The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-08-26
Allies Blast Plants
In Three Air Blows
Continued from Page -

ever sent out on q strafing mission
opened the Foggia offensive with a
hedge hopping blow at the air fields
at 8 q. m. The raiders caught the
enemy completely by surprise and
set scores of parked aircraft ablaze.
Nearly 300 Axis airmen and ground
crews we're believed killed or
wounded.
A second wave of Lightnings came
in Is minutes later to add to the
disruption, but saw only five en-
envy aircraft in the sky. Then a
third wave swept over the air fields,
shooting up seven parked Junkers
SO troop transports.
Fires we're spreading rapidly when
the middle ?eastern Liberators roared
in over the Foggia railway yards, a
key bottleneck on the east coast
railway, at 10000 feet. Direct hits
we're scored on noverhead railway
bridge and on warehouses and a
freight train and an anti-aircraft
position were blown up. Tracks
also were rupped up by bomb ex-
plosions.
Interceptors
A number of intercepting fighters
swarmed up to harass the Liberia
tors, but they shos down seven with
out loss to themselves.
The Flying Fortresses were next
in the parade over Foggia. Nineteen
Axis planes were destroyed during
their attack on the airfields, when
60 to 100 fighters challenged the
American heavyTeights.
A communique summarizing the
Foggia attacks said many planes
were destroyed on the ground, still
others were damaged, and motor
transport, locomotives and a troop
train were gunned.
Fighter-bombers carried out at
tacks on Axis motor transport In
southern Italy.
The concerted assault on Foggia
was regarded as highly successful
Lieut.. Gen. Carl A. Spaatz, COM
mander in chief of the northwest
African Air Force, was waiting for
the Lightnings when they returned
He awarded the Distinguished Fly
ing Cross to Lieut.. Col. George N
McNicholl OF Memphis, Tenn. Maj
Gen. James H. Doolittle, who COM
mands the strategic air force, also
congratulated McNicholl.
Credit McNichOll
McNicholl was credited with PLAN
ming and leading the attack on Fog
gia, one of Italy's largest air bases
with about 10 satellite landing
grounds near the main airport and
railway yards.
The Lightning raid marked the
first time In this theater that fight
ers had been employed in such num-
bers for long distance, low level
strafing of an air field. One flight
leader, Lieut.. Harold P. Harper of
Bakersfield, Calf, who destroyed
two German transports on the
ground, said:
ut was the lowest we have ever
flown over enemy territory. Going
over to the mainland we skinned
the water at barely 20 feet, while
over the target we pulled up to only
rs feet.
at was all over In a matter of
seconds. We flew over the field
spraying lead like water. We were
so close to the ground we could see
them running like hell when we ap-
preached. Lots of them bit the
dust"
One Lightning group gunned a
20-car troop train at Potenza south
of Foggia after the attack on the
Foggia air field and reported heavy
casualties on the train. The same
group attacked railway stations and
locomtives at Rochetta and trucks
at two other points. Another Light
ming force shot up transformer
and storage yards near Lucera and
other detectives.