ITALY GETTING IT

Marlborough Express, Volume LXXVI, Issue 252, 26 October 1942, Page 5

ITALY GETTING IT

^ V — ■ SUSTAINED BOMBING FOUR BIG RAIDS IN 48 HOURS SPECTACULAR WORK BY R.A.F.

P.A. Cable.

LONDON, Oct. 25.

As a prelude to the 8th Army's pass-over to the attack in the Western Desert, Italy's main industrial centre and supply bases for Rommel's army have been continuously hammered. Four times in 48 hours, strong forces of Lancasters, the world's heaviest bombers, have erossed and recrossed the Alps, to pound Genoa, Turin and Milan, Italy's industrial heart and nerve centre of shipping for planes, tanks and munitions for their army in Africa. Wlien the giant bombers returned for the fourth time on their 1500 mile round trip fires were seen raging in the great Caproni aircraft works and in many other areas. The final raid on Milan was the most spectacular daylight raid of the war. An Air Ministry communique states: "At daylight yesterday a large force of Lancasters attacked industrial objectives at Milan. The Lancasters were accompanied for a short distance into France by some squadrons of fighters. There was a certain amount of cloud over the target, but the attack was pressed home at low level and most of the bombers went down well below the cloud base to bomb. "Preliminary reports show that the attack was successful. Three of our bombers are missing." The attack on Milan began at 4.04 p.m. in full daylight. Only when the Lancasters were well on the homeward run did they get the protectlon of the dark. For nearly the whole journey out the Lancasters had to rely on taking the enemy by surprise, hedge- hopping at high speed as a means of escaping detection and flying closely packed together so that they could bring terrific fire-power to bear on any aircraft that intercepted them. A Squadron Leader said that as he came out of the cloud he saw a large factory and almost at that moment a 40001b- bomb from another aircraft hit it "good and hard." As he turned away numerous fires were taking hold. The pilot of one Lancaster went down to 50 feet to bomb. Though Milan Is 200 miles nearer Ehgland than Danzig, which Lancasters raided in daylight on July 11, no previous daylight attack has involved such long distance flying over enemy territory nor has any previous daylight raid been made across the Alps. Last night the' weather was not so good as on Thursday night and bombing conditions were diflicult when Genoa was again attacked through heavv cloud, and Turin and Savona were also, bombed. Three of our bombers are missing. Wellingtons, Stirlings, Halifaxes, and Lancasters; have all taken part in these raids. One Lancaster flew most of the way out and all the way home on three engines. On Thursday night both 40001b and 10001b bombs were dropped on Genoa, Following the first raid, Genoa was still burning yesterday. An Italian communique says: The R.A.F. last night dropped explosives and incendiaries on Turin, Genoa and Savona, Material darnage was not heavy in Turin and Genoa, but more darnage was done in Savona, 4 The Air Ministry announces that within a few hours of the daylight raid on Milan our bombers again attacked objectives in the city. Other aircraft bombed targets elsewhere in northern Italy. Our fighters attacked railways and other targets in occupied territory. Five of our bombers are missing.