Friendly fire; B17 style!

[bob4wd]

For a supposedly non-political forum, some of these posts come awfully close to USA bashing. For what purpose, I wonder? No, the US did not kill more British soldiers than the Iraqis! What kind of a statement is that? And no, the USAF was not “known” for bombing its own!! Good Lord! And no, the USAF did NOT have its “own goals” in Nam. This all very disappointing, especially from our so-called friends and allies.

[CINDERS]

#11 I never bash anyone only try to present the facts as I find them, sad part is no matter what war there will always be "Blue on Blue" you cannot get it 100% correct all the time in a war zone history if full of those errors.
Sad that the British soldier lost his life but on the other side of the coin I might surmise those pilots are still living in hell by the incident to this day..........

[Peter Laidler]

No further comment from me re the incident in threads 8 and 9. Except that the coroners inquest took place at Oxford and some of the families were spitting blood and feathers at the media present regarding the pilots. All except one generous, quiet and reserved family who kept their counsel private. While not praising the bravery of the low level pilots, did not level one iota of criticisism towards them either*. They simply and quietly praised their son and told that he died a hero in their eyes, as a proud warrier in battle. And they were as proud as any proud parent should be.
* I expect that they simply grieved in private and not in public on TV

[bob4wd]

#11 I never bash anyone only try to present the facts as I find them, sad part is no matter what war there will always be "Blue on Blue" you cannot get it 100% correct all the time in a war zone history if full of those errors.
Sad that the British soldier lost his life but on the other side of the coin I might surmise those pilots are still living in hell by the incident to this day..........

Not to beat a dead horse too badly, and I do not wish to cause dissension in the ranks, but of all the friendly fire incidents in the past 100 or so years, you somehow see fit to report in great loving detail a single incident that just happens to bash the USA. Words will never be able to express the depth of sadness and loss felt by the survivors and families, including the young men that did it, especially when considering that it was blue-on-blue. That it was true, no doubt. That it needed to be brought up, particularly in today’s climate of hatred of all things US, is doubtful. And distasteful. The fog of war is real, fellows, and will always be present and cause poor decisions.

---------- Post added at 10:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:53 AM ----------

No further comment from me re the incident in threads 8 and 9. Except that the coroners inquest took place at Oxford and some of the families were spitting blood and feathers at the media present regarding the pilots. All except one generous, quiet and reserved family who kept their counsel private. While not praising the bravery of the low level pilots, did not level one iota of criticisism towards them either*. They simply and quietly praised their son and told that he died a hero in their eyes, as a proud warrier in battle. And they were as proud as any proud parent should be.
* I expect that they simply grieved in private and not in public on TV

The absolute epitomes of what we all imagine true British restraint to be. Well said.

[30Three]

I apologies to you Bob if you were offended. It was not my intension to bash the USA. In fact during the build up to the first Gulf war; I was working in Riyadh. I can assure you that all ex-pat's; including myself were very happy to see them.
When Kuwait was invaded in 1990; it took 3 day's before the local Saudi news programs even mentioned it. The Americans were very quick to react and the transport and AWAC's planes flying in and out 24/7 were a very reassuring sight for all.

Regarding my question regarding casualties from that conflict and the subsequent comment on the blue on blue; it was the result of something that I had heard just after the end of the conflict.
I decided to research it today and you are correct. I was wrong. Total death's in British forces for operation Granby is stated as 47. Nine of which were the result of a blue on blue of British 1st Armoured vehicles by A10's.
A very unfortunate event for all parties concerned.

Regarding the B17 photo. I just thought it was an interesting photo; one that shows the dangers of large close formations and also the courage of the bomber crews. I did not expect to offend anyone by posting it.