Operation Ladbroke

Operation Ladbroke
Part of World War II, Operation Husky
Date 9 July 1943 Location Syracuse, Sicily Result British defeat
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Germany Italy
Commanders and leaders
Brigadier P.H.W Hicks
Strength
2, 075
Casualties and losses
61 Killed, 133 Wounded, 44 Missing, 252 Drowned

During World War II, Operation Ladbroke was the British glider landing near Syracuse, Sicily on the night of 9 July, 1943 as part of the invasion of Sicily. On the night of 9/10 July 1943 a force of 144 Waco gliders, towed by US C-47, and British Handley Page Halifax and Albemarle tug aircraft, took off from North Africa to take part in Operation Ladbroke – the first Allied attempt at a mass glider landing in World War II. The plan was to place a large invasion force on the ground near the town of Syracuse, secure the Ponte Grande Bridge and then take control of the city itself, including its strategically vital docks, as a prelude to the full-scale invasion of Sicily.

Background

By early 1943 the Allies had achieved victory in the North African campaign and had begun to plan for the invasion of Italy; to achieve this, it was decided that the island of Sicily would first have to be captured. The invasion and occupation of Sicily had a number of benefits for the Allies. It would open up Mediterranean sea routes for Allied shipping, and would provide new airfields closer to Italy and Germany for Allied bombers to operate from; its small size also meant only a small force would be required to occupy it, allowing enough Allied forces to remain free to defend against any possible Axis counter-attacks against the island. The plan for Operation Husky, the codename for the invasion of Sicily, called for the British Eighth Army under the command of General Bernard Montgomery, and the American Seventh Army commanded by General George Patton to conduct an amphibious landing on the south-east coast of the island. In March it was decided that the landing of the Allied ground forces would be preceded by the landing of two Allied airborne divisions - the American 82nd Airborne Division and the British 1st Airborne Division; the airborne troops would seize vital strategic points and divide the attentions of the Axis forces defending the island. The 82nd Airborne Division would land a reinforced combat team near the city of Gela in order to block the movement of German reinforcements against the Allied beachheads, and then link up with advance elements of the American 1st Infantry Division.

Battle

On D-Day, despite takeoff difficulties because of improper loading, 144 gliders and their tugs (109 C-47s, 28 Albemarles, and seven Halifaxes) took off at 1842 hours from six fields near Kairouan, Tunisia. Their planned course took them Malta, 200 miles to the east, which they reached at sunset, flying at altitudes between 250 and 500 feet above the sea. They then turned northeast for Cape Passero on the southeast tip of Sicily. Despite navigation difficulties in the dark, 90% of the force arrived successfully along the eastern shore of Sicily. Had the assault been made in daylight, it is estimated that between 109 and 119 gliders, carrying 1,200 troops, would have been released within visual view of its landing zones.

Because of faulty mission planning estimates of distance and altitude for release points, in the face of strong headwinds blowing from the shore, at least 69 Wacos came down at sea, with over 200 passengers drowned, and seven other Wacos and three Horsas likely were lost at sea with all hands. Some gliders were also released too far from shore by inexperienced crews dodging antiaircraft fire, which shot down one glider.

Only 49 of 130 Wacos and five of eight Horsas were positively accounted for as landing on Sicily. Those that reached land were either released within a mile of shore, or at altitudes higher than planned, allowing them sufficient gliding altitude. Of the force of 137 gliders, only nine reached shore using the planned release point altitude and distance. Only two Wacos reached Landing Zone 1, just one made Landing Zone 2 (where it hit a tree), and one Horsa on Landing Zone 3. 13 Wacos and three Horsas struck obstacles in landing, resulting in much damage to heavy equipment.

The initial assault on the Ponte Grande bridge resulted in its seizure by 73 men and removal of demolition charges. Daylong counterattacks by Italian forces resulted in the eventual surrender of the force. However, their resistance had permitted forward elements of the British 5th Infantry Division to arrive, who recaptured the bridge and liberated the survivors of the airlanding brigade.

Bibliography

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