LIGHTNING RAID

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 6, 8 January 1942, Page 7

LIGHTNING RAID

RAF. OVER SICILY

DEVASTATING EFFECT

(Rec. 10.50 a.m.) RUGBY, Jan. 7

Medium Blenheim bombers of the R.A.F. carried out a devastating lightning attack on Sunday on the Castelvetrano aerodrome in Sicily, whence the Luftwaffe has been operating during the last 15 days in a vain attempt to relieve the R.A.F. pressure on the Axis forces in Tripolitania. Although the bombers were unprotected by fighters, all returned. safely. A few hours later heavy Wellington bombers set out from Malta and pounded the aerodrome with more high-explosive and incendiary bombs. During the daylight attack a large number of Jus 2 troop-carriers and Cr2o heavy bombers were blown up and set on fire or rendered unserviceable. Part of the runway was blown up, and columns of black smoke rising to a thousand feet from burning petrol pumps could be seen by the British pilots 40 miles away. German troops, who were . probably waiting to make the hazardous air trip to Tripoli, were machine-gunned. At the end of a tenminute attack the British pilots reported that conditions over the whole aerodrome were chaotic. Heavy bombers renewed the attack several hours later. After dropping five sticks of high-explosive bombs from north to south and east to west* of the aerodrome a pilot reported that six fires had been started near the runway and that each fire was preceded by vivid red explosions. A large fire which burned white was started in a building on the edge of the landing ground.—B.O.W; LONDON, January 7. I It is now known that when our bombers attacked Castelvetrano aerodrome in Sicily on Sunday afternoon they smashed 44 enemy aircraft. Bombs were dropped into the middle of a concentration of closely-parked transport planes, at least 30 of which were set on fire and many others damaged. They literally' went up in smoke, which rose to over 1000 feet. Machine-gunning inflicted many casualties on enemy troops. Later, during the night, fires were started all over the aerodrome. A petrol dump blew up, and 14 enemy aircraft were seen in flames.