ACUFO:

ACUFO is my comprehensive catalog of cases of encounters between aircraft and UFOs, whether they are "explained" or "unexplained".

The ACUFO catalog is made of case files with a case number, summary, quantitative information (date, location, number of witnesses...), classifications, all sources mentioning the case with their references, a discussion of the case in order to evaluate its causes, and a history of the changes made to the file.

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Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA, on March 1, 1944:

Case number:

ACUFO-1944-03-01-CARLSBAD-1

Summary:

In a list of UFO sightings reported by U. S. Air Force Personnel, published in 1964 by the National Investigation Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) in their book "The UFO Evidence", a case is noted for March 1, 1944, in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

The report came from a NICAP affiliate and told that a B-17 pilot saw a high-speed glowing green object that lit the cockpit and moved out of sight over the horizon.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	March 1944
Time:	?
Duration:	?
First known report date:	1964
Reporting delay:	2 decades.

Geographical data:

Country:	USA
State/Department:	New Mexico
City:	Carlsbad

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses:	?
Number of known witnesses:	?
Number of named witnesses:	0

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	Ufology group NICAP.
Visibility conditions:	?
UFO observed:	Yes.
UFO arrival observed:	?
UFO departure observed:	Yes.
UFO action:	Flew.
Witnesses action:
Photographs:	No.
Sketch(s) by witness(es):	No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es):	No.
Witness(es) feelings:	?
Witnesses interpretation:	?

Classifications:

Sensors:	[X] Visual: ? [N/A] Airborne radar: [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages:
Hynek:	?
Armed / unarmed:	Armed, 5 7.62 mm machine guns.
Reliability 1-3:	2
Strangeness 1-3:	1
ACUFO:	Probable meteor.

Sources:

[Ref. rhl1:] RICHARD HALL - NICAP:

AIR FORCE UFO SIGHTINGS
UFO Sightings by U. S. Air Force Personnel

[... Other cases...]

3/1/1944 Carlsbad, N.M.
B-17 pilot (conf. Report certified by Bluegrass NICAP Affiliate)
High-speed glowing green object lit cockpit, moved out of sight over horizon.

[... Other cases...]

March 1944--Carlsbad, N.M. Air Force pilot saw fast-moving UFO speed out of sight over horizon.

[Ref. obr1:] OTTO BINDER:

- March 1944, Carlsbad, New Mexico. A high-speed, glowing green object lit up a pilot's cockpit, moving out of sight over the horizon.

[Ref. mbd1:] MICHEL BOUGARD:

The author indicates that in March 1944, in Arlsbad [sic], New Mexico, a B-1 T pilot observed a bright, green object moving horizontally at high speed.

[Ref. gvo1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

1944, March

USA, Arlsbad [sic] (New Mexico)

A B-17 pilot observed a bright, green object moving horizontally at high speed. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" – Delarge 1977- p. 266)

[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH:

492: 1944/03/00 00:00 1 104:14:00 W 32:25:00 N 3311 NAM USA NMX 6:7
CARLSBAD,NM:B17 PILOT:FAST SPHERE W/HALO:BRUSK MNVRS:SHOOTS>HRZN:/LDLN#303+330
Ref#242 HALL,Richard:The UFO EVIDENCE /NICAP Page No. 129: IN-FLIGHT

[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:

Case 36

March, 1944

Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA

Captain Reida, a USAAF B-29 pilot observed a bright spherical green object with a flare flying at great speed. It made abrupt turns and disappeared above the horizon.

Sources: the UFO Evidence, Richard Hall, NICAP 1964 / Above top secret, Timothy Good / La chronique des ovnis p.266 / LDLN #330

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

[1944] March, 1944; Carlsbad, NM

Air Force pilot saw fast-moving UFO speed out of sight over horizon. (NICAP UFO Evidence, 1964, Hall, III)

The reference 1 is described at the end of the document as "Strange Company (2007), Keith Chester".

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

Date: March, 1944

Location: Carlsbad, NM

Time:

Summary: Air Force pilot saw fast-moving UFO speed out of sight over horizon.

NICAP UFO Evidence, 1964, Hall, III

[Ref. get1:] GEORGE M. EBERHART:

1944

[... other cases...]

March - An Army Air Force pilot flying a B-17 sees a fast-moving, glowing green object light up the cockpit and speedout of sight over the horizon at Carlsbad, New Mexico. (UFOEv, p. 19)

[... other cases...]

Aircraft information:

The US B-17 "Flying Fortress" was a heavy bomber fitted with five 7.62 machine guns for its defense against enemy fighter planes.

Discussion:

There seems to be an error on the witness, indicated to be "Capt. Reida" in some sources. Captain Alvah M. Reida was a US Air Force pilot who said he witnessed an unexplained flying object, in 1944, not in Carlsbad USA, in March 1944, but in in Palembang, Sumatra, in August 10, 1944. In a NICAP list, the two cases appear one following the other, and the error probably came from a mixup in the reading of both entries.

This is also why some source say this sighting was made from a B-29, correct for the Palembang case, when it was a B-17 in the Carlsbad case.

Concerning this case in Carlsbad, the information is very meager, and as it appears, it is not absurd to think that what was observed was a meteor.

Evaluation:

Probable meteor.

Sources references:

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

[rhl1] * "The UFO Evidence", book published by The National Investigation Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), by Richard H. Hall, USA, page 19, 1964.
[obr1] * "What We Really Know About Flying Saucers", book by Otto Binder, Fawcett Publications, USA, 1967.
[mbd1] * "La Chronique des O.V.N.I.", book by Michel Bougard, Jean-Pierre Delarge - France Loisirs publishers France, 1977.
[tgd1] ? "Above Top Secret", book by Timothy Good, Sidgwick & Jackson publishers, U-K., 1987.
[gvo1] * "Chronologie OVNI", electronic catalogue compiled by Godelieve Van Overmeire, Belgium, circa 1999.
[lhh1] * "*U* Computer Database", ufology database by Larry Hatch, USA, circa 2002.
[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.
[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
[tai1] * "1944: UFO & Alien Sightings", web page of the Think About It Website, USA, January 1, 2016, at https://www.thinkaboutitdocs.com/1944-ufo-alien-sightings
[get1] * "UFOs and Intelligence: A Timeline", electronic document compiled by George M. Eberhart, 2022.

File history:

Authoring:

Main author:	Patrick Gross
Contributors:	None
Reviewers:	None
Editor:	Patrick Gross

Changes history:

Version:	Create/changed by:	Date:	Description:
0.1	Patrick Gross	October 18, 1944	Creation, [rhl1], [mbd1], [lhh1], [dwn2], [nip1], [tai1], [get1].
1.0	Patrick Gross	October 18, 1944	First published.
1.1	Patrick Gross	October 30, 2023	Addition [obr1].
1.2	Patrick Gross	November 4, 2023	Addition [gvo1].

This page was last updated on November 4, 2023.