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=== La 1<sup>a</sup> brigata aviotrasportata ===
Le unità della 1a Brigata sono state: il 1° battaglione, reggimento di frontiera; il 2° Battaglione, Reggimento del Sud Staffordshire; 181a Ambulanza di campo (Aviotrasportata) e la 9a Compagnia di Campo, Royal Engineers. Gli Staffords avevano il compito di assicurare il ponte e la zona a sud, mentre il 1° battaglione doveva catturare Siracusa. <ref name=cole36>Cole, p.36</ref> Per la missione della 1a Brigata sono stati stanziati 136 Waco e otto alianti Horsa.<ref name=tug159/> Con la carenza di spazio nei alianti - Wacos si potevano ospitare solo quindici soldati, metà di quello della Horsa, così l'intera brigata non poteva essere schierata [nb 2] Sei della Horsas portavano le compagnie 'A' e 'C' dalle Staffords dove sono stati programmati per atterrare sul ponte alle 23:15 del 9 luglio in un'operazione principale. <ref name=tug159/> Il resto della brigata sarebbe arrivata alle 1:15 del 10 luglio utilizzando un numero di approdi tra i 2,4 e i 4,8 km di distanza, per poi convergere sul ponte per rinforzare la difesa. <ref name=mitch73/>
== La missione ==
Il 9 luglio [[1943]], un contingente di 2.075 truppe britanniche con sei jeep, 6 armi anti-tank e 10 mortai, imbarcati negli alianti in [[Tunisia]] e decollati alle 18:00 per la Sicilia.<ref name="Mitcham, pp.73–74">Mitcham, pp.73–74</ref> Lungo il percorso incontrarono forte vento, scarsa visibilità e soggetti al fuoco dell'antiaerea.<ref name="Mitcham, pp.73–74"/> Per evitare di essere intercettati, i piloti volarono ad alta quota e fecero delle rotte di evasione. Nella confusione delle manovre, alcuni alianti vennero rilasciati troppo presto e 65 di essi vennero sganciati in mare, facendo annegare 252 uomini.<ref name="Mitcham, pp.73–74"/> Dei rimanenti alianti solo 12 atterrarono nelle zone previste. Altri 59 atterrarono più avanti o fallirono, ritornando in [[Tunisia]].<ref name="Mitcham, pp.73–74"/><!--
Only one Horsa with a platoon of infantry from the Staffords landed near the bridge. Its commander, Lieutenant Withers, divided his men into two groups then swam across the river, one of which took up position on the opposite bank. Thereafter the bridge was captured following a simultaneous assault from both sides. The Italian defenders from the 120th Coastal Infantry Regiment abandoned their [[bunker|pillboxes]] on the north bank.<ref name=mitch74>Mitcham, p.74</ref>{{#tag:ref|Coastal units were second line formations, usually formed from men in their forties and fifties, and were intended to perform labouring or other second line duties. Recruited from the local population, their officers were mostly men who had retired and had been called up again. Their morale was low, not least because of the second rate equipment and weapons they had been issued. It had been intended to improve their armaments with equipment seized from the recently disbanded [[Vichy French]] army, but when the arms arrived in Sicily, they had often been made unusable and had the wrong type or no ammunition at all.<ref>Jowett, p.6</ref>|group=nb}} The platoon then dismantled demolition charges that had been fitted to the bridge and dug in to wait for reinforcement or relief.<ref name=mitch74/> Another Horsa landed roughly {{convert|200|yd}} from the bridge but exploded on landing, killing all on board. Three of the other Horsas carrying the coup-de-main party landed within {{convert|2|mi}} of the bridge—their occupants eventually finding their way to the site.<ref>Tugwell (1971), p. 160</ref> Reinforcements began to arrive at the bridge but by 06:30 they numbered only eighty-seven men.<ref name=mitch75>Mitcham, p.75</ref>
Elsewhere, about 150 men landed at [[Cape Murro di Porco]] and captured a radio station.
Based on a warning of imminent glider landings transmitted by the station's previous occupants, the local Italian commander ordered a counter-attack but his troops failed to receive his message. The scattered nature of the landings now worked in the Allies' favour as they were able to cut all telephone wires in the immediate area.<ref name=mitch74/> The glider carrying the brigade deputy commander, Colonel O. L. Jones, landed beside an Italian coastal artillery battery, and at daylight the staff officers and radio operators attacked and destroyed the battery's five guns and their ammunition dump.<ref>Mrazek, p.79</ref> Other isolated groups of Allied men tried to aid their comrades, assaulting Italian defences and targeting reinforcements.<ref>Mrazek, pp.79–80</ref>
The first counterattack at the bridge was by two companies of Italian sailors, who were repulsed by the British. As Italians responded to the Allied landings, they gathered more troops and brought up artillery and mortars to bombard the Allied-controlled Pont Grande Bridge.<ref name=mitch75/> The British defenders on the bridge came under attack from the Italians while the expected [[5th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|5th Infantry Division]] relief did not appear at 10:00 as planned.<ref name=tug161/>
At 11:30 the Italian 385th Coastal Battalion arrived at the bridge followed soon after by the 1st Battalion, 75th (Napoli) Infantry Regiment. The Italians were positioned to attack the bridge from three sides. By 14:45 there were only fifteen British troops defending the bridge that had not been killed or wounded. At 15:30, with their ammunition consumed, the British stopped fighting. Some men on the south side of the bridge escaped into the countryside, but the rest became [[prisoners of war]], captured by the Italians.<ref name=mitch75/> With the bridge back in Italian hands, the first unit from 5th Infantry Division the [[Royal Scots Fusiliers]] arrived at the bridge at 16:15 and mounted a successful counter-attack,<ref name=tug161/> which had been made possible by the prior removal of demolition charges from the bridge, preventing its destruction by the Italians.<ref name=tug161>Tugwell, p.161</ref> The survivors from the 1st Airlanding Brigade took no further part in the fighting and were withdrawn back to North Africa on 13 July.<ref name=mitch78>Mitcham, p.78</ref> During the landings, the losses by 1st Airlanding Brigade were the most severe of all British units involved.<ref>Tugwell, p.162</ref> The casualties amounted to 313 killed and 174 missing or wounded.<ref name=mitch78/> Fourteen accompanying glider pilots were killed, and eighty-seven were missing or wounded.<ref name=mitch78/>-->
I caduti della missione riposano ora nel cimitero del Commonwealth di Siracusa, il [[Syracuse War Cemetery]].
== Bibliografia ==
* {{en}} [http://books.google.it/books?id=ubb1Twwq_9wC&pg=PA19&dq=operation+Ladbroke&as_brr=3&sig=WL6oI83XvwDuzLI3CjgDA4SCaLY#PPA19,M1 ''Backwater War: The Allied Campaign in Italy'', 1943-1945 di Edwin Palmer Hoyt (da Google books)]
* {{en}} [http://books.google.it/books?id=X8zY_M6fWT4C&pg=PA11&dq=operation+Ladbroke&as_brr=3&sig=nkuxwYJ9cCYnbN2Zc_6xLcDVrD4#PPA12,M1 ''World War II Army Airborne Troop Carriers'' di David Polk (da Google books)]
* {{en}} [http://books.google.it/books?id=X8zY_M6fWT4C&pg=PA11&dq=operation+Ladbroke&as_brr=3&sig=nkuxwYJ9cCYnbN2Zc_6xLcDVrD4#PPA12,M1 ''World War II Army Airborne Troop Carriers'' di David Polk (da Google books)]<!-- '''Operation Ladbroke''' was a [[Military glider|glider]] landing of British [[airborne forces]] near [[Syracuse, Italy|Syracuse]], [[Sicily]], that began on 9 July 1943 as part of the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]]. The first Allied mission using large numbers of the aircraft, the operation was carried out from [[Tunisia]] by the [[1st Airlanding Brigade]], with a force of 144 [[Waco CG-4|Waco gliders]] and six [[Airspeed Horsa|Horsa gliders]]. The objective was to establish a large invasion force on the ground near the town of Syracuse, secure the Ponte Grande Bridge and ultimately take control of the city itself with its strategically vital docks, as a prelude to the full-scale invasion of Sicily. On route to Sicily sixty-five gliders released early by the American and British towing aircraft crashed into the sea, drowning approximately 252 men. Of the remainder only eighty-seven men arrived at the Pont Grande Bridge, though they successfully captured the bridge and held it beyond the time they were to be relieved. Finally, with their ammunition expended and only fifteen soldiers remaining unwounded, the Allied troops surrendered to Italian forces. The Italians, having gained control of the bridge, sought to destroy the structure, but were frustrated by 1st Brigade fighters who had removed the previously attached explosive charges. Other troops from the airlanding brigade, who had landed elsewhere in Sicily aided further by destroying communications links and capturing gun batteries. ==Background== By December 1942, with Allied forces advancing through [[Tunisia]] the [[North African campaign]] was coming to a close; with victory in North Africa imminent, discussions began among the Allies regarding the nature of their next objective.<ref name=war21>Warren, p.21</ref> Many Americans argued for an immediate invasion of [[France]], while the British, as well as General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]],<ref>Eisenhower, p.159</ref> argued that the island of [[Sardinia]] was the best subsequent target of the Allied troops.<ref name=war21/> In January 1943 [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Winston Churchill]] and American [[President of the United States|President]] [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] settled at the [[Casablanca conference]] on the island of [[Sicily]],<ref name=war21/> whose invasion and occupation could potentially provide the Allies with Mediterranean shipping routes and airfields nearer to mainland Italy and Germany.<ref>Eisenhower, p.60</ref> The codename [[Operation Husky]] was decided upon for the invasion, and planning began in February. Initially the British, [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|Eighth Army]] under the command of General [[Bernard Montgomery]], were to land on the south-eastern corner of the island and advance north to the port of [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]]. Two days later the American [[Seventh Army (United States)|Seventh Army]] commanded by General [[George Patton]] would land on the western corner of the island and move towards the port of [[Palermo]].<ref name=war21/> [[File:Map operation husky landing.jpg|thumb|alt=Topographical map of Sicily, with details of landing areas and Axis positions||Map showing the landing areas during the 1943, invasion of Sicily.]] In March it was decided that the American [[82nd Airborne Division]] and the British [[1st Airborne Division]] would be dropped by parachute and glider just prior to the amphibious landings; they would land a few miles behind the beaches and neutralize their defenders, thereby aiding the landing of the Allied ground forces.<ref name=war21/><ref>Huston, p.155</ref> However, in early May these directives were heavily altered at the insistence of General Montgomery; he argued that with Allied forces landing separately at either end of the island, the defending Axis forces would have the opportunity to defeat each Allied Army in turn before both could unite.<ref name=war21/> Instead the plans were altered to land both the Eighth Seventh Armies simultaneously along a {{convert|100|mi}} stretch of coastline on Sicily's south-eastern corner.<ref>Harclerode, p.275</ref> At the same time, the plans for the two airborne divisions were also adjusted; Montgomery believed that the airborne troops should be landed near Syracuse, so that they could seize the valuable port. 82nd Airborne Division commander [[Maxwell D. Taylor]] further asserted that dropping behind the island's beaches and overcoming its defences was not a suitable mission for the airborne troops, as they were only lightly armed and vulnerable to friendly fire of the planned Allied naval bombardment.<ref name=war22>Warren, p.22</ref> In the revised blueprint for the airborne divisions, a reinforced regimental combat team from the 82nd Airborne Division would be dropped by parachute north-east of the port of [[Gela]] to block the movement of Axis reserves towards the Allied beachheads.<ref name=war22/> The 1st Airborne Division was now to conduct three brigade-size airborne operations: the Ponte Grande road bridge south of Syracuse was to be captured by the [[1st Airlanding Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Airlanding Brigade]], the port of [[Augusta, Sicily|Augusta]] was to be seized by [[2nd Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|2nd Parachute Brigade]], and finally the Primasole Bridge over the River Simeto was to be [[Operation Fustian|taken and secured]] by the [[1st Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Parachute Brigade.]]<ref>Harclerode, p.256</ref> ==Planning== As there were insufficient transport aircraft for all three brigades to conduct their operations simultaneously, it was decided that the first operation would be Ladbroke, whose objective was the capture of the Ponte Grande Bridge.<ref name=tho97/> The mission, under the command of [[Brigadier]] [[Philip Hicks]], was conducted just prior to the amphibious landings, on the night of 9 July, while the remaining two operations took place on the successive two nights.<ref name=tho97>Thompson, p.97</ref> The 1st Airlanding Brigade was also given the additional tasks of capturing Syracuse harbour and the urban area that adjoined it, and either destroying or confiscating a coastal artillery battery that was in range of amphibious landings.<ref>Otway, p.119</ref> When training began for the operation, difficulties immediately arose. The original plan for the airborne operations had called for all three to employ parachutists, but in May Montgomery altered the plan; after determining that airborne troops would be a considerable distance from Allied ground forces, he believed that the force sent to capture Syracuse would be served best by gliders in order to provide them with the maximum possible amount of firepower.<ref name=war23>Warren, p.23</ref> His airborne advisor, Group Captain Cooper of the [[Royal Air Force]], argued that a glider landing conducted at night with inexperienced aircrews was not practical, but the decision was left unchanged.<ref name=war23/> Montgomery's orders raised several issues, the first with the transport aircraft of the Troop Carrier Wings assigned to the airborne operations. When they had arrived in North Africa, it had been decided that the [[52d Troop Carrier Wing (World War II)|52nd Troop Carrier Wing]] would operate with 1st Airborne Division and its counterpart, the [[51st Troop Carrier Wing (World War II)|51st]], with 82nd Airborne Division.<ref name=war23/> A few weeks later this arrangement was switched, with the 52nd now operating with 82nd Airborne Division and the 51st with 1st Airborne Division; this seemed a logical decision, as each Wing had operational experience with the division it had been paired with. However, the decision to turn the Syracuse assault into a glider-based one was problematic; the 51st had practically no glider experience, whilst the 52nd had much more but was already training for a parachute-based mission. To switch both was impractical and would have led to a number of problems, which left 1st Airborne Division, and thus 1st Airlanding Brigade, with an inexperienced Troop Carrier Wing.<ref name=war26>Warren, p.26</ref> [[File:Jeep being loaded into waco glider.jpg|thumb|alt=Waco glider with the front cockpit raised and four men pushing a jeep inside|One of the 1st Airlanding Brigade's [[Willys MB|jeeps]] being loaded aboard a [[Waco CG-4|Waco glider]].]] ===Glider problems=== Further problems were encountered with the gliders to be used in the operation, and the glider pilots themselves. Until a few months prior to the operation, there was a notable shortage of serviceable gliders in North Africa. In late March a small number of [[Waco CG-4|Waco gliders]] arrived at Accra on the Gold Coast, but pilots sent to ferry them to North Africa found that they were in a poor condition. Due to neglect and the deleterious effects of tropical weather, the pilots were able to assemble only a small number of Wacos and fly them back on 22 April.<ref name=war27>Warren, p.27</ref> On 23 April, a larger number of Waco gliders began to arrive in North African ports, but were not immediately available for use as the crates storing them were unloaded haphazardly, instructions were often found to be missing, and those assigned to assemble the gliders were often inexperienced.<ref name=war27/> However, when the decision was made to conduct a glider-borne assault with 1st Airlanding Brigade, the assembly was quickened, and by 12 June 346 gliders had been put together and delivered to the Troop Carrier Wings.<ref name=war27/> A small number of [[Airspeed Horsa|Horsa]] gliders were transported to North Africa for use by the brigade, and thirty took off from England and undertook a trip of approximately {{Convert|1,500|mi|km}} in [[Operation Turkey Buzzard]].<ref>Lloyd, p.40</ref> After attacks from [[Luftwaffe]] fighter patrols and experiencing often turbulent weather, a total of 27 Horsas were delivered to North Africa in time for the operation.<ref>Lloyd, pp.43–44</ref> When sufficient gliders had arrived in North Africa, however, they were not all usable even in training; on 16 June, most of the gliders were grounded for repairs, and on 30 June, large numbers of gliders had developed weaknesses in their tail-wiring, necessitating another grounding period of three days.<ref name=war27/> Given these problems and delays, 51st Troop Carrier Wing was not able to conduct a large-scale glider exercise until mid-June. On 14 June, fifty-four Wacos were flown over {{Convert|70|mi|km}} and then released to land at an airfield, and a larger exercise was conducted on 20 June; but even these limited exercises were unrealistic, as they were conducted in broad daylight.<ref name=war27/> The British glider pilots themselves also caused difficulties; although there were a sufficient number of them to conduct the operation, they were highly inexperienced.<ref name=war26/> Detached from the [[Glider Pilot Regiment]] for the operation, they had no experience with the Waco gliders and night operations involving them, as British doctrine had deemed such operations impossible.<ref name=war26/> On average, the pilots had eight hours of flight experience in gliders. Few were rated as being 'operationally ready' and none had combat experience. Colonel George Chatterton, the commander of the Glider Pilot Regiment, had protested their participation as he believed they were entirely unfit for any operation.<ref>Lloyd, p.35</ref> When the training period for the brigade ended with a total of two exercises completed, the glider pilots had an average of 4.5 hours training in flying the unfamiliar Waco, which included an average of 1.2 hours night training.<ref>Warren, pp.27–28</ref> ===1st Airlanding Brigade=== The units of the 1st Airlanding Brigade were: the 1st Battalion, [[Border Regiment]], 2nd Battalion, [[South Staffordshire Regiment]], [[181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance]] and 9th Field Company, [[Royal Engineers]]. The Staffords were tasked with securing the bridge and the area to the south, while the Borders were to capture Syracuse.<ref name=cole36>Cole, p.36</ref> For the mission the 1st Airlanding Brigade were allocated 136 Waco and eight Horsa gliders.<ref name=tug159/> With the shortage of space in the gliders, Wacos could only accommodate fifteen troops, half that of the Horsa, and thus the whole brigade could not be deployed.{{#tag:ref|For example only six of the brigade sixteen anti-tank guns were taken, and a similar reduction in mortars and no [[Vickers machine gun]]s. The 181st Field Ambulance needed thirty-two Waco gliders but were only allocated six, and five of them failed to reach Sicily.<ref name=cole36/><ref>Cole, p.40</ref>|group=nb}} Six of the Horsas carrying 'A' and 'C' companies from the Staffords were scheduled to land at the bridge at 23:15 on 9 July in a [[coup-de-main]] operation.<ref name=tug159>Tugwell, p.159</ref> The remainder of the brigade would arrive at 01:15 on 10 July using a number of landing-zones between {{convert|1.5|and|3|mi}} away, then converge on the bridge to reinforce the defence.<ref name=mitch73/> ===Italian forces=== The Ponte Grande Bridge was immediately outside the area defended by the Italian [[206 Coastal Division]], which would oppose the British seaborne landings. The fortress commander was [[Rear Admiral]] Primo Leonardi, with [[Colonel]] Mario Damiani in command of the army contingent.<ref name=mitch334/> The Augusta-Syracuse Naval Fortress Area, which included the Coastal Division, was protected by six medium and six heavy coastal artillery batteries, with eleven additional dual-purpose coastal and anti-aircraft batteries, with six batteries only of anti-aircraft guns. Finally the Fortress contained an armoured train with four 120 mm guns.<ref name=mitch334>Mitcham, p.334</ref> The army contingent was the 121st Coastal Defence Regiment, which included four battalions. There were also naval and air force battalions available,<ref name=mitch334/> while the [[54 Infantry Division Napoli]] was in a position to send reinforcements if required.<ref name=mitch75/> ==Aftermath== After an enquiry into the problems with the airborne missions in Sicily, the British Army and Royal Air Force submitted recommendations in the aftermath of Operation Ladbroke.<ref name=tug167>Tugwell, p.167</ref> Aircrew were to be trained in parachute and glider operations, and pathfinders were to be landed before the main force, to set out their beacons.<ref name=tug167/> The landing plan was simplified with complete brigades landing on a drop zone, instead of the smaller battalion landing areas used on Sicily.<ref name=tug167/> Gliders were no longer released at night while still over water, and their landing zones would be large enough to accommodate the aircraft with room to spare.<ref>Mrazek, p.85</ref> Following a friendly fire incident over an Allied convoy, more training was given to ships crews in aircraft recognition and Allied aircraft were painted with three large [[Invasion stripes|white stripes]].<ref>Nigl, p.68</ref> Training for pilots belonging to the [[Glider Pilot Regiment]] was increased, and improvements to the gliders were implemented, including better inter-aircraft communication.<ref>Nigl, p.69</ref> To provide another method of delivering jeeps and artillery guns by air, the Royal Air Force started experimenting with how to use parachutes to drop them into combat, the jeeps and guns being carried in the large bomb bays of bombers.<ref name=lake81>Lake, p.81</ref> A second Royal Air Force transport group, Group No. 46, was formed and equipped solely with [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|C-47 Dakotas]], instead of the mixture of aircraft in [[No. 38 Group RAF|Group No. 38]].<ref name=tug202>Tugwell, p.202</ref> Together, the Royal Air Force groups were capable of supplying eighty-eight [[Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle|Albermarles]], eighty-eight [[Short Stirling|Stirlings]], thirty-six [[Handley Page Halifax|Halifaxes]] and 150 Dakotas, a total of 362 planes which did not include aircraft held as reserves.<ref name=tug202/>{{#tag:ref|While an improvement of what went before the total of 362 is only a fraction of the 1,166 C-47s in the American transport fleet.<ref name=tug202/> The lack of transport aircraft hampered every British airborne operation of the war. However since 1941 following an [[Air Ministry]] order, all Royal Air Force bombers had equipment fitted to tow gliders and Albemarle, in addition, Halifax and Stirling bombers were able to conduct parachute operations. It was the Commander-in-Chief [[Bomber Command]] [[Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet|Arthur Harris]], who refused to divert aircraft from the strategic bombing campaign, to transport troops.<ref>Tugwell, pp.136–137</ref>|group=nb}} ==Notes== === Footnotes === {{References|group=nb}} === Citations === {{References|colwidth=30em}} ==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} *{{cita libro|last=Cole|first=Howard N|title=On wings of healing: the story of the Airborne Medical Services 1940–1960|publisher=William Blackwood|___location=Edinburgh|year=1963|oclc=29847628}} *{{cita libro|last=Eisenhower|first=Dwight D.|title=Crusade in Europe|publisher=Doubleday|___location=New York|year=1948|isbn=0-385-41619-9}} *{{cita libro|last=Harclerode|first=Peter|title=Wings Of War – Airborne Warfare 1918–1945| publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|year=2005|___location=London|isbn=0-304-36730-3}} *{{cita libro|last = Huston|first=James A.|title = Out Of The Blue – U.S Army Airborne Operations In World War II|publisher=Purdue University Press|___location=West Lafayette, IN|year=1998|isbn = 1-55753-148-X}} *{{cita libro|last=Jowett|first=Philip S.|title=The Italian Army 1940–45 (3): Italy 1943–45|series=Men at arms|volume=Volume 3 of The Italian Army, 1940–45|publisher=Osprey Publishing|___location=Oxford, UK|year=2001|isbn=1-85532-866-6}} *{{cita libro|last=Lake|first=Jon|title=Halifax Squadrons of World War 2|volume=Volume 14 of Osprey Combat Aircraft|publisher=Osprey Publishing|year=1999|___location=Oxford, UK|isbn=1-85532-892-5}} *{{cita libro|last=Lloyd|first=Alan|title=The Gliders: The story of Britain's fighting gliders and the men who flew them|publisher=Corgi|___location=Ealing, UK|year=1982|isbn=0-552-12167-3}} *{{cita libro|last1=Mitcham|first1=Samuel W|last2=Von Stauffenberg|first2=Friedrich|title=The Battle of Sicily: How the Allies Lost Their Chance for Total Victory|series=Stackpole Military History Series|publisher=Stackpole Books|___location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania|year=2007|isbn=0-8117-3403-X}} *{{cita libro|last=Mrazek|first=James|title=Airborne Combat: Axis and Allied Glider Operations in World War II|series=Military History Series|publisher=Stackpole Books|year=2011|___location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania|isbn=0-8117-0808-X}} *{{cita libro|last=Nigl|first=Alfred J|title=Silent Wings Savage Death|publisher=Graphic Publishers|year=2007|___location=Santa Anna, California|isbn=1-882824-31-8}} *{{cita libro|last=Otway|first=Lieutenant-Colonel T.B.H|title=The Second World War 1939–1945 Army – Airborne Forces|publisher=Imperial War Museum|___location=London|year= 1990|isbn=0-901627-57-7}} *{{cita libro|last=Thompson|first=Major-General Julian|title=Ready for Anything: The Parachute Regiment at War|publisher=Fontana|___location=Fontana, CA|year=1990|isbn=0-00-637505-7}} *{{cita libro|last=Tugwell|first=Maurice|title=Airborne to Battle: A History of Airborne Warfare, 1918–1971|publisher=Kimber|___location=London|year=1971|isbn=0-7183-0262-1}} *{{cita libro|last=Warren|first=Dr John C.|title= Airborne Missions in the Mediterranean 1942–1945|publisher=US Air Force Historical Research Agency|___location=Air University, Maxwell AFB|year=1955|isbn=0-89126-023-4}} -->
== Altri progetti ==
{{Commons|Category:Operation Ladbroke}}
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