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Re: Friendly fire WWII
Hi Brian,
for some other project I did a list of the actions fought by US PT boats during the war and here are the cases where they were attacked by friendly AC:
20 July 1943
USAAF B-25s, unaware of friendly naval vessels in their patrol area, mistakenly sink motor torpedo boat PT-166 (08°15'S, 156°53'E) and damage PT-164 and PT-168 in Ferguson Passage, Solomons.
27 March 1944
Motor torpedo boats PT-121 and PT-353 are mistakenly sunk by friendly bomber, Bismarck Archipelago, 05°17'S, 151°01'E.
29 April 1944
Motor torpedo boats PT-346 and PT-347 are accidentally sunk by F4Us (VMF 215) and F6Fs (VF 34), and SBDs and TBFs off Cape Lambert, Bismarck Archipelago, 04°13'S, 151°27'E. PBY (VP 91) rescues survivors from the two PT-boats.
29 September 1944
Motor torpedo boat PT-310 is mistakenly strafed by RAF Beaufighter off southern France.
26 December 1944
Japanese "Intrusion Force" (Rear Admiral Kimura Masanori), consisting of heavy cruiser Ashigara, light cruiser Oyodo, three destroyers and three escort destroyers, approaches Mindoro to bombard the beachhead. USAAF B-25s, P-38s, P-40s, and P-47s and Navy PB4Ys and PBMs successively attack the force. These damage Ashigara (near-misses), Oyodo, destroyers Asashimo, Kiyoshimo, and Kasumi, and escort destroyers Kaya and Kashi. Kimura's force carries out its bombardment mission, then encounters U.S. motor torpedo boats; PT-77 is damaged, probably accidentally bombed by friendly aircraft. Subsequently, PT-223 sinks the already damaged Kiyoshimo off San Jose, 145 miles south of Manila, 12°20'N, 121°00'E.
7 March 1945
Motor torpedo boats PT-305 and PT-307 are accidentally bombed (but not damaged) by friendly aircraft while patrolling southwest of Genoa, Italy.
By the way, I will continue one day to send you data about the 1940 cases I listed. Just when I will have time again...
Best Regards
Laurent
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