Episode 35 ---America’s Heroic World War II Air Raid On Ploesti --- The ‘Taproot’ Of Nazi Oil

Few if any of you will have ever heard of Ploesti.  But it’s a Romanian city that was what Winston Churchill called the taproot of Nazi might due to its many oil high-quality oil refineries overtaken by Germany during World War II.  Because of its strategic importance, in 1943, the U.S Army Air Force at the time launched a daring, heroic, and ultimately very costly low-level bombing raid on these refineries.  Using some 160 B-24 Liberator medium-range bombers, the Americans were met with heavy anti-aircraft resistance.  Today’s guest Jay A. Stout, author of “Fortress Ploesti:  The Campaign to Destroy Hitler’s Oil Supply,” provides unique insight into this historic chapter of aviation history.