List of U.S. friendly-fire incidents since 1945 with British victims
Appearance
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This is a list of friendly fire incidents by the U.S. Military on allied British personnel and civilians. The topic has become prevalent in British culture due to some recent incidents, and is often satirically portrayed in the media.
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- 23 September 1950: During the "Battle of Hill 282", three USAF P-51 Mustang aircraft attacked a position held by the British Army's 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, with guns and napalm, killing 17 and wounding 76.[1] One of the survivors of the incident, George Younger, went on to become Britain's Secretary of State for Defence (1986-89).[citation needed]
- 26 February 1991: Nine British soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, were killed and further 11 injured after their Warrior armoured vehicles were hit by Maverick missiles fired by two U.S. A-10 ground attack aircraft.[2] An Oxford inquest returned a verdict of unlawful killings.[3]
- 27 February 1991: Two British soldiers of the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars were injured when their Scorpion armoured vehicles were fired on by U.S. M1 Abrams tanks.[2]
- 14 April 1994: In the 1994 Black Hawk shootdown incident, 26 Allied military and civilian personnels, including two British Army officers, were killed when two U.S. Air Force F-15Cs fighter aircraft shot down two U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawks helicopters they were in.
- 5 December 2006: British Marine Private Jonathan Wigley's death was caused by gunfire from a U.S. F-18 aircraft.[4]
- July 2007: British Guardsman Matthew Lyne-Pirkis, of the Grenadier Guards, was wounded along with three other allied soldiers of the Afghan National Army after being hit by gunfire from a U.S. Apache helicopter gunship.[5]
- 23 August 2007: A bomb dropped by an F-15 killed three soldiers of the Royal Anglian Regiment and wounded a further two.[6] During the subsequent inquest, issues such as inadequate communication equipment and incorrect coordinates from a British forward air controller were raised.[7] The coroner finally stated it was down to the "flawed application of procedures" rather than individual errors or "recklessness".[8]
- 21 December 2009: A British soldier was fatally shot by a US helicopter crew in Afghanistan who thought they were attacking an enemy base. Gunfire from the helicopters left 11 injured on the ground.[9] The coroner criticised the British commanders for the fact Patrol Base Almas was not marked on military maps, for the 'unprofessional' use of grainy images and for insisting there were no friendly forces in the area to the Apache crew.[10]
- 5 December 2010: Private John Howard was killed by American troops after soldiers called for backup. Private Howard is understood to have died as the low-flying pilot attempted to strafe an enemy target with cannon fire.[11][12]
- 23 March 2003: A British Tornado jet was shot down by a U.S. Patriot missile, killing two crewmen.[13][14]
- 28 March 2003: British Lance-Corporal of Horse Matty Hull was killed by U.S. A-10 jets as well as five others wounded in the 190th Fighter Squadron, Blues and Royals friendly fire incident.
- 6 April 2003: BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson and members of his crew were injured when a bomb dropped from a U.S. F-15 aircraft hit a friendly Kurdish and U.S. Special Forces convoy, killing 15 people, including BBC translator Kamaran Abdurazaq Muhamed.[15][16]
References
- ^ "Friendly Fire on Hill 282". britains-smallwars.com. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
- ^ a b "Friendly Fire Incidents (Hansard, 24 July 1991)". hansard.millbanksystems.com. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ^ "Soldiers' Deaths (Gulf War) (Hansard, 19 May 1992)". hansard.millbanksystems.com. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ^ "Pilot error led to marine death". BBC. 15 May 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
- ^ Kay, John (14 January 2008). "Friendly fire". thesun.co.uk. London. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
- ^ "'Friendly fire' kills UK soldiers". BBC News. 24 August 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
- ^ "'Grid mix-up' before Afghanistan 'friendly fire' deaths". BBC. 15 December 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
- ^ "'Flawed' actions led to fatal 'friendly fire' bombing". BBC. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
- ^ "Christopher Roney in US 'friendly fire' Afghanistan death". BBC News. 3 September 2012.
- ^ Officers' errors 'killed soldier in friendly fire gunship attack': Coroner condemns 'unprofessional' use of grainy images from drone aircraft
- ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1336185/British-soldier-John-Howard-killed-friendly-US-aircraft-Afghanistan.html
- ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2684853/British-Army-sniper-killed-US-fighter-jet-pilot-attacked-wrong-site.html
- ^ "Two die as Patriot missile takes down RAF jet". Stars and Stripes. 24 March 2003. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
- ^ "Pilot 'dreamed of RAF career'". BBC News. 26 March 2003. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
- ^ "The Iraq friendly fire incident". BBC News. 7 November 2003. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
- ^ "'This is just a scene from hell'". BBC News. 6 April 2003. Retrieved 8 May 2010.