The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-04-19
French Ground Troops
lab Enemy Lines Before
Tunis, Bizerte
JAILED PLANES LOST
IN RAID ON SICILR
IL Orphanage Nuns 81
AIgiers Killed By Ger
man Bombs
BY VIRGIL PTNKLEY

N6ASNAAAA = AAN4Aa42A
UNITED Press Staff Correspondents
Allied Headquarters, Nortlk
Africa, April 10. - (IJP) ,
Allied air forces on SUNDAY
destroyed IS Axis airplaneG
including So big Junkers air
transports and 10 Nazl
fighters DIN a single record
breaking engagement off the
North Tunisian coast, while
French ground troops jabbed
into enemy lines before Ttinis end
Bizerte.
American warhawlSs diving c1csN
to the sea as single unit Oe bieza
ing guns and British Spitfres thae
slashed repeatedly into the Iai3fp
waite fighter escort were resp0nsib1a
for one Of the geratest aerial tfza
umphs Of the war when they dee
stroyed "a planes In an axis air cclls
voy flying from Ttmisia towaFA
Sicily.
On the Tunisian land front tzaeEM
were aggressive patrol Operations -.
the British and American foNce4
whose most advanced positions axm
about "a air line miles from DireEt4
and from rs to 30 miles 4som Tunim
The French edged forward Ia d sTfEs
tied attack Saturday night and esIss
tured Djebel He'll, northeast a
Fondotlk, taking "a Italian pFiss
onerS.
(London Radio said that IN slzA
past five weeks British submarines
and Allied Aircraft had sunk Z tota1
Of As enemy supply vessels In Tho
Mediterranean.)
(Paris radio said that the Gers
mans still were pouring reinforce~
ments into Tunisia by air. A Cara
communique said that more thar
100 Axis airplanes were engaged 81
the single battle off Tunisia and
that 80 probably were destroyed or
damaged in addition to 20 shot
DOWN.
Big Fires Started
At the same time, Allied bombera
delivered smashing blows against
the enemy, raiding Sicily ard Sar-
DINA where flying fortresses and
Mitchell bombers hammered paler-
mo and Porto Torres, starting bio
fires, hitting several ships end dame
aging enemy airfields. Eleven enemy
planes were destroyed In scattered
actions on Sunday, when ii Allied
craft were lost in all.
(The Raj also attacked the Ttal~
ian port and Navy base Of Spezia
on Sunday night in another stiff
blow at the underside Of the Axis.)
The sensational attack on the
Axis air convoy near Cap Bon
Northern Tunisia, was carried out
by the desert air force, which put On
a show that exceeded any single er-
gagement even in the battle Of
Britain. All Of the victims were Ger
man planes enroute from TuniEie
to Sicily. possibly carrying some
enemy troops no longer needed IN
the northeast Tunisian siege war
Fifty-eight JU-52 transports, -
Messerschmitts 100 and two NJ
HOS were destroyed in the engages
ment.
American, Royal Air Force ana
South African pilots took part i'm
the engagement. Nine Allied planes
we're lost but one pilot was rescued-
The big battle came late In the
afternoon when Allied desert air
force fighters were waiting for the
junkers transports to attempt o
dash to Sicily. Pilots Of warhawkss
with spitfires flying above them.
Saw what they later described 40
IAN airman's dream"
Before them, flying low over the
water, was big formation Of enemy
planes. They counted perhaps 100
JU-52s In addition to strong NaN
fighter escort.
like well-drilled team Of tbs
Warhawk squad1ons dived as sins
gle unit to the attack" an offleiek
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