ACUFO:

Another Englishman, Eric Myring, was twenty-six years old at the time. He also tried to escape the action of a strange "light" in the skies of our country. He was a pilot officer of the 272nd Coastal Squadron of the RAF equipped with Beaufighter Mk.X, mainly employed for attacks on ships and harbor targets, but on this specific occasion - the night of June 2, 5 or 8, 1944 - it was on an intrusion into the land. It was perhaps midnight, and Myring was flying along a connecting road between Florence and Rome, in any case south-west of Florence. He probably found himself three or four thousand feet up in the clear sky, illuminated by the Moon. He had taken off with others from Alghero, and with his companions he had to attack any vehicle moving from the north along the roads leading to the capital.

Suddenly, a thousand meters below them, Myring and his navigator, Tom Corlett, saw a very bright red light, which he initially thought to be another plane. For a time that seemed endless to Myring - in reality for five or perhaps ten minutes - the light followed them in whatever direction they went and whatever evasive action they attempted. The pacing (the light always remained at a constant distance from the plane, another detail that would often recur in future UFO-aircraft cases) was so persistent that the two thought it was an aircraft equipped with an advanced radar system. The Beaufighter, however, was a very maneuverable aircraft and the crew was expert in low-altitude flight. They ducked between mountains and hills and managed to shake it off.

Back in Alghero, they reported what they had seen not to their information officer, who was on leave, but to a young officer who, when told that they had been followed by an airplane with a red light, objected: "Did you see that it was a plane? Was it silhouetted against the Moon, for example?" They said no, and the officer replied, "Then how do you know it was a plane?" He concluded that he could not register it as "an airplane", and decided to file a report that they had been followed by "a flying red light". Then, the pressure of war events distracted them from the thought of that nocturnal encounter.

Another Englishman, Eric Myring, was twenty-six years old at the time. He also tried to escape the action of a strange "light" in the skies of our country. He was a pilot officer of the 272nd Coastal Squadron of the RAF equipped with Beaufighter Mk.X, mainly employed for attacks on ships and harbor targets, but on this specific occasion - the night of June 2, 5 or 8, 1944 - it was on an intrusion into the land. It was perhaps midnight, and Myring was flying along a connecting road between Florence and Rome, in any case south-west of Florence. He probably found himself three or four thousand feet up in the clear sky, illuminated by the Moon. He had taken off with others from Alghero, and with his companions he had to attack any vehicle moving from the north along the roads leading to the capital.

Suddenly, a thousand meters below them, Myring and his navigator, Tom Corlett, saw a very bright red light, which he initially thought to be another plane. For a time that seemed endless to Myring - in reality for five or perhaps ten minutes - the light followed them in whatever direction they went and whatever evasive action they attempted. The pacing (the light always remained at a constant distance from the plane, another detail that would often recur in future UFO-aircraft cases) was so persistent that the two thought it was an aircraft equipped with an advanced radar system. The Beaufighter, however, was a very maneuverable aircraft and the crew was expert in low-altitude flight. They ducked between mountains and hills and managed to shake it off.

Back in Alghero, they reported what they had seen not to their information officer, who was on leave, but to a young officer who, when told that they had been followed by an airplane with a red light, objected: "Did you see that it was a plane? Was it silhouetted against the Moon, for example?" They said no, and the officer replied, "Then how do you know it was a plane?" He concluded that he could not register it as "an airplane", and decided to file a report that they had been followed by "a flying red light". Then, the pressure of war events distracted them from the thought of that nocturnal encounter.

N - 1944.06. (2nd, 5th, or 8th unsure of exact date),

About 0000 hours, Italy, southwest Florence over the Florence/Rome road, Beaufighter Mk X saw a bright red light that followed them for about 5-10 minutes. Evasive action did not work. (Letters and report forms, Andy Roberts, Collection)

1944, June

Italy, southwest of Florence, the pilot of an RAF Beaufighter sees a red light following his aircraft; his evasive maneuvers are useless. (PROJECT ACUFOE, Catalog 1999, Dominique Weinstein) (vog: duplication with the case of April 30?)

Case 41

June (2nd, 5th or 8th), 1944

Southwest of Florence, Italy

At midnight, the pilot of a RAF Bristol Beaufighter flying over the Florence - Rome road observed one bright red light which followed his aircraft. The pilot did several evasive actions with no result.

Source: List of Cases prior to 1947, Jan Aldrich

Eric Myring saw a "flying red light" over the area of Firenze, in the beginning of June 1944.

Flying Officer Eric Gordon MYRING (133790),
R.A.F.V.R., 272 Sqn.

This officer has completed a large number of sorties, including attacks on enemy shipping, wireless installations and airfields. In September, 1944, Flying Officer Myring took part in a successful attack on a liner in enemy waters. In this operation he displayed commendable skill and courage, playing a worthy part in the success obtained. He is a most capable and fearless pilot.

NOT FOR PUBLICATION, BROADCAST IN OVERSEAS BULLETINS OR USE ON CLUB TAPES BEFORE 2350 B.S.T. ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5, (i,e. FOR MONDAY MORNING PAPERS). NOT TO BE BROADCAST IN THE MIDNIGHT NWS OF NOVEMBER 5/6. THIS EMBARGO SHOUID BE RESPECTED OVERSEAS BY PREFACING ANY MESSAGES FILED WITH THE EMBARGO.

Air Ministry News Service Air Ministry. Bulletin No. 16252.

"REX" RAIDERS DECORATED

Four pilots from the rocket-firing Beaufighter squadron of Mediterranean Allied Coastal Air Force, which made the initial attack on the 51,000-ton Italian liner, "Rex" in the Adriatic, have received immediate awards. THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER has been awarded to the leader of the attack S/Ldr, Roderick Harry ROSE, of Charing Hill, Ashford, Kent. THE DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS has been awarded to:- F/O Eric Gordon MYRING, of 2, Robson Terrace, Shincliffe, Co. Durham; F/Lt. Chester Franklin RIDEOUT, R.C.A.F., of 371 > Higginson Road, Sardis, British Columbia, Canada; F/O David Austin LAMPARD, of Portlands, Knockholt, Kent. When the squadron flew from the Adriatic coast to attack the liner, the crews regarded it as their biggest and toughest assignment. It was their biggest - but their easiest. For over two months previously, they had carried out difficult rocket attacks by night on enemy slipping along the coast between Genoa and Spezia. Then they were told to attack the "biggest target of the war". [...] F/O Myring made six successful attacks on six vessels in one month, and also destroyed two bridges during intruder operations.