[Routine Order] SQUADRON ROUTINE ORDER NO. 32/44 continued. — Orders & Appendices

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SQUADRON ROUTINE ORDER NO. 32/44 continued.
PAGE TWO.
192A
Para. 123 MALARIA (CONTINUED).
prevent such sickness and waste this year. They will do
this if, and only if, everyone co-operates in obeying them.
The following protective measures are to take
effect from May 1st. throughout North Africa, Sicily, Italy,
Corsica and Sardinia. They do not apply to Malta.
(1) PERSONAL PROTECTION.
(a) From one hour before sundown until one hour after
sunrise all ranks when not protected by a net will wear
slacks and shirt sleeves turned down. Anti-mosquito cream
or liquid will be applied to exposed parts of the body every
3 hours. It should also be applied to the ankles unless
anklets or mosquito boots are worn. If possible, guards
and others on duty at night should wear veils and gauntlets.
(b) Mosquito nets will be inspected daily and kept in
good repair. They will be used throughout the area except
in a few specially designated 'Net Free' areas.
(11) SITE SELECTION AND REMOVAL OF NATIVE MALARIA CARRIERS.
(a) Medical advice will be sought in selecting living
sites which should, where possible, be at least one mile
from swamps and streams.
(b) Whenever practicable, natives should not be allowed
to live within one mile of R.A.F. living sites. Native huts
and dwellings should be out of bounds during hours of darkness.
(iii) DESTRUCTION OF ADULT MOSQUITOES AND MOSQUITO LARVAE.
(a) 'Dry day' will be observed every Monday, when all
receptacles containing water will be emptied and left dry
for at least two hours.
(b) All empty receptacles that would hold water will
be stacked upside down and are not to be left lying about.
(c) All occupied tents and buildings will be sprayed
with Flysol twice daily, soon after dark and again first
thing the next morning.
(iv) PROTECTIVE MEDICATION.
(a) Mepacrine will be issued with rations and will be
taken by all personnel (except aircrew) until further notice.
The dose will be ½ tablet daily for the first week (May 1st -
7th) and one tablet every day thereafter.
(b) Aircrew personnel will take one tablet of quinine
daily from May 1st. This is a medical supply and should be
obtained through unit M.O.s.
(c) Commanding Officers will ensure that the tablets
are swallowed by all personnel. Special attention should
be given to isolated detachments, leave parties, M.T.
drivers, etc. in whom malaria incidence is often high.
(v) TREATMENT OF FEVER CASES.
(a) Personnel will report sick at once if they have
fever. On no account will they treat themselves.
(b) Medical Officers will ensure that every case of
malaria or suspected malaria is admitted to hospital or
sick quarters.
(Signature illegible) Major.
LT. COL.
COMMANDING, 21 SQUADRON, S.A.A.F.

Transcriber's Notes

Transcriber's Historical & Tactical Notes:
* Medical Warfare (The Battle Against Malaria):
* Strategic Impact: Paragraph 123 outlines a comprehensive defense against malaria, which the previous page noted had hospitalized as many men as enemy action the prior summer. The protocols apply to North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Corsica, and Sardinia—all high-risk zones—but notably exclude Malta, which lacks the marshlands necessary to support the Anopheles mosquito population.
* Aircrew vs. Ground Crew (Mepacrine vs. Quinine): A critical distinction is made in medication. Ground personnel were issued Mepacrine (also known as Atabrine), a synthetic drug that was effective but turned the skin yellow and had potential psychological side effects. Aircrew, however, were prescribed Quinine. This was because Mepacrine was feared to affect night vision or cause dizziness—risks that were unacceptable for pilots flying complex tactical missions.
* Vector Control & "Dry Day":
* Routine: The order establishes Mondays as "Dry Day," mandating that all water receptacles be emptied and dried for two hours to break the mosquito breeding cycle.
* Chemical Warfare: Tents were to be sprayed twice daily with "Flysol," an early insecticide (likely pyrethrum-based) used to kill adult mosquitoes resting indoors.
* Dress Code: The "sundown to sunrise" rule required sleeves down and slacks, regardless of the Italian summer heat. Guards were even encouraged to wear "veils and gauntlets," creating a stifling but necessary uniform for night duty.
* Civil-Military Relations (Segregation):
* "Native Malaria Carriers": Paragraph 123(11)(b) reveals the grim realities of military occupation and colonial medicine. It explicitly orders that "natives should not be allowed to live within one mile of R.A.F. living sites". The local Italian population, often impoverished and living near standing water, was viewed by the medical command as a "reservoir" of disease to be kept at a distance from the fighting force.
* Abbreviations:
* M.O.s: Medical Officers.
* M.T.: Motor Transport.
* R.A.F.: Royal Air Force (Used here as a general term for the Commonwealth air forces infrastructure).
* S.A.A.F.: South African Air Force.

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Verification:
Target File Verification: The document is dated 13th April 1944 in the "DATE" field. It is a Sortie Report (No. 627) labeled APPENDIX "K", detailing the mission flown on April 12th, 1944 (noted in the "period ending" line).