SOLIMAN NORTH L.G.

R.A.F. Form 441 A. SORTIE REPORT 157 "K" (Part A.) SECOND OPERATION OF DAY. No. 1 Oprep. Ref. No 312 Date. 10 JUN 43 Squadron. 21 SAAF. Type of Aircraft. 12 Baltimores. Captain Formation Leader Aircraft No. (6 Mk. 111 & 6 Mk. 111A) Maj. Jandrell Aircraft Letter. See reverse. Crew. Lt. Christie (Observer) See reverse. Time Up. 1810 hrs. L.T. (1st. A/C) Time Down. 1942 hrs. L.T. (Last A/C) Aerodrome or L.G. SOLIMAN NORTH L.G. Total Time. 18 hrs. 00 mins. Type of Cloud. St.Cu. and Cu. Map or Chart Amount of Cloud. 8/10 Reference. Base of Cloud. 10,000 ft. FRENCH NORTH AFRICA Visibility. Fair in dust haze caused by bomb 1:500000 Sheet NJ.32.SE. bursts. TUNIS. General Weather. Good. PANTELLERIA 1:25,000 " Substitute 1A Task or Duty. Medium level bombing attack on Battery No. 20 PANTELLERIA. Time Height. Place. Narrative. Base Airborne. 2000 " S/C RAS EL FORTASS 034 deg. 2000 FORTASS Picked up fighter escort (33 rd. Bomber Escort USAAF) S/C KELIBIA 095 deg. 4500 KELIBIA S/C target 093 deg. 7500 TARGET Bombed on course of 253 deg. 2000 CAP BON 5 miles NORTH of KELIBIA. 2000 " Fighter escort left formation. Base 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 Battery No. 20 PANTELLERIA ISLAND. BB 1857 hrs. L.T. BC Medium level bombing from 7500 ft. Course 260 deg. 41 x 500 lb. G.P. ) 6 x 500 lb. M.C. ) 49 Det. 28 Pistol. .025 Delay. Tail fused. 1 x 500 lb. S.A.P.) BD Target slightly obscured by haze. Formation bombed in vics in line astern. Apart from a few bombs bursting on the Northern tip of the target, all bombs fell in the sea, immediately NORTH of the target. BE Approx. 20 bursts HAA, fairly accurate though to port of formation during bombing run. BF Nil. BG Verticals & Obliques taken of bomb bursts. Height 7500 ft. Course 253 deg. BH (1) Large black patch on the L.G. near Western boundary. (2) One fighter believed to have been a P 40, was seen to go down in a steep dive and burst into flames near F 177052 at 1857. (3) One "Lightning" seen flying on one engine on a parallel course above the formation after bombing. (4) Vic leaders seem to have had difficulty in keeping on a straight bombing run. Considerable drift to starboard was reported. List of A/C and Crews: F/L 176 YY Maj. Jandrell, Lt. Christie, F/Sgts. Pearce & [strike-through: SH] le Roux. 368 X Lt. Clutterbuck, Lt. v.d. Meulen, F/Sgts. Raeburn & Carbarns. 221 Y Lt. Eaton, Lt. McDermot, Sgt. Freestone (RNZAF) & F/Sgt. Gilder (RAF). V/L 142 P Maj. Schravesande, Lt. Campbell, F/Sgts. Meyer & Stopforth. 291 U Lt. Hargrave, Lt. Rees, Sgt. Jensen (RCAF) & F/Sgt. Bedford. 957 W Lt. Wood, Lt. Gould, F/Sgts. Purdon & Groenewald. B/L 345 E Capt. McBride, Lt. Pickerill, F/Sgts. Daniels & White. 352 D Lt. Dugmore, Lt. Masters, F/Sgts. Maasdorp & Rogers C.L. 290 C Lt. Blieden, Lt. Rose, F/Sgts. Jarvis & Perkins. V/L 179 A Capt. Ord, Lt. Hodges, F/Sgt. Walker & A/Sgt. Devenish. 977 L Lt. Guard, Lt. Forssman, F/Sgts. Green & de Villiers. 877 J Lt. Oakes, Lt. Sachs, Sgts. Morrison & Cleland (RCAF). F/L Formation Leader. B/L Box Leader. V/L Vic Leader. [Signature] ....................Capt. S.I.O. 21 SQUADRON, S.A.A.F.

1943-06-10 SOLIMAN NORTH L.G.

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Form 541

MAP

Transcriber's Notes

Phase 2: Technical Expansion Glossary of Terms The archival documentation for this mission utilizes standardized nomenclature to log tactical and meteorological data. The form itself is an R.A.F., or Royal Air Force, Form 441 A., the primary template for recording medium-level bombing Sortie Reports. The handwritten and stamped header "157 'K'" and "SECOND OPERATION OF DAY" define the mission's sequential place in the 21 SAAF (South African Air Force) operational tempo for June 10. The acronym Oprep. Ref. No. signifies the Operational Report Reference Number. The aircraft utilized were Baltimores, referring to the Martin Baltimore twin-engine medium bomber, with Mk. 111 and Mk. 111A designating the Mark III and Mark IIIA variants . Military ranks are abbreviated as Maj. for Major and Lt. for Lieutenant. Chronological data is recorded in L.T., or Local Time, while the abbreviation L.G. denotes a Landing Ground, specifically SOLIMAN NORTH L.G.. Meteorological notations identify St.Cu. for Stratocumulus and Cu. for Cumulus cloud types. Navigational shorthand includes S/C for Set Course and deg. for Degrees. The fighter screen is recorded as being provided by the 33 rd. Bomber Escort USAAF, representing the United States Army Air Forces. The administrative footer references H.Q. R.A.F. M.E., expanding to Headquarters Royal Air Force Middle East, and P.T.O., instructing the reader to Please Turn Over. Operational Context This Sortie Report documents the final tactical bombardment mission executed by 21 Squadron SAAF on June 10, 1943, during the culminating phase of Operation Corkscrew. The strategic objective was the absolute neutralization of the heavily fortified Italian island of Pantelleria to secure the maritime corridor through the Strait of Sicily prior to Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. Following weeks of saturation bombing, the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) directed this evening strike of twelve Martin Baltimore bombers against Battery No. 20. Under the command of Formation Leader Major Jandrell, the squadron launched from Soliman North and executed a coordinated rendezvous with a USAAF fighter screen over Ras el Fortass. The tactical narrative notes a significant environmental constraint: visibility over the target was degraded to "fair" due to a pervasive dust haze explicitly caused by the preceding weeks of relentless bomb bursts. Despite this, the formation reached a bombing altitude of 7,500 feet and delivered its ordnance at 1857 hours on a course of 253 degrees. The mission timeline, concluding with the last aircraft landing at 1942 hours local time, reflects the high-tempo, attritional nature of the campaign. This sortie represents the final kinetic pressure applied to the garrison; under the weight of such unremitting aerial bombardment, the island officially surrendered the following day, June 11, without an Allied amphibious landing—a historic milestone in the history of air power. 206 Phase 1: Verification & Extraction Identity Check There is no explicitly printed date in a dedicated 'Date' column on this "Part B" continuation sheet; however, the mission parameters and sequence definitively align with the primary Sortie Report for June 10, 1943. Phase 2: Technical Expansion Glossary of Terms The archival record utilizes standardized military and aviation abbreviations to document the tactical parameters of the engagement. The abbreviation L.T. refers to Local Time, establishing the chronological strike at 1857 hours. Ordnance designations include G.P. for General Purpose, M.C. for Medium Capacity, and S.A.P. for Semi-Armour Piercing munitions. These 500-pound weapons were configured with a 49 Det. (Detonator Number 49) and a 28 Pistol (impact-delay pistol), utilizing a .025 fractional delay and tail fused to facilitate structural penetration. The term HAA signifies Heavy Anti-Aircraft artillery fire. Photographic reconnaissance is identified by Verticals & Obliques, denoting the mounting angles of the strike cameras. The term L.G. expands to Landing Ground, identifying an austere airfield. The reported aircraft include the P 40, referring to the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter , and the "Lightning," denoting the Lockheed P-38 Lightning twin-engine fighter . The abbreviation A/C serves as the standard nomenclature for Aircraft. The crew manifest formally documents the integration of multinational personnel within 21 SQUADRON, S.A.A.F. (South African Air Force), utilizing RNZAF for the Royal New Zealand Air Force, RAF for the Royal Air Force, and RCAF for the Royal Canadian Air Force. Tactical flight formations are delineated by F/L (Formation Leader), B/L (Box Leader), and V/L (Vic Leader), the latter designating the commander of a standard three-aircraft "Vic" shaped element . Military ranks are abbreviated as Maj. (Major), Capt. (Captain), Lt. (Lieutenant), F/Sgts. (Flight Sergeants), and Sgt. (Sergeant). The document is authenticated by the S.I.O., or Squadron Intelligence Officer. Operational Context This document provides the tactical narrative for the final kinetic bombardment mission executed by 21 Squadron SAAF on June 10, 1943, during the culminating phase of Operation Corkscrew. The strategic objective was the neutralization of the fortified Italian island of Pantelleria , a critical prerequisite for securing maritime lines of communication for the impending invasion of Sicily. The squadron's twelve Martin Baltimore bombers targeted Battery No. 20 from a medium-level altitude of 7,500 feet, utilizing a formation geometry of vics in line astern . The narrative records a significant environmental constraint: a pervasive haze slightly obscured the target area, likely a result of the preceding weeks of relentless Allied bombardment. This haze, combined with a reported "considerable drift to starboard" that forced Vic leaders to struggle with maintaining a straight bombing run, resulted in the majority of the forty-eight munitions overshooting into the sea immediately north of the battery. Axis ground resistance remained active despite the nearing surrender, with aircrews logging approximately twenty bursts of fairly accurate heavy anti-aircraft fire concentrated to the port of the formation. More critically, the intelligence observations in section BH illustrate the intense nature of the air space over the Mediterranean theater. At the exact time of the strike, crews observed a fighter believed to be an Allied P-40 Warhawk plummet in a steep dive and explode on impact near grid coordinate F 177052. Concurrently, a P-38 Lightning was visually identified struggling on a single engine above the formation, underscoring the high rate of Allied mechanical and combat attrition during the final stages of the island's reduction. This mission represents the final application of combat pressure before the garrison of Pantelleria officially capitulated the following day, June 11, marking a historic milestone where a major fortress surrendered entirely due to the application of air power. 207 Phase 1: Verification & Extraction Identity Check The exact date found in the 'Date' column of the image is 11 JUN 43.