Evening star., 1942-06-17
All Americans
Back Safely:
Leader Says
Former Airline Pilot
Regards Attack as
Routine Flight
Earlier Story on Page AID
BY EDWARD KENNEDY,

Associated Press War Correspondent.
AN ALLIED AIRDROME IN
THE LIBYAN DESERT, June II.
1T was like shooting fish in a
BARREL" an American flight COM
mander said today in describing
how United States Army Liber-
ator tConsolidated) bombers
scored IS direct bomb hits on two
Italian battleships in operation
with the Raj in the Central
Mediterranean Monday.
Maj. Alfred F. Kalberer. a former
civil airline pilot from Lafayette,
Ind, was the flight commander. He
said every one of the American
bombers returned safely.
Concentrated on BattIeships.
They concentrated first on the
two Italian capital ships and turned
their bombsights onto accompany
ing cruisers and destroyers only
after hitting one battleship 20 times
and the other Is.
In addition they set one cruiser
aflre and damaged destroyer.
Can RAF communique from
Cairo yesterday, announcing the
American participation in the
fight for the first time, said the
Americans and Raj torpedo
planes accounted in all for one
heavy Italian cruiser and two
destroyers sunk. and two battle
ships. two cruisers and two de-
stroyers damaged
can RAF announcement in
Cairo today said that in a sec
ond air attack Monday night an
additional hit was scored on one
of the two battleships which the
Americans and British had left
in flamesD
Back at the desert airfield where
his planes are based Maj. Kalberer
paid tribute to his pilots and planes
for a performance which he said
went as smoothly as commercial
air flight
U. S. Planes Reached Scene First.
He disclosed that the American
bombers few to the attack so high
the crew used oxygen, that British
observer accompanied each Liberia
tor, that the Americans reached the
scene first and attacked before Brit
ish planes arrived. that the Italian
feet was prevented from even COM
ing within range of the convoy it
set out to attack, that the two DAM
aged italian warships were left so
hard hit they probably would re-
quire repairs which would take four
to five months.
The American attack was followed
up Immediately by British torpedo
carrying planes which sank the
cruiser which the Americans had
set aflre. it was disclosed.
The Americans caught the Italian
warships by surprise and encoun-
tered only few rounds of anti
aircraft fire, these missing "by a
mile" the Americans said.
The British torpedo bombers,
however, ran into the brunt of the
anti-aircraft fire as the Italians got
their defenses into operation be-
latedly, and only two of the British
planes reached home undamaged.
Caught Italians by Surprise.
1--WE took off before dawn" Maj.
Kalberer said. Our American
Liberators and two British Liberia
tors got in formation at dawn at
an agreed-upon rendezvous along
the coast One of the British Lib
orators, which was slower. could not
keep up with us and went back"
The squadron leader said the
bomberS passed over British con-
voy whose escort vessels opened fire
at sight of Strange-looking planes
which they did not recognize. They
kept shooting until halted by signal.
Tossing a fragment of anti-air-
craft shell onto table afterward,
Maj. Kalberer said with a laugh:
That's what they put into my
plane. It's probably lend-lease ma
terial. But we got off safely
AT g." Maj. Kalberer said, I'VE
saw smoke on the horizon. 1t was
the Italian feet out of Taranto. We
were waiting for our rendezvous
with British torpedo planes. but the
fleet showed up before we had ex-
pected, so we went at it.
I'VE coasted down and came at
them out of the sun. They appar-
emily neither heard nor saw us.
They were not expecting a high
altitude attack.
Our first flight went for the
second battleship," Maj. Kalberer
(See KENNEDY, Page 2-XJ