190th Fighter Squadron, Blues and Royals friendly fire incident

The 190th Fighter Squadron, Blues and Royals friendly fire incident was a friendly fire

Friendly fire

Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...

incident involving two United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

(USAF) Air National Guard

Air National Guard

The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...

190th Fighter Squadron

The 190th Fighter Squadron flies the A-10 Thunderbolt II. It is a unit of the Idaho Air National Guard. Its parent unit is the 124th Fighter Wing. The squadron was deployed to the Middle-East in 2003 to support the 2003 invasion of Iraq...

attack aircraft, and vehicles from the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

's D Squadron, The Blues and Royals

Blues and Royals

The Blues and Royals is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. The Colonel-in-Chief is Her Majesty The Queen and the Colonel is HRH The Princess Royal...

of the Household Cavalry

Household Cavalry

The term Household Cavalry is used across the Commonwealth to describe the cavalry of the Household Divisions, a country’s most elite or historically senior military groupings or those military groupings that provide functions associated directly with the Head of state.Canada's Governor General's...

, and took place on 28 March 2003 during the invasion of Iraq by armed forces

Armed forces

The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...

of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

and United Kingdom. In the incident, the two USAF A-10s fired on and destroyed two Blues and Royals armored vehicles, killing one British soldier, and injuring five others.

The operation was known as Operation Telic

Operation Telic

Operation TELIC was the codename under which all British military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the Invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on 22 May 2011...

in the UK and Operation Iraqi Freedom in the US. Although not the only fratricide incident during Operation Telic, the circumstances around the inquest into the death of British Lance-Corporal of Horse

Lance-Corporal of Horse

Lance-corporal of horse is an appointment unique to the Household Cavalry of the British Army, equivalent to lance sergeant in the Foot Guards. It was introduced in 1971...

Matty Hull - and the subsequent verdict of unlawful killing

Unlawful killing

In English law unlawful killing is a verdict that can be returned by an inquest in England and Wales when someone has been killed by one or several unknown persons. The verdict means that the killing was done without lawful excuse and in breach of criminal law. This includes murder, manslaughter,...

- led to much media controversy in the UK. This was related to the release of video evidence from the attacking aircraft, and perceived levels of cooperation by government agencies of both the United States and United Kingdom with the British

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

inquest.

Operation Telic — 28 March 2003

The Blues and Royals were serving as a force element of 16 Air Assault Brigade, providing an armoured reconnaissance capability to the Brigade. Four vehicles from D Squadron, two FV107 Scimitar

FV107 Scimitar

FV107 Scimitar is an armoured reconnaissance vehicle used by the British Army. It is very similar to the FV101 Scorpion but mounts a high velocity 30 mm L21 RARDEN cannon instead of a 76 mm gun. It was issued to Royal Armoured Corps, Armoured Regiments in the Reconnaissance role...

s and two FV103 Spartan

FV103 Spartan

FV103 Spartan is a tracked armoured personnel carrier of the British Army. It was developed as the APC variant of the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance family. The vehicle can carry up to 7 personnel, including 3 crew members. Armed with a single machine gun, it is almost indistinguishable from the...

s, were moving North of the main force, patrolling the Forward Edge of Battle Area. The area of the patrol had been declared as a no engagement zone to the allied forces and the vehicles were marked with the agreed coalition Combat Identification markings including orange overhead canvas panels, thermal reflectors and Union Flag

Union Flag

The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...

s.

Two A-10 Thunderbolt II

A-10 Thunderbolt II

The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...

aircraft of the Idaho Air National Guard

Idaho Air National Guard

The Idaho Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is, along with the Idaho Army National Guard, an element of the Idaho National Guard. It is considered a part of the United States Air Force, as well as its state mission....

, 190th Fighter Squadron

190th Fighter Squadron

were completing a two-hour mission; engaging artillery and rocket launchers of Iraq's 6 Armoured Division, dug in 25 miles (40.2 km) north of Basra

Basra

Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...

. The aircraft were guided to their targets by US Marine Corps Forward Air Controllers

Forward air control

Forward air control is the provision of guidance to Close Air Support aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller . For NATO forces the qualifications and experience required to be...

, embedded with British ground units, and flown by a Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

and Lieutenant Colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

on their first operational flight of the invasion. According to media reporting of the subsequent investigation, flight was commanded by the Major.

From an altitude of 12000 ft (3,657.6 m), the aircraft spotted Iraqi vehicles 800 yards north, and the British patrol less than three miles (5 km) west. Following dialogue with the FAC and between the aircrew, the British convoy was engaged by the A-10s in a gun and rocket attack which left the vehicles disabled. The British soldiers exited the vehicles, taking cover underneath the hulls. The aircraft conducted a second attack, resulting in the death of L/CoH Hull, still within his Scimitar.

Trooper Christopher Finney

Christopher Finney

Lance-Corporal of Horse Christopher Finney GC is a British soldier of the Blues and Royals awarded the George Cross for bravery under friendly fire during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Finney grew up in Marple, near Stockport, before moving to Dorset and then joining the British Army in September 2000...

, 18, driving the lead Scimitar re-entered his burning vehicle calling a Mayday

Mayday (distress signal)

Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications. It derives from the French venez m'aider, meaning "come help me"....

report on his still-functional radio. Trooper Finney then dragged a badly wounded L/Cpl Tudball from the burning vehicle before attempting to recover Hull in the second Scimitar, but being beaten back by exploding munitions and heat. For his actions, Trooper Finney was later awarded the George Cross

George Cross

The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...

, the highest award for gallantry "not in the face of the enemy."

As well as the death of Hull a further five troopers were injured.

Boards of inquiry

The U.S. Air Force conducted an investigation into the incident in 2003, but the results of that investigation were not publicly released, and did not result in a court-martial. Subsequent reporting of the U.S. Air Force investigation states that the investigation found fault with both pilots' actions in the incident, including, "findings of cognitive and physical task overload, ineffective communication and failure to recognise identification panels by the two pilots." The investigation report recommended administrative or disciplinary action against both pilots. Higher United States Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

officials, however, cleared both pilots of any wrongdoing.

A British Army Board of Inquiry (BoI) was held in 2004, the findings of which, among others, stated that the Major authorised the Lt Colonel to attack, but no authorisation was given by controllers on the ground. The report was released to the family of L/CoH Hull and later to the public. It has been alleged that certain classified material available to the BoI, was withheld from the family.

Inquest into the death of L/CoH Hull

At the time, the bodies of those service personnel dying overseas were repatriated to the UK via RAF Brize Norton

RAF Brize Norton

RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the settlements of Brize Norton, Carterton and Witney....

, leading to the responsibility for inquests being under the civilian jurisdiction of the Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

coroner

Coroner

A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...

. An inquest into the death of L/CoH Hull was convened in 2006, presided over by Assistant Deputy Coroner Andrew Walker

Andrew Walker (barrister)

Andrew Walker is an English barrister and coroner for Northern District of Greater London,. In June 2006 he was appointed on temporary contract as assistant deputy coroner in Oxfordshire, one of three temporary appointees to assist in reducing a backlog of inquests into the deaths of British...

Discussion prior to the inquest

The stated position of the United States government is that US servicemen do not attend non-US courts, written statements normally being provided.

British media reported that the UK Government had pressured the US government, via the US Embassy in London, to release all evidence related to the incident. A meeting between Constitutional Affairs Minister Harriet Harman

Harriet Harman

Harriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997...

and Deputy Head of Mission, David Johnson, was reported on 20 November 2006 where assurances were given that concerns of the UK over the US policy on attendance were to be relayed to Washington.

Harman reiterated this position on 1 February 2007, highlighting the request for evidence and indicating that the US personnel could not be compelled to attend the inquest.

Conduct of the inquest

The inquest took oral testimony from the various British personnel associated with the incident, including those in the convoy, and a FAC who expressed the opinion that the aircrew were acting independently. Walker commented on the actions of L/Cpl Finney GC, stating: “You are a brave man. You are to be commended for what you did.”

It was publicly acknowledged during the inquest that a cockpit video of the Head-up display

Head-Up Display

A head-up display or heads-up display is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints...

from one of the aircraft existed, which media reports indicated had been shown to the BoI, but not released to Hull's family with the findings.

The video was shown to the Coroner in private, although permission to use it in public was refused by the Ministry of Defence, citing international agreements related to the release of classified information, and the US classification of the tape as secret. This adherence to international protocols led to significant criticism in the British media, leading to a public statement by Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram

Adam Ingram (Labour politician)

Adam Paterson Ingram is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow from 1987 to 2010.-Early life:...

which reiterated the requirement for US de-classification of the video and highlighting ongoing engagement to achieve that.

Media reporting indicated that the MOD had previously denied the existence of the video.

On 2 February 2007 Walker opted to adjourn the inquest until the video could be displayed in open court.

Unauthorised leak and subsequent de-classification of video evidence

The video was leaked to The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...

tabloid newspaper, and reported on 6 February 2007, as well as published on the newspaper's website. The newspaper indicated that the leak had come from a US military source. The US government subsequently announced that the video would be declassified, but noted that the leak was likely to be a criminal offence.

The video released was 19 minutes long, and was accompanied with recordings of cockpit audio and radio communications.

British media allege six errors on the part of the aircrew:

The pilots asked the Forward Air Controller ("Manila Hotel") if friendly forces were around the Iraqi vehicles — not to the west.
Neither pilot gave the precise grid references for the Household Cavalry patrol to double check its identity.
The pilots convinced themselves that the orange identification panels were in fact orange rocket launchers.
POPOV36 decided to attack, saying he is “rolling in” without permission from the Forward Air Controller.
POPOV35 asked for artillery to fire a marker round into the target area to clear up confusion, but POPOV36 attacked without waiting for it.
POPOV36 strafed the column for a second time, but still doubted its identity.

The audio track includes debate around the identity of the targets and the order, from the FAC, to disengage identifying a likely "blue-on-blue" incident. The audio track also includes notification of one death and several injuries with the order to return to base. Subsequent audio indicates frustration and crying with the comment: "We're in jail, dude". Upon viewing the video, Matty Hull's widow, Susan, stated that the pilots were, "more concerned for themselves than their victims".

A statement released by the Oxfordshire coroner's office later confirmed that Walker was of the view that, being in the public domain, the video could now be presented as evidence without the approval of the US Government, and that the inquest would resume on 12 March 2007.

On 6 February 2007 the Sun named POPOV36 as Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

Gus Kohntopp

Gus Kohntopp is an A-10 Thunderbolt II fighter pilot with the Idaho Air National Guard of the United States. He currently holds the rank of colonel and is also a commercial pilot with Southwest Airlines...

, a commercial pilot for Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...

and member of the Idaho Air National Guard

Idaho Air National Guard

. The British inquest was set to resume on 12 March 2007. As of 9 February 2007, Kohntopp was reported to be, "in hiding."

Inquest reconvened

The Oxfordshire inquest resumed as scheduled on 12 March with testimony from a British Forward Air Controller (FAC) involved in the incident, who stated that the incident wouldn't have happened if the two U.S. pilots involved had followed the same procedures that UK pilots must follow in the same type of situation. On March 13, the same British FAC testified that POPOV36 committed a "catalogue of serious failures" when he shot at the British vehicles in the incident, including "ignoring crucial warning signs, attacking without permission, and failing to wait for an artillery shell marker on a proposed target." After the inquest revealed that portions of relevant evidence from the U.S. investigation into the incident were blacked out in the copy of the report given to the inquest, Matty Hull's widow made a personal appeal to U.S. president George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

for the information to be released to the inquest.

Inquest verdict

On 16 March, coroner Andrew Walker returned a narrative verdict, stating that the killing of Hull was "unlawful

Unlawful killing

". Walker said: "The attack on the convoy amounted to an assault. It was unlawful because there was no lawful reason for it and in that respect it was criminal." Neither of the two U.S. pilots involved nor any other representative from the U.S. government appeared at the inquest or co-operated in any other way, despite numerous requests from Walker, Harman, and Hull's family to do so, and the normal practice of providing written statements.

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