Operation

21 SQUADRON S.A.A.F. 26th. FEBRUARY, 1945 T/OFF :- 14.30 Hrs. RAID ON ARSIE ROAD BRIDGE OPERATION NO. 156/21S/M. OPREP NO. 946. 561 B: Capt. Musgrove Goble Jordaan Rabie Jones Capt. Cook. 411 L: Lt. Hussey Quaife Wells Boast Watkinson Kennedy 474 D: Lt. Stuart Ramsay Owen-Hughes Fraser Arthur Howden. vd Putte 498 N: Lt. Muir Dale [strike-through: Lister] Foster Jones.E Rourke 635 K: Lt. Napier Mc Donald Benade Jordaan Stubbs Moir. 519 G: Lt. Fraser [strike-through: Hickie] du Plessis Overee Smith Richardson JDV xxxxx 550 N: Lt. Becke Meyer Johnstone Heale Gidlow McCausland 577 U: Lt. Batley Long Adams Gillbank Butler Eave 537YY: Lt. Collender Gillam Deane Benson anfield Suter ^ 566 S: Lt. Granger Richardson Bailey Adams Kruger Wood. 515 P: Lt. Anderson Stuart Harle Steyn McHugh Dodson TIMES:- 3.15 Hrs. REMARKS:-

1945-02-26

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Form 541

MAP

Transcriber's Notes

Phase 2: Technical Expansion (The "Transcriber's Notes") Glossary of Terms: * S.A.A.F.: South African Air Force. * ARSIE ROAD BRIDGE: A strategic transit bridge located in the Veneto region, crossing the Cismon river. This target was prioritized to isolate German forces in the Belluno sector from the Po Valley. * T/OFF: Take Off. * OPERATION NO. 156/21S/M: The 156th operational mission for 21 Squadron using Martin Marauder (M) aircraft. * OPREP NO. 946: Operational Report number 946. * B, L, D, N, K, G, U, YY, S, P: Individual aircraft identification letters within the tactical boxes. * Capt. Jones / Jones Capt.: Captain Jones; mission leader/lead navigator for the first box. * vd Putte: van de Putte. Operational Context: The mission of 26 February 1945 targeted the Arsie Road Bridge as part of the Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force (MATAF) "Operation Bingo". The strategic goal was the logistical strangulation of German transit lines in Northern Italy. During this sortie, the aircraft piloted by Lt. Becke (aircraft 550 N) suffered significant mechanical failure five minutes before the target. After feathering one engine and attempting to return alone, the aircraft was struck by 20 mm anti-aircraft fire near the bombline but successfully reached the emergency landing ground at Cesenatico. This late-war environment provides a clear strategic contrast to the tactical landscape of November 1943 during the transition through the Bernhardt Line. At that stage of the campaign, 21 Squadron—then operating the Martin Baltimore—focused on high-intensity tactical interdiction at mountain bottlenecks to facilitate Allied breakthroughs toward the Gustav Line. A primary objective was the systematic degradation of German logistical movement at chokepoints such as the railway and road infrastructure at grid reference H055630 (Mignano Gap). Strikes on those specific coordinates were intended to exert terminal pressure on the German 10. Armee's forward crust. By February 1945, the squadron utilized the superior payload and range of the Martin Marauder to strike regional transit hubs like Arsie, located deep within the Venetian foothills. Exhaustion of Marginalia & Markings: * Folio Number "97": Stamped archival index number in the upper right quadrant, following the sequence within the AIR 27/271/2 file. * Crew Corrections and Strike-throughs: * In aircraft 498 N, the name "Lister" is struck through and replaced with the handwritten name "Foster". * In aircraft 519 G, the name "Hickie" is struck through and replaced with "du Plessis". A series of "x" marks appears below the name "Overee" in the same entry. * In aircraft 474 D, the name "vd Putte" is handwritten beneath the navigator entry, indicating a late crew substitution. * Typographical Omission: In aircraft 537YY, a caret symbol (**) is placed before "anfield" (likely a typo for Banfield) to indicate a missing or corrected character. * Sortie Duration: The entry "3.15 Hrs." indicates the total time from take-off to return for the majority of the formation, though the monthly summary (Appendix "P") notes individual discrepancies for battle-damaged aircraft like Becke's. * Archival Mounting: The National Archives' reference scale and copyright information are visible on the right-hand board of the mounting sheet. 47 The following archival entry constitutes a high-fidelity transcription and historical analysis of Target File: 271-2_46.jpg, sourced from The National Archives' reference AIR 27/271/2. Phase 1: Verification & Extraction Identity Check: The exact date recorded in the heading of the document is 26th. FEBRUARY, 1945.