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Allied night-fighter crews' 'foo fighter' reports reach the press

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A US Army Air Forces Bristol Beaufighter night fighter at an airfield in Italy
A USAAF Beaufighter night fighter, the type flown by the crews whose foo fighter reports reached the press United States Army Air Forces, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

An AP story datelined January 1, 1945 reported that U.S. 415th Night Fighter Squadron crews had for weeks seen balls of light pacing their planes over Germany, which they called 'foo-fighters'. TIME followed on January 15; suggested causes ranged from flares to St. Elmo's fire, and none was settled.

Sources

  1. PressScience: Foo-FighterTIME / 1945-01-15
  2. PressMysterious UFOs Seen by WWII Airman Still UnexplainedHistory.com
  3. OtherBaltimore Sun, January 2, 1945 (AP, 'A U.S. Night Fighter Base, France, Jan. 1'), transcriptionPatrick Gross, ufologie.patrickgross.org / 1945-01-02

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