Evening star., 1943-08-25
Allies Again Hammer
South Italy Without
Fighter Opposition
By The Associated Press.

ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
NORTH AFRICA. Aug. 25.-Al-
lied air squadrons-signif1cantly
meeting no opposition from Axis
fighters - hammered communi-
cations in Southern Italy again
yesterday, including a block
buster assault near Naples last
night, and left an Italian cruiser
afire off the south coast, head
quarters announced today.
Dive bombers, fighter bombers and
night bombers swept out to the at
tacks and depleted Axis air forces
refused battle for the second sue
cessive day The only air opposition
Monday was against Liberators from
the Middle East which raided Bari,
in Southeastern Italy.
Deadly American ABS dive bomb
ers rammed home two hits with 500
| pound bombs on the cruiser, blowing
of its stern. Fires leaped from the
ship as the attackers winged away.
Other A-36 invaders yesterday
blasted railroad facilities at Sapri,
on the Gulf Of Policastro: at Castro
villari, In the center of Southern
Italy, and at Sibari, on the east
| coast.
Steel Works Bombed.
RAF and RCAF Wellingtons
| poured two-ton block buster bombs
on steel works and railroad yards at
| Tore Annunziata, on the Gulf of
Naples below the big port, despite
heavy antiaircraft fire.
Tore Annunziata is another in
the series of rail control points on
the line south Of Naples which We'll
lingtons have been pounding since
The closing stages of the Sicilian
campaign. Photographs showed
both rail yards and the adjoining
| steel works were hard hit.
Four Allied planes were missing
from all attacks, headquarters re-
| ported.
The only opposition encountered
was by Beauflghter which blew up
and sank schooner off the Italian
coast off Rome. 1t was jumped by
two Focke-W 1905, which opened
fire and then broke off the attacks
without causing damage.
The Beaufghter, which swept in
so low it knocked off one of the
| schooner's masts, also left one of
two barges af1re. The plane crash
! landed at sea on its way home but
the crew was rescued Other Beau
| fighters left two tugs sinking from
cannon-fire attacks off Corsica.
Roads and Tracks Hit.
Two formations of A-36s Slashed
roads and rail functions at Sapri
without even seeing enemy planes
They reported hitting a tunnel
mouth as we'll as tracks.
Another wave scared inland to
Castrovillari. key communications
center on the instep of the Italian
boot, laying bombs on the tracks
| Spitfires provided cover for them.
The cruiser attack was the first
! chance the A-36s had had to en-
| ploy divebombing tactics on large
enemy naval vessel, although the
new planes-already proved to be
one of the most effective attack
| units of the Allied air fleets-sank
many smaller vessels during the.
battle for Sicily
South African Kittyhawks strafed
| 20 to 80 trucks moving eastward
/ from Reggie Calabria, at the tip of
| Italy southeast of Messina.
May Be Conserving Forces.
The almost complete disappear
ance of the Germans from Italian
! skies-except for the attacks in de-
fense of Bari-after days of heavy
| losses in attempting to turn back
American daylight bombers led to
| the supposition that the Nazis were
unwilling to risk further depletion
of their forces in defending Italian
communications, already battered
beyond immediate repair in many
| places. Instead, it appeared that
they were conserving their dwindling
air resources in hopes of employing
then more profitably later.
| Earlier repeated heavy bombings
of enemy airdromes in the south of
Italy compelled the enemy to with
draw the bulk of his fighters as
we'll as bombers from bases within
easy striking range of advanced AL
| lied fields in Sicily.
Allied planes in the Middle East
downed an enemy aircraft off the
coast of Cirenaica yesterday. and
Beaufighters damaged an enemy
merchant ship off Western Greece.
One Allied plane was lost.
The Italian communique, recorded
hV tho ASCocioteS procc from