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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Riegel, Germany, on February 9-10, 1945:

Case number:

ACUFO-1945-02-09-RIEGEL-1

Summary:

In the 2000s, ufology sources on the Web, referring to the 2007 book “Strange Company - Military Encounters with UFOs in World War II” by Keith Chester, indicated that in the night of February 9-10, 1945, the crew of a 415th Night Fighter Squadron of the U.S. Army Air Forces was flying near Riegel, Germany, when they saw a “very bright light moving slowly through the air at 6,000 feet, which lasted for 20 seconds.” They were unable to determine its point of origin.

The source was said to be the 64th Fighter Wing Mission Report, 415th Night Fighter Squadron of February 9-10, 1945, to be found in the National Archive of the USA.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	February 9-10, 1945
Time:	Night.
Duration:	20 seconds.
First known report date:	February 10, 1945
Reporting delay:	Hours.

Geographical data:

Country:	Germany
State/Department:	Baden-Wurtemberg
City or place:	Riegel-am-Kaiserstuhl

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses:	1 to 2
Number of known witnesses:	?
Number of named witnesses:	0

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	Military operations report, UFO book Keith Chester.
Visibility conditions:	Night.
UFO observed:	Yes.
UFO arrival observed:	?
UFO departure observed:	Yes.
UFO action:	Moves slowly.
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: 1 to 2. [ ] Airborne radar: Not reported. [ ] Directional ground radar: Not reported. [ ] 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:	2
Strangeness 1-3:	1
ACUFO:	Possible flare or parachute flare.

Sources:

[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:

Case 87

February 9/10, 1945

Riegel, Germany

The crew of a 415th NFS Beaufighter was flying near Riegel, Germany. They reported a “very bright light moving slowly through the air at 6,000 feet, which lasted for 20 seconds,” but they were unable to determine its point of origin.

Sources: 64th Fighter Wing Mission Report, 415th NFS, February 9/10, 1945, NARA / Strange Company, Keith Chester, 2007

(Ref. nip1:) "THE NICAP WEBSITE":

Feb. 9/10, 1945; Riegel, Germany

Very bright light moving slowly. (Page 133 Ref.1)

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

[Ref. snu1:] "SATURDAY NIGHT UFORIA" WEBSITE:

That February the early days of month brought reports from the 415th [...]; and the next night between Breisach and Strassbourg [sic] “a very bright light moving slowly through the air at 6,000 feet, which lasted for 20 seconds.”

3. The February, 1945 reports of [...] a “very bright light” between Breisach and Strassbourg [...], come from Keith Chester's book Strange Company, which gives as its source various operations reports.

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

Date: Feb. 9/10, 1945;

Location: Riegel, Germany

Time:

Summary: Very bright light moving slowly.

Source:

Aircraft information:

The Bristol Type 156 “Beaufighter“, nicknamed “Beau”, was a British multi-role aircraft developed during WWII. 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.

The Beaufighters served with the U.S. Army Air Force until the end of the war, but most were replaced by the P-61 “Black Widow” beginning on March 20, 1945.

Discussion:

Nothing in the report indicates that the reported even was thought to be something strange.

The slow move, the altitude, the duration, are compatible with a parachute flare, for example.

Evaluation:

Possible flare or parachute flare.

Sources references:

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

[aaf1] ? 64th Fighter Wing Mission Report, 415th Night Fighter Squadron, U.S. Army Air Forces, February 9-10, 1945.
[kcr1] ? "Strange Company - Military Encounters with UFOs in World War II", book by Keith Chester, Anomalist Book publishers, USA, page 133, 2007.
[dwn2] * "The Foofighters Files (1) - Catalogue of Unconventional Aerial Phenomena Reported by Allied pilots during WW II (1943-1945)", catalogue by Dominique F. 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
[sua1] * "The foo fighters of world war II", part 2, on the Website Saturday Night Uforia, 2011, at http://www.saturdaynightuforia.com/html/articles/articlehtml/foofightersofworldwariiparttwo.html
[tai1] * "1945: February UFO & Alien Sightings", web page on the Think About It Website, USA, June 22, 2016, at https://www.thinkaboutitdocs.com/1945-february-ufo-alien-sightings

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	April 17, 2024	Creation, [dwn2], [nip1], [sua1], [tai1].
1.0	Patrick Gross	April 17, 2024	First published.

This page was last updated on April 17, 2024.