Sortie Report (Form 541)
- Duty
- Medium level bombing attack on concentrations and strong points in Square TZ 51 (
- Map reference
- ) Time Height. Place
R.A.F. Form 441 A. SORTIE REPORT 160 ( Part A. ) "P1"
Sheet No. 1 Oprep. Ref. No. 235 Date. 23 MAR 43 Squadron. 21 SAAF. 6 Baltimores Mk. 111
Type of Aircraft 12 Bostons of 12 S.A. Captain Baltimore leaderAircraft No. See attached list. Crew. Maj. Barnby [Illegible]Aircraft Letter " Lt. G.A. Evans(See attached list) Formation leader Maj. [Illegible] (12 Squadron)
Time Up 0915 hrs. (1st. A/C) Time Down 1120 hrs. (last A/C) Aerodrome or L.G. ZUARA Total Time 12 hrs. 00 mins.Type of Cloud. Nil. Map or Chart Amount of Cloud. Nil. Reference. Base of Cloud. / TUNISIA Visibility. Good. 1 : 200,000 General Weather. Slight haze. Sheet 23 G/6632Task or Duty. Medium level bombing attack on concentrations and strong points in Square TZ 51 (Map Ref.)Time Height. Place. Narrative.0915 ZUARA Airborne.0925 500 / S/C BEN GARDANE 293 M.0955 500 B.GARDANE Circled1005 500 " S/C ZARZIS 346 M.1020 4000 ZARZIS Picked up fighter escort (12 A/C 79 Group U.S.A.A.F.)S/C for target. Climbing. Ht. 495 ft.1030 9500 Dist. run in.1040 10000 Crossed coast. Turning on to target.1045 7500/8000 TARGET Bombed on course of 225 deg. IAS 210.1055 7000 * 5714 Crossed coast turning out to sea.1100 4000 OVER SEA S/C ZUARA 112 deg.1120 ZUARA Last A/C landed.PART B ( on reverse) to be completed according to relevant pro-forma inH.Q. R.A.F. M.E. Instruction 34.P.T.O. PART "B"
BA Enemy concentrations and strong points in square TZ 51 (Map Ref.)BB 1025 hrs.BC Medium level bombing.7/8000 ft.36 x 250 lb. GP 43 Det. (Rods)BD Baltimore box bombed on leader of formation. Bombs fell onNW corner of ZARAT Village, stretching in a long stick andbursting among some H.A.A. guns that were firing. Bomb-burstseen in courtyard of a building.BE Enemy held fire until formation had bombed. About 50 Ack/Ackbursts were seen. These were inaccurate.2 H.A.A. guns at TZ 50121 H.A.A. gun at a point 500 yards from the coast NNW of ZARAT.BF Nil.BG Verticals and Obliques taken of bomb-bursts.BH NMS on roads and tracks.Artillery fire from TZ 5713 and YE 6198.30 large MT badly dispersed 1500 yds. EAST of ZARAT.Dark, camouflaged fighter A/C with square wings seen in a spin1500 ft. above formation at 1032 hrs. There were pieces fallingfrom it in the dive. This A/C crashed at TZ 9714.Army smoke signal recognised at TZ 6310. sgd. J. Bester.......Capt. S.I.O. 21 SQUADRON, S.A.A.F.
Transcriber's Notes
- 21 SAAF
- No. 21 Squadron of the South African Air Force.
- Baltimores Mk. 111
- The Martin Baltimore Mark III, an American-built twin-engine light attack bomber.
- Bostons
- The Douglas Boston (A-20), a light bomber utilized here by No. 12 Squadron S.A.A.F. in a composite strike formation.
- A/C
- Aircraft.
- A/C
- Aircraft.
- L.G. ZUARA
- Landing Ground Zuara, a forward operational airfield in Western Tripolitania to which the squadron relocated to support the Tunisian offensive.
- S/C
- Set Course.
- B.GARDANE
- Ben Gardane, a forward airfield and navigational waypoint in Tunisia.
- 79 Group U.S.A.A.F
- The 79th Fighter Group of the United States Army Air Forces, providing P-40 Warhawk escort for the formation.
- IAS 210
- Indicated Air Speed of 210 miles per hour maintained during the bombing run.
R.A.F. Form 441 A.: Royal Air Force Form 441 A, the standardized document utilized for formal Sortie Reports, specifically Part A, the operational narrative.
GP 43 Det. (Rods): General Purpose bombs fitted with No. 43 Detonators and extended 6-inch nose fuzes ("rods" or "daisy cutters"). These were optimized for medium-level attacks to trigger detonation slightly above ground level, maximizing lateral fragmentation against personnel and unarmored targets.
stick: A linear release sequence of multiple bombs dropped in rapid succession.