Sortie Report (Form 541)
BA: Road and Railwat Defile N.E. of POPOLI - Grid G88 to G89 E. NORTH ofGrid 99N.BB: 1602 to 1607 Hrs (two runs)BC: Medium level bombing 080°/085° 12000/12300'24 x 500 MC 49 Det 27 Pistol36 x 250 GP do doBD: Leader opened bomb doors on approaching target but owing to a patch ofcloud impairing visibility over target closed bebm doors and made asecond run. All a/c in the leading box and the leader of the secondbox held their bombs. The remaining five a/c in the second box bombedon the first run, bombs falling on the top of the slope SOUTH of targetarea., from G885969 to G887989. First box and second box leader bombswere observed bursting in clumps over Rd and Railway short of tunnel.Some bombs fell on the slope SOUTH of Target. 3 direct hits on RdG880991 and a cluster of bombs on Railway line. Direct hit on buildingG870990. Box Leader and Vic leader dropped a quick stick No2 and No3jettisoned on their leaders second bomb.BE NILBF: NILBG: Verticals and Obliques of bomb burstsBH: (i) 2 M/T travelling fast in opposite directions 88101. 6 Light trucksmoving towards POPOLI E915007. 4 Heavy trucks entering POPOLI onBARISCIANO Rd.(ii) Rds CASOLI - Westwards cleared of snow. NO movements seenAIRCRAFT AND CREW LIST.| | | | | | ||---|---|---|---|---|---|| 643H | MAJOR ORD | LT HODGES | F/SGT BOUCHER | CAPT HALL | FL || 441F | LT FROST | LT WHITE | F/SGT CARTER | A/SGT ALLAN | || 412B | LT HEWITT | LT HORWITZ | F/SGT KIDNEY | A/SGT BOWEN | || 545A | CAPT JOB | LT ROSE | 2/LT CASE | A/SGT EARP-JONES | VL || 637C | LT MUSGROVE | LT GILDENHUYS | LT V.SCHALKWYK | A/SGT LEIPOLDT | || 578G | CAPT VISSER | LT ELLIOTT | LT POTGEITER | LT V.D.WESTHUIZEN | || 612T | LT BEN ETT | LT HARLE | 2/LT STRYDOM | P/O GILDON | BL || 437N | LT V.D.MERWE | LT JORDAAN | F/SGT VERITY | A/SGT PIENAAR | || 445U | CAPT DIEU | LT VANDE PUTTE | F/SGT BAILEY | F/SGT DU RANT | || 387R | CAPT DE WET | LT MELTZ | LT DU PREEZ | A/SGT PEENS | VL || 341L | LT ASKEW | LT LAMBERT | F/SGT XXX GELDENHUYS | A/SGT CRAWHALL | || 383W | LT HILL | LT PIETERS | F/SGT V.D.WESTHUIZEN | A/SGT JENKINSON | |
Transcriber's Notes
- Target
- "Railwat": A typo for Railway. The target was the "Defile" (narrow pass) northeast of Popoli, a critical choke point.
- M/T
- Abbreviation for Motor Transport (enemy trucks/vehicles).
Formation Discipline Failure (The "Dummy Run"): The narrative in Section BD describes a chaotic bombing run. The leader (Major Ord) aborted the first pass ("closed bebm doors") due to cloud. However, formation discipline broke down: "The remaining five a/c in the second box bombed on the first run." Bombing when the leader aborts is a critical error, often caused by "trigger happy" togglers or misinterpreting the leader's signals. It resulted in bombs being scattered on the "slope SOUTH of target area" rather than the target itself.