Landing of commando in Pantelleria 1943

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Alexderome
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Landing of commando in Pantelleria 1943

#1

Post by Alexderome » 10 Mar 2014, 01:21

During the night of 28th and 29th may 1943, a Brittisch commando landed at Punta Kharce in order to capture Italians but the operation failed.
Does anyone knows what kind of commando, maybe No. 30 Commando ?
Thanks
Alex
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Eravamo 30 d'una sorte, 31 con la morte (Gabriele d'Annunzio).

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phylo_roadking
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Re: Landing of commando in Pantelleria 1943

#2

Post by phylo_roadking » 10 Mar 2014, 02:52

Hi Alex, I've just looked in Charles Messenger's book on the Commandos, and although pretty comprehensive there's no actual mention of this failed prisoner grab...

But there IS mention in passing of a Lt Commander Riley of No.30 Commando and Huntingdon-Whiteley of No.30 Commando, along with "eight Royal Marines" having been involved in the capture of Pantelleria "in early June"; during this late May/early June window, No.33 Troop of No. 30 Commando was in Tunisia...and it was a Royal Marine troop, as opposed to No.34 Troop No.30 Commando being an Army troop ;)

So logic would indicate that if a Lieutenant Commander Riley and eight Royal Marines were involved in operations leading up to and including the capture of Pantelleria, then they were from No.33 Troop of No.30 Commando.
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Ironmachine
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Re: Landing of commando in Pantelleria 1943

#3

Post by Ironmachine » 10 Mar 2014, 10:12

It was the 2 SAS. See for example:
Snapdragon - Small operation by 2 SAS on the Italian island of Pantelleria, inserted by submarine. (28 May 1945)
Source: http://archive.is/6PDS2
Still only twenty-fie, he [Appleyard] was already a major, and with 2 SAS he was to enhance his reputation further. In May 1943, following the Axis defeat in North Africa, he was chosen personally by the theatre commander, General Sir Harold Alexander, to reconnoitre the Mediterranean island of Pantelleria.
[...]
Appleyard landed from a submarine on four nights to probe its defences. On the last, he climbed a cliff as the sentry above his head sang 'O Sole Mio', grabbed a prisoner and began dragging him back to the dinghy. When Italian reinforcements arrived, one of Appleyard's companions was killed but he and a sergeant accounted for six of the enemy before getting away successfully.
Source: Commando: Winning World War II Behind Enemy Lines by James Owen.
In early 1943, Major Geoffrey Appleyard of 2 SAS was personally requested by General Alexander to survey Pantelleria [...]. Appleyard reconnoitred Pantelleria twice; Lieutenant John Cochrane, a soldier with the Toronto Scottish serving with 2 SAS, accompanied one of Appleyard's "excursions".
[What follows its Cochrane's account of the raid]
Our party consisted of Geoffrey, two sergeants, six men and myself. We left the submarine base, at Malta, in (if I remember correctly), His Majesty's submarine Unshaken[...]
Source: The Mammoth Book of SAS and Special Forces, edited by Jon E. Lewis.

For what it's worth, Cochrane was right about the submarine involved:
Italy: Pantelleria. Track chart of HM Submarine Unshaken, Operation Snapdragon 24-30 May 1943. Originally enclosed in a patrol report dated 30 May 1943 from J Whitton, Lieut in Command.
Source: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.u ... d=C8955049

And yes, it seems that the operation failed:
If 2 SAS had never quite lived up to its promise, it was mainly because many of the tasks it was handed were pointless or badly planned by outsiders [...] A recce of another island, Pantelleria, turned sour when the SAS team accidentally dropped the prisoner they had grabbed as an informant down a cliff. The raidershad to abot the mission.
Source: The Regiment: The Real Story of the SAS by Michael Asher.

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Alexderome
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Re: Landing of commando in Pantelleria 1943

#4

Post by Alexderome » 10 Mar 2014, 13:23

Thanks for your research and help,
Alex
http://books.google.fr/books?id=IQ5FAAA ... AS&f=false
http://hongrie2gm.creer-forums-gratuit.fr/forum.htm
Eravamo 30 d'una sorte, 31 con la morte (Gabriele d'Annunzio).

DRMEB
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Re: Landing of commando in Pantelleria 1943

#5

Post by DRMEB » 23 Feb 2017, 19:40

Does anybody know if there are any Italian records of this raid? I am particularly interested in obtaining the names of the Italian casualties and of course confirming the number (if any).

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Re: Landing of commando in Pantelleria 1943

#6

Post by Platon Alexiades » 24 Feb 2017, 06:55

For the record, Major J. Geoffrey Appleyard was involved in four attempts by submarine (four different patrols) at Pantelleria:
At 0145/12 May (from HMS United, Lt. J.C.Y. Roxburgh, DSC). Attempt cancelled due to the strong wind.
At 0429/19 May (from HMS Unshaken, Lt. J. Whitton). Periscope and photographic reconnaissance.
At 2202/28 to 0221/29 May (from HMS Unshaken, Lt. J. Whitton). He landed with Lt. John P. Cochrane and six other ranks at Punta Karace and climbed the cliffs. A sentinel was encountered but he screamed before being killed and a nearby platoon intervened (four men according to the British account). After a brief firefight, a grenade was thrown mortally wounding Lance Corporal Herstell who had to be left behind. The commandos escaped after killing the Italian platoon leader (source: the Supermarina War Diaries). The Italians recorded that only two commandos were seen and one of them was killed (Herstell) while the other escaped. They tried to locate the commandos' boat but without success. Regretfully, I have no information on the names of the Italian casualties.
On 6 June 1943 (again from HMS Unshaken), an attempt to land was made but was cancelled because of aircraft flares which illuminated the area.

Platon Alexiades

DRMEB
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Re: Landing of commando in Pantelleria 1943

#7

Post by DRMEB » 24 Feb 2017, 19:19

Many thanks indeed for the reply! I have written a detailed account of the operation together with illustrations and photographs of the location: www.hmsunshaken.co.uk. I would love to see a copy of the mentioned Supermarina War Diary.

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Re: Landing of commando in Pantelleria 1943

#8

Post by Platon Alexiades » 24 Feb 2017, 20:08

Very interesting web site. I have sent you my email address for further communications.

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Re: Landing of commando in Pantelleria 1943

#9

Post by Alexderome » 17 Jan 2018, 19:44

Thanks Platon and DRMEB for the precisions
ALEX
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Eravamo 30 d'una sorte, 31 con la morte (Gabriele d'Annunzio).

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