TORTORELLA

R.A.F. Form 441 A. SORTIE REPORT (Part A.) Sheet No. 1 Oprep. Ref. No. 444 Date. 13/11/43 Squadron. 21 SAAF No. of Aircraft. 12 Baltimores 6 Mk.4, 5 Mk.3A, 1 Mk.3 Aircraft No. ) Aircraft Letter. ) As per list Captain. MAJOR COULL Crew. LT MCARAVEY Formation leader Time Up. 1105 Hrs LT 1st A/C Time Down. 1300 Hrs LT Last A/C Total Time. 19.00 Hrs Aerodrome or L.G. TORTORELLA Type of Cloud. Cu Amount of Cloud. 1/10 Scattered Base of Cloud. 6000' Visibility. Good General Weather. Good Map or Chart Reference. 1:100,000 AGNONE Sheet 153 1:500,000 NAPOLI Sheet NE 40/14 Target or Duty. DI PALENA STATION H087682 | Height. | Place. | Narrative. | |---|---|---| | 1105 | TORTORELLA | A/B | | 1126 5000 | FOGGIA | Set course 302º M. for VILLA SAN MARIA | | 1148 15600 | VILLA S. MARIA | Set course for STAZ DI PALENA | | 1151 14000 | STAZ DI PALENA | Bombed on course of 236º. Left hand turn off target | | 1153 12000 | | Crossed bomb line and Set course for FOGGIA | | 1210 2500 | FOGGIA | Circled, awaiting to land after 12 Squadron | | 1300 | | Last A/C Landed | (Sgd) [unclear signature] Capt. SIO 21 Squadron, SAAF

1943-11-13 TORTORELLA

__o_O_o__

Form 541

MAP

Transcriber's Notes

Transcriber's Notes Expanded Abbreviations * R.A.F.: Royal Air Force. * SAAF: South African Air Force. * Oprep. Ref. No.: Operational Report Reference Number. * Mk.: Mark (designating the version of the aircraft). * LT: Local Time. * L.G.: Landing Ground. * Cu: Cumulus (cloud type). * STAZ DI / DI ... STATION: Stazione di (Italian for "Station of"). * A/B: Airborne. * M.: Magnetic (referring to the compass heading). * A/C: Aircraft. * SIO: Senior Intelligence Officer. * Sgd: Signed. Observations on Individuals * Major Coull: Acted as the Formation Leader for this 12-aircraft strike. Coull was a senior operational pilot who frequently led "Boxes" (three-aircraft sub-formations) and was now increasingly taking on full formation leadership following the combat losses of early November. * Lieutenant McAravey: Served as the observer/navigator for Major Coull. McAravey was a key member of the squadron's lead navigation teams, responsible for the high-altitude precision required to find small mountain targets like railway stations. Location Information and Modern Geography * Stazione di Palena (Palena Station): The target coordinate (H087682) refers to the railway station on the high plateau of the Quarto Santa Chiara. It is one of the highest railway stations in Europe (1,257 meters). * Modern Name: Today, the station remains a vital cultural and tourism asset as a major stop on the "Trans-Siberiana d’Italia" (Sulmona-Isernia line), where historic steam trains carry tourists through the Majella National Park. * Tortorella Landing Ground (Foggia No. 2): The squadron's home base. Now largely agricultural land, the site is located just east of the modern Foggia "Gino Lisa" Airport. * Villa Santa Maria: A navigational waypoint in the Abruzzo region used to align the formation for the final bomb run into the mountains. Historical Context * The War of Attrition on Logistics: This mission on November 13, 1943, was the fourth time in three days that 21 Squadron had been dispatched to strike Palena Station. The repetitive nature of these strikes underscores the station's critical role as a trans-shipment point for German supplies heading to the Bernhardt Line. * Weather and Tactical Success: After several days of struggling with 7/10 to 10/10 cloud cover, this mission benefited from "Good" visibility and only 1/10 scattered cloud. This allowed for a highly precise bomb run at 14,000 feet. * Inter-Squadron Coordination: The narrative (1210 Hrs) mentions circling Foggia to wait for 12 Squadron to land. This highlights the crowded nature of the Foggia airfields, where multiple Martin Baltimore and Douglas Boston squadrons of the Desert Air Force (DAF) operated in close proximity, requiring strict traffic control during recovery. * Tactical Egress: The report notes a "Left hand turn off target". Predetermined turn-offs were essential to prevent the formation from flying over known anti-aircraft concentrations or colliding with other boxes during the high-speed descent after releasing their ordnance. 57 The date written in the 'Date' column on the corresponding Part A of this report to verify the correct image is 13/11/43.