Italy Air Raid Information

I'm writing about an Italian village that was mistakenly hit by an Allied bomb on Dec. 13, 1944, killing 35 civilians. The 70th anniversary is coming up and it has never been written about with any military information. I'm hoping someone can direct me to starting points for research.

The village is Montemarcello in the town of Ameglia near La Spezia on the west coast of Italy. Montemarcello was about 400 meters from a anti-aircraft facility that was protecting large cannon at Punto Bianca which in turn protected the important harbor of La Spezia.

How can I find the attacking unit name? Were there any operational records? Was there any official inquiry after the event or after the war?

Any leads appreciated. Also, if you are interested in WWII in Italy we've done several stories about American forces in our area:

The execution of Italian-American Commandos
http://www.apathtolunch.com/2012/04/liberation-day-ameglia-executions.html

The Buffalo Soldiers and Japanese-American soldiers of the 92nd
http://www.apathtolunch.com/2011/04/liberation-day-and-liberation-of.html

 

There is some info in Italian on the web about the raid but found nothing on the involved bomber units. The testimony of the local priest reports 18 "attack waves" of which the last was the one that caused the most damage. If true it looks like a pretty massive raid and shoud be easy to identify in any detailed history/chronology of air operations in Italy.
Funny thing is a lot of sites report a German not an Allied attack that in late 1944 was pretty unlikely (chances of the average Italian reporter getting military history facts correct are close to zero anyway).

The target was probably the Punta Bianca battery, with four modern 152/50 naval guns and a 120/40 to fire illuminating rounds, that could easily reach the allied lines further South, the battery was never knocked out and survives to this day.

 

According to the US Combat Chronology, no bomber units operated on 13/12/44 due to poor weather. The raid in question was carried out by fighters and fighter-bombers of the US 12th Air Force, targeting AA gun positions South of La Spezia.

As to which specific squadrons were involved, I have no info but someone should be able to check...........

 

Thanks, I now see the mention in the 12th's chronology. Any info on the fighter squadron or how to find out appreciated.

The AA targeted was protecting the big cannon at Punta Bianca which had prevented the 92nd Buffalo soldiers from crossing the Gothic Line at the Cinquale Canal in Feb. 1944. The cannon were knocked out on April 18, 1945, after a total of 11,000-21,000 bombs in different attacks. The concrete emplacements are still there and covered with sunbathing Italians in August. The Chiodo AA emplacement near Montemarcello has now been refurbished as a hostel/hotel/tourist info center.

The AA from the Chiodo facility was encountered by Joseph Heller, author of Catch22, when his squadron attacked and sank the Cruiser Taranto in Sept. 1944. It was being towed by the Germans to block La Spezia harbor to deny the Allies a deep water port.

 

The place to ask this is the English language Italian WW2 Forum at:
http://www.comandosupremo.com/