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Operation No. 71

- AIRCRAFT ON BENINA L.G

Thursday, 18 December 1941

Over target: 1330 hrs 5 aircraft 20 aircrew

Operational Record

Duty
High level bombing attack - aircraft on Benina L.G.
Committed
5 Glenn Martin Maryland
Airborne
1115 hrs
Returned
1515 hrs
From
L.G. 76
Map
Target map B.3/ (1) and Benghasi 1:500000
Day / night
Day
Casualties
–
Air defences
Heavy and accurate for height but slightly behind.
Results
40 x 250 lbs. = 10000 lbs.
Our five Marylands, joined by two of 12 Squadron, set off for Benina at 1315 hours, under 21 Squadron's leadership. They attacked a group of not well dispersed, on the South Western corner of the Aerodrome. They started bombing just South of the road, and direct hits were observed on the road and railway line, and amongst aircraft, and one was seen to burn, and another blown over on its side, and a near miss on a building on the South Western corner was also observed. There were about 30 aircraft on the South West corner of the Drome, on which all the bombs were seen to burst. A conservative estimate of the result of the raid is; 7 aircraft burning and 9 aircraft very badly damaged, to say nothing of those damaged by fragmentation. The excellent photographs bear out the result observed of the mornings raid, and of the amount of damage which must have been affected by fragmentation in the afternoon's successful raid.

Aircraft and crews