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On September 6, 1939, during World War II, the Battle of Barking Creek, (a friendly fire incident), took place. A short excerpt from the article:
"On 6 September 1939 an early morning ‘scramble’ would end with the first RAF fighter pilot casualty of the war and two other pilots arrested for their role in his death. This incident was shrouded in secrecy at the time and has taken on a feeling of folklore as it has been re-told again and again in popular history tales of the RAF’s involvement in the Second World War. The folklore nature of the Battle of Barking Creek has meant that over the decades that followed many details have become embellished and inaccurate and never before has a fully detailed investigation of what happened been carried out. Many of the official records from the incident have never surfaced, including the transcript of the court martial. Some records, locked away under secrecy for decades, have only recently been released. A full review of the incident, taking into account the new evidence, tells a different story to that which has been passed along as the accepted narrative."
"On 6 September 1939 an early morning ‘scramble’ would end with the first RAF fighter pilot casualty of the war and two other pilots arrested for their role in his death. This incident was shrouded in secrecy at the time and has taken on a feeling of folklore as it has been re-told again and again in popular history tales of the RAF’s involvement in the Second World War. The folklore nature of the Battle of Barking Creek has meant that over the decades that followed many details have become embellished and inaccurate and never before has a fully detailed investigation of what happened been carried out. Many of the official records from the incident have never surfaced, including the transcript of the court martial. Some records, locked away under secrecy for decades, have only recently been released. A full review of the incident, taking into account the new evidence, tells a different story to that which has been passed along as the accepted narrative."
The Battle of Barking Creek
Posted from epoch-magazine.com
WWII World War Two
World History
Military History
Friendly Fire
Combat
Posted >1 y ago
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..."Malan ordered them to attack, and likely countermanded that order when he realised his mistake. Perhaps he should have come forward and taken responsibility for the error, but it is clear that he believed that Freeborn and Byrne had acted irresponsibly. Ironically, the fault for the incident may lie in two pieces of equipment designed specifically to identify the difference between friendly and enemy aircraft; pipsqueak and radar. These issues were thankfully resolved by the summer of 1940 and although IFF was not in full effect by the start of the Battle of Britain, operators had become more adept at determining the difference between friend and foe. Identification training both from the air, and the ground was improved and the command and the ‘Dowding’ system was enhanced further with extra training and technical improvements. The Battle of Barking Creek, although coming some eight months before the Battle of Britain began, had provided invaluable real-life training, if nothing else. Hulton-Harrop did not get the chance to fight in the Battle of Britain and become one of “The Few”. Many of the other pilots who were involved in this incident, including Freeborn and Malan, are remembered fondly as men who risked everything to protect “the many”. Perhaps Montagu Hulton-Harrop can be remembered as the man whose tragic death in 1939, went a long way towards helping the RAF win the Battle of Britain in 1940."
..."Malan ordered them to attack, and likely countermanded that order when he realised his mistake. Perhaps he should have come forward and taken responsibility for the error, but it is clear that he believed that Freeborn and Byrne had acted irresponsibly. Ironically, the fault for the incident may lie in two pieces of equipment designed specifically to identify the difference between friendly and enemy aircraft; pipsqueak and radar. These issues were thankfully resolved by the summer of 1940 and although IFF was not in full effect by the start of the Battle of Britain, operators had become more adept at determining the difference between friend and foe. Identification training both from the air, and the ground was improved and the command and the ‘Dowding’ system was enhanced further with extra training and technical improvements. The Battle of Barking Creek, although coming some eight months before the Battle of Britain began, had provided invaluable real-life training, if nothing else. Hulton-Harrop did not get the chance to fight in the Battle of Britain and become one of “The Few”. Many of the other pilots who were involved in this incident, including Freeborn and Malan, are remembered fondly as men who risked everything to protect “the many”. Perhaps Montagu Hulton-Harrop can be remembered as the man whose tragic death in 1939, went a long way towards helping the RAF win the Battle of Britain in 1940."
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