High above the Romanian countryside in August 1941, the night was still and foreboding, and the Soviet TB3 bomber, an airborne giant, lumbered through the darkness.

Attached beneath its reinforced wings, two small Polikarpov I16 fighters awaited their moment. The Zveno project, an audacious Soviet experiment, had turned this TB3 into a flying aircraft carrier, ready to unleash its lethal cargo. In a few moments, these fighters would detach and fly back to base independently, striking targets too far beyond the reach of conventional fighters and too welldefended for bombers to be effective.

The bomber then approached the Ploiești oil refineries, a critical supply point for the Axis powers. Below, the sprawling complex glimmered faintly, unaware of the impending strike.

Suddenly, the TB3’s signal lights blinked. The I16 fighters detached and roared into action, diving toward the refineries. Releasing an aircraft from another in midair was a feat of engineering and precision. The fighters had to dive away and maneuver quickly as soon as they were released to avoid the massive bomber’s slipstream, which could tear them apart.
The I16s deftly dodged the TB3’s wake, their engines roaring as they descended upon the target. The sky erupted in flashes as bombs found their marks.

Antiaircraft fire suddenly lit up the night, a lethal web of flak and tracer rounds. The TB3, now vulnerable, shuddered as it took hits, and the crew inside held their breath as they trusted the metal skin of the boxy old bomber with their lives.



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