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Official reports, hearing transcripts, case files and releases: the paper behind the cases. 2,872 documents, 2,610 mirrored with their text, 53,529 pages indexed, so a search reads inside them and lands on the page.
New in the library The PURSUE files The Department of War's UAP release, mirrored in full: the videos, recordings and images, each beside its case file.Documents9 records
This is a secret War Department outgoing classified message, number WAR 86184, dated 2 January 1945. It was sent from Bissell of the Military Intelligence Division and signed by Ulio, addressed to G-2 at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces in Versailles, France. It notes press reports of red balls of fire flying alongside planes in flight, which air personnel called "Foo Fighters," and asks for an explanation if one is available.
This memo, dated 16 January 1945, went from Headquarters XII Tactical Air Command, A-2 section, to the First Tactical Air Force (Prov). It quotes the 415th Night Fighter Squadron's December 1944 report that crews were followed by blinking, color-changing lights that came close, flew formation with their planes and unsettled them, and it asks for more information. In an endorsement dated 20 January 1945, First Tactical Air Force says no similar instances were reported and asks for details on color, size, altitude, timing and behavior.
This secret 415th Night Fighter Squadron intelligence report, dated 30 January 1945, was sent to XII Tactical Air Command in reply to that command's 23 January 1945 endorsement. It quotes pilots' sortie reports from December 1944 to January 1945 describing red, orange, amber and white lights near Strasbourg, Hagenau, Worms, Luneville and Weissembourg that followed aircraft and then disappeared. Squadron crews called these lights "Foofighters." Each time a pilot asked GCI Control about aircraft in the area, the answer was negative.
This SECRET indorsement chain, dated 4 and 5 February 1945, comes from Headquarters XII Tactical Air Command and the First Tactical Air Force (Provisional). It forwards earlier indorsements about unexplained phenomena to the Chief Intelligence Officer, Air Staff SHAEF. The First Tactical Air Force says it has no further information or explanation for the phenomena and believes further investigation is warranted. Because it lacks the technical personnel for that, it passes the matter to SHAEF for whatever investigation is advisable.
This is a memo from the Air Staff of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, dated 11 February 1945 and addressed to the First Tactical Air Force (Prov.). It answers a 3rd Indorsement about night phenomena reported by pilots of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron. The memo says the Headquarters has no information explaining the lights and other phenomena. It refers the matter to the Air Ministry and hopes to arrange a visit to the unit by a USSTAF Air Technical Intelligence Officer.
This secret memo from the Air Staff of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force is dated 11 February 1945 and signed by Air Commodore C.M. Grierson. It went to Headquarters USSTAF for the attention of Col. Bradley and covers "Night Phenomena." It forwards reports from the First Tactical Air Force, among them many from the 415th Night Fighter Squadron. The memo concludes that more than imagination seems to lie behind the reports, since crews are becoming worried. It notes that the Air Ministry and Mr. Robertson have been consulted and suggests that an intelligence officer interview the aircrews.
This is an Air Ministry (D.D.I.2) reply dated 13 March 1945, reference 111/45/DDI2, signed by Group Captain E. D. W. Hopkins and addressed to the SHAEF air staff about reports of "balls of fire." It says Bomber Command crews had been reporting similar phenomena for some time. It suggests some of the objects may have been Me. 262 jets and that flak rockets are the most likely explanation for the rest. It concludes that the affair remains a mystery and no definite explanation can yet be given.
This SHAEF Air Staff (Forward) letter of 18 March 1945, signed by Air Commander C.M. Grierson for the Deputy Supreme Commander, went to the First Tactical Air Force (Prov.). It responds to night phenomena ('foofighter') reports that the XIIth Tactical Air Command had sent forward. It relays the Air Ministry's reply that Bomber Command crews had been reporting similar phenomena. The Air Ministry suggested that a few were Me.262s and the rest most likely flak rockets, and the letter offers no further information.
This Project 10073 record and ATIC summary sheet, drawn from Seventh Bomber Command mission reports, covers a 2 May 1945 incident over Fala Island, Truk Atoll. The crew of a B-24 at 11,000 feet saw two airborne objects that turned from cherry red to orange to white. The objects followed the bomber through evasive action, and one stayed with it for hours toward Guam. Other B-24s reported green flames and red tracer-like trails. The final ATIC evaluation was possibly an enemy aircraft.