Lt. Frank B. McLaughlin took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the large bombing raid on the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, as Command Pilot flying the B-24D Liberator, bomber, 42-40746, named, Ole Irish. Lt. McLaughlin in Ole Irish, took a number of flak hits over it's target area and south of Ploesti over the thickest of the Germans' defensive flak guns, which destroyed it's #4 engine. McLaughlin asked his crew what they wanted to do over the aircraft's intercom, land and be interned in Turkey, or take a bigger risk and try to make it all the way home to Benghazi, Libya on three engines. The crew wanted to try and make it home regardless of the risk. McLaughlin acceded to their decision and began the long dangerous flight home, with a badly shot up and crippled airplane.



The first thing Lt. McLaughlin ordered, was to dismantle and throw everything out of the airplane that could be removed, including all of the guns, equipment, any remaining ammunition, and and anything else they could remove and throw out, which they happily did for the next hour or so ! It took around 8 or 10 hours, but they made it all the way across southern Romania, Turkey, and the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea, and barely landed safely at their home base at Benghazi, so low on gas, they ran completely out of gas in one of the three running engines while taxiing to parking. The entire crew and everyone in the 8th and 9th Air Forces, who flew on the Ploesti mission were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross or higher level decorations, with many others of McLaughlin's and his crew's friends having paid for their medals with their lives. Sunday, August 1st, 1943



Awards: DSC (Ploesti Raid), DFC, AM (3 OLC), ACM, EAME w/three campaign stars, WW II Victory Medal