Thursday, 3 February 1944

123456789101112 0924 hrs

21 Squadron War Diary

0924 hrs Tortorella, Italy
The National Archives' reference AIR 27/269/2OORLOGSDAGBOEK.—WAR DIARY.OF—VAN21 SQUADRON, SOUTH AFRICAN AIR FORCEVan/From 3rd February, 1944.Aan/To 4th February, 1944.TORTORELLA.3rd | Cont. | railway track and one direct hit on crossroads. Hits were also scored on the road and nearby buildings. All aircraft returned safely. Sortie Report No. 541.Squadron Routine Order No. 7/44.Appendix "B"Appendix "C"4thThe weather was fairly good and an early operation was carried out. Twelve Baltimores took off at 09.24 hours and the target was a Celluloid Factory, near Chieti in Italy. On account of bomb hang-ups and faulty manipulation, the first box did not obtain any results. The second box hit the target and a large cloud of white smoke was seen. Heavy, intense, and accurate Ack Ack was encountered from north of Chieti and target area. All the aircraft returned to base at 11.22 hours.Sortie Report No. 542.The Met. Office reported that a 48 M.P.H. gale wasAppendix "D"

Transcriber's Notes

Ack Ack
Anti-Aircraft fire (Flak).
M.P.H
Miles Per Hour.

Abbreviations & Military Terminology:

Bomb hang-ups: A mechanical failure where bombs fail to release from the aircraft's bomb bay when the release switch is triggered. This was a dangerous situation, often requiring the crew to manually release the bomb or land with live ordnance.

Aircraft & Units:

Locations:

Historical Context:

AIR 27/268 · The National Archives