Pantelleria is a small rocky island, measuring 8.5 miles by 5.5 miles. It lies in the channel between Tunisia and Sicily about 140 miles NW of Malta. As early as the latter half of 1940 Keyes all but persuaded Churchill that the taking of Pantelleria by amphibious landing was feasible. It would restore to UK control the waters of the East/Central Mediterranean and would contribute to the supply of the vital base of Malta. This was a time when a journey to Port Said was judged unsafe by the direct Mediterranean route and the alternative round the Cape of Good Hope was four times the distance - a return trip of 25,000 miles as opposed to 6,300.
Planning & Preparation
Whilst the Chiefs of Staff agreed with Keyes that it was likely that the island could be taken there was less optimism that it could easily be held. Bluntly put it could double the problems then being experienced in supplying Malta. This reticent attitude reflected the forthright views of Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham in the Mediterranean.
Despite these strongly held views Churchill was tempted and allowed Keyes to take personal command of the operation. He was authorised to withdraw 2000 of his commandos from the operational control of GHQ. They were sent for training at Inveraray and Lamlash on the Island of Arran in the estuary of the River Clyde. The plan was to load the men on the "Glen" ships and attach them to a fast convoy which was shortly to run the gauntlet of the Axis forces in the Mediterranean. Their destination was to be Malta but while passing Pantelleria the Glen ships would peel of and seize the island. Once ashore the two armies would be so enmeshed that the Italian air-force would be unable to intervene. It would be an unequal contest. On the one hand an eager well trained volunteer force against an Italian garrison taken by surprise. (Map of the Port of Pantelleria issued to Lieutenant Ovenston in June 1943 and reproduced here courtesy of his son Colin Ovenston of Kansas, USA.)
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