ACUFO-1944-00-00-GERMANY-2
In December 2006, U.S. ufologist Dr. Richard Haines, specialist of aircraft pilots encounters with unidentified flying phenomena, shared with other ufologist that he just heard the testimony of Captain Robert Walton, who had been a Lieutenant piloting of a B-17 over Germany back in the Fall of 1944, whose memory was sharp though he was now 80.
Robert Walton told that at the time of the sighting, he was part of the 379th Bomb Group, 525th Squadron of the US Army Air Forces, and was flying over central Germany, coming from England, in the early afternoon, at an estimated altitude of about 35,000 feet with 35 other bombers.
He told the sky ahead was clear and calm at the time; he and the cockpit crewmen, four per airplane, of every other airplane in the group spotted a single, round, whitish or translucent object at their altitude some unknown distance ahead of them.
The object was definitely above the distant horizon and was about as large in angle as the little finger's nail viewed at arm's length. During the next five minutes, all the airmen watched it but the object did nothing. Then the squadron leader ordered a gentle right-hand bank by all aircraft and the unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) moved to the right at the same time, maintaining the same relative position in front of the group of airplanes at all times.
Then when the squadron banked left again to their original heading, and unidentified aerial phenomenon did the same. There was a very negligible time lag between the squadron's heading change and the UAP's position change. Eventually, the object just disappeared instantaneously.
He said that no electro-magnetic effects, radio interference or air turbulence was experienced on board his airplane during the sighting. He also thought that the object was already there in the sky when he noticed it. Its edge was quite sharply defined and he saw no contrail, and no smoke behind the UAP. The UAP never changed in size, shape, or color throughout the sighting and was brighter than the sky background. He has not seen anything unexplainable before or since this sighting.
Upon landing after their bombing mission, Lt. Walton and his co-pilot were debriefed by the Air Forces intelligence, as were other aircrew men on that mission. He did not know how many were debriefed specifically on this matter. He did recall that his interview, with his co-pilot, lasted only about 15 minutes. He was never informed of what intelligence personnel learned and he heard nothing more about the matter.
| Date: | Fall 1944 |
|---|---|
| Time: | Early afternoon |
| Duration: | 5 minutes or more. |
| First known report date: | 2006 |
| Reporting delay: | Hours, 6 decades. |
| Country: | Germany |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | |
| City or place: |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 100 or more. |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 1 |
| Reporting channel: | Intelligence debriefing, told to ufologist Richard Haines. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | Day. |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | No. |
| UFO departure observed: | Yes. |
| UFO action: | Still, ten copied airplane moves. |
| Witnesses action: | Maneuvers. |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | ? |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Sensors: |
[X] Visual: Numerous.
[ ] Airborne radar: [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages: |
|---|---|
| Hynek: | DD |
| Armed / unarmed: | Armed, 5 7.62 mm machine guns. |
| Reliability 1-3: | 2 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 3 |
| ACUFO: | Possible extraterrestrial craft. |
[Ref. rhs1:] RICHARD HAINES:
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From: Richard Haines
To: narcap[], narcap[], director@[], [] (NARCAP RA)
Cc:
Subject: New Foo Fighter Sighting
Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 23:34:35 +0000
Dear colleagues,
With this letter you will find attached a one (1) page summary report of an interview I had last night with the captain of a B-17 over Germany back in the Fall of 1944. His memory was sharp as a tack. I couldn't locate any corrolary reports for the 379th Bomb Group, 525th Squadron In my AIRCAT files which (for me) make this a new report. If you know of any I would appreciate learning of them.
Please feel free to post it, republish it, whatever - as long as you don't change any facts and insert my name in a footnote as the investigator. Enjoy!
Dick Haines
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Attachment 1: AIRCAT WW2 Fall1944.doc
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AIRCAT_WW2_FaJll944.doc
12-11-06
B-17 Pilot Sights Round Ball
During Daylight Bombing Mission over Germany
(A new case)
Richard F. Haines
December 11, 2006
Lt. Robert Walton 1 was flying a B-17 bomber in the early afternoon during the Fall of 1944 when this sighting took place. He was part of the 379th Bomb Group, 525th Squadron at the time and was over central Germany (from England) at an estimated altitude of about 35,000 feet with thirty five other bombers. He told me yesterday that the sky ahead was clear and calm at the time; he and the cockpit crewmen (four per airplane) of every other airplane in the group spotted a single, round, whitish (or translucent) object at their altitude some unknown distance ahead of them. 2 It was definitely above the distant horizon and was about as large in angle as one's little fingernail (viewed at arm's length) 3. For the next five (5) minutes they all watched it but it didn't do anything. The squadron leader ordered a gentle right-hand bank by all aircraft and the unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) moved to the right at the same time, maintaining the same relative position in front of the group of airplanes at all times. Then when the squadron banked left again to their original heading so did the UAP. There was a very negligible time lag between the squadron's heading change and the UAP's position change. Eventually the object just disappeared (instantaneously).
Upon landing after their bombing mission Lt. Walton and his co-pilot were debriefed by Air Force intelligence as were other aircrew men on that mission. He didn't know how many were debriefed specifically on this matter. He did recall that his (with his co-pilot) interview lasted only about fifteen (15) minutes. He was never informed of what intelligence personnel learned and he heard nothing more about the matter.
He said that no electro-magnetic effects, radio interference or air turbulence was experienced on board his airplane during the sighting. He also thought that the object was already present in the sky and just happened to look in the right direction to see it, i.e., he didn't notice it because it traveled into his field of vision. Its edge was quite sharply defined and he saw no contrail or smoke behind the object. It never changed in size, shape, or color throughout the sighting and was brighter than the sky background. He has not seen anything unexplainable before or since.
1 Now in his 80s and in good health.
2 There could have been as many as one hundred forty four (144) eye witnesses to this event according to the witness.
3 This is equivalent to about fifty (50) min arc assuming nail width = 0.38" and arm reach= 26."
The U.S. B-17 “Flying Fortress” was a heavy bomber fitted with five 7.62 machine guns for its defense against enemy fighter planes.
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Official personal lists and other sources indicate that Robert W. Walton (1923 - 2012), from California, took part in World War II and the Korean War, in the United States Army Air Corps / Forces then United States Air Force. He was a Second Lieutenant during WWII.
His Obituary www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/oak-harbor-wa/robert-walton-5132193 tells:
After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, he joined the Army Air Corp. He became a 2nd lieutenant before he was 21. He went through B-17 school and then went to McDill field to assemble a crew. They picked up a new B-17 and flew it over the North Atlantic to England. Bob was the commander with a total of 300 flying hours. He completed 35 missions in the 8th Air Force, flying from England over Germany.
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I do not see any prosaic explanation that applies.
For example, the duration of at least 5 minutes with the object doing nothing completely excludes a meteor; the angular size combined with the description excludes a reflection on some enemy aircraft; the reproduction of the two changes of course of the bombers excludes a balloon.
Possible extraterrestrial craft.
* = 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 | November 17, 2023 | Creation, [rhs1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | November 17, 2023 | First published. |
