Sortie Report (Form 541)
R.A.F. Form 441 A.SORTIE REPORT(Part A.)NIGHT OP.J 103Sheet No.Oprep. Ref. No. 373Date. 11/12 Aug 43Squadron. 21 SAAF ADVType of Aircraft. 2 BALTIMORES MK 3AAircraft No. )Aircraft Letter. ) as per listLeader of formation.Captain Lt. GUARDCrew. Lt. WEBBEROther aircraft followed similar course thirty minutes later.Time Up. 2300 hrs LT 1st aircraftTime Down. 0135 hrs LT last aircraftTotal Time. 4 hrs 10 mins.Aerodrome or L.G. LUCAType of Cloud. -Amount of Cloud. - ) over TARGETBase of Cloud. - )Visibility. GoodGeneral Weather. GoodMap or Chart Reference.1:500,000 SICILIANE 36/12Task or Duty. BOMB ROAD FROM LINGUAGLOSSA TO D0048| Time | Height | Place | Narrative ||---|---|---|---|| 2300 | | Luca | Airborne || 2310 | 2000 | Labrash point | S/c GELA || 2334 | 12000 | Gela | S/c NICOSIA || 2345 | 13500 | Nicosia | S/c TARGET. || 2355 | 13000 | Target | Bombed road through hills. 360 LINGUAGLOSSA || 0039 | 10000 | Randazzo | S/c NICOSIA || 0059 | 8000 | Nicosia | S/c GELA || 0122 | 4000 | Gela | S/c GOZO ISLAND || 0144 | 2000 | Gozo | Mapreading to LUCA || 0152 | | Luca | Landed || 0335 | | | Last aircraft landed. |(Signature: J. S. Bester) Capt.SIO. 21 SQUADRON SAAF.
Transcriber's Notes
- R.A.F
- Royal Air Force.
- NIGHT OP
- Night Operation.
- Oprep. Ref. No
- Operational Report Reference Number.
- SAAF ADV
- South African Air Force Advanced (Headquarters).
- Lt
- Lieutenant.
- L.G
- Landing Ground.
- S/c
- Set course (navigational shorthand).
- Randazzo
- A medieval town at the northern foot of Mount Etna. It was currently the primary bottleneck for the Axis evacuation. The formation utilized Randazzo as a post-bombing turn point to set course back toward Nicosia.
- SIO
- Squadron Intelligence Officer. Personnel and Operational Observations
Abbreviations and Technical Terms Expanded
hrs LT: hours Local Time.