Sortie Report (Form 541)
- Duty
- Medium level bombing attack on dispersed A/C on PANTELLERIA L.G. Time. Height. Place
R.A.F. Form 441 A.SORTIE REPORT 97 "K"(Part A.) First Operation of Day.Sheet No. 1Oprep. Ref. No. 291Date. 10 MAY 43Squadron. 21 SAAF.Type of Aircraft. 18 BaltimoresAircraft No. See reverseAircraft Letter. "Leader of Formation:Captain Maj. JendrellCrew. Lt. Christie (Observer)See reverse.Time Up. 0627 hrs. (1st A/C.)Time Down. 0930 hrs. (Last A/C)Total Time. 49 hrs. 30 mins.Aerodrome or L.G. EL DJEM MAIN.Type of Cloud. ---Amount of Cloud. Nil.Base of Cloud. ---Visibility. Good.General Weather. Good.Map or Chart Reference. TUNISIA 1:500,000 Sheet NJ.32.SE. TUNIS. Target Maps P/6 & P/7.Task or Duty. Medium level bombing attack on dispersed A/C on PANTELLERIA L.G.Time. Height. Place. Narrative.0627 EL DJEM Airborne.0651 500 " S/C KERKENNA Is.0709 500 HERK. Circled Island to waste time.0730 800 " S/C for rendezvous point 1 mile EAST of SOUSSE.0746 800 REND.Pt. Picked up fighter escort. (79th. P.Grp. USAAF) Climbing.0827 8000 TARGET Bombed.0833 7000 " S/C MONASTIR.0856 500 MONASTIR S/C Base.0930 EL DJEM Last A/C landed.PART B (on reverse) to be completed according to relevant pro-forma in H.Q. R.A.F. M.E. Instruction 34./PMEJ-200.000-3/42 P.T.O.PART "B"BA Dispersed A/C on PANTELLERIA L.G.BB 0827 hrs. L.T.BC Medium level bombing attack from 8500 ft.108 x 250 lb. GP 43 Det. (Rods).BD Bombs fell on course of 040 deg. from pp. 13 to pp. 4. (TargetMap P/6) : from pp. 21 to pp. 1 (Map P/7) : from pp. 3 to NORTHERNedge of L.G. A terrific explosion accompanied by flames tookplace near pp. 4 (Map P/6) on the edge of the L.G. Black smokerose to 4,000 ft. and could be seen 15 mins. after leaving target.Hit scored on bldg. at pp. 21 (P/7).BE Intense box of HAA from 7000 to 12,000 ft. bursting too late.Gun-flashes from CUDDIA BANDAZZO, LA-MANTUA, and from SE coast-line of island.BF Nil.BG Verticals and Obliques taken of bomb-bursts and target area.BH At P 12 two 2-masted schooners stationary.Large white ship at BF 06.List of A/C and Crews:F/L 176 YY Maj. Jendrell, Lt. Christie, F/Sgts. Morley & Abraham.142 P Lt. Clutterbuck, Lt. V.d.Meulen, F/Sgts. Raeburn & Fraser.903 O Lt. Eaton, Lt. Floor, F/Sgt. le Roux & F/Sgt. Gildon (RAF).V/L 352 D Lt. Hotchkiss, Lt. Morrell, F/Sgts. Menet & Mills.179 A Lt. A'Bear, Lt. Owen-Hughes, F/Sgts. Harrison & Pickup.108 B Lt. Dugmore, Lt. Masters, F/Sgts. Maasdorp & Rogers C.L.B/L 877 J Lt. Gardener, Lt. Kerr, F/Sgts. Pearce & Green.930 K Lt. Hamilton, Lt. Whittle, F/Sgts. Rogers F.D. & Phelan.226 H Capt. Ord, Lt. Hodges, F/Sgt. Walker & A/Sgt. Devenish.V/L 977 L Lt. Meredith, Sgt. Smallman (RAF), F/Sgts. Smith S.C. & O'Regan.271 F Lt. Oakes, Lt. Sachs, Sgts. Cleland & Morrison (RCAF)290 C Lt. Willmot, Lt. Borcherds, F/Sgt. Loots & F/Sgt. Walbridge(RAF)B/L 916 SS Lt. Smith, Lt. Arnold, Sgt. Freestone (RNZAF) & F/Sgt. Viljoen.181 T Lt. Carr, Lt. Lombaard, F/Sgts. Toms & Wright.957 W Lt. Wood, Lt. Gould, F/Sgts. Purdon & Groenewald.V/L 362 X Capt. Smit, Lt. Kay, F/Sgts. Perkins & van Rooyen.291 U Maj. Schravesande, Lt. Herring, F/Sgts. Meyer & Stopforth.221 Y Lt. Simpson, Lt. Handley, F/Sgts. Roberts V.P. & Shepperson.F/L Formation Leader. B/L Box Leader. V/L Vic Leader.[Handwritten Signature]........................Capt.S.I.O. 21 SQUADRON, S.A.A.F.
Transcriber's Notes
- Oprep. Ref. No
- Operational Report Reference Number.
- SAAF
- South African Air Force.
- Baltimores
- Martin Baltimore twin-engine light bombers, the primary aircraft utilized by 21 Squadron for medium-level tactical interdiction.
- A/C
- Aircraft.
- L.G
- Landing Ground.
- L.G
- Landing Ground.
- PANTELLERIA L.G
- Pantelleria Landing Ground, the strategic airfield on the volcanic island between Tunisia and Sicily.
- S/C
- Set Course.
- KERKENNA Is
- Kerkennah Islands, a navigational landmark off the Tunisian coast utilized as a waypoint.
- REND.Pt
- Rendezvous Point, specifically located 1 mile east of Sousse for coordination with fighter escorts.
R.A.F. Form 441 A.: Standard Royal Air Force form utilized for documenting the technical and narrative details of a combat sortie.
GP 43 Det. (Rods): General Purpose 250 lb bombs utilizing the 1943 Detonator (Rods) configuration. These fuzes ensured instantaneous surface detonation to maximize the fragmentation effect against soft targets such as parked aircraft.
deg.: Degrees (navigation or bombing heading).
pp.: Pinpoints (referring to specific map coordinates or target references).
bldg.: Building.