ACUFO-1943-05-13-DORTMUND-1
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 13, 1943, over Dortmund, Germany.
Reportedly, during a night raid on Dortmund, several RAF bomber pilots reported to have observed "rockets" not only in the approaches to the Ruhr and the target area, but also over Holland. These phenomena appeared to have been similar to the "meteor" projectiles recently reported but on this occasion they were flying at lower altitudes, some quite close to the ground, and mainly in horizontal direction.
The military source is said to be military attaché report No. 159, from the Military Intelligence Division WDGS, of May 27, 1943.
| Date: | May 13, 1943 |
|---|---|
| Time: | Night |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | May 27, 1943, 2007 |
| Reporting delay: | Weeks, 6 decades. |
| Country: | Germany, Holland |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| City: | Dortmund |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | Many. |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | ? |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Reporting channel: | Military report, UFO book. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | Night. |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | Yes. |
| UFO action: | Moved almost horizontally. |
| Witnesses action: | |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | ? |
| Witnesses interpretation: | "Rockets". |
| Sensors: |
[X] Visual: Many.
[ ] 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. |
[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:
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During a night raid on Dortmund, several RAF bomber pilots reported to have observed these "rockets" not only in the approaches to the Ruhr and the target area, but also over Holland. These phenomena appeared to have been similar to the "meteor" projectiles recently reported but on this occasion they were flying at lower altitudes, some quite close to the ground, and mainly in horizontal direction.
Sources: Military Intelligence Division, WDGS, Military Attache report N° 161, 30/05/1943 / Strange Company, Keith Chester, 2007.
[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:
Date: May 23/24, 1943
Location: Dortmund, Germany
Time:
Summary: Large number of so-called rockets
Source: Page 39-40 Ref.1
[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":
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May 23/24, 1943; Dortmund, Germany
Large number of so-called rockets (Page 39-40 Ref.1)
The reference 1 is described at the end of the document as "Strange Company (2007), Keith Chester".
Nothing in the available sources is being said about the planes involved.
But 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.
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One should not read the report in the first degree.
Pilots said they saw "rockets" is not to be interpreted as a presence of several rockets. This can simply mean that several crews in several planes each reported seeing one "rocket".
A clue for this interpretation is that the report says: "several RAF bomber pilots reported to have observed these 'rockets' not only in the approaches to the Ruhr and the target area, but also over Holland".
This is just typical or a meteor.
On November 5, 1990, thousands of Frenchmen saw what was space junk cross the sky of France. Many reported it. No witness said he or she saw hundreds" of UFOS. But some ufologists said that, not realizing that a single event can cause hundreds of reports. Some ufologists called it a "UFO wave". This should not happen!
The fairly large observation area here coincides with the reported almost horizontal movement.
In the context of the massive air raid with hundreds of bombers, there is little wonder that some of the airmen interpreted a meteor as a "rocket" - note the quotes, also. This enforces the explanation I gave for the sighing on Duisburg that same night.
The report also fits that of Pilsen at the same date; in which the phenomenon was described as "one object giving off a sequence of sparks and a having a definite tail leaving a trail of smoke. It was seen to travel about ten miles before falling to the ground, where it burned out after one minute. The crew who made the report stated that they had seen similar phenomena on previous occasion in approximately the same area and also in neighborhood of Kiel."
Probable meteor.
* = 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 | October 5, 2023 | Creation, [dwn2], [tai1], [nip1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | October 5, 2023 | First published. |
