Great cock-ups of WW2

Friendly Fire.No.1

 

How tragic. :cry:

it just goes to show the value of aircraft recognition training.

 

Indeed...

During the Ardennes Offensive, the town of Malmédy was bombed by the American air force three times in just a few days. Unfortunately the Germans never captured it... Those poor sods in the Old Hicks, 30th Infantry, must have been quite mad at the "American Luftwaffe".

 

A-36 dive bombers ( Allison powered P-51 dive bomber version) were famous for hitting own troops in Italy.

 

FUBAR

 

IIRC there was a point during the breakout from Normandy where heavy bombers were used to batter a German position. Unfortunately they used the wrong road as an IP and plastered the first waves of troops waiting to attack.
I cant remember if it was Operation Goodwood or the early stages of Cobra -- someone might be able to add some more detail.

Tom

 

Great cock ups

GCU2

 

Ouch!

 

Ossian might be thinking of the (I think) first attempt to get Opn COBRA going. The initial planes got confused on the drop point, and the smoke and dust caused by the bombs just confused everyone else. A number (can't remember how many) of troops from one of the assault regiments were killed or wounded. The best known of the KIA's was LtGen Lesley McNair.

 

i believe that it was on the assualt on Saint-Lo

 

CUWW"

Next one!

 

GCUPSWW2

and another,

 

cgupsww2

try this.

 

.

wasn't there a night landing exercice on the south coast of england before
the D-day landing ( codenamed tigerfish ? )
so secret , HQ did not inform the coastal defence units , who opened fire
on everybody and everything on the water
G.I. washed up dead for days afterward :cry:

.

 

what's wrong with all those guys that they mistake friendly units for enemy units??? wasn't their eyesight tested when they inlisted? :-?

 

Are you getting confused with the interception of a practice invasion by German E-boats / S-boots?

 

I assume it's simply battlefield reality that makes these units more trigger happy. If they don't act first and the approaching fleet/planes/vehicles turn out to belong to the enemy, they are too late. It's a better tactic to shoot first and ask questions later.

 

GCUPS

Re the posting of E BOATS, click onto Google to Slapton Sands and there should be an account if I remember correctly called 'Death on Slapton Sands'. (difference being that it was the Enemy at Slapton, not ourselves)
next Cock-Up.

 

but every american vehicle and plane had a big white star so you could see from far that it was an ally or an enemy. off course, you have a point when it comes to infaltry

 

Poeple see what they expect or think they should see. Good example is destruction of civilian flight Iran Air 655 (Airbus A-321). Radar operator on USS Vincenness distinctly saw that plane is diving on his ship ( as all thought that plane is IrAF F-14 and expected his a bomb run on the ship). In fact plane was stedily climbing to designated flight level and was still climbing when it was shot down.