Mediterranean Algiers Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 24, 1943, Algiers, Algiers                                Saturday july 24, 1943 the stars and stripes went a the first Allied bombing of Rome 500-plane Fleet hits rail Yards Aird Romes of Italy s eternal City air groups selected for Mission experts in precision bombing to prevent 0  to religious monuments by to sgt. Milton Lehman stars and stripes staff writer Horn is Long  to be bombed. The general told us a id radios interrupted their that leaflets had been dropped hid Lay programs to Send out that j pointing out that cities like Rome a wage at .1.3 hours last Mon were vital military objectives and Day ten minutes after the first j would when necessary be hit. On r r Niluben went Over i 16 More than 3,000.000 Pam to a Cly. I Phletus were dropped Over Naples a toe bombing of Rome,1 by Raf wellingtons. They urged from miss Masie a b-25 Mitchell Italy to capitulate a curium bomber piloted by 1st it. Vav. M. Butterfield a dangling Pilot a is i rom Moscow Idaho. We were Over our target the Ciampino Aird Romes. At 1300 hours. Tile two Oiler military targets in the City a special pamphlet had been prepared for Rome to be dropped at the time of the bombing. The general let us see one. A a you have already been warmth to it san Lorenzo and Littorio mar the Tex in part Quot that so ailing Yards were already in  objectives in the Vicinity flames. The 500-pc-unders we of Rome Are liable to be bowl Ted dropped on Ciampino were among y in a11ied air Force. When the last to fall on the capital of stirs the fascist government from miss Maisie i could see the w10 ave persistently concealed tiber and Vatican City but no from you the Agup about the War smoke was rising there. W1 pretend that we Are trying to for More than a month the Allied High command had debated the bombing of military targets in Rome Rome the heart of Italy a communications system As distinguished from Rome tile heart of Christendom with the most venerated religious and cultural monuments in the world. It was decided that the bombing of military Rome which contains War industries three important Aird Romes and the chief Railroad marshalling Yards for All Italy could no longer be delayed. Plans were then drawn up but until the night before the attack Only three members of the High staff knew tile timetable. Why and wherefore on tile a of a of the raid. With a group of selected correspondents i destroy those cultural monuments which Are the glory not Only of Rome but of Tho civilized world. We leave it to your intelligence to decide whether it is Likely we should waste our efforts on targets whose destruction is useless to our  the next morning Hie conference Over i spent sunday night at Wing Headquarters of the medium bombers chosen for the raid. At 0300 the next morning it was a Bright warm cloudless Day i was taken to the b-25 group with which i was to Fly Over Rome. Earlier in the Day the Bomba Diers and navigators had received a special briefing. Now the Captain of the groups describing Sec ars therr air Armada of More than 500 bombers carried oat the Daylight Mission Tiu a on c an important arterial Center for a1 rail  a photo Antti we uld for 0ur a a a no it a a false was going to take the colonel in command of this a me bi"1 me Quot on the ride 10 group of b-25�?Ts ordered the radio operator of each plane of its flight to signal Back Quot bombs away when the 500-Pounders were dropped on Ciampino. We sat around talking with miss Maisie a new boy friends�?2nd it. G. W. Sebor of Astoria Long Island co pilots sgt. Diaries l. Connors of Mcdonald Ohio bom Quot we re planning to Tell Tho b s 01 my a Onici Ohio bom world about this raid a the col Rel of r sgt ten Clyl Colle it Ariel said. A before the dutchmen a to radio operator and  forestall Axis this Emilia sized like the leaflet that the allies knew that the Low Turret gunners sgt. Donald w. Storms of Muncie iud., top Turret gunner. La Butterfield people and beyond the River the massive buildings of Vatican City Serene exalted and untouched. Ahead of us were tile Littorio marshalling Yards heavy Clouds of smoke and dust were rising from them. Flak bursts and a smoke screen Rose ahead of us and soon we could see the flak on our sides. In tile air was a Musty smell. Dodging tactics following the flight Leader it. Butter held began those crazy la Butterfield lit his habitual Kan tease crazy  Cigar a dutch master it gig evasive tactics designed to Axis would try to make political no the signal that we were about ll1�1 v a tra it in flak off its 1 a target. It seemed that we  a Wiki ul.sc4.xiuiig Sec to vow 11uwvc in Kuliu in uie signal my we were about 1 plans outlined by a Hon was describing the target out j capital of the raid on Rome,1 to get going. The lieutenant save brigadier general who is assistant j lining the colossal proportions of i would try to persuade the world he Isnit superstitious but he has  of stall and a Rati be no a a i Tho a in a re us a. My a that religious monuments had been smoked a dear on in Virv minion wantonly bombed. The Axis has so far. Pm deny a s a help a i u t of staff and operations Chiel the raid which until today had Blu Gen. Carl a. Spaatz com-1 been kept secret from the pilots. S were synchronized at the Captain began the a a Titi. Van in. Com j a Tell Al mending general of a he Northwest Watert african air Force. The 36-year-old 0845 and one Star summed up for in the 4 by ii car a the j Jue a ins in a Ling to Hie decision to Ciampino Ai drome South of Rome briefing Quot Hie target today is Trike Rome i rom the air then Ca no the announcement that our operations had reached a Point where Rome itself must be bombed. It was the inevitable Point at which Axis communications must be Cut. For the Mission the general told us the Best the Mast experienced bomber groups had been selected. The charts Mavis and diagrams for the raid on Rome were probably Hie most Complete Ever assembled for a bombing Mission. Some of them the general showed us a Large pm 10to reconnaissance maps with the targets carefully indicated and White squares drawn around every important religious Monument alongside the White squares were warnings like these Quot or. John lateral must on no account be damaged. Santa Maria Maggiore must on no account be  alter we saw the maps the Genera discussed bombing technique remarking that civilians often suppose that bombs like chins fall  the a May. Actually he stressed bombing is a science. Air men can calculate not merely the nun Ber of tombs necessary for a ski ecly of Job but also the exact l in at which Bombardier must min in  that the Ellipse of Bor is Vail effectively cover the target. Practice by proxy bombing Eili Jse the general Vaai Puio air Rome Sou i of Home. It t. A Quot a Quot 7 planes of uie Lor Matlon were the to Airport is divided into two ? 1 Thi r r carr3rin men a to Deal with parts these parts Are divided by Tipiere Irr Ohof no. I such formidable ejects As Drift t a Fli p ,jlere4k 3? get Salu Butier Foeldi a uti Quot who was studying animal Hustind a bios a Nathe theas lace Drayto g. And who want too tick to i 2&Quot farming when nil this in nor fiches. Taie sandwiches said it. Craft blast shelters three hangars administration buildings a possible fuel tank and facilitating  details of the flight were Given a time of Takeoff time of rendezvous with the p-38 fighter escort the course the Point at which we would reach the italian Shore the farming when All this is Over told us that his regular ship Shanghai Lii was Laid up with a bad of pump. Shanghai la had taken him and his Crew on 16 missions. First Over Rome continued f a me u ii i 1. Of its b in bbl in bom i i 4 a \ w olm Lei it run n i it t i Etc in. V a a. The i a of our., co a a jux a i a Oum of ii Xinji i i v. T a kind of yardstick to target of Tain it on i minis from the Iii. De Vind flip number us drop i d. Itus El-1 us Cru it latching a los  results any  r. La  Cut a its a j i by Tare bombs fell or Corillia nofts by a a apse Over the aim i know we it results a Only factors that by q Iet  Cal a j cuts which a right Butterfield Quot we usually eat after the bombing a watch and wait on a bomber headed for its target there s milling much for the super cargo to do but watch and wait to take note of reaching the Blue Green sea and the arrival of our p-38\i after Hoo hours. It was Good to see the fighters cutting Over end Back above our formation. If anybody wanted to make trouble for the bombers head have to speak to the fighters first. I went through the ship to see what was going on. Storms and Colley were Back in the radio top Turret gunners compartment. Colley earphones on was Reading the Shamokin news dispatch. Storms was firing a few trial bursts. Over the Mediterranean he was on the Alert straddling the seat of his gun his feet on aluminium bars hts head in the plexiglass Turret. From tile radio table Colley passed him up a lighted cigarette. Then i went Forward to rough the navigator s compartment. A it a fac Rron-un., in m Over b-24 liberators. Many minutes dipping rising. Swaying. Then All at once we straightened out and it. Sebor co Pilot pointed Down. There recognizable from the photo maps i had studied earlier that morning were the Ciampino Aird Romes. Ahead of us the sea sweep the leading plane in our formation had its bomb doors opened. With the snafu another plane in the group it was dropping its eggs one after another neatly spaced. Our own bombs or so Connors told me afterwards a were dropping at intervals Between the seas weeps missiles. They were hurtling Down toward the Green Flat land that Marks the roman District. The flak was somewhat heavier. The ship rocked lightly and ahead i saw an enemy fighter tile Only one i saw on the entire raid. At the nose gun sgt. Connors was rattling away at the Lone Axis defender. If the Axis was not surprised by the heaviest air bombardment Italy has yet suffered then it was wholly unprepared to Deal with it then we began evasive action again swinging away from the target and the flak and heading for the Tyr Hennian sea. Yards first before the Aird Romes were hit flying fortresses had dropped a string of bombs on the san Lorenzo marshalling Yards. They were followed in Over the target by Saaf b-26 marauders and b-25 Mitchells escorted by p-38 lightnings. The 9th air Force stationed in the Middle East sent crawling through the Low Tunnel under the pilots compartment into the plexiglass nose of the ship. Connors had already fired a trial burst and a few .50 Caliper shells Lay at his feet. For uie moment he was awaiting future events and it a a did no to have too much interest in a seat of Catholic talking about than. I the command phone Between and fighters played a forty five minutes after the first bombing of san Lorenzo another wave of b-17�?Ts bombed Tho same target. San Lorenzo is four Miles from Vatican City and that wits Hie closest Allied bombers just As soon completed Hie Bess n  to and High winds a it i h a tit cause uie tombs to veer for  Dys the italians had been warned that Rene ii i a Haj bombs dropped on  Wert in Rio am of bet la and g. Wheeler it i it Litof Day calif., flying n the bad Kilip of the first flying fortress formation Over tile italian capital this week. Ile is shown with his Pilot col. Sam Gormney of Alhambra calif., after their return from uie Mission. A if a of photo is the fortresses bom ten and fighters played a Tony Exi i no san i Renze aisle Ady  and ill other. Be f to liberators began phones a it re silent. The p-33 s i12 0�?T a 1ii�?T or loads on the lit wire circling us even More Bushy j Marsoli Aldrig Yards and a than by fit re it was 1245 and i r a a .i1,?0 Mitchell escorted by saw the shores d Italy rising out it re �?�,5�?T Ciampino air e domes. Our format new to of uie sea. Obi it below we had already curried to our bombing Altitude and started our Axis of attack. Now to the left i domes. Our formation was the second to crass this objective. It was All Over now and we could eat Hose sandwiches. The round Tri pm to Rome and return took just about five hours. Could see the tiber a flier tiber j i had seen Rome Burn while Tho to count uts generations of Tomc i anti riddled