Evening star., 1944-01-30
Allied Air Fleet Downs
81 German Planes in
Two Days Over Italy
BY the Associated Press

G' Nhc hssoCidieC PTeSS.
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS. AL.
giers, Jan. 29.-Allied air forces
operating literally in swarm.
across the length and breadth O.
Italy in some of the greatest all
battles of the war, have downec
81 more German planes, bring.
ing their confirmed two-day
total to 81 enemy aircraft de.
stroyed, Allied headquarters an
nounced today.
Sky battles over the beachheac
south of Rome yesterday we're un.
matched in violence in the Mediter-
ranean theater since those in which
the Americans and British knocked
the German air force out of the sky
when the German Army was making
Its last desperate stand at Tunis and
Blzerte in North Africa last spring
(The Rome radio said Bologna,
200 miles above Rome, was heavi-
ly bombed by the Allies yester-
day. Bologna is an important
junction in Northern Italy for
railways radiating to France,
Switzerland, Germany and Yu-
goslavia. The broadcast was re-
corded in London by the Associ-
ated Press
Allies nSa E;va Dlor
More than 1900 individual opera
tlonal flights were flown yesterday
by all types of Allied aircraft. Five
Allied planes are missing against 81
enemy craft destroyed-a ratio OF
better than 7 to l. The heavy all
activity went on despite driving
rain storms.
Starting at dawn, more than 100
Nazi planes drove against the in
Vasion fleets and landing troops or
the beachhead in the first six hours
OF daylight. Twenty-one fell to AL
lied fighters before noon. Signifi-
cantly, the Nazi attacks dwindled
to almost nothing in the afternoon
Fifteen of the German planes
were shot down by American vet
eran P-40 groups, while five fell to
American-f1own Spitflres and one
to RAF Spitfire.
Verona, Ferrara Hit.
While these major dogfghts ragged
of Anzio, Flying Fortresses raiding
German rail communications and
alrflelds in Northern Italy added
to the toll of German planes. One
group of Fortresses, with P-38 es-
cort, was jumped by 80 German
fighters at Aviano airport, 40 miles
north of Venice and destroyed IA
of them.
Other Fortresses and Liberators
some with Thunderbolt escort,
bombed and blocked the Germans
sorely needed rail lines leading to
and from Brenner Pass with raids
on Verona and Ferrara, 20 miles
northwest of Bologna.
All strategic dong range) bombers
and fighters returned safely to their
bases.
One of the best freak bombing
performances in weeks was carried
out by American Marauder med
lums which destroyed a railroad
bridge north of Orvieto, northwest
OF Rome, Just as. train was passing
over it. The span collapsed when
the train reached the center of it.
East Coast Raided.
Warhawks, Invaders. Spitfires and
Bostons hammered German posi-
tions from one end of Italy to the
other as the Germans tried to re-
form their forces to meet the Allied
bridgehead threat.
RAF Spitf1res and KittyhaWks
operating between Rome and the
Adrlatic coast destroyed 35 vehicles
and 13 railroad cars.
For the first time in this theater.
Thunderbolts, originally planned for
high altitude escort work, were used
as fighter bombers over the front.
Four missions of Thunderbolts went
out and all returned. One flight
attacked shipping in Sibenik Harbor,
Yugoslavia.