Friendly fire WWII

[Darius]

Hello friends,

did we have this one?:
09.11.1942: Several fighters of VGF-26 of the carrier USS SANGAMON on CAP came across a britsh Hudson bomber on an antisubmarine patrol and shoot him down.

Source: "Hunter-Killer - US Escort Carriers in the Battle of the Atlantic", p. 22. Source was "CTF 34 Preliminary Report on TORCH, Serial 00241, 28. November 1942, p. 10.

Greetings

Darius

[Brian]

Hi Darius

Thanks - but yes, I have this information, but keep searching .......!

Many thanks and best wishes
Brian

[Laurent Rizzotti]

An interesting case of friendly fire... for once reported by the other side:

On 26 January 1944, German-speaking radio operators of 1st Czechoslovak Independent Brigade (fighting on the Eastern Front) were able to intercept Luftwaffe communications and guide the German bombers to destroy German positions and bridge at Ostrozhany that their units had tried to destroy for over one week.

Source:
http://www.czechpatriots.com/csmu/bri-combats5.php

[Brian]

Many thanks Laurent

And still they keep coming ......!!

Cheers
Brian

[dumontn]

Originally Posted by BABIN

Hello Brian,

Regarding the fate of the crew of this Boston (which was part of the "Lorraine" French Sqdn) :

- S/C Louis RICARDOU (gunner) : killed in the crash
- S/C Hubert CORNEMENT (navigator) : badly wounded in the crash ; lying on the ground, close to the wreck, he was murdered by the SS (probably SS from the 12nd Hitlerjungend) on the morning of 5th of August
- Adj. François DUMONT (W/O) : only groggy in the crash, but slightly wounded on 5th of August ... by the straffing of a Mosquito on the wreck ; he could join the American lines on 17th of August.
- S/C Pierre PIERRE (pilot) : seriously wounded in the crash, he could join the American lines on 15th of August.

I extracted this info from the French magazine "ICARE" n° 176.

Au revoir

Pierre

This crew included my late father Francois Joseph Dumont (1918-1997) who was a rear gunner in 342 Lorraine Squadron .

He married and settled in the UK, had nine children and became a French Diplomat. He received the Légion d'Honneur from President De Gaulle at London Heathrow during the state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965.

I would like to hear from anyone who knew him or has stories from 342 or similar groups.

Regards

[Andrew Arthy]

Hi,

Not sure if the attached incident is listed yet. The 52nd FG shot down a Beaufighter off northern Sicily. They also attacked a Spitfire during that month, but I forgot to make note of the date.

Cheers,
Andrew A.

[Andrew Arthy]

Hi,

I found the 'friendly fire' incident where the 52nd FG shot down a Spitfire. It was three days after the Beaufighter, on 30 August 1943. I've attached the relevant report.

Cheers,
Andrew A.

[pilot05]

Hello Andrew,

may I ask, where the reports are from? Where can I find such reports, I am interested in 29th May 1944....
Thanks

regards
Martin

Originally Posted by Andrew Arthy

Hi,

I found the 'friendly fire' incident where the 52nd FG shot down a Spitfire. It was three days after the Beaufighter, on 30 August 1943. I've attached the relevant report.

Cheers,
Andrew A.

[Brian]

Hi Andrew

Thanks a million! The Beaufighter incident I have in some detail but the Spitfire IX on 30 August 1943 is new to me.

Who was the pilot of the Spitfire IX and did he survive?

Who were the 5thFS pilots who shot him down?

Cheers

Brian

[Andrew Arthy]

Martin:

The source of the reports I posted was NARA Record Group 18, Box 2281. This is a file at the National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland, Washington, D.C.

Unfortunately I didn't photograph too much 52nd FG material from 1944, so can't help you with details for 29 May 1944, sorry.


Brian:

Glad that was of interest. I saw the two reports and straight away thought of this thread.

I was just reading the 52nd FG history Spitfires and Yellow Tail Mustangs and noticed the Beaufighter incident is mentioned there, but not the Spitfire incident.

For the Spitfire incident there is a different report to the one I posted where a 'Spitfire IX' is listed in the 52nd's victory claims column. With regard to the American pilots involved, unfortunately I don't have time to go back through the pages to find that detail. However, hopefully someone else has easy access to that information.

Cheers,
Andrew A.