In a study conducted by the US Army in 1982, researchers examined
fratricide incidents in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. They
determined that friendly fire accounted for a small number of US
casualties, less than two percent. Most of those occurred during World
War II, and nearly two-thirds of all such incidents were the result of
ground-on-ground fire.
The percentage of US troops killed in fratricide incidents leapt
dramatically during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, though the number of
such incidents attributable to air-on-ground attacks dropped
significantly. During Desert Storm, fratricide claimed 35 of 148 US
battle deaths, around 24 percent. Although most were the result of
ground-on-ground firing, there were also four USAF incidents of
air-on-ground attacks. Military commanders have pushed to eliminate fratricide.
They have not been completely successful, but numbers have been
reduced.
Link:
http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2013/January%202013/0113fratricide.aspx
Link:
http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2013/January%202013/0113fratricide.aspx
