Battle of Barking Creek

Battle of Barking Creek
Part of the Western Front of the Second World War
A flight of No. 151 Squadron Hurricanes, a squadron involved in the incident, taking off from RAF North Weald
Date 6 September 1939 Location Barking Creek, England Result 2 Hurricane fighters destroyed, 1 pilot killed

The Battle of Barking Creek was a friendly fire incident over the East Coast of England in the earliest days of the Second World War. On 6 September 1939, aircraft from several 11 Group, RAF Fighter Command squadrons, were scrambled to intercept German aircraft detected by radar (RDF) flying towards the English coast. The radar plots were reflections of British aircraft flying inland and Spitfire fighters sent to intercept shot down two Hurricanes in error, killing one of the pilots, the first death of a British fighter pilot in the war.