Keith Karl Compton was an American Air Force Lieutenant General who was Vice Commander in Chief, in the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command. He flew as the Element Lead Aircraft's Command Pilot with Gen. Uzal Ent, the Ploesti Mission Commander, on Operation Tidal Wave in the B-24D, Teggie Ann, over the Ploesti oil refineries, August 1, 1943.



In North Africa, Col. Keith Compton had been the commander of the 409th Bombing Squadron, then operations officer for the 93rd Bomb Group in 1942. In 1943 he became commander of the 376th Bomb Group and led the Ploesti Raid with General Uzal Ent. He, then, served as Assistant to the Air Chief of Staff for Operations, 15th AAF in North Africa in March, 1944 and returned to the U.S. in July, 1944 as Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Training, 2nd AAF, Colorado Springs, CO. His career as SAC's Chief of Staff, then AF Operations Deputy sitting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the Chief of Staff, US Air Force. Then, he was Vice Commander in Chief, SAC.



Although Compton was the Commander of the the Element Lead aircraft leading both the 93rd and the 376th Bomb Groups for the critically important Ploesti mission, at the railroad junction at Targovste, short of his first Initial Point, he was ordered by the Mission Commander, General Uzal Ent, riding with him in Teggie Ann, Compton's Element Lead airplane, to turn south toward Bucharest, instead of continuing north toward his assigned targets at Ploesti. Compton obeyed General Ent's order and refused to turn back north, even after desperate radio calls from the pilots of several of the following aircraft, and a warning from his own navigator, Harold Wickland, on their aircraft intercom, that he had made a disastrous wrong turn, he continued south toward Bucharest, finally turning back northeast, as he flew around Ploesti. But he and the planes following him never attacked their mission targets. Compton finally dropped his bombs harmlessly over the hills northwest of the Ploesti refineries and flew home to Benghazi, almost completely undamaged.



Several pilots from both the 93rd and the 376th Bomb Groups, after recovering from their shock at what they had seen their Element Leader do, finally, acted on their own, against their own attack plan orders, and turned their bombers back to the north and west, toward Ploesti's oil refinery area, in order to, at the very least, bomb targets of opportunity. For their unselfish acts of determination and bravery, a number of them were shot down and killed (KIA), or wounded, flying over the concentrated flak guns south of the refinery area, including, Col. Addison Baker, his copilot, Major John Jerstad, along with their entire crew on their B-24D, Hell's Wench. Also Major John Palm, and a number of others, flew north and west into the heavy flak and refinery areas south of Ploesti, all of whom were determined to bomb targets of opportunity, rather than fail to carry out their mission orders, even though it had already been compromised by events beyond their control, including their Mission Commander and their Element Commander's failure to carry out their mission's combat orders.



Compton’s formation made up of the 93rd, and the 376th Bomb Groups, had reached Rumania well ahead of Kane’s two groups. It descended to low level and made its planned turn to the south at Targoviste, miles short of the correct Identification Point (IP) approaching Ploesti. Col. Addison Baker, in, Hell's Wench, commanding the 93rd Bomb Group, following Compton, saw Ploesti to his left, and refused to follow Compton south. He turned his group, the 93rd Bomb Group, and led it toward it's targets at Ploesti. Baker, John Jerstad, and their entire crew were shot down and killed (KIA) before reaching their target. In the meantime, Compton had turned, almost reversing course, and flew back north and west toward Ploesti but never bombed any of his targets according to the attack plan, finally dropping his bombs harmlessly in the hills north of the city, and returned home with those who followed him, almost completely undamaged. Col. Compton and Gen. Ent, both received received Distinguished Service Cross medals for their actions over Ploesti. August 1, 1943.