20 Aug 1879

Italy
13 Jun 1940

Italy
  • British submarine HMS Grampus reported that naval mines had been deployed at the port of Augusta, Sicily, Italy. ww2dbase [Augusta, Sicilia | HM]
10 Jul 1940

Italy
  • Nine British Swordfish torpedo bombers from carrier HMS Eagle attacked Augusta, Sicily, Italy at 0940 hours, sinking destroyer Leone Pancaldo. ww2dbase [Eagle | Augusta, Sicilia | CPC]
31 Aug 1940

Italy
8 Sep 1940

Italy
9 Sep 1940

Italy
12 Jan 1941

Italy
10 Feb 1941

Italy
  • The first German convoy, carrying German troops and with one Italian destroyer and three torpedo boats in escort, departed Palermo, Sicily, Italy for Tripoli, Libya. ww2dbase [Operation Sonnenblume | Palermo, Sicilia | CPC]
24 May 1941

Italy
  • British Lieutenant Commander Malcolm Wanklyn of the submarine HMS Upholder won the Victoria Cross for sinking 18,017-ton Italian transport Conte Rosso 20 miles southeast of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy and surviving 37 depth charges in 20 minutes. Conte Rosso was one of the largest (maximum passenger capacity of 2,366) and most luxurious passenger ships built at the Dalmuir Shipyards in Scotland, United Kingdom; at her launch she stuck on the slips and it took two weeks before she was re-launched. She was converted into a troop ship in 1940. 1,291 perished as Conte Rosso sank. By the end of the year Wanklyn would sink 140,000 tons of enemy shipping; Wanklyn and Upholder would be lost off Tripoli, Libya in Apr 1942. ww2dbase [Sicilia | AC, HM]
4 Jan 1942

Italy
  • RAF Blenheim bombers from No. 21 and No. 107 Squadrons based in Malta raided the Italian base at Castelvetrano destroying eleven Axis transport aircraft on the ground and thereby hindering the amount of supplies and reinforcements that could be forwarded to North Africa. ww2dbase [Castelvetrano, Sicilia | AC]
28 Jan 1942

Italy
2 Mar 1942

Italy
  • 16 British RAF Wellington bombers from Malta attacked Palermo, Sicily, Italy, destroying ammunition ship Cuma, whose explosion damaged five warships and eight freighters nearby. ww2dbase [Palermo, Sicilia | CPC]
26 Jun 1942

Italy
  • The Italians were able to step up their air attacks on Malta by transferring aircraft from Libya to Sicily, Italy. ww2dbase [Malta Campaign | Sicilia | TH]
16 Nov 1942

Italy
  • The Italian Air Force merged its "Loreto" combat engineers battalion and the 1st Air Force Paratroop Unit to form the 1st Air Force Assault Regiment "Amedeo d'Aosta" at Marsala, Sicily, Italy. ww2dbase [Marsala, Sicilia | CPC]
3 Jan 1943

Italy
  • Lieutenant R. T. G. Greenland RNVR and Leading Signalman A. Ferrier penetrated Palermo harbour in Sicily, Italy on a Chariot human torpedo and sink the Italian light cruiser Ulpio Traiano. ww2dbase [Chariot-class | Palermo, Sicilia | AC]
12 Mar 1943

Italy
  • At 2210 hours the 3,100-ton Italian merchant ship Esterel was torpedoed by British submarine HMS Thunderbolt two miles north of San Vito Lo Capo, Sicily, Italy. Following the attack the torpedo boat Libra was ordered to seek out the attacker. ww2dbase [San Vito Lo Capo, Sicilia | HM]
3 May 1943

Italy
13 May 1943

Italy
2 Jun 1943

Italy
  • USAAF 99th Fighter Squadron made its combat debut with its P-40L fighters, strafing Italian positions on Pantelleria island southwest of Sicily, Italy. ww2dbase [Pantelleria, Sicilia | CPC]
6 Jun 1943

Italy
  • The USAAF made its first operational sortie with the North American A-36 Invader (also known as Apache) when the 27th Fighter Bomber Group based at Rasel Ma in French Morocco participated in the mass fighter-bomber assault on the Italian Pantelleria Island. The island was later captured and became the base for two A-36 groups during the invasion of Sicily, Italy. One of the pilots of the 27th Fighter Bomber Group, Lieutenant Michael T. Russo, would later become the only ace in the Allison-engined Mustang fighter. ww2dbase [Battle of Pantelleria and Pelagie Islands | Pantelleria, Sicilia | AC]
10 Jun 1943

Italy
11 Jun 1943

Italy
25 Jun 1943

Italy
3 Jul 1943

Photo(s) dated 3 Jul 1943
Lieutenant General Omar Bradley aboard USS Ancon, off Scoglitti, Sicily, Italy, Jul 1943Rear Admiral Alan Kirk aboard USS Ancon, off Scoglitti, Sicily, Italy, Jul 1943
6 Jul 1943

Italy
  • Captain Franco Lucchini, Italian fighter ace with 26 victories, was shot down and killed by a Spitfire fighter over Sicily, Italy. ww2dbase [Sicilia | AC]
8 Jul 1943

Italy
  • The 400-mph Macchi C.205V Veltro fighter made its combat debut when fifteen machines escorted a force of Italian Regia Aeronautica torpedo-bombers tasked to attack Allied warships bombarding the island of Pantelleria southwest of Sicily, Italy. ww2dbase [C.205 Veltro | Pantelleria, Sicilia | AC]
10 Jul 1943

Italy Photo(s) dated 10 Jul 1943
Universal Carrier being pulled by a bulldozer during the Allied landing on Sicily, Italy, 10 Jul 1943Men of the British Highland Division unloading stores on a landing beach on the opening day of the invasion of Sicily, Italy, 10 Jul 1943George Patton at a beach in Sicily, Italy, 10 Jul 1943
11 Jul 1943

Italy
  • British 8th Army captured Syracuse, Sicily, Italy and its useful harbour. Also on Sicily, General Paul Conrath's Hermann Göring Panzer Division overran the American outposts at Ponte Dirillo and were only prevented from breaking through the Allied lines by an attack by James Gavin's paratroopers from the rear. Elsewhere, Conrath personally led a column which assaulted the weakly held Piano Lupo, to get within 2,000 yards of the beach before being stopped by the defenders. ww2dbase [Invasion of Sicily and Italy's Surrender | Sicilia | AC]
  • HMS Howe bombarded Trapani and Favignana, Sicily, Italy. ww2dbase [Howe | Sicilia | CPC]
  • USS Ancon operated off Scoglitti, Sicily, Italy as a commications ship. ww2dbase [Invasion of Sicily and Italy's Surrender | Ancon | Scoglitti, Sicilia | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 11 Jul 1943
George Patton in Gela, Sicily, Italy, mid-Jul 1943
12 Jul 1943

Italy
15 Jul 1943

Photo(s) dated 15 Jul 1943
Canadian-built Chevrolet CGT and 25-pdr field gun of 51st Highland Division, Militello, Sicily, Italy, 15 Jul 1943
18 Jul 1943

Italy
  • Ambra launched frogmen against Allied shipping in Syracuse harbor, Sicily, Italy; they failed to cause any damage. ww2dbase [Ambra | Syracuse, Sicilia | CPC]
19 Jul 1943

Italy
  • US 7th Army and British 8th Army continued to make advances in Sicily, Italy; encountering resistance along the coast, Bernard Montgomery ordered his British 8th Army to take an alternate route, inland, toward Messina in the north. The Allied Northwest African Tactical Air Force launched B-25 bombers to attack Catania and Randazzo while US 9th Air Force P-40 aircraft bombed railroads and railcars at Alcamo to support the ground troops on Sicily. After sundown, Allied bombers struck Aquino and Nicosia. ww2dbase [Invasion of Sicily and Italy's Surrender | Sicilia | CPC]
20 Jul 1943

Italy
  • Italian troops surrendered en masse to US troops in Sicily, Italy as US 82nd Airborne Division captured Sciacca and Menfi, US 9th Infantry Division captured Santo Stefano Quisquina and the heights north of Mussomeli, US 2nd Armored Division with British troops in support captured Enna, Canadian 1st Division reached Leonforte, and British 51st Division attacked the Sferro airfield. In the air, Allied Northwest African Strategic Air Force fighter-bombers attacked various targets in western Sicily while medium bombers struck Montecorvino Airfield. ww2dbase [Invasion of Sicily and Italy's Surrender | Sicilia | TH, CPC]
21 Jul 1943

Italy
  • Before dawn, Allied Northwest African Tactical Air Force attacked Italian ships in waters near Randazzo, Sicily, Italy. On land on this day, US 1st Infantry Division captured Alimena, US 3rd Infantry Division captured Corleone, US 45th Infantry Division captured Valledolmo, US 82nd Airborne Division captured San Margherita, US Rangers captured Castelvetrano, and Canadian 1st Division captured Leonforte. After dark, US 9th Air Force B-25 bombers attacked the Randazzo area again. ww2dbase [Invasion of Sicily and Italy's Surrender | Sicilia | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 21 Jul 1943
British soldier studying a captured 28cm sPzB 41 anti-tank gun, Sicily, Italy, 21 Jul 1943
25 Jul 1943

Photo(s) dated 25 Jul 1943
British and American servicemen loading wounded soldiers onto a C-47 Skytrain transport at Agrigento, Sicily for transportation to hospitals in Africa, 25 Jul 1943. Note litter Jeep and WC54 ambulances.
28 Jul 1943

Photo(s) dated 28 Jul 1943
Bernard Montgomery and George Patton near Palermo, Sicily, Italy, 28 Jul 1943
21 Aug 1943

Italy
  • George Patton apologized to Private Paul Bennett whom he slapped at the 93rd Evacuation Hospital for accused cowardice. ww2dbase [George Patton | Sicilia | CPC]
22 Aug 1943

Italy
  • George Patton apologized to doctors and nurses who witnessed him slapping enlisted men for accused cowardice. Later in the day, Patton met entertainer Bob Hope and asked Hope to announced on the radio that Patton loved and cared for his men. ww2dbase [George Patton | Sicilia | CPC]
23 Aug 1943

Italy
  • George Patton apologized to Charles Kuhl whom he slapped at a field hospital for accused cowardice. ww2dbase [George Patton | Sicilia | CPC]
30 Aug 1943

Italy
11 Nov 1943

Photo(s) dated 11 Nov 1943
United States Army LtGen George Patton placing a wreath at the Palermo American War Cemetery, Palermo, Sicily on 11 Nov 1943 during World War I Armistice Day ceremonies.
8 Dec 1943

Italy
  • Franklin Roosevelt arrived in Sicily, Italy. ww2dbase [Franklin Roosevelt | Sicilia | CPC]
  • In Sicily, Italy, George Patton was told by US President Franklin Roosevelt in person that Patton was to hold army-level command in the upcoming invasion of France. ww2dbase [George Patton | Sicilia | CPC]
29 Jul 1944

Italy
17 Mar 1965

Photo(s) dated 17 Mar 1965
USS Shangri-La (left) and other ships of US Sixth Fleet at Augusta Bay, Sicily, Italy, 17 Mar 1965

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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