Sicily after 65 years

got shots of the butera pillbox complex. Gela and Italian war monument . Weather has turned hot now and no more rain. Off to Licatta to get picts of strong points and the beach. Hope to catch Marco before I leave.

 

Sicily43 and tron333, do you recognise any of the beaches shown here?
http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/war-sea/37214-can-someone-identify-med-landing.html
Not sure it is Sicily but if you can either confirm or discount it would help in our project.

Thanks,

Mike

 

Hi Mike
The stone are white, so isn't Pantelleria.
I see all photos and I thinks is the beach at south of Siracuse.
If you see the pictures number 31, there is a bridge.
tis is the bridge on Cassibile river and the beach is at South of Cassibile in a place called La Marchesa.
when I come back home I see better the code name of beach in Husky.

 

Hi Sicily43, many thanks for your reply.
I think I have found the bridge you refer to in picture 31 - is it this one shown below? It certainly looks similar.
I would appreciate any other help you can give in identifying the landings.

Best regards,

Mike

 

Thanks to Sicily43 and his bridge clue I found the North beach and by deduction I located the other, 'South' beach.
The North beach is pretty much untouched whereas there has been a lot of building on the Southern beach.

Here are the two beaches:

Northern beach with large building and bridge:
36°56'48.82"N 15°11'17.04"E

Southern beach with two shacks and rock spur with cave:
36°56'17.39"N 15°10'44.23"E

Check out the photos on Google Earth and you'll see it is spot on for both.

Tom.

 

Sicily43/Tom,
The only beach names I can find at the moment are BARK South described as 'some miles west of Cape Corpo di Baccho' and JOSS beach where US 29th Inf Div landed.
8th Army Cameronians landed at 'Cap Negro' near Syracuse and Highland Div at 'Cape Passero'.
Do any of those sound familiar? Locations are rather general I am afraid.
I really must read through all 15 pages of this thread and do some more reading for better background info!
The locations given look very likely on Google Earth, especially the Northern beach, but I can't be so sure about the Southern one.

Thanks,

Mike

 

Mike,
Here's an overlay I've just knocked together from someone's photo on Google Earth and the B&W, for the Southern beach. It all looks very convincing even though the angles, lighting and time do not allow a perfect match but I think it is good enough.

Tom.

 

Tom, that's brilliant!
Looks convincing to me. Thanks very much.

 

Hi
Perfect Tom!!!!!
I see better my book, this is "How" beach, from Cape Negro and River Cassibile where there was the border with "Gerorge" beach.

 

Tom, Sicily43, Thanks for your efforts to identify these landings, much appreciated.

Mike

 

Happy to help and maybe I'll get down there one of the days.

Cheers,
Tom.

 

Hi All
This are some phillboxes on Trapani and Favignana Island

 

I scanned many photos of Sicily on this last trip
to the NARA, including half a dozen or so of the
157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division,
entering Caltanisseta.

Here are links to the Cathedral of Santa Maria la Nova
as it appeared in July 1943 and a modern photo. The
fountains in the piazza are post-war additions to the
scene.

File:Cathedral Caltanissetta.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://www.sicilyontour.com/images/caltanissetta_cattedrale.jpg

Caltanissetta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Google Maps


Dave

 

punto olive airfield

 

Dear Sirs, I am researching my wife's family tree and have found that a cousin of my wife's mother was a sergeant with 3 COMMANDO and was killed in action on Sicily in WW2. His name is Francis McGerty,born in Glasgow. I would very much like to know about the action, and his part in it, in which he met his death. I wondered if any of your members may graciously help me? I have read the general account of the 'Commando Bridge' action and wonder if Sergeant McGerty was involved.
I have copied some details below as to Sergeant Mcgerty,who is buried at Syracuse.
Thank you,
Yours Sincerely
Tommy Kerr


Name: Mcgerty, Francis, F
Rank: Serjeant
Service: 5888178
Regiment: Northamptonshire Regiment
Date of Death: 14/07/1943
Age: 27

 

I have been experimenting with Street View in Google Earth
to find the locations of several U.S. Army Signal Corps' photos.

Here are two examples of then and now photographs from Sicily.

The modern view of SC 188762 was very difficult to locate
in Google Earth because the photo had wrong data. I believe this is a M-4
of the 753rd Tank Bn.





And the modern view from Google Earth Streetview:




The 45th Infantry Division, leaving Finale, on the north coast of Sicily:



And the modern view:




III-SC 188762 and 186435, Credit NARA.


Dave

 

Hi Dave can you post the coordinate of google earth?

 

The "Coordinate Translator" I found this recently while doing my research for gerbini. Its an English coordinate system to lat lon.
used it to push pin the Sferro Gerbini battle orders. BTW good stuff posted !