Important Sightings, 1939–45 Military pilots active during these years witnessed a variety of unidentified aircraft, and chased (or were chased by) some of them. Fliers attributed some incidents to foo fighters. Civilian sightings of the period are no less puzzling. 1939: During a professional visit to Washington, D.C., a Greenwich, Ohio, minister named Turner Hamilton … Read more
Balloon Bombs, Plus Other Nastiness Attack from the air is unnerving as well as potentially deadly. People, particularly civilians, do not cotton to the idea of harmful things dropping onto them from the sky. That’s one psychological advantage held by purveyors of airborne warfare, and what drove the Japanese to pursue a strategically worthless but … Read more
UFOs and the Battle of Los Angeles The most astounding battle of World War II may not have been a proper battle at all, but just a bit of a misunderstanding. And although recognized as having occurred in and above Los Angeles on February 24–25, 1942, the real “battle”— such as it was—took place a … Read more
UFOs and World War II: The Nazi Saucer Connection (with a Cameo by Imperial Japan) An especially stimulating aspect of Nazi Germany’s employment of airpower during World War II, and its place in the larger discussion of UFOs, revolves around German interest in flying discs. The notion that wartime Germany (and postwar German holdouts) filled … Read more
UFOs and World War II: How a German Foo Fighter Might Have Functioned Rudolf Lusar’s 1959 book German Secret Weapons of World War II claims that Luftwaffe engineers developed small, pilotless aircraft late in the war. Lusar identified one of these as the Kugelblitz (Ball lightning) and another as the Feuerball (Fireball). He may have … Read more
UFOs and World War II: Gremlins, Balloon Bombs, and the World in the Balance The story of flight during the Second World War (1939–45) is, of course, a mammoth one. Accounting for all belligerents, the United States included, air forces fielded 640 discrete models of fighters (with numerous subcategories related to wings, engines, weight, and … Read more
Aviation During World War I During the European war of 1914–18, German zeppelins sent over London to drop bombs did damage but were no match for winged British aircraft fitted with Lewis machine guns, which chewed the bags of gas to pieces. Allied aerial- photographic reconnaissance that upended a great deal of German ground strategy … Read more
UFOs in the First Third of the 20th Century General scientific and technological advances, showcased at world’s fairs mounted beginning in the mid-19th century, helped turn facets of hard science into popular science. Citizens, armed with new knowledge, became more aware than before of technology and the natural world. The greatest of the pre-1900 world’s … Read more
UFOs in the 19th Century The 19th century brought a startling array of inventions and technical wonders, among them the telephone and filament lamp; the steam turbine and the automobile; radio and the cinematograph—even the electric chair. Powered flight was yet to come, but aviation science was growing, nevertheless. Beginning around 1880, Thomas Edison conducted … Read more
UFO Sightings, 8th Century to 18th Century Recorded accounts from this lengthy period easily number into the thousands, and would require a chronology-style book if most were to be noted. As well, there is an inevitable sameness to reports; the incidents noted below are especially novel. As witness accounts approach the 17th and 18th centuries, … Read more
