The 1st Fighter Group received its third DUC for an escort mission on 18 May 1944. Assigned to escort the force of 700 B-17 and B-24 bombers to the oil refineries at Ploieşti, Romania, bad weather caused roughly half the bombers to abort the mission. The 1st Fighter Group continued through the heavy weather to support B-17s that continued to the target and engaged 80 Luftwaffe and Romanian fighters attacking the Flying Fortresses. The group's 48 P-38s shot down and damaged nearly 20 aircraft for a loss of one P-38, and drove off the rest.