Friendly fire WWII

[Laurent Rizzotti]

From the US Army official book on Okinawa (see https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/...chapter4.htm):

"Enemy air opposition had been relatively light during the first few days after the landings. On 6 April [1945] the expected air reaction materialized with a fierce attack of 400 planes which had flown down from Kyushu to drive the invaders from Okinawa. The raids' began at dawn, and by noon Task Force 58 had shot down seven possible suicide planes. Throughout the afternoon the battle increased in intensity. Patrol and picket ships, which throughout the operation proved an irresistible attraction to enemy planes, were a favorite target. Japanese planes also appeared from time to time over the Hagushi beaches and transport area and were taken under fire by the ship and shore batteries. On such occasions the raider, ringed with bright streams of tracer bullets from automatic weapons, would streak across a sky filled with black puffs of smoke from hundreds of bursting shells, and in the course of seconds would plunge into the sea in a geyser of water and smoke, or crash into a ship with an even greater explosion of smoke and flame. Directed against such raiders, friendly fire killed four Americans and wounded thirty-four others in the XXIV Corps zone, ignited an ammunition dump near Kadena, destroyed an oil barge, and in the late afternoon shot down two American planes over the beaches. Some ships also suffered damage and casualties from friendly fire. Twenty-two of twenty-four suicide crashes were successful, sinking two destroyers, a mine sweeper, two ammunition ships, and an LST. A ship rescuing survivors from the lost LST was itself struck by a suicide plane soon after but was not seriously damaged. The attack cost the Japanese about 300 planes; 65 were splashed by fliers from the Essex alone. Unloading continued on the Hagushi beaches almost without pause, and the American fleet, although it had taken severe blows, was still intact."

According to http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/USN/LLApr45.htm, the US Navy lost 19 aircraft in Okinawa area on this date so identifying the two victims of friendly fire would need a check of USN war diaries, and my fold3 account is down for the moment.

[Laurent Rizzotti]

24 December 1944: the CC A of 2nd US Armored Division took Buissonville and then:
"After this action a squadron of P-38's strafed the village, probably on a mission which had been called for before the assault, killing one American officer and wounding another before the airplanes could be diverted."

Source: https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/7-8/7-8_18.HTM (official US Army History, THE ARDENNES: BATTLE OF THE BULGE)

21 November 1943: a Navy bomber attacked US tanks at Makin:
"Before the four tanks had dispersed, a navy bomber suddenly swung over them at a very low altitude, and from its opening bomb-bay hatch, a 2,000-lb. "daisy-cutter" fell, striking ground about 25 feet from Captain Tobin's tank on the highway. Lieutenant Gallagher, Pfc. John E. Costello, who was covering him from the base of a nearby tree, and Cpl. Elmer F. Conway, who was in a foxhole, were all killed, and two sergeants were wounded, while other tank men were injured by the concussion. By the time the crews had recovered the snipers were forgotten. They gave no further trouble. "
https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/makin/mak-drive.htm
Note: according to the website findagrave.com, full name of the officer was Lt Edward J Gallagher, and he and Costello both belonged to 165th Infantry Regiment. Conway was not found on findagrave.com or the ABMC database.