Sortie Report (Form 541)
- Duty
- Bombing raid on BIR DUFAN L.G. No. 2. Height. Place
R.A.F. Form 441 A. SORTIE REPORT 18 (Part A.)
No. One Oprep. Ref. No. 164 Date. 13 JAN 43 Squadron. 21 SAAF.Type of Aircraft. 18 Baltimores Mk. 3 Captain Lt. MeredithAircraft No. 933 Crew. Lt. BassAircraft Letter. L F/Sgt. SmithF/Sgt. O’ReganUp. 0755Down. 1155 Aerodrome or L.G. GZINATime. 4 hrs. 00 mins.Type of Cloud. Nil. Map or ChartAmount of Cloud. Nil. Reference.Base of Cloud. LIBYA 1:500,000Visibility. Excellent Sheets 3 & 9 MISURATA.General Weather. Good. LIBYA 1:500,000Sheet 10 SIRTE.Task or Duty. Bombing raid on BIR DUFAN L.G. No. 2.Height. Place. Narrative. GZINA Airborne.
1500 " S/C HAMRAT NORTH, to rendezvous with fighter escort.2000 HAMRAT NORTH Circling fighter L.G.3000 " S/C 296 deg. (Mag)12000 Crossed bomb-line (R)X 4580. Ack/Ack (heavy) fairlyaccurate and intense. A/C holed in Port wing.12000 A/C 320 deg. (Mag) for target.9000 In vicinity of target. Attacked by ME 109 F E/Afired one long burst and dived under our A/C whichwas hit in starboard engine (oil tank) Smoke pouredfrom the engine which seized up. Pilot featheredairscrew. Inter-com. (T.R9) was put out of action butBendix functioned. A/C lost height rapidly to 700 ft.Top gunner returned E/A fire with four guns. E/Abelieved to have been hit.700 A/C 000 deg. (Mag) for five mins. to evade E/A. IAS 120700 GIODA A/C 090 (Mag)700 A/C 120 (Mag) to avoid passing over GIODA.700 Crossed coast at BURI - AGHEILA (R) S7046. Headed outto sea. Jettisoned bombs singly to gain height.1700 S/C 120 (Mag)1000 SULTAN Over L.G. 180 (Mag) for Base. Unable to locate L.G.on account of dust storm.1000 Pilot instructed W.Op. to try to obtain a Q.D.M. ona course of 090 (Mag) Petrol running short. W.Op.unable to get Q.D.M.1000 Pilot informed crew that he had sufficient fuel fora further 10 minutes flying. Decided to crash land.Crash-landed 17 miles S.E. of NOFILIA, near ‘A’ track(8) V0906 SIRTE 1:500,000. (Handwritten Signature: [Illegible]) Capt S.I. Be... Capt.
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.
Transcriber's Notes
- 21 SAAF
- No. 21 Squadron of the South African Air Force.
- Baltimores Mk. 3
- The Martin Baltimore Mark III, a twin-engine light bomber provided by the United States under Lend-Lease, utilized for tactical interdiction.
- GZINA
- A forward landing ground in Tripolitania used by No. 3 SAAF Wing.
- IAS 120
- Indicated Air Speed of 120 miles per hour.
- V0906 SIRTE
- Map coordinates on the 1:500,000 Sirte sheet. Operational Context: This Sortie Report (Part A) for Baltimore "L" (A/C 933) details a harrowing survival narrative during the "4th Show" of 13 January 1943. Strategically, the Desert Air Force (DAF) was engaged in a maximum-effort "fully offensive" campaign to neutralize Axis airfields at Bir Dufan and Tauorga, facilitating the Eighth Army's final advance toward Tripoli. Tactically, the formation of 18 Baltimores encountered "intense" Heavy Ack/Ack upon crossing the bomb-line at 12,000 feet, which holed A/C 933 in the port wing. In the vicinity of the target, the aircraft was intercepted by a Bf 109 F. A single "long burst" from the enemy fighter struck the starboard oil tank, causing the engine to seize and the intercom to fail. The crew's survival depended on low-altitude evasion. Pilot Lt. Meredith feathered the airscrew and dove to 700 feet, maintaining an IAS of 120 mph to evade the E/A while the top gunner returned fire with four guns. Forced to jettison their bomb load singly to maintain height, the crew navigated along the coast past Gioda toward Sultan. However, an impenetrable dust storm—a common environmental hazard—prevented them from locating L.G. 180. With the Wireless Operator unable to secure a Q.D.M. and fuel exhausted, the aircraft was successfully crash-landed 17 miles southeast of Nofilia. This document, archived as Folio 18, serves as a primary record of the mechanical and environmental resilience required of SAAF aircrews during the definitive breakthrough in Libya. 20 Phase 1: Verification & Extraction Identity Check: 13 JAN 43.
R.A.F. Form 441 A.: Royal Air Force Form 441 A, the standardized document for recording the narrative and technical data of individual aircraft sorties.
Oprep. Ref. No. 164: Operational Report Reference Number 164, corresponding to the squadron’s mission results for 13 January 1943.
ME 109 F E/A: Messerschmitt Bf 109 F "Friedrich" Enemy Aircraft.