Sortie Report (Form 541)
- Duty
- Medium level bombing attack on any concentration of MT in squares TZ 1070 or TZ 1080. Time. | Height. | Place. |
R.A.F. Form 441 A."B" 6SORTIE REPORT(Part A.)Flight No. 1 Oprep. Ref. No. 250 Date. 2 APR 43 Squadron. 21 SAAF.Type of Aircraft. 12 Baltimores Mk. IIIAircraft No. 6 Bostons of 24 Sqdn.Aircraft Letter. See attached list."Formation Leader:Captain Capt. CormackCrew. Lt. Pawson (Observer)See attached list.Time Up. 0915 hrs. (1st. A/C)Time Down. 1140 hrs. (Last A/C)Total Time. 2.15 x 12 (27 hrs. 00 m.)Aerodrome or L.G. ZUARAType of Cloud. ---Amount of Cloud. Nil.Base of Cloud. ---Visibility. 20 miles.General Weather. Good.Map or Chart Reference.TUNISIA1:500,000GABES and SFAX.Task or Duty. Medium level bombing attack on any concentration of MT in squares TZ 1070 or TZ 1080.Time. | Height. | Place. | Narrative.0915 | | ZUARA | Airborne.| 500 | " | S/C BEN GARDANE.1000 | 500 | GARDANE | S/C fighter rendezvous pp. TZ 9219.1010 | 500 | TZ 9219 | Picked up fighters. S/C HOUMT SOUK (Escort 79 Group, USAAF)1025 | 3500 | H.SOUK | S/C coast pp. TZ 2264.1035 | 9000 | TZ 2264 | Turned towards target area.1039 | 8000 | TZ 3090 | Bombed road.1100 | 500 | TZ 9219 | Dropped fighter escort. S/C ZUARA.| | ZUARA | 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 Any enemy concentration seen in squares TZ 1070 and TZ 1080.BB From 1039 to 1040 hrs.BC Medium level bombing attack from 8700 ft.72 x 250 lb. GP 43 Det. (Rods)BD No enemy concentration seen in either square, so the formationdropped a long stick across the GABES – SFAX Road and to theEAST of the road from TZ 3087 to TZ 3393. Two small fires werestarted. (Believed to have been small ammunition dumps amongbushes, as the fires gave off sparks) One direct hit on road onwhich there were 8 – 10 MT very well dispersed.BE HAA fairly intense but inaccurate from NORTH of WADI AKARIT.HAA. 6 guns seen firing at TZ 23732 " " " " TZ 18691 " " " " TZ 27844 " " " " TZ 2269BF Two A/C slightly holed by A/A.BG Photos taken of bombing run by two 8" Vertical Cameras and one20" Oblique. Ht. 8700 ft. A/S 210 mph. Course 085 deg.BH (i) Jetty seen being built at TZ 3483(ii) Approx. 60 MT seen on GABES – SFAX Road between TZ 65 and TZ 9Northing.(iii) Warhawk seen to go down in spiral dive at 1042 hrs. over SquareTZ 4080. This A/C was not seen to crash.[Handwritten Signature] Capt.S.I.O. 21 SQUADRON, S.A.A.F.<u>List of Aircraft and aircrews:</u>F/L 903 O Capt. Cormack, Lt. Pawson, F/Sgts. Finberg & McGee.151 Y Lt. Pocock, Sgt. Edmeades (RAF), F/Sgts. Beaumont-Thomas & Clark916 SS Lt. Carr, Lt. Lombaard, F/Sgts. Toms & Wright.V/L 126 U Capt. McBride, Lt. Gibson, F/Sgts. Daniels & White.142 P Lt. Hargrave, Lt. Rees, Sgt. McQueen (RCAF) & F/Sgt. Bedford.957 W Lt. Simpson, Lt. Hocknell, F/Sgts. Roberts & Shepperson.B/L 877 J Lt. Gardener, Lt. Kerr, F/Sgts. Pearce & Green.942 G Lt. Oakes, Lt. Sachs, Sgts. Morrison & Cleland (RCAF)179 A Lt. A'Bear, Lt. Owen-Hughes, F/Sgts. Harrison & Pickup.V/L 900 F Lt. Meredith, Lt. Sass, F/Sgts. Smith S.C. & O'Regan.862 D Capt. Ord, Lt. Hodges, F/Sgt. Walker & Sgt. Devenish.904 BB Lt. Dugmore, Lt. Masters, F/Sgts. Maasdorp & Rogers C.L.F/L Formation Leader.B/L Box Leader.V/L Vic Leader."C" 7<u>REPORT ON SEARCH FOR LT. A. MURRAY AND CREW IN BALTIMORE 919 N</u>903 O Capt. Cormack and crew with Capt. Steytler as passenger.126 U Capt. Smit and crew with F/Sgt. Bedford.877 J Lt. Gardener and crew. or F/Sgt MAMET900 F Capt. Mouton and crew with Lt. Evans. The above four aircraft took off from ZUARA at 1110 hrs. on
3 APR 43 to search for Lt. A. Murray and crew who force landed inBaltimore 919 N after an operation on the 26 MAR 43. Other than theW/T message saying that the aircraft had force landed, no news hasbeen received from any source of the aircraft or crew. 211 Grouphad made a search of the battle area for this machine with noresults. The area searched by 21 Squadron aircraft was approximately
55 miles square. Each Baltimore searched an allotted area.(Ref. Map : TUNISIA 1:500,000 GABES)903 O searched area bounded by pp. YD 6050, YD 6027, YE 5050, YE 5025.126 U " " " " YD 6080, YD 6050, YE 0080, YE 0060,YE 5060, YE 5050.877 J " " " " YD 6000, YE 5000, YJ 6090, YK 0090,YK 0070, YK 5070.900 F " " " " YD 6050, YD 6025, YE 5050, YE 5025. The weather was very poor, with low cloud and bad visibility
which made observation difficult. Except for Capt. Cormack, who re-turned after 1 1/2 hours, the A/C report searched their respective areasfor 3 1/2 hours with no results.21 Squadron, S.A.A.F. 7 APR 43.[Handwritten Signature] for 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. III
- Martin Baltimore light bombers, a Twin-Engine aircraft optimized for medium-level tactical bombing in the Mediterranean theater.
- A/C
- Aircraft.
- A/C
- Aircraft.
- A/C
- Aircraft.
- L.G. ZUARA
- Landing Ground at Zuara, Libya, serving as the forward operational base for light bomber wings during the spring 1943 offensive.
- MT
- Motor Transport. Refers to Axis wheeled or tracked logistical and troop-carrying vehicles.
- MT
- Motor Transport. Refers to Axis wheeled or tracked logistical and troop-carrying vehicles.
- S/C
- Set Course.
- 79 Group, USAAF
- 79th Fighter Group, United States Army Air Forces, which provided P-40 Warhawk fighter escort for the bomber formation.
R.A.F. Form 441 A.: Royal Air Force official Sortie Report template utilized to document tactical mission data and navigation narratives.
Oprep. Ref. No. 250: Operational Report reference number, cataloging this specific morning strike within the squadron's chronological mission records.
6 Bostons of 24 Sqdn.: Six Douglas Boston (A-20) light bombers from No. 24 Squadron S.A.A.F. integrated into the 21 Squadron formation for increased strike density.
pp.: Pinpoint. A specific set of navigational grid coordinates used for rendezvous or tactical turns.
GP 43 Det. (Rods): General Purpose 250 lb bombs fitted with No. 43 detonators and extension rods ("daisy cutters"). These rods trigger detonation just above the surface to maximize fragmentation and horizontal blast against "soft" targets such as trucks and ammunition caches.
S.I.O. 21 SQUADRON, S.A.A.F.: Squadron Intelligence Officer for No. 21 Squadron, South African Air Force.
Lt. A. Murray and crew: Refers to the four-man crew of Baltimore 919 N (including Lt. A.S. Murray and Lt. P.S. Ashton) reported missing after the high-intensity operations on 26 March 1943.
Force landed: An emergency landing made by an aircraft due to mechanical failure, damage from enemy action, or lack of fuel.
pp.: Pinpoints. Specific navigational grid coordinates used to define the boundaries of the search sectors.