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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Duisburg, Germany, on May 12, 1943:

Case number:

ACUFO-1943-05-12-DUISBURG-1

Summary:

Ufology sources in the 2000's indicated that in his 2007 book "Strange Encounters - Military Encounters with UFOs in World War II", author Keith Chester wrote about a sighting on May 12-13, 1943, over Duisburg, Germany.

A report said that just after leaving Duisburg, the crew of a RAF bomber flying at 20,000 feet saw a "meteor" traveling from North of the target in a southerly direction at about 16,000 feet. The object was reddish-orange in color, and three times during the sighting, it emitted a burst giving off a green star. It disappeared from view when it had lost height to about 12,000 feet.

The military source is said to be military attache report N°159, from the Military Intelligence Division WDGS, of May 27, 1943.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	May 12, 1943
Time:	Night.
Duration:	?
First known report date:	May 27, 1943, 2007
Reporting delay:	Weeks, 6 decades.

Geographical data:

Country:	Germany
State/Department:	North Rhine-Westphalia
City:	Duisburg

Witnesses data:

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

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	Military report, UFO book.
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:	?

Classifications:

Sensors:	[X] Visual: Several. [N/A] Airborne radar: [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages:
Hynek:	NL
Armed / unarmed:	Armed, 7.62 mm machine guns.
Reliability 1-3:	2
Strangeness 1-3:	1
ACUFO:	Probable meteor.

Sources:

[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:

Case 15

May 12-13, 1943 Duisburg, Germany

Just after leaving Duisburg, the crew of a RAF bomber flying at 20,000 feet saw a "meteor" traveling from North of the target in a southerly direction at about 16,000 feet. The object was reddish-orange in color, and three times during the sighting, it emitted a burst giving off a green star. It disappeared from view when it had lost height to about 12,000 feet.

Sources: Military Intelligence Division WDGS, military attache report N°159, 27/05/1943 / Strange Company, Keith Chester, 2007.

[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:

Date: May 12/13, 1943

Location: Duisburg, Germany

Time:

Summary: Object like meteor; reddish orange in color; emitted a burst giving off a green star.

Source: Ref. 1 Page 39

[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":

May 12/13, 1943; Duisburg, Germany

Object like meteor; reddish orange in color; emitted a burst giving off a green starch (Ref. 1 Page 39)

The reference 1 is described at the end of the document as "Strange Company (2007), Keith Chester".

Aircraft information:

Nothing in the available sources is being said about the plane involved.

The date and place indicate that it was, from WWII historical sources, the RAF night raid that involved 135 Halifaxes, 104 Wellingtons, 98 Lancasters, 95 Stirlings and 10 Mosquitos.

Discussion:

During the "Battle of the Ruhr" in 1943, 577 British bombers destroyed the old German city of Duisburg on May 12-13.

There is nothing in the sources that would rule out that this "UFO" had indeed been a meteor.

Also, many other reports were made for sightings at the same date and in a larger nearby area, which is even more reason to interpret this case as a meteor sighting.

Evaluation:

Probable meteor.

Sources references:

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

[mil1] ? "Military Intelligence Division WDGS, military attache report N° 159", May 27, 1943.
[kcr1] ? "Strange Company - Military Encounters with UFOs in World War II", book by Keith Chester, Anomalist Book publishers, USA, page 39, 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.
[tai1] * "1943: UFO & Alien Sightings", web page of the Think About It website, USA, as of January 1, 2016, at https://www.thinkaboutitdocs.com/1943-ufo-alien-sightings
[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

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	October 5, 2023	Creation, [dwn2], [tai1], [nip1].
1.0	Patrick Gross	October 5, 2023	First published.

This page was last updated on October 5, 2023.