ACUFO-1944-12-16-BREISACH-1
In the 1970s-1990s, Citizen Against UFO Secrecy (CAUS) attempted to get the US government to declassify its UFO documents. In their newsletter, in 1992, they announced that they managed to obtain the first official reports of “Foo Fighters” in the war diaries of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron. Excerpts were cited, such as in this US military aviation intelligence summary report:
December 18 [1944] - “I quote from the operations report: 'In the Rastatt area, sighted five or six red and green lights in the shape of a 'T' following the A/C [aircraft ] in the turns and got closer to 1000 feet. The lights followed one another for several kilometers then went out.”
In 1998, Barry Greenwood of CAUS cited the report of the mission of the night of 16-17 December, 1944, itself:
3. 2205-2400 - Breisach area. 0/10 clouds at 13,000 feet. Visibility 1-2 miles. Flak: Intense light (Acc) Breisach. 5 Friborg [Freiburg] projectors. 2 Basel projectors. Observed 5 or 6 red and green T-shaped lights, appearing to follow the A/C [aircraft] for a brief time, about 20 miles north of Breisach. Breisach Bridge strafed - no results observed. Destroyed 1 M/T 1 mile southeast of Breisach. Damaged 2 M/T [military trucks] at W-1048.
| Date: | December 16-17, 1944 |
|---|---|
| Time: | Between 10:05 p.m. and 00:00 a.m. |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | December 17, 1944 |
| Reporting delay: | Hours. |
| Country: | Germany |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | Baden-Wurtemberg |
| City or place: | Breisach-am-Rhein |
| 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: | Seemed to briefly follow the plane. |
| Witnesses action: | |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | ? |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Sensors: |
[X] Visual: 1 or 2.
[ ] Airborne radar: Not reported. [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages: |
|---|---|
| Hynek: | NL |
| Armed / unarmed: | Armed, machine guns and 20 mm cannons. |
| Reliability 1-3: | 1 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 2 |
| ACUFO: | Unidentified. |
[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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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. bgd1:] BARRY GREENWOOD:
In 1998, longtime American researcher Barry Greenwood provided the Computer UFO Network (CUFON) with declassified U.S. Air Forces documents that he obtained patiently using the law of freedom of information act (FOIA). Barry Greenwood was for many years the editor of the newsletter Just Cause, he is co-author of the book “Clear Intent”, and the editor of theU.F.O. Historical Reviewwhich began in June 1998.
MISSION REPORT
UNIT REPORTING: 415th Night Fighter Squadron
INTRUDER MISSIONS: 4 Missions 4 Sorties DATE: Dec. 17/18
REPORT:
[... other cases...]
3. 2205-2400 - Zone de Breisach. 0/10 clouds at 13,000 pieds. Visibilité 1-2 miles.. Flak: lumière intense (Acc) Breisach. 5 projecteurs Friburg. 2 projecteurs Bâle. Observé 5 ou 6 lumières blanches et vertes en forme de T, ont semblé suivre l'A/C pendant un bref moment, à peu près à 20 miles au nord de Breisach. Mitraillé Breisach bridge - pas de résultats observés. Détruit 1 M/T 1 mile sud-est de Breisach. Endommagé 2 M/T à W-1048.
[... other cases...]
CLAIMS
Motor Transport
Destroyed 9
Damaged 18
Losses
None
[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:
Between 22h05 and 24h00, the crew of a Bristol Beaufighter of the USAAF 415th NFS on an intruder mission was flying at 800 feet. Suddenly he saw “5 or 6 flashing red and green lights in T shape”. Thinking they were flak, but ten minutes later he saw “the same light much closer and behind” his aircraft. He turned port and starboard and the lights followed. They closed in to about 8 o'clock and 1,000 feet and remained in that position for several minutes before disappearing.
Sources: USAAF 64111 Fighter Wing Mission Report of the 415th NFS, December 17/18 / War Diary 415'11 NFS, December 18, 1944 I Strange Company, Keith Chester, 2007 / USAAF, Report from Captain F.B. Ringwald, Intelligence Officer, 415111 Night Fighter Squadron, To A/C of S,A-2 XII Tactical Air Command, January 30, 1945, NARA USAAF 415th Night Fighter Squadron diary, 18 December 1944, abstract from the operation report (classified secret) / Remarkable luminous phenomena in nature, William L. Corliss, 2001
(Ref. nip1:) "THE NICAP WEBSITE":
(1944) Dec. 17, 1944; Breisach, Germany
5 or 6 flashing red and green lights in T-shape. (Page 100,130 Ref.1)
The reference 1 is described at the end of the document as “Strange Company (2007), Keith Chester”.
[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:
Date: Dec. 17, 1944
Location: Breisach, Germany
Time:
Summary: 5 or 6 flashing red and green lights in T-shape.
Source:
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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It is difficult to give an assessment of the report. The observation is said to have been brief, and the certainty that the lights followed the plane is weak, as the report said that the lights seemed to follow the plane.
Unidentified.
* = 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 | May 6, 2024 | Creation, [rwd1], [bgd1], [dwn2], [nip1], [tai1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | May 6, 2024 | First published. |
