Operation

APPENDIX [Obscured] 229 A TO : H.Q. MAAF (attention 23rd SCORU) H.Q. NATAF (attention 2nd Command Unit 23rd SCORU) SAOA SAAF FROM : SIO 21 SQUADRON SAAF REF : 21S/663 DATE : 10th May, 1944 OPREP No.663 for period ending 2100 Hrs 9th May 1944 NIL. (Signature illegible)....Capt SIO 21 Squadron S.A.A.F.

1944-05-10

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Form 541

MAP

Transcriber's Notes

Transcriber's Historical & Tactical Notes: * Administrative Correction: * "NIL" Report: This document reports "NIL" operations for the period ending 21:00 on May 9th, 1944, but is dated May 10th. This slight delay in filing (reporting on the 9th but dating it the 10th) suggests it was a "clean up" report filed the following morning to close out the previous day's records. * Duplicate Reporting: This report (No. 663) appears to cover the same period as the previous document (No. 662), which was also a "NIL" return for May 9th. The existence of two "NIL" reports for the same day, filed consecutively, underscores the rigid bureaucracy of military reporting; perhaps one covered the morning shift and the other the afternoon, or it was a correction to ensure the sequence of report numbers remained unbroken in the headquarters' logs. * Page Numbering ("229 A"): * The handwritten page number "229 A" indicates that this document was inserted into the War Diary volume after the initial compilation. Such inserts were common when reports were delayed or found later and needed to be archived in their correct chronological place without re-numbering the entire volume. * Abbreviations: * SCORU: Scientific Operational Research Unit (RAF/Allied unit analyzing bombing effectiveness). * SAOA: Senior Administrative Officer (Air). * SIO: Squadron Intelligence Officer. * S.A.A.F.: South African Air Force. * MAAF: Mediterranean Allied Air Forces. * NATAF: Northwest African Tactical Air Force. 17 Verification: Target File Verification: The document is dated 1st May 1944 in the "DATE" field. It is a Sortie Report (No. 650) labeled with page number 230, detailing the period ending on 1st May 1944.