Revealed... 70 years on: The forgotten hero who became the first U.S. air force officer killed in Europe in World War II

Updated: 09:06 EDT, 16 February 2012

This week marks the 70th anniversary since the first U.S. air force officer was killed in Europe after America entered World War Two.

Just a scattering of plaques are all that remain of the headquarters of the U.S. Army Air Force in Bushy Park, west London, built in 1942.

There is no memorial to Lieutenant Colonel Townsend Griffiss, who became the first of 30,000 U.S. air force personnel to die in the European theatre. Footnote: Lieutenant Colonel Townsend Griffiss was killed on February 15, 1942, after his B-24 Liberator was shot down over the English Channel Historic: A plaque at the site of Camp Griffiss, named after Lt Col Griffiss, in Bushy Park, west London

The 41-year-old was killed on February 15, 1942, after he was shot down by friendly fighters in a B-24 Liberator which failed to identify itself as it flew over the English Channel, an article in the BBC's online magazine has revealed.

A high-flying officer, Lt Col Griffiss was flying back to Britain from Cairo, Egypt, but despite getting Air Ministry approval for the flight after an operation initially in Moscow, Russia, there were conflicting responses from RAF Transport Command and the British Overseas Airways Company which owned the unarmed B-24.

As the aircraft passed over St Malo, northern France, it appeared on British radar screens and two Spitfires were sent to intercept it.

Investigations into what happened revealed one pilot saw a bright flash from one of the B-24's turrets and he reported that the aircraft began to dive into cloud. Tributes: The USAF memorial in Bushy Park. Now a royal park, it was the location of the U.S. Air Force headquarters in Britain in 1942 War: The former blocks of Camp Griffiss were demolished in the 1960s Comrades: The dedication stone at the memorial. Lt Col Griffiss was shot down by friendly forces after his Liberator failed to identify itself as it flew over the Channel

Both Spitfires, from a Polish Air Force squadron based in Exeter, opened fire and the Liberator's right engine was hit as it began to go down.

The pilots reported a large patch of oil and disturbed water and searched later found bags of diplomatic mail and a leather bag belonging to Griffiss.

The investigation failed to discover why the aircraft was not identified as friendly, but the B-24 Liberator was relatively unknown at the time and one of the pilots admitted he had mistaken the plane for a German Focke-Wulf 200.

Lt Col Griffiss, originally from the Coronado suburb of San Diego, California, was an expert on war observation who was sent to Europe during the Spanish civil war in the 1930s.

In May 1941, he was sent to London as part of a special observer group (Spobs) as the U.S. began to consider its involvement in World War Two.

But in November that year, he was sent to Moscow to negotiate with the Soviet government for the opening of a Siberian supply route. Final journey: The B-24 Liberator had set off from Cairo to Britain and was unarmed, but confusion over the flight meant a Spitfire fighter squadron had not been told it was expected Investigation: The Liberator was shot down and crashed into the English Channel, with a leather bag belonging to Lt Col Griffiss recovered from the sea

After failing to get anywhere, he flew from Kuibyshev - the temporary wartime capital after German forces reached Moscow - to Tehran, then to Cairo and it was on his flight to Britain that he was killed.

Air traffic controllers who knew the Liberator would be arriving from northern France on Febuary 15 were reprimanded for not informing the Exeter fighter sector.

The two pilots, Stanislaw Brzeski and Jan Malinowski, were blamed and recommended for court martial - although this was later dropped because of insufficient evidence.

The court of inquiry said: 'In view of the important personages carried in civil aircraft, more attention should be paid to the identification of civil aircraft.'

America entered World War Two after Japan launched its infamous strike on Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941.

Camp Griffiss, named after Lt Col Griffiss, is now the location of a royal park and none of the original blocks still stands.

The air force officer also had an air base in the U.S. named in his honour, now Griffiss International Airport in Rome, New York State.
[null, {"document_url": "https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102005/The-forgotten-hero-U-S-air-force-officer-killed-Europe-World-War-II.html", "unformatted_src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/furniture/facebook/DailyMail/DailyMail.png", "src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/furniture/facebook/DailyMail/DailyMail.png", "formatted_filename": "DailyMail"}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102005/The-forgotten-hero-U-S-air-force-officer-killed-Europe-World-War-II.html", "unformatted_src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/16/article-2102005-11BF5A5B000005DC-35_468x591.jpg", "src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/16/article-2102005-11BF5A5B000005DC-35_468x591.jpg", "formatted_filename": "article BF A B DC", "alt_text": "Footnote: Lieutenant Colonel Townsend Griffiss was killed on February 15, 1942, after his B-24 Liberator was shot down over the English Channel", "rendered_width": 468, "rendered_height": 591}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102005/The-forgotten-hero-U-S-air-force-officer-killed-Europe-World-War-II.html", "unformatted_src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/16/article-2102005-11C022AA000005DC-374_468x286.jpg", "src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/16/article-2102005-11C022AA000005DC-374_468x286.jpg", "formatted_filename": "article C AA DC", "alt_text": "Historic: A plaque at the site of Camp Griffiss, named after Lt Col Griffiss, in Bushy Park, west London", "rendered_width": 468, "rendered_height": 286}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102005/The-forgotten-hero-U-S-air-force-officer-killed-Europe-World-War-II.html", "unformatted_src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/16/article-2102005-11C022B6000005DC-614_468x351.jpg", "src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/16/article-2102005-11C022B6000005DC-614_468x351.jpg", "formatted_filename": "article C B DC", "alt_text": "Tributes: The USAF memorial in Bushy Park. Now a royal park, it was the location of the U.S. Air Force headquarters in Britain in 1942", "rendered_width": 468, "rendered_height": 351}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102005/The-forgotten-hero-U-S-air-force-officer-killed-Europe-World-War-II.html", "unformatted_src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/16/article-2102005-11C022A2000005DC-138_468x297.jpg", "src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/16/article-2102005-11C022A2000005DC-138_468x297.jpg", "formatted_filename": "article C A DC", "alt_text": "War: The former blocks of Camp Griffiss were demolished in the 1960s", "rendered_width": 468, "rendered_height": 297}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102005/The-forgotten-hero-U-S-air-force-officer-killed-Europe-World-War-II.html", "unformatted_src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/16/article-2102005-11C022AE000005DC-0_468x314.jpg", "src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/16/article-2102005-11C022AE000005DC-0_468x314.jpg", "formatted_filename": "article C AE DC", "alt_text": "Comrades: The dedication stone at the memorial. Lt Col Griffiss was shot down by friendly forces after his Liberator failed to identify itself as it flew over the Channel", "rendered_width": 468, "rendered_height": 314}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102005/The-forgotten-hero-U-S-air-force-officer-killed-Europe-World-War-II.html", "unformatted_src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/16/article-2102005-11C02885000005DC-949_468x358.jpg", "src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/16/article-2102005-11C02885000005DC-949_468x358.jpg", "formatted_filename": "article C DC", "alt_text": "Final journey: The B-24 Liberator had set off from Cairo to Britain and was unarmed, but confusion over the flight meant a Spitfire fighter squadron had not been told it was expected", "rendered_width": 468, "rendered_height": 358}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102005/The-forgotten-hero-U-S-air-force-officer-killed-Europe-World-War-II.html", "unformatted_src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/16/article-2102005-11C02879000005DC-424_468x383.jpg", "src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/16/article-2102005-11C02879000005DC-424_468x383.jpg", "formatted_filename": "article C DC", "alt_text": "Investigation: The Liberator was shot down and crashed into the English Channel, with a leather bag belonging to Lt Col Griffiss recovered from the sea", "rendered_width": 468, "rendered_height": 383}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102005/The-forgotten-hero-U-S-air-force-officer-killed-Europe-World-War-II.html", "unformatted_src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/04/15/undefined-undefined-1D1F693100000578-8_136x135.jpg", "src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/04/15/undefined-undefined-1D1F693100000578-8_136x135.jpg", "formatted_filename": "undefined undefined D F", "alt_text": "match.png", "rendered_width": 136, "rendered_height": 135}, null, null]