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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Central Po Valley, Italy, on February 22, 1945:

Case number:

ACUFO-1945-02-22-CENTRALPOVALLEY-1

Summary:

In the 2000's, ufology sources report a case from the 2007 book "Strange Company - Military Encounters with UFOs in World War II", by Keith Chester, who himself indicated it is documented in the 416th Night Fighter Squadron Daily Operations Report for February 22, 1945.

It reportedly tells that on February 22, 1945, at 10:30 p.m., a 416th Night Fighter Squadron Mosquito crew was conducting a GCI intruder sweep and patrol of the La Spezia area. Hanging over the water, about 20 miles west of Leghorn (Livorno), they noticed three lights, red-orange in color "that burned about a minute." Strangely, the lights "did not appear to be flares."

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	February 22, 1945
Time:	10:30 p.m.
Duration:	1 minute.
First known report date:	February 22, 1945
Reporting delay:

Geographical data:

Country:	Italy
State/Department:	Tuscany
City:	Central Po Valley, Livorno

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses:	1 or 2
Number of known witnesses:	?
Number of named witnesses:	0

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	Military operations report.
Visibility conditions:	Night.
UFO observed:	Yes.
UFO arrival observed:	?
UFO departure observed:	?
UFO action:	None.
Witnesses action:	None.
Photographs:	No.
Sketch(s) by witness(es):	No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es):	No.
Witness(es) feelings:	?
Witnesses interpretation:	Not flares.

Classifications:

Sensors:	[X] Visual: 1 or 2. [ ] Airborne radar: [ ] Directional ground radar: Not reported. [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages:
Hynek:	NL
Armed / unarmed:	Armed, 4 7.62 mm Browning machine guns and 4 20 mm Hispano cannons.
Reliability 1-3:	2
Strangeness 1-3:	1
ACUFO:	No reported strangeness.

Sources:

[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:

Case 99

February 22, 1945

Central Po Valley, Italy

At 22h30, a 416th NFS Mosquito crew was conducting a GCI intruder sweep and patrol of the La Spezia area. Hanging over the water, about 20 miles west of Leghorn, they noticed three lights, red-orange in color "that burned about a minute." Strangely, the lights "did not appear to be flares."

Sources: 416th NFS Daily Operations Report, 22 February, 1945, NARA / Strange Company, Keith Chester, 2007

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

Feb. 22, 1945; Nr. Leghorn, Italy

Three lights red-orange in color that did not appear to be flares. (Page 141 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: Feb. 22, 1945

Location: Near. Leghorn, Italy

Time:

Summary: Three lights red-orange in color that did not appear to be flares.

Source:

Aircraft information:

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. The code name for these missions was "Bluestocking".

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.

Discussion:

The 416th Fighter Squadron of the United States Army Air Forces was equipped with British Beaufighters from 1943 to 1944, and after advanced night fighter training with the Royal Air Force, it deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. It flew combat missions until Victory Day, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation.

In February 1945, the 416th NFS operated British de Havilland Mosquitos, and it was based at Pomigliano Airfield, Italy, with detachments at Tre Cancello Landing Strip, Italy.

The fact that the witnesses (Mosquito crew of 2, side by side, makes it likely that there were 2 witnesses) did not think the lights were flares does not mean that they were extraordinary. The lights may have been boats on fire, for example.

Evaluation:

No reported strangeness.

Sources references:

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

[aaf1] ? 416th Night Fighter Squadron Daily Operations Report, US Army Air Forces, February 22, 1945.
[kcr1] ? "Strange Company - Military Encounters with UFOs in World War II", book by Keith Chester, Anomalist Book publishes, USA, page 141, 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: February UFO & Alien Sightings", web page on the Think About It Website, USA, June 22, 2016, at https://www.thinkaboutitdocs.com/1945-february-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 7, 2023	Creation, [dwn2], [nip1], [tai1].
1.0	Patrick Gross	December 7, 2023	First published.

This page was last updated on December 7, 2023.