Remaining three were over target at 1706 hrs. and a pattern about 1000 yards long fell 500 to 800 yards N.E. of briefed

'N' 183 TO : H.Q. M.A.A.F. ( ATTENTION 23rd SCORU) H.Q. T.A.F. ITALY ( ATTENTION SCORU) S.A.O.A. S.A.A.F. FROM : S.I.O. 21 SQUADRON S.A.A.F. REF. : 21S/829 DATE : 16th SEPTEMBER, 1944 OPREP NO. 829 FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 2100 HRS. ON THE 15th SEPTEMBER '44 REF. MAP ITALY, 1:100,000 SHEET 101 RIMINI. OPS. 94 to 96 / 21 / M. A. : 12 Marauders in 3 Boxes of 4 A/C each, briefed to attack an Enemy Strong Point with its centre at R. 808933. Each A/C carried 192 x 20 frag. cluster bombs. Last A/C was airborne from PESCARA at 1605 hrs. One A/C of the first Box returned early with all bombs, having lost sight of formation due to cloud enroute to target. Remaining three were over target at 1706 hrs. and a pattern about 1000 yards long fell 500 to 800 yards N.E. of briefed pin points. Second Box returned with all bombs due to encountering 10/10 layer cloud before reaching ANCONA. Third Box after a dummy run bombed at 1727 hrs. a pattern of about 800 x 500 yards commencing in centre of briefed area and running out, majority of bombs in Target. Slight to moderate H.A.A. from Target area ( 3 A/C holed) Weather: En route 10/10 cloud 5000 to 10,000 feet from base to beyond ANCONA improving to Target area. Target area clear but visibility hazy. Last A/C down by 1821 hrs. B. : (i) 12 Marauders III (ii) Nil C. : (i) & (ii) Nil D. : (i) 20.20 hrs. (ii) Nil E. : (i) 45600 x .50 (ii) (iii) Nil F. : (i) 2304 x 20 (ii) 1344 x 20 (iii) & (iv) Nil G to V : Nil W. : (i) 1 Marauder III (ii) Nil X. : (i) 55 Minutes (ii) Nil Y to Z : Nil (Signed) S. L. Boast Lt. for Capt. 21 SQUADRON S.A.A.F.

1944-09-16

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Form 541

MAP

Transcriber's Notes

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES * Abbreviations Expanded: * H.Q.: Headquarters. * M.A.A.F.: Mediterranean Allied Air Forces. * SCORU: Section Central Operational Research Unit. * T.A.F.: Tactical Air Force. * S.A.O.A.: South African Operational Assistant. * S.A.A.F.: South African Air Force. * S.I.O.: Squadron Intelligence Officer. * OPREP: Operational Report. * HRS / hrs: Hours. * A/C: Aircraft. * frag.: fragmentation. * N.E.: Northeast. * H.A.A.: Heavy Anti-Aircraft fire (Flak). * Lt.: Lieutenant. * Capt.: Captain. * Observations about Individuals: * Lieutenant S. L. Boast: Acting as the Squadron Intelligence Officer for this report, Boast was tasked with interpreting strike photography to determine raid effectiveness. His report candidly documents the mission's difficulties, including a box failing to drop its load and another missing the target due to atmospheric conditions. * Location and Modern Names: * Pescara: The squadron's home base on the Adriatic. Currently the site of Abruzzo Airport (Aeroporto d’Abruzzo). * Ancona: A major port city north of Pescara used as a navigational landmark. The "10/10 layer cloud" (complete overcast) forced the second box to abort the mission before reaching this point. * Rimini (Target R. 808933): This grid reference places the target in the foothills southwest of Rimini, specifically near the San Fortunato ridge. This ridge was the final German defensive barrier before the Po Valley. * Historical Theatre Context: * Operation Olive - The Battle for the Ridges: This mission on September 15, 1944, occurred as Allied ground forces were in the midst of a brutal assault on the German Gothic Line. * The Marauder "Box" Tactic: The report details 12 Martin B-26 Marauder III aircraft flying in three distinct boxes of four. This formation was designed to concentrate a "carpet" of fragmentation bombs—in this case, nearly 2,000 individual 20lb cluster bombs—to saturate German strongpoints and suppress artillery. * Atmospheric Hazards: The detailed weather report (10/10 cloud at 5,000–10,000 feet) highlights the increasing impact of the Italian autumn on air operations. For medium bombers like the Marauder, which relied on visual bomb aiming from altitude, such heavy cloud layers often rendered missions useless despite the crews' proximity to the target. * The Cost of Failure: The third box had to perform a "dummy run" (a second pass) because of the poor visibility. This increased exposure to "slight to moderate H.A.A." resulted in three aircraft being "holed" (suffering flak damage). 25 Target File Verification: The date written in the 'DATE' column of this operational report is 17th SEPTEMBER, 1944.