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Landing Plans for Salerno and Paestum
Operation Avalanche was the codename for the combined US and British landings on the southwest coast of Italy on 9 September 1943 as part of the
Allied effort in the
Mediterranean Theater during
World War II . The forces landed consisted of the
US Fifth Army under Lieutenant General
Mark W. Clark . The Fifth Army was made up of the
British X Corps , which landed south of the town of
Salerno , and the
US VI Corps , which landed at the town of
Paestum .
The landings were carried out by combined forces of the
US Navy and
Royal Navy .
Naval losses: 2 destroyers, 1 minesweeper, 1 tug, 1 hospital ship
Order of battle
Vice Adm. H. Kent Hewitt, USN
Vice Adm. Hewitt's flagship, USS Ancon (AGC-4)
Western Naval Task Force (Task Force 80)
Vice Admiral
H. Kent Hewitt , USN
[1]
Embarking
US Fifth Army (Lt. Gen.
Mark W. Clark , USA)
1
amphibious force flagship :
USS Ancon
2 anti-aircraft/fighter director ships:
HMS Ulster Queen ,
HMS Palomares
1
submarine :
HMS Shakespeare
Northern Landing Force (Task Force 85)
Commodore G.N. Oliver , RN
Embarking
British X Corps (Lt. Gen.
Richard McCreery , BA)
Combat vessels
4
light cruisers :
HMS Mauritius ,
HMS Uganda ,
HMS Orion ,
HMS Delhi
1
monitor :
HMS Roberts
18
destroyers : 17 British, 1 Greek
Amphibious assault vessels
2
amphibious force flagships :
HMS Hilary ,
USS Biscayne
13
transports and
LSIs
90
LSTs : 45 American, 45 British
84
LCTs : 24 American, 60 British (5 sunk)
96
LCI(L)s : 48 American, 48 British
Auxiliaries
7
minesweepers
4
tugs (1 sunk by air attack 13 September)
23
subchasers/wooden hull
27 minecraft
32
motor launches
13
trawlers
Southern Landing Force (Task Force 81)
Rear Adm.
John L. Hall, Jr. , USN
Rear Adm. John L. Hall, Jr., USN
USS Revenge , a World War II-era Auk class minesweeper
World War II-era US PT boat in 1945
Embarking
US VI Corps (Maj. Gen.
Ernest J. Dawley , USA)
Fire Support Group (TG 81.5)
Rear Admiral
Lyal A. Davidson
4
light cruisers :
USS Philadelphia ,
USS Savannah ,
USS Boise ,
USS Brooklyn
1
monitor :
HMS Abercrombie
4
destroyers (1 sunk by submarine 12 October)
Screen (TG 81.6)
Capt. Charles Wellborn
12 destroyers (1 sunk by torpedo boat 10 September)
Transport Group (TG 81.2)
Capt. C.D. Edgar
19
transports : 14 American, 5 British
3
LSTs : all British
6 scout boats
Landing Craft Group (TG 81.3)
Capt. F.M. Adams
27
LSTs : 18 American, 9 British
32
LCIs : 26 American, 6 British
6
LCTs : all American
Control Group (TG 81.7)
Cmdr. R.D. Lowther, USNR
8
subchasers (steel hull), 4
LCSs
TG 81.8 – Minesweeper Group
Cmdr. A.H. Richards
9
minesweepers (1 sunk by submarine 25 September)
12 motor minesweepers
TG 81.9 – Salvage Group
Lt. V.C. Kyllberg
2
tugs
TG 80.2 – Picket Group
Lt. Cmdr. S.M. Barnes
16
PTs
TG 80.3 – Diversion Group
Capt. C.L. Andrews
1 destroyer:
USS Knight
7
torpedo boats : 7 British
MTBs , 1 American
PT
4 subchasers (wooden hull)
6
Motor Launches
10 air/sea rescue craft
Support Carrier Force (Task Force 88)
Rear Adm. Sir Philip L. Vian, RN
Fairey Barracudas landing on
HMS Formidable in 1944
Rear Admiral
Sir Philip L. Vian , RN
1
light carrier :
HMS Unicorn
4
escort carriers :
HMS Battler ,
HMS Attacker ,
HMS Hunter ,
HMS Stalker
3
light cruisers :
HMS Euryalus ,
HMS Scylla ,
HMS Charybdis
9
destroyers : 7 British, 2 Polish
Covering forces
2
fleet carriers (Rear Admiral
Clement Moody , RN)
HMS Illustrious
28
Grumman Martlet fighters
10
Supermarine Seafire fighters
12
Fairey Barracuda torpedo bombers
HMS Formidable
28
Grumman Martlet fighters
5 Supermarine Seafire fighters
12
Fairey Albacore torpedo bombers
[a]
Force "H" (Vice Admiral
Sir Algernon Willis , RN)
4
battleships :
HMS Nelson ,
HMS Rodney ,
HMS Warspite ,
HMS Valiant
Screen
20 destroyers: 16 British, 1 Polish, 2 Dutch, 1 French
Auxiliaries
3
hospital ships :
HMHS Newfoundland (sunk by air attack 13 September),
HMHS Leinster ,
HMHS Somersetshire
Notes
References
Sources
Morison, Samuel Eliot (1954). Sicily – Salerno – Anzio, January 1943–June 1944 . History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Vol. IX. Boston: Little, Brown and Co.
ISBN
0-7858-1310-1 .