From: Terry W. Colvin <fortean1.nul>
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2005 19:55:25 -0700
Fwd Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2005 08:17:33 -0500
Subject: The Foo Fighters


UFO: The Complete Sightings
by Peter Brookesmith
Barnes & Noble, Inc.
120 Fifth Avenue
New York City, NY 10011


The Foo Fighters
pp. 35-36

TYPE: Close encounters of the first kind
PLACE: European, Asian and Pacific theaters of war
DATE: 1943-45

BACKGROUND

The 'foo fighters' were balls of light, varying in color and in
size from several feet to a few inches across, that pursued
warplanes in the later stages of World War II. Allied pilots
assumed they were enemy inventions, either reconnaissance drones
or psychological warfare weapons. Reports of foo fighters were
also made in the Korean War. A short selection of World War II
sightings follows.

THE EVENTS

 - In 1943, US bomber pilots flying missions from Burma to China
reported being buzzed and circled by 'glittering' objects.
Instruments failed to operate until the objects flew off.

 - On 14 October 1943, US B-17s of the 348th Bomb Group had
started a bombing run over Schweinfurt, Germany, when they ran
info a formation of 'scores' of small, silvery disks, about one
inch (2.5cm) thick and four inches (10cm) in diameter, flying
toward the bombers. Major E.R.T. Holmes reported that one struck
the tail of one aircraft, but without effect.

 - On 10 August 1944, Captain Alvah M. Reida was piloting a B-29
bomber based at Kharagapur, India, on a mission over Palembang,
Sumatra, when his right gunner and co-pilot noticed a sphere
'probably five or six feet (1.5-1.8m) in diameter, of a very
bright and intense red or orange in color' that constantly
throbbed, about 12,500ft (3750m) off the starboard wing. It
paced the B-29, then flying at 210 mph (340km/h) at 14,000ft
(4200m). Reida jinxed his plane to shake it off, but it stayed
in the same relative position until, after eight minutes, it
'made an abrupt 90=B0 turn and accelerated rapidly, disappearing
in the overcast.'

 - On 22 December 1944, Lt. David McFalls of the US 415th night-
fighter squadron was over Hagenau, Germany. At 6:00am, he saw
two 'huge bright orange lights' climbing toward the plane.
McFalls dived, banked and turned his plane, but the UFOs stuck
with him for two minutes, then peeled off and blinked out.

ASSESSMENT

Interrogation of captured enemy aircrew revealed that both
German and Japanese fliers had also been pursued by foo
fighters. Donald H. Menzel proposed that these fighters were
light reflections from tiny ice crystals formed by super-cold
air eddying around battle damage on the aircraft (hence their
reappearance in Korea). However this does not account for the
reported arrivals from elsewhere of foo fighters, or their
effect on aircraft electro-magnetic systems. Many modern
ufologists now believe that the foo fighters are a form of
plasma or ball lightning.