Foo fighters become a widely reported wartime mystery

Witness account

An Associated Press report brought the term 'foo fighters' and aircrew accounts of accompanying balls of light to a wide public audience. The article described several configurations of lights and quoted pilots who thought they might be a German weapon. It also said the lights did not explode or attack the aircraft. Its language conveyed speculation as well as observation.

Public record

A 2 January newspaper clipping and transcription preserve the dispatch's 1 January dateline. Quoted claims concern earlier missions and contain no precise date for every encounter. Statements about ground radio control were proposed explanations, not the product of a demonstrated recovered control system. Syndicated appearances of the same dispatch count as one reporting chain, not many independent investigations.

Sources

• Mysterious Balls of Fire Chase Fliers Over Reich, Associated Press, News-Press, Fort Myers, 2 January 1945; clipping and transcription
• The Indianapolis Star, 2 January 1945, Robert Wilson Associated Press article