Operation Husky No. 1

Allied Forces

• 82^nd Airborne Division
  • 505^th Parachute Infantry Regiment
    • 1^st Parachute Infantry Battalion
    • 2^nd Parachute Infantry Battalion
    • 3^rd Parachute Infantry Battalion
    • 456^th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion
    • 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion

Axis Forces

Operation

Operation Husky No. 1 is an airborne operation carried out by the 505^th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82^nd Airborne Division during Operation Husky on the night of July 9^th and 10^th, 1943.

The mission is assigned to Colonel James A. Gavin’s 505^th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which is tasked with being dropped in the area between Niscemi and Gela. Their objective is to cut the roads leading to Gela, thereby preventing Axis forces from accessing the beaches used by Lieutenant General George S. Patton’s US 7^th Army.

The available lift capacity allows for only two brigade-sized units, one British and one American. The American force comprises Gavin’s 505^th Parachute Infantry Regiment, consisting of three battalions with attached the 456^th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion equipped with 75-millimetres light airborne howitzers, and the 307^th Airborne Engineer Battalion. The regiment is to drop behind the central beachhead assigned to Lieutenant General Omar N. Bradley’s II Corps near Gela. Gavin’s mission is to secure the area of Piano Lupo, check any Axis counterattack, and hold the position until relieved by advancing units from the beachhead.

The British and American airborne units are concentrated around Kairouan in Tunisia, using a network of airfields as their base. Here, they are supported by Brigadier General Ray A. Dunn’s 51^st Troop Carrier Wing and Brigadier General Harold L. Clark’s 52^nd Troop Carrier Wing, both part of Brigadier General Paul L. Williams’s XII Troop Carrier Command.

The 3,400 paratroopers of the 505^th Parachute Infantry begin their flight at 22:00 on the night of July 9^th, 1943, departing in 226 Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft from the 52^nd Troop Carrier Wing. The aircraft fly in V formations, with nine abreast in groups of three Vs. Only the lead aircraft in each formation carries an experienced navigator, with the rest following the lead plane. Drop zones are to be identified visually from aerial photographs; there are no pathfinder teams, light markers, or radio beacons to guide the way.

Due to strong winds reaching up to 72 kilometres/hour and other navigational challenges, the formation loses direction, resulting in the regiment being scattered across southern Sicily, over an area spanning 105 kilometres. Only about 200 paratroopers land at the intended location of Piano Lupo, while Gavin himself lands approximately 48 kilometres from his designated drop zone. Many paratroopers are injured upon landing, having been dropped from too low an altitude onto uneven ground amidst high winds. Some manage to find their way back to the rendezvous point, while others are captured by the enemy. Despite the disarray, commanders gather any men they can find, rallying more troops after daybreak, and engage in operations to disrupt Axis activities.

Gavin’s group from the 1^st Battalion, 505^th Parachute Infantry, finds itself near a fortified farmhouse occupied by 60 Axis troops and captures it through a direct assault. Other groups either capture or contribute to the capture of Ragusa, Noto, and Avola, the latter being within the sector of General Sir Bernard Montgomery’s British 8^th Army. Another group successfully harasses an anti-aircraft battery, and one captured lieutenant even convinces his captors to surrender, which they do. Throughout the area, many local villagers welcome the paratroopers as liberators.

The Germans, however, prove to be a formidable adversary. On Piano Lupo, the 200 paratroopers who land in the correct location make an impressive stand against a German armoured counterattack, with one of the 75-mm M116 airborne howitzers successfully destroying a Tiger heavy tank. German armoured units are eventually halted, in part by the direct fire from field artillery brought ashore at the beaches, but primarily by precise and concentrated fire from US Navy guns. Though the 505^th Parachute Infantry does not fully achieve its planned objective, their aggressive actions create significant confusion among the Axis defenders regarding the strength and direction of the US 7^th Army’s advance.

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