Tag Archives: SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS)

Paddy Mayne and the SAS Attack on the Second Battery

The SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS) could have withdrawn after taking the gun battery on Cape Murro di Porco.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

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The Story of Glider 50 – Hemmed In By Fire

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

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The Story of Glider 107 – Escape and Evasion

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

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The Story of Glider 8 – Calm Before the Storm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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SAS Rogue Heroes – Book Review

‘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

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The SAS Pocket Manual – Book Review

“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

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

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

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Terror off Terrauzza – Operation Ladbroke gliders in the sea

 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

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Seizing Bridges, Building Bridges – Battlefield Tour Guide Roberto Piccione, Syracuse, Sicily

In 1943 British glider troops seized the Ponte Grande, a bridge near Syracuse, Sicily, launching the Allied invasion of Italy. Now Roberto Piccione builds bridges between former enemies. Beside a perfect tourist cove, where no tourist goes, opposite the golden walls of … Continue reading

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Admiral Leonardi takes on the Royal Navy and the SAS

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

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

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

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