Operation

TO : H.Q. MAAF (attention 23rd SCORU) H.Q. NATAF (attention 2nd Command Unit 23rd SCORU) SAOA SAAF FROM : SIO 21 SQUADRON SAAF REF : 21S/710 DATE : 8th June, 1944 OPREP No. 710 for the period ending 2100 hrs on the 7th June, 1944 to V: NIL W: (i) 1 Baltimore MK V (ii) NIL Y: (i) 0.15 Hrs (ii) NIL Z: NIL Hallick Capt. S.I.O., 21 Squadron, SAAF.

1944-06-08

__o_O_o__

Form 541

MAP

Transcriber's Notes

Transcriber's Historical & Tactical Notes: * Administrative Report (Non-Operational): * "Nil" Return: This sortie report (No. 710) is remarkably brief because it records no operational activity ("to V: NIL") for the period ending 2100 hrs on June 7th. This aligns with the War Diary entry for June 7th (File 3), which stated "Nil operations." * The Purpose: Even when no missions were flown, reports had to be filed to account for aircraft status and flying hours. Here, Section W records "1 Baltimore MK V" and Section Y records "0.15 Hrs" (15 minutes) of flying time. This likely represents a brief test flight, an air test after repairs, or a transit flight (possibly related to the O.T.E. crews departing that day). * Context: * Lull in Action: This pause in operations on June 7th/8th allowed for the significant personnel rotation mentioned in the main diary (File 3), where veteran crews (Lieuts. Ashton, Rowe, v.d. Merwe, etc.) were posted "Tour Expired" and new officers arrived. * Abbreviations: * SCORU: Statistical Control and Operations Research Unit. * SAOA: Senior Air Officer Administration. * S.I.O.: Squadron Intelligence Officer. * OPREP: Operational Report. * Mk: Mark (Model). * Hrs: Hours. 29 Verification: Target File Verification: The document is dated 9th June, 1944 in the "DATE" field. It is a Sortie Report (No. 711) labeled 318 in the top right corner.