[Routine Order] APPENDIX "N" — Orders & Appendices

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APPENDIX "N"
196
SQUADRON ROUTINE ORDERS NO. 34/44 21 SQUADRON, S.A.A.F.
By
LT. COL. A.C. JANDRELL, D.F.C.
Officer Commanding,
21 Squadron, S.A.A.F.
14th April, 1944.
Para. 124. ANTI-MALARIAL PRECAUTIONS.
(1) From one hour before sunset to one hour after sunrise
all ranks will, when NOT protected by a mosquito net, wear
slacks and shirt sleeves turned down and collars fastened
or ties on. Anti-mosquito cream or liquid will be applied
to exposed parts of the body every three hours. It should
also be applied to ankles unless anklets or mosquito boots
are worn. If possible, guards and others on duty at night
time will wear veils and gauntlets. M.T. drivers and
travellers will take with them the necessary clothes to be
able to comply with this order. Breakdowns will be no
excuse for not being properly protected. Personnel working
on aircraft or in the field will take slacks and mosquito
cream with them.
(2) All ranks will sleep under mosquito or sandfly nets.
Nets will be inspected daily for holes and tears. These will
be mended immediately. Nets will be treated with care.
Nets will be carefully folded or tucked in during the day
to prevent mosquitoes gaining entry.
(3) All occupied tents and buildings will be sprayed with
flysol or other anti-mosquito spray at least twice daily.
Spraying will take place at sundown and early in the morn-
ing. Tents and buildings will be kept closed for half an
hour after spraying. One-half ounce of solution per 100
cubic feet will be used.
(4) Medical advice will be sought in selecting living
sites which should be at least one mile from swamp and
streams. Small parties in transit will only nightstop at
recognised camping sites. Malaria signs will be obeyed and
no camping near them will be allowed.
(5) Dry day will be observed every Monday when all
receptacles containing water will be emptied and left dry
for at least two hours.
(6) All empty receptacles that would hold water will be
stacked upside down and are not to be left lying about.
Empty tins, broken bottles, etc., will be buried and not
left about. This type of rubbish forms good breeding places
for mosquitoes.
(7) Mepacrine will be issued with rations and will be
taken by all personnel (except aircrews) until further notice.
The dose will be a tablet daily from to-day (14th April, 1944).
Aircrew personnel will take one tablet of quinine daily
from to-day (14th April, 1944).
Leave parties will draw these drugs before departure
from their unit.
(8) Personnel will report sick at once if they have fever.
On no account will they treat themselves. Every case of
malaria will be admitted to sickbay or hospital.
Para 125/ (A.R.O. 7/1944 Para. 10 d.d. 12.4.44).

Transcriber's Notes

Transcriber's Historical & Tactical Notes:
* Medical Warfare (The Anti-Malaria Campaign):
* Context: This document is a reinforcement of the malaria orders issued just four days prior (see File 269-4__22.jpg and 269-4__23.jpg). The urgency is palpable; as the Italian spring warmed up, the Anopheles mosquito became a strategic threat capable of decimating the Allied ranks.
* Operational Constraints: The orders imposed significant discomfort on the troops. Wearing "slacks and shirt sleeves turned down and collars fastened or ties on" from sunset to sunrise in the Mediterranean heat was stifling but necessary. The requirement for "veils and gauntlets" for guards turned sentry duty into an ordeal.
* Chemical Defense: The text mandates spraying tents with "flysol" twice daily. "Flysol" was a standard issue insecticide (often pyrethrum-based) used to clear enclosed spaces of resting mosquitoes. The specific dosage ("One-half ounce of solution per 100 cubic feet") indicates a precise, regimented approach to vector control.
* Pharmacology & Flight Safety:
* The Mepacrine vs. Quinine Divide: Paragraph (7) reiterates the strict segregation of medication: "Mepacrine... taken by all personnel (except aircrews)" versus "Quinine" for Aircrew.
* Why the difference? Mepacrine (Atabrine) was the standard synthetic anti-malarial, but it had known side effects including gastrointestinal distress, yellowing of the skin ("Atabrine tan"), and occasionally temporary psychosis or dizziness. For a pilot flying a high-performance bomber, even minor dizziness could be fatal. Therefore, the aircrew were given Quinine, the scarcer natural derivative, which was considered safer for flight operations despite the supply shortages caused by the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies (the primary source of cinchona bark).
* Sanitation & "Dry Day":
* Vector Control: The designation of Monday as "Dry Day" was a simple but effective public health strategy. By forcing the entire camp to empty all water containers for two hours simultaneously, the life cycle of mosquito larvae (which need standing water) was disrupted across the entire base.
* Waste Management: The order to bury "Empty tins, broken bottles, etc." was not just about tidiness; these items were perfect micro-habitats for breeding larvae after rainfall.
* Abbreviations:
* M.T.: Motor Transport.
* A.R.O.: Army Routine Order.
* d.d.: dated.
* S.A.A.F.: South African Air Force.
* D.F.C.: Distinguished Flying Cross.

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Verification:
Target File Verification: This document is Page Two of "SQUADRON ROUTINE ORDER NO. 33/44." It does not contain a "Date" column, but it contains internal references to orders dated as late as 12.4.44 (April 12th, 1944) and continues the order from 14th April, 1944 (see previous file 269-4__27.jpg).