|
Re: 359 FG dogfight with Russian fighters?
Knowing one of the 359th FG pilots who was involved in the incident, I feel "trigger happy" is a bit of a short-sighted way of looking at it.
Please take into account the confusion caused by:
- bombs raining down from above, scattering your flight
- not knowing Soviets are in the area, having captured a base you assume to be German
- having a mix of 109s and 190s blending into a mix of very similarly looking (shape and camouflage) Yaks and Lavochkins
- lack of red stars on the wings of the Soviet planes
- insufficient airplane recognition training, which didn't focus enough (at all?) on Soviet types
- the utter chaos and confusion of WW2 air combat in general
That may begin to sketch the picture.
Of course pilots were keen to score, but mix in the above ingredients and you should wonder why not more such incidents happened!
In any case Brian Cull is currently writing on the subject of friendly fire, so a more thorough research may become available in te next few years?
|