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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Koln, Germany, on November 27 or 28, 1944:

Case number:

ACUFO-1944-11-28-KOLN-1

Summary:

In 1999, in a catalogue of WWII UFO reports, US ufologist Jan Aldrich indicated that on the night of November 27 to 28, 1944, between 11 p.m. and 03:30 a.m., in the Cologne - Bonn in Germany, a patrol of the 422nd Nigh Fighter Squadron of the U.S. Army Air Forces saw three “jets”, according to a report of the 9th Tactical Air Command.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	November 27 or 28, 1944
Time:	Between 11 p.m. and 03:30 a.m.
Duration:	?
First known report date:	1944 or 1945
Reporting delay:	Days, months.

Geographical data:

Country:	Germany
State/Department:	North Rhine-Westphalia
City or place:	cologne (Koln), Bonn

Witnesses data:

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

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	Military intelligence report.
Visibility conditions:	Night.
UFO observed:	Yes.
UFO arrival observed:	?
UFO departure observed:	?
UFO action:	?
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 to 3. [ ] Airborne radar: Not reported. [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages:
Hynek:	?
Armed / unarmed:	?
Reliability 1-3:	1
Strangeness 1-3:	2
ACUFO:	Probable Me-262 German jets.

Sources:

[Ref. prt4:] JAN ALDRICH - "PROJECT 1947":

N - 1944.11.27-28 - between 2330-0330 hours, Germany, Cologne-Bonn area.

422d NFS, 3 “Jets” seen by patrols. (9th TAC, Opsum #173)

Aircraft information:

The Bristol Type 156 “Beaufighter”, nicknamed “Beau”, was a British multi-role aircraft developed during WWII. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber; it proved to be an effective night fighter, which came into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Battle of Britain.

Originally, armament consisted of four 20mm cannons and six 0.303-in machine-guns but many variants were built; for example, versions had the ability to additionally carry eight rocket projectiles, some had a Vickers 'K' gun, Beaufighter TF.Mk X was used for anti-shipping operations.

The Beaufighter Mk VIF was fitted with the Mark VIII radar.

Below: Beaufighter Mk VIF of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron.

The Beaufighters served with the U.S. Army Air Forces until the end of the war, but most were replaced by the P-61 “Black Widow” beginning on March 20, 1945.

Discussion:

Pilots thought they saw three jets. The only mystery is whether the quotes are on “jets” are in the original report or not.

It was by night, thus, if jets, they were German Messerschmitt Me-262 night fighters (photo below), as the German had no other jet night fighters then.

Evaluation:

Probable Me-262 German jets.

Sources references:

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

[aaf1] * 9th Tactical Air Command, U.S. Army Air Forces, AC, Opsum #173.
[prt4] * "ACUFOE in World War II", catalogue by Jan Aldrich, Project 1947, USA, October 9, 1999, at http://www.project1947.com/47cats/acupdt.htm

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	November 13, 2023	Creation, [prt4].
1.0	Patrick Gross	November 13, 2023	First published.

This page was last updated on November 13, 2023.