Operation Corkscrew

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.
Date11 June 1943
Location36°47′15″N 11°59′33″E / 36.78750°N 11.99250°E / 36.78750; 11.99250
Result Allied victory
Territorial
changes
Allied Occupation of the islands
Belligerents
 United Kingdom  Italy
Commanders and leaders
United Kingdom Walter Clutterbuck Kingdom of Italy 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 code name 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) but it was cancelled when the Luftwaffe arrived in the Mediterranean.[4][5]

  1. ^ Evans, Bryn (2014) The Decisive Campaigns of the Desert Air Force 1942–1945 en Pen & Sword, p. 96. ISBN 9781783462605
  2. ^ Marco Gioannini, Giulio Massobrio (2007). Bombardate l'Italia. Storia della guerra di distruzione aerea 1940–1945. Rizzoli, p. 300. ISBN 9788817015851 (in Italian)
  3. ^ Christopher Chant (1986) The Encyclopedia of Codenames of World War II, p. 34
  4. ^ Churchill, Winston (1949). "Desert Victory". Their Finest Hour. Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 552. ISBN 0-395-41056-8.
  5. ^ Churchill, Winston (1950). "The Mediterranean War". The Second World War: The Grand Alliance. Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 52. ISBN 0-395-41057-6.

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