ACUFO:

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.

The object... was seen by the entire crew of the above aircraft. They believe it to have been 200-300 feet in length and its width is estimated at 1/5th or 1/6th of its length. The speed was estimated at 500 m.p.h., and it had four pairs of red lights spaced at equal distances along its body. These lights did not appear in any way like exhaust flames; no trace was seen. The object kept a level course. The crew saw the object twice during the raid, and brief details are given below:

(i) After bombing, time 2240 hours, a/c height 11,000 feet. The aircraft at this time was some 10/15 miles South-West of Turin traveling in a northwesterly direction. The object was traveling South-East at the same height or slightly below the aircraft.

(ii) After bombing, time 2245 hours, a/c height 14,000 feet. The aircraft was approaching the Alps when the object was seen again traveling West-South-West up a valley in the Alps below the level of the peaks. The lights appeared to go out and the object disappeared from view.

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.

The British National Archives has a World War II report discovered by UFO researchers David Clark and Andy Roberts from RAF 61 Squadron. Aircraft Commander Captain W/O Lever reports, The object was seen by the entire crew of the above aircraft during raid on TURIN, the night of November 28/29th, 1942. They believe it to have been 200-300 feet in length and its width is estimated at 1/5th or 1/6th of its length. The speed was estimated at 500 mph, and it had four pairs of red lights spaced at equal distances along its body. These lights did not appear in any way like exhaust flames; no trace was seen. The object kept a level course.

The crew saw the object twice during the raid and brief details are given below. After bombing, time 2240 hours, aircraft height 11,000 feet. The aircraft at this time was some 10/15 miles southwest of Turin traveling in a northwesterly direction. The object was traveling southeast at the same height or slightly below the aircraft. After bombing, time 2245 hours, a/c height 14,000 feet. The aircraft was approaching the Alps when the object was seen again traveling west-southwest up a valley in the Alps below the level of the peaks. The lights appeared to go out and the object disappeared from view.

A FINAL NOTE TO THE MYSTERY. Though the 'foo fighters' had mostly been described as smallish balls of light, there were larger and more solid-appearing objects as well. And purposely left unmentioned until this closing is the oddest report of all, of a different kind of sighting by an RAF crew that took place on November 28, 1942. The report was sent to Bomber Command with a cover letter from the Air Vice Marshal of No. 5 Group, RAF:

Herewith a copy of a report received from a crew of a Lancaster after a raid on Turin. The crew refuses to be shaken in their story in the face of the usual banter and ridicule.

The attached report told of the testimony of the crew members of a Lancaster bomber from 61 Squadron, based at Syerston, Lincolnshire...

It would be the first known military report of such a type of aerial 'object', combining high speed and immense size (both equal to that of an Airbus A380 'superjumbo' which has been rated to carry 873 passengers and crew).

And unknowable to anyone at the time, it was an event which also harbored deeper intimations of things to come.

6504/6/Air

From: R.A.F. Station, SYERSTON.

To: Headquarters, No. 5 Group. (Attention Major J. Mullock, M.C., F.L.O.)

Date: 2nd December, 1942.

Ref: Syn/414/4/Int.

Report by the Crew of 61 Sqdn. a/c 'J', Captain W/O Lever, of object seen during raid on TURIN, night of November 28/29th, 1942.

The object referred to above was seen by the entire crew of the above aircraft. They believe it to have been 200-300 feet in length and its width is estimated at 1/5th or 1/6th of its length, The speed was estimated at 500 m.p.h., and it had four pairs of red lights spaced at equal distances along its body. These lights did not appear in any way like exhaust flames; no trace was seen. The object kept a level course.

The crew saw the object twice during the raid, and brief details are given below:

(i)After bombing, time 2240 hours, a/c height 11,000 feet. The aircraft at this time was sane 10/15 miles 5outb-llfest of Turin travelling in a north-westerly direction. The object was travelling South-East at the same height or slightly below the aircraft.

(ii) After bombing, time 2245 hours, a/c height 14,000 feet. The aircraft was approaching the Alps when the object was seen again travelling West-South-West up a valley in the Alps below the level of the peaks. The lights appeared to go out and the object disappeared from view.

28-29 November 1942. AIR 14/2076

There are a few stories describing large, apparently structured objects.

One extraordinary example can be found in the Royal Air Force files at The National Archives with 'Secret' stamped on it. At the time it was judged to be of such significance that details were sent directly to the headquarters of RAF Bomber Command with a covering letter from the Air Vice Marshal of No. 5 Group, RAF, which read: ' ... Herewith a copy of a report received from a crew of a Lancaster after a raid on Turin. The crew refuses to be shaken in their story in the face of the usual banter and ridicule.

The report describes an aerial object seen by the entire crew of a Lancaster bomber during a bombing raid on Turin, northern Italy, during the night of 28/29 November 1942.

Twice during the raid Captain Lever and the crew of the Lancaster from 61 Squadron, based at Syerston in Lincolnshire, saw an object 200-300 ft in length that travelled at a speed they estimated at 500 mph. They said it had four pairs of red lights spaced at equal distances along its body and flew on a level course. When first seen, after the bombing at 10.40 pm, it appeared to be 10 or 15 miles southwest of the city travelling at the same height as the Lancaster. Five minutes later as the Lancaster approached the Alps at 14,000 ft, the crew saw it again, travelling in a southwesterly direction up a valley but above the mountain peaks. It disappeared when the red lights it carried went out.

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.

It is difficult to know what to make of this sighting. RAF Bomber Command was impressed by the sincerity of Lever's report, and the fact that his crew was bold enough to repeat their fantastic story co their incredulous colleagues. Nonetheless, the object they saw resembles no known aircraft flying at that time and this case remains one of the most unusual UFO mysteries from the period.

Case 7
November 28-29, 1942 Turin, Italy

During a night bombing raid on Turin, Captain Lever and his crew flying a Lancaster of RAF 61 Squadron saw twice a strange object. The object was believed to have been 200-300 feet in length and its width was estimated at I /5 or 1 /6 of its .length. Its speed was estimated at 500 mph. It had four pair of red lights spaced at equal distance along its body. These lights did not appear in any way like exhaust flames. The object kept a level course. The object was seen first at 22h40 after the bombing, while the Lancaster was at 11,000 feet. The object was travelling South-East at the same altitude or slightly below the aircraft. The second sighting occurred at 22h45, the aircraft was approaching the Alps at 14, 000 feet when the object was seen travelling West-South-West up a valley in the Alps below the level of the peaks. The lights appeared to go out and the object disappeared from view.

Sources: RAF Station Syerston to HQ, N 5 Group, 2/12/1942 I Memorandum “Enemy Defenses-Phenomenon, from HQ, N 5 Group to HQ Bomber Command, 3/12/1942 / Military Intelligence Division, WDGS, N 133, 14/ I 2/ 1942 / Strange Company, Keith Chester, 2007.”

They may not have been called “Foo Fighters” at the time, but Royal Air Force crews saw and reported strange lights and other objects following their aircraft over Europe at least two years before American night-fighter crews coined the name for this strange phenomenon.

Eighty years ago, one of the first recorded sightings 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 following report submitted by their unit to No.5 Group, Bomber Command:

“They believe it to have been 200-300 feet in length and its width is estimated at 1/5th or 1/6th of its length. The speed was estimated at 500 mph and it had four pairs of red lights spaced at equal distances along its body. These lights did not appear in any way like exhaust flames; no trace was seen. The object kept a level course.”

According to the report, Warrant Officer R. Lever and his crew saw the huge object twice, the first time south-west of Turin at around 11,000 feet and the second about five minutes later as it travelled along a valley in the Alps, below the level of the peaks. The pilot reported that he had seen a similar object north of Amsterdam about three months earlier. Air Vice Marshal Alec Coryton, No. 5 Group's commanding officer, passed the report onto Bomber Command Headquarters for further analysis, together with the following note:

“Herewith a copy of report received from a crew of a Lancaster after a raid on Turin. The crew refuses to be shaken in their story in the face of the usual ridicule and banter.”

An Avro Lancaster Mk.II bomber belonging to No.61 Squadron, Royal Air Force. An identical machine from the same unit was involved in a UFO encounter over northern Italy in November 1942.

Report from the commander of RAF Syerston to No.5 Group Headquarters about a strange object witnessed by the crew of a No.61 Squadron Lancaster bomber on the night of 28/29th November 1942.

It is extremely unlikely that the Germans could have flown a slow, lumbering airship over the Italian Alps in December 1942 and in any case, the reported speed was way in excess of any operational Luftwaffe machine of the time, let alone a Zeppelin. Its size was reported as at least 200 or 300 feet was also larger than any conventional aircraft the Germans had managed to successfully put into service by the end of 1942. Whatever was operating over northern Italy that night remains a complete mystery. Further silver and cigar-shaped objects were observed by bomber crews in February 1944, one over Aachen and the other near Koblenz. There are references to these objects in reports compiled by Bomber Command at the time. Cigar-shaped objects would of course become a feature of UFO reports throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and even the Tic-Tacs of more modern encounters could potentially be described in such a fashion.

Meanwhile, the RAF continued to see “rockets“ at night over Germany, a 200-300 foot long “Zeppelin” shaped object over the Italian Alps on a raid on Turin in November 1942 [...]

28th November, 1942: The crew of a Lancaster piloted by Captain Lever reported the sighting of an unidentifiable object whilst on a raid over Turin (Italy). The object was thought to have been 200-300 ft. long and forty to fifty feet wide. It travelled at 500 m.p.h. and had four pairs of red lights along its body.

The formidable attack of November 28 and the mysterious flying object

Giandujotto scettico n 132 by Sofia Lincos and Giuseppe Stilo (02/09/2023)

On the evening of November 28, 1942, Turin was attacked again by the English aviation, with unprecedented power. Not only the Fiat factories were bombed again, but also the hospitals of San Giovanni, Mauriziano and Martini. The Porta Susa railway station was half destroyed. Among the 371 tons of bombs dropped, for the first time it turned out that an Italian city received various 3.6 ton bombs. The bombardment lasted 80 minutes. They left 67 dead and 83 injured.

The planes took off from Syerston air base, in Nottinghamshire: they were 228 AVRO “Lancaster” heavy bombers, new equipment of the 61st Bombing Squadron of the Royal Air Force. Of all the planes, 194 arrived on the target after crossing the Swiss Alps, dropping their loads and hurrying back to England.

Returning at 3 a.m. to Syerston, there was a surprise. Warrant Officer (NCO rank) R. Lever, who piloted the bomber with the identification number W4767/QR-J, informed the 61st Squadron intelligence unit that he and his crew had seen something strange: and not once, but twice! The sighting of a large object in the sky, with “four pairs of red lights”, came after they had dropped their cookies (4000 pound bomb) on the town, after heading back towards the base. At that time, the “Lancaster” was about 10 - 15 miles southwest of Turin; we can assume that it was flying in an area not too far from Pinerolo, and it is plausible that it was in this region because it actually had to make a U-turn to continue northwest, in the direction from the French border, and then west to the Swiss border. Five minutes later, in a place no better identified than “an Alpine valley”, the observation was repeated.

The crew members (seven men in total) were interviewed several times and confirmed what they had seen; the head of their unit, Wing Commander Richard Coad, and the Syerston base commander, Group Captain George Walker, were both interested in the matter.

Documents about the episode, public since many years along with thousands of others related to the Foo Fighters, are held at the National Archives in London and other archival institutions (source references are: AIR 27/577/46, Records of Events, No.61 Sqdn, November 1942; Personal Report No.21 On Operations Night 28/29 Nov 1942, Personal Report No.21 On Operations Night 28/29 Nov 1942, Force Historical Research Agency).

The official report

On 2 December 1942, Group Captain Walker (albeit through an officer on his staff) sent a detailed report to the headquarters of No. 5 Group, RAF Bomber Command, located in the town of Grantham, in Lincolnshire. It was addressed to the attention of Major J. B. Mullock, who was actually an officer in the Army's anti-aircraft artillery. Interesting thing: Mullock had participated in the raid on November 28 and was on board another “Lancaster”, from which he studied the fire of the Italian anti-aircraft defense. Mullock, however, saw nothing unusual.

Here is the translation of the document:

Report from the crew of Squadron 61, aircraft “J”, Warrant Officer Lever, on an object seen during the raid on TURIN, night of November 28 to 29, 1942

The above-mentioned object was seen by the entire crew of the above-mentioned aircraft. [The crew] estimated it to be between 200 and 300 feet long, while its width was estimated at 1/5 or 1/6 of its length. The speed was rated at 500 miles per hour and there were four pairs of red lights equally spaced along its length. These lights looked nothing like exhaust flames; no streaks were seen. The object remained at cruising altitude. The crew saw the object twice during the raid, and a brief summary is provided below.

(i) After the bombing, 10:40 p.m., plane altitude 11,000 feet. On this occasion, the aircraft was 10-15 miles southwest of Turin and traveling in a northwest direction. The object was moving southeast at the same height or slightly lower than the plane.

(ii) After the bombing, 10:45 p.m., plane altitude 14,000 feet. The plane was approaching the Alps when the object was seen again heading west-southwest, along a valley in the Alps, below peak level. The lights seemed to go out and the object disappeared from view.

The plane's commander also reported seeing a similar object about three months ago north of Amsterdam. On this occasion it had appeared on the ground and then moved at high speed along the coast, at an altitude below the heights given above, for approximately two seconds; the lights then went off for the same period of time and back on again, and the object was always seen moving in the same direction.

We know that the report sent by RAF Syerston Command reached one of the RAF's most senior officers, Air Vice-Marshal Sir William Alec Coryton (1895-1981), at Bomber Command headquarters. The report was accompanied by a note which read:

I enclose a copy of a report received from the crew of a “Lancaster” after an incursion on Turin. The team refuses to change their story, (even) in the face of the usual ridicule and jokes.

Too little information for identification

The story of the Foo Fighter of Turin remains without a clear answer. The surviving description is too distant in time and too brief. One might think of another plane misinterpreted by the crew, but this interesting story still takes place in what American skeptic Mick West calls LIZ, or Low Information Zone, which is where cases of UFOs remaining in ambiguity, as is precisely the case here.

Graeme Rendall, aviation historian passionate about UFOs, author of a large book which brings together an enormous quantity of documents on Foofighters and the like from the Second World War (UFOs Before Roswell: European Foo Fighters 1940-1945, 2021), also focused on the case of Turin. He devotes three pages (57-59) to explaining that it could not be, particularly given the speed mentioned in the report (800 km/h), prototypes of German jet planes, nor large transport planes, because they were much slower than other types of planes then in service.

In fact, the report itself clearly shows the observers' reasoning: the pilot reported seeing a similar object three months earlier, while over German-occupied Holland. to that of Turin, but which at least at the beginning “seemed to be broken down”. He therefore places the experience in the context in which it makes sense to read these sources: the need to report with extreme caution any scrap of information that might be useful in understanding what the Axis powers had available for their war. As will happen many other times for the Foo Fighters sightings of 1944-45, then for the large number of flying saucer sightings made over America by pilots during the beginnings of the UFO myth, at in the summer of 1947 (today historians of ufology know of at least fifty in a few months), the performances described were superior to those expected for the best technologies of the time, but not crazy, not Martian: they described the expected aeronautical progress (in our case 800 kilometers per hour instead of the 600 of a “Spitfire” fighter for example), but no more.

This was what they feared, this was what they expected, this was what they discussed and this was what they saw. The fact that Warrant Officer Lever and his companions may have given incorrect assessments of what they observed, and that little is built on things of this sort, is not part of the horizon of ufology. This would be the crime of treason, since the testimony is sacred, and the anecdote must be transmitted and preserved with the greatest possible care, in aeternum.

Thus goes ufology.