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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Honshu or Kyushu, Japan, on July 2, 1945:

Case number:

ACUFO-1945-07-02-HONSHUKYUSHU-1

Summary:

In the 2000's, ufology sources reported that in the 2007 book “Strange Company - Military Encounters with UFOs in World War II” by Keith Chester, it was indicated that on July 2, 1945, in the early morning hours, the XXIst Bomber Command was on a bomb raid against four urban areas on the islands of Honshu and Kyushu, Japan.

After bombing their target, one bomber crew about 20 minutes from the coastline and flying at 15,000 feet reported that they noticed “two balls of fire” that were “below and on either side of the aircraft.” They were “much larger than supercharger glow, but somewhat the same color,” and “did considerable maneuvering, fading away to a bare glow for almost a minute and then coming on brightly for 30 to 40 seconds.”

The B-29 crew held their fire, and upon reaching the coast, the balls of fire disappeared from view.

The initial source is said to be a Tactical Mission Report about targets on the islands of Kyushu and Honshu, Japan, on July 2, 1945, by the Intelligence section of the XXIst Bomber Command of the U.S. Army Air Forces.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	July 2, 1945
Time:	Early morning.
Duration:	Minutes or more.
First known report date:	July 2, 1945
Reporting delay:	Hours.

Geographical data:

Country:	Japan
State/Department:	Honshu or Kyushu
City or place:

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses:	2 or more.
Number of known witnesses:	?
Number of named witnesses:	0

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	Military operations report, Keith Chester.
Visibility conditions:	Dawn.
UFO observed:	Yes.
UFO arrival observed:	?
UFO departure observed:	Yes.
UFO action:	Fly below and each side of the plane.
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: 2 or more. [ ] Airborne radar: [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages:
Hynek:	?
Armed / unarmed:	Armed, 12 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine guns.
Reliability 1-3:	2
Strangeness 1-3:	2
ACUFO:	Possible extraterrestrial craft, moderate strangeness.

Sources:

[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:

Case 137

July 2, 1945

Honshu and Kyushu Islands, Japan

In the early morning hours of July 2, the XXI Bomber Command were delivering another concentrated attack against four urban areas on the islands of Honshu and Kyushu. After bombing their target, one bomber crew about 20 minutes from the coastline and flying at 15,000 feet reported that they noticed “two balls of fire” that were “below and on either side of the aircraft.” They were “much larger than supercharger glow, but somewhat the same color,” and “did considerable maneuvering, fading away to a bare glow for almost a minute and then coming on brightly for 30 to 40 seconds.” The B-29 crew held their fire, and upon reaching the coast, the balls of fire disappeared from view.

Sources: Tactical mission report: Targets on the islands of Kyushu and Honsh, Japan 1 / 2 July, 1945, from A2 Section, XXI Bomber Command to Commanding general, 20th Air Force, NARA / Strange Company, Keith Chester, 2007.

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

July 2, 1945; Japan

Several balls of fire much larger than supercharger glow, but of somewhat the same color. (Page 182-183 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: July 2, 1945

Location: Japan

Time:

Summary: Several balls of fire much larger than supercharger glow, but of somewhat the same color.

Source:

Aircraft information:

The Boeing B-29 “Superfortress” was the heaviest bomber of the U.S. Army Air Forces, used in operations from May 8, 1944 and on. Its maximum speed was 574 km/h.

Its defensive armament was 12 Browning M2 12.7 mm machine guns.

Discussion:

Honshu is the largest island of Japan, formerly known in the West as “Hondo”; Kyushu is the big island Southwest of Honshu.

Of course, the “least worst” prosaic explanation would be that the two “balls of fire” would be enemy planes; but the behavior and change of luminosity does not support this very much.

Evaluation:

Possible extraterrestrial craft, moderate strangeness.

Sources references:

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

[aaf1] ? Tactical mission report: Targets on the islands of Kyushu and Honshu, Japan, July 2, 1945, from A-2 Section, XXI Bomber Command to Commanding general, XXth Air Force, U.S. Army Air Forces.
[kcr1] ? "Strange Company - Military Encounters with UFOs in World War II", book by Keith Chester, Anomalist Book publishers, USA, pp 182-183, 2007.
[dwn2] * "The Foofighters Files (1) - Catalogue of Unconventional Aerial Phenomena Reported by Allied pilots during WW II (1943-1945)", catalogue by Dominique F. 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] * "1945: August UFO & Alien Sightings", web page on the Think About It Website, USA, June 22, 2016, at https://www.thinkaboutitdocs.com/1945-august-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	December 22, 2023	Creation, [dwn2], [nip1], [tai1].
1.0	Patrick Gross	December 22, 2023	First published.

This page was last updated on December 22, 2023.