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.

< Previous case Next case >

Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA, on March 1, 1944:

Case number:

ACUFO-1944-03-01-CARLSBAD-1

Summary:

In a list of UFO sightings reported by U. S. Air Force Personnel, published in 1964 by the US ufology group National Investigation Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) in their book "The UFO Evidence", a case is noted for March 1, 1944, in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

The report came from a NICAP affiliate and told that a B-17 pilot saw a high-speed glowing green object that lit the cockpit and moved out of sight over the horizon.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	March 1944
Time:	?
Duration:	?
First known report date:	1964
Reporting delay:	2 decades.

Geographical data:

Country:	USA
State/Department:	New Mexico
City:	Carlsbad

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses:	1
Number of known witnesses:	?
Number of named witnesses:	0

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	Ufology group NICAP.
Visibility conditions:	?
UFO observed:	Yes.
UFO arrival observed:	?
UFO departure observed:	Yes.
UFO action:	Flew.
Witnesses action:
Photographs:	No.
Sketch(s) by witness(es):	No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es):	No.
Witness(es) feelings:	?
Witnesses interpretation:	?

Classifications:

Sensors:	[X] Visual: 1 [N/A] Airborne radar: [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages:
Hynek:	?
Armed / unarmed:	Armed, 5 7.62 mm machine guns.
Reliability 1-3:	2
Strangeness 1-3:	1
ACUFO:	Probable meteor.

Sources:

[Ref. rhl1:] RICHARD HALL - NICAP:

AIR FORCE UFO SIGHTINGS
UFO Sightings by U. S. Air Force Personnel

[... Other cases...]

3/1/1944 Carlsbad, N.M.
B-17 pilot (conf. Report certified by Bluegrass NICAP Affiliate)
High-speed glowing green object lit cockpit, moved out of sight over horizon.

[... Other cases...]

March 1944--Carlsbad, N.M. Air Force pilot saw fast-moving UFO speed out of sight over horizon.

[Ref. obr1:] OTTO BINDER:

- March 1944, Carlsbad, New Mexico. A high-speed, glowing green object lit up a pilot's cockpit, moving out of sight over the horizon.

[Ref. mbd1:] MICHEL BOUGARD:

The author indicates that in March 1944, in Arlsbad [sic], New Mexico, a B-1 T pilot observed a bright, green object moving horizontally at high speed.

[Ref. gvo1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

1944, March

USA, Arlsbad [sic] (New Mexico)

A B-17 pilot observed a bright, green object moving horizontally at high speed. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" Delarge 1977- p. 266)

[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH:

492: 1944/03/00 00:00 1 104:14:00 W 32:25:00 N 3311 NAM USA NMX 6:7
CARLSBAD,NM:B17 PILOT:FAST SPHERE W/HALO:BRUSK MNVRS:SHOOTS>HRZN:/LDLN#303+330
Ref#242 HALL,Richard:The UFO EVIDENCE /NICAP Page No. 129: IN-FLIGHT

[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:

Case 36

March, 1944

Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA

Captain Reida, a USAAF B-29 pilot observed a bright spherical green object with a flare flying at great speed. It made abrupt turns and disappeared above the horizon.

Sources: the UFO Evidence, Richard Hall, NICAP 1964 / Above top secret, Timothy Good / La chronique des ovnis p.266 / LDLN #330

[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":

[1944] March, 1944; Carlsbad, NM

Air Force pilot saw fast-moving UFO speed out of sight over horizon. (NICAP UFO Evidence, 1964, Hall, III)

The reference 1 is described at the end of the document as "Strange Company (2007), Keith Chester".

[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:

Date: March, 1944

Location: Carlsbad, NM

Time:

Summary: Air Force pilot saw fast-moving UFO speed out of sight over horizon.

NICAP UFO Evidence, 1964, Hall, III

[Ref. get1:] GEORGE M. EBERHART:

1944

[... other cases...]

March - An Army Air Force pilot flying a B-17 sees a fast-moving, glowing green object light up the cockpit and speedout of sight over the horizon at Carlsbad, New Mexico. (UFOEv, p. 19)

[... other cases...]

Aircraft information:

The US B-17 "Flying Fortress" was a heavy bomber fitted with five 7.62 machine guns for its defense against enemy fighter planes.

Discussion:

There seems to be an error on the witness, indicated to be "Capt. Reida" in some sources. Captain Alvah M. Reida was a US Air Force pilot who said he witnessed an unexplained flying object, in 1944, not in Carlsbad USA, in March 1944, but in Palembang, Sumatra, in August 10, 1944. In a NICAP list, the two cases appear one following the other, and the error probably came from a mix-up in the reading of both entries.

This is also why some source say this sighting was made from a B-29, correct for the Palembang case, when it was a B-17 in the Carlsbad case.

Concerning this case in Carlsbad, the information is very meager, and as it appears, it is not absurd to think that what was observed was a meteor.

Evaluation:

Probable meteor.

Sources references:

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

[rhl1] * "The UFO Evidence", book published by The National Investigation Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), by Richard H. Hall, USA, page 19, 1964.
[obr1] * "What We Really Know About Flying Saucers", book by Otto Binder, Fawcett Publications, USA, 1967.
[mbd1] * "La Chronique des O.V.N.I.", book by Michel Bougard, Jean-Pierre Delarge - France Loisirs publishers France, 1977.
[tgd1] ? "Above Top Secret", book by Timothy Good, Sidgwick & Jackson publishers, U-K., 1987.
[gvo1] * "Chronologie OVNI", electronic catalogue compiled by Godelieve Van Overmeire, Belgium, circa 1999.
[lhh1] * "*U* Computer Database", ufology database by Larry Hatch, USA, circa 2002.
[dwn2] * "The Foofighters Files (1) Catalogue of Unconventional Aerial Phenomena Reported by Allied pilots during WW II (1943-1945)", catalogue by Dominique Weinstein, France, October 2009.
[nip1] * "UFO Sighting Chronology - 1939-1945; The WWII Years & 'Foo-Fighters'", on the ufology Website The NICAP Website, USA, created December 18, 2006, updated December 5, 2017, at http://www.nicap.org/chronos/1939-1945.htm
[tai1] * "1944: UFO & Alien Sightings", web page of the Think About It Website, USA, January 1, 2016, at https://www.thinkaboutitdocs.com/1944-ufo-alien-sightings
[get1] * "UFOs and Intelligence: A Timeline", electronic document compiled by George M. Eberhart, 2022.

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	October 18, 1944	Creation, [rhl1], [mbd1], [lhh1], [dwn2], [nip1], [tai1], [get1].
1.0	Patrick Gross	October 18, 1944	First published.
1.1	Patrick Gross	October 30, 2023	Addition [obr1].
1.2	Patrick Gross	November 4, 2023	Addition [gvo1].

This page was last updated on November 4, 2023.