NAVY JOINS IN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21112, 4 June 1943, Page 3

NAVY JOINS IN

PANTELLARIA ATTACK AIR RAIDS CONTINUE RESTRICTED OPPOSITION LONDON, June 2. Allied naval forces on Sunday night and again yesterday afternoon shelled the Italian island fortress of Pantellaria, in the Sicilian Narrows. In thp night attack many shells were directed at the harbour area. There was no effective opposition, and the warships were undamaged. Yesterday hits were scored on barracks and battery areas. This time there was some retaliation from the shore guns, but there were no casualties on our ships. Pantellaria was again attacked by bombers and fighter-bombers yesterday. At the same time other Allied planes continued their attacks against ports and railways -in Sardinia and a seaplane base off Sicily. Whether the navy has given Italy’s strategically valuable and much,bombed island of pantellaria a final knock-out is not known for certain, but no enemy ships are reported to have put in there for the past few days. The British United Press carrespondent with the Mediterranean Fleet says that as recently as the final days of the Tunisian campaign our light craft patrolling in the Sicilian Channel to prevent any evacuation moves met a fair amount of shellfire from the island batteries when they ap- | proached the coast. The fact that enemy shelling was negligible during the latest naval bombardment shows that the recent air attacks have taken toll of the island’s defences. Flying almost at water level, Warhawks carried out an attack against the seaplane base on Stagnone Island, off the west coast of Sicily. The Warhawks straffed a line of seaplanes moored in the harbour and destroyed a considerable number and damaged others. The only serious fighter opposition encountered by the Allied air forces yesterday was at Terranova, a port and rail terminus in north-east Sardinia, where Allied planes set fire to two ships. An Algiers .communique says that Allied naval forces on Sunday night and yesterday afternoon successfully shelled Pantellaria. There were no Allied casualties. The Allied air forces also attacked Pantellaria as well as Sardinia and the seaplane base on Stagnone Island. One of our planes is missing.