GZINA

R.A.F. Form 441 A. SORTIE REPORT 19 (Part A.)

No. One Oprep. Ref. No. 164 Date. 13 JAN 43 Squadron. 21 SAAF. Type of Aircraft. Baltimore Mk. 3 Captain Lt. Liddiard. Aircraft No. 873 Crew. Lt. Pickerill. Aircraft Letter. N F/Sgt. Kruger. F/Sgt. Zaaiman. Up. 0810 Down. 1015 Aerodrome or L.G. GZINA Time. 2 hrs. 05 mins. Type of Cloud. Nil. Map or Chart Amount of Cloud. Nil. Reference. Base of Cloud. - LIBYA 1:500,000 Visibility. Excellent Sheet 3/9 General Weather. Good. MISURATA. Task or Duty. To bomb BIR DUFAN L.G. No. 2. Height. Place. Narrative. GZINA Airborne.

4000 HAMRAT Set course with fighter escort. NORTH 10000 (R) R Attacked by ME 109 F’s. Bottom gunner, F/Sgt. Zaaiman, 9105 reported F/Sgt. Kruger badly wounded. Continued on raid. 10000 F/Sgt. Zaaiman reported that to the best of his knowledge F/Sgt. Kruger was dead. Carried out Casualty Procedure at TAMET WEST aero- drome, and crash-landed on account of defective undercarriage.

(Handwritten Signature: [Illegible]) SIO S.I. Be... SIO Copy P.T.O.

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. " " 20 (3) 21

(1) A/C 842 : Lt. Lindenberg and crew missing. (2) A/C 873 : Top gunner F/Sgt. Kruger E.L. killed. A/C Cat. 2. (3) A/C 933 : A/C Cat. 2. (4) One ME 109 F claimed destroyed. One " " " damaged. (5) Nearly all enemy fighters broke off engagement by diving below and to the front of the formation. Front, top and bottom guns fired approximately 2,000 rounds of .303 and .300 ammunition. (Handwritten Signature: [Illegible]) Capt. S I O

1943-01-13 GZINA

R.A.F. Form 441 A. SORTIE REPORT 19 (Part A.) No. One Oprep. Ref. No. 164 Date. 13 JAN 43 Squadron. 21 SAAF. Type of Aircraft. Baltimore Mk. 3 Captain Lt. Liddiard. Aircraft No. 873 Crew. Lt. Pickerill. Aircraft Letter. N F/…

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Form 541

MAP

Transcriber's Notes

Phase 2: Technical Expansion (The "Transcriber's Notes") Glossary of Terms: * R.A.F. Form 441 A.: Royal Air Force Form 441 A, the standardized document utilized for recording narrative and technical data for individual aircraft sorties. * Oprep. Ref. No. 164: Operational Report Reference Number 164, which corresponds to the squadron's comprehensive mission results for 13 January 1943. * 21 SAAF: No. 21 Squadron of the South African Air Force. * Baltimore Mk. 3: The Martin Baltimore Mark III, a twin-engine light bomber provided via Lend-Lease, utilized for tactical interdiction. * L.G. / Aerodrome: Landing Ground. Gzina was a forward operational base in Tripolitania used by No. 3 SAAF Wing. * ME 109 F’s: Messerschmitt Bf 109 F "Friedrich" German single-engine fighter aircraft. * H.Q. R.A.F. M.E.: Headquarters, Royal Air Force, Middle East. * SIO / S.I. Be...: Senior Intelligence Officer. The staff officer responsible for the collation of mission data and filing official tactical reports. * P.T.O.: Please Turn Over. Operational Context: This Sortie Report (Part A) for Baltimore "N" (A/C 873) documents a lethal engagement on 13 January 1943 during the definitive Allied offensive in Libya. Strategically, the Desert Air Force (DAF) was executing a maximum-effort campaign to neutralize Axis airfields at Bir Dufan and Tauorga, thereby securing the Eighth Army's westward advance toward Tripoli. Tactically, the formation of 18 Baltimores encountered aggressive interception by German Bf 109 F fighters while at 10,000 feet. At grid (R) R 9105, the aircraft was struck, resulting in the top gunner, Flight Sergeant Kruger, being "badly wounded". Demonstrating rigid adherence to operational doctrine, the crew "continued on raid" despite the trauma, eventually confirming that F/Sgt. Kruger had succumbed to his wounds before the mission's conclusion. The damage sustained during the fighter attack resulted in a "defective undercarriage," necessitating a crash-landing at Tamet West aerodrome following the execution of "Casualty Procedure". This sortie was one of three aircraft lost or forced down during the engagement, illustrating the high human and material cost of the MAAF’s tactical interdiction campaign as Axis forces retreated toward Tunisia. This document, archived as Folio 19 of the AIR 27/274 series, provides a primary record of the lethal risk and professional discipline maintained by SAAF aircrews during the collapse of Axis resistance in Tripolitania. 21 Phase 1: Verification & Extraction Identity Check: No literal 'Date' column exists on this specific folio; however, the operational date for the mission described, as established in the preceding Sortie Reports (Folios 17–19) and Intelligence Postagram (Folio 16), is 13 JAN 43. Phase 2: Technical Expansion (The "Transcriber's Notes") Glossary of Terms: * A/C: Aircraft. * Cat. 2.: Category 2 damage. This classification indicated the aircraft sustained serious damage requiring repair at a specialized depot or by a mobile repair unit, often following a forced or crash landing. * ME 109 F: Messerschmitt Bf 109 F "Friedrich." The primary single-engine German fighter encountered by the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) during this period. * .303 and .300 ammunition: The standard calibers for the Martin Baltimore’s defensive armament, including the Vickers K and Browning machine guns. * S I O: Senior Intelligence Officer. The staff officer responsible for synthesizing tactical data and filing official mission results. Operational Context: Folio 21 serves as a summary of the tactical interdiction mission conducted on 13 January 1943 against Axis landing grounds in Tripolitania. Strategically, the Desert Air Force (DAF) was engaged in a "fully offensive" campaign to drive the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica from forward bases such as Bir Dufan, thereby removing the primary aerial threat to the Eighth Army’s advance toward Tripoli. The mission was characterized by severe environmental and tactical difficulty. While dust storms and poor visibility prevented the formation of 18 Martin Baltimores from locating their primary objective, they successfully attacked a secondary target of opportunity—a camp of 50 tents—before being intercepted by a force of 7 to 10 enemy fighters. The attrition documented here highlights the intensity of the air-to-air combat during the Axis retreat. The squadron suffered three major aircraft casualties: A/C 842 was lost with all crew missing, while A/C 873 and A/C 933 were both classified as Category 2 damage after being forced down. Defensive gunners expended approximately 2,000 rounds of ammunition to repel the interceptors, claiming one Bf 109 F destroyed and another damaged before the enemy broke off the engagement by "diving below and to the front of the formation". This document, archived as page 21 of the AIR 27/274 series, provides a high-fidelity summary of the high human and material cost associated with the MAAF interdiction campaign in the final weeks of the Libyan campaign. 22 Phase 1: Verification & Extraction Identity Check: 13th January, 1943.