Sortie Report (Form 541)
- Duty
- Medium level bombing attack on gun positions in area bounded by pp. P 2597, P 2297, P 2593, P 2793. Time. Height. Place
R.A.F. Form 441 A."K1" 57SORTIE REPORT(Part A.)Sheet No. 1Oprep. Ref. No. 279Date. 28 APR 43Squadron. 21 SAAF.Type of Aircraft. 18 Baltimores.Aircraft No. See reverse.Aircraft Letter. "FORMATION LEADER:Captain Capt. Cormack.Crew. Lt. Pawson (Observer)See reverse.Time Up. 1251 hrs. (1st. A/C)Time Down. 1433 hrs. (Last A/C)Total Time. 27 hrs. 00 mins.Aerodrome or L.G. EL DJEM MAIN.Type of Cloud. Cu. & St. Cu.Amount of Cloud. 10/10Base of Cloud. 5000' Tops 10000'.Visibility. Very poor.General Weather. Poor. (Rain over target).Map or Chart Reference. TUNISIA 1:500,000 Sheet NJ.32. SE. TUNIS.Task or Duty. Medium level bombing attack on gun positions in area bounded by pp. P 2597, P 2297, P 2593, P 2793.Time. Height. Place. Narrative.1251 EL DJEM Airborne.1313 500 " S/C fighter rendezvous TP 3911.1320 500 TP 3911 S/C railway crossing TP 2328.1334 2500 TP 2328 S/C Coast TP 5463.1344 7500 TP 5463 S/C ENFIDAVILLE.1350 9500 ENFIDA. S/C Target.1353 4500 TARGET Bombed on course of 310 deg.1359 6000 S/C coast NORTH of SOUSSE. TP 5463.1415 5000 TP 5463 Circled SOUSSE. S/C EL DJEM.1433 EL DJEM Last A/C landed.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.PART "B"BA Gun positions in area bounded by pp. P 2597, P 2297, P 2593, 2793BB From 1353 hrs. to 1357 hrs.BC Medium level bombing attack from 4500 ft.108 x 250 lb. GP 43 Det. (Rods)BD Just before reaching the target the formation ran into very poorweather, and bad visibility, with rain falling over the whole targetarea. Formation failed to locate target, and bombed area includedby pp. K 2003, K 2005, K 1707, K 1506. No results observed, butbombs fell in a good pattern.BE LAA and small arms fire was encountered over the whole of the targetarea. HAA fairly intense and accurate from Square P 39 & BOU FICHA.4 HAA guns at K 2002.2 HAA guns at P 2199.3 HAA guns at K 3504.4 HAA guns at K 2802.BF 9 A/C slightly holed. One A/C badly holed by A/A (Cat. II.)BG 2 Vert. 8" Cameras & 1 Oblique 20" Camera took photographs of thebomb bursts. Co. 310 deg. Ht. 4500'. I/S 220 mph.BH Approx. 20 MT stationary & well dispersed at ZAGHOUAN cross roads.List of A/C and Crews:F/L 903 O Capt. Cormack, Lt. Pawson, F/Sgts. Finberg & McGee.994 T Lt. Carr, Lt. Lombaard, F/Sgts. Toms & Wright.176 YY Maj. Schrave sande, Lt. Herring, F/Sgts. Meyer & Stepforth.V/L 352 D Lt. Motchkiss, Lt. Morrell, F/Sgts. Mamet & Mills.179 A Lt. A'Bear, Lt. Owen-Hughes, F/Sgts. Harrison & Pickup.226 H Lt. Dugmore, Lt. Masters, F/Sgts. Maasdorp & Rogers C.L.B/L 916 SS Lt. Smith, Lt. Arnold, Sgt. Freestone (RNZAF) & Viljoen.221 Y Lt. Clutterbuck, Lt. v.d.Meulen, F/Sgts. Raeburn & Fraser.259 X Lt. Eaton, Lt. Floor, F/Sgt. le Roux & F/Sgt. Gildon (RAF).V/L 183 S Capt. Smit, Lt. Kay, F/Sgts. Perkins & van Rooyen.142 P Lt. Demmer, Lt. Hanning, F/Sgts. van Coller & Koff.957 W Lt. Wood, Lt. Gould, F/Sgts. Purdon & Groenewald.B/L 290 C Lt. Gardener, Lt. Kerr, F/Sgts. Pearce & Green.115 M Lt. Guard, Lt. Forssman, F/Sgt. Steven & F/Sgt. Prout (RAF).108 B Lt. Chisholm, Lt. Campbell, F/Sgts. Hodgkinson & de Villiers.V/L 951 V Lt. Simpson, Lt. Hocknell, F/Sgts. Roberts & Shepperson.271 F Lt. Oakes, Lt. Sachs, Sgts. Morrison & Cleland (RCAF).977 L Capt. Stuart, Lt. Mulholland, F/Sgts. Carr & Wisenberg.F/L Formation Leader. B/L Box Leader. V/L Vic Leader.[Handwritten Signature]........................ Capt.S.I.O. 21 SQUADRON, S.A.A.F.
Transcriber's Notes
- R.A.F
- Royal Air Force.
- Oprep
- Operational Report.
- SAAF
- South African Air Force.
- Capt
- Captain.
- Lt
- Lieutenant.
- A/C
- Aircraft.
- L.G
- Landing Ground.
- S/C
- Set Course.
- TP
- Turning Point.
- H.Q. R.A.F. M.E
- Headquarters, Royal Air Force, Middle East. Operational Context The sortie conducted on 28 April 1943 represents a high-attrition tactical mission during Operation Vulcan, the final Allied offensive to collapse the Axis bridgehead in Tunisia. Operating from El Djem Main, 21 Squadron SAAF deployed 18 Martin Baltimore aircraft—led by Captain Cormack—to engage Axis gun positions in a designated four-point coordinate sector. The strategic importance of this sector was its role in the final Axis defensive line protecting the approach to the Cap Bon peninsula and the port of Tunis. The mission narrative details a complex flight profile involving a rendezvous with fighter escorts at TP 3911 and a battle climb to 9,500 feet over Enfidaville. However, the tactical environment was severely degraded by "poor" weather and "10/10" cloud cover. Consequently, the formation was forced to drop its ordnance from 4,500 feet—significantly lower than the intended medium-level bombing altitude—due to rain and "very poor" visibility over the target. The necessity of descending below the cloud base to 4,500 feet exposed the formation to intense defensive fire. Contemporaneous reports from this specific Oprep indicate that nine aircraft were holed and one sustained Category II damage from accurate Axis Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) and Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) fire near Bou Ficha. Despite these technical and meteorological constraints, the continued exertion of 21 Squadron maintained the pressure on the German 90th Light Division and Italian First Army as the Allied 18th Army Group worked to shatter the final defensive "crust" in North Africa. 80 Phase 1: Verification & Extraction Identity Check: No specific date is listed in a 'Date' column on this page; however, the document is identified as Part "B" of "Oprep. Ref. No. 279," which corresponds to the operation on 28 APR 43. Phase 2: Technical Expansion
Cu. & St. Cu.: Cumulus and Stratocumulus (cloud types).
pp.: Pinpoints (map coordinates).
deg.: Degrees.
pp.: Pinpoints (specific map coordinates used for targeting and navigation).
Det. (Rods): Detonators, specifically rod fuzing. These fuzes extended from the nose of the bomb to ensure an instantaneous burst upon ground contact, maximizing fragmentation against surface targets.