ACUFO-1944-08-12-LAPALLICE-1
This case came to several UFO researchers; as a letter by the witness to Alex Turner, September 23 - October 8, 2003, the given to Timothy Good, and by a communication of the witness to Dr. David Clark who reported about it in his 2013 book “The UFO Files - The Inside Story of Real-life Sightings”.
The reporting witness was Ronald R. Claridge, at the time of the sighting a radio and radar operator in a Lancaster from No 7 Squadron, part of the Pathfinder Force that flew from RAF Oakington in Cambridgeshire.
The Lancaster had operated on La Pallice, a district of La Rochelle where the Germans operated a submarine base, military harbor, and oil refineries and tanks, during a raid starting on August 11, 1944, to August 12, 1944.
In his letter, quoted by Tim Good, Claridge told:
“We were returning to our base at Oakington and still flying over France, which was a hotbed for German fighters, so we were very alert. I was the radio and radar operator and as such was concentrating on my 'Fishpond' screen looking for the blips of German fighters. The first I knew that anything untoward was happening, my screen went blank - I thought it was an electrical failure. I was reporting this to the skipper when he shouted over the intercom, 'What the hell is that?'”
“I moved into the astrodome, which gave 360-degree vision: I stood looking into the night. On our starboard side was a sight I have never forgotten. By this time our Lancaster was flying straight and level. There was a string of lights which stretched ahead and behind us for what seemed miles. The lights along our side were the largest and brightest, fading into the vast distance. We could only hear our own engine noises and there was no turbulence - only the lights.”
“As my night vision improved I saw a grey saucer-like object emerge as part of the lights. It is still difficult to describe its size... I am an artist and I painted what I saw. Our Lancaster was a large aeroplane but the only comparison I can make is that we were but a dot on a sheet of foolscap paper. We all watched this object for about three minutes. We watched it shoot away - it was just a flash of light and the vast size was gone in less than a second, without any noise or turbulence.”
“There was a silence among the crew, and I can only give my own reactions. I seemed to know whatever it was had been watching us. I was left with a feeling of complete calm and the feeling that I was finished with war - which I must say never left me. I was a Warrant Officer: we finished our tour after four more Operations and as far as I was concerned I finished my active service then. It was some time before I thought we had met the ultimate weapon - no one left willing to fight in future wars!”
“I often wonder if this encounter had any effect on our lives. Personally I believe it did. I remember that during those few minutes I felt no fear whatsoever. And why did our gunners not open fire? When the crew returned to Oakington, it seemed that more intelligence officers than usual were present at the debriefing. They just took notes of our experience and did not seem at all surprised at what we reported, and we were not even debriefed about the raid. One thing I remember is that we were told not to discuss what we had seen, even among ourselves, and I think we respected this.”
Dr. David Clarke published the watercolor Claridge produced to show how large the UFO was:
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| Date: | August 12, 1944 |
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| Time: | Night. |
| Duration: | 3 minutes. |
| First known report date: | 2003 |
| Reporting delay: | 6 decades. |
| Country: | France |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | |
| City or place: |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 8 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 2 |
| Reporting channel: | Letter to ufologist. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | Night. |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | Yes. |
| UFO action: | Flew, departed fast. |
| Witnesses action: | |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | Yes. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | Yes. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | Puzzled, stunned. |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Sensors: |
[X] Visual: 2 to 8.
[ ] Airborne radar: [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [X] Failures: radar screen failure. [ ] Damages: |
|---|---|
| Hynek: | CE2 |
| Armed / unarmed: | Armed, 8 7.62 mm machine guns. |
| Reliability 1-3: | 2 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 3 |
| ACUFO: | Possible extraterrestrial craft. |
[Ref. ghe1:] GARY HESELTINE:
My top ten, in chronological order:
1. On 11 August 1944, whilst over France, a Lancaster bomber crew .of eight saw what they described as a huge disc-shaped object with a row of lights that dwarfed their aircraft many times over. Upon landing, the crew officially reported what they had seen and were told not to talk to anyone about it and not to record the information in their log books. In a time before the era of 'flying saucers and UFOs' and at a time of war, this case stands as a landmark sighting.
[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:
RAF squadron leader Brian Frow and his crew were returning from a bombing mission of oil refineries in Southern France. Ronald Clairidge was operating the radar set, monitoring the screen for approaching German night fighters. Suddenly, a malfunction of some type occurred, which caused the radar unit to stop working. Clairidge quickly reported the problem to the pilot. They both saw a string of lights on starboard. The lights were circular, rather like portholes in a ship. The colour was very bright yellow changing to intense white. They were about a thousand yards from the Lancaster. The ones nearest were the largest and the brightest. After 30 seconds, they could see that the lights were in fact part of an enormous disc. Stunned the gunners fired, though no order was given them to do so. The disc hung motionless for about three minutes, then “suddenly shot ahead and was gone”. Clairidge heard no noise of engines and saw no sign of exhaust or vapour trail. Back at base each crewman reported his sighting to the intelligence officers, who appeared not in the least interested or concerned about their sighting. Strangely the crew was warned not to discuss the sighting with anyone, including each other. They were told there was to be absolutely no written account of their sighting placed in their logbooks.
Sources: Bomber's Moon, David Clarke and Andy Roberts, UFO Magazine Volume 23, N°7 July 2003 / Strange Companies Keith Chester, 2007
[Ref. tgd1:] TIMOTHY GOOD:
This author indicates that Ronald R. Claridge, a holder of the Distinguished Flying Cross, served as a wireless operator on Lancaster bombers with No. 7 Squadron, RAF, in the Second World War. On August 11, 1944, his aircraft, as master bomber, had led a raid on the oil refineries at La Pallice, France. Timothy Good quotes from Claridge:
“We were returning to our base at Oakington and still flying over France, which was a hotbed for German fighters, so we were very alert. I was the radio and radar operator and as such was concentrating on my 'Fishpond' screen looking for the blips of German fighters. The first I knew that anything untoward was happening, my screen went blank - I thought it was an electrical failure. I was reporting this to the skipper when he shouted over the intercom, 'What the hell is that?'”
“I moved into the astrodome, which gave 360-degree vision: I stood looking into the night. On our starboard side was a sight I have never forgotten. By this time our Lancaster was flying straight and level. There was a string of lights which stretched ahead and behind us for what seemed miles. The lights along our side were the largest and brightest, fading into the vast distance. We could only hear our own engine noises and there was no turbulence - only the lights.”
“As my night vision improved I saw a grey saucer-like object emerge as part of the lights. It is still difficult to describe its size... I am an artist and I painted what I saw. Our Lancaster was a large aeroplane but the only comparison I can make is that we were but a dot on a sheet of foolscap paper. We all watched this object for about three minutes. We watched it shoot away - it was just a flash of light and the vast size was gone in less than a second, without any noise or turbulence.”
“There was a silence among the crew, and I can only give my own reactions. I seemed to know whatever it was had been watching us. I was left with a feeling of complete calm and the feeling that I was finished with war - which I must say never left me. I was a Warrant Officer: we finished our tour after four more Operations and as far as I was concerned I finished my active service then. It was some time before I thought we had met the ultimate weapon - no one left willing to fight in future wars!”
“I often wonder if this encounter had any effect on our lives. Personally I believe it did. I remember that during those few minutes I felt no fear whatsoever. And why did our gunners not open fire? When the crew returned to Oakington, it seemed that more intelligence officers than usual were present at the debriefing. They just took notes of our experience and did not seem at all surprised at what we reported, and we were not even debriefed about the raid. One thing I remember is that we were told not to discuss what we had seen, even among ourselves, and I think we respected this.”
The source is indicated to be a letter from Ronald R. Claridge, DFC, AEA, to Alex Turner, 23 September - 8 October 2003, given to Timothy Good.
[Ref. dce1:] DR. DAVID CLARKE:
The author indicates that there was a spectacular account of a 1944 case that seemed to provide a classic description of a flying saucer from the pre-flying saucer age. The witness was Ronald Claridge, radio operator in a Lancaster from No 7 Squadron, part of the Pathfinder Force that flew from RAF Oakington in Cambridgeshire.
The sighting occurred as the Lancaster was returning from a night-time raid on oil refineries at Pelice in southern France on 11 August, 1944, and it was more than 50 years later when Claridge recalled how he was hunched over the aircraft's radar, scanning for enemy night-fighters during the anxious flight home, when the screen suddenly went blank. He reported the malfunction to his pilot, Squadron Leader (later Air Commodore) Brian Frow, and then he heard him yell: “what the hell was that?”
Claridge moved quickly into the astrodome of the bomber and immediately saw what appeared to be “an enormous string of lights” on the starboard side of the plane. He recalled, “the lights were circular, rather like portholes in a ship. The color was a very bright yellow changing to intense white. My estimate was that they were about a thousand yards from our aeroplane. The ones nearest our Lancaster were the largest and brightest, they stretched fore and aft to what seemed infinity. After about thirty seconds I could see they were part of an enormous disc.”
Claridge produced a watercolor painting showing how large this UFO was:
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All the 8 crew had been alerted by the intercom chatter and could now see the phenomenon and were left strangely transfixed by the experience.
Claridge recalled: “we had no feelings of fear but feelings of great calm... even our gunners who would normally open fire were helpless.”
He timed the incident for his radar log at three minutes before the object “suddenly shot ahead and was gone. We were travelling at 240 miles per hour but there was no turbulence. There was no noise of engines or vapour of any kind”.
The Lancaster crew was left stunned and spoke very little for the rest of the journey home. On return to Oakington, they were debriefed by RAF intelligence who appeared more interested in their feelings of well-being than the details of their experience. Claridge recalls being warned not to discuss the incident or make any entry about it in his logbook. Nevertheless, he told David Clarke: “we all had sensed we were being watched by another force outside our knowledge”.
David Clarke adds that as the war came to an end there was still no widely recognized category into which airmen such as Ron Claridge could place their strange experiences, until the age of the flying saucer finally arrived.
[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":
[1944] Aug. 12, 1944; Pelice, Southern France
Enormous disc; circular lights (changing from bright yellow top white) like portholes in a ship; motionless. (Page 75 Ref.1)
The reference 1 is described at the end of the document as “Strange Company (2007), Keith Chester”.
[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:
Date: Aug. 12, 1944
Location: Pelice, Southern France
Time:
Summary: Enormous disc; circular lights (changing from bright yellow top white) like portholes in a ship; motionless.
Page 75 Ref.1
[Ref. get1:] GEORGE M. EBERHART:
1944
[... other cases...]
August 11
Night. RAF Warrant Officer Ronald R. Claridge is over France aboard a No. 7 Squadron Lancaster bomber returning from a bombing run on La Pallice, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, France, when his radar screen goes blank. Another crewman shouts to look at a vast disc-shaped object with a long row of lights on their starboard side. They watch it for 3 minutes, then it shoots away in a flash of light. Later he draws a watercolor painting to show how the UFO dwarfed the bomber. (UFOFiles2, pp. 26 - 27)
[... other cases...]
The Avro 683 Lancaster was a four-engine night bomber built in more than 7,000 units and it became, with the Handley Page Halifax, the main bomber of the Royal Air Force from 1942 on.
Its defense against German fighter planes was 8 7.62 mm machine guns.
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Astrodome is the term to designate the cupola on the middle top of the Lancaster:
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I need to “fix” the location. Several sources say it occurred after the raid on “Pelice, South of France”.
There is no Pelice in the south of France, there is no Pelice in France at all.
Obviously and understandably, the spelling of the place by the witness was not correct, it should have been “La Pallice”.
La Pallice is a district of the city of La Rochelle, in the Charente-Maritime department, in the Center-Est of France. This district was clearly an important target, because it hosted oil reserves for the German military, and a huge U-boot base, still visible there. The base cannot be visited currently, but the German Navy headquarters bunker in the center of La Rochelle is open to the public.
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To me, this misspell increases the authenticity of the report. Had the witness decided to invent a sighting, he would have picked up a place name on a map and not misspelled it.
The date is given as August 11, 1944, sometimes August 12, 1944. What happen here is that the night raid took off on August 11, 1944, and the sighting certainly took place after midnight, thus on August 12, 1944, on the return to RAF Oakington.
Of course, “La Pallice” is not really the place where the sighting occurred, but the target of the raid; the sighting location is somewhere between La Rochelle, France, and Oakington, U-K., but still over France.
No 7 Squadron of the RAF was equipped with the Avro Lancaster from May 11, 1943 and on, and had the role of “Pathfinder”, until the end of the war in Europe.
I did find in historical sources the mention of a Lancaster raid on La Pallice for August 11-12, 1944.
Historical sources confirm that the witness existed. He was Ronald Roy Claridge (928434), R.A.F.V.R., No. 7 Squadron, in 1944.
Historical sources (www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Frow_BG.htm) also confirm Air Commodore Brian George Frow (100087) existed, and was a Flight Commander in No 7 Squadron starting on January 1944, until 1945.
The radar screen going blank may have been a coincidental ordinary failure; but this is not certain and it adds to the strangeness of the report.
The phenomenon observed cannot have been a mirage because it was clearly described as producing light, discontinuous lights: “There was a string of lights...” The only manner a mirage of this kind could have been produced is from the ground, with several vehicles headlights. This cannot happen at the altitude a Lancaster would fly back to its base.
A lenticular cloud (orographic cloud) can be excluded because on any logical return path from La Rochelle to England, there is no mountain who could produce such a cloud.
A noctilucent cloud can also be excluded because it would not appear as “a string of lights” or with the color of a “bright yellow changing to intense white.”
Of course, any explanation by clouds or mirages of various sources can be excluded because the “string of lights” when observed from the astrodome stretched “ahead and behind us for what seemed miles”, because as the witness night vision improved” he “saw a grey saucer-like object emerge as part of the lights” and because “We watched it shoot away - it was just a flash of light and the vast size was gone in less than a second.”
A meteor can be excluded for many reasons, such as the 3 minutes duration.
Possible extraterrestrial craft.
* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.
| Main author: | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Create/changed by: | Date: | Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | October 25, 2023 | Creation, [dce1], [dwn2], [dgd1], [nip1], [tai1], [get1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | October 25, 2023 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | November 2, 2023 | Addition [ghe1]. |
