Evening star., 1943-06-12
Mediterranean
Continued From First Paee.)
bombing from Malta as early as last
February.

bombing from Malta as early as last
February.
Weaker Than PantelIeria.
Only 7-by-2 miles in size 1t Is even
less strongly held than Pantelleria,
apparently is without its own air
cover and is even farther from Axis
air and sea support than was Pam
telleria.
Heavy bompers from the Desert
Air Force, however, were busy see
ing to it that no aid would be forth
coming, and blasted at Reggie Gala
bria, on the toe of Italy, Thursday
night. A hangar was blown up and
others set afire.
Malta airmen also attacked tar
gets at Pozzallo and Milazzo, In
Sicily.
During the ANAL dramatic hours
OF the surrender of Pantelleria, As
miles of Cap Bon and the first
enemy island fortress ever to sue
cumb to air power alone, Allied air.
men were over the stronghold con-
tlnuously and soon after midday
warded of so to so German dive
bombers which attempted to break
up the British invasion convoy.
Fourteen Of the dive bombers were
shot down, however, and only two
Allied planes were lost.
(The claim, not borne out by
any Allied source, was made by
the German radio today that an
8,0O0-ton troop transport and 13
landing boats were sunk in the
German attack. Three cruisers,
eight other warships and six
transports were heavily dam
aged, the radio asserted.)
Pantelleria. first enemy fortress
island in the world to surrender to
air power becomes a vital base for
Allied domination of the Mediter-
ranean.
From there fighter planes can pro-
vide cover for bombers ranging over
the western half of Sicily, IS miles
away, while others from Malta cover
the east.
(The Air Ministry in London
today called this "one of the most
important features of the is
lands capture. The ministry also
said that it was beaten into sub
lection at total cost of some 40
airmen.'D
Pantelleria was the first metro
politan Axis territory to fall to the
Casablanca formula OF uncondi-
tional surrender. Its capitulation
was forced at astonishingly small
cost.
No warships were lost in the series
Of naval ombardments-hve last
week and another Tuesday witnessed
by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower,
Allied commander in chief, and Ad-
miral Sir Andrew Browne Cunning
ham, naval chief in the Mediter-
ranean.
The islands unconditional sur
render after 10 days of the most
concentrated air attacks ever di-
rected against single area was
hailed by Maj. Gen James H. Doo-
little. commander of the strategic
air force, as definitely a landmark
in the history of military aviation
The white flag was hoisted on
Pantelleria just 20 minutes before
the expectation of the third ulti-
matum dropped on the island, which
Benito Mussolini had designed as
his Mediterranean Gibraltar"
In the name of Gen. Eisenhower,
1t. Gen. Carl A. Spaatz had sent
the first surrender demand on Tues
day to the Pantelleria commandant
The final one went Thursday.
I'm order to avoid further useless
loss of life, the commander in chief
Eisenhower invites your excellency
to cease all resistance and surrender
the garrison of the island to the
forces under my command" said the
note, which gave six hours for a
decision.
"As one soldier to another, your
excellency must know as I do that
resistance under the present circum-
stances, however heroic, is utterly
hopeless"
Yesterday morning an American
fighter pilot flying over the doomed
island saw the white flag.
That was at ll:40 am. $40 am
E. w. t..
At about the same tipe, Admiral
Paressini, senior Italian ofYicer mes
saged: Beg surrender through lack
of water"
British troops moved in on land
Ing barges at noon. Occupation was
complete % minutes later.
At 1910 pm. the German dive
bombers struck, only to be scattered
by the ever-present P-3s Lightnings.
The Lightnings forced the Ger
man dive bombers tt jettison their
bombs haphazardly.