Sortie Report (Form 541)
BA: ARMD RECCE RDS: 01049 – AVELLINO – GROTTAMINARDA – 01049.Alternate targets: AVELLINO or BENEVENTOBB: From 0310 Hrs LT to 0440 Hrs LTBC: Medium level bombing from 8000/11000 feet on various courses48 x 250 G.P. 43 Det. 27 Pistols (Rods)2 x 40 G.P. 43 Det. 38 PistolsBD: Most aircraft unable to follow roads easily. 4/6 MET seen and others suspected in target area. Bombs dropped as follows;5 x 250 – AVELLINO on road EAST of town18 x 250 – Roads near GROTTAMINARDA6 x 250 – WEST of VALLATA5 x 250 – on secondary Road SOUTH of ANDRETTA – started fire8 x 250 )1 x 40 ) – 0104916 x 250 )1 x 40 ) – Area LIONI secondary road Northwards and Main road N.W.BE: 2 bursts H/A/A seen NORTH 01049 – NOT at own a/cAt 0334 Hrs LT T/E a/c seen NORTH of STROMBOLI – evaded6 flares EAST of MILAZZO at 0230 Hrs LTBF: NILBG: NILBH: Large explosion and fire started at 0400 Hrs LT in POMPEI area.SFERRO and Army beacons NOT seenAIRCRAFT AND CREW LIST.290C LT/COL BRITZ. DFC. P/O SMALLMAN 2/LTs HARRISON & PICKUP356Z MAJOR STUART. LT PAWSON 2/LT SCHUMANN LT HALL226H MAJOR ORD LT HODGES F/S WALKER F/SGT DEVENISH195G CAPT SAUNDERS LT BOOYSE F/S MOORE SGT EARP-JONES206J LT ASKEW LT LAMBERT F/S GELDENHUYS SGT CRAWHALL181T LT BENNETT LT HARLE F/S STRYDOM SGT JENKINSON240O CAPT DUGMORE LT MASTERS F/S MAASDORP F/S ROGERS256S CAPT SMIT LT KAY 2/LT PURDON F/S JARVIS.Transcriber’s Notes * Military Abbreviations Expanded: * ARMD RECCE RDS: Armed Reconnaissance of Roads. * LT: Local Time. * G.P.: General Purpose (High Explosive bombs). * Det. / Pistols: Detonator and firing mechanism; "Rods" indicates nose extension fuzes used to trigger the bomb above the ground for maximum fragmentation effect against soft-skinned targets. * MET: Motor Enemy Transport (trucks, supply vehicles, or armored cars). * H/A/A: Heavy Anti-Aircraft fire. * T/E a/c: Twin-Engine aircraft. * s/c: Set Course. * Observations on Individuals: * Lt. Col. J.F. Britz, DFC: The Officer Commanding (OC) of No. 21 Squadron SAAF. His leadership in a night interdiction mission (flying aircraft 290C) during the critical Salerno aftermath shows the high level of personal involvement by SAAF senior staff in combat operations. * Major Ord and Major Stuart: The presence of multiple Majors alongside the OC indicates a heavily weighted leadership roster for this specific night's operations, likely due to the tactical importance of the target area. * Captain Dugmore & Lt. Masters: A core experienced crew consistently documented throughout this period of the campaign. * Locations and Modern Geography: * Avellino, Grottaminarda, and Vallata: These remain vital transit hubs in the Campania region. In 1943, they sat along the German retreat corridor from Salerno toward the interior of the Italian peninsula. * 01049: This grid reference refers to the area near Auletta, a major road junction that Allied air forces repeatedly targeted to create "choke points" for German logistics. * Andretta and Lioni: Small towns in the Irpinia region. The targeting of "secondary roads" here indicates the Allied effort to catch German convoys attempting to bypass main road blocks. * Pompei: The mention of a large explosion in the Pompeii area at 04:00 Hrs suggests the squadron was witnessing the fallout of intense Allied naval or heavy artillery bombardment of the coastal plains near Naples. * Historical Context: * Operation Avalanche (The Battle of Salerno): By the night of September 21/22, 1943, the German 10th Army had completed its initial tactical withdrawal from the Salerno perimeter and was transitioning to a fighting retreat toward the Volturno River. * Tactical Challenges: The report notes that most aircraft were "unable to follow roads easily". This reflects the extreme difficulty of night-time navigation in the rugged, mountainous terrain of Southern Italy, where pilots of the Martin Baltimore bombers relied heavily on flares, moonlight, and fires to identify targets. * Enemy Activity: The sighting of a Twin-Engine (T/E) aircraft north of Stromboli was likely a German Junkers Ju 88 or Me 410 night-fighter patrolling the transit routes between Sicily and the Italian mainland. The evasion maneuver mentions the dangerous proximity of enemy air defenses even over the sea.
225Verification: The date written in the 'Date' column is 23/24 Sep.