Evening star., 1942-06-14
American Air Attacks on Axis
In Black Sea Area Hinted in
Forced Landings in turkey
Targets Believed
Bases in Russia,
Rumuniun Oil
z, TIE Associated Press.

Es TIE Associated Press.
LONDON, June 13-Four mys-
terious United States bombers,
reported by official Turkish
sources to have landed in Turkey
yesterday with American crews,
were described in British press
dispatches tonight as members
of United States squadron
based on Egypt which had been
bombing Axis bases on the Ger
man-occupied Black Sea coast OF
Russia.
This, said an Exchange Telegraph
agency dispatch from Ankara,
would seem to be the first indica-
ton that powerful American
bomber command exists in the Mid
die East"
According to some reports reach
1ng London, Rumanian refneries-
through which pass much of Ger
many's present oil supply-were
among the targets Of the powerful,
long range bombers.
In Ankara, United States Ambas-
sador Laurence A. Steinhardt re-
fused to make any statement con-
cerning the incident.
Not only was this the first indi-
cation that United States air forces
as such were in combat in the Mid
die East, but it was the first hint OF
direct action by American fighting
services in the battle of Russia.
Crews Are Interned.
Turkish sources of information
were most circumspect. The official
radio stated merely that four Amer
lean planes had made forced land
ings at various villages. Informed
sources added that the crevs-esti-
mated variously at from 81 to 23
in all-had been interned. Three,
it was stated, were wounded.
The Reuters correspondent in An
kara reported. however, that he had
seen three of the bombers at the
Ankara Airport, that they were
Consolidated four -engined aircraft.
and that they were believed to have
attacked Odessa and Nikolaev, both
Black Sea ports in occupied Russian
territory.
Twenty-one crew members. the
Reuters correspondent added, were
housed in the outskirts of Ankara.
1t was reported, this source went
on, that the bombers flew from
Egypt and ran short of fuel on the
return trip when forced from their
course by German fighters.
The Exchange Telegraph corre-
spondent reported that % flyers in
all had been taken into custody,
eight of them officers. He said that
a villa six miles from Ankara had
been placed at their disposal and
that some of them were seen lunch
ing today at an Ankara restaurant
"shadowed by plain clothes men,"
It was reported, he added, that a
fifth American bomber which was
flying southwark landed at Diar-
pakhir in Southeastern Anatolia, %
minutes flying time from the Syrian
border
One of the American planes had
two of its motors smashed. Ex-
change Telegraph said, and sentries
with fixed bayonets were on guard
over those planes which were at
the Ankara airport.
German Radio Interested.
Since last night German radio
had displayed intense preoccupa-
ton over the landings, attempting
to make the incidents appear as
"a severe offense against Turkish
neutrality" and even suggesting the
aircraft had dropped leaflets be-
fore they landed.
DNB, the German news agency
conjectureed that the planes had
taken part in the fighting about the
Crimean naval base of Sevastopol
on the Black Sea, where the Ger
man Army is conducting violent
assault on the Russian positions.
Meanwhile. in a separate broad
cast from the one which reported
the landings, the Turkish radio ex-
pressed pleasure with the new
Anglo-Soviet pact, particularly be-
cause of Russia's agreement not
to seek territorial aggrandizement
AS a routine measure, Turkeys
assembly yesterday adopted a bill
prolonging for another six months
the state of martial law already ex-
listing for the Dardanelles, Bosporus
and Thrace regions.