Current Events May 23. 1943:

THIS WAS REPORTED TODAY May 23, 1043:

The Army's Fourth AirForce Command reported to-'day a spectacular air "battle"

over the Los Angeles area between several P-38 Lightning fighters and a four-motored B-24 bomber.

Heavy new blows against both ends of the Axis by Allied air forces left new

trails of destruction and havoc among vital Axis targets during the past 24 hours.

While speedy RAF Mosquito® bombers pounded Berlin for the third night in a row, General Eisenhower's North A f r i c an airmen b l a s t ed 86 more enemy planes out of a c t ion in a t t a c ks on I l a l i an airmen.

U. S. forces have all but exterminated the Japanese on Attu and, it appeared

Saturday night, will soon be in a position to launch an attack to drive them from

Kiska, their strongest base in the Aleutians.

       AERIAL BLOWS RAIN ON ALL AXIS FRONT

           LONG BEACH INDEPENDENT

                   Long Beach, California, Sunday, May 23, 1943

AIR "BATTLE" OVER LA. AREA

P-38s Force Big

Bomber to Land

As Radio Dead

LOS ANGELES, May 22. —(TP)—The Army's Fourth Air

Force Command reported to-'day a spectacular air "battle"

over the Los Angeles area between several P-38 Lightning

fighters and a Jour-motored B-24 bomber.

The P-38s f i r ed a number of machine-gun bursts to force the

big bomber to land at an airdrome. The a c t i on had been noted

by residents of an area r a n g i ng from Hollywood to Montrose, La

Canada and South Pasadena. A rnachine-gun bullet went t h r o u gh

the roof of a house at La Canada. and f l a t t e n ed itself against the

floor.

The army a n n o u n c e m e nt said that the shots were f i r ed "to attract the attention of the bomber pilot" a f t er his r a d io had f a i l ed to f u n c t i o n.

A p p a r e n t ly t he bomber was not properly i d e n t i f i ed and because of

its r a d io f a i l u re was u n a b le to c o n t a ct t he p i l o ts of t he f i g h t er

planes. The f i g h t er command has Instructions to f i re on any unidentified a i r c r a f t f or protection against any enemy trick.

Pre-lnvasion Air Attacks Smother

Axis Air Fleets With Destruction

LONDON, May 22.—(TP)—Heavy new blows against both

ends of the Axis by Allied air forces left new trails of destruction

and havoc among vital Axis targets during the past 24 hours.

While speedy RAF Mosquito® bombers pounded Berlin for the

third n i g ht in a row, General Eisenhower's North A f r i c an airmen b l a s t ed 86 more enemy planes out of a c t ion in a t t a c ks on I l a l i an airmen.

At the same time Al l i ed a i r c r a ft of the mi d d le east command destroyed 10 more planes in an attack on the I t a l i an m a i n l a n d.

Total A l l i ed losses in the Mediterranean zone were seven planes.

In t h r ee days the n o r t hwe st A f r i c an air forces have destroyed

282 Axis planes on the g r o u n d

           The Charleston Daily Mail

C H A R L E S T O N , W E ST V I R G I N I A , S U N D A Y M O R N I N G , M A Y 2 3 1943

Yanks Split Japs

Into 3 New Traps

Full Extermination

Near For Attu Foe

Island Struggle in Final Phase;

Bombs Nearly Obliterate Village

WASHINGTON (UP).—U. S. forces have all but exterminated

the Japanese on Attu and, it appeared Saturday night, will soon

be in a position to launch an attack to drive them from Kiska,

their strongest base in the Aleutians.

The navy disclosed that the Attu "rat trap" finally had been;

sprung in a communique which said the enemy had been cut up

into three relatively small groups in a tiny area on the north

eastern end of the island.

Now trapped and encircled, the Japanese remnants face death or surrender.

Announcing on the 12th day of the campaign to liberate the westernmost Aleutian

island from its Oriental invaders that "the b a t t le

for Attu has entered the final phase."