ACUFO-1942-08-00-NORTHAMSTERDAM-1
In 2002, in their excellent book "Out of the Shadows", British ufologists Dr. David Clarke and Andy Roberts explained that they found a very interesting report in the British National Archive. The report, AIR 6504/6, and letters, described the extraordinary sighting near Turin on November 28, 1942 by a Royal Air Force bomber crew.
Among the witnesses was a Captain Lever, aircraft commander, who added to the report that he had seen a similar object about three months earlier, North of Amsterdam. In this instance, the object appeared to be on the ground, but was later traveling at high speed at a lower level than the heights given in the Turin case, along the coast, for about two seconds; then the "lights then went out for the same period of time and came on again, and the object was still seen to be traveling in the same direction."
| Date: | August or September 1942 |
|---|---|
| Time: | ? |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | December 2, 1942 |
| Reporting delay: | 3 months. |
| Country: | The Netherlands |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | |
| City or place: | North of Amsterdam, along the seashore. |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 1 or more. |
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| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 1 |
| Reporting channel: | Military Intelligence report. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | Night. |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | ? |
| UFO action: | Goes on and off, moves. |
| Witnesses action: | |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | ? |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Sensors: |
[X] Visual: 1 or more.
[ ] Airborne radar: [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages: |
|---|---|
| Hynek: | ? |
| Armed / unarmed: | Armed, machine guns. |
| Reliability 1-3: | 2 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 2 |
| ACUFO: | Insufficient information. |
[Ref. dcr1:] DR. DAVID CLARKE AND ANDY ROBERTS:
The authors say that the Captain of the aircraft from which a sighting was made over Turin, Italy, on November 28, 1942, reported another sighting:
“The Captain of the aircraft also reports that he has seen a similar object about three months ago north of Amsterdam. In this instance it appeared to be on the ground and later traveling at high speed at a lower level than the heights given above along the coast for about two seconds; the lights then went out for the same period of time and came on again, and the object was still seen to be traveling in the same direction.”
[Ref. nrr1:] NICK REDFERN AND ANDY ROBERTS:
These authors indicated that in the report titled “Report by the Crew of 61 Sqdn. A/C 'J,' Captain W/O Lever, of object seen during raid over Turin, night of November 28-29th, 1942,” was classified secret, there was also:
The Captain of the aircraft also reports that he has seen a similar object about three months ago North of Amsterdam. In this instance it appeared to be on the ground and later traveling at high speed at a lower level than the heights given above along the coast for about two seconds; the lights then went out for the same period of time and came on again, and the object was still seen to be traveling in the same direction.
[Ref. jck1:] JEROME CLARK:
The author says that in recent years, British ufologists David Clarke and Andy Roberts found a highly interesting report, long stamped “Secret”, in the files of the Ministry of Defense, about a case were the entire crew of a Royal Air Force Lancaster bomber had a strange sighting. A cover letter from Air Vice Marshal of No. 5 Group, “The crew refuses to be shaken in their story in the face of the usual banter and ridicule.”
Jerome Clark quotes from the official report about another sighting made by the Captain:
“The Captain of the aircraft also reports that he has seen a similar object about three months ago north of Amsterdam. In this instance it appeared to be on the ground and later traveling at high speed at a lower level than the heights given above along the coast for about two seconds; the lights then went out for the same period of time and came on again, and the object was still seen to be traveling in the same direction.”
[Ref. tgd1:] TIMOTHY GOOD:
This author indicates that several reports from 1942, declassified fifty years later by the British Ministry of Defence, documented observations of unusual aircraft seen by crews of the RAF, and a secret note dated December 3, 1942, from headquarters, Group N° 5, at Bomber Command headquarters, reported the sighting on Turin on November 28, 1942, and also that the pilot of the plane involved in this sighting, Captain Lever, had reported another sighting:
“The Captain of the aircraft also reports that he has seen a similar object about three months ago North of Amsterdam. In this instance it appeared to be on the ground and later travelling at high speed at a lower level than the heights given above along the coast for about two seconds; the lights then went out for the same period of time and came on again, and the object was still seen to be travelling in the same direction.”
[Ref. dce1:] DR. DAVID CLARKE:
David Clarke indicates that in the official report AIR 6504/6 for the sighting on Turin on November 28, 1942, it was also said that one of the witnesses, aircraft commander, Captain Lever, reported another sighting.
The report concluded by stating that Captain Lever has seen a similar object about three months ago north of Amsterdam. In this instance it appeared to be on the ground and later travelling at high speed at a lower level than the heights given above along the coast for about two seconds; the lights then went out for the same period of time and came on again, and the object was still seen to be travelling in the same direction.
[Ref. grl1:] GRAEME RENDALL:
The author indicates that one of the first recorded sightings in WWII occurred during a raid on the Turin engine works on the night of 28/29th November 1942. The crew of a Lancaster bomber based at RAF Syerston reported seeing a huge torpedo-shaped object over northern Italy, as detailed in the report submitted by their unit to No. 5 Group, Bomber Command.
In this report, it was also said that the pilot reported that he had seen a similar object north of Amsterdam about three months earlier.
There is no indication in the report of this observation about the plane; but it is almost certain that it was the same type of bomber as in the observation near Turin, therefore a Lancaster.
The Avro 683 Lancaster was a four-engine night bomber built in more than 7,000 units and it became, with the Handley Page Halifax, the main bomber of the Royal Air Force from 1942 on.
Its defense against German fighter planes was 8 7.62 mm machine guns.
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The sighting report is somehow unclear. This is not surprizing as it appears almost a side-note to another case; the Intelligence officer who wrote it down likely did not consider that it was important to get all the details.
Due to this lack of information, I cannot give a sure assessment about what was seen.
Insufficient information.
* = 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 25, 2024 | Creation, [dcr1], [nrr1], [jck1], [tgd1], [dce1], [grl1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | July 25, 2024 | First published. |
