Evening star., 1943-04-05
All u. S. Bombers
Return From
Roid on Italy
By the Associated Press.

BY tle Associated PRESS.
Massive fleets of Allied air
craft, including hundreds Of
Flying Fortresses, blasted at
Axis industrial, U-boat and ship
ping strongholds from Kiel in
the north to Naples in the south
yesterday and today, causing
heavy damage and, by Axis &C
count, a big loss of life.
Smashing at Naples, key main
land supply port for Tunisia, nearly
100 of Mai. Gen. James H. Doolittle' S
our-motored giants carried out the
greatest raid of the war on that
city from French North African
bases yesterday.
A large force of Flying Fortresses
headed out over the Dover Strait
this morning toward France, lndl-
eating another heavy daylight at
tack in the wake of yesterdays
American bombing near Paris in
which a force Of 1873 bombers at
tackled the Renault works and other
military targets.
Britains big bombers dropped
more than 1000 tons of bombs in the
raid on Kiel, German naval base
and U-boat building center. Essen,
second most blitzed city OF the
Reich, had its heaviest raid in recent
weeks on Saturday night.
21 Ships Are Hit.
It was officially announced that
q ships were hit in the harbor OF
Naples. as we'll as three submarines,
floating dock and a cluster OF
small vessels Explosives loosed by
the FortreSses hit 81 aircraft parked
on the Capodichino alrfleld nearby.
Nearly 200 tons of bombs were
dropped in Is minutes and all the
bombers. which we're without escort,
returned to their bases.
Only last Wednesday similar
force of Fortresses had attacked the
port of Cagliari and airfields OF
Southern Sardinia in an attempt to
snarl the AXIS lfelines across the
Mediterranean to Field Marshal
Erwin Rommel. Every one of that
group also returned to its base.
The italian high command, in
communique broadcast from Rome
and recorded by the Associated
Press, said great damage was done
to both public and private buildings
in both Naples the Fortress target,
and in Syracuse, where railway
sidings and moored seaplaneS were
attacked by Malta fighter
Naples reported 22l dead and 307
injured.
Three Formations in Raid.
Three formations of Fortresses
made the Naples raid. They were
led by Col Stanley j. Donovan of
Portland, Me: Col. Fay R. Upthe-
grove of Rev, Pa, and 1t. Col. @. T.
Quick of Salt Lake City.
Fighter opposition was weak and
the majority of the almost five score
bomber crews saw no sign of enemy
aircraft Of the few which did chal-
lenge the Fortresses, number were
damaged.
Large, clear patches in the cloudy
sky over Naples enabled the bonn
bardiers to line up the targets accu-
rately, observers said, and huge
clouds of smoke quickly billowed up
from the objectives
Of the q ships damaged in the
harbor, three were liners. Bomb
bursts were reported to have covered
the Capodichino air field. where 81
aircraft were observed on the
ground
VeSuviuS, 7 miles east south
east of the city, was belChlng white
smoke as the Fortresses passed and
the crews made up the slogan: See
Naples and Dive"
Crippled Plane Stays Up.
Two engines of Fortress named
Gremlin. piloted by Capt L. V.
Casey of Portland, Greg, we're put
out of action by anti-aircraft fire.
but the plane maintained its flight.
The trousers of 1t. Jack Mole of
Livington, N. Mny., were hit by two
pieces of flax, but he was not in
Jured.
just before the FortreSses hit
Naples Mitchell bombers dropped
heavy loads of explosives on the
harbor of Carloforte. on the south
west coast Of Sardinia. The crews
reported they hit a coastal vessel
and nine small boats, and started
fires in the boatyards, a warehouse
and along the waterfront, CThe
Italian communique said u persons
were killed and 80 Infused in Carlo
forte.)
Another Mitchell formation set
sf1re two ships in an attack on the
Sicilian channel convoy and de-
iSee RAIDS paoa AL