Friendly fire WWII

[vvkj41]

Hi Brian & Guys

Small contribution regarding Royal Yugoslav AF

Cheers
Aleks


Friendly fire – Royal Yugoslav Air Force, April 1941

6 April 1941 - Lockheed Electra YU-S??, Transportation group. Attacked by Messerschmit 109E from 2.Fighter Regiment (2.LP) in central Serbia. Messerschmitt pilot recognized Yugoslav markings and abort attack. Electra was undamaged.

6 April 1941 – Meserschmitt Bf 109E-3 unknown s/n, 2.Fighter Regiment (2.LP). Damaged in combat with Germans over Belgrade try to land at Zemun airfield. Shot down by airfield AA guns. Pilot managed to jump at low attitude, seriously burned.
6 April 1941 – Bristol Blenheim Mk.I 3528, 11. Independent Long Range Recce group (11.SGDI). Shot by Yugoslav AA guns from Fruška Gora Mountain. Blenheim explode during force landing. Crew of three perished: Lt Slavko Zelenika, nvtč Todor Radović and Sgt Blagoje Bakić.
6 April 1941 – Bristol Blenheim, unknown s/n, 1.Bomber Regiment (1.BP). Shot by Yugoslav AA guns over Avala Mountain near Belgrade. Only slightly damaged.
7 April 1941 – Bristol Blenheim Mk.I unknown s/n, 8.Bomber Regiment (8.BP). Shot by Yugoslav AA guns near airfield Novi Sad. Slightly damaged.
7 April 1941 – S.79 „black 12“ unknown s/n, 81.Independent Bomber group (81.SBG). Shot by Royal Yugoslav fleet from Boka Kotorska bay. Crash landed, crew unhurt.
7 April 1941 – Lockheed Electra YU-SBD, Transportation group. Shot by British ships from Preveze harbor in Greece. Crash landed, crew and passengers unhurt.
7 April 1941 – Fieseler Fi156 Storch 1.Recce group. Shot by Yugoslav AA guns over Novi Sad. Wounded pilot land near railway station. On 8 April another pilot was shot by same AA battery. He returned back with 17 shots in plane.

9 April 1941 – Hawker Fury Mk.II unknown s/n, 5.Fighter Regiment (5.LP). Shot down by Yugoslav AA guns near Kraljevo. Pilot jumped, only slightly injured.
9 April 1941 – Rogožarski PVT, unknown s/n, 5.Fighter Regiment (5.LP). Shot down by Yugoslav ground fire near Dulane village. Captain Otokar Sep died in crash.
9 April 1941 – Hawker Fury MK.II, unknown s/n, 5.Fighter Regiment (5.LP). Shot by Yugoslav ground fire near Dulane village. Pilot crash landed near Ćićevac in central Serbia, slightly wounded.
9 April 1941 – Potez 25, unknown s/n, 7.Recce group. Shot by Yugoslav AA guns while landing at Divci airfield near Valjevo. Landing gear collapsed, pilot unhurt.
9 April 1941 – Fieseler Fi156 Storch, unknown s/n, 7.Recce group. Shot by Yugoslav AA guns near Smederevska Palanka. Crash landed. Crew of two unhurt.
10 April 1941 – Potez 25, unknown s/n, 606.Training Escadrille (606.TE). Shot by Yugoslav AA guns near Slavonski Brod. Force landed. Pilot unhurt, mechanic slightly injured.
10 April 1941 – Messerschmitt Bf 110C, Test group (OG). Shot by Yugoslav ground fire while landing at Radinci airfield. Hidraulic pump damaged, pilot manage to land.
10 April 1941 – Potez 25, unknown s/n, 609.Escadrille (609.E). Shot down by Yugoslav AA guns near Čačak in western Serbia. Pilot Lt Ilija Kandić and observer Lt Josip Novaković died in crash.
10 april 1941 – Bücker Bü 131D, unknown s/n, 7.Bomber Regiment (7.BP). Shot down by Yugoslav AA guns near Čačak in western Serbia. Pilot Sgt Alojz Stražišar and mechanic Sgt Zdravko Berisavljević died.
11 April 1941 – S.79 unknown s/n, 7.Bomber Regiment. Shot down by Yugoslav AA guns over Igman Mountain near Sarajevo. Seven Yugoslav aviators perished: 2Lt Miodrag Djordjević, Sgt Branko Tomić, 2Lt Branko Mirić, 2Lt Miodrag Nikolić, 2Lt Aleksandar Hristić, Sgt Vojislav Mećikućić and unknown airmen.
11 April 1941 – Bristol Blenheim Mk.I 3535, 1.Bomber Regiment (1.BP). Shot by British ships from Preveze harbor in Greece. Crash landed near Ioannina, crew of two unhurt.
12 April 1941 – Three Dorniers Do17K from 3.Bomber Regiment (3.BP) bombed own troops near Sokolac in Bosnia. Few wounded soldiers on the ground. No one killed.
15 April 1941 – Hawker Hurricane Mk.I 2337, 2.Fighter Regiment (2.LP). Shot by Yugoslav S.79 gunner during escort to target in Albania. Hurricane slightly damaged landed at Kapino Polje airfield.
15 April 1941 – Dornier Do17K 3348, 3.Bomber Regiment (3.BP). Shot by Australian troops while landing at Menidi airfield. Dornier only slightely damaged.
16 April 1941 – S.79 „white 12“ unknown s/n, 7.Bomber Regiment (7.BP) shot by British ships from Preveze harbor in Greece. Crash landed, some of crew and passengers badly hurt. Minister Marko Daković died shortly after.

All the Best

Aleks

[Brian]

Many thanks Aleks

Your 'small' contribution is in fact a major contribution!

Excellent

Cheers
Brian

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Not a new case, but an interesting note from the ORB of 609 Sqn RAF, on 5 April 1941:
"In afternoon Squadron subjected to a recognition test at Station Intelligence Office, won by F/O Bisdee and P/O Hill (the C.O., who took the examination later, cheated by naming a captured Sunderland as one of the types of German 4 engined aircraft, and was disqualified). N.B. Britain has so many new types of bombers, some American, that recognition is at present rather a preoccupation of the authorities. 25 friendly bombers are said to have been shot down by our fighters last month, which is more than the Germans accounted for."

25 RAF Bombers shot down by friendly fire in March 1941, I hope it was exagerated !

[GuerraCivil]

Some friendly fire cases by Red Army Air Force (Soviets) during Winter War against Finland 1939-1940:

49 IAP (49th Fighter Aviation Regiment):

On 6.12.1939 the unit opened its air victory record when four of its I-16 fighters attacked an enemy flying boat. The enemy plane went down in flames, only one parachute. One of I-16 pilots, I.P. Murazonav was hit by returnfire of enemy.
In reality the downed plane was Soviet MBR-2 of Ladoga flotilla and only lieutnant Petrov of its crew managed to bail out although he was wounded, all three other crewmen were killed. The tragic incident was investigated and it showed that the flight of MBR-2 was not informed to 8th Air Army (in which 49 IAP belonged) and also that many Red Army Air Force pilots were unable to identify Soviet naval planes.

On 1.1.1940 was again a bad day for 49 IAP. Lieutnant Gluhin attacked twin engined enemy bomber which he probably thought to be a Finnish Blenheim. However, it was a SB bomber of 18 SBAP and all of its crew was killed.

7 IAP (7th Fighter Aviation Regiment):

On 25.12.1939 one I-16 fighter of 7 IAP spotted an enemy Bulldog biplane and shot it down. However the plane was in reality a I-15 bis plane of the same 7 IAP. The I-15 bis pilot Pavel Khutakov managed to bail out successfully. This saved him for brilliant military career. Pavel Khutakov was the Commander-in-Chief and Chief Air Marshall of Soviet Air Force in 1969-1984.

[Brian]

Many thanks GC

Excellent gen.

Cheers
Brian

[Rainer]

Another naval related friendly fire incident:

The convoy WS-21 left the Clyde on 29 July 1942 with 19 troop transport and a strong escort of destroyers and cruisers bound for Freetown. At 08.55 hours on 31 July the Sunderland W4025 of 201 Squadron RAF took off from Lough Erne to escort this convoy northwest of Ireland. However, when it arrived over the convoy in very low visibility one of the ships* shot down the Sunderland in position 55°23N, 14°13W at 10.25 hours. HMS LEDBURY picked up the sole survivor (Sgt Wheatley).

The following crew members were lost:
F/Lt James Robert Traill, RAF
F/Lt Walter Harry Wakefield, RAF
P/O John Allen, RAF
F/Sgt James Andrew Collins, RAF
F/Sgt Maurice John Tomley, RAF
Sgt William Bluck, RAF
Sgt Clifford Gurney Fort, RAAF
Sgt John Robert Goodings, RAF
Sgt Vivian Lewis, RAAF
Sgt Harry Scarce, RAF
Sgt Norman Williams, RAF

*It is often stated that HMS HAWKINS shot down the Sunderland, but the cruiser was in command of the escorts and only reported the incident to the Admiralty without identifying which ship fired at the aircraft.

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Hello,

Brian, I guess you have already this case: the Catalina 202/K shot down by merchant ship(s) of convoy KMS-3 on 20 November 1942, but the link below is providing extensive details:
http://www.202-sqn-assoc.co.uk/files/friendly_fire.pdf

But the story gives not the serial of the Catalina, so if anybody has it I will be interested.

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Hello,

I have not seen it on this thread. On 11 September 1943, the ORB of 93 Sqn RAF recorded the following:
"Patrol over PEACHES. On landing at strip N.8505 (on orders from controller) American flak opened up on our aircraft which were in circuit, with wheels and flaps down. S/L Macdonald was hit in the tail and crashed, being killed. Sgt Baxter was hit, and crash landed unhurt. Other aircraft were damaged, but managed to land. After refuelling 6 A/C airborne 1610-1655 hrs, returning to base. One A/C was late in starting back, and has not yet returned. The pilot (F/S. Andrews) was heard to say he was airborne, but there has been no further news of him."
http://www.danishww2pilots.dk/sorties.php?id=1431

My guess is that the shot down Spitfire was EF674, also listed there:
http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showth...?t=2670&page=8

EF674 VcT West M50 8MU 14-5-43 82MU 4-6-43 SS707 10-6-43 Casablanca 29-6-43 shot down by US AA fire on landing approach Sala Italy 11-9-43

[udf_00]

FP 153 20 November 1942
www.202-sqn-assoc.co.uk/files/Autumn-2005.pdf

[Brian]

Excellent information, guys.

And I'm certain it's only the tip of the iceberg!

Cheers
Brian