| TORTORELLA |

SORTIE REPORT (Part A) R.A.F. Form 441 A. O 33 | [Header Columns] | [Content] | |---|---| | No. | 1 | | Oprep. Ref. No. | 522 | | Date | 20 Jan 44 | | Squadron | 21 SAAF | | Type of Aircraft | 12 Baltimores (2 Mk.3A, 10 Mk.4) | | Aircraft No. | See over | | Aircraft Letter | See over | | Captain | CAPTAIN DALLING DFC. | | Crew | LIEUT. McARAVEY | | | Formation Leader | | Time Up | 0930 A Hrs 1st a/c | | Time Down | 1111 A Hrs last a/c | | Total Time | 19.00 Hours | | Aerodrome or L.G. | TORTORELLA | | Type of Cloud | St.Cu | |---|---| | Amount of Cloud | FOGGIA to LAKE LESINA & eastwards. (No cloud over target) | | Base of Cloud | 6/10 - 8/10 4000' | | Visibility | FOGGIA area - 15/20 mls target area Good | | General Weather | | | Map or Chart Reference | ITALY 1:100,000 Sheet 146 SULMONA | |---|---| | Task or Duty | MEDIUM LEVEL BOMBING ATTACK ON POPOLI RR STN. - C857965 | |---|---| | Time | Height | Place | Narrative | |---|---|---|---| | 0930 | | TORTORELLA | a/c. Circling Drome to form up. | | 0947 | 2000' | TORTORELLA | S/c 322° M. for TERMOLI | | 0959 | 8700 | TERMOLI | S/c CASOLI | | 1019 | 13000 | CASOLI | S/c POPOLI | | 1025 | 12000 | POPOLI | Bombed on course 264 010° | | 1028 | 10000 | TARGET AREA | S/c BASE | | 1057 | 2000 | BASE | Over Base | | 1100 | | BASE | Landed | | 1111 | | | Last a/c landed | [Signature Block] (Signed) [Signature unreadable - similar to "Lt Thompson"?] Lt for Capt SIO 21 Squadron, S.A.A.F. PART B (on reverse) to be completed according to relevant pro-forma in H.Q. R.A.F. M.E. Instruction 34. HQP/1,500,000/4-42 P.T.O.

1944-01-20 | TORTORELLA |

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Form 541

MAP

Transcriber's Notes

Transcriber's Notes: * Sortie Report 522 (Popoli): This report details the morning raid on Popoli Railway Station on January 20th, 1944. The War Diary entry (file 269-1__10.jpg) described this raid as a failure: "the leader turned and made a short bombing run; his bombs overshot N.N.E. of target." The narrative here confirms the flight profile but not the result, which is typically found in Part B. * Target Corrections: The typed target line "MEDIUM LEVEL BOMBING ATTACK ON POPOLI RR STN." is unusually specific compared to previous entries. The coordinates "C857965" place the station on the edge of the town. The bombing heading shows a correction: "Bombed on course 264" is crossed out and replaced with "010°", indicating a last-minute tactical change or correction by the leader, possibly contributing to the "short bombing run" mentioned in the diary. * Formation Leader: Capt. Dalling DFC led this mission with Lieut. McAravey. This was likely McAravey's first mission as a lead observer since returning from England, which might explain the "short bombing run" error noted in the diary if coordination was slightly rusty. Dalling was a decorated veteran, so the error was notable. * Flight Profile: The narrative includes "Circling Drome to form up" at 0930. Forming up 12 bombers into a tight box formation took time and coordination before setting course ("S/c 322° M.") for the coast. "M" stands for Magnetic heading. * Weather: The weather was mixed, with significant cloud ("6/10 - 8/10") from Foggia to Lake Lesina, but crucially "No cloud over target," which meant the overshoot was due to human error rather than visibility issues. 46 Verification: Target File Verification: This document is the reverse side (Part B) of the Sortie Report for January 20th, 1944 (Sortie No. 522). Although there is no specific "Date" column on this side, the target "POPOLI RR STN" and the "Time over Target" of 1027 A Hrs align with the Part A document from the previous image (269-1__45.jpg) which lists a bombing time of 1025-1028 and is dated Jan 20, 1944.