Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!osu-cis!att!cbnews!astroatc!crowley@spool.cs.wisc.edu
From: astroatc!crowley@spool.cs.wisc.edu (Sam Crowley)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: WWII russian sub story wanted. (really friendly fire)
Message-ID: <5854@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 24 Apr 89 02:57:35 GMT
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From: astroatc!crowley@spool.cs.wisc.edu (Sam Crowley)
In article <5832@cbnews.ATT.COM> henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes:
>(In WW2 there was a standard joke about the aircraft recognition scheme
>supposedly used by AA gunners in Britain.  It had just two categories:
>"approaching, presumed hostile" and "receding, presumed friendly".)

My father was a B-17 pilot during the years 1943-44 in Europe. Most of this 
time fighter escort could not be provided for bombing missions deep into 
German held territory and the bombers had to defend themselves against fighter 
attack. The German fighters usual method of attack was to dive through the 
formation (for high speed to avoid the defensive fire of the formation)
while firing at targeted bombers. He told me a couple stories of how he had 
seen some friendly fire directed at fighter escort of the bomber formations. 

One time a couple of British Spitfires flew by the formation, wiggled their
wings and dove into the formation. They were fired at. He said word spread
among the British pilots that the American bomber crews were trigger happy.

One of the first times P-51s escorted the bombers they did something they 
had orders not to do, buzz the bomber formation. This time several fighters
were shot down. The fighter pilots came over the radio screaming bloody
murder. They were debriefed after they landed and the fighter pilots were
disciplined for buzzing bomber formations. Nothing was said to the bomber 
crews.

Both times the bomber formation were flying around 350mph and the fighters 
were flying over 400mph. At this speed he said you get very defensive and 
you assume anything flying through or at the formation is attacking.

                                                   Sam Crowley
                                                   astroatc!crowley