Operation

BA. DUMPS IN AREA SOUTH OF BRONTE BB. 0812 hrs LT. BC. Medium Level. Height 12000 ft 340° Course. 2 Mk 3 : 8 x 250 Incendiary L/C 36 Pistol Nose fused. 9 Mk 3A: 54 x 250 do. do. do. 1 Mk 4 : 6 x 250 do. do. do. BD. The target was obscured by the shadow of Mount ETNA. The incendiaries were dropped from C731097 to C728104 between the Railway track, on and across the main road into some trees and lands. NOT many bursts were seen but 6 small fires started, smoke rising about 100 ft. One vivid explosion seen. NO fire developed. BE. Moderate and accurate HAA before and during Bombing run. Approximately 40 bursts, guns firing from C732096, C728099, C726094, C725091. BF. Two aircraft sustained minor damage from HAA. BG. Obliques and Verticals of bombing. Height 12000 ft. Course 340° IAS 210. BH. 30 MT (large and square) on road SOUTH of BRONTE facing SOUTH. LIST OF AIRCRAFT AND CREW 176YY Capt. STUART, Lt. PAWSON, F/Sgt. MORLEY, 2/Lt. SCHUMANN (FL) 344 X Capt. SAUNDERS, Lt. BOOYSE, F/Sgt. MOORE, Sgt. EARP-JONES. 291 U Lts. HARGRAVE & REES, F/Sgts. JENSEN (RCAF) & BEDFORD. 221 Y Lts. EATON & MODERMOTT, F/Sgts. FREESTONE (NZAF) & VAN ROOYEN (VL) 387 R Lts. RICHARDS & DE CONNICK, F/Sgt. ROBERTSE, Sgt. McGRINDLE. 280 P Lts. GRADER & GOULD, F/Sgt. GREYLING, 2/Lt. GROENEWALD. 226 H Capt. ORD, Lt. HODGES, F/Sgts. WALKER & DEVENISH. (BL) 271 F Lts. GUARD & WEBBER, F/Sgt. GREEN, 2/Lt. DE VILLIERS. 341 L Lts. WILLMOTT & BORCHERDS, F/Sgts. LOOTS & WALBRIDGE (RAF) 195 G Lts. A'BEAR & OWEN-HUGHES, 2/Lt. HARRISON & PICKUP. (VL) 179 A Lts. ASKEW & LAMBERT, F/Sgt. GELDENHUYS, Sgt. CRAWHALL. 290 G Lts. MURMAN & WALTERS, F/Sgt. ODENDAAL, Sgt. STEWART.

1943-08-04

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Form 541

MAP

Transcriber's Notes

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES Abbreviations and Technical Terms Expanded * LT: Local Time. * ft: feet. * do.: ditto (refers to "250 Incendiary L/C 36 Pistol Nose fused"). * Incendiary L/C: Incendiary Low Capacity. * HAA: Heavy Anti-Aircraft artillery. * IAS: Indicated Air Speed. * MT: Motor Transport. * (FL): Formation Leader. * (VL): Vic Leader (leader of a three-aircraft 'V' sub-formation). * (BL): Box Leader (leader of a six-aircraft 'box' section). * RCAF: Royal Canadian Air Force. * NZAF: New Zealand Air Force (properly RNZAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force). * RAF: Royal Air Force. Personnel and Command Observations * Captain Stuart (Formation Leader): Leading in aircraft 176YY, Stuart faced a difficult tactical environment where the shadow of Mount Etna physically obscured the target area, complicating visual bomb-aiming. * Captain Ord (Box Leader): Leading the second group in aircraft 226H, Ord's presence provided senior tactical stability during a run-in that was plagued by "moderate and accurate" heavy flak. * Multinational SAAF Crews: The listing highlights the integrated nature of the 21 Squadron. Notably, it includes F/Sgt. Jensen (RCAF), F/Sgt. Freestone (NZAF), and F/Sgt. Walbridge (RAF), demonstrating that Commonwealth personnel were fully embedded in SAAF operational flight crews. * Sgt. Crawhall: Continuing his high-tempo service, Crawhall flew as a gunner in the crew of aircraft 179A. Location and Intelligence Analysis * Bronte (South Dumps): A strategic town on the western slopes of Mount Etna. In August 1943, Bronte (modern name unchanged) was a vital logistical node for Axis forces defending the "Etna Line". * Etna Shadow (Section BD): The report captures a unique geographical hazard; because this was an early morning strike (0812 hrs LT), the massive bulk of Mount Etna cast long shadows over the western slopes, making it incredibly difficult for observers and bomb-aimers to identify the dumps tucked against the tree line. * Flak Positions (Section BE): The intelligence officer pinpointed four specific battery locations (Grid C732096, etc.) that fired "approximately 40 bursts". This level of accurate HAA suggests the Axis dumps were heavily protected by German 8.8cm batteries positioned to cover the vital road and rail entries into Bronte. * MT Sighting (Section BH): The sighting of 30 large, square MT facing south towards the approaching Allied lines provided critical evidence of German troop concentrations or potential counter-attack preparations in the Bronte sector. Historical Context: The Battle for Sicily * August 4, 1943 (Operation HUSKY): This mission occurred as the British 8th Army relentlessly squeezed the Axis "Etna Line". 21 Squadron's task was to "isolate the battlefield" by incinerating the supplies and ammunition intended for the German rearguard. * The Martin Baltimore: On this raid, the 12-aircraft formation delivered a specialized payload of 68 x 250 lb Incendiary bombs. Unlike general-purpose explosives, these were designed to start fires in the "trees and lands" where Axis depots were concealed. * Operational Toll: Despite the successful drop and observation of "smoke rising about 100 ft," the mission was costly, with two aircraft sustaining flak damage from the accurate German batteries protecting the Bronte approaches. 144 The date written in the 'Date' column of target file 276-1__144.jpg is 5 Aug 43.