The term foo fighter was used by Allied aircraft pilots in World
War II to describe various UFOs or mysterious aerial phenomena seen
in the skies over both the European and Pacific Theater of
Operations.
Though "foo fighter" initially described a type of UFO reported and
named by the U.S. 415th Night Fighter Squadron, the term was also
commonly used to mean any UFO sighting from that period.
Formally reported from November 1944 onwards, witnesses often
assumed that the foo fighters were secret weapons employed by the
enemy, but they remained unidentified post-war and were reported by
both Allied and Axis forces.
The first sightings occurred in November 1944, when pilots flying
over Germany by night reported seeing fast-moving round glowing
objects following their aircraft. The objects were variously
described as fiery, and glowing red, white, or orange. Some pilots
described them as resembling Christmas tree lights and reported
that they seemed to toy with the aircraft, making wild turns before
simply vanishing. Pilots and aircrew reported that the objects flew
formation with their aircraft and behaved as if under intelligent
control, but never displayed hostile behavior. However, they could
not be outmaneuvered or shot down. The phenomenon was so widespread
that the lights earned a name - in the European Theater of
Operations they were often called "kraut fireballs" but for the
most part called "foo-fighters". The military took the sightings
seriously, suspecting that the mysterious sightings might be secret
German weapons, but further investigation revealed that German and
Japanese pilots had reported similar sightings.
In its 15 January 1945 edition Time magazine carried a story
entitled "Foo-Fighter", in which it reported that the "balls of
fire" had been following USAAF night fighters for over a month, and
that the pilots had named it the "foo-fighter". According to Time,
descriptions of the phenomena varied, but the pilots agreed that
the mysterious lights followed their aircraft closely at high
speed. Some scientists at the time rationalized the sightings as an
illusion probably caused by afterimages of dazzle caused by flak
bursts, while others suggested St. Elmo's Fire as an explanation.
The "balls of fire" phenomenon reported from the Pacific Theater of
Operations differed somewhat from the foo fighters reported from
Europe; the "ball of fire" resembled a large burning sphere which
"just hung in the sky", though it was reported to sometimes follow
aircraft. On one occasion, the gunner of a B-29 aircraft managed to
hit one with gunfire, causing it to break up into several large
pieces which fell on buildings below and set them on fire. As with
the European foo fighters, no aircraft was reported as having been
attacked by a "ball of fire"
The postwar Robertson Panel cited foo fighter reports, noting that
their behavior did not appear to be threatening, and mentioned
possible explanations, for instance that they were electrostatic
phenomena similar to St. Elmo's fire, electromagnetic phenomena, or
simply reflections of light from ice crystals. The Panel's report
suggested that "If the term "flying saucers" had been popular in
1943-1945, these objects would have been so labeled."
