Gran Sasso 1943: The Raid to Snatch Mussolini > .
What Life Was Like In Fascist Italy - Weird > .
In early 1943, the Second World War was in full swing, the fortunes of the Axis Powers seemed to have turned. On July 25th that year, two weeks after the Allied powers invaded Sicily, the King of Italy Victor Emanuel the Third ordered the arrest of Benito Mussolini, following a vote of no confidence from the Fascist Grand Council. This new government, under Marshal Pietro Badoglio started secret peace negotiations with the Allied powers. Now, to the Germans, it was of vital importance that this new government not sue for peace, or even worse, switch sides to the Allied powers. Hitler figured the only way to prevent this from happening, was to have Benito Mussolini rescued, and put him back in power... What followed was one of the most daring special operations and, admittedly, incredible stories of the Second World War: the rescue ... of Benito Mussolini.
The Gran Sasso raid was the rescue of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini by German Fallschirmjäger led by Major Harald Mors and Waffen-SS commandos (notably Otto Skorzeny) in September 1943, during World War II. The airborne operation was personally ordered by Adolf Hitler, planned and executed by Mors, and approved by General Kurt Student.
The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch (Stork) was a small German liaison aircraft built by Fieseler before and during World War II. Production continued in other countries into the 1950s for the private market. It remains famous for its excellent STOL performance and low stall speed of 31 mph (50 kmph); French-built later variants often appear at air shows.
In early 1943, the Second World War was in full swing, the fortunes of the Axis Powers seemed to have turned. On July 25th that year, two weeks after the Allied powers invaded Sicily, the King of Italy Victor Emanuel the Third ordered the arrest of Benito Mussolini, following a vote of no confidence from the Fascist Grand Council. This new government, under Marshal Pietro Badoglio started secret peace negotiations with the Allied powers. Now, to the Germans, it was of vital importance that this new government not sue for peace, or even worse, switch sides to the Allied powers. Hitler figured the only way to prevent this from happening, was to have Benito Mussolini rescued, and put him back in power... What followed was one of the most daring special operations and, admittedly, incredible stories of the Second World War: the rescue ... of Benito Mussolini.
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On 12 September 1943, Skorzeny and 16 SS troopers joined the Fallschirmjäger to rescue Mussolini in a high-risk glider mission. Ten DFS 230 gliders, each carrying nine soldiers and a pilot, towed by Henschel Hs 126 planes started between 13:05 and 13:10 from the Pratica di Mare Air Base near Rome.
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