history · 28 June 1940 · 85 years ago
British Blenheim bomber attacked Tobruk in North Africa. Following the raid, Italian Governor-General of Libya Marshal Italo Balbo returned from a reconnaissance flight. Italian anti-aircraft crews, still jumpy from the raid, mis-identified his aircraft for a British bomber and opened fire, killing Balbo. Given Balbo's opposition to Mussolini's alliance with Germany, some believe this friendly fire incident was actually an assassination.
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