Operation Corkscrew

British soldiers during Operation Corkscrew at Pantelleria

During World War II, Operation Corkscrew was the Allied invasion of the Italian island of Pantelleria (between Sicily and Tunisia) on 10 June 1943. There had been an early plan to occupy the island in late 1940 (Operation Workshop),^[1] but this was aborted when the Luftwaffe strengthened the Axis air threat in the region.^[2]

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. In addition, there was an opportunity to assess the impact of preparatory bombardment upon heavily fortified defences.^[3]

The intense ten-day air bombardment substantially reduced the defences, and the Italian garrison surrendered when the British forces landed on the island. An assessment by British analyst Professor Sir Solly Zuckerman reported that the defences had been reduced to 47% effectiveness. The ease of the operation led to an optimistic assessment of the effectiveness of bombing, which was not always borne out in practice.

The Italian garrisons on other nearby islands (Linosa and Lampedusa) quickly fell. This cleared the way for the invasion of Sicily a month later.

References

1. ^ Winston Churchill (1949). "Desert Victory". Their Finest Hour. Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 552. ISBN 0395410568. 
2. ^ Winston Churchill (1950). "The Mediterranean War". The Second World War: The Grand Alliance. Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 52. ISBN 0395410576. 
3. ^ Rogers, Edith C. (1947). The Reduction of Pantelleria and Adjacent Islands, 8 May-14 June 1943. monograph 52. US Air Force, Air Force Historical Research Agency. http://afhra.maxwell.af.mil/numbered_studies/467641.pdf. Retrieved 30 March 2009. 

External links

• Detailed American description, 320th Bomb Group
• British Combined Operations description