Lucky13
Forum Mascot
Just how much material was damaged, destroyed or in case of soldiers, wounded or killed, due to friendly fire during WWII?
Friendly fire....?
- Thread starter Lucky13
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FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
- Thread starter
- #3
Lucky13
Forum Mascot
Cheers mate!
I only asked, because in the program about USS Atlanta, it was said that she was hit by friendly from USS San Francisco....
I only asked, because in the program about USS Atlanta, it was said that she was hit by friendly from USS San Francisco....
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
Wow! And I picked a site about US Navy Causalities!
swampyankee
Chief Master Sergeant
- 4,036
- Jun 25, 2013
I suspect that reliable data are not that easy to obtain; indeed, they may not even exist -- performing a forensic analysis on battlefield casualties was probably a very low priority. Some writers have reported rates as high as 30%; I suspect that's far too high.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
Maj. Preddy, 328th FS, 352nd FG, was downed by U.S. Army AA that had been firing at a Fw190 near Leige, Belgium on 25 December 1944. It was determined that he could have bailed out successfully (he did managed to jettison the canopy), but his wounds from the .50 cal. AA were mortal. Two other P-51s of his 10 ship flight were hit, also.
During Operation Bodenplatte (1 January 1945), the Luftwaffe lost a considerable amount of aircraft and pilots to friendly AA, as the Kreigsmarine and Wehrmacht hadn't bee advised of the operation and the Luftwaffe planners inadvertantly routed a large portion of the attacks over heavily AA defended areas.
During Operation Bodenplatte (1 January 1945), the Luftwaffe lost a considerable amount of aircraft and pilots to friendly AA, as the Kreigsmarine and Wehrmacht hadn't bee advised of the operation and the Luftwaffe planners inadvertantly routed a large portion of the attacks over heavily AA defended areas.
Wildcat
Major
There is a ton of incidents. Some off the top of my head that involve the RAAF are-
14 sqn Hudsons bomb the USS Sargo off the Western Australian coast
Ace Gerald Johnson shot down a 4 sqn Boomerang over New Guinea - pilot servived
US B-25's returning from the 10 October strike on Rabaul opened fire on RAAF Beaufighters heading to the target
Australian machine gunners fired on and damaged the first RAAF P-40's to arrive in Port Moresby, 1942
RAAF beaufighters P-40s strafed and sunk two US PT boats of New Britain - 8 sailors were killed
RAAF Beaufort attacked and shot down by US Navy PB4Y Liberator - all crew lost
Like I said these are just some off the top of my head, I'm sure there are many more.
14 sqn Hudsons bomb the USS Sargo off the Western Australian coast
Ace Gerald Johnson shot down a 4 sqn Boomerang over New Guinea - pilot servived
US B-25's returning from the 10 October strike on Rabaul opened fire on RAAF Beaufighters heading to the target
Australian machine gunners fired on and damaged the first RAAF P-40's to arrive in Port Moresby, 1942
RAAF beaufighters P-40s strafed and sunk two US PT boats of New Britain - 8 sailors were killed
RAAF Beaufort attacked and shot down by US Navy PB4Y Liberator - all crew lost
Like I said these are just some off the top of my head, I'm sure there are many more.
Wavelength
Airman 1st Class
- 108
- Jan 31, 2010
There are lots of cases of warships FF incidents throughout the war too. In fact Adm Scott was killed on the Atlanta by FF fire from the San Francisco during the Battle of Friday the 13th.
Fear of a friendly fire accident would cause many naval commanders to freeze up during naval battles too. That is exactly why The Battle of Barents Sea turned out badly for the Germans.
Fear of a friendly fire accident would cause many naval commanders to freeze up during naval battles too. That is exactly why The Battle of Barents Sea turned out badly for the Germans.
Not to mention all the casualties on aircraft carriers from runaway aircraft and accidental gun discharge on landing or crashing...
kettbo
Senior Airman
Newer histories cite a USN DD's torpedo may have been the cause of the crippling hit on HMAS Canberra off Savo Island
USN ships hit each other with direct fire as noted above
Several instances of LW friendly fire noted in the JG-26 books
US Bombers dropped 'short' of the line of resistance during Operation COBRA, Gen McNair and others were killed
USN ships hit each other with direct fire as noted above
Several instances of LW friendly fire noted in the JG-26 books
US Bombers dropped 'short' of the line of resistance during Operation COBRA, Gen McNair and others were killed
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
I know it's wikipedia, however, this is a comprehensive list of FF incidents ranging from 1643 to 2011
List of friendly fire incidents - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
List of friendly fire incidents - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wavelength
Airman 1st Class
- 108
- Jan 31, 2010
I see the list does include the George Preddy incident.
Wavelength
Airman 1st Class
- 108
- Jan 31, 2010
This topic kind of hits close to home so I have debated if I should post this. A good friend of mine married an F-18 pilot. His F-18 was shot down by FF in 2003 and he was killed.
Saw surprised to learn this:
1940, 28 June – Italian Air Marshal*Italo Balbo*and his crew were killed when Italian anti-aircraft guns at*Tobruk*shot down their*Savoia-Marchetti SM.79.
1940, 28 June – Italian Air Marshal*Italo Balbo*and his crew were killed when Italian anti-aircraft guns at*Tobruk*shot down their*Savoia-Marchetti SM.79.
yulzari
Tech Sergeant
Nothing is ever new. The British army lost more troops to USA fire than they suffered from the entire Iraqi armed forces in the First Gulf War.
seesul
Senior Master Sergeant
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
Here's a few more:
On September 6, 1939, just three days after Britain went to war
with Germany, a young Shropshire pilot, Pilot Officer John Hulton-Harrop, age 26, became
the first operational casualty of Fighter Command when he was shot down in a tragic case
of 'Friendly Fire' soon after he took off from North Weald fighter station.
* * * * * * * * * *
In preparation for the D-Day landings on Utah beach, the US Forces were conducting a series
of exercises on a stretch of beach called Slapton Sands, near Plymouth. In an area comprising
around 30,000 acres a total of 3,000 people (750 families) 180 farms with livestock were
evacuated. This enormous task had to be completed in six weeks.
During the actual exercise, while maneuvering for position in Lyme Bay on the night of April 27
the landing ships were attacked by nine German motor torpedo boats, E-boats, from Cherbourg
in France. Two of the landing craft, LST 507 and LST 531 were sunk and others damaged. On
board the two landing ships the casualties were severe, 638 men killed (197 sailors and 441
soldiers) and hundreds injured. This was more than ten times greater than the casualties
sustained in the real assault on Utah Beach on June 6 (43 Americans killed, 63 wounded).
Altogether, including casualties from other ships and those killed by friendly fire on shore, a
total of 946 Americans gave their lives during Operation Tiger. News of this disaster was kept
a closely guarded secret for many months.
* * * * * * * * * *
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, US army personnel started digging trenches along the
beaches in anticipation of a seaborne invasion. Every fifty feet or so along the beach, a
gun crew with 30 calibre machine guns took up their positions. At around 8pm on
December 7th, seven planes were seen trying to land on an airstrip on Ford Island.
Misjudging the length of the runway the pilots decided to go around again for a second
try. As the planes came around again the gunners, thinking they were Japanese,
opened fire and shot down all seven. The planes were their own aircraft from the carrier
USS Enterprise out at sea.
On September 6, 1939, just three days after Britain went to war
with Germany, a young Shropshire pilot, Pilot Officer John Hulton-Harrop, age 26, became
the first operational casualty of Fighter Command when he was shot down in a tragic case
of 'Friendly Fire' soon after he took off from North Weald fighter station.
* * * * * * * * * *
In preparation for the D-Day landings on Utah beach, the US Forces were conducting a series
of exercises on a stretch of beach called Slapton Sands, near Plymouth. In an area comprising
around 30,000 acres a total of 3,000 people (750 families) 180 farms with livestock were
evacuated. This enormous task had to be completed in six weeks.
During the actual exercise, while maneuvering for position in Lyme Bay on the night of April 27
the landing ships were attacked by nine German motor torpedo boats, E-boats, from Cherbourg
in France. Two of the landing craft, LST 507 and LST 531 were sunk and others damaged. On
board the two landing ships the casualties were severe, 638 men killed (197 sailors and 441
soldiers) and hundreds injured. This was more than ten times greater than the casualties
sustained in the real assault on Utah Beach on June 6 (43 Americans killed, 63 wounded).
Altogether, including casualties from other ships and those killed by friendly fire on shore, a
total of 946 Americans gave their lives during Operation Tiger. News of this disaster was kept
a closely guarded secret for many months.
* * * * * * * * * *
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, US army personnel started digging trenches along the
beaches in anticipation of a seaborne invasion. Every fifty feet or so along the beach, a
gun crew with 30 calibre machine guns took up their positions. At around 8pm on
December 7th, seven planes were seen trying to land on an airstrip on Ford Island.
Misjudging the length of the runway the pilots decided to go around again for a second
try. As the planes came around again the gunners, thinking they were Japanese,
opened fire and shot down all seven. The planes were their own aircraft from the carrier
USS Enterprise out at sea.
I think the only Challenger tank to be taken out in combat was lost to another Challenger. The number of FF incidents always increases with the number of people groups in action. I know the spitfire and hurricane wernt popular in Russia because they were mistaken for 109s
