Sortie Report (Form 541)
BA. REGALBUTO VILLAGE.BB. 1545 hrs LTBC. Medium level 12000 ft Course 070°.72 x 250 GP 47 Det 27 Pistol Nose fused.BD. The bombs of the first box scored a direct hit on a large red building in centre of village and covered the main road to ADRANO on the village boundary with bursts. No 2 Box bombed the SE outskirts of the village, some bombs bursting on the main road to ADRANO.BE. NIL.BF. NIL.BG. Obliques and Verticals of bomb bursts Course 070°. IAS 210.Height 12000 ft.BH. NMS main roads.13+ MT moving NORTH to AGIRA from RADUSA.4 MT NORTH of AGIRA moving NORTH.LIST OF AIRCRAFT AND CREW.226 H Capt. ORD, Lt. HODGES, F/Sgts. WALKER & DEVENISH. (F/L)290 C Lts. WOOD & NEL, F/Sgt. JAMES, Sgt. BUCHLER.136 M Lts. DUGMORE & MASTERS, F/Sgt.s MAASDORP & ROGERS.271 F Lts. GUARD & WEBBER, F/Sgt. GREEN. 2/Lt. de VILLIERS (V/L)341 L Lts. FROST & WHITE, F/Sgt. CARTER, Sgt. ALLAN.179 A Lts. ASKEW & LAMBERT, F/Sgt. GELDENHUYS, Sgt. CRAWHALL.108 O Capt. STUART, Lt. PAWSON, F/Sgt. MORLEY, 2/Lt. SCHUMANN. (B/L)176YY Lts. SIMPSON & HARLE, F/Sgts. ROBERTS & SHEPPERSON.173 P Capt. SAUNDERS, Lt. BOOYSE, F/Sgt. MOORE, Sgt. EARP-JONES.291 U Lts. HARGRAVE & REES, F/Sgts. JENSEN (RCAF) & BEDFORD (V/L)344 X Major COULL, F/Sgt. SMALLMAN (Rhod) 2/Lt. SHAW, F/Sgt. STRYDOM.221 Y Lts. RICHARDS & DE CONNICK, F/Sgt. ROBERTSE, Sgt. McGRINDLE.
Transcriber's Notes
- LT
- Local Time.
- GP
- General Purpose (bombs).
- Det
- Detonator.
- SE
- South-East.
- IAS
- Indicated Air Speed.
- NMS
- Nothing Much Seen.
- MT
- Motor Transport.
- AGIRA
- Agira.
- RADUSA
- Raddusa.
- RCAF
- Royal Canadian Air Force.
Abbreviations and Technical Terms Expanded
ft: feet.
(F/L): Formation Leader.
(V/L): Vic Leader (leader of a three-aircraft 'V' sub-formation).
(B/L): Box Leader (leader of a six-aircraft 'box' section).
(Rhod): Rhodesian (referring to the Southern Rhodesian Air Force). Personnel and Historical Accuracy
This mission took place on July 26, 1943 (D+16). The Allied advance was no longer a sweep across the island but a brutal, road-bound slog through the mountains.