Operation Turkey Buzzard
Encyclopedia
Operation Turkey Buzzard, also known as Operation Beggar, was a British supply mission to North Africa that took place between March and August 1943, during the Second World War. The mission was undertaken by No. 2 Wing, Glider Pilot Regiment and No. 295 Squadron Royal Air Force, prior to the Allied invasion of Sicily
. Unusually, the mission was known by different names in different branches of the British Armed Forces
: the British Army
called the operation "Turkey Buzzard", while in the Royal Air Force
it was known as "Beggar".
The mission involved Royal Air Force Handley Page Halifax
bombers towing Airspeed Horsa
gliders 3200 miles (5,149.9 km) from England to Tunisia
. The British Horsas were needed to complement the smaller American Waco gliders, which did not have the capacity required for the operations planned by the 1st Airborne Division.
During the mission one Halifax-and-Horsa combination was shot down by German Focke Wulf Condor long-range patrol aircraft. Altogether five Horsas and three Halifaxes were lost, but twenty-seven Horsas arrived in Tunisia in time to participate in the invasion of Sicily. Although this supply operation was a success, few of the gliders made it to their landing zones in Sicily during the two British airborne operations that followed, many becoming casualties of the weather conditions or anti-aircraft gunfire.
, the North African campaign
was coming to a close; victory in North Africa being imminent, discussions began between the Allies over what their next objective should be. Many Americans argued for an immediate invasion of France
, while the British believed that it should be the island of Sardinia
, as did General Dwight D. Eisenhower
. In January 1943 the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill
, and the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, met at the Casablanca conference and settled the debate: the island of Sicily
would be the Allies' next objective. The invasion and occupation of Sicily would benefit the Allies by opening Mediterranean sea routes for Allied shipping and allowing Allied bombers to operate from airfields that were much closer to mainland Italy and Germany. The codename Operation Husky was eventually decided on for the invasion, and planning began in February. The British Eighth Army
, under the command of General Bernard Montgomery, would land on the south-eastern corner of the island and advance north to the port of Syracuse, while the US Seventh Army, commanded by General George Patton, would land on the south coast and move towards the port of Palermo
on the western corner of the island. The landings would be made simultaneously along a 100-mile (160-km) stretch of the island's south-eastern coastline.
For their part, the 1st Airborne Division was to conduct three brigade-size airborne operations; the Ponte Grande road bridge south of Syracuse was to be captured by 1st Airlanding Brigade (Operation Ladbroke
), the port of Augusta was to be seized by 2nd Parachute Brigade (Operation Glutton), and finally the Primasole Bridge over the River Simeto was to be taken by 1st Parachute Brigade (Operation Fustian
).
When the plans for the British airborne operations were being discussed, Lieutenant-Colonel George Chatterton, the commander of No. 2 Wing, Glider Pilot Regiment, brought up a problem with the only glider then in theatre, the American Waco CG-4
, known in British service as the Hadrian: its small size. The Waco's capacity was only two pilots and thirteen troops, and for cargo either a jeep
or an artillery gun but not both together. The plan for Operation Ladbroke involved a coup de main
assault on the Ponte Grande Bridge by the 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment
. Using the Horsa glider, which could carry twenty-seven troops or a jeep and gun together, they could deliver a larger force at the bridge during the initial assault. Chatterton decided he needed around forty Horsas, as well as the American Wacos, for the British missions.
The only Horsa gliders were in England at the time, and transporting them to North Africa would require a tow of 1200 miles (1,931.2 km) over the Atlantic Ocean around the coast of Portugal and Spain, then a further 2000 miles (3,218.7 km) across North Africa to reach Tunisia. No one had ever towed a glider, that distance before and it was not known if it was even possible. To test the concept and prove they had the necessary endurance, Handley Page Halifax
bombers of No. 295 Squadron RAF
towed Horsa gliders around the coastline of Britain.
The mission was given the go-ahead; the Horsas were modified to jettison their landing gear after takeoff to reduce drag, while the Halifax bombers were modified with long-range fuel tanks fitted in the bomb bays. The pilots for the gliders came from No. 2 Wing, having been left in England when most of the wing departed for Tunisia earlier in the year. An eleven-week period of training followed, during which four crashes killed thirteen men. At a mission conference on 21 May 1943, hosted by No. 38 Wing RAF, the impossibility of training the bomber crews to tow the gliders and deliver forty gliders to North Africa was discussed. In the end it was decided that as a priority ten bomber crews would be fully trained to deliver around fifteen gliders to North Africa by 21 June.
The Halifaxes and Horsas were moved to RAF Portreath
in Cornwall
, to shorten the distance they would have to travel. Even so, they were left with a ten-hour flight to Sale airport
in Morocco
. On arrival at Sale the gliders were released to land on a sand-patch alongside the runway. Once on the ground each Horsa was fitted with the spare landing gear it carried inside, and the flight immediately took off again on the next leg of the journey, to Mascara in Algeria
. Their journey did not end here; they left for the final destination, Kairouan Airfield
in Tunisia, as soon as possible. During the flight the gliders were provided with three pilots, who had to change around every hour to relieve fatigue.
The flights were carried out between 3 June and 7 July; the first Horsas arrived at Kairouran on 28 June, only twelve days before they were to be used in Operation Ladbroke. During the flight from England, for its first three hours over the Bay of Biscay
the Halifax–Horsa combination was escorted by RAF Bristol Beaufighter
s or Mosquito
long-range fighter aircraft
. They kept to an altitude of 500 ft (152.4 m) to avoid German radar
so the escorting fighters could return safely when short of fuel. The mission was not without its dangers. Four hours into one flight, a Horsa snapped its tow-rope while trying to avoid low cloud and ditched in the sea. Another Horsa and Halifax were discovered by a pair of German Focke-Wulf Fw 200
s and shot down. After surviving attacks from Luftwaffe
fighter patrols and experiencing often-turbulent weather, a total of twenty-seven Horsas were delivered to North Africa in time for the invasion of Sicily. The total losses during the flights were three Halifaxes and five Horsas, with twenty-one RAF aircrew and seven glider pilots killed.
The second and last mission—Operation Fustian—began at 19:30 on 12 July, when the first aircraft carrying the 1st Parachute Brigade took off from North Africa. Following behind the parachute force were the glider-towing aircraft, comprising twelve Albemarles
and seven Halifaxes, towing eleven Horsa and eight Waco gliders. The first glider casualties occurred on takeoff, when two aircraft towing Waco gliders crashed. While en route, one glider was released prematurely by its towing aircraft and crashed into the sea. Arriving over Sicily, having lost the element of surprise, four gliders were shot down by coastal anti-aircraft batteries. By the time the gliders arrived at their landing zones, two hours had lapsed since the start of the parachute landings. With the German defences alerted, only four Horsa gliders managed to land mostly intact, all the others being caught by German machine-gun fire and destroyed on their approach. The surviving Horsas had been carrying three of the brigade's anti-tank guns, which were now included in their defence of Primosole Bridge.
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
. Unusually, the mission was known by different names in different branches of the British Armed Forces
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
: the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
called the operation "Turkey Buzzard", while in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
it was known as "Beggar".
The mission involved Royal Air Force Handley Page Halifax
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
bombers towing Airspeed Horsa
Airspeed Horsa
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British World War II troop-carrying glider built by Airspeed Limited and subcontractors and used for air assault by British and Allied armed forces...
gliders 3200 miles (5,149.9 km) from England to Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
. The British Horsas were needed to complement the smaller American Waco gliders, which did not have the capacity required for the operations planned by the 1st Airborne Division.
During the mission one Halifax-and-Horsa combination was shot down by German Focke Wulf Condor long-range patrol aircraft. Altogether five Horsas and three Halifaxes were lost, but twenty-seven Horsas arrived in Tunisia in time to participate in the invasion of Sicily. Although this supply operation was a success, few of the gliders made it to their landing zones in Sicily during the two British airborne operations that followed, many becoming casualties of the weather conditions or anti-aircraft gunfire.
Background
By December 1942, with Allied forces advancing through TunisiaTunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, the North African campaign
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
was coming to a close; victory in North Africa being imminent, discussions began between the Allies over what their next objective should be. Many Americans argued for an immediate invasion of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, while the British believed that it should be the island of Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, as did General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
. In January 1943 the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, and the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, met at the Casablanca conference and settled the debate: the island of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
would be the Allies' next objective. The invasion and occupation of Sicily would benefit the Allies by opening Mediterranean sea routes for Allied shipping and allowing Allied bombers to operate from airfields that were much closer to mainland Italy and Germany. The codename Operation Husky was eventually decided on for the invasion, and planning began in February. The British Eighth Army
Eighth Army (United Kingdom)
The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations of the British Army during World War II, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns....
, under the command of General Bernard Montgomery, would land on the south-eastern corner of the island and advance north to the port of Syracuse, while the US Seventh Army, commanded by General George Patton, would land on the south coast and move towards the port of Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
on the western corner of the island. The landings would be made simultaneously along a 100-mile (160-km) stretch of the island's south-eastern coastline.
For their part, the 1st Airborne Division was to conduct three brigade-size airborne operations; the Ponte Grande road bridge south of Syracuse was to be captured by 1st Airlanding Brigade (Operation Ladbroke
Operation Ladbroke
Operation Ladbroke was a glider landing of British airborne forces near 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...
), the port of Augusta was to be seized by 2nd Parachute Brigade (Operation Glutton), and finally the Primasole Bridge over the River Simeto was to be taken by 1st Parachute Brigade (Operation Fustian
Operation Fustian
Operation Fustian was a British airborne forces mission during the Allied invasion of Sicily in the Second World War. The operation was carried out by the 1st Parachute Brigade, part of the 1st Airborne Division. Their objective was the Primosole Bridge across the Simeto River. The intention was...
).
When the plans for the British airborne operations were being discussed, Lieutenant-Colonel George Chatterton, the commander of No. 2 Wing, Glider Pilot Regiment, brought up a problem with the only glider then in theatre, the American Waco CG-4
Waco CG-4
The Waco CG-4 was the most widely used United States troop/cargo military glider of World War II. It was designated the CG-4 by the United States Army Air Forces, and named Hadrian in British military service....
, known in British service as the Hadrian: its small size. The Waco's capacity was only two pilots and thirteen troops, and for cargo either a jeep
Willys MB
The Willys MB US Army Jeep and the Ford GPW, were manufactured from 1941 to 1945. These small four-wheel drive utility vehicles are considered the iconic World War II Jeep, and inspired many similar light utility vehicles. Over the years, the World War II Jeep later evolved into the "CJ" civilian...
or an artillery gun but not both together. The plan for Operation Ladbroke involved a coup de main
Coup de main
A coup de main is a swift attack that relies on speed and surprise to accomplish its objectives in a single blow. The United States Department of Defense defines it as:The literal translation from French means a stroke or blow of the hand...
assault on the Ponte Grande Bridge by the 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment
South Staffordshire Regiment
The South Staffordshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 38th Regiment of Foot and the 80th Regiment of Foot. In 1959 the regiment was amlagamated with the North Staffordshire Regiment to form the Staffordshire Regiment...
. Using the Horsa glider, which could carry twenty-seven troops or a jeep and gun together, they could deliver a larger force at the bridge during the initial assault. Chatterton decided he needed around forty Horsas, as well as the American Wacos, for the British missions.
Mission
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
bombers of No. 295 Squadron RAF
No. 295 Squadron RAF
No 295 Squadron RAF was an airborne forces and transport squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War II. It was the first unit to be equipped with the Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle transport and glider tug aircraft.-With the Airborne Forces:...
towed Horsa gliders around the coastline of Britain.
The mission was given the go-ahead; the Horsas were modified to jettison their landing gear after takeoff to reduce drag, while the Halifax bombers were modified with long-range fuel tanks fitted in the bomb bays. The pilots for the gliders came from No. 2 Wing, having been left in England when most of the wing departed for Tunisia earlier in the year. An eleven-week period of training followed, during which four crashes killed thirteen men. At a mission conference on 21 May 1943, hosted by No. 38 Wing RAF, the impossibility of training the bomber crews to tow the gliders and deliver forty gliders to North Africa was discussed. In the end it was decided that as a priority ten bomber crews would be fully trained to deliver around fifteen gliders to North Africa by 21 June.
The Halifaxes and Horsas were moved to RAF Portreath
RRH Portreath
RRH Portreath is a Remote Radar Head operated by the Royal Air Force. It is situated at Nancekuke Common on the clifftops to the north of Portreath beach and southwest of Porthtowan in Cornwall...
in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, to shorten the distance they would have to travel. Even so, they were left with a ten-hour flight to Sale airport
Rabat-Salé Airport
Salé Airport or Rabat-Salé Airport is an airport serving Rabat, the capital city of Morocco, and also the capital of the Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer region. It is a joint use public and military airport, also known as the First Royal Air Force Base...
in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. On arrival at Sale the gliders were released to land on a sand-patch alongside the runway. Once on the ground each Horsa was fitted with the spare landing gear it carried inside, and the flight immediately took off again on the next leg of the journey, to Mascara in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. Their journey did not end here; they left for the final destination, Kairouan Airfield
Kairouan Airfield
Kairouan Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in Tunisia, which is located approximately 11 km south-southeast of Kairouan, 126 km south of Tunis. It was a major Troop Carrier unit base of the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force during the North African Campaign...
in Tunisia, as soon as possible. During the flight the gliders were provided with three pilots, who had to change around every hour to relieve fatigue.
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
the Halifax–Horsa combination was escorted by RAF Bristol Beaufighter
Bristol Beaufighter
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...
s or Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
long-range fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
. They kept to an altitude of 500 ft (152.4 m) to avoid German radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
so the escorting fighters could return safely when short of fuel. The mission was not without its dangers. Four hours into one flight, a Horsa snapped its tow-rope while trying to avoid low cloud and ditched in the sea. Another Horsa and Halifax were discovered by a pair of German Focke-Wulf Fw 200
Focke-Wulf Fw 200
The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, also known as Kurier to the Allies was a German all-metal four-engine monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner...
s and shot down. After surviving attacks from Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
fighter patrols and experiencing often-turbulent weather, a total of twenty-seven Horsas were delivered to North Africa in time for the invasion of Sicily. The total losses during the flights were three Halifaxes and five Horsas, with twenty-one RAF aircrew and seven glider pilots killed.
Aftermath
The first British airborne operation in Sicily began at 18:00 on 9 July 1943, when the gliders transporting the 1st Airlanding Brigade left Tunisia for Sicily. En route they encountered strong winds and poor visibility, and at times were subjected to anti-aircraft fire. To avoid gunfire and searchlights, pilots of the towing aircraft climbed higher or took evasive action. In the confusion surrounding these manoeuvres, some gliders were released too early and sixty-five of them crashed into the sea, drowning around 252 men. Fifty-nine of the remaining gliders missed their landing zones, by as much as 25 miles (40.2 km); others either failed to release and returned to Tunisia or were shot down. Only twelve landed on target; of these gliders a single Horsa, carrying a platoon of infantry from the Staffords, landed near the Ponte Grande Bridge. Its commander, Lieutenant Withers, swam across the river with half his men to take up positions on the opposite bank. The objective was captured following a simultaneous assault from both ends; the platoon then dismantled demolition charges that had been fitted to the bridge, and dug in to wait for reinforcement or relief. Another Horsa came down about 200 yards (182.9 m) from the bridge but exploded on landing, killing all on board. Three of the other Horsas carrying the South Staffordshire Regiment coup-de-main party had landed within 2 miles (3.2 km) of the bridge, their occupants eventually finding their way to the site.The second and last mission—Operation Fustian—began at 19:30 on 12 July, when the first aircraft carrying the 1st Parachute Brigade took off from North Africa. Following behind the parachute force were the glider-towing aircraft, comprising twelve Albemarles
Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle
The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.41 Albemarle was a British twin-engine transport aircraft that entered service during the Second World War.Originally designed as a medium bomber that could be built by non-aviation companies without using light alloys, the Albemarle never served in that role, instead...
and seven Halifaxes, towing eleven Horsa and eight Waco gliders. The first glider casualties occurred on takeoff, when two aircraft towing Waco gliders crashed. While en route, one glider was released prematurely by its towing aircraft and crashed into the sea. Arriving over Sicily, having lost the element of surprise, four gliders were shot down by coastal anti-aircraft batteries. By the time the gliders arrived at their landing zones, two hours had lapsed since the start of the parachute landings. With the German defences alerted, only four Horsa gliders managed to land mostly intact, all the others being caught by German machine-gun fire and destroyed on their approach. The surviving Horsas had been carrying three of the brigade's anti-tank guns, which were now included in their defence of Primosole Bridge.