RLY. (RAILWAY) CROSSING AT 783322 AND MT ALONG MAIN ROAD — Operations

Operational Record

Target: Rly. (Railway) crossing at 783322 and MT along Main Road.
Duty: Road and Railway crossing at 783322 and MT along Main Road.
Committed: 18 Glenn Martin Baltimore
Time of attack: 0857 hrs.
Airborne: 0446 hrs
Returned: 0640 hrs
From: L.G. 98
Map: 1:250000 Egypt and Cyrenaica. Sheet 14. El Daba.
Day / night: Day
Casualties: Nil.
Bombing: Medium level bombing attack from 6/7,000 ft. 107 x 250 lb. (Rods) G.P. 43 Det. (One hang-up jettisoned into the sea). Formation leader came below 10/10 cloud, base 7000'. to attack.
Air defences: Heavy, fairly intense, but inaccurate from direction of L.G.'s near target. Light and inaccurate from around target.
Results: At crossing 783322 heavy concentrations of moving MT on and alongside the road. Fair number of heavy vehicles among these. Heavy traffic on road from 793319 to Sidi Haneish. EAST of this point only scattered MT moving WEST with a slight increase in volume between DABA and GHALAL. At 782335 100 MT dispersed, about 200 badly dispersed MT on either side of Main Road near GHALAL. Six columns of MT moving NW near 803300 towards FUKA. Engine (No steam) and 4 trucks at 782321. Fires (black smoke) near LG 21 and LG 104. Two single-engine A/C with square wing-tips on LG 16. One twin-engine A/C on LG 17. Columns of smoke around 860310. Column of smoke near EL IBAYID lighthouse. Three large gliders(?) on LG 15.

The formation leader came down below 10/10 cloud over the target (Base 7000 ft.) and the formation bombed in line astern. Bombs started short of the road and rail crossing, continuing among MT on and alongside the road for about 1,000 yds. Two bombs burst practically on the bridge. Three bursts 20 yards from three MT. Four small fires started WEST of the crossing. One burst cause and explosion EAST of the crossing.