| On May 31, 1944, 480 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers of the 15th Air Force attacked the Concordia Vega Oil Refinery outside of Ploești, Romania, considered to be the 3rd most heavily defended target in Europe. The United States Army Air Force delivered 1,000 tons (900 metric tons) of explosives from altitudes of 19,000 to 24,200 feet (5,800 to 7,375 meters). Axis Anti-aircraft and fighters accounted for 15 bombers; USAAF gunners claimed over 40 Luftwaffe and Romanian fighters. These are B-24 Liberators of the 451st Bomb Group over the target. The Concordia Vega Oil Refinery was continuously attacked throughout World War II, beginning with a famous long-distance raid in August 1943, until the Soviet Union Red Army captured it on August 24, 1944. This view, and other images from the raid, were delivered to the 451st Bomb Group’s photo trailer at San Pancrazio, Italy after the raid, where Lieutenant Wiliam M. Dwyer (August 31, 1920 – June 14, 1993) would process the film. At the war’s end, he was ordered by the Group’s commander to hold onto the negatives, and he did, expecting orders to turn them over once he reached stateside, but he never got instructions. He continued to hold the negatives of the 451st’s operations, including this image, until he died. The photo is credited to Staff Sergeant Richard R. Ganczak (January 17, 1924 – December 7, 2014), 456th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force. A radio operator in Consolidated B-24 Liberators, he claims he took the photo after his aircraft made a turn after dropping their bombs and was lined up on the formation. He completed 50 missions and returned to the United States to work for the Ohio Department of Transportation. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1970.jpg |
| Image Size | 2.04 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 5513 x 4149 |
| Photographer | Richard R. Ganczak |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Air Force |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 31, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Ploești |
| State or Province | Prahova |
| Country | Romania |
| Archive | Library of Congress |
| Record Number | LC-USZ62-97497 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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