Evening star., 1942-06-15
Those Mystery Bombers

The flight of long-range American
bombers which suddenly appeared
out Of the Turkish sky and settled
down in emergency landings offers a
tantalizing glimpse into the far
flung activities Of our air force.
Turkey being neutral, the bombers
and their crews were promptly
though courteously interned. Also,
the news became common property.
However, at this writing, nothing
is known beyond the fact of their
arrival. Washington and our dip
lomatic staff at Ankara, the Turkish
capital, where three of the bombers
landed, keep tight-lipped silence.
The crews were whisked of to COM
Portable quarters, where they are in
seclusion, with no interviews per-
mitted. The veil of secrecy is thus
maintained.
In default of official statements,
all Europe and the Near East are
buzzing with rumors of the most
varied character. The bombers are
said to have come either from Egypt
or Syria, and to have done a number
OF mutually exclusive tasks, such as
bombing the Rumanian oil fields,
Rumanian ports and the German
occupied Russian Black Sea coast.
Axis sources claim that they either
vainly tried to reach Sevastopol or
escaped from that beleaguered
fortress-the reader can take his
choice OF these obviously contradic-
tory theses.
Since the trio which landed at the
Ankara airport have been identified
as Consolidated B-24s, they are
known to be capable of flying 5000
miles with a four-ton maximum
bomb load. 1t would thus have been
possible for them to have flown from
Alexandria, Egypt, to the Ploesti oil
fields without passing over neutral
Turkish territory. The airline dis
tance between those two points is
Just short of 1000 miles. The planes
would have had to pass over Greek,
Bulgarian and Rumanian territory,
but Greece is Axis-occupied, while
we have declared war in Bulgaria
and Rumania, 50 this would all be
enemy territory. From Egypt to the
German occupied Russian Black Sea
ports Of Odessa and Nikolaev, also
reported attacked by the American
squadron, is between 1900 and 1900
miles by that same route, while
Sevastopol would not be much far
ther.
II the planes had started from
British Northern Syria, the
airline to Sevastopol would be only
TOO miles, and about 900 to either
Odessa or the Rumanian coast, re-
spectively. But that route would
lead over Turkey, and it is doubtful
that our Government would care to
affront Turkish neutrality by any
deliberate violation, even though the
bombers might have flown at night
and at a great altitude. Therefore,
the Egyptian base hypothesis seems
the more likely one.
Taken by itself, this daring air
raid has scant strategic significance.
Yet psychologically it may be Of con-
siderable importance. It must
hearten Russian spirits to find
American aid coming to them by
this unexpected route at so crucial
moment, while the Turks have
been given an ocular demonstration
of American resourcefulness and de-
termination. Furthermore, If this
be merely the first of other raids, an
unexpected factor has been added to
the strategic picture in the whole
Black Sea area. Both friends and
foes are doubtless pondering this
intriguing episode as possible por-
tent of bigger things to come.
Conlev Pictures