ACUFO-1945-02-08-BREISACHAMRHEIN-1
Ufology sources indicate that on February 8, 1945, a crew of a Beaufighter night fighter of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron was between Breisach and Strasbourg, returning from an intruder mission, when they reported that for approximately one minute they had observed a "yellow light at 9,000 feet" that "was ten miles northwest of Strasbourg."
| Date: | February 8, 1945 |
|---|---|
| Time: | Probable night. |
| Duration: | 1 minute. |
| First known report date: | February 8, 1945 |
| Reporting delay: | Hours. |
| Country: | France |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | Bas-Rhin |
| City or place: | Between Breisach-am-Rhein and Strasbourg. |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 1 or 2 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 or 2 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Reporting channel: | Military operations report. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | Probable night. |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | Yes. |
| UFO action: | ? |
| 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: ? [ ] Directional ground radar: ? [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages: |
|---|---|
| Hynek: | ? |
| Armed / unarmed: | Armed, machine guns and 20 mm cannons. |
| Reliability 1-3: | 2 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 2 |
| ACUFO: | Probable German V-2 rocket. |
[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:
A 415th NFS Beaufighter crew was returning from an intruder mission when they reported that for approximately one minute they observed a "yellow light at 9,000 feet" that "was ten miles northwest of Strasbourg."
Sources: 64th Fighter Wing Mission Report, 415th NFS, February 7/8, 1945, NARA / Strange Company, Keith Chester, 2007
(Ref. nip1:) "THE NICAP WEBSITE":
Feb. 8, 1945; Nr. Strasbourg, France
Yellow light. (Page 133 Ref.1)
The reference 1 is described at the end of the document as "Strange Company (2007), Keith Chester".
[Ref. snu1:] "SATURDAY NIGHT UFORIA" WEBSITE:
That February the early days of month brought reports from the 415th [...] ; a report that "10 miles northwest of Strassbourg" a crew had watched "a yellow light at 9,000 feet" [...]
3. The February, 1945 reports of [...] a yellow light near Strassbourg, [...] come from Keith Chester's book Strange Company, which gives as its source various operations reports.
[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:
Date: Feb. 8, 1945
Location: Near Strasbourg, France
Time:
Summary: Yellow light.
Source:
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.
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The Beaufighters served with the US Army Air Force until the end of the war, but most were replaced by the P-61 "Black Widow" beginning on March 20, 1945.
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We are told that this happened while the plane was between "Breisach" - Breisach-am-Rhein in German or Vieux-Brisach in French, opposite Neuf-Brisach in France, and Strasbourg.
We are told that the light was 10 miles northwest of Strasbourg; it would therefore have been in France, in the Bas-Rhin, above Truchtersheim (blue dot on the map below).
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Of course, it is by no means obvious that the distance given as 10 miles is correct. If the distance is greater, the thing is on France, on Germany, on Luxembourg, or on Belgium, or on the Netherlands.
It is possible that the distance was known thanks to the on-board radar set or ground radar station; nothing is said about this.
The crew did not report the light as a "foo-fighter" or anything clearly unusual.
On February 8, 1945, between 00:29 a.m. and 10:50 a.m., several V-2 rockets were successfully fired from Den Haag, in the Netherlands, and one from Hachenburg - Hillscheid (Site 604).
Hachenburg, in Germany, is almost due North of Strasbourg. But Den Haag is in the right direction.
Thus, it is vrey possible that the light was a German V-2 rocket.
Probable German V-2 rocket.
* = 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 | April 26, 2024 | Creation, [dwn2], [nip1], [sua1], [tai1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | April 26, 2024 | First published. |
