Reading 'ORFORDNESS secret site' by Gordon Kinsey enjoyed this bit. The villagers were perplexed on 6th April, 1944, when 3 shells landed in the Daphne road area of Orford, damaging some property. They were even more astounded when they learned that they were from one of our own naval vessels. A special constable in the village at this time remembered this incident. “I was on duty when I heard a loud whistling roar followed by a loud whistling roar followed by a loud report in the direction of Daphne road. This was then followed by another one and I rang up the raid control and gathered that we were being shelled by a British destroyer. Lying some miles off shore the vessel was supposed to be putting shells into the Sudbourne Battle area to familiarise troops there with real battle conditions. ( Villages of Sudbourne and Iken had been evacuated 1942 to create the Battle area, home to Tank corps and the HLI. [51highland] ) I then contacted the Royal Navy officer on the Ness who was the ranging officer and he informed me that it was only a ricochet from the shingle beach. I then informed him that in my knowledge shells did not come off a shingle beach at this angle and that the shot had come directly from the guns and that I could show him the nose cone from one of the shells to prove it. He then gave the order to cease fire to the vessel which had obviously got both its range and direction somewhat wrong”.
My dear late brother Mick's guns once subjected my honey tank to friendly fire and my tank commander was not overly amused. BBC - WW2 People's War - The Day My Brother Mick Nearly Killed Me Ron
