ACUFO:

ACUFO is my comprehensive catalog of cases of encounters between aircraft and UFOs, whether they are “explained” or “unexplained”.

The ACUFO catalog is made of case files with a case number, summary, quantitative information (date, location, number of witnesses...), classifications, all sources mentioning the case with their references, a discussion of the case in order to evaluate its causes, and a history of the changes made to the file.

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Arizona, on 1943:

Case number:

ACUFO-1943-00-00-ARIZONA-1

Summary:

In 1982-1984, Dr. Louis Winkler, an astronomer at the Pennsylvania State University, USA, compiled a catalogue and analysis of UFO sighting reports that occurred before 1947, for the Fund for UFO Research (FUFOR).

In there, he noted that in 1943, in Arizona, USA, "an airplane was attacked by two luminous objects that cast a strong beam of light on it. When the airplane exploded the crew bailed out and the beams ignited the parachutes, sending them to their deaths."

Dr. Winkler made no comment on this and noted that the source for this was "OUFO", volume 1, No 3, a publication not available to me so far.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	1943
Time:	?
Duration:	?
First known report date:	1984
Reporting delay:	4 decades.

Geographical data:

Country:	USA
State/Department:	Arizona
City or place:

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses:	Several.
Number of known witnesses:	?
Number of named witnesses:	0

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	OUFO magazine.
Visibility conditions:	?
UFO observed:	Yes.
UFO arrival observed:	?
UFO departure observed:	?
UFO action:	Destroyed airplane and killed crew with strong beam of light.
Witnesses action:	Bailed out, died.
Photographs:	No.
Sketch(s) by witness(es):	No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es):	No.
Witness(es) feelings:	Frightened.
Witnesses interpretation:	?

Classifications:

Sensors:	[X] Visual: ? [ ] Airborne radar: [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [X] Damages: aircraft destroyed, crew killed.
Hynek:	?
Armed / unarmed:	?
Reliability 1-3:	1
Strangeness 1-3:	3
ACUFO:	No credibility.

Sources:

[Ref. lwr1:] DR. LOUIS WINKLER:

1943/Arizona/OUFO (v. 1, n. 3)

An airplane was attacked by two luminous objects that cast a strong beam of light on it. When the airplane exploded the crew bailed out and the beams ignited the parachutes, sending them to their deaths.

Aircraft information:

Nothing is said about the aircraft, except that it had a crew.

Discussion:

I was unable to find anything on the publication "OUFO" which would be the source for this story, neither its nature, nor publication dates.

It goes without saying that this story has, as it stands, absolutely no credibility.

The disappearances or losses of planes and death of crews do not go unnoticed like this, at least a date, details on the plane, on the crew, should appear somewhere in the Press. I didn't find anything at all.

Evaluation:

No credibility.

Sources references:

* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.

[ouo1] ? OUFO, Volume 1, No 3..
[lwr1] * "Catalog/database, and analysis, of pre-1947 'UFO-like phenomena'", report by Dr. Louis Winkler, astronomer, Pennsylvania State University, for the Fund for UFO Research (FUFOR), USA, 1982-1984.

File history:

Authoring:

Main author:	Patrick Gross
Contributors:	None
Reviewers:	None
Editor:	Patrick Gross

Changes history:

Version:	Create/changed by:	Date:	Description:
0.1	Patrick Gross	September 30, 2023	Creation, [lwr1].
1.0	Patrick Gross	September 30, 2023	First published.

This page was last updated on September 30, 2023.