Us Official Photographs

Flying Fortresses over Cagliari

The U.S. Army's Air Force dealt a heavy blow in early February, 1943, to the airdrome and seaplane base at Cagliari, Sardinia. Striking in broad daylight, Flying Fortresses and Martin Marauder bombers showered the Axis fields with high explosive and fragmentation bombs. Our bombers, protected by Lockheed Lightning fighters, all returned safely. Photo V-43A - Two strings of fragmentation bombs begin to blossom straight through the airdrome. Dispersed planes, so tiny they look like gnats, may be seen parked throughout the area when the bombs are flowering. On the whole field, our fliers counted forty to fifty enemy planes. At the time these pictures were made, only our Fortresses had bombed. Forty-five minutes later, Martin Marauders struck, spreading destruction anew.