrect execution of a basic procedure seems speculative.

Of the 165 bombers that reached Ploesti, only 88 aircraft returned, of which 54 were damaged significantly. Over 500 crewmen were lost from all causes, including 80 seriously wounded. One hundred eight airmen were taken prisoner in Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Yugoslavia. In May 1944, Allied aviators based in Italy bombed Ploesti from high altitudes. The Soviets overran Romania’s refineries in August 1944, capturing General Gerstenberg and closing Hitler’s “gas station.”

Brian Woolley Flavelle’s body was not recovered from the crash site. Survived by his parents and siblings, he was awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the World War II Victory Medal, the Air Medal with 6 Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart.

He is memorialized at the Tablets of the Missing, North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial, Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars Project (SBTS.) SBTS is a national effort of volunteers to write stories about all 400,000+ U.S. WW II fallen service personnel on Together We Served and on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Stories will be accessible via smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen serviceperson’s name and read his/her story. If you have details, photos or corrections for this story, please contact drbaker50@charter.net. Stories Behind the Stars: Pamela C. Baker, Ph.D., Contributing Author. SBTS Project/New Jersey/Essex (https://www.storiesbehindthestars.org/)

References:

Ancestryinstitutions.org. 1920 United States Federal Census.

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Carlson, Mark. Operation Tidal Wave: What Went Wrong with the U.S. Attack on Romania in WW II? Historynet.com/operation-tidal-wave. August 3, 2020.

Dugan, James and Carroll Stewart. Ploesti: The Great Ground-Air Battle of 1 August 1943, Revised Edition, Brassey's Aviation Classics, Brassey’s, Inc. Washington, D.C., 2002.

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https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/aircraft/42-40563

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Public Member Photos & Scanned Documents. Uncredited Newspaper Article, Collection of AndyNelson94, 2023.

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Vandenberg, Hoyt S. Jr., Major General (USAF, Ret.) Ploesti: Anatomy of a Disaster, Armchair General, January 2013.

Brian W Flavelle