RAIDS ON ITALY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 254, 27 October 1942, Page 3

RAIDS ON ITALY

350 DEAD IN SHELTER

New York Mayor Urges Italy

To Revolt

United Press Association—Copyright Rec. noon. LONDON, Oct. 26

According to the Vichy news agency 350 people were killed when an air raid shelter collapsed during the last R.A.F. raid against Genoa. Moscow radio said that the Italian King and Queen visited Genoa at the insistence of Mussolini, but they were unable to visit the havocstricken parts of the port owing to enormous fires still raging.

The Mayor of New York. Mr. LaGuardia, appealed to the Italian people to start a passive revolt against their German masters, in his regular Sunday broadcast to Italy, says the New York Times Berne correspondent. Mr. LaGuardia asserted that the Germans were stealing the Italians' food and subjecting them to hunger, cold and other sacrifices. "Italians must put an end to the traitorous Fascist Government. It is time for a revolution of passive resistance," he said.

National Broadcasting Corporation officials in New York declared that Mr. LaGuardia began regular propaganda broadcasts to Italy two months ago, requesting absolute secrecy that he was doing so. He makes a record in Italian which is broadcast by two short-wave stations to Italy.

Most Spectacular Raid

The daylight raid on Milan by the biggest bombers in the world was one of the most spectacular of the war and involved the longest daylight flight yet made by British bombers. Fires started in aircraft and other factories continued to rage during the night. Although Milan is 200 miles nearer England than Danzig, which Lancasters raided in daylight on July 11, no previous daylight attack involved such long-distance flying over enemy territory, nor has any previous daylight raid been made across the Alps. The transport system of Genoa, which was put out of action as a result of the Royal Air Force raid on Friday, is now ready for service, says the Rome radio. The R.A.F. bombers in four successive raids on Italian towns flew nearly 1,000,000 miles for the loss of only 11 planes, says the Daily Mail's aviation correspondent. The Swiss Minister in London has been instructed to protest strongly against violations of Swiss territory by the Royal Air Force on Saturday night.

"COOKIES'* DROPPED 40001b Bombs Find Target On Milan LOCAL AIRMEN TAKE PART Special Correspondent Rec. noon. LONDON, Oct. 26. Three New Zealanders who took part in the daylight raid against Milan are Flying-Officer R. O. Calvert, D.F.C. (Hamilton), Pilot-Officer H. J. Barley (Auckland), and Sergeant E. Waters (Hamilton). PilotOfficer Barley dropped a 40001b bomb which the crews call "cookies." He said: "As we climbed to get out of the way of its blast, we saw a factory coming sky high towards us, so I guess we hit it." Flying-Officer Calvert said: We made a run at 4000 ft and bombed on the stipulated time. Then we went to 800 ft to allow the gunners to shoot up a couple of factories and also a goods train." New Zealanders also raided Genoa, but the Air Ministry will not release their names at present.