ACUFO-1944-12-14-ERSTEIN-1
In the December 1944 operations log of the 415th NFS, an American night fighter squadron based at Ochey, France, an excerpt said that an airman saw a brilliant red light at 2000 feet going east at 200 miles per hour, in the sector of Erstein, at 06:40 p.m. on December 14, 1944.
The on board radar set being non-operational, he could not check radar contact, but he followed it with his eyes until it went out.
He could not get close enough to identify the object before it went out.
In his report of January 30, 1945, to the Tactical Air Command, the 415th NFS intelligence officer, Fred Ringwald, had compiled observations by this unit of the so-called “foo fighters”, and indicated for this one that it had taken place on the night of 14 to 15 December 1944. He added that the light was big.
Ringwald stated that in all cases he listed where the pilot had called the radar station on the ground and asked if there was any aircraft detected in the area, he had received a negative answer.
Another of his logs said: “December 14/15, 1944 - Mission 1 - 1735-1915 - Saw light which appeared to be 4 or 5 times larger than a star going about 700 MPH near Erstein. Couldn't get sighting - Poor visibility.”
| Date: | December 14, 1944 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 06:40 p.m. |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | December 1944 |
| Reporting delay: | Hours. |
| Country: | France |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | Bas-Rhin |
| City or place: | Erstein |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 1 or 2 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 or 2 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Reporting channel: | Military operations report. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | Night. |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | Yes. |
| UFO action: | |
| Witnesses action: | |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | Puzzled. |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Sensors: |
[X] Visual: 1 or 2.
[ ] Airborne radar: N/A [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages: |
|---|---|
| Hynek: | NL |
| Armed / unarmed: | Armed, four 20 mm cannons and six 7,62 mm machines guns. |
| Reliability 1-3: | 3 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 1 |
| ACUFO: | Unidentified, low strangeness. |
[Ref. aaf1:] 415TH NIGHT FIGHTER SQUADRON - U.S. ARMY AIR FORCES:
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MISSION REPORT
UNIT REPORTING: 415TH NIGH FIGHTER SQUADRON
INTRUDER MISSIONS: 2 MISSIONS 2 SORTIES DATE: DEC. 14/15
REPORT
1. 1735-1915 -- WENT IN OVER TARGET AT V-8944 SAW CONVOY OF 10 PLUS TRUCKS GOING SOUTH ON HIGHWAY EAST OF RHINE. STRAFED - 2 M/T DESTROYED AND 3 DAMAGED. PATROLLED BREISACH AREA - VISIBILITY POOR. FLEW NORTH FOLLOWING HIGHWAY - 4 MILES NORTH OF BREISACH SAW CONVOY OF 20 PLUS M/T MOVING SOUTH. STRAFED AT V-9050 - 4 M/T DESTROYED (1 EXPLODED AND 3 BURST INTO FLAMES). 3 M/T DAMAGED. SAW LIGHT WHICH APPEARED TO BE 4 OR 4 TIMES LARGER THAN A STAR GOING ABOUT 200 MPH NEAR ERSTEIN. COULDN'T GET SIGHTING - POOR VISIBILITY. LARGE FIRES VICINITY V-7946.
2. 2230-0005 -- WENT INTO TARGET AREA VICINITY KARLSRUHE - RECEIVED HEAVY, INTENSE, FLAK AT KARLSRUHE. FLEW AROUND AREA - WEATHER CLOSED IN SO HAD TO COME HOME.
| CLAIMS | DESTROYED | DAMAGED |
| MOTOR TRANSPORT | 6 | 6 |
LOSSES
NONE
[Ref. usa1:] U.S. ARMY AIR FORCES - 415TH NFS WAR DIARY:
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S E C R E T
WAR DIARY
415 NIGHT FIGHTER SQUADRON
[... Unrelated information...]
OCHEY AIR BASE, FRANCE - DECEMBER 1944
15. The following is an excerpt from the operations report: “Saw a brilliant red light at 2000 feet going E at 200 MPH in the vicinity of Erstein. Due to AI failure could not pick up contact but followed it by sight until it went out. Could not get close enough to identify object before it went out.”
[... unrelated information...]
And:
December 14/15, 1944 - Mission 1 - 1735-1915 - Saw light which appeared to be 4 or 5 times larger than a star going about 700 MPH near Erstein. Couldn't get sighting - Poor visibility.
[Ref. rwd1:] FRED B. RINGWALD, INTELLIGENCE, U.S. ARMY AIR FORCES:
Note: the document that follows was retrieved by Jan Aldrich's historical ufology effort Project 1947, at www.project1947.com/fig/1945a.htm
Only the header, the footer and the part related to the case documented in this file are shown.
Only other cases are removed, as they are shown in their own case file in this catalog.
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S E C R E T
1st W/Ind
D-W-2
HEADQUARTERS XII TACTICAL AIR COMMAND, APO #374, U.S. Army, 23 January 1945.
TO: S-2, 415 Night Fighter Squadron.
Forwarded for compliance with paragraph 2 of 1st Ind.
[Signature]
LEAVITT CORNING, JR,.
Lt. Colonel, G.S.C,.
A/C of S, A-2.
2nd W/Ind
415th. NIGHT FIGHTER SQUADRON, APO #374, U. S. Army, 30 January 1945.
TO: AC of S A-2. XII Tactical Air Command, APO 374, U. S. Army.
1. In compliance with paragraph 2 of Ist. Ind., the following extracts from the Sortie reports of various pilots who have encountered the Night Phenomenon are submitted for your information.
[... other cases...]
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Night of 14-15 December 1944 - “In vicinity of Erstein (V-9381) flying at 1000 ft. observed large red light at 2000 ft. going East at 18:40 hrs. Travelling at approximately 200 MPH”
[... other cases...]
S E C R E T
S E C R E T
2nd. W/Ind., 415th. Night Fighter Squadron, 30 January 1945 Con't.
[... other cases...]
Night of 29-30 January 1945 - “At about 00:10 hrs. sighted a Foofighter about half way between Weissembourg [sic] and Landau. Foofighter was off to the starboard and rear at Angels 2. Lights were amber and one was 20 -50 ft. above the other and of about 30 seconds duration. Foofighter was about 1000 ft. away and following. The lights were about a foot in diameter. Lights disappeared when Travel 34 turned into them.”
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2. In every case where pilot called GCI Control and asked if there was a Bogey A/C in the area he received a negative answer.
[Signature.]
F. B. Ringwald
Captain, A.C.
Intelligence Officer
* Foofighters is the name given these phenomenon by combat crews of this Squadron.
S E C R E T
[Ref. awn1:] SARASOTA "HERALD-TRIBUNE":
Some excerpts from the unit's [415th NFS] log:
[...]
Dec. 15, 1944: A pilot's mission report stated: “Saw a brilliant red light at 2,000 feet going east at 200 miles per hour in the vicinity of Erstein. Due to AI failure, could not pick up contact but followed it by sight until it went out. Could not get close enough to identify object before it went out.”
[Ref. pfe1:] PARIS FLAMMONDE:
This author - who claimed the World War II UFO sightings were sightings of German flying saucers - wrote:
The disturbing sightings were by no means isolated incidents. Their numbers grew rapidly. Pilot Henry Giblin and his observer, Walter Cleary, were tailed at 1,000 feet by an immense crimson light traveling at 200 miles an hour.
[Ref. jce1:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "JUST CAUSE":
The bulletin of “Citizens Against UFO Secrecy” (CAUS) published that they managed to get the first Foo Fighters official reports in the War diaries of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron. Extracts were cited, such as:
About two weeks passed [starting on November 27, 1944] before the next encounter. This time the 415th had been moved to Ochey Air Base, France. Frame 1613 relates:
December 15 [1944] - “The following is an excerpt from the operations report: 'Saw a brilliant red light at 2000 feet going E at 200 MPH in the vicinity of Ernstein [sic]. Due to AI (Air Intercept radar) failure could not pick up contact but followed it by sight until it went out. Could not get close enough to identify object before it went out.”
[Ref. gld1:] GORDON LORE AND HAROLD DENEAULT:
The following evening [December 24, 1944], again at 10,000 feet, the same two men observed a single, mysterious “red flame” on another mission.
The authors indicated that the source is the American Legion Magazine December 1945, in the article “The Foo Fighters Mystery” by Joe Chamberlain.
[Ref. jce2:] BULLETIN D'UFOLOGIE "JUST CAUSE":
The Citizens Against UFO Secrecy (CAUS) newsletter reported that on September 3, 1992, their editor Barry Greenwood searched the National Archives in Suitland, Maryland, USA, to find more documents on the Foo-Fighters emanating from of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron, and had found some, mainly “Mission Reports”. Barry Greenwood reported:
[...]
Archives personnel provided a large cardboard box holding three feet of file folders of the 415th NFS and affiliated bomber groups. The period covered was late September 1944 - April 1945. It was obvious that I would spend at least a full day scanning this bunch. The records were not in the best condition, a fact which should be of great concern to those interested in the contents of old files, not just on this but on any subject. Many of the papers were onion-skin copies, very fragile and yellowing. Other reports were on coarse, brown paper which was very brittle, flakes of which were coming off on my hands. It was no longer surprising why quite often when CAUS would request and receive government files the copies were difficult, and sometimes impossible, to read. We are in a race against time as many government records are literally self-destructing on the shelf. With the millions of copies for which the National Archives is responsible, there is simply not enough staff or resources to take care of it all.
What also became clear is that the staff of the National Archives are not absolute authorities on the records that we have obtained regarding UFOs. The response I had to a request for help in locating a particular Air Force document with an identifying number was, “Good luck, we don't know.” Not that they were being fresh but that the Air Force had lost the inventory to that group of documents. I had a new appreciation for the time delays in responding to FOIA requests as well. It took me the best part of a day just to scan one box thoroughly. I was in a room with about thirty to forty people, all of whom had their own agenda and own piles of paper to scan. Factor in mail requests and the demands on the staff must be terrific. I heard a complaint by one of having to pull hundreds of boxes himself to fulfill researchers' requests just for that day.
The 415th's mission reports tended to be brief in their descriptions of everything. There were reports of aircraft destroyed, buildings bombed, flak, vehicles destroyed; etc. Then, scattered amongst the information, were reports of strange lights in the sky.
He then gave the 15 such cases he found, including:
December 14/15, 1944 - Mission 1 - 1735-1915 - Saw light which appeared to be 4 or 5 times larger than a star going about 700 MPH near Erstein. Couldn't get sighting - Poor visibility.
Greenwood noted:
One frustrating feature of these reports is their brevity. It is difficult to form a hypothesis on the origin of Foo-Fighters when such fragmentary information is available. It is sometimes hard to tell whether reports of “lights” by the pilots were in the air or on the ground so one should exercise caution when reading reports where this is not clear.
[Ref. bgd1:] BARRY GREENWOOD:
This time, the 415th had been moved to Ochey, France. Plate 1613 reports:
December 15: “The following is from the operations report: 'Observed a bright red light at 2000 feet heading east at 200 miles per hour, in the vicinity of Ernstein [sic]. Due to a failure of my interception radar, I was unable to lock the phenomenon, but followed it visually until it went out. Couldn't get close enough to identify the object before it disappeared.'”
[Ref. bgd2:] BARRY GREENWOOD:
Barry Greenwood, in an article about the “Foo-Fighters” documents in the U.S. military archive, said:
A summary of incidents [reported by airmen of the U.S. Army Air Forces 415th Night Fighter Squadron] was prepared by Captain F. B. Ringwald, Intelligence Officer with Headquarters 12 of the Tactical Air Command to advise S-2 of the “Night Phenomenon” encountered by the pilots and dated January 30, 1945.
Barry Greenwood then cited 13 cases from Ringwald's report, including this one:
“Night of 14-15 December 1944 - In the vicinity of Erstein (V-9381) flying at 1000 ft. observed large red light at 2000 ft. going East at 18:40 hrs. Travelling at approximately 200 MPH.”
Barry Greenwood commented about these reports:
It is noteworthy to point out that these pilots made a distinction between the usual flak bursts sent up by anti-aircraft fire and what they were seeing in these incidents. One might expect that due to technical advances during the war, eventually one side may develop a new sort of anti-aircraft weapon that could behave in an intelligent manner in pursuit of enemy planes. The problem with this here is that there are no known reports of “Foo Fighters” bringing down aircraft of either side. The objects that seemed to be “under perfect control at all times” didn't seem to do damage but merely accompany planes on their respective missions without interference.
To end the summary, Ringwald said that in each case where the pilot called GCI control to ask if “Bogey A/C” were in the area, he received a negative answer. It was also noted, perhaps more of interest to modern audiences, that these objects were called “Foofighters.”
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH:
521: 1944/12/15 00:00 1 9:21:00 E 49:19:00 N 3331 WEU GER RHP 5:7
ERNSTEIN [sic],GERMANY:415th BOMBER SQDR:BRILL.FBL/2K'alt:200mph:RDR EMEs:/r153p16
Ref#226 PHENOMENA bimonthly. SOS-OVNI France Issue No. 12: IN-FLIGHT
[Ref. kml1:] KEVIN MCCLURE:
This ufologist quotes from the American Legion Magazine article for December 1945, “titled 'The Foo Fighter Mystery', and written by one Jo Chamberlin:”
But a few nights later [than late in November 1944], Lt. Henry Giblin, of Santa Rosa, California, pilot, and Lt. Walter Cleary, of Worcester, Massachusetts, radar-observer, were flying at 1,(XX) feet altitude when they saw a huge red light 1,(XX) feet above them, moving at 200 miles per hour. As the observation was made on an early winter evening the men decided that perhaps they had eaten something at chow that didn't agree with them and did not rush to report their experience.
[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:
At 18h40, Lt Henry Giblin (pilot) and Lt Walter Cleary (radar operator) were flying their Beaufighter (USAAF 415th NFS) near Erstein (V-9381 ). They saw a brilliant red light at 2,000 ft going East at 200 mph. The red light appeared 4 or 5 times larger than a star. Due to A.I. (radar) failure the crew could not pick up contact, but followed it by sight as they pursued the light around an altitude of 1,000 feet, hoping to get close to have a better look. Finally the red light went out as it simply disappeared.
Sources: USAAF 415th Night Fighter Squadron diary, December 1944, abstract from the operation report (classified secret) / USAAF, Report from Captain F.B. Ringwald, Intelligence Officer, 415th Night Fighter Squadron, To A/C of S,A-2 XII Tactical Air Command, January 30, 1945, NARA I Strange Company, Keith Chester, 2007
(Ref. nip1:) "THE NICAP WEBSITE":
(1944) Dec. 14/15, 1944; Erstein, Germany
Brilliant red light & appeared to be 4 or 5 times larger than a star going 200 mph. (Page 96,130 Ref.1)
The reference 1 is described at the end of the document as “Strange Company (2007), Keith Chester”.
[Ref. cvn2:] CHRISTIAN VALENTIN:
Former journalist Christian Valentin published in 2012 a very interesting book telling the story of UFO sightings, flying saucers sightings, in Alsace, from the beginning to 1980.
In this book, he wrote a chapter about the “Foo Fighters” with a general presentation of the topic followed by a chronology of cases.
He says that from the end of September to the end of November 1944, the US 415th Night Fighter Squadron was based on the Dijon Longvic air base, before moving to the old Toul air base on the plate of Ochey, rebuilt by the US military with an artificial landing strip.
One of the reported observations was on December 15, 1944, and he quotes:
“Saw brilliant red light at 2000 feet, going eastward at a speed of 200 miles / hour (320 km / h) near Erstein. Following failure of on board instrumentation, was not able to contact but followed at eyesight until disappearance. Did not get near enough to identify it.”
He indicates that this is a translated extract of “War Diaries et Unit Reporting” - 415th Night Fighter Squadron, Ochey Air Base, France, according to Barry Greenwood, in Just Cause #32 and #33, CUFON - Computer UFO Network - Seattle, Washington, USA.
[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:
Date: Dec. 14/15, 1944
Location: Erstein, Germany
Time:
Summary: Brilliant red light & appeared to be 4 or 5 times larger than a star going 200 mph.
Page 96,130 Ref.1
[Ref. jsn1:] JEAN-CLAUDE SIDOUN:
The author states that on September 27, 1944, pilots Henry Giblin and Walter Cleary reported that they were overflown at night by a huge ball of fire that flew over their plane at a speed of approximately 400 km/h.
The Bristol Type 156 “Beaufighter”, nicknamed “Beau”, was a British multi-role aircraft developed during WWI. 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.
The Beaufighter Mk VIF was fitted with the Mark VIII radar.
Below: Beaufighter Mk VIF of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron.
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The Beaufighters served with the U.S. Army Air Forces until the end of the war, but most were replaced by the P-61 “Black Widow” beginning in December 1944.
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Jacket badge of the US 415th Night Fighters Squadron, |
Crews of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron of the U.S. Army Air Force reported their nocturnal observations of what they called “Foo Fighters” above the Rhine valley then occupied by the Germans, between November 1944 and April 1945, as their base was in Dijon and Ochey in France.
Their plane at the time of these events was the British Bristol Beaufighter (Image below), often called “Beau” in the operations reports.
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Their reports about “Foo-Fighters” apparently ceased when the Germans lost the West banks of the Rhine Valley.
About this sighting:
Erstein is in France, about 17 km to the south of Strasbourg.
The moon - one may think of a red moon or a moon partially hidden by clouds - can be excluded, it set down at 4 p.m. And Mars was down since 03:44 p.m. The mission started at 05:35 p.m.
Unidentified, low strangeness.
* = 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 | March 27, 2017 | Creation, [usa1], [rwd1], [awn1], [nip1], [cvn2], [tai1]. |
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | March 27, 2017 | First published in ALSACAT. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | April 14, 2024 | Additions [gld1], [jce1], [jce2], [bgd1], [lhh1], [dwn2], [nip1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | April 14, 2024 | First published. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | May 30, 2024 | Addition [jsn1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | June 6, 2024 | Addition [kml1]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | June 8, 2024 | Addition [bgd2]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | June 16, 2024 | Addition [aaf1]. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | July 26, 2024 | Addition [pfe1]. |
