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SEEKING OUT OBJECT - Scores of searchlights built a wigwam of light beams over Los Angeles early yesterday morning during the alarm. This picture was taken during blackout; shows nine beams converging on an object in sky in Culver City area. The blobs of light which show at apex of beam angles were made by anti-aircraft shells...
This Headquarters has come to a determination that the mystery airplanes are in fact not earthly and according to secret intelligence sources they are in all probability of interplanetary origin.
Source : www.majesticdocuments.com...
....A careful study of the evidence suggests that meteorological balloons — known to have been released over Los Angeles — may well have caused the initial alarm.....
This theory is supported by the fact that anti-aircraft artillery units were officially criticized for having wasted ammunition on targets which moved too slowly to have been airplanes.
After the firing started, careful observation was difficult because of drifting smoke from shell bursts. The acting commander of the anti-aircraft artillery brigade in the area testified that he had first been convinced that he had seen fifteen planes in the air, but had quickly decided that he was seeing smoke. Competent correspondents like Ernie Pyle and Bill Henry witnessed the shooting and wrote that they were never able to make out an airplane.
Page 285 – 286
Alternative Source : www.ibiblio.org...
.......Sightings of aerial phenomena were made during the Second World War by RAF aircrew. These included balls of fire and mysterious moving lights that appeared to pursue Allied aircraft operating over occupied Europe. American pilots dubbed these UFOs 'foo-fighters', from a character in a comic strip whose catch phrase was 'where there's foo there's fire.'
Although the foo-fighters did not appear to be hostile the sightings alarmed air intelligence branches of the Air Ministry and US Army Air Force as they prepared for the invasion of France. The RAF began to collect reports of 'night phenomena' from 1942 and later in the war; the Air Ministry shared intelligence on the subject with the US authorities. They assumed the phenomena were German secret weapons, such as the Me262 jet fighter.
At the end of the war no traces of advanced aircraft or weapons that could explain the 'foo fighters' were found by the Allied occupying forces. In addition, intelligence officers such as Dr RV Jones discovered that German pilots had observed similar unexplained aerial phenomena...
Originally Sourced from: UK National Archives ref - AIR 2/5070
These objects are undoubtedly shot up from the ground...The object first makes its appearance in the sky as an orange red ball of fire and its arrival is definitely not accompanied by any blast in its vicinity. It persists as a "ball of fire" about 50 to 60 feet in diameter for a period of about 5-10 seconds after which period it begins to "drip" multicoloured fragments which fall for about 150 feet before burning out. This cascade continues for about half a minute or a little longer, after which the whole thing appears to burn out......
....Phenomenon 1 is probably purely a 'scarecrow' and is not lethal.
Phenomenon 2 is probably a flare to assist enemy fighters. 'Flashless flak' if it exists exhibits all the normal characteristics of flak except the brilliance of the flash. None of the above mentioned phenomena are considered to be in any way connected with aerial mines...
....Most of our crews were at best relatively inexperienced. They early learned to identify the most obvious forms of conventional flak and cannon bursts but many of them from the first insisted they had seen multi-collared explosions of one kind and another. These observations were greeted with scepticism if not derision at first. It is likely that many valuable reports were lost by the crew members' reluctance to report such strange things as they knew they had seen. These men had little general knowledge of ordnance and usually their observations were only fleeting glimpses caught in the heat of battle. "Pink Flak" became a joke long before it was a well-understood phenomenon.....
“Cylindrical yellow objects 3 by 6 feet have been reported in various locations in areas south of GASMATA. Also SOPAC (South Pacific) area recently reported that similarly described objects exploded upon approach of aircraft. This reported by Com 7th Flt. Request all available information these objects and possible means of actuation.”
Japanese forces were not using rockets or missiles during WWII. No one was. So the description of “Cylindrical yellow objects 3 by 6 feet…” begs to be matched with something else....
No. C-6161, Sept. 29, 1943. To AGWAR from CINC SWPA Signed MacArthur. Complete report on suspected attempts at radar countermeasures made reference your 8398 25th is being prepared and will be forwarded by air mail. Phenomenon possibly related to that observed in NEW GEORGIA has been recorded and will be described in detail.....
....... "these phenomena are obviously the result of a high technical skill which cannot be credited to any presently known culture on earth." They are therefore assuming that these objects originate from some previously unknown or unidentified technology, possibly outside the earth.
…felt this demonstration, if of Russian origin, would be intended to counteract the effect of American atom bomb experiments, by implying the Russians also possess a high performance weapon.’
The objects often manoeuvred in unusual ways and several landed or crashed in lakes. To this day rocket like objects, with no apparent source of origin, are seen in Sweden; a modern day Ghost Rocket phenomenon. What they are or where they come from remains unknown.
Since no fragments have ever been found, neither on the ground nor in the lakes, both the Swedish, British and US military failed to find an explanation. When investigating the lakes, the only tangible evidence the military search teams found, was occasional craters in the lake bottom and torn off aquatic plants.....
....
"We soon established that they were not missiles. But, before we could do any more, the Army, after conferring with foreign officials (presumably U.S. Defense Dept.), ordered the investigation stopped.
Foreign scientists [from Washington] flew to Greece for secret talks with me". Later Santorinis told UFO researchers such as Raymond Fowler that secrecy was invoked because officials were afraid to admit of a superior technology against which we have "no possibility of defence".....
Sort of, but the story is more than just war jitters. It's an example of how numerous witnesses can all observe the same event and perceive drastically different things. In this example even the same witness perceived different things of the same event:
originally posted by: mirageman
So is the Battle of LA really nothing more than a story of war jitters and nothing to do with alien spacecraft?
Is that 15 planes, or is it smoke? This is sadly one of the factors that some ufologists dismiss and say things like "anybody could tell the different between 15 planes and smoke", but this is where the war jitters probably had a psychological factor. If there wasn't a war and if Japan hadn't attacked the coast a few days earlier, we might suspect the witnesses would be less likely to expect to see enemy planes in the sky.
The acting commander of the anti-aircraft artillery brigade in the area testified that he had first been convinced that he had seen fifteen planes in the air, but had quickly decided that he was seeing smoke...
I would love to read all his original reports. It's disappointing he didn't even have them by 1969, I wonder what happened to them. Could they have been destroyed before they were FOIA'd? I tried searching for foo fighter reports one time and I didn't come up with much that was useful, but Griggs' reports would be very useful.
originally posted by: mirageman
American Physicist, David T. Griggs (pictured), was drafted in to investigate these strange sightings and actually flew on both training and combat missions during the war. Working under the command of General Harry ‘Hap’ Arnold, Griggs was tasked with collating information on the ‘foo fighters’ and filing reports through the echelons of command. In 1969, although he had none of the original reports in his possession, Griggs agreed to an interview with James McDonald.
Griggs made it clear that many reports stemmed from misinterpretations. But he still felt that there had been something real involved without being able to ever resolve the ‘foo fighter’ mystery.
... suddenly the air raid warning sounded. There had been no 'Condition Red'... I heard the formation before I saw it. Even then, I was puzzled by the sound. It was a mighty roar that seemed to echo in the heavens. It didn't sound at all like the high-pitched 'sewing machine' drone of the Jap formations... The formation was huge; I would say over 150 objects were in it. Instead of the usual tight 'V' of 25 planes, this formation was in straight lines of 10 or 12 objects, one behind the other. The speed was a little faster than Jap planes, and they were soon out of sight. A few other things puzzled me: I couldn't seem to make out any wings or tails. They seemed to wobble slightly, and every time they wobbled they would shimmer brightly from the sun. Their colour was like highly polished silver. No bombs were dropped, of course. All in all, it was the most awe-inspiring and yet frightening spectacles I have seen in my life.
Comparisons of these objects show that there can be no doubt about illegal air traffic over our secret military areas. there are many reports from reliable people which describe close observation of the enigmatic flier. And in every case the same remark can be noted: no insignias or identifying marks were visible on the machines... the question is: who or whom are they, and why have they been invading our air territory?
Anti-aircraft guns went into action against unidentified aircraft in the Los Angeles area shortly after 3:00 a.m. Pacific War Time this morning. The antiaircraft guns began barking during a blackout ordered by the 4th Interceptor Command at 2:25 a.m. The unidentified object which some sources thought might be a blimp, moved slowly down the coast toward Santa Monica and disappeared south of Long Beach. Army officials declined to comment on the possibility that the object might have been a blimp. However, it required nearly 30 minutes to travel some 25 miles, far slower than an airplane.
Watchers on a rooftop of the Columbia Broadcasting building in the heart of Hollywood could plainly see the flashes of guns and searchlights sweeping the skies in a wide arc along the coastal area. Concussion of the shells could be felt in downtown Los Angeles 15 miles away. US Army planes quickly took to the dark skies but whether they contacted the object has not been announced. Army officials say they will not comment until they receive a full report on the action.
Although some watchers say they saw airplanes in the air, semi-official sources say they probably were the US Army’s pursuit. Several observers say they saw one or more planes spotlighted by 20 or 30 searchlights. The object moved southward, presumably over Huntington Park at the western edge of Los Angeles, and on southward to about Long Beach on the coast. By 3:30 a.m. observers said the object appeared to be over the south of Long Beach. Searchlights closely followed the object down the coast and kept it centered in their glare. Shells frequently can be seen bursting near the object, but none appeared to hit it. The shooting stopped about 3:30 am.
The shooting brought warfare to the front door of this city of a million and a quarter population for the first time since December 7th. Already it was alert to the presence off the southern California coast of a Japanese submarine which had pumped 25 shells into an oilfield north of Santa Barbara Monday evening. Because of the presence of the submarine, a 3-hour alert was ordered at dusk last night and civilian authorities stood at their posts while the Army and Navy continued their search for the submersible. The evening alert ended at 10:23 p.m., but another was sounded at 2:22 a.m. and the blackout followed within 3 minutes. It covered Los Angeles County from to Santa Monica to Pomona.
At 2:27 all southern California radio stations were ordered off the air except those in San Diego. Approximately 20 minutes after the firing died down, the ship returned and headed westward from Long Beach towards Santa Monica. The guns went into action again hurling round after round of shells at the object. The second barrage appeared to be closer to downtown Los Angeles, since watchers could hear the concussion of the guns more clearly and the flash of bursting shells was brighter. Then the ship disappeared for the second time over the ocean. We return you now to CBS in New York.....