DOW-UAP-D159: Air Intelligence Information Report - Red "Rockets" and a Stationary Red Light in the Berlin Air Corridor, August 1953

Source file: DOW-UAP-D159-Air_Intelligence_Information_Report_Germany-1953.pdf Originating agency: United States Air Force (USAF), 7350th Base Complement Squadron, Tempelhof, Berlin Document type: Air Intelligence Information Report, AF Form 112, Parts I and II; Report No. 260-53 Date: 11 August 1953 (date of report and date of information); the entries cover 10 to 11 August 1953, and in retrospect 7 August Classification: CONFIDENTIAL and SECURITY INFORMATION (markings lined through); stamped DECLASSIFIED, Authority NND 57597; publicly released in 2026 Page count: 2 VIRIN: 260508-D-D0360-1151 PURSUE Release: 7

Summary

In the summer of 1953 West Berlin was an enclave deep inside the Soviet occupation zone, and Tempelhof Airport was linked to the West only by three narrow air corridors. This report is not an account of one sighting but a page from a log: four short entries, copied almost word for word from the Tempelhof air traffic control logs, that record over about seven hours reports by civilian airline pilots of red lights above the Center Corridor.

Unlike most UFO reports of the period, the sources here are commercial airline pilots, British and American, and the subject is not an "object" with a shape but lights that looked like firing. The most striking detail came through the British Berlin Air Safety Center: the Soviet side, too, had checked the light and found no explanation for it.

The report was prepared and signed by Air Intelligence Officer Captain Fred L. Allen. The Evaluation field reads "NONE," and the source is given as "AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER."

Research Article

1936Z: "rockets" ahead of the aircraft

The first entry, for 10 August 1953, concerns a British European Airways DC-3 with the call sign GALXK, inbound to Tempelhof via the Center Corridor. The pilot "reported observing what appeared to be red colored rockets, being fired approximately one (1) mile in front of him." The entry gives no precise position in the corridor, no number of "rockets," no direction of fire and no altitude.

2245Z: a stationary red light west of Genthin

At 2245Z "Bad Eisen" Air Traffic Control passed a further report to Tempelhof: the pilot of another BEA DC-3, GAGIP, "reported sighting a stationary red colored light twenty (20) nautical miles West of Genthin (5224N/1209E)." The figure "5224N/1209E" is the position of the town of Genthin itself, not of the light. On altitude the entry says: "Light appeared to be at approximately 5,000 feet but not above 5,500 feet." 2245Z is the time the report was relayed to Tempelhof; the time of the sighting itself is not given.

2315Z: the Soviets "could not account for it"

Thirty minutes later came the most important entry in the report: "British Berlin Air Safety Center reported that the Soviets checked on this reported red light and could not account for it." The Berlin Air Safety Center was a four-power body in which Allied and Soviet representatives sat together to coordinate flights in the corridors. The report does not say what the Soviet check involved, nor whether the Soviets were asked about the 1936Z "rockets."

0235Z: a quiet passage, and a memory of Friday night

On 11 August at 0235Z a Pan American pilot, in an aircraft the report calls "Pan American Clipper C-193A," en route to Hanover via the Center Corridor, reported to Tempelhof as he passed over the same area, about 20 nautical miles west of Genthin. He "observed no light or activity of any description." But he added a detail that widened the picture: "on Friday night (7 August 1953) in this same area, he observed ground to air firing." As his aircraft approached, he said, the firing stopped, and he "was unable to determine what type projectile was being fired." On the second page Captain Allen adds that his office had been unable to contact the pilot for further information.

Structure and distribution

The form is AF Form 112 in its 1 June 1948 edition. At its head is a "Hq Tempelhof AB" stamp with a log number and the handwritten number AF603026. Area reported on: "SOVIET ZONE GERMANY." Distribution: AC/S, A-2, Headquarters USAFE (original); A-2, Headquarters Twelfth Air Force; OSI District Office No. 3; and file. In the library subject and area codes field on page 2, "Nodex" is handwritten in red. The CONFIDENTIAL classification is lined through at the top and bottom of each page.

Significance

This is an unusual document within PURSUE: instead of a sighting of a shape in the sky, it holds a sequence of pilot reports of red lights, some explicitly resembling gunfire, over one of the most sensitive airspaces of the Cold War, only two months after the East German uprising of June 1953. It records four separate sources, including a pilot who described ground-to-air firing at exactly the same spot three days earlier. Some of the lights may well have been military activity on the ground, but the report does not say so; it leaves the question open with an evaluation of "NONE." What gives it weight is a negative: according to the British, the Soviets, who controlled the ground beneath the corridor, could not account for the stationary red light. The weaknesses are plain: there is no duration, no description of shape, and the time of the second sighting is unknown.

Key People

Locations

Incidents

Notable Quotes

"The following information was extracted from Air Traffic Control Logs, TEMPELHOF, 11 August 1953." -- page 1

"...reported observing what appeared to be red colored rockets, being fired approximately one (1) mile in front of him." -- page 1

"Light appeared to be at approximately 5,000 feet but not above 5,500 feet." -- page 1

"British Berlin Air Safety Center reported that the Soviets checked on this reported red light and could not account for it." -- page 1

"Pilot stated he was unable to determine what type projectile was being fired." -- page 1

"As of this report, this office has been unable to contact Pan American Airlines Pilot ... to gain any further information." -- page 2