SICILY ‘SOFTENED’ BY AIR POUNDINGS
Concentrated Allied attacks began with capture of Pantelleria June 11
Axis planes knocked out; our raiders also hampered island’s supply by attacks on links with mainland
Sicily was singled out for intense mass bombings by the Allies after the end of the Tunisian campaign in May. Previously there had been destructive raids on the Italian island, but little concentrated bombing until Pantelleria had been taken. The capture of that Mediterranean isle was the signal for the all-out onslaught on Sicily.
This began on June 11, the very day that Pantelleria fell. The principal objectives were the main airfields and the tangled lines of communications that form a network through Sicily. One of the first cities to feel the might of the combined Allied Air Forces was Palermo.
On the first day, 400 U.S. heavy bombers unloaded their racks on a thoroughly frightened city. Many German planes rose to the defense, but the Allied fighters that accompanied the bombers just about cleared the skies.
The Comiso and Milo Airfields were next. Reports from the returning pilots indicated that many Axis planes had been destroyed on the ground and that the attacking force so outnumbered the defenders that it was practically no contest.
Malta joins in attack
At about the same time, other bombers were converging on Sicily from Northwest Africa and the Middle East. Royal Air Force squadrons from Malta applied pressure.
After incessant attacks on the numerous and well-fortified airfields including Boccadifalco in West Sicily and Borizzo, the attack was shifted to the harbor facilities on the Strait of Messina, where the train ferry from the Italian mainland has its terminus. The extent of the damage at this point was great.
Meanwhile, heavy bombers showered destruction on the numerous mountain strongholds that spot the island. In one day, Allied pilots reported that they had knocked 73 Axis planes out of the skies during these attacks.
While this was going on, reports from European sources said that thousands of civilians were being evacuated from the Sicilian towns, especially Messina.
Axis shipping blasted
Aside from the damage done to airfields and principal cities, one of the most damaging blows to the Axis was the day-by-day destruction of ships carrying reserves, armaments and supplies to the besieged island. Practically every port was subjected to intense bombings in the around-the-clock raids.
One of the main targets in recent raids was the natural harbor east of Palermo at Termini Imerese, where a chemical plant produces carbon sulfide. Large refineries and stores are located at this point.
All of Sicily’s ports were fortified strongly against possible invasion several years ago and were again strengthened after June 1940, when the first Allied bombings started after Italy entered the war.