Evening star., 1943-07-06
Mediterranean
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Nl6UIl6HUucUU
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stroyed an estimated IS more parked
on the ground.
Three FOrtreSSeS were lost.
, They handed the Germans such a
savage mauling that throughout the
rest of the day only about 10 enemy
! fighters rose to meet succeeding
bomber formations. P-38 Lightnings
doWned five of these.
Other Allied air Squadrons in
/ f1icted damage on three other land
| ing fields in Sicily-at Licata, Mar
sala and Sciacca, the war bulletin
said.
Allied plane losses were placed at
II during yesterday and the night
, before. when night bombers blasted
targets at Villacidro, in Sardinia,
and at Catania. in Sicily.
Striking in from the eastward yes
terday. American heavy bombers of
the Middle East force blasted the
Sicilian ferry terminus of MeSSina
again. returning to their bases with
out loss
375.OOO Pounds Dropped.
More than 50 Liberator bombers
dropped 375,00O pounds of bombs on
Messina. communique of the 9th
Air Force declared.
| Hits blanketing the ferry terminal
| installations in Messina caused eX-
tensive damage" the communique
said. and bombs were laid on railway
tracks, a roundhouse. warehouse,
freight yards. Oil tanks and barracks
by the Liberators, striking in three
waves. One string of bombs fell
across the Lazaretto Mole
The Liberators doWned three en-
emy planes and returned without
loss to themselves
The headquarters war bulletin
reported that during yesterday and
the night before the Northwest
African Air Forces had knocked
down AZ aircraft.
Besides the 30 victories officially
attributed to Fortress gunners and
/ five scored by Lightning pilots also
over Gerbini, Allied headquarters
announced that five planes had
been destroyed by Malta aircraft
and coastal squadrons had downed
/ two more.
In contrast, the German COM
/ munioue as broadcast from Berlin
and recorded by the Associated
/ Press asserted the British Amer
| ican air forces lost 81 planes,
mostly four -engined bombers, lin
repeated thrusts against the
Sicilian coasts yesterday"
THE Italian communique. re-
corded by the Associated Press,
said the raids at Messina, Ca
| tania and Marsala caused
limited" damage and casualties.
I This communique reported an
Axis raid on the harbor of Bizerte,
! claim not Immediately con-
| frmed by Allied sourcesD
New Peak of Intensity.
The swarms of enemy fighters met
Yesterday over Gerbini gave new
indications that the Axis has rushed
aerial Eeinforcements to the Medi-
| terranean theater, where the week
end saw the Allied offensive reach
a new peak of intensity, with many
air attacks on Sicily and Sardinia
and British commando-type jab at
| Crete.
The Axis sent up 200 or more
| fighters in a desperate attempt to
drive off American and British air
craft which bombed five Sicilian
landing fields virtually all day Sun
day in mighty July the Fourth
attack, but As of the enemy were
knocked down. 43 of them fighters
an Allied communique said yes
| terday.
1t was one of the bitterest days of
the Mediterranean air campaign,
the communique declaring: The
enemy resisted determinedly."
At the eastern end of the Medi-
terranean, small bodies of British
troops dashed on to the beaches of
Axis-held Crete from shallow draft
vessels Sunday night, raided air.
fields, destroyed grounded planes,
left number of oil dumps af1re and
withdrew safely The raid was an
nounced last night in a Cairo COM
munique
Greeks Cautioned.
In a broadcast to the Greek pa
triots on Crete, the British Ministry
of Information in London quickly
pointed out that this is not an in
vasion" and cautioned them not to
betray themselves by premature re-
SiStance.
The day is coming when the sig
nal will be given for the warriors of
Crete to fight side by side with the
invasion forces to exact justice for
YOUR enemys crimes" the broadcast
added. Until then stay in your
places"
The hard. quick thrust, which
caught the Axis unawares, was de-
scribed by the Cairo communique
as successful"
LONDON sources said the Brit
ish raiding units apparently were
Commands. One of the first
questions raised in the capital was
what had happened to the mine
fields which Axis propaganda had
asserted were sown heavily along
all coasts menaced by invasion
armies. but there was no official
answer