Operational Order No. 10

Date unknown

The National Archives' reference AIR 27/273/27329Squadron Movement Order No. 10. 21 Squadron S.A.A.F.ANNEXURE "B"No. Rank. Name. No. Rank. Name.98195 F/Sgt Truter B. 4541 F/Sgt. Walker E.S.142419 A/Sgt. Lindsey L.S. 141526 A/Sgt. Lindsay R.W.47962 A/Sgt. Allan R.S. 95906 A/Sgt. Barrett C.N.100572 A/Cpl. Booysens W.H. 210104 A/Cpl. Croft F.W.B.74953 " Johnson F.W. 31522 " Lloyd G.J.98380 " Shipman E.E. 31444 " Molan H.140733 " MacDonald A.S. 95980 " De Beer J.H.98838 " Klein H.W. 5159 " Seale S.98024 " Kilkenny J.M. 100763 A/M Thompson J.D.207714 A/M Potgieter J.J. 94859 " Van Dyk H.A.208105 " Martin D.S. 237047 " Mathews E.H.111524 " Cloete E.V. 208051 " Martin E.L.95030 " Van Rensburg M. 98602 " Hamilton J.W.207657 " Lourens F.D. 100672 " Erasmus L.J.208787 " Engelbrecht G.P. 98772 " Bates E.W.2394 " Petrowski B.M. 95567 " Lombard D.Da.P.1392 " Dansky L. 29781 " Walsh E.P.205046 " Nel M. 99687 " Sterne N.4797 " Vorster I.S.E. 313924 " Humphries A.100538 " Putter H. 98355 " Rogers S.W.208346 " Smitsdorff J.J. 209100 " Watkins G.H.95900 " Andrews D.P.M. 211066 " Schreiber P.207804 " Irvine J. 208389 " Mellow T.C.112275 " Wales J.P. 209080 " Perks W.98086 " Murgatroyd K.W. 101667 " Walsh R.T.98466 " Port H. 96293 " White H.B.95875 " Van der Merwe G.W.J. 98002 " Phillips I.C.6957 " Gardner R.D. 142346 " Manson A.J.99079 " Brukman E.R. 209581 " Norden C.D.95614 " Wood P.A. 116448 " Hattingh J.H.209259 " Launspach W.J. 100344 " Kruger R.J.208146 " Mathews R.D. 102030 " Bester J.P.141917 " Penn S. 100785 " Micklewright J.B.208419 " Steventon L.D. 208401 " Watson F.C.99976 " Bradley D.E.M. 101013 " Townsend D.J.99404 " Jordaan J.D. 100345 " Dahms D.C.S.98591 " Clark D.J. 94938 " Reading H.S.209475 " Manley J.H. 98302 " Wooldridge D.H.209520 " Orsmond D.C. 142014 " Diamond J.H.6859 " Ross G.C.WORKSHOP:Rank. Name. No. Rank. Name.98402 A/Sgt. Bruce F. 98548 A/Sgt. Crookes A.C.97788 L.A.M. Millar E.J. ~~12782~~ ~~A/A/M.~~ ~~Hancock H.A.~~106215 A/Cpl. Booysen L.P. 208047 A/M De Lange D.P.94099 A/M Emslie R.H. 100303 " Le Sueur M.209486 " Croeser C.K. 79015 " Erfurth W.WELDERS:Rank. Name. No. Rank. Name.20780 L.A.M. Benecke L.P. 95489 A/M Lacock M.110714 A/M Morris E.C. 97092 " Ritchie A.A. ***********************

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Original page(s): 29

Transcriber's Notes

Phase 2: Technical Expansion (The "Transcriber's Notes") Glossary of Terms: * ANNEXURE "B": The formal technical appendix to Squadron Movement Order No. 10 listing the personnel assigned to the Main Party for the relocation from Kasfareet to Shandur. * F/Sgt / A/Sgt / A/Cpl / A/M: Standard military rank abbreviations for Flight Sergeant, Acting Sergeant, Acting Corporal, and Air Mechanic respectively. * L.A.M. / ~~A/A/M.~~: Leading Air Mechanic and Acting Air Mechanic (the latter being struck through in the text). * S.A.A.F.: South African Air Force. * WORKSHOP / WELDERS: Specialized technical sub-sections within the squadron responsible for heavy maintenance and specialized structural repairs. Operational Context: Annexure "B" serves as the personnel manifest for the Main Party move of No. 21 Squadron SAAF from Kasfareet (L.G. 212) to Shandur, occurring on August 24th, 1942. This logistical reorganization was strategically timed during the inter-battle period at El Alamein, as the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) sought better dispersal facilities for their light bomber units. The manifest reveals a high concentration of technical personnel, specifically "Air Mechanics," who provided the backbone for maintaining the squadron’s Martin Baltimore bombers. The inclusion of dedicated "Workshop" and "Welders" sections indicates that the Main Party carried the specialized labor necessary to establish immediate technical support at Shandur. The strategic importance of this personnel relocation was to ensure that while the "Rear Party" continued servicing aircraft at Kasfareet, the arrival of the Main Party at Shandur—transported in trucks carrying 14 "details" each—would allow for the rapid resumption of interdiction sorties against Axis supply lines once the aircraft arrived. The strike-through of "Hancock H.A." reflects real-time administrative changes typical of the fluid personnel management in the Middle East Command. This document, marked as folio 29, provides a comprehensive census of the technical core of No. 21 Squadron during the critical August 1942 buildup. 39 Phase 1: Verification & Extraction Identity Check: 14/9. (Handwritten "September 1942" also appears at the top left).