In August 1943, nearly 180 American B-24 bombers launched one of World War II’s most daring missions – a low-level strike on Nazi Germany’s vital oil refineries in Ploesti, Romania. Responsible for producing roughly one-third of Germany’s fuel for the war, the refineries were heavily defended. Codenamed Operation Tidal Wave, the mission was flown by five U.S. Army Air Force groups from North Africa. Flying just a few hundred feet above the ground, American crews braved intense flak and enemy fig