Sortie Report (Form 541)
BA. TRAPANI/ MILO A/D SICILY.BB. 0413/8 LT.BC. MEDIUM LEVEL 9/10000'. 8 x 500 GP 39 Det 37 Pistol (6hr delay).Tail fused only. 100 Crowefeet.BD. Large fire was burning in TRAPANI TOWN on arrival. One aircraftbombed on ETA and considers that bombs fell in or near Target.Second aircraft claims to have straddled LG.All spikes were thrown out through the rear hatch by the bottomgunner ten seconds after release of last bomb. Two explosionswere seen in Target area shortly after bombing.BE. Slight LAA and HAA from Target area, inaccurate. Ship firedHAA from NW TRAPANI. Isolated and inaccurate.Red balls fired at aircraft over target. Seemed to hang beforefalling. Good for height.12/20 S/Ls from TRAPANI-ST. VITO point. Inaccurate.BF. NIL.BG. NIL.BH. Appeared to be numerous small grass fires over NW Sicily.LIST OF AIR CREW AND AIRCRAFT9/10 JUL 43.957 W. Lt. Wood, Lt. Gould, F/Sgts. Purdon & Groenewald.930 K. Lt. Hamilton, Lt. Whittle, F/Sgts. Hodgkinson & Phelan.
Transcriber's Notes
- A/D
- Aerodrome.
- LT
- Local Time.
- GP
- General Purpose (bombs).
- Det
- Detonator.
- ETA
- Estimated Time of Arrival.
- LG
- Landing Ground.
- NW
- North-West.
- S/Ls
- Searchlights.
Abbreviations and Technical Terms Expanded:
Observations about Individuals Mentioned:
Information about the Location:
St. Vito point: Now known as San Vito Lo Capo, a prominent cape northeast of Trapani that housed Axis searchlight batteries.
Historical Context and Theatre Events: