A collection of fascinating old photographs of Palermo, Messina, Siracusa, and other Sicilian towns during WWII.
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On the night of 9–10 July 1943 the Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky began. The collapse of fascist Italy necessitated German troops to be relocated to Italy, weakening the Eastern Front of Germany. After 38 days of fighting Allies troops successfully drove Axis troops from Sicily and prepared to assault the Italian mainland.
By August 1943, the German and Italian troops evacuated from Sicily.
The first group of images were taken by allied anonymous photographers. The second group of images depicting the post invasion of the island, was taken by American photographer Nick Parrino during WWII.
Related articles: The Macabre Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Child Labour And the Sulphur Mines in Sicily
Old photographs of the Allied Invasion of Sicily, 1943
July, August 1943
Crew from the tank “Eternity” check their vehicle after landing at Red Beach 2, Sicily. 10 July 1943 
Remains of the Italian Navy armed train “T.A. 76/2/T”, destroyed by USS Bristol while opposing the landing at Licata. 
The British Army in Sicily 1943
Men of the 6th Durham Light Infantry chat with an American paratrooper in Avola, 11 July 1943. Author: No 2 Army Film & Photographic Unit, Travis (Sgt)
Italian soldiers of the 206th Coastal Division, taken prisoner by British forces after the landing in Sicily. Typical of the second-rate equipment issued to the Coastal Divisions, they are wearing Adrian helmets, rather than the more modern M33 helmets. 
At Milo in the north of Sicily, County of London Yeomanry tank men are accorded a great reception by the civilians of the town. Here they are seen with Sicilian children riding on their tanks as they rumble down the main street. 
A Sherman tank moves past Sicily’s rugged terrain. 
Men of the 6th Inniskillings, 78th Division, await orders to move into to Centuripe, 2 August 1943. The umbrella was used to shade the wounded. 
Private Roy W. Humphrey of Toledo, Ohio is being given blood plasma after he was wounded by shrapnel in Sicily on 8/9/43 
Four miles south of Syracuse a small ammunition supply ship, hit by enemy bombs, can be seen in the distance as she blazes near the landing beach during the invasion of Sicily. 
Sicily Invasion. American soldiers looking at a dead German pilot and his wrecked plane near Gela, Sicily. (12 Jul 43) 
British troops scramble over rubble in a devastated street in Catania, Sicily, 5 August 1943
September 1943
Workers on a train in Sicily, Nick Parrino, 1943
A family repairing nets, author: Nick Parrino, 1943 
Palermo (vicinity), Sicily. A harbor scene. Author: Nick Parrino, 1943 
Fishermen preparing for run. Author: Nick Parrino, 1943 
Fishermen with nets. Author: Nick Parrino, 1943 
An Italian fisherman making a net. Sicily. Author: Nick Parrino, 1943 
Messina, Sicily. Workmen clearing the streets. Author: Nick Parrino, 1943 
Agrigento, Sicily. Ruins of Greek temples. Author: Nick Parrino, 1943 
Agrigento, Sicily. Ruins of Greek temples. Author: Nick Parrino, 1943 
Syracuse (vicinity), Sicily. Roman ruins. Author: Nick Parrino, 1943 
Castel Mola (vicinity), Sicily. British Eighth Army officers and men visiting some of Sicily’s peacetime attractions. Author: Nick Parrino, 1943 
Allied soldiers listening to a band concert in Palermo, Sicily, September 1943. Author: Nick Parrino, 1943 
An Italian CANT Z.506 Airone seaplane on the Sicilian beach of Mondello, September 1943. . Author: Nick Parrino, 1943
Topics: old pictures of Italy during WWII, Sicily WWII, old photographs of Sicily
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