Operation Tidal Wave was an air attack by bombers of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) based in Libya on nine oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania on 1 August 1943, during World War II. It was a strategic bombing mission and part of the "oil campaign" to deny petroleum-based fuel to the Axis powers. The mission resulted in "no curtailment of overall product output".
A B-24 Liberator called Sandman during a bomb run over the Ploiești Astra Română refinery during Operation Tidal Wave
Approximate route of flight to Ploiești on August 1, 1943
The attack on the Astra Română refinery
Flames from the distillation plant of Steaua Română after the raid
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum is transformed and refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas and petroleum naphtha. Petrochemical feedstock like ethylene and propylene can also be produced directly by cracking crude oil without the need of using refined products of crude oil such as naphtha. The crude oil feedstock has typically been processed by an oil production plant. There is usually an oil depot at or near an oil refinery for the storage of incoming crude oil feedstock as well as bulk liquid products. In 2020, the total capacity of global refineries for crude oil was about 101.2 million barrels per day.
Anacortes Refinery, on the north end of March Point southeast of Anacortes, Washington, United States
Grangemouth Refinery, in Scotland
Jamnagar Refinery, the world's largest oil refinery, in Gujarat, India
Baton Rouge Refinery (the fifth-largest in the United States)
