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Old 5th September 2008, 07:28
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George Hopp George Hopp is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Ottawa, CA
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George Hopp
Re: Friendly fire WWII

Quote:
Such incidents were covered up, as a result of the effort to keep the effectiveness of this automated AAA technology hidden from the enemy. If not covered up, then the explanation came easy: the pilot was flying where he should not have flown. It should be obvious from what I state here that this explanation does not do justice to the complexities of the there and then, putting the blame on the one who could no longer defend himself: the pilot.
Another example of this would be the orders for Sicily: If they're flying towards land they're ours. If they're flying towards the sea, they're the enemy. This was a bit hard on the C-47s who had dropped their sticks of troopers, and were returning to base.

Don't forget the informal anti-aircraft motto: If it flies it dies.
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