Operation Strangle - 28 Aprile 1944

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Description	Operation Strangle B-26.jpg TITLE: French airmen hit a pinpoint target. Flying with the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces under the tri-color of France, the Frenchment split a vital rail bridge, 600 feet long and 15 feet wide, at the Piteccio viaduct in central Italy. On the wing of the American-made B-26 bomber may be seen the roundel of the French Air Force CALL NUMBER: LC-USW33- 054427-ZC [P&P] REPRODUCTION NUMBER: LC-USW33-054427-ZC (b&w film neg.) MEDIUM: 1 negative ; 5 x 7 inches or smaller. CREATED/PUBLISHED: [between 1940 and 1946] NOTES: Title and other information from caption card. Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944. SUBJECTS: Italy. FORMAT: Film negatives. PART OF: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress) REPOSITORY: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 DIGITAL ID: (digital file from intermediary roll film) fsa 8e02454 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8e02454 CONTROL #: owi2002049829/PP
Date	c. 1943–1944
Source	http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8e02454
Author	Office of War Information
Permission (Reusing this image)	(see below)

Questo è l'esatto momento del bombardamento su Piteccio del 28 Aprile 1944, durante un momento dell'azione di guerra che aveva come nome in codice "Operation Strangle".

Gli altri obbiettivi di quel giorno:
28/4/44 12àth AF Piombino, Orvieto, Ficulle, Arezzo, Incisa in Valdarno, Piteccio. A-20's, P-40's e P-47's: Ferentino, Avezzano, Roma, Orbetello, Santo Stefano al Mare, Avezzano, Follonica, Chiusi, Castiglione della Valle, Cortona, Grosseto. SAAF: attacco ai ponti del fiume Saline e area. (tratto da www.biografiadiunabomba.it)


Riporto una parte tratta da wikipedia:

[..]
Operation Strangle was a series of air operations during the Italian Campaign of World War II by the United States Fifteenth and Twelfth Air Forces to interdict German supply routes in Italy north of Rome from March 24, 1943, until the fall of Rome in spring 1944. Its aim was to prevent essential supplies from reaching German forces in central Italy and compel a German withdrawal. The strategic goal of the air assault was to eliminate or greatly reduce the need for a ground assault on the region. Although the initial goal of forcing the enemy to withdraw was not achieved, the air interdiction of Operation Strangle played a major role in the success of the subsequent ground assault Operation Diadem.^[1]

Two principal interdiction lines were maintained across the narrow boot of Italy. This meant that no through trains were able to run from the Po Valley to the front line, and that south of Florence substantially all supplies had to be moved by truck.^[2] The operation employed medium bombers and fighter bombers over a 150-square-mile (390 km²) area from Rome to Pisa and from Pescara to Rimini.^[3]

Operation Strangle was also the name of the unsuccessful rail interdiction operation of the United Nations Command air forces in 1951-52 during the Korean War.

[...]

Un video propagandistico americano esplicativo sull' Operation Strangle è "Importance of the Thunderbolt airplane [AX2498]"
Maggiori info: Thunderbolt!
Il video integrale su Google Video: Importance of the Thunderbolt airplane [AX2498]


Un altro video:

489th Bombardment Squadron Ground Crews


This video shows some of the activity of B-25 ground crews from the 489th Bombardment Squadron of the 340th Bombardment Group based at Alesani, Corsica in 1944. B-25J "Morning Mission" (tail number 9W, serial number 43-27659) is featured. T/Sgt Forrest L. Westbrook became the crew chief for "Morning Mission" in May of 1944 and brought the aircraft through 154 total combat missions until the end of WWII. "Morning Mission" was distinguished by flying its first 114 missions on its original engines without engine failure, apparently an exceptional statistic for a B-25J. T/Sgt Quentin C. Kaiser flew three of his 65 combat missions in this aircraft: #2 on May 26, 1944 to Piteccio, Italy; #49 on Dec. 26, 1944 to Rovereto, Italy; and #59 on Jan 18, 1945 to San Michele, Italy.