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180:, and was attended by a number of military personnel. The Spitfires overflew followed by the Hurricanes. Five of the Hurricanes hit the correct targets: several armoured vehicles and mock tanks. The pilot of the sixth Hurricane opened fire at the spectators before continuing with the demonstration. Casualties were
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into the 27 deaths recorded that the deaths were caused by gunshot wounds and attributed to misadventure. The RAF pilot told the inquest he lost sight of the aeroplane he was following in the haze and realised he had made a mistake after he fired. While the coroner said that the pilot was
British and
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The demonstration for
Churchill and Marshall went ahead as planned three days later. McLachlan was killed when he was shot down in his Hurricane over France during a night raid on 29 June 1942. On 13 April 2012, a plaque was unveiled on the 70th anniversary of the incident at St Giles' Church,
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The Court of
Inquiry found the pilot, 21-year-old Sergeant William McLachlan, was guilty of making an error of judgement and that the weather at the time contributed to the incident. The pilot of the Hurricane had misidentified the spectators as dummies, thinking that they were part of the
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During combined exercises to-day in
Southern England there was an unfortunate accident in which a number of soldiers, including some members of the Home Guard, were killed and other injured. The next-of-kin have been
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fighter aircraft taking part in a firepower demonstration accidentally opened fire on a crowd of spectators, killing 25 and wounding 71. Pilot error and bad weather were blamed for the incident.
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First reports were that 14 had died with forty to fifty injured but this was later revised to 23 killed on the day (16 officers and seven soldiers). Four of the officers were members of the
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389:"News in Brief - Pilot who fired at Spectators." Times 27 June 1942: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
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not
American, McLachlan was an American-born Canadian pilot serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
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The Times report contradicts other sources that give the total deaths at 25.
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On 13 April 1942, the weather was hazy, and six Royal Air Force (RAF)
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429:"First official recognition for wartime tragedy | West Country"
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14 April 1942: 4. The Times
Digital Archive. Web. 21 September 2013.
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15 Apr. 1942: 4. The Times
Digital Archive. Web. 21 Sept. 2013.
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The Lost
Villages: In Search of Britain's Vanished Communities
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168:. The event was a dress rehearsal for an upcoming visit by
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were being used for a demonstration of tactical airpower at
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Accidents and incidents involving Royal Air Force aircraft
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Six Hawker
Hurricanes similar to the aircraft involved.
284:"Memorial plaque for 25 WWII 'friendly fire' victims"
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33:The houses at the training ground at Imber
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178:Chief of Staff of the United States Army
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533:April 1942 events in the United Kingdom
493:Friendly fire incidents of World War II
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220:demonstration when he opened fire.
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543:1940s fires in the United Kingdom
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335:Frampton, Will (11 April 2012).
376:"Combined Exercises Accident."
97:took place on 13 April 1942 at
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513:Military history of Wiltshire
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314:. I.B. Tauris. p. 156.
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71:Pilot error and bad weather
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198:issued a joint statement:
518:20th century in Wiltshire
286:. BBC News. 12 April 2012
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16:1942 incident in England
308:Buckton, Henry (2008).
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538:Disasters in Wiltshire
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190:The following day the
184:personnel killed and
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143:Supermarine Spitfires
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508:History of Wiltshire
341:Wiltshiretimes.co.uk
147:No. 234 Squadron RAF
139:No. 175 Squadron RAF
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223:An inquest held at
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403:"Casualty Details"
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84:Non-fatal injuries
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363:"News in Brief."
321:978-1-84511-671-2
170:Winston Churchill
135:Hawker Hurricanes
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172:and General
155:British Army
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186:71 wounded.
182:25 military
109:during the
548:1942 fires
487:Categories
457:51°14′02″N
245:References
239:Warminster
225:Warminster
209:Home Guard
192:War Office
46:1942-04-13
460:2°03′04″W
439:20 August
413:20 August
346:20 August
290:20 August
270:Citations
232:Aftermath
203:informed.
166:Wiltshire
107:Wiltshire
62:Wiltshire
433:ITV News
407:Cwgc.org
141:and six
121:Incident
54:Location
215:Inquiry
101:in the
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76:Deaths
378:Times
365:Times
250:Notes
151:Imber
145:from
137:from
99:Imber
68:Cause
58:Imber
441:2016
415:2016
348:2016
316:ISBN
292:2016
194:and
164:in
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160:on
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