page_title: Jerauld Wright
section_title: Operation Husky
hierarchical_section_title: Jerauld Wright / Naval career / World War II / North Africa, Sicily, and Italy / Operation Husky
caption_attribution_description: English: The U.S. Navy amphibious transport USS Monrovia (APA-31) moored outboard of an Adirondack-class amphibious command ship, in the 1960s.
context_page_description: Admiral Jerauld Wright was an officer in the United States Navy. He served as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Atlantic Command and the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Atlantic Fleet, and became the second Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, from April 1, 1954, to March 1, 1960, serving longer in these three positions than anyone else in history.
  Following World War I, Wright served as a naval aide for Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover. A recognized authority on naval gunnery, Wright served in the European and Pacific theaters during World War II, developing expertise in amphibious warfare and coalition warfare planning. After the war, Wright was involved in the evolution of the military structure of NATO as well as overseeing the modernization and readiness of the United States Atlantic Fleet during the Cold War.
  Upon his retirement from the navy, Wright subsequently served on the Central Intelligence Agency's National Board of Estimates and as the United States Ambassador to the Republic of China.
context_section_description: Wright joined the staff of Vice Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, the Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Northwest Africa Waters (COMNAVNAW), as its assistant chief of staff.
  Hewitt would command the "Western Naval Task Force", which would land U.S. Seventh Army under Lieutenant General George S. Patton in the Gulf of Gela for Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily. Vice Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, RN, would command the Eastern Naval Task Force, which would land the British Eighth Army under General Sir Bernard Montgomery near Syracuse. Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, RN, would command all Allied naval forces for Operation Husky, and General Dwight D. Eisenhower, United States Army, would be in overall command of the Sicily invasion.
  The Western Naval Task Force consisted of three subordinated forces, Task Force 80 (code name JOSS) under the command of Rear Admiral Richard L. Conolly was to land the 3rd Infantry Division, Major General Lucian Truscott commanding, on beaches near Licata. Task Force 82 (code name DIME) under Rear Admiral was to land 1st Infantry Division, Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen commanding, on beaches near Gela. Task Force 85 (code name CENT) under the command of Rear Admiral Alan Kirk was to land the 45th Infantry Division, Major General Troy Middleton commanding, on beaches near Scoglitti.
  Wright worked closely with his U.S. Army counterparts, and he considered Patton "a great fellow" who grew to appreciate the effectiveness of naval gun support for his landing force. However, Wright was critical of Lieutenant General Carl A. Spaatz, USAAF, and Air Vice-Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham, RAF, regarding the lack of cooperation on close air support from the Allied air forces.  Wright did praise Air Vice-Marshal Sir Hugh Pughe Lloyd, RAF, for providing air support from Malta.
  The loading of ships and landing craft of the Western Naval Task Force was completed on July 8, 1943, with Vice Admiral Hewitt and his staff embarking on the USS Monrovia, the invasion force's flagship. D-Day was July 10, and Patton's troops stormed ashore and began their history-making drive for Messina.
caption: USS Monrovia
exif: {}