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The Wilmington Morning Star
Wilmington, New Hanover County, North Carolina
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U.S. warplanes continued bombing Italian islands Sardinia and Pantelleria without opposition, targeting docks and airfields; no Allied losses; recon confirmed damage to Leghorn refinery and ships from earlier raid.
Merged-components note: Continuation of U.S. air siege of Italian islands story across pages.
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ITALIAN SIEGE
American Warplanes Keep Up Blasting Of Sardinia And Pantelleria
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN NORTH AFRICA, May 30-(A)-
American war-planes maintained their fierce air siege of the Italian outpost islands of Sardinia and Pantelleria yesterday---and met no fighter opposition whatever after more than two weeks of knock out blows aimed at the enemy's air cover on these bases.
Although it was obvious that Allied aerial strength in the Mediterranean was growing day by day, yesterday's operations were reported on the smallest scale in more than a week.
Waves of Mitchells, Marauders and bomb-carrying Warhawks and Lightnings again attacked Pantelleria, the convict isle of the ancient Roman empire which has been consigned by Benito Mussolini to the ill-fated role of an Italian Malta.
The Americans took the dock area as their chief target. Fire and explosions were seen as the bombers raced across the objectives, and then the bomb-laden fighters swept over abandoned airfields to augment the previous destruction.
The twin-tailed Lightning fighters buzzed over Porto Ponte di Romano in southwest Sardinia, a keystone in the island arc guarding the approaches to Italy, bombing buildings, piles of supplies at the docks and the railway that might be used to carry the stores away to dumps. A large explosion heaved debris into the air and fires broke out on the waterfront.
Not a single Allied plane was lost in these expeditions, the communique from Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's headquarters said, and the destruction of only two enemy aircraft was reported today. These were two Junkers-88 bombers encountered by a single Beaufighter off the Tunisian coast Thursday night.
Meanwhile - photographic reconnaissance over Leghorn, bombed by nearly 100 Flying Fortresses Friday in a raid reaching 160 miles beyond Rome, showed that a fierce conflagration had raged in the oil refinery, one of the largest and most important in Italy.
Several buildings were severely damaged, track and rolling stock in the railway yards tossed about and four ships hit by the falling Fortress bombs. One ship 330 feet long was set afire and three others varying in length from 390 to 425 feet were damaged, an Air Force spokesman said.
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Foreign News Details
Primary Location
Sardinia And Pantelleria
Event Date
Yesterday (May 29)
Key Persons
Outcome
no allied planes lost; destruction of two enemy junkers-88 bombers; damage to docks, airfields, buildings, supplies, railway in sardinia and pantelleria; in leghorn, fierce conflagration in oil refinery, several buildings damaged, track and rolling stock tossed, four ships hit with one set afire.
Event Details
American warplanes maintained air siege on Italian islands Sardinia and Pantelleria with no fighter opposition; attacks on Pantelleria dock area and airfields using Mitchells, Marauders, Warhawks, Lightnings; in Sardinia, Lightning fighters bombed Porto Ponte di Romano including buildings, supplies, docks, railway; photographic reconnaissance showed damage from prior raid on Leghorn oil refinery and port.