Tag Archives: Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in Sicily

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The SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS) could have withdrawn after taking the gun battery on Cape Murro di Porco.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 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 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

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

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

The Story of Glider 57 – The Cliffs of Cape Murro di Porco

Posted on 16/10/2018 by Ian Murray

Waco glider 57 landed in the sea off Sicily, near the forbidding cliffs of Cape Murro di Porco. As the men floundered onto the wing, they came under fire. Glider: CG-4A Waco 57Glider carrying: CO and men of Battalion HQ of 1 Border … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Glider Stories, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943 | Tagged Cape Murro di Porco, George Chatterton, Gliders in sea - Sicily, Gliders in Sicily, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS), Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in Sicily, US glider pilots in Sicily | Leave a comment

SAS Rogue Heroes – Book Review

Posted on 07/10/2016 by Ian Murray

‘SAS Rogue Heroes’ is a readable and enjoyable account of the SAS in World War 2. But there’s not much about the SAS in Sicily, and what there is, is not great. Review of ‘SAS Rogue Heroes – The Authorized … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Reviews & Profiles, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS) in Sicily | Tagged Blair Paddy Mayne, David Stirling, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS), Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in Sicily | Leave a comment

The SAS Pocket Manual – Book Review

Posted on 11/12/2015 by Ian Murray

“The SAS Pocket Manual” might fit into the pocket of your camouflage smock, but it’s not exactly a manual. Really it’s an interesting collection of original archive documents, only some of them from manuals. Book review: ‘The SAS Pocket Manual’, … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Reviews & Profiles, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS) in Sicily | Tagged David Stirling, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS), Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in Sicily | Leave a comment

Tullio Marcon: the Allied invasion of Sicily in the memories of a Balilla

Posted on 24/10/2015 by Ian Murray

As a 13 year old boy, Italian historian Tullio Marcon lived through the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. The Fascist creed he had been taught crumbled along with Italian resistance, especially when he met Allied soldiers and discovered they … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Operation Husky - Sicily 1943, Veterans' accounts | Tagged 6 Seaforth Highlanders, Augusta Sicily 1943, Battery AS674, Italian artillery, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS), Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in Sicily, Tullio Marcon | Leave a comment

Terror off Terrauzza – Operation Ladbroke gliders in the sea

Posted on 23/10/2015 by Ian Murray

A peaceful beach today was once a scene of death. Its horror was painstakingly photo-graphed by the cameramen of a US film unit. Their images reveal a harrowing truth about Operation Ladbroke. In the corner of the bay where the cliffs of the Maddalena … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Battlefield Visits, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS) in Sicily | Tagged 1 Border Regt, Glider Pilot Regiment, Gliders in sea - Sicily, Gliders in Sicily, Michael Samek, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS), Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in Sicily, US glider pilots in Sicily | 1 Comment

Admiral Leonardi takes on the Royal Navy and the SAS

Posted on 12/10/2015 by Ian Murray

It’s an extraordinary story: in July 1943, Italian Admiral Leonardi manned an abandoned gun battery almost alone against the might of the Royal Navy. Firing several shots, he forced a British ship to turn and flee. But is the story … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Battlefield Visits, Operation Husky - Sicily 1943, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS) in Sicily | Tagged Augusta Sicily 1943, Battery AS362, Battery AS674, Blair Paddy Mayne, Italian artillery, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, Ponte Grande bridge, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS), Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in Sicily | 2 Comments

Peter Davis of the SAS – a precious first-hand account

Posted on 11/10/2015 by Ian Murray

Until now, book-length personal records of the SAS in Sicily, written while memories were fresh, totalled exactly one. For fans and historians who find such first-hand accounts invaluable, Peter Davis’ exciting new book has doubled our treasure. Book review: ‘S.A.S. Men … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Operation Husky - Sicily 1943, Reviews & Profiles, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS) in Sicily | Tagged Augusta Sicily 1943, Blair Paddy Mayne, Italian artillery, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, Ponte Grande bridge, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS), Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in Sicily | Leave a comment