"Foo Fighters" and Unexplained Objects: A Secret Allied Intelligence Record, 1944–1945

Source file: 331_120752_german_armament_equipment_1944-1945.pdf Originating agency: Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) — Air Staff, Record Group 331 Date range: January 1945 – March 1945 (incidents: December 1944 – January 1945) Page count: 17 (all read) High-significance pages: 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17 Original classification: SECRET — declassified under authority NND 947020

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Official Blurb (from war.gov)

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.

Summary

This document is one of the most important UAP records held in U.S. government archives. It is a chain of classified military-intelligence correspondence from January through March 1945, all of which concerns unexplained aerial phenomena observed by American and British aircrews over Germany and Alsace. The file includes first-hand reports from the 415th Night Fighter Squadron, correspondence between SHAEF and the British Air Ministry, and intelligence queries concerning unusual objects photographed from the air. The picture that emerges from these documents is unmistakable: senior Allied intelligence officers were deeply worried, had no explanation for the phenomena, and urgently approached every available scientific and intelligence resource for an answer.

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Research Article

Introduction — The World War II Context

In the winter of 1944–1945, during the final stages of the Second World War, the skies of Germany had reached the peak intensity of aerial combat. Allied forces had achieved complete air superiority, but the reports accumulating within XII TAC (Twelfth Tactical Air Command) — and from there climbing up the chain of command — were not about the Luftwaffe or familiar German aircraft. They were about something altogether different: blinking lights, red fireballs, cylindrical objects hanging in the wind, and phenomena that experienced pilots could neither identify nor explain.

The file before us (reference SHAEF/AIR/S.37153/A-2) centralizes all the internal correspondence generated by these reports, from the lower ranks to the highest levels of SHAEF headquarters. It was designated SECRET and remained classified for decades. The file's official title mentions "German Armament and Equipment" — yet its actual content goes far beyond any recognized German weapons.

The 415th Night Fighter Squadron and the Initial Encounters

The primary evidentiary base of the document comes from the 415th Night Fighter Squadron, which was operating on the Alsatian-German front during the winter of 1944. In January 1945 the squadron filed reports that caused concern in the command chain:

"The lights come very close and fly in formation with our planes. They are agitating and keep the crews on edge when they encounter them, mainly because they cannot explain them."

(Quoted from the 415th Squadron record, January 1945, signed by Lieutenant Colonel Leavitt Corning Jr.)

This report initiated a bureaucratic process that moved rapidly up the command hierarchy: from XII TAC to the First Tactical Air Force (1st TAF), then to SHAEF and to the British Air Ministry in London.

Eyewitness Descriptions — Reports from the Field

The page containing the most detailed individual reports (pages 16 and 17, marked as 2nd W/Ind., 415th Night Fighter Squadron, 30 January 1945) is the most detailed document of its kind to have been declassified from this period. It includes a series of reports organized by date:

Night of December 14–15, 1944: Near Erstein (V-9381), at 1,000 feet, a large red light was observed at 2,000 feet, moving east at 13:40 hours at approximately 200 mph.

Night of December 16–17, 1944: "20 miles north of Breisach (W-0173) at 800 feet altitude I observed 5 or 6 red and green blinking lights in the shape of a T. I thought it was flak. About ten minutes later I saw the same lights much closer and behind us. We turned right and left and the lights closed to the 8 O'clock position and 1000 ft and remained in this position for a few minutes, then disappeared."

Night of December 22–23, 1944: "On a patrol from Sarrebourg to Strasbourg at 06:00, I saw two lights rising from the ground toward the aircraft. Upon reaching the aircraft's altitude they leveled off and remained on my tail for about 2 minutes. The lights appeared to be a large amber glow. After remaining with the aircraft for about 2 minutes they peeled off and made a turn, flew straight ahead for a moment and then went out. They appeared to be under perfect control at all times. Lights were observed in the vicinity of Nagenau."

Night of December 23–24, 1944: "About 10 miles south of point X (Q6745), I observed to the northeast, about 5 miles distant, a light amber-colored object rising vertically. It suddenly changed its appearance to that of an aircraft doing a wing-over and diving and disappeared."

Night of December 26–27, 1944: "At 01:45 we saw two yellow streaks of flame flying on the same level, about 3,000 feet, on the port side. We also saw red balls of fire that stayed up for about 10 seconds, about 45 miles away... clusters of lights on the left... The lights formed definite lines, like arrows."

Night of December 26–27, 1944 (second report): "Near Worms a light came within 100 feet. We turned and took evasive action but the light continued to follow for 5 minutes. It then climbed rapidly and went out of sight."

Night of December 27–28, 1944: "Lights hanging in the air, moving slowly, and then disappearing. They were orange in color. Observed singly and in pairs. Seen four or five times during the period."

Night of January 1–2, 1945: "Saw foo fighters north of Strasbourg and north of Saverne."

Night of January 14–15, 1945: "A large amber glow was seen in the sky of approximately 5 ft diameter, in the vicinity of Ingweiler, at 6,000 feet, at 20:00."

Night of January 29–30, 1945: "At 00:10 a foo fighter was observed approximately midway between Weissembourg and Landau. The foo fighter was on the starboard side and to the rear at Angels 2. The lights were amber, one 20–50 ft above the other, and lasted about 30 seconds. The foo fighter was about 1000 ft to the rear and following. The lights were about one foot in diameter. The lights disappeared when Travel 34 turned toward them."

In every case where the pilot contacted GCI control and asked whether there was a hostile aircraft (Bogey A/C) in the area, the reply was negative.

At the bottom of the report page, Captain F.H. Ringwald, the squadron intelligence officer, added an important footnote: "'Foofighters' is the name given these phenomenon by combat crews of this Squadron."

Escalation Through the Command Chain

The reports generated a fascinating bureaucratic chain. On February 5, 1945, Colonel C.A. Young of 1st TAF wrote that "further analysis is necessary" and that the unit lacked "adequate technical personnel" to investigate. On February 11, 1945, Air Commodore C.M. Grierson of SHAEF Air Staff forwarded the documents to U.S. Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF) for the attention of the chief technical intelligence officer, Colonel Bradley, stating: "From the number of reports quoted in the 2nd W/Ind from the 415th Night Fighter Squadron, it would seem that there must be something more than mere imagination behind the matter, and since pilots and crews are beginning to worry about them, every possible effort should be made to get to the bottom of the affair."

On the same day, February 11, 1945, Grierson sent a separate document to the First Tactical Air Force noting that SHAEF had no information that could explain "the nature and origin of the lights and other phenomena described by the pilots." He noted that the matter had been referred to the Air Ministry and that "the Scientific Investigation Branch of this Headquarters (Mr. Robertson) has also been invited to consider the problem."

Cylindrical Objects and the Request for Photographs

A separate and particularly compelling document is the report of March 1, 1945, from IX TAC headquarters signed by General Quesada, addressed to SHAEF:

"Pilots report the following: An aluminum colored cylinder shaped object, about 12 ft long and 1 ft in diameter was observed floating in the air at 9,000 ft. It appeared to be suspended vertically with small fins and a mast projecting from the lower end. The object was attacked and partially deflated, a red flame resulted without smoke. The cylinder did not disintegrate."

SHAEF immediately requested the photographs, but on March 14, 1945, a disappointing reply arrived from Lieutenant Colonel T.G. Ames (A-2 RECCE): "The photographs of 'long cylindrical objects' taken by a pilot of 107 PR Squadron have proved unsuccessful."

The cylinder described — 12 feet long, one foot in diameter, suspended vertically, featuring fins, surviving a direct attack, emitting red flame without smoke — matches no known German weapon of the period.

"Balls of Fire — Red" and the British Air Ministry's Response

On March 13, 1945, Group Captain E.D.W. Hopkins of the Air Ministry (DDI.2) sent a top secret letter to Air Commodore Grierson at SHAEF, under the explicit heading "BALLS OF FIRE — RED." In it he wrote:

"The whole affair is still something of a mystery and the evidence is very sketchy and varied so that no definite and satisfactory explanation can yet be given."

The British response — which attempted to attribute the phenomena to Me.262 jets (the German jet aircraft) or flak rockets — was forwarded on March 18, 1945, by Grierson to the First Tactical Air Force, where it was explicitly noted that this was the "reply" to reports of "Night Phenomena (foofighter)."

The German Weapons Connection — Trippelwerke Molsheim Bomb Torpedoes

One section of the document, which appears at first to concern a completely different subject, deals with German bomb torpedoes from the Trippelwerke Molsheim factory. Two signal messages from late January through March 1945 concern urgent requests to release a large stock of bomb torpedoes from the Molsheim factory to the Hornchurch base. On March 5, 1945, a reply was sent stating that "all available bomb torpedoes from Trippelwerke Molsheim have already been dispatched to Hornchurch."

The inclusion of these documents in the file suggests two things: first, that the entire file was classified under SHAEF reference 37153, where all "unusual German weapons" topics that arose in 1944–1945 were consolidated; second, that there may have been a genuine suspicion that some of the observed phenomena were linked to German experimental weapons testing.

One further detail of interest: on February 17, 1945, Lieutenant Colonel S.D. Felkin of the Air Ministry (A.D.I.(K)) wrote that the description received in a GX report of February 14 "probably refers to the 'Flak Bombe' mentioned in A.D.I.(K) Report No. 562/1944, paragraphs 128 and 129." In other words, British intelligence was aware of an experimental German anti-aircraft weapon by the name of "flak bomb" that might have been connected to the phenomena.

Incidents and Anomalous Weaponry

Date	Location	Description
Dec. 14–15, 1944	Erstein	Large red light, 2,000 ft, 200 mph
Dec. 16–17, 1944	Breisach	5–6 red-green blinking lights, T shape, followed the aircraft
Dec. 22–23, 1944	Nagenau-Sarrebourg	2 amber lights, rose from the ground, flew independently
Dec. 23–24, 1944	Q6745	Glowing amber object rising vertically, suddenly changed appearance
Dec. 26–27, 1944	Worms	Light followed the aircraft for 5 minutes, climbed rapidly and vanished
Dec. 27–28, 1944	Luneville	3 pairs of lights, red and white, followed the aircraft
Jan. 1–2, 1945	Strasbourg-Saverne	"Foo fighters" — name given to the phenomena
Jan. 14–15, 1945	Ingweiler	Amber glow, 5 ft diameter, 6,000 ft
Jan. 29–30, 1945	Weissembourg-Landau	Foo fighter sustained for 30 seconds, 1,000 ft behind, vanished when turned toward
Mar. 1, 1945	F-5710	Aluminum cylinder 12 ft, suspended, attacked and did not disintegrate

Connection to UAP

This document is one of the earliest primary sources for the "foo fighter" phenomenon — a name coined by the pilots themselves for things they could not explain. Several characteristics make it central to modern UAP research.

First, the phenomena were reported with precision by trained military professionals — not frightened civilians. The 415th Night Fighter Squadron crews were experienced night fighters, accustomed to identifying enemy aircraft and conducting nocturnal operations.

Second, in every case where a pilot checked with ground control station (GCI Control), he was told there were no hostile aircraft (Bogey A/C) in the area — ruling out any Luftwaffe explanation.

Third, SHAEF itself, after investigating the matter, concluded that it possessed no information that could explain the phenomena. The British Air Ministry equally admitted that the subject remained "something of a mystery."

Fourth, the aluminum cylinder described on March 1, 1945 — at 9,000 feet, suspended vertically, with fins, surviving a direct hit and emitting red flame without smoke — matches no known Nazi Germany weapon of 1945.

Fifth, the effort to photograph the cylinders (107th PR Squadron) failed systematically — whether for technical or other reasons remains unclear.

Significance

This document establishes three important historical facts.

First, the phenomenon was institutionalized: SHAEF — the largest combined military headquarters in Anglo-American history — treated the foo fighter phenomena seriously, dedicated personnel to it, commissioned scientific opinions, and documented everything in a classified protocol.

Second, no explanation was found: Despite attempts to attribute the phenomena to Me.262 aircraft, German flak rockets, and experimental weapons, neither American nor British authorities managed to provide a complete and satisfactory explanation.

Third, the file has been reopened: The very release of this document in 2026 as part of a UAP declassification effort indicates that the U.S. government continues to recognize that the foo fighter files remain relevant to contemporary UAP research.

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Key People

Name	Role	Date
C.M. Grierson	Air Commodore, A.C. of S. A-2, SHAEF Air Staff	February–March 1945
E.D.W. Hopkins	Group Captain, Air Ministry DDI.2	March 13, 1945
S.D. Felkin	Lieutenant Colonel, A.D.I.(K), Air Ministry	February 17, 1945
Leavitt Corning Jr.	Lieutenant Colonel, A/C of S A-2, XII TAC	January 1945
C.A. Young	Colonel, A.C. of S A-2, 1st TAF	February 5, 1945
F.H. Ringwald	Captain, Intelligence Officer, 415th Night Fighter Squadron	January 30, 1945
Quesada	General, HQ IX TAC	March 1, 1945
T.G. Ames	Lieutenant Colonel, A-2 RECCE	March 14, 1945
Robertson (Mr.)	Scientific Investigation Branch, SHAEF	February 1945
Col. Bradley	Chief Technical Intelligence Officer, USSTAF	February 1945

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Locations

• Erstein — V-9381, Alsace, Germany
• Breisach — W-0173, Germany-France border
• Nagenau — Alsace
• Sarrebourg — Lorraine, France
• Strasbourg — Alsace
• Worms — Germany
• Luneville — Lorraine, France
• Ingweiler — Alsace
• Weissembourg-Landau — Germany
• Saverne — Alsace
• F-5710 — grid coordinate, March 1945
• Molsheim — Trippelwerke factory, Alsace
• Hornchurch — British air base

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Notable Quotes

From 415th Night Fighter Squadron reports (January 30, 1945): "The lights come very close and fly in formation with our planes. They are agitating and keep the crews on edge when they encounter them, mainly because they cannot explain them."

From SHAEF letter, February 11, 1945: "From the number of reports quoted in the 2nd W/Ind from the 415th Night Fighter Squadron, it would seem that there must be something more than mere imagination behind the matter."

From the "Balls of Fire — Red" letter, Air Ministry, March 13, 1945: "The whole affair is still something of a mystery and the evidence is very sketchy and varied so that no definite and satisfactory explanation can yet be given."

General Quesada's report, March 1, 1945: "An aluminum colored cylinder shaped object, about 12 ft long and 1 ft in diameter was observed floating in the air at 9,000 ft. It appeared to be suspended vertically with small fins and a mast projecting from the lower end. The object was attacked and partially deflated, a red flame resulted without smoke. The cylinder did not disintegrate."

Intelligence Officer Ringwald's note (January 30, 1945): "Foofighters is the name given these phenomenon by combat crews of this Squadron."

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This article was prepared on the basis of a complete reading of all 17 pages of the declassified document. All quotations are taken directly from the original document. The file is held at the National Archives, Record Group 331, SHAEF Air Staff Files, Reference 37153.