Bizarre Military Mishaps

purple'n'gold

http://www.csn.ul.ie/~hyper/cgi-bin/pick_file.cgi?dir=1&file=Bizarre%20Military%20Mishaps

This is quiet interesting. Can anyone think of other military mishaps?

cp251

Yes, the day the Garrison of Monaghan barracks shot up the surrounding countryside for several minutes under the mistake impression they were under attack.

Not the mention the time an Irish army patrol and a British army unit fought a firefight across the border, both under the impression they were shooting it out with a significant force of IRA. A Croatian friend told me of a similar blue on blue incident with two Croat patrols. It went on for an hour and the only casualty was a flesh wound to one man.

Then there was the time, an armed patrol of FCA, led by regular NCO's 'liberated' part of a Northern Ireland woodland for about an hour. I know this one is true because I was there and have the photos to prove it.:eek:

Fratton Fred

Is the story of the US Aircraft carrier and the Newfoundland lighthouse true or just an urban myth?

Dub13

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Is the story of the US Aircraft carrier and the Newfoundland lighthouse true or just an urban myth?

Thats a myth there is a UK and Aussie version as well.

One of the lads I think it was Manic Moran posted a good one last year were the US Army lost a massive prototype tank in the woods,he had a photo as well the thing is huge not sure how you can lose something like that.

FiSe

I dont think that Hiroo Onodo shoud be in there... He /and his mates/ refused to surrender as per the oath he gave to Emperor.
He finally "surrender" after all his mates died and after 30 or so years in the jungle. His weapon was still ready to use with last bullet in the chamber.

Steyr

cp251 wrote: »

Yes, the day the Garrison of Monaghan barracks shot up the surrounding countryside for several minutes under the mistake impression they were under attack.

Is that when the BA Gazelle tried to land in said Barracks as she was low on fuel???

cp251 wrote: »

Not the mention the time an Irish army patrol and a British army unit fought a firefight across the border, both under the impression they were shooting it out with a significant force of IRA.

Wow, anymore info on this??

cp251 wrote: »

Then there was the time, an armed patrol of FCA, led by regular NCO's 'liberated' part of a Northern Ireland woodland for about an hour. I know this one is true because I was there and have the photos to prove it.:e:

Can we see the pics? Scan them if necessary?

mikemac

This is recent one I remember reading about. From 2002

An attempt to show off their prowess at dawn assaults went badly wrong for a unit of heavily armed British Royal Marines at the weekend when they accidentally invaded the wrong country.
The platoon of some 30 marines stormed from a landing craft on to the San Felipe beach in the Spanish town of La Linea, carrying 60mm mortars and SA80 assault rifles, and took up defensive positions on the sand.
nstead of being fired on with blank rounds by fellow British soldiers pretending to be the enemy, the marines found themselves being stared at by startled local fishermen.
The enemy, when they appeared, turned out to be two blue-uniformed officers from La Linea's municipal police force, who informed the detachment of marines that they were not, as they had thought, in Gibraltar.

"They were told that they must have made a mistake. This sort of thing does not happen very often here," a police spokesman in La Linea said yesterday.

The marines beat a hasty retreat and went off to find the real Gibraltar. This, locals observed, was easily recognisable because it had a 1,398ft high rock sticking out of it.

Embarrassed Ministry of Defence officials in London admitted yesterday that the invading force, which had come from the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean, had got lost in bad weather on Sunday morning and ended up "attacking" a different country.

"It was clearly an embarrassing and unfortunate incident," an MoD spokesman said. "They made their apologies and left."
A La Linea police spokesman said: "We reported the incident to the relevant authorities at the interior ministry."

The local Europa Sur newspaper reported yesterday that Spain was considering making a formal diplomatic complaint to the British embassy in Madrid.

An embassy spokesman said yesterday that no such complaint had been received but admitted that senior diplomats on both sides had discussed the incident.

The British invasion of Spain came just as the two countries were in the middle of a delicate process of trying to sort out their 300-year-old wrangle over the Rock.

Historically it has been the Spaniards who have tried to invade Gibraltar. La Linea itself gets its name from the "firing line" for Spanish cannon. The reversal of roles has done little to ease tensions on either side of la verja, as Gibraltarians call the frontier with Spain.

HMS Ocean had reportedly stopped off in Gibraltar on its way to the Persian Gulf.

The MoD spokesman explained the marines would have guided themselves from the warship to the beach with an ordinary compass.

But he did not think disciplinary action likely: "I am sure some lessons have been learned."

Manic Moran

Dub13 wrote: »

One of the lads I think it was Manic Moran posted a good one last year were the US Army lost a massive prototype tank in the woods,he had a photo as well the thing is huge not sure how you can lose something like that.

T-28 Super-Heavy. 28 years it was sitting in the Virginia forests.

I rather like the F-11F pilot who shot himself down with his own 20mm cannon (Tommy Attridge). An F-14A flown by Pete Purvis shot itself down with a Sparrow missile, though that was more due to a missile malfunction on launch than pilot error. Two WWII ships, HMS Trinidad and USS Tang managed to torpedo themselves.

NTM

Mick86

purplengold wrote: »

http://www.csn.ul.ie/~hyper/cgi-bin/pick_file.cgi?dir=1&file=Bizarre%20Military%20Mishaps

This is quiet interesting. Can anyone think of other military mishaps?

Battle of Brisbane

http://ozatwar.com/ozatwar/bob.htm

Mick86

cp251 wrote: »

Then there was the time, an armed patrol of FCA, led by regular NCO's 'liberated' part of a Northern Ireland woodland for about an hour. I know this one is true because I was there and have the photos to prove it.:eek:

That kind of thing was a common occurrence. Me and a driver were delivering lunch to one of our OPs in Cavan one day. We were buzzing along a road when we saw a sign that read STOP ARMY CHECKPOINT. About 5 seconds later it occurred to us that we didn't have a CP on that road. A quick reverse to the civilised side of the border was initiated.:D

Of course about the same time one of our OPs saw movement in the small hours of the morning and sent up a flare to reveal a BA invasion of the Irish Republic.

cp251

I imagine it happened quite a lot. I myself know of one or two other occasions. As for the photos Steyr. I could scan them in but they would prove nothing other than a bunch of soldiers posing with FN's in a forest somewhere. It actually looked like a scene from platoon:D I know one guy got a photo with a sign in the background. But I don't have a copy.

I can't prove the story of the firefight as of course it never 'officially happened'. But it came from a reliable source at the time. I'm sure there is a record somewhere locked away for a hundred years.:(

The Gazelle incident can be found here as related by the actual pilot.

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=286400&page=3

jmayo

FiSe wrote: »

I dont think that Hiroo Onodo shoud be in there... He /and his mates/ refused to surrender as per the oath he gave to Emperor.
He finally "surrender" after all his mates died and after 30 or so years in the jungle. His weapon was still ready to use with last bullet in the chamber.

Ok here are few points on Hiroo Onoda.
He had been trained in Guerilla warfare so not usual Japanese solider.
His last collegaue was killed in fire fight with local military/police after they were burning locals rice stocks.

He was discovered or rather he discovered a Japanese university dropout named Suzuki who had left college in Japan to try and find three things and no.1 on the list was our friend Lieutenant Onoda.
The others were a panda and the Abominable Snowman.
Never heared if he found the third

He tried to convince Hiroo the war was over, but he would only accept orders from his superior. Hell they had dropped leaflets and even brought Hiroo's brother from Japan to speak on loudspeakers in the jungle.
He would not believe any of it.

The student returned and brought along Onoda’s one-time superior commander, Major Taniguchi, who delivered the oral orders for Onoda to surrender his sword.

Hiroo surrendered and he wasn't down to his last bullet by any means.
He was a bit pi**ed off when he found out they had lost the war.
He was pardoned by Marcos for been involved in killing at least 30 Filipinos and wounding approximately 100 others.
He got back pay from the Japanese military as well.

He published his memoirs and moved to Brazil to ranch cattle.
Then married a Japaness girl (a lot of time to make up) and returned to Japan to run nature camps for kids.

Snickers Man

Wasn't the British disaster at Isandhlwana (sp?) against the Zulus partly down to the fact that somebody had forgotten the correct screwdriver to open their cases of ammunition and so they ran out of bullets very quickly?

"Whatever happens we have got the Maxim Gun, and they have not"
(Hilaire Belloc)

"Sure what bleedin' use is it with no Jaysus bullets?"
(Roddy Doyle)

Victor

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Is the story of the US Aircraft carrier and the Newfoundland lighthouse true or just an urban myth?

The US military specificly deny this, Area 51 and I think one other story. Everything else is considered fair game.

Fratton Fred

Victor wrote: »

The US military specificly deny this, Area 51 and I think one other story. Everything else is considered fair game.

The USAF had a blackbird stationed at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. You could sit on the beach at ladies mile and watch it take off and land. We watched it one afternoon and they must have had a new pilot as it took off and landed three or four times in the space of an hour. It is probably the easiest military plane to recognise, it's big. black and like no other plane in the world (At the time).

But it wasn't there. No way was it there, it was probably a weather balloon. There were no USAF personal in Cyprus and there most certainly was not an SR-71:D

cp251

Snickers Man wrote: »

Wasn't the British disaster at Isandhlwana (sp?) against the Zulus partly down to the fact that somebody had forgotten the correct screwdriver to open their cases of ammunition and so they ran out of bullets very quickly?

"Whatever happens we have got the Maxim Gun, and they have not"
(Hilaire Belloc)

"Sure what bleedin' use is it with no Jaysus bullets?"
(Roddy Doyle)

I think that was a myth. I seem to remember a documentary where they demonstrated that a swift application of a rifle butt opened the case with ease. They also demonstrated that the barrell rapidly overheated with sustained use and the cartridges would jam in the chamber.

No I think the Zulus won because of better tactics, overwhelming force and the fact that Chelmsford split his force plus a degree of hubris on the part of the British.

purple'n'gold

cp251 wrote: »

I think that was a myth. I seem to remember a documentary where they demonstrated that a swift application of a rifle butt opened the case with ease. They also demonstrated that the barrell rapidly overheated with sustained use and the cartridges would jam in the chamber.

No I think the Zulus won because of better tactics, overwhelming force and the fact that Chelmsford split his force plus a degree of hubris on the part of the British.

You are correct, that programme was on the History channel some time ago. I remember looking at it. The zulu's overwhelmed them.

bus77

I remember one about a massive multi-turreted tank built buy the Russians during WW2. When they shot both barrels from each turret at the same time the recoil sent it over on it's side and into a ditch. They didn't have a crane powerful enough to lift it so it got left where it was.

Manic Moran

Ah yes... The KV-VI.

In July 1941, Stalin learned of a single KV-I that had held off the entire 6th Panzer Division for more than a day. With the incredible success of this single tank, Stalin ordered a crash program for a land battleship based on the KV-I design. It was to have three turrets and be very heavily armed and armored and able to defend itself against all types of attack. The project was given to the joint team of Kotin/Barkov. When the designers complained to Stalin that the insistence on three turrets made the vehicle too long to have an acceptable turning radius, Stalin's answer was: "It doesn't need to turn, it will drive straight to Berlin." The final design became known as the KV-VI "Behemoth". The KV-VI was a multi-turreted tank using components of the KV-I and II, Bt-5, T-60, and T-38. The use of existing tank designs was necessary because of pressure from Stalin and the strains put on Soviet industry by the German invasion. Because of its massive weight, the tank was equipped with wading devices permitting it to traverse rivers up to 9 feet deep. The team also designed a removable observation tower that could be used to direct the fire of the howitzers and rockets while the tank was in a turret down position.

KV-VI Specifications

Crew: 15 men and one Commissar Length: 51 feet, 4 inches
Height: 15 feet, 3 inches Width: 10 feet, 10 inches
Height/tower raised: 37 feet, 8 inches Weight: 138 tons
Engine: 3 X V-2 at 600 horsepower each Max Speed: 13 mph
Max Range: 98 miles road; 43 miles cross country
Armor: 160mm maximum; 7mm minimum
Armament: 2 X 152mm; 2 X 76.2mm; 1 X 45mm; 2 X 12.7mm DShK; 2 X 7.62mm Maxim; 14 X 7.62mm DT; 16 X BM-13 Rockets; 2 X Model 1933 Flamethrowers

Operational History
The first prototype was completed in December 1941 and was rushed into the defense of Moscow. In its first action during a dense winter fog, the rear turret accidentally fired into the center turret. The resulting explosion completely destroyed the vehicle. The second prototype was completed in January 1942, and was sent to the Leningrad front. This one had indicators installed to show whe another turret was in the line of fire. In its initial attack on the Germans, the tank broke in half when crossing a ravine. A spark ignited the leaking flamethrower fuel and the resulting explosion completely destroyed the vehicle. The third prototype, shown here, had a reinforced hull and was also sent to the Leningrad front in early 1942. It did manage to shoot down three German aircraft. In its first ground engagement, the KV-VI was firing on German positions when coincidentally all of the guns fired from the 3 O'Clock position a the same time. The tremendous recoil tipped the tank into a ditch and the severe jostling set off the 152mm ammunition, which completely destroyed the vehicle. After these failures, Stalin cancelled the project, and many of the design team members spent the rest of their lives in the Gulags of Sibera. The KV-VI was nicknamed "Stalin's Orchestra" by the few Germans that encountered it because of the variety of weapons it deployed.

The Land Battleships of multi-turreted design actually kicked off in the UK with the Vickers Independent, which can still be seen in Bovington.


It didn't do all that well and the Brits abandoned the idea (though the A9 Cruiser had two small MG turrets)

The Russians took the ball and ran with it, starting with the T-28 and T-35 multi-turreted tanks, which saw combat in Finland. None were considered particularly successful.

NTM

Rew

Manic Moran wrote: »

T-28 Super-Heavy. 28 years it was sitting in the Virginia forests.

I rather like the F-11F pilot who shot himself down with his own 20mm cannon (Tommy Attridge). An F-14A flown by Pete Purvis shot itself down with a Sparrow missile, though that was more due to a missile malfunction on launch than pilot error. Two WWII ships, HMS Trinidad and USS Tang managed to torpedo themselves.

NTM

What about the Guard Tank Commander in Iraq who lost his tank into a bog?

Are the pictures still online?

Victor

Shhhhhhhhh!

Steyr

Oh this Tank???:p

Manic Moran

It was a canal, and we didn't lose it. We knew exactly where it was at all times.

Unless you mean the time we actually did sink a tank in a bog.

Or the other time when we sank two tanks into a bog...

And yes, they are.

NTM

cyrusdvirus

Manic Moran wrote: »

It was a canal, and we didn't lose it. We knew exactly where it was at all times.

Like it manic :D:D

FiSe

Manic Moran wrote: »

It was a canal, and we didn't lose it. We knew exactly where it was at all times.

NTM

That's because top of the barrel was above the water

Manic Moran

That's because top of the barrel was above the water

You mean the schnorkel.

USS Bulldog was well prepared for its maiden voyage.

NTM