[Routine Order] Squadron Routine Orders. No. 63/1943 (Cont'd). Page 2. — Orders & Appendices

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Squadron Routine Orders. No. 63/1943 (Cont'd). Page 2.
Para 224. COUNTERFEIT B.M.A. (STERLING) NOTES (Cont'd).
(b) Forgeries are likely to have a poor and less clear cut Water mark than the genuine notes and the head of Britannia will probably be ill-drawn on any bogus issue.
(c) Comparison of the quality of the paper and the printing are important.
(d) The denomination repeated ad infinitum in the ground tint of the genuine note. This is not easy to reproduce exactly.
(e) The rainbow tinting is also likely to be ill-produced on the forged note, the graduation from one colour to another being probably more abrupt than in the originals.
Suspected forgeries tendered to an Accountant Officer or Imprest holder should be impounded and a receipt given. Full details of the case should be immediately reported to the nearest A.P.M. and to the Chief Accountant Officer, Desert Air Force.
(R.A.F. Accounting Circular No. 47 d/d 22.8.43.)
(Sgd) ....................
LT. COL.
OFFICER COMMANDING : 21 SQUADRON : S. A. A. F.,

Transcriber's Notes

Transcriber's Notes
* Expanded Military Abbreviations:
* B.M.A.: British Military Authority.
* A.P.M.: Assistant Provost Marshal (the head of military police at the divisional or area level).
* R.A.F.: Royal Air Force.
* S.A.A.F.: South African Air Force.
* d/d: Dated.
* Observations on Individuals:
* Lt. Col. J.F. Britz, D.F.C.: Jacobus "Jack" Frederik Britz, the signatory (noted as Officer Commanding), led No. 21 Squadron during the critical transition from the North African desert to the Italian mainland. His signature on these orders highlights the administrative burden of command, where even the minutiae of counterfeit currency detection were vital for maintaining the economic stability of the occupied regions and the welfare of his troops.
* Location and Historical Context:
* The Desert Air Force (DAF): At this time (September 1943), No. 21 Squadron SAAF was part of the Desert Air Force. Despite its name, by late 1943, the DAF was operating out of liberated Sicily and moving into Southern Italy.
* Currency and Occupation: The B.M.A. (British Military Authority) currency was an "occupation" or "liberation" currency used by Allied forces in Italy to prevent the destabilization of the British Pound and to manage the local economy without using the Italian Lira. The detailed instructions on identifying forgeries—focusing on watermarks of "Britannia," rainbow tinting, and paper quality—reflect a widespread issue with counterfeiters in the chaos of the Italian campaign.
* Theater Significance: These orders were issued just thirteen days after the Allied landings at Salerno (Operation Avalanche). While the flight crews were engaged in hazardous night interdiction missions over the Sele River and Eboli, the ground and administrative echelons were dealing with the complexities of military governance in Sicily.

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Verification: The date written in the header of this document is 4th September, 1943.