27 December 1942. On the above date Lockheed Hudson VI, serial FK389 of No.117 Squadron was attacked and shot down at Thelepte, Tunisia by USAAF fighters. This type of mistake could be understood if the target was an obscure type, but when the aircraft is a well known, widely used and of an easily recognisable type, and of US manufacture, it makes one wonder as to the standard of training in aircraft recognition in the USAAF at the time, and also the methods they used to ID friend or foe before making an attack. Four airmen were lost in this 'friendly fire' incident F/O. C L W. Popplestone. Pilot. CWGC :: Casualty Details Sgt. T. Holliday. CWGC :: Casualty Details F/S. A A J. Mills. Navigator. CWGC :: Casualty Details Sgt. W J. Pye. Air Gunner. CWGC :: Casualty Details Initial source 'Though Without Anger' – Colin Cummings. ................
Peter, Sometimes the best training goes out of the window when a person is under stress. Perhaps moreso under combat stress conditions. I very much take your point about aircraft recognition, but sometimes when briefings took place it is likely that they were told that any planes in the area would be enemy ones and then the problems start. I am not defending the actions but sometimes things are not so straight forward. Friendly fire is still a problem today unfortunately, with many good service people and civilians having lost their lives as a result. Regards Tom
Sometimes the best training goes out of the window when a person is under stress. Perhaps moreso under combat stress conditions. Anyone who has been here in Canada for the fall hunting season knows that stress is not necessarily a requirement for 'friendly fire' incidents. Many farmers must drape their dogs, cows, horses, mules, misc. livestock and themselves with blaze orange panels or simply lock them in the barn for the duration. Proper identification of the target is not a priority for many shooters! A case in point: "Three students from Ferrum College in Virginia were in the woods collecting frogs for a biology class. The sheriff says they were standing on a road in an open field, unobstructed by trees or brush. Unfortunately, 31-year-old Jason David Cloutier, The World's Dumbest Hunter, was pursuing deer nearby. How one mistakes three college students for deer is beyond imagination. But Cloutier proved capable. He opened fire with a high powered rifle, hitting 20-year-old Regis Boudinot in the arm and hand and before shooting 23-year-old Jessica Goode in the chest. She did not survive. A third student with them apparently looked enough like a human to avoid being shot. Cloutier is charged with manslaughter, reckless handling of a firearm, trespassing, and being living proof that man evolved from ape."
As for the "easy to identify" Hudson you are forgetting Thalia (Kawasaki Ki 46) and Thelma (Tachikawa), only found a modeler site but it gives the idea. They were a straight copy of the Lockheed Model 14 and the Hudson was basically a Model 14. Thalia and Thelma
