[8] Pre-invasion strategic bombing reduced Luftflotte 2 strength to 175 planes in Sicily,[9] but 418 additional Luftwaffe and 449 Regia Aeronautica aircraft remained serviceable at bases in Italy to be flown in as required.

[16] The 52d Troop Carrier Wing of 222 Douglas C-47 Skytrains from North Africa carried the airborne 505th Infantry Regiment for a parachute drop over Piano Lupo.

A western task force of 601 ships (including 130 warships and 324 landing craft and transports with 1,124 shipboard landing boats) under the command of Vice Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt carried the Seventh United States Army under the command of Lieutenant General George S. Patton.

The invasion was the European combat premier of tank landing ships (LST)s only a week after the Pacific Operation Cartwheel.

[21] The Gela invasion beaches were defended by the Italian 429th Coastal Battalion under (Major Rubellino) using barbed wire, concrete pillboxes, and anti-tank guns.

[15] The beach on either side of the Gela pier was mined and defended by machine guns on both flanks and artillery batteries 7,000 yards (6,400 m) inland, on Cape Soprano to the west, and on Monte Lungo to the north.

[26] Winds moderated on the evening of 9 July as ships divided into task forces C, H, and K and proceeded to assigned anchorages off the Sicilian coast.

[27] Fewer than 200 of the 3,400 paratroopers were able to reach the strategic Piano Lupo highland before the defending Livorno Division arrived.

[28] The transports Joseph T. Dickman,[note 1] Prince Charles, Prince Leopold, Oberon, Barnett, Monrovia, Lyon, Samuel Chase,[note 1] Betelgeuse, Thurston, Elizabeth C. Stanton, Orizaba, and Chateau Thierry anchored approximately 6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi) off the mouth of the Gela River with LCIs, LSTs, and salvage vessels slightly further offshore; and the destroyers USS Murphy, Glennon, Maddox, Bernadou, and Dallas screened the seaward side of the anchorage.

Absence of fighter cover during the initial Axis bombing attack created an enduring shipboard perception they were responsible for their own air defense and should prioritize aircraft destruction above identification.

Axis fighters and fighter-bombers were able to make undetected low-level approaches from Catania under the fleet's radar horizon by flying down the Acate River canyon at the eastern edge of the Gela beachhead.

The 26th Regiment was prepared to assist the Rangers in capturing Gela; but, when that proved unnecessary, began moving inland to take the high ground west of Ponte Olivo.

Unloading was frequently interrupted by air attacks and artillery fire; and a shortage of landing craft developed as nearly 200 were disabled by shellfire or broaching in the surf.

Unexpected sand bars paralleled the beach 150 yards (137 m) offshore and prevented some landing craft (including LSTs carrying tanks) from getting ashore to offload their cargo.

[22] Boise and Savannah launched Curtiss SOC Seagull observation seaplanes at 06:00 to locate targets and perform gunnery spotting.

Bf 109s had shot down both Savannah planes by 07:30 as the Italian Livorno Division launched a three-prong counterattack to recapture Gela.

[45] Savannah launched its two remaining SOCs at 08:30 as Rangers directed Shubrick gunfire destroying three of the tanks approaching Gela along the Ponte Olivo Road.

The Rangers used the captured 8 cm Italian artillery to repel the Livorno Division infantry column approaching Gela from Butera.

[45] Boise opened fire at 09:10 after their SOCs observed the Italian column approaching along the Niscemi Road and radioed coordinates before being chased off by Bf 109s.

[46] The Livorno infantry remained in previously prepared defensive positions to avoid the naval gunfire while the tanks continued toward the beachhead until they encountered the two forward battalions of the 16th Regiment.

[45] Axis bombing raids hit the beach at 13:20 and 14:30 in support of the Hermann Göring Division armored regiment counterattack against the eastern beachhead.

After waiting through the remaining daylight for a rendezvous with the stalled 15th Panzergrenadiers, the Hermann Göring Division withdrew at dusk to regroup.

One bomb struck LST-313, killing 21 men, damaging embarked vehicles, and igniting a gasoline fire causing a series of ammunition explosions.

The burning LST, with the 26th Infantry's anti-tank artillery,[49] was abandoned at 18:24; and continuing explosions scattered the pontoons, causing nearby LST-312 to broach, and prevented the offloading of more LSTs.

[50] That evening, Italian Stukas[51] or Reggiane Re.2002s[52] sank the Indian hospital ship Talamba 3–5 nmi (6–9 km; 3–6 mi) off the beaches of Sicily with heavy loss of lives.

Every man on the beach, including yeomen, electricians, carpenters, and intelligence and supply officers of the Advanced Naval Base Group, was hastily armed and formed a firing line along the dunes with engineers of the Army shore parties.

Savannah fired 500 rounds of 6-inch (150 mm) shells, killing more than half of the Italian infantry advancing on Gela and leaving human bodies hanging from trees.

"[61] While American forces ashore stopped the Axis advance, Minelayers spent the afternoon placing a protective minefield offshore of the anchorage.

[55] The invasion convoy was 90 percent unloaded before dawn; and the 1st Infantry Division captured the Ponte Olivo airfield at 08:45, approximately 27 hours later than planned.

[62] The Twelfth Air Force 27th Fighter Bomber Group landed North American A-36 Apache ground support aircraft at Ponte Olivo as soon as the airfield was declared secure for operations, and provided air support for continuing operations against German and Italian forces.