Sortie Report (Form 541)
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 CaptSIO 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.
Transcriber's Notes
- 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.
- 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.