Sortie Report (Form 541)
BA: GUN POSITIONS CASTEL FRETANO H315995BB: 1100 HoursBC: Medium level bombing. 11250' 135º/160º (Course of each box)23 x 500 M.C. 43 Dets 27 Pistols36 x 500 G.P. do do Rods1 x 500 M.C. do do (Hung up and brought to Base)BD: Target area straddled. 4 bombs hit Rd at C310000. Hit on track junction. Bursts extended as far as H318990 in good pattern. 2 small explosions at H315997 — grey smoke hanging in air. Otherwise N.R.O.BE: NO E/A. Approximately 20 bursts H/A/A during and after bombing run, accurate for height only. Slight L/A/A inaccurate.BF: NILBG: Obliques and Verticals of bomb burstsBH: 20/30 MET C2606 moving NORTH, badly dispersed, on secondary Rd.AIRCRAFT AND CREW LIST.167S CAPT SMIT LT KAY LT PURDON A/SGT SCHOOMBIE181T LT BENNETT LT HARLE F/SGT STRYDOM P/O GILDON383W LT GREDER LT ROSE. F. F/SGT GREYLING A/SGT AIREY445U LT HARGRAVE LT REES F/SGT JENSEN F/SGT VALENTINE181Y CAPT V. BREDA LT NAUDE F/SGT GRATTON A/SGT ROBERTSON387R LT ROBERTSON LT HANNING F/SGT DU PIESANIE A/SGT LIESCHING437H MAJ ORD LT HODGES F/SGT WALKER A/SGT DEVENISH426J LT HEWITT LT HORWITZ F/SGT KIDNEY A/SGT BOWEN586B LT LONGMORE LT KENDAL F/SGT THEUNISSEN A/SGT MACKAY341L LT WILLMOTT LT BORCHERDS F/SGT LOOTS F/SGT WALBRIDGE916K CAPT JOB LT OWEN-HUGHES F/SGT JARVIS LT SHAW545A LT WITTE 2/LT RUSHFORTH F/SGT EATON A/SGT MARAIS.
Transcriber's Notes
- Rd
- Road.
- N.R.O
- No Results Observed.
- E/A
- Enemy Aircraft.
- MET
- Motor Enemy Transport.
Expanded Abbreviations
Lieutenant Robertson and Lieutenant Hanning: Flying in aircraft 387R, this crew participated in the successful straddling of the target area. Tragically, they were killed just three weeks later, on November 28, 1943, when their aircraft crashed and burned shortly after takeoff from Tortorella.
Castel Frentano (H315995 - misspelled as "CASTEL FRETANO"): A hilltop town in the Abruzzo region. During November 1943, this area was a heavily fortified segment of the German Bernhardt Line. The target coordinate refers to artillery positions commanding the southern approaches to the Sangro River.