Score: Axis 74, USAAF 0
Just wanted to share sumpin wit ya.
The enemy, so to say, scored a singular victory on March 22-23, 1944, when 74 B-25s of the 340th Bomb Group on the ground at Pompeii Air Field, Italy, were damaged so badly that they had to be stricken from active records—14 more were less damaged and eventually repaired. An air raid? It could be called that. Mount Vesuvius erupted, spraying rocks and volcanic debris on the base, five miles away, accounting for more USAAF aircraft destroyed than in any single action by the Axis in WW2. 64 planes had been lost at Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941, 60 on the Regensburg-Schweinfurt mission on Aug 17, 1943, and 54 in bombing Ploesti on Aug 1, 1943, so it was with concern that our troops heard Nazi broadcaster Axis Sally report that "the 340th was knocked out of the war" in "a clear sign that God had sided with the Axis." However, the 340th moved to Paestum, 40 miles away, was re-equipped and back in action five days later, and Vesuvius settled down to being its picturesque former self.
I saw this at :
http://aerofiles.com/_noram.html
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