Nevertheless, after looking into the damages caused by friendly fire,
I found that a fair number of Allied tanks were brewed up by Allied
fighter-bombers, so I would say that German panzer and panzer
grenadier forces had good reason to fear air attack.

Even when no hits were scored airstrikes could easily disrupt ground
operations and cause panic, and this is confirmed by some of the
friendly fire accidents recorded in assorted specialist publications
and unit histories of the Allied ground forces...

I. AIR TO GROUND FRIENDLY FIRE ACCIDENTS -- RAF

June 1942
RAF Wellingtons pummeled the 4th County of London Yeomanry,
British 7th Armoured Division, during a two-hour raid. Data given
on losses was vague, although it was said much damage was caused,
the officers mess vehicle was destroyed with its priceless whiskey,
and one soldier earned a medal by saving many of the vehicles from
the fires. Graham, p.65.

June 1942
RAF Wellingtons bombed the British 3rd Hussars in error near
Mutrah. Losses not specified. See Bickers, Friendly Fire, p.95-96

October 1942
During the second battle of El Alamein, the RAF bombed the
British 10th Hussars in error during a four hour raid. Evidently
the Hussars did not know the proper distress signal and could
not contact their own planes. Losses were not specified. Bickers,
Friendly Fire, p.4.

October 1942
After a series of mistaken attacks by the RAF Desert Air Force,
the commanding officer of 1st South African Division told them
"...if you've GOT to bomb my trucks, you might at least hit them!
You've missed them every bloody time..." Bickers, Friendly Fire, p.4.

6 June 1944
RAF fighters bombed and strafed the HQ entourage of 3rd Parachute
Brigade (British 6th Airborne Division). At least 15 men were killed
and many others were wounded, including Brigadier James Hill.
Shilleto, p.108-109, Crookenden, p.260-261.

8 June 1944
RAF Typhoons attacked the 175th Infantry Regiment, US 29th Division
on the Isigny Highway, causing 24 casualties. Balkoski, p.169.

10 July 1944
RAF Typhoons attacked the 4th Dorsets, 43rd Wessex Division
during a battle for Hill 112 in the Odon. At least two men were
seriously wounded. Saunders, p.118.

31 July 1944
At about 1845 hrs RAF Typhoons rocketed the staging area of the
Grenadier Guards (British Guards Armoured Division). Nicolson
& Forbes vol.I, p.82.

31 July 1944
At 2200 hrs RAF Typhoons attacked the Grenadier Guards for
the second time. As 1st Squadron tanks neared the objective, the
Typhoons dropped sixteen bombs on them, followed by eight
aircraft firing rockets. Fortunately this group of RAF pilots hit
everything but the targets, with no losses inflicted according to
Nicolson & Forbes, vol.I, p.82.

4 August 1944
RAF Typhoons attacked several half tracks of the British 43rd Wessex
Division near Jurques. Two men were wounded. Essame, p.63.

7 August 1944
RAF Typhoons fired rockets at two 3-inch guns of the US 823rd
Tank Destroyer Battalion, killing one man and wounding several
others near L'Abbaye Blanche. Featherston, p.135.

7 August 1944
RAF Typhoons shot up the Service Company of the 120th Infantry
Regiment, US 30th Division, causing several casualties, including
Major James Bynum who was killed near Mortain. The officer who
replaced him was strafed by another Typhoon a few minutes later
and seriously wounded. Featherston, p.135.

7 August 1944
RAF Typhoons strafed 'B' Company/US 120th Infantry Regiment
on Hill 285, killing the driver of a weapons carrier. Featherston, p.136.

7 August 1944
RAF Typhoons strafed a squad from 'F' Company/US 120th Infantry
Regiment, near Hill 314. Two men were killed. Featherston, p.111-112.

7 August 1944
RAF Typhoons attacked the Cannon Company of 120th Infantry
Regiment, US 30th Division, near Mortain although losses if any
were not mentioned. Featherston, p.135.

8 August 1944
RAF Typhoons rocketed two Sherman tanks from 'C' Company, US
743rd Tank Battalion near Mortain. Casualties were unclear but the
resulting inferno and smoke subsequently attracted fire from nearby
US artillery units. Folkestead, p.56.

8 August 1944
Two Shermans from 'A' Company, US 743rd Tank Battalion were set
ablaze by friendly aircraft near Mortain, although it was not specified
whether this was caused by RAF Typhoons or USAAF Thunderbolts.
One tank crewman was killed. Folkestead, p.56.

9 August 1944
RAF Typhoons shot up units of the British Columbia Regiment
and the Algonquin Regiment, 4th Canadian Armoured Division,
near Quesnay Wood during Operation TOTALIZE. Later that day,
the same units were mistakenly fired upon by tanks and artillery
of the 1st Polish Armoured Division. Cassidy, p.80-83.

12 August 1944
RAF Typhoons fired rockets at Shermans of 'A' Company, US 743rd
Tank Battalion, causing damage to one M4. Folkestad, p.58.

13 August 1944
RAF Typhoons attacked 'B' Company of the 4th Wiltshires, British
43rd Wessex Division near La Villette. Losses if any not specified.
Essame, p.80.

14 August 1944
RAF heavy bombers hit Allied troops in error during Operation
TRACTABLE causing about 490 casualties including 112 dead.
The bombings also wiped out 265 Allied vehicles, 30 field guns
and two tanks. British anti-aircraft guns opened fire on the RAF
bombers and some may have been hit. Bickers, Air War Normandy,
p.122, Gooderson, p.251.

14-18 August 1944
The South Alberta Regiment of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division
was attacked six times by RAF fighters during this period and other
units had similar experiences. A number of vehicles were set ablaze
and in some cases the yellow smoke used for signalling friendly planes
was ignored by RAF Spitfire pilots. Out of frustration, at least one
officer of the South Albertas wanted his Crusader AA tanks to shoot
at the Spitfires attacking his HQ. Graves, p.122-138.

16 August 1944
The 51st Highland Division was jumped by RAF fighters near the
River Vie, "...and then the usual trouble began. The Camerons
actually had to stop advancing because Spitfires had knocked out
every wireless vehicle in their establishment..." Salmond, p.166.

17 August 1944
RAF fighters shot up elements of British 7th Armoured Division
and caused about 20 casualties, including the intelligence officer
of 8th Hussars who was severely wounded. The colonel riding
along was badly shaken when their jeep crashed. Verney, p.224.

17 August 1944
RAF fighters attacked the Norfolk Yeomanry anti-tank regiment of
British 7th Armoured Division. Three guns (M10 Tank Destroyers)
were knocked out and other vehicles set on fire. Verney, p.224.

18 August 1944
RAF fighters attacked troops of the Queen's Royal Regiment
(British 7th Armoured Division) near Lisieux. "...the battalion's
few casualties were caused mostly by our own Spitfires, which
twice strafed the main Livarot road..." Foster, p.378.

27 August 1944
RAF Typhoons of 2nd Tactical Air Force mistakenly attacked and
sank the British minesweepers BRITOMART and HUSSAR. The
minesweeper SALAMANDER had to be written off and the JASON
was damaged. The British trawlers COLSAY and LORD ASHLEY
were also shot up by RAF fighters. The result was 227 casualties
including 78 men killed. Kemp, p.54-65, Bickers, p.128-130.

1 September 1944
"...the afternoon had passed quietly near Arras, disturbed only
by two British fighters, which machine-gunned the area and set
a Welsh Guards lorry on fire. 'Vive la RAF' had been chalked
on several vehicles by overjoyed civilians: After this incident
the divisional commander's ADC, Capt. the Hon. A.D. Tyron,
walked over to his scout car and added the words 'except two
Spitfires'..." Nicolson & Forbes, vol.I, p.107.

12 September 1944
RAF Typhoons destroyed two Sherman tanks of the Governor
General's Foot Guards (4th Canadian Armoured Division) in the
vicinity of Maldegum...

"...while so deployed the tanks were suddenly attacked, in
mistake, by several Typhoon aircraft. Lt. Middleton-Hope's
tank was badly hit, killing the gunner Gdsm. Hughes, and the
tank was set on fire. Almost immediately Sgt. Jenning's tank
was similarly knocked out by Typhoon rockets. Meanwhile
the Typhoons continued to press home their attack with
machine guns and rockets, and, while trying to extricate the
gunner, Lt. Middleton-Hope was blown off the tank. In this
tragic encounter Gdsm. G.E. Baker, Barter, and Cheal were
seriously wounded..." Jessup, p.144, Graves, p.204.

23 January 1945
RAF fighters strafed the assault gun platoon (105mm Sherman tanks)
of US 743rd Tank Battalion, near Sart-Lez-St.-Vith. Folkestad, p.88.

II. AIR TO GROUND FRIENDLY FIRE ACCIDENTS -- USAAF

15 March 1943
USAAF bombers accidentally hit Allied troops during a raid on
Cassino, causing about 300 casualties. Gooderson, p.251.

18 July 1944
During Operation GOODWOOD, a stray bomb dropped by
a USAAF B-26 Marauder hit 'B' Squadron of the 23rd Hussars,
British 11th Armoured Division. Two men were killed and
one wounded. 23rd Hussars unit history, p.69-70.

24 July 1944
USAAF bombers hit US troops in error during an abortive airstrike
near St. Lo, causing about 155 casualties. Blumenson, p.138

25 July 1944
USAAF bombers remounted their raid from the previous day. This
time the operation was not cancelled, but US positions were again
plastered by bombs causing about 600 casualties including Lt. Gen.
Lesley McNair, the commander of Army Ground Forces who was
killed. Another 200 men were battle fatigue cases and at least one
US tank was knocked out, an 'A' Company Sherman of 70th Tank
Battalion, 4th Infantry Division. Blumenson, p.139, Hall, p.75.

26 July 1944
USAAF P-47s attacked the US 644th Tank Destroyer Battalion
near Periers. Losses if any were unspecified. Unit Diary, p.20.

2 August 1944
USAAF P-47 Thunderbolts strafed elements of the 2nd Fife and
Forfar Yeomanry of British 11th Armoured Division, near Vassy.
Evidently the P-47 pilots were not informed about the yellow
recognition smoke normally used to signal RAF fighters, or they
ignored it. Losses if any were not specified. Delaforce, p.84.

4 August 1944
USAAF P-47 Thunderbolts bombed, rocketed and strafed various
elements of the British 11th Armoured Division. At least one man
was killed, some vehicles of the 8th Rifle Brigade medical unit
were hit and a half-track was destroyed. Delaforce p.89. The 23rd
Hussars unit diary, p.100.

7 August 1944
USAAF bombers returning from a raid jettisoned some bombs in
error over territory held by Allied troops. Some of the load landed
on an area recently occupied by 51st Highland Division, causing
some 360 casualties. This is the first time I've read about this one
and I found it odd that such a disaster was not mentioned in J. B.
Salmond's unit history of 51st Highland Division. Bickers, Air War
Normandy, p.120.

8 August 1944
USAAF heavy bombers hit Allied troops in error during Operation
TOTALIZE. 83 vehicles and seven field guns were knocked out,
although there seems to be a discrepancy in the casualties reported.
Roughly 375-460 depending on whose figures you believe. Bickers,
Air War Normandy, p.121. Gooderson, p.251.

13 August 1944
USAAF P-47 Thunderbolts shot up elements of the Grenadier
Guards of British Guards Armoured Division near the Vire-Estry
Road. Three men were killed and one wounded. Nicolson & Forbes,
vol.I, p.99.

14 August 1944
Elements of US 3rd Armored Division were attacked near Ranes.
"...One of the unfortunate incidents of war occurred when a P-47,
attempting to attack German forces one field ahead of American
tanks, accidentally dropped a bomb short. Several GI's were
wounded seriously and one killed outright. Another bomb fell
within fifty yards of General Hickey's command post, also injuring
a number of soldiers. Faulty release mechanisms on the airplanes
were believed to be the chief reason for these occurences..."
Spearhead in the West, p.79.

16-18 August 1944
USAAF P-38 Lightnings attacked the Seaforths and the Camerons
of 51st Highland Division on several occasions near the River Vie.
Salmond, p.166.

17 August 1944
Units of Combat Command 'A' US 3rd Armored Division were
driven out of Fromentel by USAAF P-38 Lightnings, which had
been dropping bombs too close for comfort. When CCA returned
to the village, they were again bombed by P-38s and the men
began to duck for foxholes whenever they saw the twin-boom
fighters approaching. Spearhead in the West, p.80.

18 August 1944
USAAF P-47 Thunderbolts dive-bombed and strafed the British
Columbia Regiment of 4th Canadian Armoured Division, fatally
injuring Major Jack Worthington and Trooper A. Hallmark. Unit
diary, Chapter VI.

17 September 1944
USAAF P-47s strafed a group of US paratroopers from the 502nd
Parachute Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. Lt. Col. Robert Cole,
a Medal of Honor winner in Normandy, ran out into a field to signal
the friendly planes and was killed by a German sniper. Bando, p.35.

21 September 1944
USAAF P-38 Lightnings attacked the US 644th Tank Destroyer
Battalion near Brest. Losses if any were unspecified. 644th unit
diary, p.22.

29 September 1944
A USAAF P-47 strafed elements of the US 602nd Tank Destroyer
Battalion near Bathlemont. No one was hit and the pilot broke off
his attack after passing over the column. 602nd unit diary, p.12.

23-26 December 1944
"...there were a few occasions when American planes had attacked
(the 610th Tank Destroyer Battalion) and it was never determined
exactly whether they were being flown by American pilots..."
McGrann, p.69.

25 December 1944
USAAF P-47s bombed and strafed elements of the US 740th
Tank Battalion and 119th Infantry Regiment of US 30th Division.
One tank from the 740th was knocked out and three men were
slightly wounded near Petit-Coo. Rubel, p.70 and p.240-43.

14 January 1945
USAAF P-47s strafed a group of US paratroopers from the 502nd
Parachute Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. Lt. Col. John Stopka
was killed. Ironically, Stopka had replaced Robert Cole, who was
involved in the earlier friendly fire accident with P-47s, which led
to his death. Bando, p.121.

9 April 1945
USAAF bombers accidentally hit Allied troops during Operation
BUCKLAND, causing about 160 casualties. Gooderson, p.251.

23 April 1945
USAAF aircraft of unspecified type knocked out an M5 Light Tank
of the British 17th/21st Lancers, near Gallo, Italy. Two men were killed.
Two other armoured regiments in the area were also attacked by the
same group of aircraft. ffrench Blake p.222-23.

Note that in a relatively small sample of mistaken attacks against Allied
armor, Allied fighters managed to knock out seven Sherman tanks and
three M-10 Tank Destroyers. The British OR conclusions that bombs
and rockets were generally inaccurate is valid, but there may have been
more exceptions to the rule than was implied by their findings. The ORS
was quoted to suggest that aircraft rocket hits on tanks were usually not
survivable, but many Allied tank crewmen escaped after their Shermans
were hit by Typhoon rockets.

Also noticable is the staggering loss of Allied vehicles and field guns after
being plastered by RAF heavy bombers during Operation TRACTABLE.
Only a fraction of the bombs fell short yet the damage was severe, possibly
because the Canadian forces were concentrated and not dug in.

This compilation is definitely a work in progress because I have not
looked at a large portion of the American, British and Canadian unit
histories published after the war.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Balkoski, Joseph, Beyond the Beachhead: The 29th Infantry Division
in Normandy, 2nd Edition (Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1999).

Bando, Mark, The 101st Airborne, From Holland to Hitler's
Eagles Nest (Osceola, WI: Motorbooks International, 1994).

Battalion Committee, The 644th Tank Destroyer Battalion, (1945).

Blumenson, Martin, The Battle of the Generals: The untold story of
the Falaise Pocket - the campaign that should have won World War II
(New York: William Morrow, 1993).

Bickers, Richard Townshend, Friendly Fire: Accidents in Battle from
Ancient Greece to the Gulf War (London: Leo Cooper, 1994).

Bickers, Richard Townshend, Air War Normandy
(London: Leo Cooper, 1994).

Cassidy, George, Warpath: The Story of the Algonquin Regiment,
1939-1945 (Toronto: Algonquin Regt. Veterans' Association, 1948)

Delaforce, Patrick, The Black Bull: From Normandy to the Baltic
with the 11th Armoured Division (Stroud, UK: Alan Sutton, 1993).

Division Committee, Spearhead in the West, 1941-45, The Third
Armored Division (Frankfurt am Main-Schwanheim: F.J. Henrich, 1945)

Essame, Hubert, The 43rd Wessex Division at War: 1944-1945
(London: William Clowes & Sons Ltd., 1952).

Featherston, Alwyn, Battle for Mortain: The 30th Infantry Division
Saves the Breakout: August 7-12, 1944 (Novato, CA: Presidio, 1998).

ffrench Blake, Robert Lifford Valentine, A History of the 17th/21st
Lancers, 1922-1959 (London: MacMillan, 1962).

Folkestad, William, The View from the Turret: The 743rd Tank Battalion
During WWII (Shippensburg, PA: Burd Street Press, 2000).

Foster, R.C.G., History of the Queen's Royal Regiment, vol.VIII,
1924-1948 (Aldershot: Gale & Polden Ltd., 1953)

Gooderson, Ian, Air Power at the Battlefront, Allied Close Air Support
in Europe 1943-45 (London, Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 1998)

Graham, Andrew, Sharpshooters at War: The 3rd and 4th
and 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry, 1939-1945
(London: Sharpshooters Regimental Association, 1964).

Graves, Donald, South Albertas: A Canadian Regiment at War
(Toronto: Robin Brass Studio, 1998)

Hall, Chester, History of the 70th Tank Battalion, 1940-46 (1946).

Jessup, A.R., The Regimental History of the Governor General's
Foot Guards (Ottawa: 1948)

Kemp, Paul, Friend or Foe, Friendly Fire at Sea, 1939-1945
(London: Leo Cooper, 1995).

Martin, Hugh Gray, The History of the Fifteenth Scottish Division,
1939-1945 (Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1948).

McGrann, Roy, The 610th Tank Destroyer Battalion: April 10, 1942
to December 7, 1945 (Elizabeth, PA: 1946).

Oliver, Bertrand, History of the 602nd Tank Destroyer Battalion:
March 1941 to November 1945 (East Lansing, MI: 602nd Tank
Destroyer Association, 1990).

Nicolson, Nigel, and Forbes, Patrick, The Grenadier Guards in the War
of 1939-1945, Two Volume set (Aldershot: Gale & Polden, 1949).

Regimental Committee, The Story of the 23rd Hussars, 1940-46
(Aldershot: 1946).

Regimental Committee, The Story of the British Columbia Regiment
1939-1945. Written in field manual format, undated with no author,
publisher or page numbers listed. Likely printed in Vancouver, 1940s.

Rubel, George Kenneth, Daredevil Tankers: The Story of the
740th Tank Battalion, US Army (1945).

Salmond, James Bell, The History of the 51st Highland Division, 1939-1945
(Edinburgh & London: William Blackwood & Sons, 1953).

Saunders, Timothy, Hill 112: Battles for the Odon. 'Battleground Europe'
series (London: Leo Cooper, 2000).

Shilleto, Carl, Pegasus Bridge & Merville Battery: British 6th Airborne
Landings in Normandy 6th June 1944. 'Battleground Europe' series
(London: Leo Cooper, 1999).

Verney, Gerald Lloyd, The Desert Rats: The History of the 7th Armoured
Division 1938 to 1945 (London: Hutchinson, 1954).

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