ACUFO-1945-03-20-SPEYER-1
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 the 415th Night Fighter Squadron, and had found some, mainly “Mission Reports”. Barry Greenwood reported:
“March 19/20, 1945 - Mission 9 - 0045-0355 - At Speyer saw 2 “Foo” Fighters - 1 orange ball and 1 green one - seemed to be closing in from portside. Evaded them and lost them.”
| Date: | March 20, 1945 |
|---|---|
| Time: | Night. |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | March 20, 1945 |
| Reporting delay: | Hours. |
| Country: | Germany |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| City or place: | Speyer |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 1 or 2 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 or 2 |
| Number of named witnesses: | ? |
| Reporting channel: | Military operations report. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | Night. |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | ? |
| UFO action: | Approached. |
| Witnesses action: | Escaped. |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | ? |
| Witnesses interpretation: | Foo-fighters. |
| Sensors: |
[X] Visual: 1 or 2.
[ ] Airborne radar: [ ] 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: | 3 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 2 |
| ACUFO: | Unidentified, possible extraterrestrial craft. |
[Ref. aaf1:] 415TH NIGHT FIGHTER SQUADRON - U.S. ARMY AIR FORCES:
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MISSION REPORT
UNIT REPORTING: 415TH NIGHT FIGHTER SQUADRON.
MISSIONS: 15 MISSIONS 15 SORTIES 19/20 MARCH
REPORT:
1. 1830-2045 - 2 A/C LOCAL PATROL - NTR [Nothing To Report]
2. 1845-2135 - INTRUDER. GERMERSHEIM TO LUDWIGSHAVEN AND MANNHEIM. DESTROYED: 2 M/T [Military Trucks] AT KANDEL, M/T AT MANNHEIM, 3 BUILDINGS AT GERMERSHEIM, KANDEL SAW 2 M/T DESTROYED BOTH, SIGHTED LIGHTS IN WOODS - STRAFED, MRO, SAW 2 MORE M/T - FIRED MRO, FLEW TO GERMERSHEIM, IN WOODS SAW LIGHTS, FIRED, MRO. JUST NORTH OF SCHIFFERSTADT 1 M/T GOING NORTH, STRAFED, MRO, JUST EAST OF MANHEIM STRAFED 1 M/T WICH EXPLODED. AT HEIDELBERG FIRED ON M/T, MRO, LANDED AT OCHEY AS R/T WAS OUT. M/T DRIVING WITH HEADLIGHTS GOING IN EVERY DIRECTION.
3. 1855-2155 - 1 A/C INTRUDER, KARLSRUHE AREA, DESTROYED: 3 M/T AT KARLSRUHE, 1 M/T/ DAMAGED GOING NORTH, SAW SCATTERRED M/T IN AREA.
4. 2100-2400 - 1 A/C INTRUDER, SPEYER AREA. DESTROYED 2 M/T ON EAST BANK OF RIVER AT SPEYER, 2 BUILDINGS DAMAGED, 1 AT DARMENHEIM, 1 AT OAXLAND, 2 BUILDIBGS DAMAGED, 1 AT EGGENSTEIN, 1 SOUTH OF SPEYER, DAMAGED 2 M/T AT BADEN BADEN, SUBMERGED BRIDGE ABOUT 3 MILES SOUTH OF SPEYER BEING USED, POONTOON BRIDGE AT SPEYER INTACT, GIRDER BRIDGE AT EGGENSTEIN IN USE.
5. 2105-0010 - 1 A/C/ INTRUDER, SPEYER - LANDAU - WISSEMBOURG AREA. DESTROYED 1 M/T AT LANDAU. DAMAGED 1 BUILDING AT LANDAU. DESTROYED 1 M/T/ AT KAMDEL. DESTROYED 1 M/T AT STEINWIELER, CONSIDERABLE M/T/ MOVEMENT GOING EAST AND EST IN LANDAU AREA. FLAK - ML AT SCHAIDT, MH AT SPEYER, ML AT KANDEL. WISSEMBOURG BURNING.
6. 2300 - 0140 - 1 A/C INTRUDER, SPEYER - LANDAU - WISSEMBOURG. DESTROYED 2 BUILDINGS AND DAMAGED 2 AT EDEN KABEN. DAMAGED 1 M/T/ AT KANDEL.
The "Foo Fighters" report appears in Mission 9 below:
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MISSION REPORT
REPORT:
6. (CONT'D) DESTROYED 1 FACTORY. DESTROYED 1 BUILDING AND DAMAGED TWO AT EDEN KOBEN. SAW A/B TGT OVER SPEYER - CGALLENED ON R/T - NO ANSWER SO HIT DESCK AND TURNED TO OUTSKIRTS OF SPEYER. STRAFED FACTORY AND STARTED FIRE - 1 FACTORY DESTROYED.
7. 2305-0120 - 1 A/C INTRUDER, RASTATT - BADEN BADEN AREA. DEST 1 M/T AT RASTATT (CONVOY OF 10 M/T/ GOING NORTH). DAMAGED 2 M/T AT RASTATT (CONVOY OF 10 M/T PARKED). DAM. 2 M/T BETWEEN BADEN BADEN AND RASTATT. DM. 1 M/T AT PFORZHEIM (4 M/T GOING EAST). DAM 1 M/T AT GUGLINGEN. DEST. SUPPLY DUMP BETWEEN BADEN BADEN AND RASTATT. SAW A/D AT GUGLINGEN LIGHTED UP - NO A/C SEEN. MUCH M/T TRAFFIC GOING EAST AT KARLRUHE, RASTATT, PFORDHEIM AREA.
8. 0045-0355 - 1 A/C INTRUDER, RASTATT - KARLSRUHE AREA. DAM 6 BLDGS AT EGGENSTEIN. DAM. 1 M/T AT STOLLHOFEN. AT SPEYER SAW 2 "FOO" FIGHTERS - 1 ORANGE BALL AND 1 GREEN ONE - SEEMED TO BE CLOSING IN FROM PORTSIDE, EVADED THEM AND LOST THEM.
10. 0230-0505 - 1 A/C INTRUDER. BADEN BADEN - KARLSRUHE AREA. DAM. 1 M/T GOING NORTH AT BADEN-BADEN. DAM. 1 M/T GOING NE AT KARLSRUHE.
12.0325-0555 -1 A/C/ INTRUDER, SPEYER AND KARLSRUHE AREA. DAM. 1 M/T 5 MILES SOUTH OF SPEYER GOING EAST. LIGHT M/T MOVEMENT.
13. 0355-0420 - 1 A/C INTRUDER. ROUGH ENGINE SO RETURNED TO BASE - NOTHING TO REPORT.
14. 0405-0530 - 1 A/C/ INTRUDER (TRAVEL 37). MANNHEIM AREA. IN VICINITY OF MANNHEIM ONE ENGINE SHOT OUT BY FLAK - LAST HEARD OF BY BABY. TRAVEL 53 UP AT TIME HEARD HIM ALSO. TRAVEL 57 AT 1,500 FEET TO MAKE IT OVER LINES TO BAIL.
[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 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 19/20, 1945 - Mission 9 - 0045-0355 - At Speyer saw 2 “Foo” Fighters - 1 orange ball and 1 green one - seemed to be closing in from portside. Evaded them and lost them.
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. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH:
530: 1945/03/20 00:50 1 8:25:00 E 49:20:00 N 3333 WEU GER RHP 6:8
nr SPEYER,GERMANY:SVRL USAAF PILOTS:2 SPHERES:1 ORG+1 GRN:/BERLINER+HUNEEUS rp
Ref#150 WEINSTEIN,D; UFO/AIRCRAFT ENCOUNTERS Page No. 2:IN-FLIGHT
[Ref. dwn1:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:
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Between 0045 and 0355, the crew of a night fighter of the USAAF 415th NFS saw two “foofighters” one orange ball and one green one. They seemed to be closing in from port side. The pilot evaded them and lost them.
Source: USAAF 415th Night Fighter Squadron Mission report 19/20 March 1945.
[Ref. gvo1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
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1945, March 20
Germany, Speyer
At 12:45 a.m. several combat aircraft pilots (415th NFS) observed two balls: one orange, the other green. (PROJECT ACUFOE, Catalog 1999, Dominique Weinstein)
[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:
|
Between 0045 and 0355, the crew of a night fighter of the USAAF 415th NFS saw two “foofighters, one orange ball and one green one.” They seemed to be “closing in from port side.” The pilot evaded them and lost them.
Sources: USAAF 415th Night Fighter Squadron Mission report 19/20 March 1945 / Project 1947, Jan, Aldrich / Company, Keith Chester, 2007
[Ref. sua1:] WEBSITE "SATURDAY NIGHT UFORIA":
Meanwhile, from their base in France, a report from an air crew of the 415th flying over Speyer, Germany, on the night of March 19/20 stated...
Saw 2 “Foo” Fighters - 1 orange ball and 1 green one.
The same report noted that they “seemed to be closing in from portside.”
(Ref. nip1:) "THE NICAP WEBSITE":
March 19/20, 1945; Speyer, Germany
Saw 2 Foo fighters; one orange and one green ball. (Page 148 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: Mar. 19/20, 1945
Location: Speyer, Germany
Time:
Summary: Saw 2 Foo fighters; one orange and one green ball.
Source:
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.
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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 on March 20, 1945. So the plane may have been a P-61.
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The case illustrates the remarks by Barry Greenwood: it id brief and frustrating. What gives it strangeness is only that the reporting airman or airmen called the 2 balls of light “Foo-fighters”.
Unidentified, possible extraterrestrial craft.
* = 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 | April 25, 2024 | Creation, [jce1], [gvo1], [lhh1], [dwn1], [dwn2], [sua1], [nip1], [tai1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | April 25, 2024 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | June 15, 2024 | Addition [aaf1]. |
