Force V improvises carrier air cover at Salerno

Rear Admiral Philip Vian's Force V combined Unicorn with Battler, Attacker, Hunter, and Stalker because Sicily-based Spitfires could remain over the beaches for only about twenty minutes. The five 17-knot carriers needed room to turn into the wind inside a tightly bounded operating area while their fighters supported the landings. Sirius, Scylla, and Charybdis joined the carrier force with destroyers, while fleet carriers Illustrious and Formidable protected it from seaward attack. A cruiser flagship successfully handled squadron maneuver and air control because the small carriers had limited bridge and operations-room space. Planning was complicated by Allied headquarters scattered among Algiers, Malta, Tunis, and western Algeria under Eisenhower, Cunningham, Alexander, Tedder, and Clark. With no softening-up bombardment, resistance ashore slowed the assault and pinned American troops on the beaches. Montecorvino airfield remained in German hands beyond the expected second day, leaving Force V to support the beachhead much longer than planned.