BARDIA

SECRET "A" BOMBING REPORT 6 8 REFERENCE Pilot: COL. PRETORIUS Observer: 2/LT. DUFFUS 21 SQUADRON BR Details of Target: A/SGTS. VILJOEN AND GOLDMAN S.A.A.F. Place: BARDIA DUMBS "A" 5 MILES WEST OF BARDIA Date: 24 / 9 / 41 B I 10 I 1409 Weather: Time: 1300 hrs. FINE CLOUD 5/10 OVER TARGET Height: 18000 feet. (1) Bombs dropped: (2) Failures: ONE STICK 8 X 250 LBS ( 3 THEN SLIGHT HANG UP ( MY SWITCH) NIL THEN 5 MORE) (3) Observed effects: 3 ON SOUTH WEST EDGE OF TARGET ( ON DUMPD ) 5 FROM EDGE OF DUMP TO ACROSS MAIN ROAD ( OVERSHOOT) (4) Details of photographs taken: 4 OVER TARGET THEN JAM ( CAMERA BEING CHECKED) (5) Casualties to own aircraft and personnel: NONE (6) Casualties to enemy aircraft and personnel: NONE (7) Enemy A.A. ground defences encountered (a) location of defences (b) type (c) strength: NONE SEEN BY ME IN LEADERS MACHINE (8) Hostile patrols encountered (a) position (b) type and number of aircraft (c) if engagement resulted: 2 ME 109 AT ABOUT 1305 HOURS ON SOUTHERLY COURSE FROM TARGET. WEAVING AT ABOUT 3000' ABOVE AND TO STARBOARD. DID NOT ATTACK ( SILVER COLOUR UNDERSIDE). (9) Special comments: SIGNED D. DUFFUS 2/Lt. NOTE - (1) For intelligence purposes RECONNAISSANCE REPORT (A. M. FORM 401) must always accompany a BOMBING REPORT. (2) COMBAT (BOMBER) REPORT also to be completed if engagement with enemy aircraft occurred during flight.

1941-09-24 BARDIA

__o_O_o__

Form 541

18,000ft.

MAP

Baltimore

2/LT. DUFFUS Observer

Transcriber's Notes

Phase 2: Technical Expansion (The "Transcriber's Notes") Glossary of Terms * 21 SQUADRON S.A.A.F.: No. 21 Squadron, South African Air Force. In September 1941, the unit was a core component of the light/medium bomber force in the Western Desert, operating Martin Marylands. * A.A.: Anti-Aircraft fire. * BARDIA: A critical Axis-held coastal fortress and logistical center in Libya, located near the Egyptian frontier. * BA-BH (MARTIN BALTIMORE): A twin-engine medium bomber utilized by the squadron starting in 1942. During this 1941 mission, the unit operated the Martin Maryland, the Baltimore's predecessor. * DUMPD: Likely a typographical error for "Dumped" or "Dumps," referring to the Axis supply caches. * HANG UP: A technical malfunction where ordnance fails to release from the bomb rack when commanded. * MC/GP (MEDIUM CAPACITY / GENERAL PURPOSE): Standard high-explosive ordnance. This mission utilized 250 lb bombs against soft logistical targets. * ME 109: Messerschmitt Bf 109, the primary Luftwaffe fighter encountered in the theater. * MET: Meteorological data. The report indicates "Fine" MET conditions but with 5/10 cloud directly over the target, which impacted both bombing accuracy and photography. * STARBOARD: The right-hand side of the aircraft. Operational Context Target File 272_8 is a Bombing Report providing a detailed technical analysis of the lead aircraft's performance during the strike against Axis supply dumps near Bardia on 24th September 1941. The strategic importance of Dumps "A", located 5 miles west of Bardia, was tied to the Allied effort to isolate Axis frontier garrisons and degrade Rommel's armored mobility before the upcoming winter offensive. The aircraft, a Martin Maryland piloted by the Squadron Commander Col. Pretorius, attacked from 18,000 feet at 13:00 hours. Execution was hindered by a technical failure; a "slight hang up" caused by the observer's switch resulted in the stick of eight 250 lb bombs being released in two separate groups (3 then 5). This malfunction led to a segmented strike pattern: three bombs struck the southwest edge of the dump, while the remaining five overshot the target, impacting across the main road. Environmental and technical constraints were further noted in the photographic record. The vertical camera jammed after only four exposures, a common issue in the abrasive desert environment. Defensively, the crew observed two ME 109s weaving 3,000 feet above the formation during the egress. These fighters, identified by their silver-colored undersides, chose not to engage the Maryland "box" formation on this occasion. The report, signed by 2/Lt. D. Duffus, provides essential evidence of the technical and tactical challenges of high-level horizontal bombing in the Western Desert, where mechanical reliability and visibility often dictated mission success. 9 Phase 1: Verification & Extraction Identity Check: 24/9/41.