ACUFO-1944-00-00-COLOGNE-1
In his 2001 book “It Didn't Start With Roswell: 50 Years of Amazing UFO Crashes, Close Encounters and Coverups”, U.S. ufologist Philip L. Rife indicated that he found in UFO Annual of 1977, a report by pilot of an American reconnaissance plane.
This pilot recalled he saw unfamiliar objects over the Rhine Valley, telling: “We had made some pictures, and I was looking ahead to our next photo target when my wingman broke radio silence and said: “Bogeys at 9 o'clock!” Off my wing, a little below us in the direction of Cologne, I saw four or five objects that looked like silvery footballs. They didn't seem to be moving, but they must have been, for they stayed even with us. It flashed through my mind that they were something the Germans had put up there. I watched to see what they would do, but they didn't do anything. As we turned away, I thought they must not be of much value to the Germans.”
| Date: | 1944 or 1945 |
|---|---|
| Time: | ? |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | 1977 |
| Reporting delay: | 3 decades. |
| Country: | Germany |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| City or place: | Cologne (Koln) |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 2 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Reporting channel: | Witness report to UFO magazine. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | Probable day. |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | No. |
| UFO departure observed: | No. |
| UFO action: | Fly along. |
| Witnesses action: | Go away. |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | ? |
| Witnesses interpretation: | German devices, later UFO. |
| Sensors: |
[X] Visual: 2.
[ ] Airborne radar: [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages: |
|---|---|
| Hynek: | ? |
| Armed / unarmed: | Armed, 4 to 6 12.7 mm machine guns. |
| Reliability 1-3: | 1 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 3 |
| ACUFO: | Unidentified, unknown credibility. |
[Ref. pre1:] PHILIP R. RIFE:
The pilot of an American reconnaissance plane recalled the unfamiliar objects he saw over the Rhine Valley: “We had made some pictures, and I was looking ahead to our next photo target when my wingman broke radio silence and said: “Bogeys at 9 o'clock!” Off my wing, a little below us in the direction of Cologne, I saw four or five objects that looked like silvery footballs. They didn't seem to be moving, but they must have been, for they stayed even with us. It flashed through my mind that they were something the Germans had put up there. I watched to see what they would do, but they didn't do anything. As we turned away, I thought they must not be of much value to the Germans”. (276)
The source was described as: "276. 1977 UFO Annual"
All that is known to me is that it was an American reconnaissance plane, with apparently only a pilot on board.
This tends to suggest that it was a P-51 “Mustang“, used by reconnaissance units on this front, and probably in a daytime flight.
The North American P-51 “Mustang” was certainly the best American fighter plane of World War II.
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I have found that the UFO Annual Magazine for 1977 published an article about “The Mysterious Foo Fighters of WWII”, with witnesses report, but I do not have this source at hand sor far.
The problem is first of all credibility, since the story would a priori be anonymous, without details on the unit or the exact date.
Unidentified, unknown credibility.
* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.
| Main author: | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Create/changed by: | Date: | Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | July 27, 2024 | Creation, [pre1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | July 27, 2024 | First published. |
