OPERATION SHINGLE
A composite aerial photograph of the landing part of which was taken from attacking German aircraft.
ANZIO: A NAVAL CHRONOLOGY
From the time the first shot was fired in the early hours of 22 January 1944, to the VI Corps "breakout" from the beachhead perimeter on 24 May, tens of thousands of Allied troops and hundreds of thousands of tons of equipment were shipped ashore at Anzio.
JANUARY 1944
| DATE | SHIP | EVENT |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday 22 | HMS LCT[R] 147 | Opened bombardment of Yellow Beach @ 0153. |
| USS Portent (AM-106) | Mined. Sank within 3 minutes. 18 lives lost. 41 d 24' N; 12 d 44' E. | |
| HMS Palomares | Disabled by a mine. Towed to Naples | |
| LCI-20 | Bombed and sunk. |
An image from an LST with another in the background. In the middle-background
what appears to be an LCT. The "relaxed" attitude of those in the foreground
suggests this photo may have been taken when the beachhead was more secure.
what appears to be an LCT. The "relaxed" attitude of those in the foreground
suggests this photo may have been taken when the beachhead was more secure.
| By mid-night on D-day over 36,000 men and 3,000 vehicles had been landed at Anzio. VI Corps casulaties were 13 killed, 97 wounded and 44 missing. |
| DATE | SHIP | EVENT |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday 23 | HMS Janus | Hit by an aerial torpedo and sunk. 159 lives lost |
| HMS Jervis | Damaged by radio-controlled glider bomb. Jervis and DUKWS rescue 93 Janus surivors. |
HMS Javelin - sister of both Janus and Jervis.
| As a result of this loss Rear Admiral J M Mansfield RN, Commander of 15th Cruiser Squadron and gunfire support commander of the British Sector, determined that ships without an immediate and definitive fire mission should retire from hostile airspace. Under the prevailing circumstances Mansfield considered two destroyers and two gunboats provided adequate protection for the Peter Sector of the beachhead and ordered the cruisers Orion, Penelope and Spartan to Naples. This was instantly challenged by Rear Admiral Lowry USN and the signal was cancelled. |
USS ATR-1 Class of tug. The ATR-1 came alongside the blazing Spartan and endeavoured to quell the fire.
Once it was apparent Spartan was beyond saving ATR-1 moved on to the ammunition laden
liberty ship Samuel Huntington - which also later sank. Meanwhile ATR-1 also suffered bomb damage.
Once it was apparent Spartan was beyond saving ATR-1 moved on to the ammunition laden
liberty ship Samuel Huntington - which also later sank. Meanwhile ATR-1 also suffered bomb damage.
| DATE | SHIP | EVENT |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 24 | USS Plunkett (DD-431) | Bombed and damaged. 53 lives lost. Plunkett returned to Palermo under her own steam. 41 d 15' N; 12 d 37' E. |
| St David | Bombed and sunk. St David was a hospital ship with 144 crew, 78 patients, 4 US medicos and 3 POWs. 60 lives lost. Refer also to site dedicated to St David - see links. | |
| USS Mayo (DD-422) | Mined and damaged. 5 lives lost. Mayo was subsequently towed to Naples by HM Tug Prosperous. 41 d 24' N; 12 d 00'E. | |
| USS Prevail (AM-107) | Bombed and damaged. 41 d 00' N; 12 d 00' E. | |
| Tuesday 25 | USS YMS-30 | Mined and sunk. 17 lives lost. 41 d 23' N; 12 d 45' E. |
| Wednesday 26 | HMS LST-422 | Mined and sunk. LST-422 had just arrived from Naples and was laden with troops and ammunition. Unknown number lost. |
| LCI-32 | Mined and sunk. LCI-32 had gone to assist LST-422 when it hit a mine. 30 lives lost, 11 wounded. USS Pilot, USS Strive and some YMSs pulled 150 survivors of LST-422 and LCI-32 from the water in storm conditions. | |
| Hilary A Herbert | Hilary A Herbert, a liberty ship, hit by aircraft. Beached. | |
| John Banvard | John Banvard was a Liberty ship. Damaged and written off. | |
| Friday 28 | USS PT-201 | With commander of 5th Army, General Mark Clark, onboard was hit by friendly fire from USS Sway (AM-120). 2 lives lost, several wounded. |
| Saturday 29 | HMS Spartan | Hit by a radio-controlled glider bomb and sunk. 66 lives lost. Unknown number wounded. Spartan was anchored and providing AA cover to the beachhead when hit. Survivors were picked up by HMS Laforey, HMS Barndale, USS SC-1029, HMS LST-198, USS ART-1 and a number of other unidentified craft. They were then transferred to HMS Dido and HMS Delhi and taken to Naples. |
| Samuel Huntington | Hit by a radio-controlled glder bomb and sunk. 5 lives lost. The Samuel Huntington, a Liberty ship carrying ammunition and petrol, exploded and sank. Some survivors were rescued by LCT-277. | |
| USS ATR-1 | ATR-1 was the tug that assisted both Spartan and Samuel Huntingdon. Bombed and damaged. 41 d 27' N; 12 d 40' E. |
At US PT (Patrol-Torpedo) craft of the type that General Mark Clark
was on when it came under friendly fire on January 28th.
was on when it came under friendly fire on January 28th.
FEBRUARY 1944
| DATE | SHIP | EVENT |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 8 | USS Ludlow (DD-438) | Damaged by coastal defence gunfire. 41 d 28' N; 12 d 30' E. |
| Tuesday 15 | USS Herbert C Jones (DE-137) | Damaged by radio controlled glider bomb. 41 d 27' N; 12 d 35' E. |
| Wednesday 16 | HM LST-418 | Sunk by U-230. |
| Friday 18 | HMS Penelope | Sunk by U-410. |
| USS YT-198 | Sunk by a mine. 41 d 27' N; 12 d 38' E. | |
| USS Pilot (AM-104) | Damaged in collision. 40 d 48' N; 14 d 16' E. | |
| Sunday 20 | HM LST-305 | Torpedoed and damaged by Italian Decima Flottiglia MAS assault boat MTSM-206. Later sunk by U-230. |
| Thursday 24 | St Andrew | The hospital ships St Andrew and Leinster bombed and damaged. |
| Friday 25 | HMS Inglefield | Hit by radio controlled glider bomb and sunk. |
| Saturday 26 | LST-349 | Grounded. 40 d 55' N; 12 d 58' E. |
A typical liberty ship - like the Samuel Huntington.
MARCH 1944
| DATE | SHIP | EVENT |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 10 | U-450 | Sunk by HMS Exmoor, Blankley, Brecon and Blencathra. |
| Monday 27 | USS PT-207 | Damaged by naval gunfire. 41 d 27' N; 12 d 40' E. |
MAY 1944
| DATE | SHIP | EVENT |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 23 | USS Philadephia (CL-41) | In collision with USS Laub (DD-613). 41d 11' N; 12 d 30' E. |
Anzio 1945 - courtesy of David Martin.
Note: What appears to be an LCT wreck remaining on the foreshore lower left.
Note: What appears to be an LCT wreck remaining on the foreshore lower left.