Editing Operation Corkscrew

{{Use British English|date=September 2024}}
{{Short description|Military operation}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict    = Operation Corkscrew
| partof      = the [[Battle of the Mediterranean]] and the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]]
| image       = Men of 1st Battalion advance past a burning fuel store on Pantelleria.jpg
| image_upright = 1.0 
| caption     = Men of the 1st Battalion, [[Duke of Wellington's Regiment]], part of the [[3rd Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|3rd Infantry Brigade]] of the [[1st (United Kingdom) Division|1st Division]], advancing inland during Operation Corkscrew.
| date        = 11 June 1943
| place       = [[Pantelleria]] island
|coordinates  = {{coord|36|47|15|N|11|59|33|E|region:IT-TP_type:isle|display=inline,title}}
| result      = Allied victory
| territory   = Allied occupation of the islands
| combatant1  = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| combatant2  = {{Flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy}}
| commander1  = [[Walter Clutterbuck]]
| commander2  = [[Gino Pavesi]]
| strength1   = 14,000
| strength2   = 12,000
| casualties1 = 15 aircraft shot down<ref>Evans, Bryn (2014) ''The Decisive Campaigns of the Desert Air Force 1942–1945'' en Pen & Sword, p. 96. {{ISBN|9781783462605}}</ref>
| casualties2 = 40 killed<br />150 wounded<ref name=bomb>Marco Gioannini, Giulio Massobrio (2007). ''Bombardate l'Italia. Storia della guerra di distruzione aerea 1940–1945.'' Rizzoli, p. 300. {{ISBN|9788817015851}} {{in lang|it}}</ref><br />11,000 prisoners
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Mediterranean Campaign}} {{Campaignbox Invasion of Sicily}}
{{Campaignbox Italy}}
}}

'''Operation Corkscrew''' was the code name for the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] invasion of the [[Italy|Italian]] island of [[Pantelleria]] (between [[Sicily]] and [[Tunisia]]) on 11 June 1943, prior to the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]], during the [[Second World War]].<ref>Christopher Chant (1986) The Encyclopedia of Codenames of World War II, p. 34</ref> There had been an early Allied plan to occupy the island in late 1940 (Operation Workshop) but it was cancelled when the [[Luftwaffe]] arrived in the Mediterranean.<ref name=Churchill1949>{{cite book |first=Winston |last=Churchill |author-link = Winston Churchill |year = 1949 |title = Their Finest Hour |url =https://archive.org/details/secondworldwarvo00chur_146|url-access = limited |chapter = Desert Victory |page = [https://archive.org/details/secondworldwarvo00chur_146/page/n292 552] |publisher  = [[Houghton Mifflin Company]] |isbn = 0-395-41056-8}}</ref><ref name=Churchill1950>{{cite book |first=Winston |last=Churchill |author-link = Winston Churchill |year = 1950 |title = The Second World War: The Grand Alliance |url =https://archive.org/details/secondworldwarvo00chur|url-access = limited |chapter = The Mediterranean War |page = [https://archive.org/details/secondworldwarvo00chur/page/n39 52] |publisher  = [[Houghton Mifflin Company]] |isbn = 0-395-41057-6
}}</ref>

==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]]). The Italian garrison on the island was 12,000 strong in well-entrenched [[pillbox (military)|pillboxes]] and 21 [[gun battery|gun batteries]]. There was an opportunity to assess the impact of [[bombardment]] upon fortifications.<ref name=USAAF>{{cite book| publisher=US Air Force, [[Air Force Historical Research Agency]]| series=monograph 52| title=The Reduction of Pantelleria and Adjacent Islands, 8 May-14 June 1943| first=Edith C.| last=Rogers| year=1947| url= https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/Portals/16/documents/Studies/51-100/AFD-090529-104.pdf |access-date=2022-01-08}}</ref> 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 {{cvt|4119|LT}} were dropped on 112 Italian batteries.<ref>{{Citation |title=IL⭐2 8th May 1943 Corskcrew op bombing Pantelleria Margana airfield h 11:45 AM | date=27 December 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTOed9vAm9w |access-date=2022-01-11}}</ref> 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 (United States)|General]] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], the [[Supreme Allied Commander]] in the [[Mediterranean Theater of Operations|Mediterranean]], and [[Admiral (Royal Navy)|Admiral]] [[Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope|Andrew Cunningham]] from the flagship {{HMS|Aurora|12|6}}.<ref name=USAAF/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iLtSAAAAIBAJ&jtp=1|title=The Evening Independent - Jun 11, 1943|website=Google News Archive|access-date=23 May 2013}}</ref> From 8 May to 11 June 1943, 5,285 bombing [[Sortie#Military aviation|sorties]] were flown by fighter-bombers, medium and heavy bombers, dropping {{cvt|6202|LT}} of bombs on the island.<ref name=USAAF/><ref>{{Citation|title=Lockheed P 38 Lightning Corkscrew op IL⭐2 Pantelleria 8-5-1943 USAF 82nd FG NASAF 8th May 1943| date=11 April 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36H1cHUa3S0|language=en|access-date=2022-01-11}}</ref>

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 on [[Pantelleria]], Admiral Gino Pavesi, had sought permission to surrender from Rome the previous evening and received it that morning.<ref name=USAAF/>  When the first of the [[British Commandos]] 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rodgers |first=Edith |date=1943-06-01 |title=The Reduction of Pantelleria and Adjacent Islands, 8 May – 14 June 1943 |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA637638.pdf |access-date=22 March 2023 |website=Defense Technical Information Center}}</ref>

The nearby islands of [[Lampedusa]] and [[Linosa]] quickly fell in the next few days.  The operation cleared the way for the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]] a month later.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://320thbg.org/pantelleria_1.html Detailed American description, 320th Bomb Group]
* [http://www.combinedops.com/pantellaria.htm British Combined Operations description]

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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}


[[Category:World War II operations and battles of the Italian Campaign|Corkscrew]]
[[Category:Allied invasion of Sicily|Corkscrew]]
[[Category:June 1943 in Europe]]
[[Category:Amphibious operations involving the United Kingdom|Corkscrew]]
[[Category:Amphibious operations of World War II|Corkscrew]]