Glider Pilots in Sicily
“Glider Pilots in Sicily” by Mike Peters, published by Pen & Sword Books Limited on October 30, 2025, offers a detailed examination of the British Airborne landings in Sicily during World War II. This edition spans 320 pages and is presented in English. The narrative focuses on the challenges faced by the newly formed Airlanding troops, who were delivered into battle using gliders they were largely unfamiliar with, highlighting the political and technical difficulties of the operation.
Readers will find an in-depth exploration of the first major operation involving gliders by British forces, which took place in July 1943. The book recounts the harrowing experiences of the Glider Pilot Regiment as they undertook a night flight across the Mediterranean, facing near-catastrophe and significant loss. It details the courage displayed by the troops who managed to reach their objectives despite overwhelming odds, providing a comprehensive account of this pivotal moment in military aviation history. The themes of military strategy and the human spirit are woven throughout, making this a significant contribution to the understanding of World War II operations in Europe.
Official synopsis Publisher
The British Airborne landings on Sicily are the least known and, without doubt, the most fraught with political and technical strife. Newly formed Airlanding troops were delivered into battle in gliders they knew little about. The men of the Glider Pilot Regiment (GPR) had self-assembled the gliders while living in the empty packing cases. They accomplished this complex and technically challenged task while living on fly-ridden, dusty North African airfields. After only a few hours of conversion training they took off for a night flight across the Mediterranean Sea that was to end in near-catastrophe.
With over three hundred soldiers drowned off Sicily that night in July 1943, the first major operation attempted by the British using gliders almost ended in total disaster. In fact a few Airborne troops reached dry land and attacked their objectives. Shining examples of collective and individual acts of courage rocked the Italian and German defenders. This book tells the controversial story of that first mass glider operation and the men who proved the GPR motto Nothing is Impossible.
This is the first account of the Sicily air landing operation.
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