ACUFO-1944-10-00-EUROPE-1
In the 2000's, the erudite U.S. ufologist Jan Aldrich found a letter retyped by the U.S. Army Air Forces Intelligence from a handwritten original written by Casimir J. Bidas on July 6, 1947, who had been a gunner with the 783rd Bomb Squadron (Heavy) of the 55th Bomb Wing, 783rd Bomb Squadron (Heavy), 465th Bomb Group (Heavy), 15th Air Force in Europe during WW II. Aldrich found out that some of the names in the letter were incorrectly transcribed and he corrected those using the resources of the 783rd Bomb Squadron website.
Casimir Bidas sent the letter to the War Department, Army Air Forces. He explained that he had read an article about the flying discs in a recent newspaper, and explained that his first acquaintance with the flying disc was during World War II when he served as a gunner on a B-24 of the the 55th Bomb Wing.
He told that in the latter part of the year 1944, coming from a mission over Europe, a flying disc was was seen by several members of his crew.
The sighting was reported after the mission to the S2 Intelligence, during interrogation and written in the report made by witnesses Sgt. Puckett and S/Sgt Mulrooney. Bidas explained that this was “a bit out of the ordinary at the time to believe”, and that “many arguments arose as to the fact that it could be a wing tank jettisoned from a fighter escort”, but “the men said it was not of this nature.”
Later possibilities, Bidas wrote, arose that it was radar “chaff” being dispersed from the aircraft. The answer was given in the report that this object, so-called a disc, was from 15 to 20 feet in diameter and of silvery substance.
Bidas explained that the crew members who had seen the disc died in action on January 20, 1945; but that the report that would confirm what he tells is surely to be found in the unit's Intelligence archive.
Bidas did not remember the exact date of the sighting but gave the list of possible date:
10-12-44 11-6-44 12-19-44
10-13-44 11-18-44 12-20-44
10-16-44 11-20-44 12-27-44
10-20-44 12-6-44 12-29-44
11-1-44 12-11-44
11-4-44 12-15-44
| Date: | End of 1944 |
|---|---|
| Time: | ? |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | July 6, 1947 |
| Reporting delay: | Hours, 2 years. |
| Country: | |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | |
| City or place: | Europe |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 2 or more. |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | ? |
| Number of named witnesses: | 2 |
| Reporting channel: | Letter to U.S Air Force. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | ? |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | ? |
| UFO action: | ? |
| Witnesses action: | |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | Puzzled. |
| Witnesses interpretation: | Not wing tanks, not radar chaff. |
| Sensors: |
[X] Visual: 2 or more.
[ ] Airborne radar: [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages: |
|---|---|
| Hynek: | ? |
| Armed / unarmed: | Armed, 12 Browning M2 12.7 mm machine guns. |
| Reliability 1-3: | 2 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 2 |
| ACUFO: | Unidentified, possible extraterrestrial craft. |
[Ref. jah1:] JAN ALDRICH - "PROJECT 1947":
The following letter was retyped by AAF Intelligence from the handwritten original from Mr Casimir J. Bidas, who had been a Gunner with the 783rd Bomb Squadron of the 465th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force in Europe during WW II. Some of the names were incorrectly transcribed and have been corrected using the resources of the 783rd Bomb Squadron website: http://www.783rd.org/index.html
134-14 - 97th Ave.
Richmond Hill, New York
July 6, 1947
War Department
Attn: Army Air Forces
Washington. D. C.Gentlemen:
After reading an article about the flying discs which appeared in the paper recently, I decided to write this letter.
My first acquaintance with it was during the war when I served as a gunner on a B24 in the Fifteenth Air Force. In the latter part of the year 1944, coming from a mission over Europe this matter was seen by several of our crew members.
This was reported after the mission to the S2, during interrogation and written in the report. This was a bit out of the ordinary at the time to believe, and many arguments arose as to the fact that it could be a wing tank jettisoned from a fighter escort, however the men said it was not of this nature.
Later possibilities arose that it was “chaff” being dispersed from the aircraft. The answer was given that this object so called a disc was from 15 to 20 feet in diameter and of silvery substance as given in the report by Sgt. Bantktt (Puckett) and S/Sgt Diulrooney (Mulrooney).
Should these records still be available this matter could be confirmed. It was the 55th wing 465th Bomb Grp and 783 Sqd under the name of Lt Harold - Thornersnew (Shoener).
I was on Lt Thornersnew's (Shoener's) crew until he was killed on Jan 20, 1945 with those who witnessed the so called flying disc, and I am one of the three original crew members left.
As I have previously mentioned, this matter could be confirmed in those S2 reports. The exact date is not known, however one of the following dates is the time when the disc was seen:
10-12-44 11-6-44 12-19-44
10-13-44 11-18-44 12-20-44
10-16-44 11-20-44 12-27-44
10-20-44 12-6-44 12-29-44
11-1-44 12-11-44
11-4-44 12-15-44Sincerely yours,
/s/ Casimir Bidas
NOTE: Unable to decipher proper name correctly - (illegible)
The Consolidated B-24 “Liberator” (photo below) was an American heavy bomber used during World War II by the Allied air and naval forces.
By April 1944, some B-24s had been equipped with H2X radars. Its long range of action had allowed it roles as maritime patrols, anti-submarine patrols, and reconnaissance, in the Atlantic and the Pacific.
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Historical sources about the U.S Army Air Forces 783rd Bomb Squadron of the 465th Bomb Group indicate that was activated on August 1, 1943. It moved to the Mediterranean theater in February to April 1944; Assigned to the Fifteenth Air Force, the Group entered combat on May 5, 1944, an its last mission was on April 26, 1945.
The group flew B-24 “Liberators” and was based in Pantanella, Italy. It performed bombing raids over at least Italy, France, Austria, Germany, Yugoslavia.
In the “History of 783rd Bomb Squadron (H) - 465th Bombardment Group (H) (1943 – 1945) Pantanella, Italy”, compiled By Floyd E. Gregory, 1986 – 1989 (465th.org/History/PDFs/783rd%20History.pdf) we habe lists of the flight crews, indicating the following:
“Sgt. Bantktt (Puckett)” appears as “Puckett, Theodore S.”, killed in action on January 20, 1945. “S/Sgt Diulrooney (Mulrooney)” appears as “S/Sgt Mulrooney, Francis T., killed in action” on January 20, 1945. “Lt Harold - Thornersnew (Shoener)” appears as “Harold W. Shoener” and “Shoener, Harold W. 1st Lt”, pilot, killed in action on January 20, 1945. “Casimir Bidas” appars as “Casimir J. Bidas”, gunner.
Other sources indicate that WWII veteran Casimir J. Bidas of the U.S Army Air Forces was from New York, born on February 3, 1923, and died on September 9, 1998.
Unidentified, possible extraterrestrial craft.
* = 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 15, 2024 | Creation, [jah1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | July 15, 2024 | First published. |
