Evening star., 1943-07-20
Photos Indicate
Raid Destroyed
Rome Rail Yards
500 Bombers Took
Part in Assault:
Five Planes Lost
BY the Associated Presx

bS the ASSOCIATED Press.
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
NORTH AFRICA, July 20.-Al-
lied headquarters today de-
scribed yesterdays shattering
aerial assault on Rome as an
"outstandingly successful oper-
alton" and disclosed officially
that more than 500 American
bombers carried out the raid
with a loss of five planes.
Aerial reconnaissance showed heavy
damage to all targets and a 9th
United States Air Force communi-
que said the Littoria railroad yards
were completely destroyed"
very severe damage" was caused
to the vital San Lorenzo rail yards, "
also within the limits of the imperial
city, while grounded aircraft and
hangers were destroyed at the Rome
airdrome.
The Tabonelli steel plant and a
large chemical works were battered
by the waves of American raiders
which swept over Rome for two and
half hours. challenged by what
was described officially as only
Slight opposition" from enemy
fighter planes.
Two Interceptors DOwned.
Two enemy interceptors were
blasted out of the air by Lightning
fighters which escorted the heavy
and medium bombers on the wars
first. aerial attack on the Italian
capital.
1t. Gen. Carl A. Spaatz COM
mander of the Northwest African
Air Forces. sent congratulations to-
day to Maj. Gen. James H. Doo-
little. commander of the Strategic
Air Force. for success of the attack.
ut is one of the many accurate
attacks which your forces have car
ried on during the present battle,
all of which had a marked signif-
canoe in their successful outcome -
Gen. Spaatz said.
"a Berlin broadcast, recorded
by United States government
monitors, reported today that air.
raid warnings were sounded in
Rome again last night, but said
the city itself was not attacked.
(The broadcast declared it had
not been ascertained, however,
whether any targets in the vicin-
ity of the Italian capital were
bombed.
(Fires were still burning in
Rome early today. Italian dis
patches to the Swedish press
said.)
"a United States Air Force
communique issued yesterday in
Cairo said that Liberators from
the forces base In the Near East
dropped $50 tons of bombs on
Rome. There has been no Of
ficial estimate of the total weight
of bombs which pounded the
city,
American flyers and observers
who took part in the Rome assault
agreed that heavy damage had been
inflicted on military targets and ex-
pressed belief that few If any historic
landmarks in the Eternal City had
been harmed.
Thanks to perfect weather and
explicit directions given the crews,
the objectives were easily spotted
and the bomb loads were dropped
with deadly accuracy, the returning
airmen said.
Raid Planned by Tedder.
The raid was planned by Airchief
Marshal Tedder, commander in
chief of the Allied Air Forces in the
Mediterranean. and he visited per-
sonally most of the Squadrons be-
fore they took off, it was disclosed
last night.
American bombers were selected
for the raid chiefly because of their
special qualifications for that type
of daylight raid. Had it been done
under different conditions the Raj
would have carried it out.
Crews of the raiding planes
studied intensively in advance on
the city's layout. They worked from
huge Photographic enlargements
which celarly showed the objectives
and when they left they carried with
them other photographs which
spotted such points as the Vatican
st. Johns Lateran, st. Paurs Basil
lea, the Forum and the Coliseum
The maps were marked: Not to be
bombed in any case"
1t. Marion D. Jones of Memphis
Tenn. flying his 50th mission, said
his formation found no difficulty in
keeping away from the forbidden
points.
I'VE thought we'd have to be very
fSee ROME, Page A-2)