During World War II, Operation Corkscrew was the Allied invasion of the Italian island of Pantelleria (between Sicily and Tunisia) on 10 June 1943. There had been an early plan to occupy the island in late 1940, but this was aborted when the Luftwaffe strengthened the Axis air threat in the region. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... Country Italy Region Sicily Province Trapani (TP) Mayor Salvatore Gabriele (since May 17, 2005) Elevation 5 m Area 83 km² Population  - Total (as of December 31, 2004) 7,679  - Density 73/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Coordinates Gentilic Panteschi Dialing code 0923 Postal code 91017 Patron St. ... Sicily ( in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. ... is the 161st day of the year (162nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Deutsche Luftwaffe or   (German: air force, literally Air Weapon, pronounced lufft-va-fa, IPA: ) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ...

The Allied focus returned to Pantellaria in early 1943. The radar installations and airfield on the island were seen as a real threat to the planned invasion of Sicily. In addition, there was an opportunity to assess the impact of preparatory bombardment upon heavily fortified defences. Husky was also the codename of Australian military support to Sierra Leone ending in February 2003. ...

The intense ten-day air bombardment substantially reduced the defences and the Italian garrison surrendered when the British forces landed on the island. An assessment by Professor Sir Solly Zuckerman reported that the defences had been reduced to 47% effectiveness. The ease of the operation led to an optimistic assessment of the effectiveness of bombing, which was not always borne out in practice. Lord Solly Zuckerman (May 30, 1904 - April 1, 1993) was a UK public servant, zoologist, and scientific advisor. ...

The Italian garrisons on other nearby islands (Linosa and Lampedusa) quickly fell. This cleared the way for the invasion of Sicily a month later. Linosa is a Mediterranean island and one of the small Pelagie Islands which are part of the province of Agrigento, Italy. ... The Mediterranean island of Lampedusa ( ) belongs to Italy and is the largest of the Pelagie Islands, situated 205 km from Sicily and 113 km from Tunisia. ...

External references

• Detailed American description
• British Combined Operations description