ACUFO-1944-11-00-WARSAW-1
In an interview of the British ufologist Philip Mantle, on the website of UFO Magazine Brazil, in 2010, Mantle explains that in November 1944, over Poland, bomber navigator Lev Petrovich Ovsischer and his colleagues observed a strange bright object above Warsaw. The UFO hovered at high altitude for over 15 minutes and its brightness was incredible.
Then, in the 2018 UFO book “Military Encounters with Extraterrestrials: The Real War of the Worlds” by Frank Joseph, it is claimed that according to ufologist Paul Stonehill, there was a sighting made in November 1944 over Poland by Lev Petrovitch Ovsischer, the bombardier-navigator of a Petlyakov Pe-2 medium bomber. He, the pilot, and the rear gunner observed an immense, excessively bright object passing slowly over a front-line Soviet airfield, near Warsaw, at approximately 1600 feet. On the ground, Red Army lieutenant-colonel A. Kovalchuk observed that the five-hundred-foot-long craft roughly resembled and moved like a dirigible, although it made no sound and lacked fins, outboard engines, propellers, gondolas, portholes, guy-wires, insignia, or external details of any kind. It is said that Air defense units fired on it with cannons and machine guns to no effect, as the uniformly dark apparition gradually disappeared over the northern horizon.
It is said that this encounter was authoritatively documented by retired Soviet Army colonel Gherman Kolchin in a 2000 issue of New Literary Observer, the oldest Russian independent magazine specializing in philology, cultural history and historical anthropology.
| Date: | November 1944 |
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| Time: | ? |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | 2000 |
| Reporting delay: | 6 decades. |
| Country: | Poland |
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| State/Department: | Near Warsaw |
| City or place: |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | Nombreux. |
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| Number of known witnesses: | 2 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 2 |
| Reporting channel: | Russian ufologist Gherman Kolchin. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | ? |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | Yes. |
| UFO action: | Flies. |
| Witnesses action: | AA fire with no effect.. |
| 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: | ? |
| Armed / unarmed: | Armed, 3 7,62 mm machine funs, 2 12,7 mm machine guns. |
| Reliability 1-3: | 1 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 3 |
| ACUFO: | Possible extraterrestrial craft, unknown credibility. |
[Ref. psh1:] PAUL STONEHILL:
Retired Col. Gherman Kolchin, a respected researcher, published an article in NLO Magazine [= UFO Magazine] in 2000. It mentioned recollection of A. Kowalchuck, a lieutenant colonel during World War II. A huge, dirigible-like object 100 to 150 meters long passed over the military airfield where Kowalchuck was stationed at an altitude of 500 meters. Air Defence units fired on itwith cannons and machine guns to protect the airfield. The object, which had no gondola, disappeared into the distance unharmed.
[Ref. pme1:] PHILIP MANTLE:
A few hundred years later, we arrive at World War II, when the Allies and the so-called Axis countries saw foo-fighters. What do Russian archives say about this?
They talk a lot! There are dozens of interesting stories. In November 1944, for example, over Poland, bomber navigator Lev Petrovich Ovsischer and his colleagues observed a strange bright object above Warsaw. The UFO hovered at high altitude for over 15 minutes and its brightness was incredible. Until then, none of the witnesses had heard of flying saucers.
The source is said to be ufologist Paul Stonehill.
[Ref. fjh1:] FRANK JOSEPH:
More typical was a sighting made over Poland by Lev Petrovitch Ovsischer, the bombardier-navigator of a Petlyakov Pe-2 medium bomber. In November 1944, he, the pilot, and rear gunner observed an immense, excessively bright object passing slowly over a front-line Soviet airfield, near Warsaw, at approximately sixteen hundred feet. On the ground, Red Army lieutenant-colonel A. Kovalchuk observed that the five-hundred-foot-long craft roughly resembled and moved like a dirigible, although it made not a sound and lacked fins, outboard engines, propellers, gondolas, portholes, guy-wires, insignia, or external details of any kind. Stonehill writes, “Air defense units fired on it with cannons and machine guns” to no effect, as the uniformly dark apparition gradually disappeared over the northern horizon. The encounter was authoritatively documented by retired Soviet Army colonel Gherman Kolchin in a 2000 issue of New Literary Observer, the oldest Russian independent magazine specializing in philology, cultural history and historical anthropology.
The Petlyakov Pe-2 “Peshka” (photo below) was an aircraft designed under the direction of Vladimir Petlyakov in 1939 and put into service in 1941 as a high-altitude bomber, but which will be mainly used for ground attack. Its NATO code name was “Buck.”
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Modern, it was entirely made of metal, had a pressurized cabin, engines with compressors and numerous electrical controls.
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I did find on www.jewmil.com/biografii/osvischer-lev-petrovich - a non-ufological source - a biography of Lev Petrovich Ovsishcher (1919-2007), (photo above); it is stated that he had been deputy for political affairs to the commander of the aviation squadron of the 901st night bomber aviation regiment, 271st night bomber aviation division of the Stalingrad division, 16th Army of the air, Don Front in 1942); he had been Deputy Chief of Staff, Chief of the Operational Reconnaissance Unit of the 45th Guards Aviation Regiment, 271st Stalingrad Night Bomber Aviation, Rechitsa Order of the Suvorov Division, 16th Air Force, Belarusian Front, in 1944; Deputy Chief of Staff, Head of the Operational Reconnaissance Unit of the 44th Guards Donskoy Red Banner Bomber Regiment, 9th Guards Stalingrad Bomber Aviation - Rechitsa Order of the Suvorov Division, 16th Air Force, 1st Belorussian Front in May 1945.
He is listed as an ace of Soviet Bombardment aviation at www.wio.ru/aces/aceb2.htm
We also find on the website of the British Parliament that he had asked in 1979 to leave the Soviet Union to settle in Israel:
api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1979/jul/27/colonel-lev-ovsischer
His efforts to join Israel are also reflected in the US Senate records of March 1, 1982:
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LEV AND NADYA OVSISCHER
Mr. PERCY. Mr. President, the plight of Soviet Jews denied the right to emigrate is always on our minds. We learn the names of these individuals from their relatives and friends and from others concerned about the denial of their rights. I wish to draw the attention of my colleagues today to the case of Lev and Nadya Ovsischer.
Eleven years have elapsed since Lev Ovsischer and his wile Nadya first applied to emigrate to Israel. Since then they have been continually harassed by the KGB, their telephone has been disconnected and correspondence has been stopped from reaching their home. Colonel Ovsischer, a highly decorated fighter squadron commander in World War II, has been stripped of his military rank and deprived of his pension.
Lev and Nadya Ovsischer simply seek permission to emigrate to Israel where they can join their daughter, live freely and practice their religious faith. The Soviet Government claims that Lev Ovsischer possesses military secrets. However, he is 20 years removed from service in the army and therefore this claim is ludicrous.
Thirty-nine years ago, on March 5, the Nazi occupiers murdered 5,000 Jewish residents of Minsk, the same city in which Lev and Nadya Ovsischer now live. Eleven years ago, also on March 5, the Ovsischers applied for exit visas. Families in six American cities and five other countries are planning to take special note of the anniversary this year. In remembering the genocide of the past, we must also note that basic human rights are tragically denied by the Soviets at present.
I urge my colleagues to Join me in appealing to the Soviet authorities to observe the right of family reunification guaranteed in the Helsinki ac[...]
Colonel Gherman Kolchin, retired from the USSR Army, is apparently a Russian ufologist writing articles on the subject in Russian magazines.
Frank Joseph tells that the article appeared in the New Literary Observer. This is an error. The magazine was obviously NLO Magazine, NLO being the Soviet acronym for UFO, not the acronym for New Literary Observer.
Paul Stonehill seems to be one of the sources of the report.
Paul Stonehill was born in Kiev, Ukraine, at the time of the USSR in 1959, and migrated to the USA in 1973. He is introduced as an expert on Soviet Union, and is best known for his interest in ufology, especially in the former Soviet Union countries. He lectures, write articles and wrote about 9 books on the topic. Critics sometimes say that the testimonies he collects cannot be verified.
I think one should be cautious about this report, whose primary sources are not available to me. There is the distinct possibility that the pilot encounter and the episode seen from the ground are some mix-up of the different reports: in Fate Magazine, Stonehill talks of the second with no mention of the first.
Possible extraterrestrial craft, unknown credibility.
* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.
| Main author: | Patrick Gross |
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| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Create/changed by: | Date: | Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | January 31, 2024 | Creation, [psh1], [pme1], [fjh1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 31, 2024 | First published. |
