Conclusion

American airmen of the Ninth, Twelfth, and Fifteenth Air Forces fought in ten major campaigns in the Mediterranean theater of operations. In North Africa, American and British airmen forged a usable air-ground doctrine that consolidated air power under the control of air, rather than ground, commanders. Moreover, everyone gained vital experience in working as an air-ground team.

With growing confidence, Allied airmen played a significant role in the Sicily operation, as they pounded Pantelleria into surrender, gained air superiority over Sicily, and delivered close air support throughout the campaign. When the Allies landed on the shores of Italy, and later on the beaches at Normandy, they carried with them the wealth of experience so hard won in Africa and Sicily. In pushing the Germans from the tip of Italy's boot north to the Alps, the Allies not only tied up enemy divisions that could have been used against the Soviets or the Allied invasion of France, but also secured Mediterranean lines of communication that served as vital links to the Middle East, India, and beyond.

In executing Operation Strangle, U.S. and Allied airmen reduced enemy supplies and shattered the ability of Hitler's forces to resist Allied ground attacks. Airmen also proved that they could sustain the partisans in the Balkans, northern Italy, and France, and bring to safety large numbers of wounded personnel and downed fliers.

When the Germans surrendered in northern Italy, American airmen could look back with pride. Alongside their allies and at great cost in men and materiel, they had fought from the hot and windblown deserts of North Africa to the freezing, snow-covered Italian Alps; supported four major assault landings; and achieved air superiority in the Mediterranean. Churchill had championed the Mediterranean theater as the soft underbelly of the Axis. American war correspondent Ernie Pyle disagreed with Churchill and he got it right. Echoing the emotions of many who fought here, he labeled that theater a "tough old gut."