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Naples, Italy, on December 14, 1943:

Case number:

ACUFO-1943-12-14-NAPLES-1

Summary:

Ufology sources in the 2000's indicate that in those years, British researcher Andy Roberts found a report form and a logbook extract about a case dated December 14, 1943, located over Naples, Italy.

On a night patrol, a pilot of the 255th Night Fighter Squadron (NFS) flying a Bristol Beaufighter reported dogfights with “the light”, i.e. a bright light which out climbed the aircraft. The small round bright light was behind them at the same altitude and speed, possibly a little faster. It stayed right on their tail but occasionally moved side to side of the Beaufighter. It displayed no aggressive behavior.

The pilot, Squadron leader Wells, tried to maneuver its bomber around to the object's rear to get off a shot but failed. The opportunity to engage the light in combat ended as it only lasted one or two minutes before “the light” disappeared in another direction.

A matching flight log showed by Andy Roberts and Dr. David Clarke in their excellent 2002 book “Out the Shadows“ shows the name “Izowski”, ranked Flight Sergeant.

Data:

Temporal data:

Geographical data:

Witnesses data:

Ufology data:

Classifications:

Sources:

[Ref. gso1:] GIUSEPPE STILO:

This Italian ufologist indicates that the following “Foo-Fighter” type observation on Italy is presented for the first time by the CISU (Centro Italiano Studi Ufologici).

Stilo explains that a first group of these reports were brought to the attention of one of the many specialists in the foofighters phenomenon, ufologist Andy Roberts, director of the British UFO Research Association, following the publication of his article on this type of case in the English aeronautical magazine Air Mail in August 1987. Stilo writes:

[Ref. dcr1:] DR. DAVID CLARKE AND ANDY ROBERTS:

The authors indicate that on December 14, 1943, a flying book log entry by Squadron leader P. Wells mentions, during a flight in the Naples area, a “Screaming dogfight with 'the Light'”.

A scan of the log is shown, indicating that the plane was a Beaufighter and the lof had the name of Flight Sergeant Izowski on it, flying on a patrol.

[Ref. prt4:] JAN ALDRICH - "PROJECT 1947":

[Ref. dwn1:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:

French ufologist Dominique Weinstein compiled a catalog of the cases of UFOs observed from aircraft. The first case in February 2001 (6th edition) catalog appears as:

The sources “03” and “37” are referenced at the end of the catalog as:

[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:

[Ref. rpl1:] ROBERTO PINOTTI ET ALFREDO LISSONI:

These Italian ufologists indicate that during the Second World War, according to case studies collected by ufologists, mysterious foofighters have been seen on several occasions by military pilots, including one case on December 18, 1943, above Naples, of a light approaching several times from the plane of Lieutenant Pat Wells, who notes the episode in the flight log.

[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:

[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":

[Ref. twf1:] "THE WHY FILES" WEBSITE:

[Ref. get1:] GEORGE M. EBERHART:

Aircraft information:

The Bristol Type 156 “Beaufighter”, nicknamed “Beau”, was a British multi-role aircraft developed during WWII. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber; it proved to be an effective night fighter, which came into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Battle of Britain.

Originally, armament consisted of four 20mm cannons and six 0.303-in machine-guns but many variants were built; for example, versions had the ability to additionally carry eight rocket projectiles, some had a Vickers 'K' gun, Beaufighter TF.Mk X was used for anti-shipping operations and was be fitted with AI Mk VIII radar.

All the pictures I found of Beaufighters of 255 Squadron show that it had no radar antenna.

Discussion:

WWII historical sources indicate that Patrick Hardy Vesey Wells (1917-2002) was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, studied Mining Engineering at London University, where he joined the university's air squadron. He was commissioned into the RAFVR as a pilot officer in 1938, fighting in England during Battle of Britain, then in Malta and Egypt. In 1943, he served with 255 Squadron, operating Beaufighters in the Tunisian campaign and then Italy, as a Flight Commander. He received a Mention in Dispatches in 1944 and was awarded the DSO (gazetted 23rd May 1944). He was released from the RAF in 1946 as a Squadron Leader.

Below: Patrick Hardy Vesey Wells as he served in 249 Squadron during the Battle of England.

In November 1943, 255 Squadron was deployed to Italy, operating from Grottaglie. The pilots performed a major series of fighter-intruder and fighter-bomber missions over south European countries.

These is a curiosity with the witness names: we get Wells and Izowski. But they were maybe both in the Beaufighter, and Izowski was the one who filled the flight log book, for example.

It is quite clear that “the light” only partly behaved like an enemy plane: it chased the Beaufighter, but never fired at it. If it had been an enemy plane having exhausted ammunition, it would certainly not have followed a powerful Beaufighter night fighter.

Dr. David Clarke and Andy Roberts clearly explained that terms like “the light” were the British equivalents of the “Foo-Fighter” term the American used. They never used such terms for enemy aircraft, they used it for weird phenomena that they thought not to be enemy aircraft.

Evaluation:

Possible extraterrestrial craft.

Sources references:

* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.

• [mil1] ? Letter, report form, flight log extract, Andy Roberts collection.
• [gso1] * "Il ritorno di foo fighters, article by Giuseppe Stilo, in the ufology magazine Rivista UFO, Centro Italiano Studi Ufologici (CISU), Italy, No. 20, pp 9-10, July 1997.
• [dcr1] * "Out of the Shadows", book by Dr. David Clarke and Andy Roberts, Piatkus publishers, U-K., page 7, 2002.
• [prt4] * "ACUFOE in World War II", catalogue by Jan Aldrich, Project 1947, USA, October 9, 1999, at http://www.project1947.com/47cats/acupdt.htm
• [dwn1] * "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena - Eighty years of pilot sightings - Catalog of Military, Airliner, Private Pilots' Sightings from 1916 to 2000", catalog compiled by Dominique F. Weinstein, NARCAP International Technical Advisor, France, 6th edition, February 2001.
• [kcr1] ? "Strange Company - Military Encounters with UFOs in World War II", book by Keith Chester, Anomalist Book publishers, USA, page 52, 2007.
• [dwn2] * "The Foofighters Files (1) Catalogue of Unconventional Aerial Phenomena Reported by Allied pilots during WW II (1943-1945)", catalogue by Dominique Weinstein, France, October 2009.
• [rpl1] * "Luci nel Cielo", book by Roberto Pinotti and Alfredo Lissoni, Mondadori publisher, Italy, 2014.
• [tai1] * "1943: UFO & Alien Sightings", web page of the Think About It website, USA, as of January 1, 2016, at https://www.thinkaboutitdocs.com/1943-ufo-alien-sightings
• [nip1] * "UFO Sighting Chronology - 1939-1945; The WWII Years & 'Foo-Fighters'", on the ufology Website The NICAP Website, USA, created December 18, 2006, updated December 5, 2017, at http://www.nicap.org/chronos/1939-1945.htm
• [twf1] * "And other Strange Objects in Wartime Skies!", Web page on the The Why Files Website, not dated, as of 2023, at https://thewhyfiles.net/foo_fighters.html
• [get1] * "UFOs and Intelligence: A Timeline", electronic document compiled by George M. Eberhart, 2022.

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This page was last updated on July 27, 2024.