ACUFO:

During the bomb run of several groups, started at about the time the Fortresses approached the Initial Point, there occurred one of the more baffling incidents or World War II, and an enigma that today defies all explanations.

As the bombers of the 384th Group swung into the first bomb run after passing the Initial Point, the fighter attacks fell off and pilots were queried extensively as were other crew members, as to the position at that time of the German fighter planes. Every man interrogated was firm in his statement that “at the time there were no enemy aircraft above.”

At this moment the pilots and top turrets gunners, as well as several crewmen in the plexiglas noses of the bombers, reported a cluster of discs in the path of the 385th's formation and closing with the bombers. The startled exclamations focused attention on the phenomenon, and the crews talked back and forth, discussing and confirming the astonishing sight before them.

The discs in the clusters were agreed upon as being slver colored, about one inch in diameter. They were easily seen by the B-17 crewmen, gliding down slowly in a very uniform cluster.

And then the “impossible” happened. B-17 number 026 closed rapidly with a cluster of discs, the pilot attempted to evade an imminent collision with the objects, but was unsuccessful in his maneuver. He reported at the intelligence debriefing that his “right wing went directly through a cluster with absolutely no effect on engine and plane surface.”

The intelligence officers pressed their questioning, and the pilot stated further that one of the discs was heard to strike the tail assembly of his B-17, but that neither he nor any member of his crew heard or witnessed an explosion.

He further explained that about twenty feet from the discs the pilot sighted a mass of black debris of varying sizes in clusters of three by four feet.

The SECRET report added: “Also observed two other A/C flying through silver discs with no apparent damage. Observed discs and debris two other times but could not determine where it came from.”

No further information on this baffling incident has been uncovered, with the exception that such discs were observed by pilots and crew members on missions prior to, and after, Mission 115 of October 14, 1943.

The “foo-fighters” were very successful, although it is claimed that British interest in them quickly waned. English and American aviators talked about it a lot. A typical example was this episode of the bombing of the large German industrial complex of Schweinfurt, on October 14, 1943. The details of this incident are taken from the report sent on October 24, 1943 to the Minister of Information, under cover of the Ministry of War, at Whitehall, by Major E.R.T. Holmes, of the First Bombardment Wing (Mission registered as number 115).

Major Holmes first recalled that as the American-made B-17 bombers of the 384th Group took their places in bombing formation above the objective, the German fighters were all below the bombers. This important point was confirmed by the responses of all the other pilots and crew members interviewed. No German fighters were flying over Allied planes at the time the incident occurred.

As the B-17s roared into the drop line, they discovered they were heading into a formation of small silver discs. The objects were very numerous - there were dozens of them - and they were flying straight at the bombers. They seemed headed towards loss of altitude, towards collision.

One of the bomber pilots told Intelligence investigators that the objects narrowly missed his right wing as it flew through their formation. Another pilot said one of the objects had hit his bomber's fin planes and then bounced off, with no apparent damage. Two other planes from the same group had crossed the formation of small shiny discs (thick, it is believed, two and a half centimeters, ten in diameter), also without apparent damage. Twice afterwards, as they were dropping their bombs, they encountered the mysterious little discs, but none of the aviators could guess where they came from or what they were.

Foo-fighters became omnipresent; they were a familiar phenomenon by the end of the war. From their appearances, both in Europe and in the East, they gave the impression of being interested in the characteristics of our planes, but on the other hand, kept away from any intervention in hostilities. They have been mentioned many times in reports. But it was only after the end of the Second World War that the former adversaries discovered that, whatever they were, or whatever their purpose, the “foo-fighters” did not belong to any of the forces engaged in the war. They seemed curious - and they were so small and maneuverable that they did not fear the warlike arsenal of the planes.

- In 1944, during an Allied bombing raid on Schweinfurt, Germany, a cluster of small 3-inch discs (foo-fighters) suddenly closed in on the bombers, alarming the crews. Nothing happened, but the men remained nervous as the silent discs paced them and followed their every move when they tried evasive action. Finally B-17 number O-26 seemed about to collide with a cluster of discs. Desperately the pilot tried to evade an imminent collision but could not turn fast enough. Then came the most astonishing thing, as he reported later at the intelligence briefing. His “right wing went directly through (italics supplied) a cluster of discs with absolutely no effect on engines or plane surfaces.”

During World War II, military pilots found themselves facing unexpected combatants.

Their appearance was a disk 10 cm to 1 m in diameter, silvery, endowed with a strange pulsing glow. They seemed to be interested in the characteristics of the planes. Isolated or grouped, they followed them, danced at the tips of their wings, bounced on their drift planes and played cat and mouse with them during the dives.

During the bombing of Schweinfurt, on October 14, 1943, the B-17s of the 3rd group, taking the drop line, rushed through a formation of these small objects, some of which accompanied them during the drops bombs. That day, they had the honor of the report drawn up by Major E.R.T. Holmes, of the 1st Bombardment Wing (mission recorded as no. 115), report sent to the Ministry of Information on October 24, 1943 under cover of the Ministry of War, Whitehall.

Harold T. Wilkins, who dealt extensively with the phenomenon of the “foo fighters” in World War II in one of his books (Wilkins 1967), repeatedly draws the reader's attention to the strange observation that some objects suddenly appear out of nowhere and then disappear just as strangely. US war pilots were usually reluctant to report their observations to their superiors because they themselves initially felt they had succumbed to some kind of hallucination.

During an Allied bombing raid on the city of Schweinfurt in 1944, several disc-shaped objects suddenly flew into the bomber squadron. The objects were about 7.6 degrees in size (about 8 cm at arm's length of 57 cm). Although no intention of attack was evident, the US pilots became frightened and tried numerous evasive maneuvers, but to no avail. The UFOs followed every movement of the aircraft without hesitation. Finally, a B-17 bomber with the flight number 0-26 came on a direct collision course. The pilot desperately tried to avoid the squadron of fast-approaching 11Foo Fighters. Then the most frightening thing that ever happened to him in the war happened: the right wing of his bomber dived directly into the various objects without any effect on the engines or the outer wing fairing.

1943 Oct 14/Schweinfurt, Germany/Edwards (1967)

A formation of silvery discs, 3 in. x 1 in., closed rapidly on the airplane. A wing passed through the cluster and one hit the tail with no effect. A cloud of black debris, 3 ft. x 4 ft., was also seen about 20 ft. from the discs.

Ab 1940

Bezeichnung: Die Geburt der Foo Fighters

Datum: 14. Oktober 1943

Ort und Landkarten- Schweinfurt, Deutsch-Koordinaten: land, K 14

Vorfall: Foo Fighters

Die Foo Fighters traten im Zweiten Weltkrieg sowohl auf dem europäischen als auch auf dem pazifischen Kriegsschauplatz in Erscheinung. Meistens handelte es sich dabei um helle Lichter. Sie flogen neben Flugzeugen her und drangen in manchen Fällen auch in sie ein. Ab und zu erschienen winzige Diskusse von einigen Zentimetern Durchmesser, die gelegentlich klappernd an die Tragflächen stiessen. Zu ihrem Namen kamen sie durch die Verbindung des französischen Wortes für Feuer (Jeu) mit einer populären englischen Comic-Figur namens Foo.

Die Engländer fürchteten, dass sie es mit einer Geheimwaffe zu tun hatten. Nachkriegsdokumente zeigten jedoch, dass auch die Gegenseite Begegnungen mit Foo Fightern hatte und ihrerseits glaubte, sie wären eine alliierte Geheimwaffe. Dasselbe gilt für amerikanische und japanische Foo-Sichtungen im Pazifik.

Die Foo Fighters machten sich zum ersten Mal am 14. Oktober 1943 bemerkbar, als die Bomberstaffel 384 den Angriff 115 gegen die Industrieanlagen in Schweinfurt flog. Zumindest ist dies die offizielle Lesart. In der Luft befanden sich, laut Aussagen der alliierten Bomberpiloten, keine deutschen Abwehrjäger.

Da tauchte eine Zusammenballung von kleinen Scheiben vor den Kanzeln der Bomber und des Jagdschutzes auf. Die Piloten unterhielten sich via Funk über die Mini-Diskusse, deren Durchmesser keine zehn Zentimeter betrugen.

Der B-17-Bomber 026 versuchte den Objekten auszuweichen, was aber nicht gelang. Eine Tragfläche flog direkt durch etliche Scheiben hindurch, ohne dass jedoch das Flugzeug zu Schaden kam. Es ist vorstellbar, dass es sich bei dem Vorfall um ein frühes Experiment mit dem Window-System zur Radarstörung handelte.

Spätere Berichte sprachen von feuer-ballähnlichen Lichtern und von leuchtenden Kugeln. Da die Kenneth-ArnoldSichtung noch bevorstand (s. S. 68) und die ursprünglichen Foo-Fighters-Sichtungen eben erst erfolgt waren, warf man alles in einen Topf mit der Aufschrift Foo Fighters. Im Rückblick ist es jedoch wahi scheinlicher, dass unterschiedliche Phäno mene vorlagen.

Das Rätsel der Foo Fighters konnte nie gelöst werden. Die Zahl der Sichtungen ist in unseren Tagen stark zurückgegangen, obwohl sich nicht ausschliessen lässt, dass man in den 40er Jahren über Deutschland so manche Erscheinungen als Foo Fighters einstufte, die man heute als Feuerkugeln oder Nachtlichter bezeichnen würde.

Since 1940

Title: The birth of the Foo Fighters

Date: October 14, 1943

Location and maps - Schweinfurt, German coordinates: land, K 14

Incident: Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters appeared in the European and Pacific theaters of operations during World War II. Most of the time it was bright lights. They flew alongside planes and, in some cases, inside them. From time to time, tiny discs a few centimeters in diameter appeared, which sometimes slammed against the wings. They get their name from combining the French word for fire with a popular English cartoon character called Foo.

The English feared they were dealing with a secret weapon. However, post-war documents showed that the opposing side had also encountered Foo Fighters and believed them to be an Allied secret weapon. The same goes for sightings of American and Japanese Foo in the Pacific.

The Foo Fighters first made their presence felt on October 14, 1943, when Bomber Squadron 384 launched Attack 115 on the Schweinfurt industrial facilities. At least that's the official reading. According to statements by Allied bomber pilots, there were no German fighters in the air.

A group of small discs appeared in front of the cockpits of the bombers and escort fighters. The pilots radioed about the mini-discs, the diameter of which was less than ten centimeters.

B-17 bomber 026 attempted to avoid the objects, but was unsuccessful. One went directly through several windows without causing damage to the plane. It is conceivable that the incident was a first experiment with the Window system to jam radars.

Later reports spoke of lights resembling fireballs and glowing orbs. Since the Kenneth Arnold sighting was still to come (see p. 68) and the original Foo Fighters sightings had just happened, everything was thrown into a pot titled Foo Fighters. In retrospect, however, it is more likely that different phenomena were present.

The mystery of the Foo Fighters has never been solved. The number of sightings has declined sharply these days, although it cannot be ruled out that in the 1940s some sightings over Germany were classified as Foo Fighters, which today would be called fireballs or nocturnal lights.

1943, October 14

GERMANY, Schweinfurt (in flight)

“As the 384th Group had just passed the Initial Point, the fighter attacks suddenly stopped. The pilots wondered, like all the members of the crews, where they could be now and all the men who were questioned by the suite were categorical in declaring that at that moment there were no enemy aircraft above them. It was then that the pilots and gunners of the upper turrets, as well as several men of the crews located in the Plexiglas front end of the planes signaled on the route they were following like a string of discs approaching the Fortresses. The exclamations that sprang out drew general attention to this phenomenon and everyone on board the planes began to discussing it animatedly. The discs in question appeared to be silver, and measured three centimeters thick and nine in diameter. They were easily visible and slowly fluttered down in the form of a regular rosary. At that moment the impossible happened: B-17 No. 26 was rapidly approaching one of these beads. The pilot tried to avoid hitting him, but his maneuver failed. As he declared in the debriefing, his right wing crossed this string without any effect for the engines or for the aircraft body. The intelligence officers tried to find out more and he then added that he had heard one of the discs hit the tail but that no one on board had seen or heard an explosion. He also said that about 6 meters from the discs, he and his men had seen a quantity of small bodies of varying dimensions in a string of one meter to one meter twenty long.” (Michel BOUGARD: “La chronicle des OVNIs” - Delarge 1977 - p. 265-266)

REPLIED 10/8/88

10/14/43

R. R. WILLIAMS
(U.S. 8TH AF RESEARCH
BLOXWITCH
WALSALL
W. MIDLANDS WS3 2 UE

Hi Andy,

I have eventually got to write you, regarding your request for information on “foo-fighters”.

It may well be that what I have to relate to you, may be duplicated by other writers, but never-the-less, in that case, it will be conformation that the strange event did occur.

My particular Group, the 384th. B.G. flew out of Grafton Underwood, in Northamptomshire, with the Mighty Eighth. On Mission 115 to the target of Schweinfurt, on the 14th October, 1943, as the 384th turned on to the bomb run after the Initial Point, the enemy a/c had left, the top turret gunner and pilots in many of the B17's reported clusters of discs in the flight path, and were closing. At de-briefing, the size was generally agreed on as being three to four inches in diameter, and were of a metallic appearance. (One pilot in B.17. 026 tried to take evasive action to avoid what was obviously going to be a coming together with these objects, and failed. The Starboard wing passed thru a whole lot of the discs, and the ship felt no effect of any sort from the encounter remaining on course, same height, same bearing.)

On return to base, aircraft were inspected after reports were filed, and no damage, other than that inflicted earlier, by enemy action, was found. Sadly, this day, the 384th lost nine of sixteen dispatched, and, as you probably know, is now called in the annals of the story of the Eighth, as Black Thursday.

As far as I see, the only thing that may deter you from including this occurrence into your records, is the size of the objects, but then that is in your hands now.

For reference purposes, this incident was referred to in a book by Martin Caidin, called Black Thursday, a Bantam War Book, published February, 81. I hope this has been of some interest to you, drop me a line with your comments when time allows.

PROJECT 1947
WW II Document Research
(In search of “Foo-Fighters”)
By
Andy Roberts
(Originally published in: UFO BRIGANTIA No 66, JULY 1990)

Every student of the history of UFOs knows of the phenomenon seen during WWII and known as foo-fighters, kraut fireballs or a variety of other names. Basically they were balls of light which followed and hovered around `planes of all nationalities both in daylight and after dark. Research into this subject has been undertaken by myself on behalf of the Fund for UFO Research and a full study of the phenomenon should be available by the end of 1991.

Foo-fighter research shows the genesis of the modern UFO age and during my research I came across the old chestnut of the dreaded government “cover-ups”. For many ufologists WWII is the time when the cover-up really began and there are intimations in many writers' books (Keel, Fawcett, Good for example) that both the US and UK governments were involved in separate studies of the foo-fighter phenomenon. These subjects are several articles long in themselves and we won't go into them here, but for the record so far there is no documentary evidence of a cover-up of WWII UFO sightings, or even much interest on any government's part.

No, what we are trying to get to here are the facts surrounding one particular case of a WWII foo-fighter sighting, the cover-up implications and how ufology has dealt with it. So, as the walls melt and voices become fuzzy, let me take you back, back, back...

OK, it's October 14th 1943 and you're a bomb aimer in a B-17 going in amongst the flak for the final run over the ball-bearing factories at Schweinfurt in Germany, a trouser filling experience which us young folk can't even begin to imagine, but for this particular bomber wave they had more than flak to contend with. According to Martin Caidin who wrote Black Thursday (1960) which deals exclusively with the Schweinfurt raid:

“During the bomb run of several groups, starting at about the time the Fortresses approached the Initial Point, there occurred one of the most baffling incidents of World War II, and an enigma that to this day defies all explanation.”

“As the bombers of the 384th Group swung into the final bomb run after passing the Initial Point, the fighter attacks fell off. This point is vital, and pilots were queried extensively, as were other crew members, as to the position at that time of the German fighter planes. Every man interrogated was firm in his statement that “at the time there were no enemy aircraft above.”

“At this moment the pilots and top turret gunners, as well as several crewmen in the Plexiglas noses of the bombers, reported a cluster of discs in the path of the 384th's formation and closing with the bombers. The startled exclamations focused attention on the phenomenon and the crews talked back and forth, discussing and confirming the astonishing sight before them.”

“The discs in the cluster were agreed upon as being silver colored, about one inch thick and three inches in diameter. They were easily seen by the B-17 crewmen, gliding down slowly in a very uniform cluster.”

“And then the 'impossible' happened. B-17 Number 026 closed rapidly with a number of discs; the pilot attempted to evade an imminent collision with the objects, but was unsuccessful in his maneuver. He reported at the intelligence debriefing that his right wing “went directly through a cluster with absolutely no effect on engines or plane surface.”

“The intelligence officers pressed their questioning, and the pilot stated further that one of the discs was heard to strike the tail assembly of his B-17, but that neither he nor any member of the crew heard or witnessed an explosion.”

“He further explained that about twenty feet from the discs the pilots sighted a mass of black debris of varying sizes of clusters of three by four feet.”

“The SECRET report added: `Also observed two other A/C flying through silver discs with no apparent damage. Observed discs and debris two other times but could not determine where it came from.'”

“No further information on this baffling incident has been uncovered, with the exception that such discs were observed by pilots and crew on missions prior to, and after, Mission 115 of October 14, 1943.”

Caidin's account of the events of 14/10/43 has since been cited, quoted from and faithfully reproduced with not the slightest hint of analysis in over 20 UFO books. Tim Good's Above Top Secret uses the case to back up an as yet fictional WWII study of UFOs by one General Massey, and it is used both to support the 'UFOs were around in WWII' school of thought but more so to hint at the birth of official cover-ups. Why? Well because in Caidin's book the account is footnoted “1 Memorandum of October 24, 1943, from Major E.R.T. Holmes, F.L.O., 1st Bombardment Division, Reference FLO/IBW/REP/126, to M.I.15, War Office, Whitehall, London, SW (copy to Colonel E.W. Thompson, A-2, Pinetree)”, leaving us in no doubt that “they” knew all about this UFO sighting and had full documentation (at least two copies, not to mention any subsequent memoranda).

But did they really? In fact, did the event ever really happen at all? I'm not so sure it did. When I first discovered the account I began to see what could be found out about it -- it's obviously well-referenced and so should be easy to check out ...

A letter to the M.O.D at their Air Historical Branch 5 came to nothing, suggesting that either of the documents may be held at the Public Records Office at Kew, London. A professional researcher was dispatched to try to find the document. She searched all relevant Air Force records available (some are still bound by various `rules' with embargos on viewing of up to 100 years) but could find nothing, despite the help of staff there and noting that “the reference FLO etc. does not correspond with any references at the record office.”

In the USA, Dennis Stacy (MUFON Journal editor) had taken an interest in the case and followed up several leads, aided by the Freedom of Information Act. Firstly the A.F. Historical Research centre at Maxwell AFB searched their 8th A.F. files but could come across no documentary record of the event (interestingly enough I tried the same source and whilst they gave me squadron histories of the 415th Night Fighter squadron and their documented foo-fighter sightings, they could provide nothing on the Schweinfurt raid -- odd if the Schweinfurt events were real).

The National Archives (Washington) searched their files but drew a blank. A letter written to French researcher J. M. Bigorne from the National Archives stated “A search in records of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey (USSBS), European War, Target Damage File, 11a (2606), Schweinfurt, failed to disclose any documentation or information regarding little flying discs by B-17 pilots.” All this presents us with a quandary. If the Archives are quite free about some foo-fighter info why, if it exists at all, should they be that bothered about concealing the Schweinfurt material? So far three independent researchers over the past ten years have had the same answer -- none of the flight records for that day record the event in Caidin's book. As I have seen other pilots' logs which mention unusual UFO-type sightings during missions it would be inconceivable for at least a few aircrew on that raid to have mentioned it even in passing - especially as in this case it was obviously something of an item at de-briefing.

Letters in numerous aircrew magazines (UK & US) requesting info on the raid were placed and despite many replies no-one knew anything. Aviation writers Martin Middlebrook and Chaz Bowyer who have written many highly detailed books about the air war, and have interviewed thousands of aircrew, wrote to say they had never heard of the incident, despite having had foo-fighters mentioned to them in other contexts.

If the account wasn't a hoax and the government archives (all of them) were either lying or hiding material pertaining to the event the only way of proving it seemed to be getting a fresh first-hand report of the incident. Dennis Stacy contacted the 384th Bombing Group survivors association and with no account of the UFO sighting forthcoming from them (even stranger - perhaps survivors associations are in on the cover-up too), was put onto General Theodore Ross Milton who led the raid that day and went in first with the 91st Group Formation. He wrote; “I don't recall seeing black discs or hearing about any strange phenomena from any of my group,” was his reply to the questions Stacy posed him.

Are we really to believe that the guy who led the raid didn't hear anything about the phenomenon? Or is he part of the cover up too?

Martin Caidin, originator of the rumour also presents problems. His book Black Thursday was first published in 1960 and yet quotes an alleged SECRET report. How did he get hold of it then and why has it not been seen since?

As for Caidin himself, several people have tried to get in touch with him without success. Both myself and MUFON Journal editor Dennis Stacy have tried to track him down via his publishers and a UFO magazine he has written for, but to no avail. He last appeared in the dodgy US magazine UFO Universe where he was featured on the front page as having 'chased bogies at 20,000 feet,' (an astonishing spectacle no doubt!), but whilst the article gave details of UFOs he'd seen post-WWII, government film of UFOs, cover-ups, and you name it (along with mucho promotion for his many books, including UFO based novels) the Schweinfurt raid was never mentioned. Funny that, really.

So unless and until Caidin himself comes out of the woodwork with the original document to which he refers, or until someone who was on the raid can verify the sighting, or until other evidence about the event comes out, the discs mentioned by Martin Caidin seem to be nothing but a rumour -- a rumour which like so many others has distorted UFO literature for many years.

On a more hopeful note, if the sightings did take place the event still has no real place in ufology, especially in the way it has been used. Remember from the original account the objects were only one inch by three inches which is stretching the small alien interpretation somewhat. In an air war context I would suggest that anything which is small and metallic and in clusters is some kind of “window” or radar deflecting device, or some other war related artefact. Caidin's account also mentions that pilots saw “a mass of black debris of varying sizes” in conjunction with the discs, suggesting that they came from some explosive shell casing or damaged airplane. Note also that at least one plane was alleged to have flown through clusters of the discs “with absolutely no effect,” suggesting that, like radar deflecting strips and their ilk, there was very little weight or mass to them. All this is pure speculation however. Finally, whilst this case is often included in 'foo-fighter' round-ups it really has no business there, being atypical of the general 'foo-fighter' morphology and behaviour.

You may think I've been a bit pedantic here with this case but, it is very significant and the available facts need to be made known. If people are going to talk about sightings then let's at least be certain they happened. If `cover-ups' are to be invoked, let's see some non-anecdotal evidence. As with the other foo-fighter cover-up case from Germany (Project Uranus -- a hoax generated by French ufologist Henry Durrant to see how far it would go -- it went all over the place!), the Caidin account has been repeated ad nauseum by UFO writers each trying to use the material for their own ends without looking into the source material -- crap researchers the lot of 'em! If the document Caidin alludes to turns up -- fair enough, but until then the case which launched the WWII cover-up idea seems to be on very shaky ground indeed.

On 14 October 1943, US B-17s of the 348th Bomb Group had started a bombing run over Schweinfurt, Germany, when they ran into a formation of 'scores' of small, silvery disks, about one inch (2.5cm) thick and four inches (10cm) in diameter, flying toward the bombers. Major E.R.T. Holmes reported that one struck the tail of one aircraft, but without effect.

PROJECT 1947

Schweinfurt - A Mystery Solved?
by
Andy Roberts

In 1990 I wrote an article entitled W.W.II Document Research - In Search of Foo-Fighters, which primarily dealt with the 'UFOs' allegedly seen in the 14th October 1943 Schweinfurt raid. (1) This has since been posted on the Project 1947 website (2) and now forms the background to the present article.

The tone of my 1990 piece was very sceptical of the case because, despite having gone to great lengths, I had been unable to track the source of the case down. The source was an alleged UK government document quoted in author Martin Caidin's Black Thursday, a book which dealt with the events of the bombing raid of Thursday 14th October 1943. (3)

Having done quite a bit of research into foo-fighters, and having a general interest in W.W.II, I have been quite obsessed by the story over the years. All avenues of enquiry seemed to lead nowhere, and in 1999 I went to the Public Records Office (PRO) at Kew and searched many files connected to the Schweinfurt raid. At that time I found nothing at all relating to Caidin's claims and this only strengthened my feelings it was a fabrication. However...

In July 2000 I spent another few of days at the PRO and this time hit pay-dirt. Besides finding several hitherto unseen references to what would later be termed 'foo-fighters', much new material on ghost rockets and 1950s UK government UFO research, I again went through all the available Schweinfurt related files and came across something of great relevance. But first here is how Martin Caidin reported the incident in Black Thursday.

“As the bombers of the 384th Group swung into the final bomb run after passing the Initial Point, the fighter attacks fell off. This point is vital, and pilots were queried extensively, as were other crew members, as to the position at that time of the German fighter planes. Every man interrogated was firm in his statement that “at the time there were no enemy aircraft above.” At this moment the pilots and top turret gunners, as well as several crewmen in the Plexiglas noses of the bombers, reported a cluster of discs in the path of the 384th's formation and closing with the bombers. The startled exclamations focused attention on the phenomenon, and the crews talked back and forth, discussing and confirming the astonishing sight before them.

The discs in the cluster were agreed upon as being silver colored, about one inch thick and three inches in diameter. They were easily seen by the B-17 crewmen, gliding down slowly in a very uniform cluster.

And then the “impossible” happened. B-17 Number 026 closed rapidly with a cluster of discs; the pilot attempted to evade an imminent collision with the objects, but was unsuccessful in this maneuvre. He reported at the intelligence debriefing that his “right wing went directly through a cluster with absolutely no effect on engines or plane surface.”

The intelligence officers pressed their questioning, and the pilot stated further that one of the discs was heard to strike the tail assembly of his B-17, but that neither he nor any member of the crew heard or witnessed an explosion.

He further explained that about twenty feet from the discs the pilots sighted a mass of black debris of varying sizes in clusters of three by four feet.

The SECRET report added: “Also observed two other A/C flying through silver discs with no apparent damage. Observed discs and debris two other times but could not determine where it came from.”

No further information on this baffling incident has been uncovered, with the exception that such discs were observed by pilots and crew members prior to, and after, Mission 115 of October 14, 1943.

Memorandum of October 24 1943, from Major E.R.T. Holmes, F.L.O., 1St Bombardment Division, Reference FLO/1BW/REP/126, to M.I. 15, War Office, Bombardment Division, London, S.W. (copy to Colonel E.W. Thompson, A-2, Pinetree) (4)

Caidin's account of this event via the alleged UK document has existed in UFO legend for forty years without proof. Now I can reveal that the document exists and is almost as Caidin records it.

The document, which Caidin obviously based his account on, reads as follows. All spelling and punctuation is in the original. The file in which the document can be found is: AIR 40/464

At the top right of the document is a rubber stamp giving details of circulation to:

1. Col Kingman Douglas
2. A.I.3. ? (W/Cdr Smith)
3. A.I.2. ? (W/Cdr Heath)

(Author note: the ? refers to a squiggle or letter I cannot decipher, although it could well be 'to'. Also the background of the stamp on which the above was written says:

Received 17 Oct 1943
Copies sent to A.I.8 (USA)

The rest of the document is as follows:

EKG. TELEGRAM EN CLAIR 4112
Recd. AMCS. 171129a hrs Oct.43

To- OIAWW, OIAJX, OISHL, HBC, AMY.

From - OIPNT

IMPORTANT. CONFIDENTIAL.

8 BC 0-1079-E
Annex to Intelligence Report Mission Schweinfurt 16 October 1943

306 Group report a partially unexploded 20mm shell imbedded above the panel in the cockpit of A/C number 412 bearing the following figures 19K43. The Group Ordnance Officer believes the steel composing the shell is of inferior grade. 348th Group reports a cluster of disks observed in the path of the formation near Schweinfurt, at the time there were no E/A above. Discs were described as silver coloured - one inch thick and three inches in diameter. They were gliding slowly down in very uniform cluster. A/C 026 was unable to avoid them and his right wing went directly through a cluster with absolutely no effect on engines or plane surface. One of the discs was heard striking tail assembly but no explosion was observed. About 20 feet from these discs a mass of black debris of varying sizes in clusters of 3 by 4 feet. Also observed 2 other A/C flying through silver discs with no apparent damage. Observed discs and debris 2 other times but could not determine where it came from.

Copies to:-

P.R. & A.I.6.
D.B.Ops
War Room
D.A.T.
A.I.3. (USA) (Action 2 copies)

Analysis

Presumably Caidin must have seen a copy of this document from one of the American recipients. The following points seem relevant:

• I have tried to check the reference Caidin gives three times now at the PRO, once by using a professional researcher. It does not exist. However the AIR files were all re-numbered at some point prior to them being located at the PRO and it is possible the reference refers to the files' original designation. It is also possible the reference pertains to the accompanying letter when it was sent to the USA. This is unlikely however, as the memo is stated to have been sent from one UK source to another and then on to the USA. The Rubber stamp clearly states it was received on 17 October, pre-dating Caidin's reference by seven days. But the sheer number of channels through which documents went could be the reason for this confusion, and now the original document has been located I don't think we need get hung up on the original reference any more.
• I have found no record of most of the personnel listed. However a Squadron Leader Heath was involved in the UK's investigations of the Scandinavian 'ghost rockets' in 1946.
• Besides the above, other than some possibly excusable authorial hype, Caidin has recorded the incident more or less as the document states.

Conclusion

At least we now know Caidin's reference exists! Besides that there is little to say really. The objects reported are intriguing but not completely mystifying. There were many types of flak being used by the Germans in W.W.II and several files in the PRO refer to coloured flak, flak which threw off unusual fragments, and so on. This explanation is made more likely by the fact that the 'F.L.O.' in Caidin's reference stands for 'Flak Liaison Officer', at least suggesting that the Air Ministry were treating it within a flak context.

The objects could also have been some kind of 'window' dropped by the Germans in an attempt to disrupt radar or radio communication among air crew. The explanation as to what the small objects were is now more of a task for the air historian than it is for the ufologist. What is clear from the original account is that the discs, whilst unusual, were clearly not any type of 'craft', under intelligent or purposeful control or dangerous to the air craft or crew.

In my opinion these objects do not belong in the category of sightings referred to as 'foo-fighters', both by their physical description and by their behaviour and characteristics. Although often lumped in with foo-fighter reports they are clearly different. This story has been a staple of UFO writers for the past three-four decades. Now we have further clarification and I believe that this particular mystery is more or less laid to rest. 2000 Andy Roberts

References

1. UFO Brigantia July 1990 [[ars1]]
2. http://www.project1947.com/arwwr.htm [[ars1]]
3. Caidin, Martin. Black Thursday, Dell 1960
4. ibid

“... 348th Group reports a cluster of disks observed in the path of the formation near Schweinfurt, at the time there were no E/A [enemy aircraft] above. Discs were described as silver coloured - one inch thick and three inches in diameter. They were gliding slowly down. in very uniform cluster. A/C was unable to avoid them and his right wing went directly through a cluster with absolutely no effect on engines or plane surface. One of the discs was heard striking tail assembly but no explosion was observed... Also observed 2 other A/C flying through silver discs with no apparent damage. Observed discs and debris 2 other times but could not determine where it came from.”

Who Is Out There?

[Photo caption:] Wally and B-17

Copyright 1998 by Wally Hoffman

Schweinfurt was historically tough and certainly no milk run, but somebody positively was out there trying to help us. Soon after we had dropped our bombs on Schweinfurt we began a shallow right turn away from the target flak to reform in a tight diamond combat formation. As I looked to the east I could see several groups advancing to the INITIAL POINT and beginning their bomb run. It was then I observed one of the most baffling incidents of my life. This was an enigma which to this day still defies a proper explanation.

The bombers of the 384th Bomb Group had passed the initial point and swung into their bomb run. The persistent fighter attacks suddenly ceased. I then noticed the reflection of what appeared to be circular type objects all around the formation. The German Fighters that normally seemed to swarm around and through the formations with their deadly 20 millimeter cannons where not to be seen. It was if the 384th Bomb Group was flying in a vacuum.

I later learned the pilots and several crews in the nose and top turret reported a cluster of discs in the path and closing on the bombers. The discs in the clusters were silver colored. They were easily seen by the B-17 crew members, gliding down slowly in a uniform cluster. One Fortress closed rapidly with a cluster of discs, and the pilot was unsuccessful in trying to evade the discs. He reported at debriefing that his right wing went through the cluster with absolutely no effect on the engines or the plane surfaces. The pilot further stated that one of the discs was heard to strike the tail assembly. None of the crew heard or witnessed any explosion.

It was also observed that about twenty feet from the discs the crew members sighted a mass of black debris of varying sizes in clusters of about four feet. Other aircraft was observed flying through the silver discs with no apparent damage. There were other discs and debris, but they were unable to determine where it had originated.

No other information on this incident has been uncovered, except that such discs were reported again seen by B-17 crew members after the Schweinfurt Mission.

This was reported in a secret document dated October 24, 1943, to the War Office, Whitehall, London.

World War II produced many documented phenomenons [sic], and I was present when something or someone stopped the slaughter by German Fighters when we couldn't.

483: 1943/10/14 00:00 8 10:14:00 E 50:03:00 N 3331 WEU GER BVR 4:2
SCHWEINFURT,GRM:MANY 8cm SLVR DISKS SEEN/BRIT.B17s:chaff? flak?:/LDLN#338
Ref#120 GOOD, Timothy: ABOVE TOP SECRET. Page No. 28: IN-FLIGHT

Dr J Allen Hynek:
Dept. of Astronomy:
North Western University

RE: 14/Oct/43

Dear Sir,

Have just finished reading your story on U.F.O's in the Post and think it is a fine one. I just wondered after reading it if you ever looked up in the Air Force Files the report of Mission #115 of the 8th Air Force WW2 from England to Schweinfurt Germany that took place on Oct 14, 1943 ask about B-17-#026 from the 384th Bomb Group and if other planes in the 384th that saw the metal disc that day - this mission was led by Col. Budd. J. Peaslee and was done in daylight. Maybe these were not U.F.O's. I don't know.

Respectfully

John J Gammon
Box 460
KNOX LA

03 Project 1947 Reports, newsclippings and documents (cases from Jan Aldrich and Barry Greenwood)

324 Above Top secret, T. Good (Quill, 1988)

357 The UFO encyclopedia vol. 2: From the beginning through 1959, J. Clark (Omnigraphics 1992)

Case 22
October 14, 1943

Schweinfurt, Germany

Returning from a bombing mission over Germany several B-l 7s crews from the 384th Bomber Group observed a group of luminous discs flying straight on them. One of the pilots had to maneuver to avoid a collision. His right wing went through the group of discs without any effects. One of the discs collided with the rear part of the B-1 7 with no damage. At 20 ft behind the disc there was “a mass of black debris of varying size in cluster of 3 by 4 ft.

Sources: Black Thursday, Martin Caidin / UFO Encyclopedia Volume 2, Jerome Clark / Above top secret, Timothy Good / Project 1947, Jan Aldrich

Date: Oct. 14, 1943

Location: Schweinfurt, Germany

Time: Daytime

Summary: 384th Bomb Group was allegedly encircled by groups of silver-colored discs during bombing run. German fighters, normally seen to swarm around and through the formations were mysteriously absent. This was supposed to have been reported in a secret document dated Oct. 24, 1943, to the War Office, Whitehall, London. We have not been able to locate this document, but the story by Wally Hoffman, has been secured and previous research by Any Roberts. During a bombing run a B-17 crews of the 384th Group noticed, as fighter attacks suddenly fell off, they encountered a cluster of small discs, described as 3" wide by 1" thick.

Source: Martin Caiden/Andy Roberts

Oct. 14, 1943; Schweinfurt, Germany

During a bombing run a B-17 crews of the 384th Group noticed, as fighter attacks suddenly fell off, they encountered a cluster of small discs, described as 3" wide by 1" thick. (Martin Caiden/Andy Roberts) Document found

AVCAT is a special project being conducted by NICAP, with the help and cooperation of the original compiler of AIRCAT, Dr. Richard Haines, and other sources, to create a comprehensive listing of sightings from aircraft with detailed documentation from these sources, including Projects SIGN, GRUDGE & BLUE BOOK.

Discs Put Up Protective Shield Around B-17 Formation ???

October 24(?), 1943
Schweinfurt, Germany

Daytime
Duration ???
aircraft B-17s
Germany

Military
observers B-17 crews
No EMI
No radar contact

Fran Ridge:

October 24 (??), 1943; Scheinfurt [sic], Germany

Daytime. 384th Bomb Group was allegedly encircled by groups of silver-colored discs during bombing run. German fighters, normally seen to swarm around and through the formations were mysteriously absent. This was supposed to have been reported in a secret document dated Oct. 24, 1943, to the War Office, Whitehall, London. We have not been able to locate this document, but the story by Wally Hoffman, has been secured and previous research by Any Roberts is listed below..

Detailed reports and documents

reports/431024schweinfurt_report.htm (Wally Hoffman) [See [whn1].]
reports/431024schweinfurt_report2.htm (Andy Roberts) [See [whn1].]

14th October, 1943, U.S. B-17s of the 348th Bomb Group had started a bomb run over Schweinfurt (Germany) when they were surrounded by a formation of “scores of small, silver disks” which were about 1 inch thick and four inches in diameter. Major E.R.T. Holmes reported that when one of the objects hit the aircraft it had no effect.

1943

October 14

Night. A group of B-17s from the 384th Bombardment Group are returning from a mission over Germany when they see a cluster of silver-colored discs in the path of their formation and closing with the bombers. The crews talk back and forth, discussing and confirming the sight before them. They describe the objects as “about one inch thick and three inches in diameter... gliding down slowly in a very uniform cluster.” One of the bombers goes directly through the cluster “with absolutely no effect on engines or plane surface,” even though one is heard to strike the tail assembly. A mass of black debris about 3-4 feet long is also observed.

(Clark III 502; Martin Caidin, Black Thursday, Dell, 1962, pp. 188 190; Frank Edwards, Flying Saucers Here and Now! Lyle Stuart, 1967, pp. 77

1943

Germany, Schweinfurt: On October 14, 1943, US B-17s of the 348th Bomb Group had started a bombing run over Schweinfurt, Germany, when they ran into a formation of 'scores' of small, silvery disks, about one inch thick and four inches in diameter, flying toward the bombers. Major E.R.T. Holmes reported that one struck the tail of one aircraft, but without effect.

Cronologia di avvistamenti redatta dal dott. Domenico Pasquariello del CEIFAN (Centro di Indagine sui Fenomeni Anomali).

[...other cases...]

- October 14, 1943: in the skies above Schweinfurth [sic], Germany, the crews of American Boeing [sic] B-17 Flying Fortresses were met with carnage. German fighters, Bf-109s and FW-190s, were massacring bombers, while American fighters were approaching their target, a ball bearing factory. At the end of the mission, 77 B-17s were destroyed and over five hundred American airmen killed in combat, in what will be remembered as “Black Thursday”... Yet, the pilots who survived the bullets of the fighters with the swastika were witnesses of an incredible event. A short distance from the target, a cluster of metal spheres, disks with a diameter varying from 3 to 7 cm, fell into the formation of bombers from above. The cluster featured dozens of spheres flying very compactly...

The formation found itself with the spheres so close that some pilots were unable to avoid the impact. And here's the surprise: wings, noses and rudders did not suffer any damage from the collision! Only a metallic noise which was not followed by any explosion... Perhaps the most disturbing thing was that together with the cluster of spheres the pilots also saw flying debris, floating in the air at the same speed, which seemed to follow the spheres... On return the story of the battle was confused with that of this apparition. But the memory of that apparition remained in personal diaries, as Martin Caidin tells us in his book “Heaven is Hell”, published in 1969.

[...other cases...]

... dozens of small silver discs suddenly appeared. These discs were about 2.5 cm thick and 10 cm in diameter. A member of the plane's crew even saw one of the discs hit the tail of one of the planes, but without the impact having any harmful effect on the plane. The explanation for the phenomenon was never found, but several hypotheses have been put forward. Could it be luminescent discharges caused by the ionization of the air in a high-intensity electric field, called St. Elmo's Fire? Could it be an unknown enemy technology? Could the lights be linked to alien sightings? We never knew [...]