Evening star., 1943-06-10
Flyers Again Blast Ponte||erio;
z Enemy Planes Shot Down.;
Sicily Hommeredby5 50 Bombers
100000 Pounds
Of Bombs Dropped
On Two AirfieIds
By the Associated Press.

ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
NORTH AFRICA, June 1O.-Al-
lied air forces, steadily whiting
away at Axis resistance on the
Mediterranean outposts, have
executed new air assaults on
Pantelleria and Sicily in connec-
tion with a scouting raid by
British Commands against
Lampedusa, it was announced
today.
Striking in darkness from the sea
Monday night, the Commands
tested the defenses of Lampedusa,
tiny italian prison isle 80 miles south
of the invasion stepping stone of
Pantelleria, and retired with light
casualties after completing their
mission, a headquarters communique
said.
"a British naval CCmmunique
issued yesterday at Malta said
light surface forces had carried
out a coast reconnaissance of the
island Sunday night. London
sources. although unable to rec
oncile the time difference, were
inclined to believe the two an
nouncements referred to single
amphibious operation)
Two field guns and a number of
machine guns were said to have en-
gagged the Commando patrol Monday
night. The landing party returned
to British vessels off shore, all of
which escaped damage.
Sicilian Airfields Pounded.
Allied air forces blasted Pantel-
leria yesterday for the 18th sue
cessive day. and Cairo announce
ment said so American heavy bomb
ers ranged across the Mediterra-
mean for daylight attacks on air
fields at two points on Sicily, Ger
binI and Catanla.
Twelve enemy planes were report
ed shot down on the Pantelleria
raids and at least three by the
American flyers from Middle East
bases. One Allied plane was lost
over Pantelleria.
The strength of the Pantelleria
assault was not disclosed, but it un-
derscored the Allied determination,
announced in special communique
yesterday. to blast this Italian out
post until it collapses."
(The Italians. who yesterday
ignored an Allied demand for
surrender of Pantelleria, declared
today over the Rome radio: LAS
each hour goes by we await the
enemy at Pantelleria. We are
ready and Waiting.D
From their Middle East air bases,
RAF long-range fighters again swept
across to the Aegean Sea, where they
sank two sailing vessels, left another
sinking, and a fourth on it's side,
badly damaged. Three smaller YES
sells were attacked.
Decks of Battleship Damaged.
A final interpretation of recon-
naissance photographs taken over
tfC La Spezia Naval Base said decks
of one of Italys Littorio class bat
tleships apparently were damaged by
the Flying Fortress attack there
Saturday.
Identification marks on the deck
had disappeared.
A dispatch from the Fortress base
Saturday night said the 35,000-ton
Battleships Littorio. Vittorio Veneto
and Roma had been damaged by
hits and near misses of armor-
piercing bombs. Near misses do
their work below the waterline)
Col. John R. lKiller Kane of
Shreveport, La. the leader in the
raids on the two Sicilian airdromes,
said dispersal areas at both Gerbini
and Catania were churned by the
bursts of more than 250O00 pounds
of demolition, augmentation and
incendiary bombs.
Hangers and administration build
ings received direct hits. more than
two dozen enemy aircraft were
blasted to wreckage on the ground
and oil installations and storage
tanks we're destroyed, the creWmen
said.
Meet IS Axis Fighters.
Flying in two waves, the Liberia
tors encountered about Is Axis
fighters, both Messerschmitt l09s and
Macchi 202s. Two Messerschmitts
and one Macchi were shot down and
others probably were destroyed.
Clearly showing the Importance
Axis air chiefs attach to Pantel-
leria, the crews of both tactical and
strategic air forces of 1t. Gen. Carl
A. Spaatz's Northwest African
Command reported increased fight
er opposition.
Despite the increase in the num-
Der of Axis fighters. their defense
was no more effective than before,
1t was declared. American bombers
and fighters just defied them.
Bomb-carrying Lightnings, versa
tile American fighters, were cred
tied with the destruction of five
ME-l09s out of an attacking forma-
tion of 20.
Other types of American raiders
accounted for four Macchi-2o2s. two
ME-109s and one Focke- -Wulf 100.
Three Victories for One Pilot.
In dogfights which started as soon
as the Axis interceptors appeared
First 1t. Daniel Kennedy of Med
ford, Mass, was high scorer for
the day with three victories.
1t was officially announced that 6
Axis planes previously unreported
were shot down Tuesday. The rec
ords for June showed Axis loss of IS
planes against II for the Allies.
An Algiers radio broadcast record
ed in London said 1000 shells were
fired at Pantelleria by naval craft
Tuesday.
The italian high command de-
clared II Allied planes were shot
down by Pantelleria's fighters dur
ing continued raids yesterday.
The csommunique. broadcast from
Rome and recorded by the Associ-
ated Press, said Al persons were
killed, 81 were injured and limited