Sortie Report (Form 541)
- Duty
- Medium level bombing attack on dispersed MT. [Strike-through: XXXX] Time. Height. Place
R A.F. Form 441 A. SORTIE REPORT 71 (Part A.)
No. 1 Oprep. Ref. No. 105 Date. 24/10/42 Squadron. 21 SAAF.Type of Aircraft. 12 Baltimores of 21 Sqdn. Captain Baltimore leader:Aircraft No. and 6 Bostons of 12 Sqdn. Crew. Maj. Barnby.Aircraft Letter. ((See attached list.(Up. 1354 hrs.Down. 1510 hrs. Aerodrome or L.G. L.G. 98.Time. 1 hr. 16 mins.Type of Cloud. ----- Map or ChartAmount of Cloud. ----- Reference.Base of Cloud. ----- 1:250000Visibility. Fair to good. Ground haze. Egypt and Cyrenaica.General Weather. Good. Sheet 14. El Daba.Task or Duty. Medium level bombing attack on dispersed MT. [Strike-through: XXXX]Time. Height. Place. Narrative.1354 LG. 98 12 Baltimores airborne.1410 L.G. 98 Set course after picking up fighter escort.1446 9200 Target Formation bombed on course of 200 deg.1510 LG. 98 All Baltimores landed. (Handwritten Signature: [Illegible])
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
- Maj. Barnby
- Major Milton Barnby, the designated formation leader for the Baltimore element.
- MT
- Mechanical Transport, specifically referring to Axis motorized vehicle concentrations.
- H.Q. R.A.F. M.E
- Headquarters, Royal Air Force, Middle East. Operational Context: This Sortie Report (Part A) documents the "4th Show" executed on 24 October 1942, representing the squadron's fourth major tactical effort on the first full daylight day of the Second Battle of El Alamein. Strategically, the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) were engaged in a maximum-effort campaign to shatter Axis logistics and reserve concentrations as the Eighth Army struggled to breach the "Devil’s Gardens" minefields. The mission targeted dispersed MT (Mechanical Transport) within a specific map rectangle in the El Daba sector. The formation, led by Major Barnby, consisted of twelve Martin Baltimores (No. 21 Squadron) following six Douglas Bostons (No. 12 Squadron). The narrative emphasizes the operational necessity of "picking up fighter escort" at 14:10 hrs, reflecting the persistent threat of Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica interceptors over the battlefront despite the ongoing Allied airfield suppression campaign. The tactical delivery was carried out from 9,200 feet at 14:46 hrs. While the general weather was "Good," the presence of "Ground haze" and a "dust haze as far as El Alamein" complicated visual assessment. According to OPREP 105, this mission successfully placed bombs among well-dispersed MT, though at the cost of eleven aircraft returning "holed" due to accurate flak from Axis batteries at Abyad, Wyreir, and Rahman. This document, archived as Folio 71, serves as a primary record of the relentless operational tempo required of the SAAF light bomber wings during the definitive breakthrough in Egypt. 274 1 Phase 1: Verification & Extraction Identity Check: No specific date is recorded within a 'Date' column on this document; however, the archival series Reference "AIR 27/274" pertains to Operations Record Books for the period spanning 1942–1945.
R A.F. Form 441 A.: Royal Air Force Form 441 A, the standardized operational document for recording technical and narrative data for individual aircraft sorties.
Oprep. Ref. No. 105: Operational Report Reference Number 105, which corresponds to the Intelligence Postagram documenting the results of this specific mission.
deg.: Degrees, indicating the 200-degree heading maintained during the bombing run.