Us Official Photographs

Naples hit by Flying Fortresses

View of the Italian west coast port of Naples, after being hit by Flying Fortresses from the Northwest African Air Forces under command of Lt. Gen. Carl A. Spaatz, the American officer who issued the now famous surrender demand upon the garrison of the island of Pantelleria. Smoke is pouring from burning railway installations & warehouses which were heavily bombed by the Boeing B-17's. Six or seven ships were sunk in the harbor & deck facilities, moles, port offices and tracks suffered many direct hits. Buildings in the naval base & repair yards at the dry docks were damaged or destroyed. Other targets which suffered from the aerial pounding were industrial installations, the port power station the gas works, a textile factory & glass plant. A cavalry barracks was pulverized so completely as to be totally uninhabitable. Bomb pits may be seen dotting the lower & central portions of the photograph.