Friendly fire WWII

[Brian]

Hi Paul

Many thanks. Yes, I have this one fairly well recorded including names. The pilot accidentally shot down was sadly killed.

Cheers
Brian

[paulmcmillan]

I don't supoose you can supply the name of the airman that died can you?

The reason I ask......


http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=58567

Regards

Paul

[Brian]

Hi Paul

I have sent you a PM with details.

Cheers
Brian

[Brian]

Hi Ruy

Why am I top of the tree? Do I win a prize? If so, please make it cash!

Cheers
Brian

[Ruy Horta]

Unfortunately 12oclockhigh.net is strictly low budget, so no prices!!!

As one of the more active threads I thought I might as well sticky it for the duration - if the attention level drops off I'll unsticky it again.

Unless you'd rather have it as a non-sticky in the first place.

[Brian]

Many thanks Ruy - you know how grateful I am for allowing me to post so many queries over the past few months - I have gained so much knowledge via your site.

Long may ye reek, as the say in Scotland!

Cheers
Brian

[Six Nifty .50s]

9 September 1940
RAF Hurricane Mk.I -- P2765 was shot down by a German Heinkel 111 bomber over Farnborough, Kent. Pilot Officer J. S. Humphreys bailed out, was shot at in error by Canadian soldiers, and then robbed by them on landing! (If anyone knows more about this incident, please do tell). Norman Franks, RAF Fighter Command Losses vol. I, p.79.


1 July 1942
Squadron Leader R. W. 'Bobby' Oxspring was an eyewitness to the destruction of Spitfire AB806 and he nearly met the same end:

" ... Stung into retaliation by our relentless offensive, the Luftwaffe resorted to sneak raids on our south coast towns and ports ... In the Biggin Hill sector these raids concerned 91 Squadron more than others because of our disposition on the south coast. Despite this, our success at intercepting these raids was practically nil and caused us much frustration. I flew up to Biggin Hill and took my worries to the sector commander, Dicky Barwell was as concerned as I was and we had a long discussion with the senior controller, Bill Igoe. Ultimately Dicky suggested that with Bill controlling he would accompany me on a standing patrol the same evening to try to assess first-hand what the problems were.
We took off from Biggin Hill an hour before sunset and patrolled just off the coast between Dungeness and Beachy Head. There was a very thick haze up to 16,000 feet and we were stationed just above it. As we approached Beachy, Bill warned us of unidentified plots in our vicinity and we peered into the haze for signs of activity. Suddenly I sighted two fighters approaching us out of the glare of the setting sun and gave a warning to Dicky who was abreast of me and nearer to them. The leading fighter, which flew close over the top of me, I identified as a Spitfire and called the fact to Dicky. I watched as it faded to my rear and then turned back to see the second aircraft, another Spit, behind Dicky and already opening fire on him.
Calling an urgent break to Dicky I flew on a collision course at his attacker and succeeded in distracting him enough to force a break-away. I turned back to close over the top of Dicky, whose aircraft was flaming from the petrol tank, and I could see him desperately trying to open the canopy to bale out. I glanced back to see the first Spit swinging in behind me and opening fire. I broke hard round and down into the haze to shake him off, but search as I might I could see no sign of Dicky. My frantic calls to him bore no response and I circled down through the murk to the Channel. All I could find was what I took to be and oil slick on the surface, but there was no sign of either a parachute or a dinghy.
I flew despondently back to Biggin Hill to report the tragedy. Despite intensive air sea rescue searches, no trace of Dicky was ever found. I felt awful about it and somehow responsible for losing a gallant officer. No blame could be apportioned to Bill Igoe's control organization; they did their job. It is significant, however, that the subsequent Court of Inquiry revealed that the two Spitfires which caused the calamity came from an Allied squadron in the Tangmere sector and that, incredibly, one pilot was on his first operational mission sortie and the leader on his second.
So died a superb commander in the most deplorable circumstances. With his body still strapped in plaster to protect his cracked vertebrae, Dicky probably found it too severe a handicap either to abandon his aircraft or even to jettison the canopy. But being the man he was he would have been the first to forgive the trigger-happy Tangmere pilots who, itching to claim their first Hun, couldn't tell the difference between a Messerschmitt and a Spitfire..."
See p.106-108, Oxspring, Robert Wardlow. Spitfire Command (London: Kimber, 1984).


1 June 1943
RAF Typhoon Mk.1b -- (609 Squadron) was damaged by British AA-fire near Margate while in pursuit of a Focke-Wulf fighter-bomber from SKG 10. Chris Goss/Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers Over Britain, p.276.


3 August 1943
USAAF P-40 (79th Fighter Group) was misidentified and damaged by gunfire from another P-40 of the 57th Fighter Group. Leo G. Berinati was not injured and landed safely at Palagonia. See p.93, Don Woerpel, A Hostile Sky: The Mediterranean Airwar of the 79th Fighter Group.


19 August 1943
Hubert Zemke: " ... Our only loss was due to an engine failure ... however, the group leader came near to getting an extra parting in his hair. Having dived after an FW 190 near the bombers and opened fire with apparently little effect, a hole suddenly appeared in my windshield. Only later, after my crew chief reported finding a spent .50-caliber bullet in the cockpit, did I appreciate my person had experienced a very near miss. The bullet most likely came from one of the B-17s we were shepherding ... " See Roger Freeman / Zemke's Wolf Pack, p.109.


September 1943
" ... On the second or third day after the Salerno invasion, we were flying low patrol at 5000ft looking for enemy fighters ... all of a sudden these fighters peeled off left and began a dive-bomb run on the shipping off the beachhead ... I had one eyeball on an Fw 190 in my 7 o'clock position about 1,000ft back and one eyeball on my leader. By this time we were all in a 60 degree dive. I was just about to call a left break for the element leader when the Allied fleet laying off the beachhead solved my problem. Every anti-aircraft gun on every ship (and there was a great many!) opened up on us and literally filled the sky around us with flak -- so heavy that it turned the sky a dark grey. The Fw 190 behind me took a hit and then everyone, A-36s and Fw 190s, broke right out of it ... "
George Halliwell
27th Fighter-Bomber Group
See Peter Smith / Straight Down!, p.124-125.


13 September 1943
USAAF A-36A (27th Fighter-Bomber Group) was shot down in error by a P-38 Lightning. It's not clear if the A-36 pilot was Lt. D. E. Wenger (missing) or Lt. Joseph Carparelli (later returned to base after bailing out). See Peter Smith / Straight Down!, p.124-125.
According to database at armyairforces.com:
A-36 42-84041 MACR 710
A-36 42-83990 MACR 713


26 December 1943
USAAF P-47D-2 -- 42-8095 (348th Fighter Group) was shot down by friendly AA-fire off Cape Gloucester. Lt. James E. Pratt was killed in the crash. Stanaway /Kearby's Thunderbolts, p.176.


7 February 1944
A Spitfire (unit unknown) was shot down by 'friendly' AA fire near Anzio, Italy. See p.134, Don Woerpel, A Hostile Sky: The Mediterranean Airwar of the 79th Fighter Group.


15 March 1944
USAAF P-47 (79th Fighter Group) was shot down by a British artillery unit near Anzio, Italy. The Thunderbolt was hit by a 25-pounder shell that tore off a wing. Lt. George Bolte bailed out safely, though he had trouble dislodging himself from the cockpit and his parachute blossomed at a height of just 200 feet. British ground troops calmed his nerves with some spiked tea. See p.147, Don Woerpel, A Hostile Sky: The Mediterranean Airwar of the 79th Fighter Group.


11 April 1944
USAAF P-47 (325th Fighter Group) was shot down by a USAAF P-38 over Italy. Captain Harry A. Parker bailed out safely. McDowell, p.55.


26 April 1944
USAAF P-38 Lightning (474th Fighter Group) unaccountably picked up a .303 caliber slug in a wingtip while flying a convoy patrol over Allied ships off Bolt Head. Lt. James Frederick was not injured. See p.63, Steinko, John Truman. The "Geyser" Gang: The 428th Fighter Squadron in World War II (Minneapolis, MN: ROMA Associates, 1986).


7 July 1944
USAAF P-51s of the 363rd Fighter Group opened fire on a Mosquito near Vire, although they soon recognized their mistake and broke off before causing much damage. The intercept was requested by a ground control radar station after they detected an unidentified aircraft. Kent Miller / 363rd FG, p.32.


15 August 1944
USAAF P-38 Lightnings of the 1st Fighter Group flew patrols over the landing beaches during Operation ANVIL, the Allied invasion of Southern France. One of their pilots recalled: " ... In flying these patterns one had to be careful not to overfly the U. S. Navy. They (the Navy) seemed to have a practice of firing on any plane that came into range of their ships ... " See John Mullins / An Escort of P-38s, p.134.


20 August 1944
The Canadian Army produced a report listing 52 separate attacks against them by Allied fighter bombers -- RAF Typhoons, Spitfires, Mustangs, and USAAF Lightnings--between 16-18 August 1944. 72 men were killed and 191 wounded, and twelve vehicles were destroyed or damaged. Canadian 1st Army Report, Attacks by Allied A/C on own Tps -18 and 19 Aug. 1944 (20 August 1944) PRO WO 205/232.
Ian Gooderson / Air Power at the Battlefront, see p.33, 54.


16 September 1944
Three P-38s from the 428th Fighter-Bomber Squadron flew a Night Intruder ground attack mission to harass German troops. Lt. George Guyon and Lt. Francis Connolly were fired upon by friendly antiaircraft batteries between Huy and Leige. Lt. Guyon was flying at 11,000 feet when hit in the right engine and set alight, but he bailed out safely and returned to base the next day. See p.127, 284, Steinko, John Truman. The "Geyser" Gang: The 428th Fighter Squadron in World War II (Minneapolis, MN: ROMA Associates, 1986).


19 October 1944
Hubert Zemke: " ... The weather got progressively worse as one storm front after another filled the sky with cloud and rain. Frequently our climb out and descent was through solid overcasts. Coming back from Germany on the 19th and thinking we were over the North Sea, I led the group down to break out of the gloom. We happened to find ourselves over Dunkirk where "friendly" flak took us to be some Luftwaffe planes attempting to supply the isolated German garrison there. Poor old Gleason's ship got well peppered and he had to bail out, clobbering a leg on the stabilizer as he went. Another of our pilots, Jim Frolking, was hit by fire from a boat in the Scheldt and had to jump. He landed in the water and desperately tried to inflate his dinghy and get aboard. His efforts were unsuccessful, and exhausted, he let himself sink, being somewhat startled -- to say nothing of relieved -- to find his feet on the bottom just three feet below the surface. He walked out and the Dutch folk hid him until they could get him back to Allied territory ... " See Roger Freeman / Zemke's Wolf Pack, p.193.


10 November 1944
USAAF P-47D-23 -- 42-27637 (348th Fighter Group) shot down by a USAAF P-38 off the Philippines. Lt. Andrew A. McClendon was last seen over the Mindanao sea while flying top cover for a B-25 strike. Stanaway / Kearby's Thunderbolts, p.177.


18 December 1944
USAAF P-38 (474th Fighter Group) was shot down by a British antiaircraft unit. The pilot took off at dusk and through a ground radar controller he was investigating a bogie in almost total darkness when his aircraft was caught in searchlights and hit. Lt. Robert H. Strong bailed out safely near the battlefront and evaded capture. See p.155, Steinko, John Truman. The "Geyser" Gang: The 428th Fighter Squadron in World War II (Minneapolis, MN: ROMA Associates, 1986).


10 March 1945
USAAF P-51s of the 359th Fighter Group were inadvertantly fired upon by US anti-aircraft guns near the bridge over the Rhine at Remagen, which wasbeing bombarded by German aircraft. Capt. Ray S. Wetmore's Mustang was seriously damaged, resulting in loss of hydraulic power. He tried to bail out but with his canopy jammed shut, Wetmore was forced to fly to a nearby airfield where he made a successful wheels-up landing. Smith, p.158-159. McLachlan, p.52-55.



Some unfortunate "firsts":


29 August 1941
FW 190A-1 (6.Staffel/JG 26) was shot down in error by a German flak gunner near the French coast and crashed on the beach south of Dunkirk. Leutnant Heinz Schenk was the first Focke-Wulf 190 pilot to be killed in action. See p.170-17, Caldwell, Donald. The JG 26 War Diary: Volume One 1939-1942 (London: Grub Street, 1996).


28 August 1944
An Arado Ar 234B, evidently the first pre-production model delivered to the Luftwaffe, was misidentified and shot up in error by German airfield defenses at Chievres. Oberstleutnant Horst Götz intended to land there but instead diverted his damaged jet to Oranienburg where he was forced to crash-land wheels-up. Götz was slightly injured but his ordeal was not over. As he climbed out of the cockpit, a German fighter pilot inadvertently taxied his plane into the Arado which was chewed up by the propeller and destroyed -- Götz was temporarily blinded by the shower of flying debris; he could not see for several weeks. Now that's a bad day! Ethell & Price / The German Jets in Combat, p.84.


23 April 1943
Like the Hurricane in RAF service, the first combat loss of a Mustang in USAAF service was due to friendly fire. Delivered to the 68th Observation Group as an F-6A, (a repossessed RAF Mustang IA with 20mm cannons) this Mustang was strafing along the Pont due Fahs to Medjez road, when shot down by American AA fire. See Peter Smith / Straight Down!, p.29.


Late 1942, exact date unknown to me
One of the first Hungarian pilots to score a 'victory' while flying a Bf 109 was Sergeant Dezsö Szentgyörgyi, at the end of 1942. Unhappily for him his first 'victory' proved to be a Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111, which was forced to crash-land! Though there were no casualties, congratualtions were hardly forthcoming. This episode did not prevent him becoming the RHAF's leading ace, with 34 victories accredited to him by the end of the war. See p.70, von Ishoven, Armand. Messerschmitt Bf 109 at War.



And from another era:


27 February 1965
An aircraft from the carrier USS Midway was inadvertently shot down by USS Preble (DLG-15) when it overflew a missile range during southern California maneuvers for the SILVER LANCE exercise.
See http://www.midwaysailor.com/midway/history.html


23 August 1967
A VPAF MiG-17 piloted by Nguyen Van Coc was damaged by cannon-fire when he flew across the path of another MiG-17. See p.21, Air War over North Viet Nam: The Vietnamese People's Air Force 1949-1977, Istvan Toperczer, Squadron-Signal, 1998.


7 May 1968
A VPAF MiG-21s were mistakenly fired upon by their own AAA batteries near Do Loung. One of four MiG-21 pilots (Dong Ngoc Ngu) released his drop tanks when he mistook one pair of MiG-21s as American F-4 Phantoms, but realized his error before opening fire. See p.27, Air War over North Viet Nam: The Vietnamese People's Air Force 1949-1977, Istvan Toperczer, Squadron-Signal, 1998.


10 May 1972
A VPAF MiG-21 was shot down in error by a North Vietnamese SAM near Tuyen Quang. The unknown pilot was killed. See p.45, Air War over North Viet Nam: The Vietnamese People's Air Force 1949-1977, Istvan Toperczer, Squadron-Signal, 1998.


23 May 1972
VPAF MiG-19 was shot down in error by a North Vietnamese SAM. Nguyen Duc Tiem ejected safely. See p.46, Air War over North Viet Nam: The Vietnamese People's Air Force 1949-1977, Istvan Toperczer, Squadron-Signal, 1998.


2 June 1972
VPAF MiG-19 was shot down in error by a North Vietnamese SAM near Kep. The unknown pilot was killed. See p.46, Air War over North Viet Nam: The Vietnamese People's Air Force 1949-1977, Istvan Toperczer, Squadron-Signal, 1998.


May 1982
During a simulated air attack, an RAF Jaguar was destroyed in error by an RAF FGR.2 Phantom. Flight Lieutenant Steve Griggs ejected safely, apparently the victim of an unintentionally triggered Sidewinder launch near Bruggen. It was not explained why the Phantom, crewed by Flight Lieutenant Roy Laurence and Flight Lieutenant Alistair Invergarity, carried live missiles during a training exercise vs. friendly aircraft. Anthony Thornborough / The Phantom Story, p.74.


June 1982
A British Army Gazelle was shot down in error by a British warship stationed off the Falkland Islands, and four men were killed. The helicopter was hit by Sea Dart missiles fired by the HMS Cardiff. Martin Middlebrook / The Falklands War 1982, p.299-300


On a final note, I found other cases of World War II paint schemes designed to speed aircraft identification. In Francis Mason's BATTLE OVER BRITAIN there are two photos of Ju 88A-1 WNr.4136 which might be of interest. Eric Larger's FW 190D-9 COLORS & MARKINGS has photos and plates of the JV44 Doras that flew top cover for jet-take-offs; these Focke-Wulfs had the undersides painted in a red and white candy stripe motif to discourage the trigger-happy FLAK gunners.

Check out Mike Crosley's THEY GAVE ME A SEAFIRE. I didn't have time to record the details while skimming through, but I noticed several cases of Seafires destroyed by friendly AA and at least one downed by an RAF Spitfire.

[Six Nifty .50s]

Originally Posted by Six Nifty .50s

A few more personal remembrances from those at the sharp end...

May 1941
RAF Blenheims and FAA Fulmars were attacked by British Navy AA fire:

"... On Crete, we spent most of our time escorting convoys -- and I think I am right in saying that we never lost a ship. Escorting the Navy with fighter Blenheims was not funny, we looked too much like Ju88s. Despite approaching the convoy into the sun, line astern, undercarriage down, at 1,000 feet ahead of the convoy, furiously firing off the colour of the day, they still plastered us. And the sight of a cruiser such as HMS Carlisle letting rip with all its guns was not a pretty sight if you were on the wrong side of the barrel. It became quite dangerous ... we had one more go when the Fleet Air Arm, who had a couple of Fulmars there, said they would lead us out to a big convoy which had eight destroyers as escort, saying, "They never shoot at us". They did, and the Fulmars high-tailed it for home and were never seen again. In another incident, Flt Sgt Innes-Smith, flying a Blenheim, having established his identity with the convoy he was protecting, was turning to intercept an oncoming Dornier Do 17 onto which he had been 'vectored'. As he was closing to attack he was hit and nearly shot down by RN AA fire. Fortunately he just managed to crash-land back at Maleme! ..."
John Jarvis
30 Squadron, RAF

See p.60, Forty, George. Battle of Crete (London: Ian Allan Publishers, 2001).


* * *

September 1943
USAAF A-36 fighter-bombers were attacked by British Navy AA fire and FAA Seafires during the Salerno landings; U.S. ground troops attacked by their own fighters:

" ... We took off from our landing ground at San Antonio, Sicily, at first light on 9 September 1943. Our assignment was to fly the Salerno-Agripoli patrol line as soon as we reached the beachhead. We proceeded to the north end of Salerno and then turned south ... About this time the sky turned white beneath me. The British Navy had fired a barrage of 40mm guns at us. At this time, Buzzy Sheftel, the controller on duty aboard the aircraft control ship, called me and said that our ships were firing at us. I replied to Buzzy that I knew that and that I thought I would move over and fly where the Germans were because the shooting was not as intense over there! ...
We had suspected that the British would be 'trigger happy'. During the Battle of Britain, the square wing tipped airplanes were the Me 109s and the round tipped airplanes were the Spitfires and Hurricanes. That thought was ingrained into the minds of the British. In 1943, the Me 109F and -G had round wing tips, the A-36A had square wing tips. Prior to the invasion of Salerno, we had sent an A-36 to Malta for the British to see. We had hoped they would realise that square wing tips were on our side now. We found out that it was the British Navy's policy to shoot at all airplanes that flew overhead. We did not receive an order or letter to that effect; we found out by getting shot at! We learned quickly...
Some British carriers were providing Seafire aircraft for the patrol line between Salerno and Capri. They lasted about a week! Word was that they damaged all of their aircraft trying to land on the carriers. They spent most of their time when they were aloft, attacking the other Allied aircraft which were also on patrol. At first, we took evasive action. Later, because of their vague idea of what constituted a 'curve of pursuit', we did not pay much attention to them. We figured that they needed the practice but they never seemed to get themselves into a position where they could do damage to another aircraft! ...
As for getting shot at by the Royal Navy, we got shot at as often by our own troops and we shot and dropped bombs on our own troops quite often. One day in the spring of 1944, we got a message from our higher Headquarters. It pointed out that there had been thirteen instances in one day where our airplanes had shot at or dropped bombs on our own troops. The next person who did it would face a court-martial. The following day, there were fourteen instances where we shot up our own troops!
The outcome of our getting shot at by the Royal Navy was that we were ordered not to attack a ship at sea in the Mediterranean. During the winter and spring of 1943-44 the Germans ran small boats and Siebel Ferries up and down the west coast of Italy. The Navy did not attack them and we did not give a damn whether they did or not, because we just bombed them when they reached a port ... "
Joseph Kelly
27th Fighter Bomber Group, USAAF

See p.121-123, Smith, Peter. Straight Down! The North American A-36 Dive-Bomber in Action (Manchester, UK: Crécy, 2000).

9 May 1943
" ... If the Royal Navy seemed 'trigger-happy' to Colonel Kelly it was with good reason. From Norway, through Dunkirk, Greece, Crete and numerous other occasions, the RAF had totally failed to protect them from the Luftwaffe and the assumption that anything in the sky was enemy, was hard to break. Nor had the arrival of the USAAF helped much. Earlier in the year, on 9 May 1943, while patrolling the Sicilian Channel to prevent German troops from escaping to Sicily, and with their decks painted British red to make recognition simple, two British destroyers, Bicester and Zetland, had been dive-bombed by fifteen American-flown Spitfires of the 57th Group. One bomb hit the Bicester on her starboard side, and it passed through her Chief and Petty Officers' mess into the after fuel tanks. Fortunately it failed to explode. Another was a near-miss alongside. A second wave of fifteen Spitfires then made another attack. The destroyer's captain, Lieutenant-Commander S. W. F. Bennetts ('...a former submarine officer, famed for extensive knowledge of the lesser used terms of the English language') overheard the American pilots talking on their radio telephones overhead after the attack. Tuning in his own set he joined in, calling them all the names he could think of without reservation. After listening in, one of the Americans was heard to remark to his colleague, 'Say I guess this guy's friendly!' What Bennetts said to that is not on record. See Cunningham of Hyndhope, A Sailor's Odyssey, London, 1951. On 12 May the captain, along with a party of two other officers and twenty ratings from the ship visited 57 Group to talk with their attackers face-to-face. They were 'hospitably-entertained' and Bennetts was told that the Americans concentrated on his ship as the leading vessel and had aimed tenty-five bombs at her. Bennetts commented 'It seemed like more at the time! HMS Bicester, Report of Proceedings May 1943. ADM 199, Public Record Office, Kew, London. See Peter Smith / Straight Down!, p.134-135 ... "

More to follow ... eventually.

[Brian]

Thanks a million, Six Nifty - that's some reading you've been doing lately!

Look forward to the next batch.

Cheers
Brian

[Brian]

Hi guys

Earlier I was enquiring about a US light aircraft possibly shot down in France on 22 August 1944 by friendly fire. Could it possibly have been
U-61A 43-14644 of 382ndFS/363rdFG flown by Henry B. Messer that was lost on this date? Any information would be most helpful, even if only to elimate.

Thanks
Brian