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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 1837.PDF
JULY 22MD, 1943 CONCENTRATED BLITZ : One of our new blast bombs waiting to be loaded up at a Halifax station. WAR i Airborne Troops in Sicily : Axis Hesitating Defence : Beaufighters as Bombers : Russia Counter-attacks EVENTS in Sicily have moved sofast that it is not possible fora weekly paper to keep pace with them and to comment on all the developments which the public will • have learnt from the daily papers. As we write, all has been going well for the invading Allies, though a rumour (not officially confirmed) has got about that a nasty wind interfered with the landings of the parachute troops on the night before the seaborne forces reached the beaches, and that this pre- vented the former from accomplishing all that was hoped from them. The enemy claimed that the '' parachute "gangsters" had been dealt with by his own ground troops, but he would be sure to say that in any case. One glider (Horsas were the type used) certainly came down in the sea among the ships which were approach- ing the shore before dawn, but the soldiers extricated themselves and swam towards the ships. They called out to the ships to pick them up, and when the Navy shouted out to ask them who they were the swimmers replied • '' Airborne,'' a description which recalls an expression of Mr. Churchill in his early days—'' termino- logically inexact." Other parties of air-landing troops, though their Horsas had not landed close together, made for an important bridge outside Syracuse and gallantly captured it. They were presently over- whelmed by superior numbers, and after losing rather heavily were taken prisoners. Their captivity lasted only a short while, for within an hour the advancing British infantry from the beaches reversed the situation by cap- turing the Italians and setting their prisoners free. During the first days of the advance the enemy took no strong action to oppose the Allied troops. It was natural and right that the General in command of the defences should hesi- tate to commit his reserves until the situation had been clarified. He would naturally be in doubt as to whether Generals Eisenhower and Alexander had further landings on other parts of the coast in mind, and to send all his reserves to the south east would leave the western shores of the island unpro- tected. At the same time it is quite prob- able that the hesitation of the Italians (for the Germans in the "island are a minority) may have been largely due to the bombing by the Allies of the headquarters and post office at Taor- mina. Added to that, the continuous attacks of the Allied aircraft on com- munications all over the island may ALLIED UPLIFT : How Air Trans-port Command of the U.S.A.A.F. gets over the problem of high loading intothe Curtiss Commando.
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