Sortie Report (Form 541)
- Duty
- Medium level bombing attack on enemy positions in and around Zaghouan Village. Time. Height. Place
R.A.F. Form 441 A."D" 84SORTIE REPORT(Part A.)Sheet No. 1Oprep. Ref. No. 285Date. 4 MAY 43Squadron. 21 SAAF.Type of Aircraft. 18 Baltimores.Aircraft No. See reverse.Aircraft Letter. "Leader of Formation:Captain Maj. M. Barnby D.F.C.Crew. Lt. G. Evans (Observer)See reverse.Time Up. 0647 hrs. (1st. A/C)Time Down. 0843 hrs. (Last A/C)Total Time. 25 hrs. 30 mins.Aerodrome or L.G. EL DJEM MAIN.Type of Cloud. Nil.Amount of Cloud. Nil.Base of Cloud. ---Visibility. Very poor. Less than 1½ mls. at times.General Weather. Poor.Map or Chart Reference. TUNISIA 1:500,000 Sheet NJ.32. SE TUNIS.Task or Duty. Medium level bombing attack on enemy positions in and around Zaghouan Village.Time. Height. Place. Narrative..0647 EL DJEM Airborne.0714 500 " S/C EL HANI 338 deg.0725 500 EL HANI Picked up fighter escort (7 S.A. Wing). S/C 090 deg.0801 3700 DJEBIBINA0815 5800 SOUSE E S/C 312 deg. (P 3389)0824 P 3389 A/C 350 deg. and followed the road to ZAGHOUAN.0829 8500 ZAGHOUAN Bombed village through thick fog. One fire seen.S/C Base 151 deg.0840 500 EL DJEM0842 Landed.0843 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 "E"BA Briefed target was enemy positions in and around ZAGHOUAN Village.BB From 0749 hrs. to 0750 hrs.BC Medium level bombing attack from 8500 ft.108 x 250 lb. GP 43 Det. (Rods).BD The formation attacked the village of DJEBIBINA (TP 0879) [Strike-through][Strike-through] Two boxes bombed across the village and one boxbombed NORTH of the village. One fire started in the village.BH All crews were briefed to attack ZAGHOUAN village (TA 0510)The route briefed was as follows: Rendezvous with fighter escortat P 3233, then NORTH EASTERLY to sea, SOUTH of SOUSSE (climbingfor bombing height), then to ENFIDAVILLE. From there formation wasto follow WEST along ROAD ENFIDAVILLE-ZAGHOUAN. Attack to be lefthand turn on and off target.A/C and Crews:F/L 108 B Maj. Barnby, Lt. Evans, Lt. Sandilands & F/Sgt. Lotter.930 K Lt. Hamilton, Lt. Whittle, F/Sgts. Rogers A.S. & Phelan.977 L Lt. Chisholm, Lt. Campbell, F/Sgts. Hodgkinson & de Villiers.V/L 176 KY Lt. Carr, Lt. Lombardi, F/Sgts. Touz & Wright.982 H Lt. Clutterbuck, Lt. v.d. Meulen, F/Sgts. Raeburn & Fraser.957 W Lt. Wood, Lt. Gould, F/Sgts. Purdon & Groenewald.B/L 963 O Capt. Cormack, Lt. Mulholland, F/Sgts. Finberg & McGee.221 Z Lt. Pocock, Sgt. Edmeades (RAF), F/Sgts. B.-Thomas & Clark.142 P Lt. Liddiard, Lt. Pickerill, F/Sgts. Zealman & Oliff.V/L 183 S Maj. Schravesande, Lt. Herring, F/Sgts. Meyer & Stopforth.259 K Lt. Hargrave, Lt. Rees, Sgt. McQueen (RCAF) & F/Sgt. Bedford.916 39 Lt. Eaton, Lt. Floor, F/Sgt. la Roux & F/Sgt. Gildon (RAF).B/L 226 F Lt. Gardener, Lt. Kerr, F/Sgts. Pearce & Green.179 A Lt. A'Bear, Lt. Owen-Hughes, F/Sgts. Harrison & Pickup.290 C Lt. Elieden, Lt. Rose, F/Sgt. Jervis & Mendelsohn.V/L 352 D Lt. Hotchkiss, Lt. Morsell, F/Sgts. Menet & Mills.271 F Lt. Oakes, Lt. Sachs, Sgts. Morrison & Cleland (RCAF).115 N Capt. Stuart, Lt. Pawson, F/Sgts. Carr & Wisenberg.[Handwritten Signature]........................Capt.S.I.O. 21 SQUADRON, S.A.A.F.
Transcriber's Notes
- R.A.F
- Royal Air Force.
- Oprep. Ref. No
- Operational Report Reference Number.
- SAAF
- South African Air Force.
- Baltimores
- Martin Baltimore light bombers, utilized for medium-level tactical strikes.
- D.F.C
- Distinguished Flying Cross.
- A/C
- Aircraft.
- A/C
- Aircraft.
- L.G
- Landing Ground.
- S/C
- Set Course.
- EL HANI
- A tactical navigation point/landing ground in Tunisia.
mls.: Miles.
deg.: Degrees.
GP 43 Det. (Rods): General Purpose 250 lb bombs utilizing the 1943 Detonator (Rods) configuration. These fuzes extended from the nose of the bomb to ensure an instantaneous burst upon ground contact, maximizing fragmentation against surface targets.