Thursday, 3 February 1944

123456789101112 1900 hrs

21 Squadron War Diary

1900 hrs Tortorella, Italy
The National Archives' reference AIR 27/269/2APPENDIX "A"SORTIE REPORT(Part A)R.A.F. Form 541 A.| Sheet No. | Oprep. Ref. No. | Date | Squadron ||---|---|---|---|| 1 | 540 | 3 Feb 44 | 21 SAAF |Type of Aircraft | 12 Baltimores | Captain | MAJOR DALLING DFC.Aircraft No. | (2 Mk.3A, 10 Mk.4) | Crew | LT McARAVEYAircraft Letter | See Over | Formation LeaderTime Up | 0941 A Hrs 1st a/c | Aerodrome or L.G. | TORTORELLATime Down | 1125 A Hrs last a/cTotal Time | 19.00 HrsType of Cloud | ) | Map or Chart ReferenceAmount of Cloud | ) NIL | ITALY 1:100,000Base of Cloud | Hazy en-route. 20 miles target area | Sheet 146Visibility | Good | SULMONAGeneral Weather | GoodTask or Duty | SULMONA RR STATION (G934817)| Time | Height | Place | Narrative ||---|---|---|---|| 0941 | | TORTORELLA | a/b || 0959 | 2000 | " | S/c LUCERA || 1003 | 8000 | LUCERA | XX Circling to 8V [Handwritten correction] || 1012 | 8000 | LUCERA | S/c TARGET || 1038 | 10000 | TARGET | Bombed || 1042 | 10000 | TARGET | S/c BASE || 1125 | | TORTORELLA | Last a/c landed |(Signature) (Illegible) Capt.SIO 21 Squadron, S.A.A.F.PART B (on reverse) to be completed according to relevant pro-forma in H.Q. R.A.F. M.E. Instruction 34.QP/1,500,000/4-42 P.T.O.

Transcriber's Notes

R.A.F
Royal Air Force.
S.A.A.F
South African Air Force.
D.F.C
Distinguished Flying Cross.
L.T
Local Time.
Time Up
13:48 A (Local).
L.G
Landing Ground.
Total Time
"19.00 Hrs" refers to the cumulative flight time of all 12 aircraft (approx. 1 hour 35 minutes per plane), indicating a short-range tactical mission.
R.R
Railroad.

Target Strategic Context (Sulmona):

Operational Details:

Personnel:

Abbreviations:

a/b: Airborne.

Document Context:

AIR 27/269 · The National Archives