ACUFO-1945-03-14-HAGUENAU-1
A mission report from the 415th Night Fighters Squadron of the U.S. Army Air Forces indicated that on March 14, 1945, from 6:45 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., an intrusion mission was carried.
The crew noted that the visibility was too poor for observation, that they patrolled on the front of the 7th Army at the location coded “R-1108” near Haguenau in the Bas-Rhin, where they saw artillery flashes.
Before leaving, they saw “foo fires”, three red lights, 3 miles away and at an altitude of 3,000 feet, stationary.
| Date: | March 14, 1945 |
|---|---|
| Time: | Between 06:45 p.m. and 08:30 p.m. |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | April 1945 |
| Reporting delay: | Hours, weeks. |
| Country: | France |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | Bas-Rhin |
| City or place: | Haguenau |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 2 or 3 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 to 3 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Reporting channel: | ? |
|---|---|
| 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 to 3.
[ ] Airborne radar: Not reported. [ ] Directional ground radar: Not reported. [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages: |
|---|---|
| Hynek: | ? |
| Armed / unarmed: | ? |
| Reliability 1-3: | 3 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 1 |
| ACUFO: | Insufficient information, moderate strangeness. |
[Ref. usa1:] U.S. ARMY AIR FORCE 415TH NIGHT FIGHTER SQUADRON:
|
MISSION REPORT
UNIT REPORTING: 415TH NIGHT FIGHTER SQUADRON
MISSIONS: 2 MISSIONS 2 SORTIES DATE: MARCH 14/15
REPORT
1. 1845/2030 - INTRUDER. Visibility too poor for observation. Patrolled 7th Army Front from R-1108 to HAGUENAU - artillery flashes see. Before leaving, saw foo fire (3 red lights) 3 miles away at 3,000 feet stationary. Vicinity of LUNEVILLE, saw what appeared to be ammo dump burning.
[Ref. jce1:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "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:
March 14/15, 1945 - Mission 1 - 1845-2030 - Patrolled 7th Army Front from R-1108 to Hagenau [sic] - artillery flashes seen. Before leaving, saw foo fire (3 red lights) 3 miles away at 3000 feet stationary.
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. prt1:] SITE WEB "PROJECT 1947":
March 14/15, 1945 - Mission 1 - 1845-2030 - Patrolled 7th Army Front from R-1108 to Hagenau [sic] - artillery flashes seen. Before leaving, saw floo fire (3 red lights) 3 miles away at 3000 feet stationary.
[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 March 14, 1945, and he quotes:
Haguenau, around 08:00 p.m. “before going home, saw three red lights (Foo fires) 3 miles apart and motionless at 1,000 feet.”
He indicates that this is a translated extract of “War Diaries and Unit Reporting” - 145th Night Fighter Squadron, Ochey Air Base, France, according to Barry Greenwood, in Just Cause N°32 et 33, CUFON - Computer UFO Network - Seattle, Washington, USA.
|
Above: A Bristol Beaufighter of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron.
|
The American troops liberated Haguenau on March 16, 1945.
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 reports apparently ceased when the Germans lost Alsace.
The 415th Night Fighter Squadron of the U.S. Army Air Forces was equipped with Beaufighters, they received their first P-61 “Black Widow” only on March 20, 1945.
|
Above: Jacket badge of the US 415th Night Fighters Squadron, showing the British Bristol Beaufighter plane they used at that time.
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 reports apparently ceased when the Germans lost Alsace.
In this case, it is not obvious that the three balls were anything really strange. The report does not say this, and the possibility of flares cannot be completely ruled out.
Insufficient information, moderate 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 | February 25, 2018 | Creation, [usa1], [prt1], [cvn2]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | February 25, 2018 | First published in ALSACAT. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | January 26, 2024 | Addition [jce1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | January 26, 2024 | First published. |
