MUCH DAMAGE DONE

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 14, 12 October 1943, Page 5

MUCH DAMAGE DONE

Biggest Raids Yet On Greece And Crete LONDON, October 10. In a review of yesterday’s air operations in the Middle (East, a correspondent says the offensive against, targets in Greece and Crete was the biggest yet undertaken. • . Bombers of the North-west African AirForee made heavy attacks on five important airfields and destroyed many enemy aircraft on the ground, blew up runways, burnt down hangars,, and set fire to dumps of fuel and ammunition. Flying Fortresses were making their first raid on Greece from North-west African bases when they attacked the airfield! near Athens, the Argos airfield, an airfield 107 miles north-west of Athens, and the airfield at "Salonika. Middle East Mitchells in the afternoon followed up the morning attacks with a second pounding. _ t „ Liberator bombers went to Crete. Ihe only enemy fighters the bombers met were over the airfield outside Athens, where the Fortresses shot down five out of 15. (Over another airfield Fortress gunners severely damaged one fighter out of a few which attacked. All the aircraft returned from these operations. . , Lightning long-range fighters from the Middle East took a heavy toll of a large number of dive-bombers which were discovered over the sea near Rhodes. They destroyed 15 iStukas and one Junkers SS.