Friendly fire WWII

[Brian]

Yes, Andreas, that is correct

Cheers
Brian

[Gunther]

One of the best studies of friendly fire I know of is:

http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/car...bs/shrader.pdf

Rather than Fratricide, Maj. Shrader used Amicide. He provides historical models showing that typically friendly fire accounted for -2% of casualties in ground ops but could reach 30+ % in bombing/strafing friendlies.

There have been numerous "Blue on Blue" incidents in air combat, perhaps most notably when von Richthofen probably was WIA by a wingman in July '17. We can only guess at what friendly fire must've been like in Bomber Command and the Nachtjagd...

[Nick Hector]

This is getting to be a long thread, and I must confess to not yet having found the time to read it in its entirety so I apologise if these two have already been mentioned:

1) 452 sqn RAAF, 13.10.41 (Circus 108A).

Bluey Truscott shot at a “German” in his parachute. Quoting the American Historian Donald Caldwell’s history of JG 26: “No. 452 Squadron’s P/O “Bluey” Truscott shot at a parachutist, but the action met with the disapproval of his fellow Australian pilots, and it was apparently not repeated. Ironically, no German pilot bailed out on this day, and Truscott’s target was probably Allied.”
The Truscott biography noted that said target took no evasive action and 452 sqn lost a pilot (SGT E P “Happy” Jackson, Spitfire AB852) on his first mission.

2) I have always strongly suspected that Paddy Finucane's kill of 11.7.41 was actually Spitfire II P7562 of Sgt. Alex C Roberts. The reasons being that firstly, Finucane claimed a 'lone Bf109 that was attacking the formation' and secondly, Roberts got separated from the formation at some point and was shot down trying to rejoin it. Or in other words, exactly when he could have given the impression that he was a 'lone Bf109 attacking the formation'...

Cheers
Nick

[Observer1940]

Hello Brian

Not sure if you have this one or not, but came across the incident when searching for something else in the Nottingham Evening Post Monday 24th June 1940. I have not checked the spelling on BMD.

"SOLDIER ACCIDENTALLY SHOT"
"Tragedy During Unloading Of Rifle"

"Leslie Ronald Willsher, 19, a soldier, was accidentally shot when a rifle which was being unloaded by another soldier went off while he was on duty in Essex, yesterday."

"A doctor was called, but Willsher, whose home address was Thorncliffe-road, Southall, was dead."

Regards Mark

[Brian]

Many thanks guys

Most interesting.

Cheers
Brian

[AndreasB]

Originally Posted by Brian

Yes, Andreas, that is correct

Cheers
Brian

Many thanks Brian. That is very tragic.

All the best

Andreas