Evening star., 1943-08-02
BY the Associated press

Ds tiie hSSoCldNeC FreSS.
CAIRO, Aug. at was a waist
gunners field day as we'll as a
bombardier'S in the daring record
raid on Rumania's Ploesti oil fields
yesterday, it became clear last night
as Liberators rolled into their Mid
east air base here and the crewmen
told their stories.
The combats started we'll before
the target was reached and con-
tinued on part of the homeward run.
Gunners of one Liberator piloted
by 1t. Col. j, M. Blyer of Tulsa,
Okla, shown down nine enemy pur-
suit planes. Col. Blyer said:
We'll, we are home. 1t was a
very successful raid and I feel sure
our targets are completely destroyed.
We fought off enemy fighters for
90 minutes. They continually made
attacks on us near the target and
again for a half hour of the home
ward trip"
Staff Sergt. F. B. Kozak of Car
bondale. Pa, a waist-gunner. shot
down three enemy pursuits. Mid
way from the target I got two and
the other one off the coast of
F. Greece" he said. AT one time
fighters were buzzing all around
our ships-some were very poor
some were very, bold, but we made
it hot for them ALL"
Rougher Than Kiel Raid.
1t was tough raid. Nobody de-
MED that. 1t Frank D. Plough of
Woodland Hills, Calf, Liberator
pilot who took part in one of the
Kiel raids, said tonight: This was
far rougher than Kiel The briefing
was wonderful. If 1t had not been
good we would never have made it.
1T was the closest thing to
/ Dante's inferno I've ever seen," said
Col. Leon Johnson, commanding
officer of one of the heavy bomber
groups who was plotting the Suzy
@. He added: I'm sure our group
get both targets which were as
SlSllEu W uS pui ~ WdsS JouSll. FCl y
tough-but a job so important II
was worth it. Fires laid by the
preceding group were SO heavy that
the target was flaming inferno"
Col. Johnson's group was the last
one over the target.
Mai. Norman Appold, Detroit
piloted one of the last Liberia tors
over the target area. AS his ship
reached the middle of the target
/ area a tremendous explosion rocked
/ the ship and covered it with SCOT
I Two of the crew were wounded
( slightly by the ack-ack.
1t. Robert H. Stork, Omaha, Nebr.
told the operations officer as he
reported back from the mission
that his bombs hit the cracking
tower of the refinery he was as
signed to wreck.
Fighter Opposition Heavy.
Capt William Anderson of Cedar
Falls, Iowa, a pilot, also told OF
heavy fighter opposition. I'VE met
fighters an hour before we reached
the target" Capt. Anderson said
1T was pretty tough going but
/ we saw a lot of German fighters
! put out of business. The flax was
pretty heavy too"
Staff Sergt. F. F. Beauregard Of
Salem, Mass, was another successful
/, gunner with two notches to mark
up-tWo Messerschmitt 109s, one
over the oil-feld country and one
over the Mediterranean. In the tor
turret of the same ship a technica
sergeant from Los Angeles &C.
counted for two other fighters or
the return trip.
Another Liberator piloted by 1t
Johnson Of Akron, Ohio, shot dowl
four enemy fighters.
Sergt. Nicholas Hunt of California
was on his second mission and go
his second Messerschmitt l09
Staff Sergt. Herman Siegfeldt
flying in the ship piloted by 1t
Plough. testified, as did crewmer
who returned earlier, that people
waved at us from the ground as WI
passed"
Refineries Left in Flames.
One heavy bombardment groul
commander, Col. John R. killer
Kane of Shreveport, La, in a pre-
liminary report to intelligence off
GERS, said the target area assigned
to his group was left a mass o
fire and smoke and that refinerie
in the area were ablaze.
Col Kanes unit met more aircraf
than in any previous operation, tn
preliminary report indicated How
ever, at least 33 enemy aircraft wer
| destroyed by this group alone.
Another bomber group made TO
Capanni, where there is a larg
refinery 20 miles north of Ploest
Preliminary reports say it was com
pletely destroyed.
I'VE dropped enough bombs t
send all the oil in Rumania by al
to Berlin" said 1t. Arthur Johnso
of Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Staff Sergt Larry M, McCabe {
Killona, La. a waist-gunner, knocke
out an entire machine-gun batter
lined along the rooftop of a build
! ing in the oil fields. Another ser
!. geant described the blowing up of a
oil tank as lust like the coffee pc
J shooting out"
Heroes Of drama over the targe
were Technical Sergt. Joseph Landr