Brooklyn Eagle (July 9, 1943)
Ruin heaped on Sicily’s five chief airfields
Allies in 2-way raids include Catania port in furious attacks
Allied HQ, North Africa (UP) –
Sicily rocked under its sixth day of non-stop aerial bombardment yesterday as ceaseless waves of Allied bombers pounded its airdromes and communications in a pre-invasion offensive against the outer defenses of Southern Europe, it was announced today.
Striking simultaneously from Northwest African and Middle Eastern bases, every type plane in the Allies’ southern arsenal heaped new destruction on the five chief Sicilian airdromes and their satellite landing grounds and on the east coast port of Catania.
Heavy and medium bombers from the Northwest African Air Forces wrecked parked planes, hangars, runways, supply dumps and other installations at the Gerbini, Comiso, Biscari, Catania and Sciacca network of airfields yesterday and the previous night.
Fighter-bombers concentrated on trains, power plants, switches and other vital communications and transportation links. Lightnings also strafed and sank a small schooner off Sicily.
Four-engined U.S. Liberators from the Middle East Command joined in the offensive with daylight raids on Catania Wednesday and yesterday, while RAF heavy bombers took up the slack with a raid on the same port Wednesday night.