Documents / Official release
This file from SHAEF Air Staff, dated between January and March 1945 and closing with an 18 March 1945 letter, collects wartime correspondence about "night phenomena" that 415th Night Fighter Squadron crews called foofighters. It includes the squadron's sortie extracts from December 1944 and January 1945 describing lights that followed aircraft near Strasbourg and elsewhere, plus a report of an aluminum-colored cylinder that pilots attacked. The Air Ministry suggested Me 262s and flak rockets as explanations but admitted the matter remained a mystery.
From the source:Release of 2026-05-08 Incident: 3/18/45, Germany. NARA Record Group 331, catalogue id 120752. This file contains SHAEF messages and memorandums related to "night phenomena (foofighters)," flak rockets, unidentified cylindrical objects, and blinking lights. The documents include multiple references to the observations of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron.
“Headquarters”7 pages
Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.
MESSAGE FORM Operator's Number AI. Date 4 MARCH (Write horizontally) 5 PHOTOS TO ALSO FULL AIR MINISTRY COMMA USSTAF AND A.C.I.U. 10 (.) ANY REPORTED (.) WRITTEN REPORT BY PILOTS CONCERNED 15 FURTHER INSTANCES ALSO TO BE 20 25 30 35 4243 40 45 50 May be sent AS WRITTEN *(1) By ANY Signal Method *(2) NOT by Wireless *(3) But if liable to Interception or Capture SEND IN CYPHER Signature Rank Send in CYPHER *(1) By ANY Signal Method *(2) NOT by Wireless Signature Rank Date-Time Group 041745A 2363 Originator's Instructions Degree of Priority SECRET IMMEDIATE (*.Strike out methods which do not apply. Below this line is for Signals use only.) System in Time in Reader Sender System out Time out Reader Sender System out Time out Reader Sender T.O.R.
Official release, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 17 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.