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Nagoya, Japan, on June 9, 1945:

Case number:

ACUFO-1945-06-09-NAGOYA-1

Summary:

In the U.S. Army Air Forces XXIst Bomber Command Tactical Mission Report for Mission No. 193 flown on June 9, 1945, we learn that the units were the 58th and the 131th Bombardment Wings, the planes were B-29. Initial point was over Iwo Jima, the target was Nagoya.

The target was reached first at 08:30 a.m. and last at 09:23 a.m. local time, by day.

In the “Enemy Anti-Aircraft” intelligence section of this mission report, in a special “Miscellaneous” anti-aircraft section, the report indicated that near the head of Nagoya Bay and also near Toyohashi Airfield, strange “reflector-like objects” arranged in groups of two and three, were reported. There were 6 to 8 in each area and they had a circular appearance; their size was not determined.

As an analysis of this event, the Part IV of the report's Annex told that the “reflectors” issue had been the topic of a “Special Report on Test Searchlight Mission”, prepared by the XXIst Bomber Command Central Interpretation unit on June 20, 1945 and a the topic of a report by the Intelligence Officer, 3rd photo reconnaissance Squadron on 14 June 1945.

It was told that these studies “are on outgrowth of aircrew reports, beginning late in 1944, of “reflectors” on the island of Honshu, first reported as circular and stationary, later as following the flight line of the aircraft, while other reports were of rectangular “reflectors” with a width-length ratio of one to four.

The Air Forces told that they tried in vain to correlate these observations with enemy antiaircraft, radar and radio activity and/or interference.

The study was continued, however, in view that it could be “a new type of Japanese equipment still in the embryonic state, although it was generally believed that these 'reflectors' were a natural phenomena.”

The report of the 3rd Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, “whose crews made the original and most frequent observations”, was of a test flight they conducted at the request of Lt. Col. Nadeau, Staff Photo Officer of XXI Bomber Command in order to determine whether the “reflectors” which “had been reported by reconnaissance and bomber crews” could be Japanese searchlights trained on and following the aircraft. The aircraft used was a F-13A, number 42-93856, with all cameras installed. The airplane commander and crew had observed the “reflectors in Japan many times and have on all occasions proved to be complete and accurate in their observations.”

The airplane commander stated that the impression he had gotten from the test was that the reflectors seen over Japan were “very similar in appearance and behavior to those produced by our tracking searchlights. The exceptions were two: the Japanese reflections are, on the average, much larger than our lights and seemed to have a copperish tinge, as contrasted to the bluish-white beam of our searchlights. It is, in his opinion, highly possible that the reported reflections over Japan were caused by searchlights. He further stated that the searchlights were able to track him quite accurately until the aircraft reached 25,000 feet at that altitude several seconds were consumed in hunting for the aircraft. However, once the beam caught the aircraft it stayed.”

A staff Sergeant Joseph Czermink, tail gunner, corroborated this and mentioned that the peculiar coppery color of the Japanese reflections had particularly impressed him.

Left blister gunner, Technical Sergeant George Vandal, commented that when the beam of the searchlight was not on the aircraft but the spot of light on the ground could be seen as if the beam were being aimed to the front or rear of the aircraft, the resemblance appeared quite strong. However, when the aircraft was directly in the beam, the two reflections, Japanese and searchlight, were dissimilar. Others joined similar comments.

One instance was cited where “reflectors” were photographed, but were determined to be “reflections” probably caused “by rays of the sun striking the roofs of several building near Hamamatsu;” buildings that may have been glass-roofed greenhouses.

Data:

Temporal data:

Geographical data:

Witnesses data:

Ufology data:

Classifications:

Sources:

[Ref. aaf1:] US ARMY AIR FORCES:

In the XXIst Bomber Command Tactical Mission Report for Mission 193 flown on June 9, 1945, we learn that the units were the 58th and the 131th Bombardment Wings, the planes were B-29. Initial point was over Iwo Jima, the target was Nagoya.

The target was reached first at 082330Z (08:30 a.m. local time) and last at 090023Z (09:23 a.m. local time), by day.

In the “Enemy Anti-Aircraft” intelligence section of Mission 193, in a special “Miscellaneous A/A”, the report indicated:

The Part IV of the report's Annex was:

Aircraft information:

The Boeing B-29 “Superfortress” was the heaviest bomber of the U.S. Army Air Forces, used in operations from May 8, 1944 and on. Its maximum speed was 574 km/h.

Its defensive armament was 12 Browning M2 12.7 mm machine guns.

Discussion:

I was quite stunned when reading the observation report: although really brief, it seems to me that if it had taken place after 1947, the year of the beginning of the media era of “flying saucers”, one would have referred to these objects as “flying discs”. One would have spoken there of “daylight discs”, to use the famous Hynek classification.

But obviously, during World War II, there was no talk of flying saucers, UFOs, flying discs, and the like.

Equally remarkable, the mission report exceptionally includes an annex, which sets out no less than a search for ordinary explanation similar to the searches for ordinary explanations carried out years later in the era of the “Unidenified Flying Objects.”

And to my knowledge, neither this case nor this research has ever been cited in the UFO literature.

It is difficult to say what the “reflectors” described in the mission report were. This happened in daylight, and this time, it was not about “balls of fire”. The “Reflectors” can only refer to objects that reflect light, such as metallic ones.

The report lacks details, and one could argue that these were barrage balloons or enemy planes reflecting the sun. However, the arrangement “in groups of two or three”, with “6 to 8” of these groups “in each zone”, hardly corresponds to this. And above all, this is not at all the direction where Air Intelligence is leading us with their report on “reflectors”.

The observation report gives us neither altitude, nor duration, nor indications of immobility or movement of the “reflectors”. Why are there so few details? To me, the military logic of the report is that it was not useful, since an report evaluating the “reflectors” existed. The evaluation report was appended, considering that this was sufficient to deal with this.

This evaluation report, for its part, makes me think of some of the Air Force's later work in the UFO era, such as “Project Grudge”: “ordinary” explanations are found, sometimes accurate, sometimes completely off topic because errors and undue generalizations are made.

First of all, we learn in the appendix that the “phenomenon” of “reflectors” was already known, that other crews had reported them, and that this “set” constitutes a subject in itself, justifying a specific assessment. While some ufologists writing about the period consider that the air forces did not deal with the anomalous “phenomena”, other than in suggesting that it was all due to “combat fatigue”, there was a evaluation, which does not simply get rid of the problem. (This was not the only one, another assessment was made, about the “ball of fire” phenomenon to check whether they were Japanese “Baka” rocket planes, concluding that “the mystery is not resolved”).

The problem of that evaluation is that very different reports have been mixed under the term “reflections”: nocturnal lights, daytime phenomena; cases of “follower” phenomena and cases of phenomena performing no action.

Thus, the test consisting of illuminating the reconnaissance plane by covering its entire length with a searchlight on the ground had little chance of resolving the present case, which was diurnal and in which there was no question at all of an illumination of B-29s, but of circular reflective objects seen in broad daylight.

The explanation by the reflections of the sun on greenhouses in Japan can certainly apply to cases of “reflectors” on the ground, but were those in the present case on the ground? This crucial question, however, is not addressed. It is obvious, since the study concerns cases dating from the end of 1944, which precede the observation that concerns me here, that this study does not really address this case.

The suggestion in the introduction to the report is eloquent: “it could be a new type of Japanese equipment still in an embryonic state”, refers to the fact that the “reflectors”, if it used enemy weapons, had so far had no success, militarily. Also, we are told, “it was generally believed that these 'reflectors' were a natural phenomena.” [sic] Here we have a constant that we find in subsequent studies on “flying saucers” or other UFOs: one thinks of new and still unknown enemy weapons, and if it is not that, then it must be an equally new and unknown “natural phenomenon”. I am writing this in 2024, and despite everything that has been accumulated on the subject in 8 decades, the news of “official” research in the USA, or at least their presentation to the public, is still there: UFOs could be new enemy weapons, or still unknown natural phenomena...

My interpretation of this case is as follows:

In 1944 - 1945, in the European and Pacific theaters of operations, American and British aviators encountered very particular phenomena in their night flights, referred to as “foo-fighters” in Europe, and “balls of fire” in the Pacific, but also diurnal phenomena.

Most can only remain unidentified because the data noted then was too meager; sometimes a natural explanation could be given (meteor, particular enemy planes, etc.).

But an overall picture, corroborated by a number of contemporary testimonies or testimonies given later, suggests that what was called “flying disks” then UFO then UAP after 1947 did not start in 1947.

Among the phenomena concerned, there was, in the Pacific theater in 1944 - 1945, a phenomenon of “reflectors”, here described as groups of 2 or 3 circular reflecting objects, which constitute a subject that is still largely unexplored.

Evaluation:

Possible extraterrestrial craft, insufficient information.

Sources references:

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

• [aaf1] * Tactical Mission Report for Mission No. 193, flown on June 9, 1945, XXIst Bomber Command, U.S. Army Air Forces.

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This page was last updated on January 15, 2024.