00:00It's the morning of the 7th of November 1944, and 12 P-38 lightnings soar high over Yugoslavia.
00:09Leading the flight is Colonel Clarence Theodore Edwinson.
00:12He spots a cloud of steam rising below.
00:15It's a German steam train, not the main target, but it's too juicy to pass up.
00:20Let's go get it, boys.
00:21Edwinson turns over and dives to the attack, his men following close behind.
00:25They pick up speed and lock the locomotive square in their sights and pull the trigger.
00:31The locomotive is riddled with American fire, and steam pours out of holes all over the boiler as lightnings rise back up into the sky.
00:40But the Germans are quick to the defense.
00:43Black puffs of German flak burst around the formation with shrapnel piercing the aircraft's thin metal skins.
00:49Edwinson shouts on the radio,
00:51Everyone, get low!
00:52They turn to dive back to the ground, to escape the German guns, but it's too late.
00:58One P-38 is struck directly, and bursts into flames as the entire squadron dives for safety.
01:05The pilot's desperate voice is heard over the radio.
01:07I'm hit! I'm going down!
01:10Edwinson levels out low over the trees and whips his head back looking for his man.
01:14But instead, he sees a fireball of the stricken bird slamming into a hillside.
01:19Does anyone see a chute?
01:22Every pilot hopes someone else responds for the yes.
01:26But the silence is deafening.
01:30Negative, sir.
01:31Fury fills Edwinson's heart.
01:33Copy.
01:34The US planes roar over the Serbian mountains.
01:38Suddenly, the ground drops below them, revealing a huge valley with an airfield.
01:43It looks just like the target area, as was described in their mission briefing.
01:49Seconds later, Edwinson sees exactly what he expects.
01:52A long line of trucks and tanks going north on the road to Belgrade.
01:57There's never a shadow of doubt in his mind.
01:59This is their chance for revenge.
02:01There are those sons of horror.
02:03Blue flight, get that German convoy.
02:05Red and yellow to the airfield.
02:06Yes, sir!
02:07The Soviets are unaware that they've been misidentified by the Americans.
02:11The Red Army and Yugoslav partisans are celebrating the anniversary of the October Revolution.
02:17They drive along, soldiers singing and Soviet flags flying proud in the air.
02:22Until the rumble of an engine interrupts the melody.
02:26The soldiers look up to the sky and see the P-38s flying in the distance.
02:30Seeing their ally brings a smile to their face.
02:33Celebrations resume and the convoy marches on.
02:36Few are alarmed as they see aircraft-break formation and turn straight towards them.
02:42No, no, no, they're going to shoot!
02:44The lightnings bear down upon the column.
02:47The roar of engines getting louder.
02:49The few Soviet soldiers that realize the mistake scramble to warn the incoming Americans.
02:54They grab flags from their comrades and lift them higher,
02:57waving them desperately, hoping the Americans see.
03:00But there's not enough time.
03:02The pilots don't notice.
03:03And they pull the trigger.
03:08The Soviets are cut down as bullets tear through the formation of men and vehicles.
03:13The column is thrown into a frantic panic under a storm of lead.
03:17Then the American bombs rain down.
03:20Explosions blast through what remains of the convoy, inflicting heavy casualties.
03:24At the nearby airfield, the distant blasts are heard.
03:28Lookout stand in attention and see a swarm of aircraft headed straight towards them.
03:33The alert sounds and Soviet soldiers rush for the anti-air guns.
03:38They come to life with a furious roar, with traces flying out from the sky, to meet their incoming attackers.
03:46In the air, Edmondson leads his men down towards what they believe to be a Luftwaffe airfield full of BF-109s.
03:53Anti-aircraft fire sweeps through their formation, striking the planks, but they're undeterred.
03:5820-millimeter shells and .50 caliber bullets pour from the lightning's powerful armament.
04:05They smash into the earth, ripping across the rows of parked aircraft, as they hear enemy fire striking their own boats with a crackle.
04:13Pull up!
04:14The lightnings pull out of the dive, but one of them fails to follow.
04:18It's 2nd Lieutenant, Alden Coulson.
04:21He yanks on the yoke with all his strength, but he's taken severe damage from the Soviet guns.
04:25He flies much lower than expected, attracting the fire of the entirety of the Soviet airfield's anti-aircraft defense.
04:33She's not coming up!
04:35More impacts strike the lightning, wings and elevators are ripped to shreds, and control slips from his grasp.
04:41The P-38 crashes, a kilometer from the airfield, exploding, with Coulson inside.
04:48Edmondson sees the balls of flame, and his anger once again rises.
04:52They're going to make the Germans pay.
04:54Build some altitude and go in again.
04:57Down below, anti-aircraft fire continues skyward at what they believe to be German twin-boom FW-189s.
05:03Red Army pilots rush to the remaining yaks through fire and smoke.
05:09The first two Yak-9s to start to life are piloted by Lieutenant Krivonogich and his wingman, Junior Lieutenant Shepulia.
05:21As they taxi, Krivonogich looks up and sees the fighters turning back for another attack.
05:28They line up on the runway and smash the throttle to fall.
05:31The Yak-9s roar down the runway and lift off into the air, with a terrifying sight of the incoming enemies looming overhead.
05:41The two Soviets skim the treetops, racing away from the P-38 sites.
05:47But behind them, the rest of the Soviet pilots are not so lucky.
05:50They take off in a large group.
05:54Easy targets for a squadron that have already lost two men.
05:58Get those planes before they gain altitude.
06:01If men don't question, they dive in at maximum speed, peppered by anti-airfire streaming from the ground.
06:07With the crosshairs on target, they pull the triggers.
06:10Bullets and shells tear through the Soviet planes.
06:12One Yak is immediately destroyed and several others are damaged.
06:17They break into evasive maneuvers as lightnings soar overhead.
06:21All except one.
06:23One of the pilots sees his attacker pulling out of the dive and spots an opportunity.
06:29In a split second, he pulls his Yak upward and pulls the trigger.
06:32P-38 flies straight through his burst and is ripped to shreds.
06:36The P-38 bursts into flames and spins violently out of control.
06:41The pilot inside is 2nd Lieutenant Philip Brewer and he has no opportunity to get out.
06:47He's trapped and his plane plummets to the earth, crashing to the northeast of the Soviet airfield.
06:53The P-38s gain altitude, escaping the grasp of the anti-air gunners.
06:58Edwinson looks down where one enemy and two friendlies burn.
07:02This is becoming a much tougher fight than he expected.
07:04A lot of fighters incoming, make a defensive circle.
07:07We're shooting our way out.
07:09Meanwhile, Krivonogic and Shipulya race low over the trees, accelerating to well over 400 kilometers an hour.
07:17The attack on the rest of their squadron has left them isolated,
07:20but they watch the enemy fighters opening fire on the helpless column.
07:24And they know they have no choice.
07:26The pair of Yak-9s pull up into a steep vertical climb.
07:30For the first time in history, fighters of the United States and Soviet Union will face off in all-out air-to-air combat.
07:42Shipulya races in pursuit, sweeping in at high speed, and opens fire with a single 20mm cannon and .50 caliber machine gun.
07:51His bursts land on one of the P-38s' twin fuselages, but it doesn't take it down.
07:57Shipulya soars by at blistering speeds and turns away to prepare for another run.
08:02But the American pilot requests backup, and two circling P-38s come to his rescue.
08:09Krivonogic spots the enemy's diving upon his wingman, and he shouts over the radio,
08:13He's just at the nick of time.
08:18Shipulya pulls hard in the last second, escaping the P-38's lethal burst.
08:23He twists and dodges the enemy aircraft's guns, but he's on the back foot.
08:31Krivonogic flies into the scene as fast as he can,
08:34his heart stumping with every burst of tracers launched towards his wingman.
08:38He's coming in fast, his cross-hairs line up with one of the two lightnings, and he pulls the trigger.
08:46His gunshots streak across the sky and narrowly miss the enemy's aircraft.
08:50The American pilot immediately abandons the attack, but Krivonogic ignores him.
08:55He moves on to the next P-38, hounding Shipulya, takes aim, and opens fire.
09:01His rounds are perfectly placed and hit the lightning's twin boons, bursting the aircraft into flame.
09:05It flies on, out of control.
09:09The American pilot opens the canopy and bails,
09:13and his burning plane crashes 8 kilometers to the north of the Soviet airfield.
09:23Both brace for an onslaught.
09:26They're horribly outnumbered.
09:27But then, the rest of the Soviet squadron burst onto the scene, opening fire and scattering their enemies.
09:35Krivonogic is relieved.
09:37Victory is now within reach.
09:38The two pilots rush into the fight again, but in the chaos of battle, they get split up.
09:44Krivonogic sets his sights on an enemy and chases him through the melee, spiraling upwards through the air.
09:49The P-38 does the same, but the P-38 is not optimized for low-altitude flying, and Krivonogic quickly catches up.
09:58He has the American in his sights.
10:01On the ground, a Soviet anti-air crew are firing at every enemy target they see.
10:06Whether it was just bad aim, or an over-enthusiastic gun crew, we'll never know.
10:10But they send a volley directly at Krivonogic's yak.
10:15He gets no warning.
10:16His yak is struck directly and disintegrates.
10:20Shipulia tries to raise his friend on the radio and sees the burning red plummeting down to the ground.
10:26His friend is gone.
10:28He shakes the loss from his mind and spots an American target underneath him.
10:32He's outnumbered, and now without his friend.
10:35But he still dives back into the fight.
10:37P-38 swarm around him.
10:39One of them performs a steep climb, stalls, and then opens fire.
10:44Shipulia has no chance.
10:46He flies on straight through its fire, and he's shot down.
10:49The burning wreck of his plane crashes 500 meters north of the airfield he was defending.
10:55The Soviet losses mount.
10:56Another yak is shot down by the Americans.
10:59The Soviet forces are desperately contacting every nearby base, hoping for reinforcements.
11:04Rushing to the scene is a fresh group of Yak-3 fighters led by Captain Alexander Kaldunov.
11:11They're responding to the airfield commander's desperate plea for help, but Kaldunov is unsure of what he'll find.
11:18He's been told he's fighting German FW-189s, but he knows the 189 is a reconnaissance aircraft.
11:25It's not used for attacks like this.
11:27Something is very wrong.
11:29Approaching the battle, he sees what is before him is not an FW-189.
11:35That is the unmistakable shape of an American P-38.
11:40He quickly abandons his attack and roars alongside the Americans, wagging his wings, hoping the Allied pilots see the red stars.
11:47But instead, the lightning slows, gets behind, and turns to fire.
11:56Kaldunov breaks into evasive maneuvers and escapes the furious volley.
12:04He once again flies straight through the maelstrom, trying to capture the attention of the American pilots.
12:08But it doesn't work until he flies right alongside Edwinson.
12:13Edwinson sees the Soviet plane, and his eyes go wide.
12:18A cold sense of dread travels down his spine.
12:21He looks around at the other aircraft zipping by around him.
12:24Every single one of the so-called enemies, sporting the red Soviet stars.
12:30Holy...
12:31Cease fire! Cease fire!
12:33They're Soviets!
12:34Everyone back to base, now!
12:35Repeat, everyone back to base, now!
12:38All of the P-38s turn west and flee the scene.
12:41But they're chased by the Yaks.
12:42One by one, each Soviet pilot turns back to their base, and the terrible accident comes
12:52to an abrupt end.
12:54The incident was taken by some on Soviet high command to have been a deliberate act, and
12:59for a brief moment the fallout of the incident threatened to spiral out of control.
13:03But the U.S. admitted the mistake in an explanatory letter to the Soviets that set out the chain
13:09of events as to why the Americans thought they were fighting the Germans.
13:13A Soviet account, although likely embellished, was released over the years.
13:18American information on the incident is very scarce, and many believe that the full account
13:23of the incident has been kept secret and remains classified until 100 years after the event.
13:30Check out this film to see how the first stealth plane, the Nighthawk, will be shot down not
13:34far from here, 55 years from now.
13:37Are you still here yet?
13:49No!
13:50Yes!
13:52I believe you're too old for his favorite island, 6th century новыхella THEose harden and
13:54correctness.
13:55I believe you'll be honest.
13:55You're not sure I'm sure that you're here.
13:57We're here!
13:58Yes?
13:59Yes!
14:01Yes!
14:03Yes!
14:04Yes!
14:05Yes!
14:05Yes!
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