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Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA, on March 1, 1944:

Case number:

ACUFO-1944-03-01-CARLSBAD-1

Summary:

In a list of UFO sightings reported by U. S. Air Force Personnel, published in 1964 by the US ufology group National Investigation Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) in their book “The UFO Evidence”, a case is noted for March 1, 1944, in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

The report came from a NICAP affiliate and told that a B-17 pilot saw a high-speed glowing green object that lit the cockpit and moved out of sight over the horizon.

Several other sources later picked up on this, with French sources starting to misspell the location as “Arlsbad”...

I found the original report in 2024, a NICAP Sighting Report Form, filled by the witness, Pilot George S. Niedermann Jr. at the urging of the affiliate of NICAP, who was William Leet, himself a pilot witness to a sighting in 1944.

Niedermann had been trained as a pilot of four-engine aircraft in the U.S. Army Air Corps, and in March 1944 he was flying a B-17, for a high-altitude flight mission at 1:30 a.m. in a clear moonless night sky, with visible stars, above the mountains near Carslbad, New Mexico, United States.

He and his crew then saw, for about 10 seconds, a phenomenon resembling a “'tail' of green Roman candles”, which had its own luminosity, reflected inside the cockpit of the plane.

Niedermann estimated that this phenomenon, which made no noise, was moving at 5,500 miles per hour, in a straight line, in the direction 270°, and it went over the horizon.

He said he was unable to judge the size or altitude of the object.

He said he was not interrogated by Air Force investigators nor any other officials.

Data:

Temporal data:

Geographical data:

Witnesses data:

Ufology data:

Classifications:

Sources:

[Ref. rep1:] WITNESS REPORT FORM - NICAP ARCHIVE:

Because the form is almost unreadable, instead of a transcript, I am giving the readable information that can be found in it.

The reporting witness is George S. Niedermann Jr., store manager living in Kentucky, who spent 2 years in College and was trained a U.S. Army Air Corps pilot of 4-engine planes.

The sighting occurred during a high altitude flight mission in March 1944 (not March 1, 1944) at 1:30 a.m. in clear night sky, moonless, with visible stars, over mountains in the vicinity of Carslbad, New Mexico, USA.

The sighting lasted 10 seconds approximately.

The reported phenomenon “looked like green Roman candles 'tail', self-luminous, and it looked like a bright star rather than being fuzzy or blurred or sharply outlined, and its light reflected inside the plane's cockpit.

This phenomenon was estimated to move at 5500 miles per hour, traveling in straight line, heading 270°, and it went over the horizon.

It made no sound.

It was observed through the windshield of the B-17 plane.

The witness specified that he was unable to judge the size or the altitude of the object, and that it was witnessed by the rest of the crew also, that he knew there were airport or military or research installation in the area.

He specified he had never seen any other unidentified aerial phenomenon; that he was not interrogated by Air Force investigators or other officials.

He testified in 1959 at the request of Wm. Leet.

[Ref. nip1:] NICAP - RICHARD HALL - "THE UFO EVIDENCE":

In a list of UFO sightings by personnel of the U.S Air Force on file at NICAP, we read:

[Ref. obr1:] OTTO BINDER:

[Ref. mbd1:] MICHEL BOUGARD:

The author indicates that in March 1944, in Arlsbad [sic], New Mexico, a B-1 T pilot observed a bright, green object moving horizontally at high speed.

[Ref. gvo1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH:

[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:

[Ref. nip2:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":

The reference 1 is described at the end of the document as “Strange Company (2007), Keith Chester”.

[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:

[Ref. get1:] GEORGE M. EBERHART:

[Ref. jsn1:] JEAN-CLAUDE SIDOUN:

This author indicates that in “Arlsbad [sic] (New Mexico, USA)”, a pilot observed a green and shiny aerial object moving horizontally at high speed, and that “no details were given by the American Air army!”

The source is indicated as “La Chronique des OVNI, Michel Bougard, Jean-Pierre Delarge publisher, 1977, page 267.”

Aircraft information:

The U.S. B-17 “Flying Fortress” was a heavy bomber fitted with five 7.62 machine guns for its defense against enemy fighter planes.

Discussion:

There seems to be an error on the witness, indicated to be “Capt. Reida” in some sources. Captain Alvah M. Reida was a US Air Force pilot who said he witnessed an unexplained flying object, in 1944, not in Carlsbad USA, in March 1944, but in Palembang, Sumatra, in August 10, 1944. In a NICAP list, the two cases appear one following the other, and the error probably came from a mix-up in the reading of both entries.

This is also why some sources say this sighting was made from a B-29, correct for the Palembang case, when it was a B-17 in the Carlsbad case.

Concerning this case in Carlsbad, the information is very meager, and as it appears, it is not absurd to think that what was observed was a meteor.

Evaluation:

Probable meteor.

Sources references:

* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.

• [rep1] * UFO sighting report form of the National Investigation Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), filled by the witness in 1959, in the NICAP archive, USA.
• [nip1] * "The UFO Evidence", book edited by Richard H. Hall, for the ufology group National Investigation Committee in Aerial Phenomea (NICAP), USA, page 19, 1964
• [obr1] * "What We Really Know About Flying Saucers", book by Otto Binder, Fawcett Publications, USA, 1967.
• [mbd1] * "La Chronique des O.V.N.I.", book by Michel Bougard, Jean-Pierre Delarge - France Loisirs publishers France, 1977.
• [tgd1] ? "Above Top Secret", book by Timothy Good, Sidgwick & Jackson publishers, U-K., 1987.
• [gvo1] * "Chronologie OVNI", electronic catalogue compiled by Godelieve Van Overmeire, Belgium, circa 1999.
• [lhh1] * "*U* Computer Database", ufology database by Larry Hatch, USA, circa 2002.
• [dwn2] * "The Foofighters Files (1) Catalogue of Unconventional Aerial Phenomena Reported by Allied pilots during WW II (1943-1945)", catalogue by Dominique Weinstein, France, October 2009.
• [nip2] * "UFO Sighting Chronology - 1939-1945; The WWII Years & 'Foo-Fighters'", on the ufology Website The NICAP Website, USA, created December 18, 2006, updated December 5, 2017, at http://www.nicap.org/chronos/1939-1945.htm
• [tai1] * "1944: UFO & Alien Sightings", web page of the Think About It Website, USA, January 1, 2016, at https://www.thinkaboutitdocs.com/1944-ufo-alien-sightings
• [get1] * "UFOs and Intelligence: A Timeline", electronic document compiled by George M. Eberhart, 2022.
• [jsn1] * "L'Enigme des Foo-Fighters", book by Jean-Claude Sidoun, JMG publisher, France, page 33, 2022.

File history:

Authoring:

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This page was last updated on June 21, 2024.