20 Memorable Own Goals Throughout History

What began as a dispute between Austrian hussars and infantrymen near Caransebeș, Romania, escalated into one of the most absurd military disasters in history in September 1788. The gunfire exchanged during the dispute quickly descended into total chaos.

On November 14, 1943, the USS William D. Porter became infamous for nearly assassinating President Franklin D. Roosevelt during what was supposed to be a routine naval exercise. The destroyer accidentally fired a live torpedo directly at the USS Iowa.

A thick fog shrouding the battlefield near Barnet led to one of the first recorded incidents of friendly fire during the War of the Roses. Oxford’s troops, who were returning to the Lancastrian lines, were catastrophically mistaken for the Yorkists due to poor visibility and the similarity of their banners.

General Braddock’s British column suffered more than 900 casualties on July 9 when it was ambushed near the Monongahela River during the French and Indian War. Panic and poor visibility in the narrow, wooded terrain caused the troops to fire repeatedly on their own lines.

Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was riding ahead on a nighttime reconnaissance mission at Chancellorsville when his own troops from the 18th North Carolina mistook him for Union cavalry in the darkness. He was struck three times in the left arm by friendly fire.

More than 5,500 Australians were killed in a single day, on July 19 and 20, 1916, during an attack near Fromelles intended to divert attention from the Somme offensive. Poor artillery coordination resulted in “drop shorts” that landed directly on the Australian and British lines.

During the invasion of Sicily, U.S. Navy anti-aircraft gunners opened fire on the C-47 transport planes carrying the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment near the Gela bridgehead. The paratroopers were mistaken for enemy aircraft, and the barrage shot down or damaged many of the transports.

Nearly 1,000 American soldiers perished in a nighttime disaster in late April 1944, when German speedboats attacked landing craft off Slapton Sands, England, during preparations for the D-Day landings. Miscommunication caused chaos during the sinking, and friendly fire broke out amid the panic.

The 30th Infantry Division suffered the heaviest casualties from friendly fire when errors in the placement of smoke screens and markers led to stray fire. Lieutenant General Lesley McNair was killed while observing from the front lines. Despite this horrific tragedy, the massive bombardment succeeded in breaking through the German defensive lines.

Miscommunication and poor coordination between air and ground forces led to this devastating mistake, which delayed the capture of this vital crossing point on the Rhine. Some pilots realized their terrible mistake in the middle of the attack, but radio communication problems prevented the cancellation orders from reaching all the aircraft in time.

British paratroopers from the 1st Airborne Division, who had already been surrounded near Arnhem in September of that year, faced a nightmarish scenario when Allied Typhoon pilots attacked their positions, mistaking them for enemy forces. The shifting battle lines and serious identification problems resulted in casualties among the troops.

Communication problems and constantly shifting front lines repeatedly led to friendly fire incidents in which American troops were struck by their own explosives throughout the German offensive. Despite these tragic incidents, Allied air superiority ultimately proved decisive in halting the German advance and turning the tide of the battle.

U.S. and Canadian forces landed on the fog-shrouded island of Kiska in August 1943 and immediately opened fire on each other, mistaking their allies for Japanese defenders due to extremely poor visibility. Radar systems detected phantom “signals,” leading to intense naval barrages against nonexistent targets.

Naval guns pounded American positions during the amphibious landing at Salerno, with the close proximity of the forces and the rapidly shifting front lines creating deadly situations of friendly fire. Aircraft and warships fired on Allied troops amid desperate German counterattacks.

Poor coordination between air and ground forces led to strikes against U.S. troops engaged in desperate house-to-house combat, significantly increasing the already appalling casualty toll. The Marines regained control of the streets of the ancient city, but much of Huế’s historic center was completely devastated during the operation. 

Dozens of American paratroopers from the 2nd Battalion, 503rd were hit in 1967 at Dak To after being mistaken for enemy forces. This catastrophic error occurred during intense close-quarters combat, as the paratroopers were already engaged in brutal fighting when friendly fire rained down on their defensive perimeter.

Patriot missile systems misidentified their targets during the 1991 Gulf War, engaging friendly aircraft during heightened Scud missile alerts in what became known as “blue-on-blue” incidents. Difficulties integrating the new technology led to allied aircraft being threatened or accidentally struck by their own defense systems. 

F-15 fighter pilots shot down two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters over the Iraqi no-fly zone. The pilots mistook the U.S. helicopters for Iraqi aircraft due to malfunctions in the IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) system and insufficient visual checks. 

Four Canadian soldiers were killed and eight others were wounded at Tarnak Farm on April 17, 2002, when a U.S. F-16 pilot struck their position in Afghanistan. Pilot fatigue and flawed procedures contributed to this tragic error, which became Canada’s worst instance of friendly fire.

The Rangers mistook Tillman for an enemy combatant during that chaotic operation, but initial military reports falsely claimed that he had been killed in an enemy ambush rather than by friendly fire. The cover-up that followed sparked a major scandal when his family fought relentlessly to uncover the truth.