Evening star., 1943-04-19
Allies Destroy "a Axis Planes
Including So Huge Transports
Carrying Troops Out Of Tunisia
Attackers Led by
Americans Hit
80 Other Craft
By the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
NORTH AFRICA, April 19.-Al-
lied aerial squadrons, hammering
at the Axis from Enfldaville to
Palermo in support of Gen. Sir
Harold AleXander's 18th Army
group, scored the greatest single
air victory of the war in this
sector yesterday by destroying IA
enemy aircraft So Junkers
transports and 16 flghters-off
the Tunisian coast.
Warhawk and Spitfire fighters en-
gagged more than 100 enemy trans
port aircraft and their escort and,
in addition to the IA destroyed, 80
other planes were reported damaged.
military quarters in Cairo said
that 81 of the transports were
carrying troops out of TuniSia.
whether this was the begin
ming of an effort by Marshal
Erwin Rommel to withdraw his
army before the United States,
British and French forces can
close in on Tunis and Bizerte was
not clear, but the engagement
offered a preview Of what could
be expected if he tried full
scale evacuation.
Neither was it brought out
whether the Axis troops aboard
the transports were from the
armed services or from uni
formed non-combatant and tech
nical detachments)
The greatest previous victory in
the African campaign was scored
by Americans recently when So en-
emy aircraft were destroyed.
A communique here said seven
planes were lost, while the Cairo
communique said nine were lost.
This was but one of a series of
exploits in which Allied airmen and
ground gunners shot down IS Axis
planes during the day and night.
Sandman, Sicilian and Tunisian
targets were heavily attacked.
Large Fires Left at Palermo.
Flying Fortresses left large fires
burning in the freight yards and on
an air field at the Sicilian port of
Palermo and a communique said
that bombs were seen to burst
among enemy fighters that had just
landed from an attack on the pre-
ceding formation of Fortresses."
(The Italian high command re-
ported in a broadcast account
of widespread aerial blows at the
nation that great damage was
caused in Palermo. The num-
Der of victims so far ascertained
is 38 dead and SO injured the
communique said
United States, RAF and South
African pilots of the Western Desert
Air force hunted across the Sicilian
Straits until late yesterday to score
the spectacular blow against Mar
shall Rommel's aerial shipping IA
cilities.
(The Cairo communique, issued
from United States headquarters,
identified the participants only
as "the desert fighter group of the
9th United States Air Force"
Presumably the British and
South African pilots accredited at
Allied headquarters with share
in the coup are attached to the
9th Air Force for tactical pur-
poses.
ut was almost entirely an
American show. it was reported
in Cairo. although British i'm
perial planes provided top covero
The huge formation of Junkers,
with strong fighter protection, was
sighted flying toward Sicily almost
at sea level.
Warhawk squadrons dived as
single unit at the transports while
the Spitfires engaged the covering
MeSserSchmittS.
Many transports fell into the sea
wreathed in flames. Others de-
liberately crash-landed on Cap Bon,
which juts into the Mediterranean
so miles northeast of Tunis.
1T was a massacre and the Axis
fighters could do little to prevent it
an official statement said. ut was
only when their ammunition was
exhausted and their fuel running
low that the warhawks gave up the
chase. BY that time So JU-52s, IA
ME-l09s and ME-l10s had been
destroyed. Our losses were seven
aircraft"
tThe conflict between the Cairo
and Allied headquarters bulle-
tins as to whether nine or seven
attacking planes were lost per-
haps was due to lag in COM
munications or notification at
Allied headquarters of the safe
landing of two of the aircraft
which were listed in Cairo as still
missingo
Yesterdays total bag of Axis air
(See AFRICA, Page A-5)
BroziI Denies Sending