An attack near British ships during refugee evacuations on 22 July 1936 prompted a protest describing the bombing as irresponsible and intentional. Calling it irresponsible condemned the risk taken by the attacking aircraft. Describing it as intentional carried a further implication that British ships had been deliberately attacked, approaching the language of an act of war. Michael Alpert's account qualifies that accusation because Franco's pilots had little training in recognizing ships from the air. The exchange separates the force of a diplomatic warning from the evidence needed to establish what the pilots intended.
Notable Point · 19:57-21:15
Why calling an attack intentional carried diplomatic weight
A British protest over bombing in the Spanish Civil War shows why allegations of deliberate attack required stronger evidence than accusations of recklessness.