Operation Corkscrew was the code name for the Allied invasion of the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

island of

Pantelleria Pantelleria (; ), known in ancient times as Cossyra or Cossura, is an Italian island and comune in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and east of the Tunisian coast. On clear days Tunisia is visible from the ...

(between

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

and

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

) on 11 June 1943, prior to the

Allied invasion of Sicily 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 Allies of World War II, Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis p ...

, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. There had been an early Allied plan to occupy the island in late 1940 (Operation Workshop) but it was cancelled when the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

arrived in the Mediterranean.

Background

Allied attention returned to Pantelleria in early 1943. The radar installations and airfield on the island were seen as a threat to the invasion of Sicily (

Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

). The Italian garrison on the island was 12,000 strong in well-entrenched pillboxes and 21 gun batteries. There was an opportunity to assess the impact of

bombardment A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire or by dropping bombs from aircraft on fortifications, combatants, or cities and buildings. Prior to World War I, the term was only applied to the bombardment of defenseless or undefended obje ...

upon fortifications. It was decided to see if the island could be forced into submission by aerial and naval bombardment alone. Failing this, an invasion was planned for 11 June.

Landings

Starting in late May, the island was subjected to steadily increasing bombing attacks. In early June, the attacks intensified and 14,203 bombs weighing were dropped on 112 Italian batteries. On 8 June, a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

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 A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

, the

Supreme Allied Commander Supreme Allied Commander is the title held by the most senior commander within certain multinational military alliances. It originated as a term used by the Allies during World War I, and is currently used only within NATO for Supreme Allied Co ...

in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, and

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Andrew Cunningham from the flagship . From 8 May to 11 June 1943, 5,285 bombing sorties were flown by fighter-bombers, medium and heavy bombers, dropping of bombs on the island. Two demands for the

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

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 on

, Admiral Gino Pavesi, had sought permission to surrender from Rome the previous evening and received it that morning. When the first of the

British Commandos The Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the World War II, Second World War in June 1940, following a request from Winston Churchill, for special forces that could carry out Raid (military), raids against German-occ ...

landed, the Italians had already surrendered and the landing was unopposed.

Aftermath

The Italian gun positions were reduced to 47 per cent 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. The nearby islands of Lampedusa and

Linosa Linosa (; ; ) is one of the Pelagie Islands in the Sicily Channel of the Mediterranean Sea. The island is a part of the Italian comune of Lampedusa e Linosa, part of the province of Agrigento in Sicily, Italy. It has a population of 430. Name ...

quickly fell in the next few days. The operation cleared the way for the

a month later.

References

External links

Detailed American description, 320th Bomb Group

{{Use dmy dates, date=September 2024

Corkscrew A corkscrew is a tool for drawing Cork (plug), corks from wine bottles and other household bottles that may be sealed with corks. In its traditional form, a corkscrew simply consists of a pointed metallic helix (often called the "worm") attach ...

June 1943 in Europe