MONTE BELLA FORMICHE, taken after a three-day fight starting on 10 October. This mountain, located east of Highway 65, is 2,092 feet high, the highest of the terrain features in the chain of enemy defenses stretching east and west across Highway 65 through the village of Livergnano.
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LIGHTNING FIGHTERS. This twin-engined fighter was the first successful long-range bomber escort developed by the United States. Most Allied fighter planes in Italy gradually came to be used as fighter-bombers as the need for protecting bomber formations from hostile aircraft diminished. In August 1943 the Germans had only about six hundred combat aircraft, mostly fighters, in Italy. About a third of these were of limited use. Demands for fighters on the Russian front and the need for protecting production centers in Germany from Allied bombings caused some withdrawal of enemy fighters based in Italy. (P-38.)
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THUNDERBOLT FIGHTER-BOMBERS over the northern Apennines. Note belly tank to increase range, and bombs under wings. Beginning in October 1944, extensive use of the 110-gallon fuel tank incendiary bombs containing a jelly-like mixture called napalm was made for the first time on the Italian front. The bombs proved particularly effective against enemy bivouacs and troop installations in wooded areas where the highly inflammable fuel, scattered over a wide area, could start numerous fires. Fighter-bombers co-operated closely with the ground forces. (P-47.)
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