ACUFO-1945-03-05-HOLLANDGERMANY-1
Ufology sources from the 2000s indicate that according to the 2007 book “Strange Company - Military Encounters with UFOs in World War II” by Keith Chester, on March 5, 1945, over Holland or Northern Germany, by night an aircraft of the 653rd Reconnaissance Squadron of the 25th Bomb Group conducted a Bluestocking mission to determine the weather conditions over Holland and Northern Germany.
At 10:47 p.m., Mosquito pilot Lt. Smith and his radar operator, Lt. Kuehn, observed “a large orange ball” in the sky at approximately 5,000 feet below their aircraft, around 20 miles away. The ball “hung in the air for a period of about five seconds.”
Lt. Smith dropped his Mosquito down to around 15,000 feet, and minutes later, he observed a “similar ball” that was “moving horizontally at the same altitude” as his aircraft; and this time, he observed the ball, also around 20 miles away, for close to 15 seconds before it disappeared.
In his report, Major Finis D. McClanahan, the 25th Group's S-2 (Intelligence officer) stated that the “phenomena” was unknown.
The sources are said to be two military reports: the Operations Narrative of the 653rd Bombardment Squadron to Headquarters of the 251st Bombardment Group (Reconnaissance), USAAF Station 376, APO 634, 5 March 1945; the S-2 Mission report, Bluestocking 3/27, 653rd Squadron, 25th Bombardment group, to 653rd Bombardment Squadron to Headquarters, 7 March 1945.
| Date: | March 5, 1945 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 10:47 p.m. |
| Duration: | 5 seconds then 15 seconds. |
| First known report date: | March 5, 1945 |
| Reporting delay: | Hours. |
| Country: | Holland or Germany |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | |
| City or place: |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 2 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | ? |
| Number of named witnesses: | 2 |
| Reporting channel: | Military operations report. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | 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: 2
[ ] Airborne radar: [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages: |
|---|---|
| Hynek: | NL |
| Armed / unarmed: | Armed, 4 7.62 mm Browning machine guns, 4 20 mm Hispano cannons. |
| Reliability 1-3: | 2 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 2 |
| ACUFO: | Insufficient information, possible V-2 rocket. |
[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:
On the night, 653rd Reconnaissance Squadron of the 25th Bomb Group assigned one of its aircraft to conduct a Bluestocking mission to determine the weather conditions over Holland and Northern Germany. At 22h47, Mosquito pilot Lt. Smith and his radar operator, Lt. Kuehn, observed “a large orange ball” in the sky at approximately 5,000 feet below their aircraft, around 20 miles away. The ball “hung in the air for a period of about five seconds.” Lt. Smith dropped his Mosquito down to around 15,000 feet, and minutes later he observed a “similar ball” that was “moving horizontally at the same altitude” as his aircraft; and this time, he observed the ball, also around 20 miles away, for close to 15 seconds before it disappeared. In his report Major Finis D. McClanahan, the 25th Group's S-2 (Intelligence officer) stated that the “phenomena” was unknown.
Sources: Operations Narrative of the 653rd Bombardment Squadron (Weather reconnaissance) Mission, to Headquarters, 251st Bombardment Group (Reconnaissance), USAAF Station 376, APO 634, 5 March 1945 / S-2 Mission report, Bluestocking 3/27, 653rd Squadron, 25th Bombardment group, to 653rd Bombardment Squadron (Weather reconnaissance) Mission, to Headquarters, 7 March 1945, NARA / Strange Company, Keith Chester, 2007
(Ref. nip1:) "THE NICAP WEBSITE":
March 5, 1945; Either Holland or Northern Germany
Two sightings: (1) large orange ball hanging in air; (2) similar ball that was moving horizontally at same altitude. (Page 145 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: Mar. 5, 1945
Location: Either Holland or Northern Germany
Time:
Summary: Two sightings: (1) large orange ball hanging in air; (2) similar ball that was moving horizontally at same altitude.
Source:
The de Havilland DH.98 “Mosquito” was a British multirole aircraft, which served as a fighter-bomber, torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
Its armament was 4 7.62 mm Browning machine guns and 4 20 mm Hispano cannons.
Its pilot and its navigator were seated side by side, the navigator being shifted back about thirty centimeters for shoulder width.
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During WWII, flights over the continent of Europe to obtain information for use in operational planning and occasional weather scouting missions over targets to provide current weather information for relay to bombers on their way to attack fell to the de Havilland Mosquitos Mk. XVI of the 653d Squadron, and were code named “Bluestocking.”
The description in the report makes me think that the two airmen may have seen a German V-2 rocket.
Historical sources indicate that on March 5, 1945, at 08:02 p.m. GMT a V-2 was launched from the V-2 launch site Battery 485 in The Hague (Den Haag, La Haye), The Netherlands; it impacted Woolwich near London in the South-East of England; at 10:29 p.m. GMT, another V-2 was launched from the same site; it apparently impacted Rainham near London in the South-East of England.
(See for example www.v2rocket.com/start/deployment/timeline.html)
These were the two only known launches that day. The hours do not match exactly; but it may be considered that the airmen's clock was not set exactly.
The interpretation would be that the airmen saw the ball of light twice for seconds only because it would have been hidden in clouds the rest of the time.
The ball(s) of fire did apparently not behave like in the mœ interesting “Foo-Fighter” cases, it did not pace their plane or react to evasive maneuvers.
Insufficient information, possible 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 | December 1, 2023 | Creation, [dwn2], [nip1], [tai1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | December 1, 2023 | First published. |
