Operation Ladbroke

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During World War II, Operation Ladbroke was the British glider landing near Syracuse, Sicily on the night of 9 July 1943 as part of the invasion of Sicily.

On the night of 9/10 July 1943 a force of 135 Waco gliders, towed by British and US Douglas Dakota, Handley Page Halifax and Albemarle tug aircraft, took off from North Africa to take part in Operation Ladbroke – the first Allied attempt at a mass glider landing in World War II.

The plan was to place a large invasion force on the ground near the town of Syracuse, secure the Ponte Grande Bridge and then take control of the city itself, including its strategically vital docks, as a prelude to the full-scale invasion of Sicily.

Maj-Gen G.F. Hopkinson, GOC 1st Airborne Division and chief architect of the plan, was totally convinced that it would succeed, but his optimism proved unfounded. In practice, the operation went disastrously wrong. Half the gliders ditched into the sea, many lives were lost and only one of the mission’s objectives was accomplished.

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