Saturday, May 21, 2011

Current Events May 21, 1943:

THIS WAS REEPORTED TODAY MAY 21, 1943:
Bombing by night and day, 'round the-clock and " 'round-the-map," was
promised Germany yesterday. The promise of air attacks "ceaselessly, continuously, hour by hour until the war is won," came from
Britain's Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden, and was punctuated by Allied
air action from north and south.

Allied fighter planes and bombers destroyed 73 Axis aircraft
yesterday in a series of dog fights and bombing attacks. It was the
greatest blow to the enemy in the Mediterranean since the collapse of
Axis ground forces in Tunisia.

American army forces, which yesterday
lined a two-pronged attack against the Japanese on Attu, have captured
the partially-completed air base which the Japs were building, and now are
driving down against the last enemy defense position at Chicagof Harbor.
Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson reported today that the American bid
to drive the enemy from the island was continuing satisfactorily in face of
difficult conditions


              THE STARS AND STRIPES
Daily E Newspaper of U.S. Armed Forces in the European Theater of Operations
Vol. 3 No. 170                    New York, N.Y.—London, England Friday, May 21, 1943


Bombing 'Round The Clock,
Round The Map' Promised As
Two-Way Air Attacks Mount
Flood Waters Spread
As Berlin Gets
65th Raid
Bombing by night and day, 'round the-clock and " 'round-the-map," was
promised Germany yesterday. The promise of air attacks "ceaselessly, continuously, hour by hour until the war is won," came from
Britain's Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden, and was punctuated by Allied
air action from north and south.
While American bombers a.nd fighters were striking their heaviest aerial
blow since the fall of Tunis at the Axis' Mediterranean air strength, RAF bombers penetrated once again to Berlin. But above all, closest to the Germans, towards
whom Mr. Eden was aiming his declaration of a polky of total aerial war, were
the spreading floods of the Ruhr, unleashed by RAF bombs on key power
dams.
Coming only a day after Prime Minister Churchill's "knockout air war"
speech before Congress, in Washington, Eden's declaration indicated the Allied
high command had adopted the "bomb hell out of 'em" strategy, long advocated
by RAF and USAAF officers.
"We know what is best for Germany,"


Allies Bag 73 Axis
Planes in Blows
Off Italy
ALLIED HQ, North Africa,
May 20—Allied fighter planes and bombers destroyed 73 Axis aircraft
yesterday in a series of dog fights and bombing attacks. It was the
greatest blow to the enemy in the Mediterranean since the collapse of
Axis ground forces in Tunisia.
Twenty-nine enemy planes were shot down in combat off Italy and
Sardinia and 44 others were destroyed onthe ground. Only four Allied
planes were lost. I The heavy enemy toll indicated that the
Axis was increasing its air strength in the Italian sector, striving to wrest air
superiority from the Allies.
American Flying Fortresses, escorted by'P38 Lightnings, accounted for ten
enemy interceptors out of a force of 50 which rose to meet them after they had
wrecked 37 grounded planes at Milo airfield, in Sicily.
A report of the operation said the target was "well covered with bomb
bursts and fires were started."
Medium bombers, escorted by fighters, attacked four other airfields in Sardinia,
shooting down 18 enemy interceptors, while bombs burst among grounded aircraft and in hangars and other buildings.
                                        Second-Siring Pilots

U.S. Forces Take Attu Airfield,
Pursue Japs to Their Last Base

WASHINGTON, May 20—American army forces, which yesterday
lined a two-pronged attack against the Japanese on Attu, have captured
the partially-completed air base which the Japs were building, and now are
driving down against the last enemy defense position at Chicagof Harbor.
Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson reported today that the American bid
to drive the enemy from the island was continuing satisfactorily in face of
difficult conditions.
U.S. casualties so far have been light, while the Japanese were reported to have
two-thirds of their units in one engagement. The admission of Jap losses
made in a Tokyo broadcast, picked in the U.S., which indicated the
Americans were making steady progress.
Eeight-Hour Bombing
The report added that U.S. planes had subjected the Japs to a steady eight-hour
bombardment and that the Japs, near
exhaustion, were withdrawing with none of them free of wounds.
Berlin radio described the U.S..force a 100 times greater than the Nipponese
defenders and minimized the importance the Aleutians.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Tenth U.S.
Air force bombers hammered Japanese communication and supply bases in
Burma with well over 100 tons of bombs in a single day.
                                                  Big Lib Attack

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