Operation Corkscrew | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean & the Allied invasion of Sicily | |||||||
Men of the 1st Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, part of the 3rd Brigade of the British 1st Division, advancing inland during Operation Corkscrew. | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
United Kingdom | Italy | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Walter E. Clutterbuck | Gino Pavesi | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
14,000 | 12,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
15 aircraft shot down [1] | 40 killed 150 wounded [2] 11,000 prisoners |
Operation Corkscrew was the codename for the Allied invasion of the Italian island of Pantelleria (between Sicily and Tunisia) on 11 June 1943, prior to the Allied invasion of Sicily, during the Second World War. [3] There had been an early plan to occupy the island in late 1940 (Operation Workshop), [4] but it was aborted when the Luftwaffe strengthened the Axis air strength in the region. [5]
The Allied focus returned to Pantelleria in early 1943. The radar installations and airfield on the island were seen as a real threat to the planned invasion of Sicily (codenamed Operation Husky). The Italian garrison on the island was 12,000 strong in well-entrenched pillboxes and 21 gun batteries of a variety of calibres. In addition, there was an opportunity to assess the impact of bombardment upon heavily fortified defences. [6] It was decided to see if the island could be forced into submission by aerial and naval bombardment alone. Failing this, an amphibious invasion was planned for 11 June.
Starting in late May, the island was subjected to steadily increasing bombing attacks. In early June, the attacks intensified and 14,203 bombs weighing 4,119 tons were dropped on 112 Italian batteries. [7] On 8 June, a Royal Navy task force of five cruisers, eight destroyers and three torpedo boats carried out a bombardment of the main port on the island.
The engagement was observed by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean, and Admiral Andrew Cunningham from the flagship HMS Aurora. [6] [8] From 8 May to 11 June 5,285 bombing sorties were flown by fighter-bombers, medium and heavy bombers, dropping a total of 6,202 tons of bombs on the island. [6] [9]
Two demands for the garrison to surrender went unanswered and, on 11 June, the amphibious assault went ahead. About an hour before the landing craft reached the beaches, the accompanying ships opened fire. Unknown to the attackers, the commander of the garrison Adm. Gino Pavesi on Pantelleria had sought permission to surrender from Rome the previous evening and received it that morning. [6] When the first of the British Commandos landed, the Italians had already surrendered, therefore no fight was necessary.
The Italian gun positions were reduced to 47% effectiveness by the intense ten-day air bombardment. Out of 112 guns bombed, 2 had suffered from direct hits, 17 were near misses and 34 were damaged by debris and splinters (10 beyond repair). All control communications were destroyed, along with many gun emplacements and ammunition stores. [10]
The Italian garrisons on other nearby islands (Lampedusa and Linosa) quickly fell over the next few days. The operation cleared the way for the invasion of Sicily a month later.
The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers. It began with a large amphibious and airborne operation, followed by a six-week land campaign, and initiated the Italian campaign.
The Battle of Makin was an engagement of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought from 20 to 24 November 1943, on Makin Atoll in the Gilbert Islands.
HMS Penelope was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Harland & Wolff ; her keel was laid down on 30 May 1934. She was launched on 15 October 1935, and commissioned 13 November 1936. She was torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-410 near Naples with great loss of life on 18 February 1944. On wartime service with Force K, she was holed so many times by bomb fragments that she acquired the nickname "HMS Pepperpot".
The Battle of Tarakan was the first stage in the Borneo campaign of 1945. It began with an amphibious landing by Allied forces on 1 May, code-named Operation Oboe One; the Allied ground forces were drawn mainly from the Australian 26th Brigade, but included a small element of Netherlands East Indies personnel. The main objective of the landing was the capture of the island's airfield. While the battle ended with success for the Allied forces over the Japanese defenders, this victory is generally regarded as having not justified its costs. The airfield was so heavily damaged that it ultimately could not be repaired in time to make it operational for other phases of the Allied campaign in Borneo.
The Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign were a series of battles fought from August 1942 through February 1944, in the Pacific theatre of World War II between the United States and Japan. They were the first steps of the drive across the central Pacific by the United States Pacific Fleet and Marine Corps. The purpose was to establish airfields and naval bases that would allow air and naval support for upcoming operations across the Central Pacific. Operation Galvanic and Operation Kourbash were the code names for the Gilberts campaign that included the seizures of Tarawa and Makin, during the Battle of Tarawa of 20–23 November and the Battle of Makin of 20–24 November 1943. Operation Flintlock and Operation Catchpole were aimed at capturing Japanese bases at Kwajalein, Eniwetok, and Majuro in the Marshall Islands.
Operation Inmate was an attack by the British Pacific Fleet against Japanese positions on Truk Atoll in the central Pacific Ocean during the Second World War. The attacks against the isolated islands on 14 and 15 June 1945 were conducted to provide combat experience for the aircraft carrier HMS Implacable and several of the fleet's cruisers and destroyers ahead of their involvement in more demanding operations off the Japanese home islands.
The 47th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington. It was inactivated on 27 February 1987.
The Dodecanese campaign of World War II was an attempt by Allied forces to capture the Italian Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea following the Armistice with Italy in September 1943, and use them as bases against the German-controlled Balkans. Operating without air cover, the Allied effort was a costly failure, the whole of the Dodecanese falling to the Germans within two months. The Dodecanese campaign, lasting from 8 September to 22 November 1943, resulted in one of the last major German victories in the war.
The Battle of Kos was a brief battle in World War II between British/Italian and German forces for control of the Greek island of Kos, in the then Italian-held Dodecanese Islands of the Aegean Sea. The battle was precipitated by the Allied Armistice with Italy. German forces with strong air support quickly overwhelmed the Italian garrison and the recent British reinforcements, denying the Allies a base to attack the German presence in the Balkans and leading to the expulsion and death of the island's Jewish population.
The 168th Air Refueling Squadron is a unit of the Alaska Air National Guard 168th Air Refueling Wing located at Eielson Air Force Base, Fairbanks, Alaska. The 168th is equipped with the KC-135R Stratotanker.
This is a timeline of events that occurred during World War II in 1943.
The Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) was a sub-command of the Northwest African Air Forces (NAAF) which itself was a sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC). These new Allied air force organizations were created at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943 to promote cooperation between the British Royal Air Force (RAF), the American United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), and their respective ground and naval forces in the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO).
The 2d Operations Group is the flying component of the United States Air Force 2d Bomb Wing, assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command Eighth Air Force. The group is stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.
The 47th Operations Group is the flying component of the 47th Flying Training Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command. The group is stationed at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas.
The 445th Air Expeditionary Squadron is a provisional United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned as a regular Air Force unit to the 321st Bombardment Wing at Pinecastle Air Force Base, Florida, where it was inactivated on 25 October 1961.
The 428th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 310th Bombardment Wing at Schilling Air Force Base, Kansas, where it was inactivated on 1 January 1962. The squadron had been activated in 1959 in response to Strategic Air Command's expanded nuclear alert, but was inactivated when alert commitments changed.
The 381st Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 310th Bombardment Wing at Schilling Air Force Base, Kansas, where it was inactivated on 25 March 1965.
HMS Royal Scotsman, originally the MV Royal Scotsman, was an LSI of the British Royal Navy that served during World War II. A former passenger ferry, she saw action in the Mediterranean during the invasions of North Africa, Sicily and Italy.
Gino Pavesi was an Italian admiral during World War II.
Operation Jurist referred to the British recapture of Penang following Japan's surrender in 1945. Jurist was launched as part of Operation Zipper, the overall British plan to liberate Malaya, including Singapore.