/JG 53 operated from the island of Pantelleria for operations over Malta and as escort missions for attacks on British supply convoys.
In 1123 Roger of Sicily took the island, and in 1311 an Aragonese fleet, under the command of Lluís de Requesens, won a considerable victory here, and his family became princes of Pantelleria until 1553, when the town was sacked by the Turks.
In June 1940, 96° Gruppo Tuffatori was relocated to Pantelleria, a small island off Sicily, in anticipation of attacks on Malta and the British Mediterranean fleet.
Took part in the Allied operations against Axis forces in North Africa during March–May 1943, the reduction of Pantelleria and Lampedusain islands during June, the invasion of Sicily in July, the landing at Salerno in September, the Allied advance toward Rome during January–June 1944, the invasion of Southern France in August 1944, and the Allied operations in northern Italy from September 1944 to April 1945.
In May 1943 she took part in landings on the Italian island of Pantelleria ("Operation Corkscrew"), then on 10 July landed troops on the beach codenamed "Bark South" during the Allied invasion of Sicily.