Synthetic oil facility ie Sudetenlaendische Treibstoffwerke /STW/ had been built at Zaluzi in the area of brown coal pits. Not only diesel but also both automotive and aviation fuels were made of coal here. Ninety eight per cent of the STW Co. established on Oct 9, 1939 were owned by the Herman Goering Werke syndicate. Investment in the STW was approved even by the Reich Armament Minister Albert Speer at the expense of the other syntetic oil plants. Having been in construction for three years the STW production was launched on Dec 15, 1942.
Although the RAF had bombed the Leuna syntetic fuel refinery already in August 1940, the STW was beyond reach of their twin-engined bombers. An amount of 4,3 mio metric tons of oil had been turned out for the Third Reich War Machine that year and was increased by about 400th metric tons each consecutive one. But none of these ´oil facility targets´ was within the reach of Spitfire and Thunderbolt escorting fighter planes till July 28, 1943. On that day the Forts and Libs were escorted from England for the first time by P47 Thunderbolts with auxiliary tanks extending their range to 375 miles. Under their protection the bunch of the heavies could penetrate farther into Germany and bomb further syntetic oil plants of Heide, Farge, Salzbergen, Nienburg, Duelmen, Gelsenkirchen, Reisholz and Wesseling. In August 1943 sixty percent of the Luftwaffe fighters were disposed on the Western front, 18 on the Italian one and 22 on the Russian one respectively.
General Carl Arnold Spaatz commanding the USAAF regarded refineries a top priority of 1944. From Nov 1943 were No 8 USAAF´s heavies escorted by twin-engined P 38 Lighting and eleven more oil targets – Hitzacker, Dollbergen, Derben, Salzgitter,Luetzkendorf, Leuna, Boehlen, Moelbis, Rositz, Zeitz and Neuburg - found themselves within their reach. From Mar 1944 No 8 USAAF´s Forts and Libs were protected by long range P 51D Mustangs and further four synthetic oil targets of Poelitz, Ruhland, Bruex and Freiham were added by Gen Arnold Spaatz.
The STW Brux should have been bombed on Apr 21 and 23, but both the missions were aborted due to clouds over the target area. The heavies were under attack of Luftwaffe´s Bf 109s and Fw 190s during their whole outward leg through Germany. Having crossed the Ore Mts they were imperilled by flak nr Brux. The STW was bombed in bright sky at two p.m. and nearly three quarters of their bombload hit the target area. There were no smoke spots there.Both the shifts were just in place. Not only the STW employees but also POWs in the camps nearby and civilians were killed. The bomb raid was a success and the STW was knocked out. The facility was in flames till the next morning. Reconstruction was launched instantly but due to ten more raids the STW output dropped to a mere third late 1944. Not each of them was such a success as on May 12.
Production of automotive fuel and aviation one reached the levels of 94 and 156 per cent of the 1942 year in May 1944 respectively. In June these figures plummeted to 75 and 52 and in July to mere 48 and 35 per cent. Output of aviation fuel further dropped significantly in Sep 1944 and Jan 1945. It resulted in drastic shortening of new Luftwaffe fighter pilots´ courses. Wehrmacht´s waging mobile war was a problem now. So there is no doubt that WWII was shortened by targeting oil facilities.
Bibliography :
Martin Veselý – The Stars over the Ore Mts - The Nase vojsko Publ 2005
Chaz Bowyer – History of the RAF – The Dolphin Publ 1977
Target : Germany – His Majesty´s Stationery Office 1944
Brzobohaty, Horak, Baca, Havlin – The Air Battle over Slavicin – Supporters Club of Slavicin
Region´s History Publ. 2004
As the further air raids as the losses of Nos 8 and 15 USAAFs are shown by two texts HERE and
HERE, Nos 618 - 689 pictures comments to them mentioned below HERE :
No 624 – The STW knocked out on May 12, 1944
Nos 625 + 626 + 628 – 631 – Refineries at Kolin and Pardubice on Aug 24, 1944 – No 15 USAAF
Nos 635 + 697 – Refineries at Odertal and Blechhammer in Silesia on Dec 17, 1944 – No 15 USAAF
Nos 637 – 649 – No 100 BG massackered before Ruhland refinery´s IP on Sep 11, 1944 – No
8 USAAF