ACUFO-1941-01-00-MANCHURIA-1
In his UFO sighting database compiled in the 2000's, US ufologist Larry Hatch indicated that according to the book "UFOs Over Modern China", by Paul Dong, there was a case in January 1941 in Manchuria, with "numerous photos", involving glowing "orbs" that followed and approached Japanese Air Force planes and airfields.
I also found this photo, on the Web, with the sole indication that it shows Japanese planes overflown by UFOs over Manchuria in 1941:
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The picture indeed appears in the 1983 book by Wendelle Stevens and Paul Dong, without any more information.
| Date: | 1941 |
|---|---|
| Time: | Day. |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | 1983 |
| Reporting delay: | Decades. |
| Country: | China |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | Manchuria |
| City or place: |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | ? |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | ? |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Reporting channel: | UFO book Paul Dong. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | Day. |
| UFO observed: | ? |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | ? |
| UFO action: | ? |
| Witnesses action: | |
| Photographs: | Yes. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | ? |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Sensors: |
[ ] Visual: ?
[ ] Airborne radar: [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [X] Photo: 1. [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages: |
|---|---|
| Hynek: | DD |
| Armed / unarmed: | Armed, machine guns. |
| Reliability 1-3: | 1 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 1 |
| ACUFO: | Totally insufficient information and credibility. |
[Ref. pdg1:] PAUL DONG:
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Photo caption:
1941, Manchuria, China. Three distinct white spherical objects were photographed pacing a formation of Mitsubishi Type 97 bombers on a mission over Central China.
The image is also described on the previous page as:
1941, Manchuria, China
Morning
Three very distinct spherical white Unidentified Flying Objects of large size paced a formation of Mitsubishi Type 97 bombers on a mission over central China. The UFOs, estimated to be over a mile away, were photographed in flight by an official Japanese Army cameraman. These strange airborne objects were never identified by the Japanese photo analysts as any known flying object.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH:
447: 1941/01/00 00:00 156 125:00:00 E 45:00:00 N 3000 ASM CHI MNC 8:A
MANCHURIA:MANY FOTOS/JAPANESE AF:GLO-ORBS+OVOIDS PACE+BUZZ PLANES+AIRFIELDS.
Ref#208 DONG,Paul: UFOs Over Modern China Page No. 15: IN-FLIGHT
Which reads: Case No. 447, January 1941, in Manchuria, numerous photos, Japanese Air Force: glows - orbs plus ovoids follow and approach planes and airfields, with as a source DONG, Paul: UFOs Over Modern China Page No. 15.
[Ref. web1:] ON THE WEB:
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The above picture appeared on a non-ufology images publishing Website, with no other explanation than "aviones japoneses escoltados por ovnis sobre manchuria 1941", i.e. from Spanish, "Japanese planes flown by UFOs over Manchuria 1941."
It also appeared with no more information on several sensation Websites, and social networks.
It is said that - if there is any truth to the report - the planes were Japanese military planes from 1941.
In the photo, I can see that there are three single-engine planes, probably fighter planes, but I haven't been able to identify them more than that.
Since 1949, Manchuria, in the northeast of China, along the Pacific, in the People's Republic of China, no longer corresponds to an administrative region.
Wendelle C. Stevens (1923-2010) was an American author and screenwriter of "UFO documentaries", such as "Where Are All the UFO's?" (1996), "Contact" (1987) and "UFO's Are Real" (1979).
He wrote several books on UFOs; for example his highly contested "Message from the Pleiades" which presents as authentic the fake photos and tall-tales of the "contactee" Eduardo "Billy" Meier. He published two volumes of "UFO Photographs Around the World", made of various UFO photos without any "filtering."
Paul Dong wrote rather "esoteric" or "New Age" books, such as "Chi Gong: The Ancient Chinese Way to Health" or "China's Super Psychics", and also, in the 1980s, a few books, and articles on UFOs in China in ufological journals such as Lumi res Dans La Nuit, Flying Saucers Review.
As of the case discussed here, it is obvious that credibility is hardly assured and as for the quality of the report, it borders on the null. There is almost no information.
The photo resembles in what it shows some other alleged photos of "Foo Fighters" from Japanese air forces in WWII or just before WWII. It has the same issues: almost everything is indistinct, and there is no contextual information except that the planes are Japanese military planes, the location Manchuria and the year is 1941.
Totally insufficient information and 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 | September 24, 2023 | Creation, [web1], [lhh1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | September 24, 2023 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | May 8, 2024 | Addition [pdg1]. |
