ACUFO-1944-09-20-POVALLEY-1
Ufology sources in the 2000's picked up a case in the 2007 book “Strange Company - Military Encounters with UFOs in World War II” by Keith Chester, himself citing a military operation report of the 414th Night Fighter Squadron of September 20, 1944.
The case is said to have taken place in the Po Valley, in Italy, in the evening of September 20, 1944:
Lieutenant Ryan and his navigator Lieutenant Wohl, crew of a British Beaufighter, with the US 414th NFS, were flying an intruder mission over the Po valley when they saw a red light that had the appearance of an aircraft light, but it disappeared and no contact was made.
| Date: | September 20, 1944 |
|---|---|
| Time: | Probable night. |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | September 20, 1944 |
| Reporting delay: | Hours. |
| Country: | Italy |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | Several. |
| City or place: | The Po valley. |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 2 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | ? |
| Number of named witnesses: | 2 |
| Reporting channel: | Military operations report. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | Probable night. |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | Yes. |
| UFO action: | Disappears or goes off. |
| Witnesses action: | |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | ? |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Sensors: |
[X] Visual: 1 or 2.
[ ] Airborne radar: Not reported. [ ] Directional ground radar: Not reported. [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages: |
|---|---|
| Hynek: | NL |
| Armed / unarmed: | Armed, machine guns. |
| Reliability 1-3: | 2 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 1 |
| ACUFO: | No strangeness. |
[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:
On the evening, Lt Ryan and his navigator Lt Wohl, crew of a British Beaufighter, with the US 414th NFS were flying an intruder mission over Po Valley when they saw a red light that had the appearance of an aircraft light, but it disappeared and no contact was made.
Sources: Daily operations report, 414th NFS, 20 October 1944 / Strange Companies Keith Chester, 2007
[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":
[1944] Oct. 20, 1944; Po Valley, Italy
Red light appearance of an aircraft light. (Page 84 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: Oct. 20, 1944
Location: Po Valley, Italy
Time:
Summary: Red light appearance of an aircraft light.
Source:
The ufology source speaks of British Beaufighters, but the squadron had then received American P-61 Black Widows “in late 1944”; I am not sure what plane it was.
In both cases these are twin-engine aircraft adapted to night fighting and armed with several machine guns.
In both cases, the planes were equipped with on-board radar and had ground radar assistance.
“Po Valley” should be understood as the vast plain of the Po river, in other words, all of northern Italy except the Alps.
|
In almost WWII every mission reports of the Night Fighters Squadrons, there are instances where the crews spotted some light and lost it or did not locate it in time to check it out and attack it if it was a valid target. Lights of houses, a camp fire, vehicles on the ground or airplane lights.
This was just normal and ordinary. There is no reason to interpret such events as UFO or Foo-Fighter events when nothing in the report is strange and nothing in the report indicates that it was interpreted as something strange.
No strangeness.
* = 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 28, 2023 | Creation, [dwn2], [nip1], [tai1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | October 28, 2023 | First published. |
