ACUFO-1914-00-00-FRANCE-1
In the 2010's - 2020's, some Web sources of uncertain credibility claimed that during World War I, or in 1918, Allied fighter pilots were confronted to a phenomenon they called “flaming onions”; which frightened them because “they moved too fast for an aircraft to take evasive action.”
One of the source said they “were typically described as glowing green balls that would zip around, do flips, other aerial maneuvers, and very often chase aircraft, easily outpacing and outmaneuvering them but not actually ever attacking them in any way.”
Some sources said that the “mystery of these UFOs has never been solved” but nevertheless added that “one explanation is that they may have been strings of flares fired by a German five-barreled anti-aircraft gun called the Lichtspucker, or light spitter.”
| Date: | From 1914 to 1918 |
|---|---|
| Time: | ? |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | 2015 |
| Reporting delay: | Hours, 1 century. |
| Country: | |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | |
| City or place: | France and other places. |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | ? |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | ? |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Reporting channel: | Sensation Websites. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | ? |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | ? |
| UFO action: | |
| Witnesses action: | Escape maneuvers. |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | Frightened. |
| Witnesses interpretation: | Phosphorus anti-aircraft shells. |
| Sensors: |
[X] Visual: Several.
[ ] Airborne radar: N/A. [ ] Directional ground radar: N/A. [ ] Height finder ground radar: N/A. [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages: |
|---|---|
| Hynek: | NL or DD |
| Armed / unarmed: | Armed, machine guns. |
| Reliability 1-3: | 1 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 1 |
| ACUFO: | Phosphorus anti-aircraft shells. |
[Ref. mit1:] "THE MIRROR" TABLOID:
The so-called “flaming onions” terrified WW1 fighter pilots because no-one knew what theory were and they moved too fast for an aircraft to take evasive action.
Cambridge historian Denis Winter recounted in his book, The First of the Few, that the flaming onions were “green glowing balls which twisted about like live things and seemed to chase an aeroplane, turning over end on end in a leisurely way.”
The mystery of these UFOs has never been solved, though one explanation is that they may have been strings of flares fired by a German five barreled anti-aircraft gun called the Lichtspucker, or light spitter.
[Ref. who1:] "WAR HISTORY ONLINE" WEBSITE:
The Flaming Onions brought out so much terror from WWI fighter pilots as no one knew what they were and they moved at a very fast pace - too fast for the WWI war planes to take evasive actions against them.
Denis Winter, author of the book First of the Few and a Cambridge historian, described these Flaming Onions as glowing green-hued balls which moved in a twisted way “turning over end on end in a leisurely way” like live things and seemed to chase WWI-era planes.
The mystery behind these UFOs remain unsolved until now though there's one likable explanation for these balls - they may have been the string of flares fired out from a German five-barreled anti-aircraft gun known as the Lichtspucker (Light Spitter).
[Ref. who1:] "WAR HISTORY ONLINE" WEBSITE:
Other UFOs encountered during World War I are the so-called “Flaming Onions” which were typically described as glowing green balls that would zip around, do flips, other aerial maneuvers, and very often chase aircraft, easily outpacing and outmaneuvering them but not actually ever attacking them in any way. This strange phenomenon was purportedly seen throughout the war by both sides of the engagement, and it always terrified those who experienced it. One theory as to what the Flaming Onions were is that they might have been flares fired by the Germans, but flares typically do not actively chase aircraft and seasoned pilots can usually recognize flares as such. They remain a curious unexplained mystery of the war.
Concerns military attack aircraft of First World War I.
There is no reason to view the “Flaming Onions” of WWI as encounters between pilots and UFOs.
The “flaming onions” came from a 37 mm Hotchkiss 5 revolving-barrel anti-aircraft gun invented in 1895 and used by the German army at the beginning of World War I, the name referring to the strings of about 20 tracer ammunition it fired; which looked like “balls of fire.”
The Germans called it “Lichtspucker” i.e. “light spitter”.
It fired either standard 37mm shells or pyrotechnical shells. It was usually deployed as air defense for balloons against attackers, and the shells could reach an altitude of about 5 000 feet.
Some Web pages or discussions on the Web told that the “Lichtspucker” could fire only 5 shells or “Flaming Onions” at one time whereas, it is claimed, pilots reported as many as 20 at a time. This is incorrect; it comes from confusion the fact that the “Lichtspucker” had 5 barrels with its shooting capacity. These “Revolverkanonen” worked rather like machine guns so that more than 5 shells could be fired.
The “Lichtspucker” of 1914 indeed cold fire only 10 shells. But another 37 mm gun, the “S-Flak”, used on the frontline in 1918, was able to fire 120 shot per minute.
The “light” from the “Flaming Onions” did not lit immediately when the shell left the barrel, so that the position of the gun would not be spotted. In most cases it lit up about 500 meters after being fired. This certainly contributed to the mystery.
Of course some sources claim that the “Flaming Onions” “... outmaneuvered aircraft, making pilots unable to take evasive action.” But so far I found no contemporary sources confirming this.
Some of the reports I found so far in the WWI literature are:
“Then there were the feared 'flaming onions', fired from rocket guns to become green glowing ball which twisted about like live things and seemed to chase an aeroplane, turning over end on end in a leisurely way.”
- "The First of the Few - Fighter Pilots of the First World War", book by Denis Winter, page 122, 1982.
[German barrage balloons were] “... defended by 'flaming onions' - whirling balls of fire hurried into the air by a rocket device.”
- "The Courage of the Early Morning", book by William Arthur Bishop, page 58, 1966.
“...Flaming bullets wove a deadly web around his aeroplane as he zigged and zagged. Meanwhile the ground crew was sending up “archies” and “onions” and they blazed through the knots of planes like fireballs.”
- "Shadows Left Behind - An Historical Mysteries Box Set", book by Josh Lanyon, 2021.
The above shows “evasive action” but certainly does not tell that the balls of fire themselves maneuvered.
“German archie usually announced itself in the form of “flaming onions,” phosphorus ranging shells that came arcing up from the ground like pearls on a string. Allied pilots feared and loathed these, because a hit from a flaming onion instantly turned an aeroplane into an inferno.”
- "Aviation Lore in Faulkner", book by Robert Ligon Harrison, page 116, 1985.
“Archies” designated the British equivalent of the German “Flaming Onions”.
“... “flaming onions” could set the fabric of a plane alight at 5,000 feet.“
- "Lionel Morris and the Red Baron - Air War on the Somme", book by Jill Bush, 2019.
“... “flaming onions“ could set the fabric of a plane alight at 5,000 feet.”
- "Lionel Morris and the Red Baron - Air War on the Somme", book by Jill Bush, 2019.
“... Staton remembered so well [“flaming onions”] from the First War, wads of wire-linked phosphorus.”
- "Bomber Command", book by Max Hastings, 2013.
In the August 1974 issue of Aeroplane Monthly, First World War bomber pilot Sqn. Ldr. C. P. O. Bartlett, DSC, recounts his time flying biplanes between 1916-1918. He told:
A rare display of fireworks was put up for our benefit, and the German AA was both plentiful and accurate. A particularly sensational form of chain rocket was used, which we dubbed “flaming onions”. These consisted of long chains of vivid jade green balls of fire which streaked up like some enormous jade necklace, invariably reaching our height before falling away and dying out, to be followed immediately by bursts of high explosive shells more or less on target. From their regular spacing they must have been fired by some sort of machine mortar and were apparently used as a night range finder. I never heard of their doing any damage, but occasionally one fell on a wing, being quickly swept off, the fabric only showing a slight scorching. I would not have welcomed one in the cockpit!
On November 15, 1916, I had more than enough experience of them. As I swept in silently over Ostend docks at 3,000ft releasing my bombs, as far as I could judge straddling the Atelier de la Marin, I was immediately picked up by a searchlight and, not dodging quickly enough, was at once coned and held by about half a dozen. Up came the flaming onions right, left, and centre, and several bursts of HE were so close that the flash and crash were more or less synchronised. I wasted no time doing the usual vertical bank to see the effect of my bombs, but beat it out to sea, nose well down, and soon shook off those persistent searchlights; I then patrolled a mile or so off the coast watching the fun as our other aircraft came over the target.
(See Sqn. Ldr. C. P. O. Bartlett, DSC 12th April 2023, at https://www.key.aero/article/world-war-one-bomber-pilot-recounts-incredible-aerial-exploits)
I found out that the expression “Flaming Onions” was also sometimes used in WWII on the Western and Pacific frontlines to refer to anti-aircraft tracer shells.
Phosphorus anti-aircraft shells.
* = 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 | April 26, 2024 | Creation, [mir1], [who1], [per1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | April 26, 2024 | First published. |
