Us Official Photographs

Flying Fortresses over Northwest Africa

Amazing pin-point accuracy of U. S. Army Air Forces bombardiers is eloquently demonstrated in the accompanying photographs. Two of them show "before-and-after" picture of a raid by Northwest African Air Forces Flying Fortresses on the important oil refineries at Leghorn, Italy, as American bomb missions stretch farther and farther up into Italian industrial areas. Another strategic raid on installations in the Leghorn harbor area resulted in the destruction of 390 freight cars, the sinking of a naval escort vessel, a 150 foot cargo liner, a 350 foot merchant vessel, a 300 foot merchant vessel, a 150 foot coaster, a sailing vessel, and numerous small fishing craft. The railroad station was destroyed, barracks hit, and several warehouses set ablaze. (3 photos) A stick of 500 pound bombs from U. S. Army Air Forces Fortresses pour downwards toward an important oil refinery at Leghorn, Italy. The bombardier had trained his sights not on the oil tanks themselves in the center of the picture, but on the cracking and refining plants surrounding the tanks. (Photo No. 1 of 3)