Evening star., 1943-12-29
Enemy Pictures
Raid as Attack
On Capital Itself
CANADIANS WHO TOOK Ortona
smash on toward Pescara. /
Page "A

CANADIANS WHO TOOK OrtOna
smash on toward Pescara.
Page A-4
s. the Associated Press.
LONDON, Dec. 29.-Allied me-
dium bombers peppered airfelds
near Rome yesterday and Nazi
propagandists sought today tc
picture the operation as an at
tack on the capital itself.
A communique from Allied head
quarters at Algiers confirmed the
bombings today Earlier enemy radio
stations were on the air with wild
eyed descriptions of how heavy
bombs" shattered the outskirts OF
Rome, causing damage and casual
ties in residential quarters.
The Paris radio said bombs fell on
Garbatella about H., miles east of
Vatican City and close enough TO,
Pope Plus XII to see the raid
The official report from Allied
headquarters. however, said the
bombers had attacked hangers
buildings and dispersal areas of the
airfield at Ciampino. south of Rome
and accurately blasted the Centocello
airdrome east of the city.
Mosquitoes Raid Reich.
Allied planes based in England
also began winging into action again
after Christmas lull
Twin
struck at Western Germany last
night and Typhoon bombers hit the
"rocket-gun coast" of Northern
France Both missions were carried
out without loss.
In addition. fighters swept over
enemy territory in daylight, destroy
ing German plane and losing one
of their own.
The raid on the airfields outside
Rome was the ninth reported in the
area Of the Italian capital, although
Rome itself has not been bombed by
the Allies since August
The Paris broadcast said the Pope
watched the bombing from a window
and asked to be informed of any
damage.
A German propaganda broadcast
III November said that an Allied
plane dropped bombs on Vatican
City on November 5. The Vatican
radio said later that an unidentified
plane. flying low over Vatican City
had dropped four bombs which
caused damage but no casualties
Allied headquarters in Algiers an
nounced November 7 that a thor
ough investigation showed that Vati
can City was not bombed by the
Allies.
In statement broadcast Mon
day by the Vatican radio and
recorded by United States Gov
ernment monitors, Pope Plus in
dicated the nationality of the
plane was known. declaring that
the November attack was de
liberately planned and dishonor-
ably and unsuccessfully screened
behind the anonymity of the
pilot" The statement did not
identify the attackerD
The German broadcast today said
Allied planes dropped heavy bombs
on outlying quarters of Rome, and
that six hits on a residential quarter
near the Basilica of San Paolo de-
stroyed several houses. left numer-
GUS dead and injured many.
Machine Gun Fire Reported
A bomb that exploded near Cento-
celle, east Of the city hit several
persons, the broadcast declared. and
added that about so were wounded
by machine gun fire. 1t also asserted
that several persons were killed OF
injured in collapsing houses in Pie
uallata, northeast of the capital.
An all-American force of Flying
FortreSseS, LiberatorS, MitchellS anc
Marauders. in the wars first bomb
ing of Rome, dropped hundreds OF
tons of bombs on rail and airflelo
installations at Rome July 10. The
crews were specially trained to carry
out precision attack and carefully
instructed to avoid historical ane
religious oojr,tS