SOLIMAN NORTH L.G.

R.A.F. Form 441 A. SORTIE REPORT (Part A.) 153 I [strike-through: XX] SECOND OPERATION OF DAY. Sheet No. 1 Oprep. Ref. No. 310 Date. 9 JUN 43 Squadron. 21 SAAF. Type of Aircraft. 12 Baltimores (6 Mk. 111 & 6 Mk. 111A) See reverse. Captain Formation Leader Capt. Stuart Crew. Lt. Pawson (Observer) See reverse. Time Up. 1915 hrs. (1st A/C) Time Down. 2045 hrs. (Last A/C) Total Time. 17 hrs. 00 mins. Aerodrome or L.G. SOLIMAN NORTH L.G. Type of Cloud. St.Cu. Amount of Cloud. Scattered. Base of Cloud. 10,000 ft. Visibility. Good. General Weather. Good. Map or Chart Reference. FRENCH NORTH AFRICA 1:500,000 Sheet NJ.32.SE TUNIS PANTELLERIA 1:25,000 Task or Duty. Medium level bombing attack on gun positions at F 175050. Time Height. Place. Narrative. 1915 Base Airborne. 1920 1000 " S/C RAS EL FORTASS. 1935 2000 FORTASS Picked up fighter escort (6 P40's 33rd. Bomber escort) S/C KELIBIA. 1945 4000 KELIBIA S/C TARGET. 2003 8000 TARGET Bombed on course of 250 - 259 deg. 2015 5000 WF 1306 S/C RAS EL FORTASS. 2026 2000 FORTASS S/C SOLIMAN. 2045 Base Last A/C landed. PART B (on reverse) to be completed according to relevant pro-forma in H.Q. R.A.F. M.E. Instruction 34. 2942 / PMEJ - 200,000 - 3/42 P.T.O. Part "B" BA Gun positions at F 171048 PANTELLERIA ISLAND. BB 2003 hrs. L.T. BC Medium level bombing attack from 7800/8000 ft. Course 250 - 255 deg. 35 x 500 lb. G.P. ) 3 x 500 lb. S.A.P.) [strike-through: XXX] 49 Det. Delay .025. Tail pistol 28. 6 x 500 lb. M.C. ) 4 x 500 lb. G.P. hung up and were jettisoned in sea in Sq. 1403. BD The two boxes of six machines dropped their bombs from F 175050 to 175051 in a fairly short stick along the main road. Bomb bursts cover one gun position. An explosion accompanied one bomb burst at F 173048. BE No Ack/Ack bursts seen. BF Nil. BG Verticals and obliques taken. IAS 210. Course 255 deg. BH One unidentified S/E aircraft with smoke coming from it, was seen heading for target after bombing. Three S/E aircraft seen taking off from PANTELLERIA L.G. before formation bombed. Seven JU 52's parked in a row on the L.G. at 180040. Two JU 52's parked on the L.G. SOUTH of this point. List of A/C and Crews: F/L 108 O Capt. Stuart, Lt. Pawson, F/Sgts. Morley & Schumann. 957 W Lt. Wood, Lt. Gould, F/Sgts. Purdon & Groenewald. 221 Y Lt. Eaton, Lt. McDermot, [strike-through: XX] Sgt. Freestone (RNZAF) & F/Sgt. Gilder (RAF) V/L 167 S Capt. Smit, Lt. Kay, F/Sgts. Toms & Wright. 291 U Lt. Hargrave, Lt. Rees, Sgt. Jensen (RCAF) & F/Sgt. Bedford. 916 R Lt. Simpson, Lt. Handley, F/Sgts. Roberts V.P. & Shepperson. B/L 977 L Lt. Meredith, Lt. Herring, F/Sgt. Smith S.C. & F/Sgt. Prout (RAF) 930 K Lt. Hamilton, Lt. Whittle, F/Sgts. Hodgkinson & Phelan. 352 D Lt. Dugmore, Lt. Masters, F/Sgts. Maasdorp & Rogers C.L. V/L 226 H Capt. Ord, Lt. Hodges, F/Sgt. Walker & A/Sgt. Devenish. 179 A Lt. Willmot, Lt. Borcherds, F/Sgt. Loots & F/Sgt. Walbridge. 877 J Lt. Oakes, Lt. Sachs, Sgts. Morrison & Cleland (RCAF) F/L Formation Leader. B/L Box Leader. V/L Vic Leader. [Signature] ....................Capt. S.I.O. 21 SQUADRON, S.A.A.F.

1943-06-09 SOLIMAN NORTH L.G.

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Form 541

MAP

Transcriber's Notes

Phase 2: Technical Expansion Glossary of Terms The documentation utilizes several standardized military and aviation abbreviations to record the tactical data. The form itself is an R.A.F., or Royal Air Force, Form 441 A., the primary medium-level bombing Sortie Report template. The handwritten annotation "153 I" and the underlined stamp "SECOND OPERATION OF DAY." identify the specific mission's sequence within the unit's archival record. The acronym Oprep. Ref. No. signifies the Operational Report Reference Number. The squadron is identified as 21 SAAF, representing the South African Air Force. The aircraft employed, Baltimores, refers to the Martin Baltimore medium bomber , with the clerical typing Mk. 111 and Mk. 111A designating the Mark III and Mark IIIA variants. Military ranks are abbreviated as Capt. for Captain and Lt. for Lieutenant. The abbreviation A/C serves as the standard nomenclature for Aircraft, and L.G. expands to Landing Ground, specifically SOLIMAN NORTH L.G. on the Cap Bon peninsula. Meteorological observations log St.Cu. for Stratocumulus clouds. Navigational shorthand includes S/C for Set Course. The fighter screen is recorded as P40's, denoting the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter aircraft . Finally, the footer references H.Q. R.A.F. M.E., expanding to Headquarters Royal Air Force Middle East, and P.T.O., an instruction to Please Turn Over to complete Part B of the report. Operational Context This Sortie Report, executed on the evening of June 9, 1943, chronicles the second tactical mission undertaken by 21 Squadron SAAF during the high-intensity air campaign known as Operation Corkscrew. The strategic objective was the systematic aerial neutralization of the fortified Italian island of Pantelleria , a critical necessity for ensuring secure maritime lines of communication through the Strait of Sicily prior to the Allied invasion of Europe. Operating from the Soliman North Landing Ground, the formation of twelve Martin Baltimore medium bombers, under the command of Captain Stuart, was tasked with striking entrenched gun positions at grid coordinate F 175050. The mission narrative illustrates the precise logistical and navigational synchronization required for multi-national daylight operations. After achieving an airborne status at 1915 hours and establishing a flight path through Ras el Fortass, the bomber formation successfully linked up with a fighter escort comprising six Curtiss P-40 Warhawks from the 33rd Bomber Escort. This combined formation ascended toward the target, reaching a bombing altitude of 8,000 feet. The actual delivery of ordnance was executed at 2003 hours on a heading between 250 and 259 degrees. This late-evening strike was specifically timed to maintain the relentless tempo of the bombardment, part of a broader MAAF effort to induce the garrison's surrender strictly through air power. Following the bombing run, the formation executed a structured egress through Kelibia and Ras el Fortass, losing altitude as they crossed the peninsula to safely recover the final aircraft at base by 2045 hours, accumulating seventeen total squadron flight hours. 200 Phase 1: Verification & Extraction Identity Check The exact date is not present in a dedicated column on this "Part B" sheet; however, entry BB records the time as "2003 hrs. L.T." on a document chronologically and contextually following the primary Sortie Report for June 9, 1943. Phase 2: Technical Expansion Glossary of Terms The document utilizes several standardized military and aviation abbreviations to categorize the tactical data. The abbreviation L.T. refers to Local Time, establishing the mission clock at 2003 hours. Ordnance loadouts are specified as G.P. (General Purpose), S.A.P. (Semi-Armour Piercing), and M.C. (Medium Capacity). These munitions utilized a 49 Det., denoting Detonator Number 49, with a .025 fractional delay, and were equipped with a Tail pistol 28, a specific impact-delay pistol designed to ensure structural penetration. The term Ack/Ack is a phonetic colloquialism for anti-aircraft artillery fire. Photographic reconnaissance metrics are identified by Verticals and obliques, referring to the angles of the strike cameras, executed at an IAS (Indicated Air Speed) of 210 knots. The notation S/E indicates Single-Engined aircraft, while L.G. signifies a Landing Ground. The aircraft park on the ground included JU 52s, referring to the Junkers Ju 52 three-engined transport aircraft. The abbreviation A/C serves as the standard nomenclature for Aircraft. The crew manifest formally documents the integration of multinational personnel, utilizing S.A.A.F. for the South African Air Force, RNZAF for the Royal New Zealand Air Force, RAF for the Royal Air Force, and RCAF for the Royal Canadian Air Force. Tactical flight formations are delineated by F/L (Formation Leader), B/L (Box Leader), and V/L (Vic Leader), the latter designating the commander of a standard three-aircraft "V" shaped element. Operational Context This archival document details the specific tactical execution of the evening bombardment mission on June 9, 1943, during the final, intensive phase of Operation Corkscrew. The strategic objective was the neutralization of the fortified Italian island of Pantelleria , a critical necessity for ensuring secure maritime lines of communication through the Strait of Sicily prior to Operation Husky. The designated target, gun positions at grid coordinate F 171048, was engaged from an altitude of 7,800 to 8,000 feet. The mission narrative highlights the precision required for medium-level daylight bombardment; twelve Martin Baltimore bombers delivered a concentrated "stick" of forty-four 500-pound munitions along the main road, successfully covering one gun position and causing a secondary explosion at grid F 173048. The total absence of anti-aircraft bursts suggests that preceding Allied bombardment waves had effectively suppressed or neutralized the island's defensive batteries in this sector. Furthermore, the aircrews gathered vital intelligence regarding Axis air assets, observing three single-engined fighters scrambling from the Pantelleria Landing Ground just before the formation arrived, and visually confirming nine Junkers Ju 52 transport airframes parked in the open. The observation of an unidentified single-engined aircraft trailing smoke heading toward the target area after the bombing suggests an active, if increasingly desperate, Axis aerial defense attempting to intervene against the Allied bomber streams. This continuous aerial pressure was the primary tactical lever used by the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces to compel the garrison's surrender strictly through air power, which occurred just two days later. 201 Phase 1: Verification & Extraction Identity Check The exact date found in the 'Date' column of the image is 10 JUN 43.