Author Archives: Ian Murray

The Story of Glider 88 – the Battle for LZ 2

Posted on 02/11/2022 by Ian Murray

Surrounded by enemy positions, with many wounded at risk, a small group of glider troops overcame the odds. Glider: Waco CG-4A number 88, ‘Powder River Montana’, serial no. 245697.Glider carrying: part of 11 Platoon of B Company, 1st Battalion of … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Archive Documents, Glider Stories, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943, Veterans' accounts | Tagged 1 Air Landing Brigade, 1 Border Regt, Cape Murro di Porco, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943 | 8 Comments

Operation Dragoon – British Glider Chaos in Riviera Invasion

Posted on 02/10/2022 by Ian Murray

Gunners without guns, an LZ without defenders, impenetrable fog – the British glider assault in the invasion of the South of France went seriously awry. Operation Dragoon was the code name for the Allied invasion of the South of France … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Gliders in WW2 | Tagged Horsa gliders, Operation Bluebird, Operation Dragoon | 3 Comments

Tommy Grant’s Operation Beggar – Horsas for Sicily Invasion

Posted on 25/09/2022 by Ian Murray

In Operation Beggar, Horsa gliders desperately needed for the invasion of Sicily were flown all the way from England to Tunisia, through skies patrolled by German aircraft. RAF Flight Lieutenant D A ‘Tommy’ Grant was one of the key men … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Archive Documents, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943, Veterans' accounts | Tagged Horsa gliders, Operation Beggar, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, Operation Turkey Buzzard | Leave a comment

3 Commando – the Storming of Torre Cuba

Posted on 20/05/2021 by Ian Murray

3 Commando’s capture of the Italian strongpoint at Torre Cuba helped prepare the ground (literally) for the surrender of Italy and the signing of the Armistice. Major Peter Young had a disappointing start to Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Archive Documents, Operation Husky - Sicily 1943 | Tagged 3 Commando | Leave a comment

Paddy Mayne and the SAS Attack on the Second Battery

Posted on 08/05/2021 by Ian Murray

The SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS) could have withdrawn after taking the gun battery on Cape Murro di Porco. Instead Major Paddy Mayne opted for more fighting. In one of the opening moves of Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS) in Sicily | Tagged Blair Paddy Mayne, Cape Murro di Porco, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS), Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in Sicily | 3 Comments

The Story of Glider 110 – Glider Pilots Fight for the Ponte Grande

Posted on 20/12/2020 by Ian Murray

The pilots in Glider 110 landed their Waco in the centre of LZ 1, then went on to fight to the finish for the Ponte Grande bridge. Glider: Waco CG-4A number 110, serial no. 73603 (or 73683).Glider carrying: 6 pounder anti-tank … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Glider Stories, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943 | Tagged 1 Border Regt, A G Walch, Glider Pilot Regiment, Gliders in Sicily, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, Ponte Grande bridge, Victor Miller | 5 Comments

Arnhem & Varsity Sketches by Glider Pilot Victor Miller

Posted on 25/10/2020 by Ian Murray

Victor Miller’s sketches show us something no photograph can – what it felt like to be in the front seat in a massed glider assault. Glider pilot Staff Sergeant Victor Miller fought in and survived three of the great glider … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Gliders in WW2 | Tagged Arnhem, Hamilcar gliders, Horsa gliders, Operation Market Garden, Operation Varsity, Victor Miller | 2 Comments

The Story of Glider 50 – Hemmed In By Fire

Posted on 07/10/2020 by Ian Murray

The men of Glider 50 found themselves surrounded by Italian positions until they were rescued by the SAS troopers of the Special Raiding Squadron (SRS). Glider: CG-4A Waco 50, serial 277213.Glider carrying: 11 Subsection, 3 Section, 9th Field Company Royal Engineers.Troops’ … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Glider Stories, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS) in Sicily | Tagged 9 Field Company Royal Engineers, Cape Murro di Porco, George Chatterton, Gliders in Sicily, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS), Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in Sicily | Leave a comment

The Story of Glider 107 – Escape and Evasion

Posted on 27/09/2020 by Ian Murray

Glider 107 landed near an Italian garrison who shot at it the instant it landed, and then patrolled for survivors. Glider: Waco CG-4A number 107, name “Rocket”, serial no. 277177.Glider carrying: Half of 10 Platoon, A Company, 1st Battalion of the Border Regiment.Troops’ … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Glider Stories, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943 | Tagged 1 Border Regt, Gliders in Sicily, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS), Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in Sicily | Leave a comment

The Story of Glider 46 – Kicking the Hornets’ Nest

Posted on 23/09/2020 by Ian Murray

Glider 46 landed in a hornets’ nest of Italian defences. For good measure it kicked the nest first by trying to land on the roof of a pillbox. Glider: CG-4A Waco 46, serial 246587.Glider carrying: 9 Subsection, 3 Section, 9th … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Glider Stories, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943 | Tagged 9 Field Company Royal Engineers, Gliders in Sicily, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943 | 4 Comments

The Story of Glider 8 – Calm Before the Storm

Posted on 20/09/2020 by Ian Murray

The C-47 towing Glider 8 had an easy run in Operation Ladbroke. For its captain and his crew, it was the calm before the storm. Glider: CG-4A Waco 8, serial no. 73602.Glider carrying: Part of D Company HQ, 2nd Battalion South … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Glider Stories, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS) in Sicily | Tagged 2 South Staffords, 51 TCW USAAF, Cape Murro di Porco, Gliders in Sicily, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS), Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in Sicily | Leave a comment

The Story of Glider 52a – Out of the Firestorm

Posted on 15/09/2020 by Ian Murray

Glider 52a landed close to its LZ, descending out of a firestorm of searchlights and anti-aircraft fire. Glider: CG-4A Waco 52a, serial 42-73623.Glider carrying: Half of a platoon of E Company, 2nd Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment.Troops’ objective: Walsall strongpoint [photo] [map]. … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Glider Stories, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943 | Tagged 2 South Staffords, Gliders in Sicily, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, US glider pilots in Sicily | Leave a comment

The Story of Glider 29 – A Tough Nut to Crack

Posted on 13/09/2020 by Ian Murray

Unlike most of the glider troops in Operation Ladbroke, the men in Glider 29 reached their objective and attacked it. Glider: CG-4A Waco 29, serial 277232.Glider carrying: Half of 12 Platoon of B Company, 2 South Staffords.Troops’ objective: Bilston strongpoint. Manifest … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Glider Stories, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943 | Tagged 2 South Staffords, 51 TCW USAAF, Gliders in Sicily, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943 | Leave a comment

The Story of Glider Z – No Business Being There

Posted on 07/09/2020 by Ian Murray

Glider Z only flew in Operation Ladbroke because a senior officer wangled an extra tug plane. More than one commentator thought he had no business being there. Glider: CG4-A Waco Z, serial no. 277185.Glider carrying: Senior airborne officer and staff, … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Glider Stories, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943 | Tagged A G Walch, Gliders in Sicily, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, Ponte Grande bridge | 2 Comments

The Story of Glider 124 – A Life and Death Decision

Posted on 30/08/2020 by Ian Murray

The pilots of Glider 124 staked everything on reaching land. A few inches of height either way meant the difference between life and death. Glider: Waco 124, serial no. 277233.Glider carrying: Half of 14 Platoon, B Company, 1st Battalion of the Border Regiment.Troops’ objective: Outskirts … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Glider Stories | Tagged 1 Border Regt, Gliders in sea - Sicily, Gliders in Sicily, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943 | 2 Comments

Surgical Strike – the Bombing of Syracuse in Operation Ladbroke

Posted on 09/03/2020 by Ian Murray

Airborne assaults were vital to the invasion of Sicily, and the troops wanted shock and awe in the bombing of Syracuse. But the air forces kept them in doubt until the last minute. The plan for the bombing of Syracuse … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943 | Tagged 205 Group RAF, George Hopkinson, Gliders in Sicily, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, Wellington bombers | Leave a comment

Mystery Plane – Wellington Bomber Wreck off Cape Murro di Porco

Posted on 04/03/2020 by Ian Murray

For over 75 years the fate of a lost Wellington bomber remained a mystery. Detective work on land and in the sea has confirmed its fate and that of its crew. In September 2017 a friend of mine sent me … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Battlefield Visits, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943 | Tagged Cape Murro di Porco, George Chatterton, Gliders in sea - Sicily, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943 | 20 Comments

Photo Story: SAS SRS & Airborne – Agony & Ecstasy in the Med

Posted on 27/02/2020 by Ian Murray

While men of the SAS SRS assaulted a deadly gun battery, glider troops drowned in Operation Ladbroke. Returning later, the SRS remembered both the excitement and the horror. There is a well-known photograph of SAS troopers of Major Paddy Mayne’s … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943, Photo Stories, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS) in Sicily | Tagged Blair Paddy Mayne, Cape Murro di Porco, Gliders in sea - Sicily, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS), Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in Sicily, Wilf Oldham | Leave a comment

Wilf Oldham – Ordeal by Water.

Posted on 02/01/2020 by Ian Murray

Wilf Oldham risked being swept away crossing the River Rhine, as British troops escaped the destruction of 1 Airborne Division at Arnhem. It was not his first airborne fiasco, nor his first ordeal by water. First came Sicily. UPDATE – … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943, Veterans' accounts | Tagged 1 Border Regt, Gliders in sea - Sicily, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, Wilf Oldham | 1 Comment

SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS) – The Cliffs of Cape Murro di Porco

Posted on 22/11/2018 by Ian Murray

The cliffs below the gun battery at Cape Murro di Porco are daunting. Did Major Paddy Mayne’s SAS Special Raiding Squadron really climb them to attack and destroy the guns? Recently discovered documents shed new light. The southern coast of … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Battlefield Visits, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS) in Sicily | Tagged Blair Paddy Mayne, Cape Murro di Porco, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS), Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in Sicily | 2 Comments