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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Trier, Germany, on December 28, 1944:

Case number:

ACUFO-1944-12-28-TRIER-1

Summary:

Ufology sources in the 2010's noted that in the 2007 book “Strange Company - Military Encounters with UFOs in World War II” by Keith Chester, there is a report of a sighting on December 28, 1944, over Trier, Germany.

It appears that at 01:11 p.m., after bombing Neuwied and Koblenz, several crews of the US Army Air Force Third Bombardment Division flying at 24,000 feet, observed “a green ball about six inches in diameter”, motionless, that did not appear “to have anything supporting it”.

The source is indicated to be the Operational Intelligence Report - Tactical Targets, A-2, Third Bombardment Division, December 28, 1944.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	December 28, 1944
Time:	01:11 p.m.
Duration:	?
First known report date:	December 28, 1944
Reporting delay:	Hours.

Geographical data:

Country:	Germany
State/Department:	Rhineland-Palatinate
City or place:	Trier

Witnesses data:

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

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	Military operations report.
Visibility conditions:	Day.
UFO observed:	Yes.
UFO arrival observed:	?
UFO departure observed:	?
UFO action:	Motionless.
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: Several. [ ] Airborne radar: [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages:
Hynek:	DD
Armed / unarmed:	Armed, 5 7.62 mm machine guns.
Reliability 1-3:	2
Strangeness 1-3:	2
ACUFO:	Unidentified, insufficient information.

Sources:

[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:

Case 75

December 28, 1944

Trier, Germany

At 13h11, during a bombing mission over Neuwied and Koblenz, several crews of the USAAF Third Bombardment Division flying at 24,000 feet, observed “a green ball about six inches in diameter” which was “motion less and did not appeared to have anything supporting it”. Within a half an hour of sighting the green ball, two M-163 German rocket propelled fighters were observed: one at 13h 11, being chased by three P-51 Mustang fighters and another at 13h49 coming out of the clouds at 11,000 feet.

Sources: Third Bombardment Division Operational Intelligence Report-Tactical Targets, A-2, 28 December 1944 / Strange Company, Keith Chester, 2007.

(Ref. nip1:) "THE NICAP WEBSITE":

(1944) Dec. 28, 1944; Neuwied / Koblenz Germany

A green ball about six inches in diameter; motionless and did not appear to have anything supporting it. (Page 108 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: Dec. 28, 1944

Location: Neuwied / Koblenz Germany

Time:

Summary: A green ball about six inches in diameter; motionless and did not appear to have anything supporting it.

Page 108 Ref.1

Aircraft information:

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

Discussion:

Historical sources confirm a raid on Koblenz and Duitsland by the US Army 8th Air Force on December 28, 1944, at 12:57; the planes were 529 B-17's “Flying Fortress”, they flew at 22 000 feet.

Several places mentioned in the reports; I interpret this as likely meaning that Neuwied and Koblenz being the places of bomb drops and Trier as the location of the sighting, on the return trip of the bombers, given the known times.

What was seen is only mildly strange, the strangest being the green color. The report is not detailed enough for a sure assessment of what it was.

Evaluation:

Unidentified, insufficient information.

Sources references:

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

[usa1] ? Third Bombardment Division Operational Intelligence Report-Tactical Targets, A-2, US Army Air Force, December 28, 1944.
[kcr1] ? "Strange Company - Military Encounters with UFOs in World War II", book by Keith Chester, Anomalist Book publishers, USA, page 108, 2007.
[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

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 4, 2023	Creation, [dwn2], [nip1], [tai1].
1.0	Patrick Gross	November 4, 2023	First published.

This page was last updated on November 4, 2023.