Friendly fire WWII

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Found today online a list of Romanian air losses during WWII (not complete, especially in 1945, but still very much than what I had before):
https://www.facebook.com/notes/roman...39174729490669

I selected the entries who are indicated as friendly fire losses:

Date Unit Squadron A/C Type Nr / Wnr Time Location Crew Description Source
24/06/1941 Gr. 3 Vt. Esc. 44 Vt. PZL P.11f ? Aerodrom Botosani Downed in error by german Bf109 From Barbarossa to Odessa Vol 1 - Denes Bernad
28/06/1941 Esc. 15 Obs. IAR 39 83 Mihaleseni, Botosani Slt. Cicerone Popescu + Shot down by germans Arhive via Alex
28/06/1941 Gr. 5 Vt. Esc. 51 Vt. He 112-B 6 Obrejiţa, VN Slt. Ctin. Zmeu + Downed by own AA Arhive via Alex
09/07/1941 IAR 39 ? Padurea Preajba, Vlasca Lt. Ctin. Catrina + Lt. Dumitru Militaru + AA fire / Own
18/09/1943 Gr. 8 Asalt Hs 129B-2 140729 Qu.5881 AA fire friendly 40% Michiel @ LRG
15/08/1944 Flot. 3 Aero Tr Bf 108 4 langa gara Buhaesti Cpt. Deica Dumitru Downed by germa AA by mistake Raport original Arhive Pitesti
23/08/1944 Gr. 7 Vt. Esc. 56 Vt ? Bf 109G 9 albstr. Intre com. Stefanesti si Tunari Adj. Av. Stioloc Ctin. + AA fire / Friendlt Raport original Arhive Pitesti
07/09/1944 Flot. 3 Aero Tr Esc. 105 TG Ju 52 7 Com. Raul Vadului Adj. Sef. Gh. Rares + Downed by enemy AA rusesc din eroare Raport original Arhive Pitesti

Best regards

[Laurent Rizzotti]

A Swiss newspapers (in French) describing several incidents on or just before 12 September 1944, with several dead:
http://doc.rero.ch/record/97143/files/1944-09-12.pdf

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Still adding entries I found (usually while searching something else...)

On 31 May 1942 two OS2U-3 landplanes of VS-1D-11, based at NAS San Pedro, California, were on a routine morning ASW patrol over the ocean, when at 0550 hrs, eleven miles at sea, bearing 260 degrees from Point Vincente, California, they were attacked by six P-39 USAAF fighters. The OS2U-3 Buno 5364 flown by Lt H H Hirschy (pilot) and RM1c Milton E Cox (radioman), was shot up so badly that they were forced to make a crash landing at sea. Lt Hirschy first jettisoned his depth charges in an attempt to remain airborne and as a safety measure and then upon complete engine failure made a water landing. Successfully escaping from the sinking plane, they succeeded in partially inflating the bullet-pierced two-man life raft and with that and their life jackets they managed to stay afloat. After four hours in the water they were picked up by a merchant vessel, the SS Mercury.
The pther plane of the section, piloted by Ens C S Willard (pilot) and AOM3c Melvin Bird (radioman), succeeded in evading most of the enemy fire (six, it is written like that in the VS-36 official war history). On the second run of the P-39's, in which Lt Hirschy was shot down, Ens Willard received four bursts amidshups which caused minor damage, but was able to evade further fire by hugging the deck and returning to base. As he landed, two P-39s zzomed alongside but withheld their fire.

Source:
VS-46 War History (available online at https://www.fold3.com/image/302008068 and https://www.fold3.com/image/302008076)
Eleventh Naval District and Naval Operating Base, San Diego, California, War Diary, May 1942 (available online at https://www.fold3.com/image/268360344)

No idea who the P-39s were, I guess the OS2U were mistaken for Japanese floatplanes (some launched by submarines flew over the US West Coast in 1942).

[Brian]

Hi Laurent

Fascinating!

As ever, sincere thanks for your on-going contributions - I'll have to write a book!!

Cheers
Brian

[Laurent Rizzotti]

You're welcome Brian.

It's a strange day as my two searches so far today have each led to the discovery of a friendly fire incident with only a very small connection to the subject of my search.

Here is the second: on 6 April 1944, retreating British and Indian troops near Imphal were attacked by Allied aircraft, suffering casualties (at the end of the page, it is not possible to copy text)
http://www.ww2imphalcampaign.com/art...f-kanglatongbi

[Laurent Rizzotti]

On 1 December 1941, an Italian column was going to attack a British base when at around 1600 hrs it was bombed in error by German Stukas near Bir Berraneb (Libya). In the column were armored cars of the Polizia Africa Italiana. One was hit and three crew, vicebrigadiere Enzo Bertoglio, guardia Renzo Anelli and guardia Anelli Renzo, were killed.
http://www.cadutipolizia.it/fonti/19...1941anelli.htm

On 27 January 1944 the Italian town of Caiazzo, liberated since three months and 40 miles from the front, was bombed in error by US bombers and 18 people were killed.
http://asmvpiedimonte.altervista.org...guerra_43.html

[Laurent Rizzotti]

On 7 August 1942, VT-8 bombed several places on Mailata Island, Solomons, far away from any Japanese position.
http://www.archaehistoria.org/solomo...edo-squadron-8

Almost two years later, in May 1944, another villager of Mailata was killed when bombed in error during an US training mission.
http://www.archaehistoria.org/solomo...erican-bombing

[hanshauprich]

Night of 21. March 1945
Hudson III FK 803 161 Sqdn. shoot down by P-61 from 422 NFS, (Anderson/Koehler) A. think it was an Dornier Do 217.
Hudson crashes in Luxembourg/Maulusmühle.
Pilot from FK 803 bailed out, rest of crew and 3 Belgian Agents KIA
Few remains from the Hudson still on place.
h.

[Darius]

From "Die 101. Jäger-Division", p. 384:

III./Jäg.Rgt. 228, Gefechtsbericht für die Zeit von 21. Januar bis 29. März 1942:
[...]
24.01.1942. Gegen 13 Uhr wird Kurulka II von eigenen Stukas bombardiert (3 Tote und einige Verwundete).

Kurulka II is located north-west of Sslawjansk.

Darius

[Darius]

same source, p. 575:

28.05.1943, during russian attacks near Krymskaja:

[...]Luftflotte 4 unterstützte auch heute unter starker Zusammenfassung der Kräfte die Abwehrkämpfe an der Front der Division. Eigene Jäger erzielten im Luftraum des Kubanbrückenkopfes 35 Abschüsse, wovon ein Großteil auf den Raum der Abwehrschlacht bei Kiewskoje fällt. Die entscheidende Bedeutung der Luftwaffenunterstützung wird durch die schwer ringende Infanterie dankbar anerkannt. Trotzdem kommen Meldungen aus der Truppe, die bedauerliche Irrtümer im richtigen Erkennen der Erdziele zum Gegenstand haben. Am 27. Mai warf ein Verband von 62 Stuka die gesamte Bombenlast in die eigene in Gorischtschnyj kämpfende Truppe und traf hierbei Pi.Btl. 101 und Pi.Btl. 46. Die hierdurch hervorgerufene moralische Erschütterung hat weitgehend dazu beigetragen, daß bei dem anschließenden Feindangriff diese Teile der Kampfgruppe Schury sich in ihrer Stellung nicht mehr halten konnten und auf das Höhengelände hart nordostwärts Krassnyj zurückgingen. Heute warfen die auf 121,4 anfliegenden Stuka um 17.30 Uhr zur Hälfte ihre Bomben auf die Stellungen des Pi.Btls. 101. Die Division sah sich verpflichtet, diese Tatsachen zur Ausschaltung eines Wiederholungsfalls nach oben weiter zu melden. Leider wird dies als unliebsame Störung des Einvernehmens zwischen Heer und Luftwaffe ausgelegt. Bezüglich des Verhaltens der Luftwaffe wurde aus dem Generalkommando im Rahmen der Tagesmeldung auf Befehl des Divisionskommandeurs folgendes zur Kenntnis gebracht:[...]

Darius