![world war 2 operation husky in sicily us army world war 2 operation husky in sicily us army](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/69/31/c3/6931c3b1f5af17cd32f464be6246db70.jpg)
We could see flashes up ahead from the pre-invasion bombings by medium bombers-and I think also, B-17’s-that were plastering the area.
#WORLD WAR 2 OPERATION HUSKY IN SICILY US ARMY SERIAL#
Clayton Stiles was leading the serial for this initial invasion-Husky l. We could see the formation lights of all the airplanes ahead of us. Sanders and I stayed with Trimble and Baer all the way, and by the time we got to the Sicily coast, it was dark. He said he was afraid of a midair collision. The reason he gave later was that Trimble almost ran him into airplanes from the 50th Troop Carrier Squadron several times, and that he couldn’t hold his position under those circumstances. On the way over, it was still daylight, and the number two airplane (Egbert) all of a sudden peeled off and went back towards Africa. We took off with the formation and we stayed in line around Malta and on up to Sicily. Trimble was the flight leader, and I was on his left wing and Warren Egbert was on his right wing. We were the tail end Charlie flight in our serial.
![world war 2 operation husky in sicily us army world war 2 operation husky in sicily us army](https://img.bfdc.co.uk/fdc/19/w720/1993_WW2_48_Husky.jpg)
Robert Trimble and his co-pilot Ernie Baer, Don Sanders and I, and Warren Egbert and his co-pilot Frank Torma made up a flight of three airplanes. GM OK, I’ll tell you exactly how it all started. Navy accidentally shoot down 23 American C-47s during the flight of Husky II (the small dashed lines). Finally, he watched (from the deck of a ship) the U.S. Then he watched the naval bombardment, and the landings, next day from the beach. George Merz flew the dotted line route (small dots) to Gela and back to a point 500 yards offshore from Scoglitti, where he ditched. The rest of the story is told in the interviews. The only damage was to elevators & rudder, and the bent propellers. The ditching exercise paid off and everyone got out OK. He made a very shallow left turn over the water to parallel the shore, where he ditched around midnight about 500 yards south of Scoglitti. Merz made a 180 degree turn, banking as little as possible to maintain control, to head back out to sea. The only vertical control left intact was with the trim tab. When the unexpected collision occurred, the damage caused severe vibration and shaking of the control column. Crew chief Cebelak was to go back and get out the life rafts, and Merz and radio operator Yapel were to go back into the cabin and be sure that everyone left the aircraft according to plan. Sanders was to go out the top hatch and onto the wing. Merz had no idea that he would have to ditch, and he wasn’t counting on it, but he did hold a ditching rehearsal anyway before the flight left Kairouan. In addition, there were parapacks installed underneath. With the barrel, the gun carriage, the wheels, the ammunition, and its parachute, it weighed between 40 pounds. There were 10 paratroopers on board along with a 75mm howitzer, which was a fairly heavy piece. Sanders (on left), 0-737862 (with Lew Johnston), aboveĬrew Chief: T/SGT Aloysius H. Merz, 0-666412, aboveĬo-Pilot: 2nd Lt Donald E. The overall history of all of this has been well-documented in several scholarly books, but as far as this recorder knows, the story told here has never been published. The aircraft in both Husky I and Husky II were from the 52nd Troop Carrier Wing and are not to be confused with other aircraft and gliders directed toward Syracuse on the eastern shore of Sicily the same day. George Merz and his flight leader collided in the dark, which caused the loss of normal elevator control on the Merz aircraft. Their objective was Ponte Olivo airfield, and the group continued on past Scoglitti to a lake (Lago Biviero) near Gela, where it encountered anti-aircraft fire. Then they flew toward their drop zone near Gela. The 61st Troop Carrier squadron was attached to the 314th Troop Carrier Group, which departed from Kairouan over the Kuriate Islands, east to skirt Malta to the south, and then north to the tip of Sicily east of Scoglitti. This has been officially documented as “Friendly Fire.” The overall story has already been published in books like BLUE ON BLUE…A History of Friendly Fire, by Geoffrey Regan, and it is the one event that stands out above most others in this operation. The C-47s were mistakenly identified as German bombers. The first part (Husky I) starts with a 61st Troop Carrier Squadron flight from Kairouan, North Africa and ends with its crew on a US Navy LCI (Landing Craft Infantry) that joined others in shooting down 23 American C-47s during Husky II. Operation Husky was one of two operations in the airborne invasion of Sicily on 9-12 July 1943. It is not copyrighted unless noted but we request anyone using this for other than personal use to credit the author and the museum.