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Tonight,
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a fiery phenomenon
terrorizing American airmen
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00:00:15,042 --> 00:00:16,916
during World War II,
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Eight to 10 balls of fire
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come at the Night
Fighter Squadron
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with serious speed and intent.
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A huge red light
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traveling at an estimated
200 miles an hour.
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He aims his plane towards
these balls of light
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and prepares to engage.
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And just like that, the
lights all just disappear.
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The men call these
fiery orbs Foo Fighters.
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They seem to be
stalking US pilots.
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But what are they?
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These pilots are
stressed and fatigued.
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You're looking out
into the darkness,
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your mind is going to
play tricks on you.
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The witnesses were adamant,
they saw what they saw,
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and it defied the
laws of physics.
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Now, we explore
the top theories
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surrounding these
strange encounters.
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Maybe it was a
secret German weapon
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on a collision course
with their airplane.
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The idea of unidentified
flying objects
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was almost entirely in
the realm of fiction.
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This is an 80-year-old
mystery, and it's still here.
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What's the hidden
truth
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behind World War II's
mysterious Foo Fighters?
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November 26th, 1944,
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Longvic Air Base,
Dijon, France.
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Allied forces are
battling their way
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toward the German homeland,
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when American pilot,
Edward Schlueter,
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and his radar operator,
Donald Meiers,
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take off on a search and
destroy mission over Germany
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for the 415th Night
Fighter Squadron.
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The 415th
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Night Fighter Squadron is
the point of the spear
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for a new type of
nighttime war fighting
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near the end of World War II.
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It's six months after D-Day,
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Allied forces are
gaining ground,
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and Germany is
getting desperate.
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While the tide of
war is shifting
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in the favor of the Allies,
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there is an effort to bring the
war directly to German soil,
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and that leads to a growing
emphasis on night fighting.
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The 415th Night
Fighter Squadron
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are flying these stealth planes,
these Bristol Beaufighters.
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They're painted black, they
are just armed to the teeth;
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they have guns, they have
cannons, they can drop bombs.
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The tactic of
these night fighters
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was to go after things
like supply trains
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and military
installations after dark.
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That night,
near Mannheim, Germany,
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Schlueter and Meiers
attack and destroy
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a German military train.
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They're headed back to
Dijon,
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and they see in the sky
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something that
they can't explain;
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it's like a big
red glowing light.
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Schlueter reports that
there's a strange red light
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about 2000 feet off
his starboard side.
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It's like nothing
they've really seen before.
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In the battlefield, there
are all sorts of lights
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and explosions all the time,
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but this is something
new, something different.
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After it follows
their aircraft
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for a pronounced period of time,
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they notice that
the ball of light
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suddenly disappears
in a long red streak.
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Schlueter soon learns he's not alone.
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Another aircrew
on the same squadron
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encounter very similar
strange lights.
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This has gone from
being a one-off incident
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to something of a
developing phenomenon.
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A few nights later,
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the intelligence
officer, Fred Ringwald,
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decides to come along
and see for himself.
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His thinking is that perhaps
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this is some sort of new
German secret weapon.
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On this mission,
Schlueter and his crew
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are on what's called
a ground sweep;
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they're flying very
close to the ground,
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following the Rhine River,
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they're looking for
targets of opportunity,
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but they're also trying to
stay below German defenses.
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Ringwald suddenly spots
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a strange cluster of orange
lights in the distance
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off the left wing
of their aircraft.
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This time, instead of
one big glowing red light,
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they see maybe about eight to 10
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reddish, orange glowing objects.
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Schlueter thinks they
might just be stars twinkling
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far, far away.
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He recognizes that things
can look different at night
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and over great
distances in the air.
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But then they seem
to come closer,
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and he realizes this is
not simple starlight.
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It's eight to 10
balls of orange fire
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that seem to be coming
towards his aircraft
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at breakneck speed.
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Schlueter is like,
"This is something
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really bizarre."
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So he gets on the
radio and he says,
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"Have we got any enemy
aircraft in the area?"
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And they say, "No.
What, are you crazy?
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You're the only guys up there."
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And yet men in the
plane,
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they 100% see something
coming at them.
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And so, Ed Schlueter, the pilot,
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he's a trained fighter pilot,
he knows what he has to do.
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He decides he's gonna
intercept whatever this is.
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He prepares to engage
these strange lights
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and prepares for a dogfight.
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At the last moment,
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these lights just disappeared
off at high speed.
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A few weeks later,
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as Lieutenant Harry Giblin
and his radar observer
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crossed the Rhine
into German territory,
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they see two huge
orange balls above them,
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about 1000 feet
higher in altitude.
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The balls of light
were moving
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at an incomprehensible speed.
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So whatever these things are,
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they are incredibly fast
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and they're incredibly
maneuverable.
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A few nights later,
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another crew encounter
two glowing balls
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heading towards their plane;
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and then the next night, they
see exactly the same thing.
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And it seems to be
these balls of light
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are tracking the plane.
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These balls don't
attack the planes,
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but there's a sense of menace.
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The pilots say, "Look,
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we don't know what
we're dealing with here,
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but it's under
intelligent control."
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Back on the base,
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the pilots named these balls
of fire that they'd seen
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Foo Fighters.
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It's a play off of
a popular comic strip
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in which the main character
uses the catchphrase
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"Where there's
Foo, there's fire."
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It's a silly name,
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but these airmen are deadly
serious about what they've seen.
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They don't think it's a
figment of their imagination.
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By the end of 1944,
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the 415th has had more than
a dozen mysterious encounters
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with Foo Fighters,
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and a war correspondent
picks up the story.
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On January 2nd, 1945,
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the New York Times runs a story
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00:07:04,792 --> 00:07:07,082
about these Foo
Fighter encounters;
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that the Germans have
thrown this new technology
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into the night skies, and
no one knows what it is.
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Suddenly, it's not
just the night fighters
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who wanna know what's going on,
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everyone wants to
know what's going on.
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What if it's the Germans?
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What if this is the Axis
powers creating a new weapon,
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a new aircraft,
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something that we
don't know about
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that's going to start
shifting the advantage
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that, at this point, the
Allied powers have in the war?
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A few days after the
New York Times article,
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the AP Science editor
writes another article
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that puts out this theory
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that maybe what the
German army has done
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is put an electric charge over
all of its occupied territory
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that would disrupt
anything flying into it.
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And there's a suggestion
that these balls of light
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are basically latex balloons
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that might be
getting dragged along
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in the wake by these fighters
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and moving through this
electrified airspace.
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It kind of sounds
a little crazy,
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but there was an occasion
where another air crew,
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shortly before all this Foo
Fighter business took off,
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actually encountered
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what looked like hundreds
of small latex balloons
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in the skies over occupied Euro.
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Thunderbolt pilots report seeing
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about a hundred yellow balloons
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approximately one-foot in diameter
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at an altitude of
two to 3,000-feet.
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Seeing these yellow
latex balloons by day,
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and these similarly-sized
orange balls of light by night,
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makes the theory
seem very plausible.
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While some in the military
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suspect the Foo Fighters may
merely be latex balloons,
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others fear that the pilots
are catching glimpses
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of something far more
powerful and deadly.
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Hitler's putting an
enormous amount of resources
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into wunderwaffen
or "wonder weapons."
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Essentially, he's
hoping that Germans
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will make a breakthrough to
create a war-winning weapon
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that will destroy Allied forces.
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One such super weapon
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is the terrifying V-2 rocket.
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The V-2 ballistic
missile
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00:09:20,167 --> 00:09:24,041
was the world's first
long-range ballistic missile;
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in fact, it goes farther,
it launches higher,
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it carries a bigger payload
than any of the rockets
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that anyone has
experienced before.
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00:09:31,667 --> 00:09:33,874
And in Hitler's arsenal,
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he calls this one the
vergeltungswaffen,
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"the vengeance weapon."
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London after a V-2 raid,
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00:09:42,208 --> 00:09:43,332
the Nazi vengeance weapon,
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00:09:43,333 --> 00:09:47,041
which in six months
killed or maimed 9,000.
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00:09:47,042 --> 00:09:50,999
The worst attack by a
V-2 occurs when a V-2 rocket
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00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:55,042
hits a department store in
London killing 168 people.
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00:09:56,208 --> 00:10:00,041
Between September of
1944 and March of 1945,
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00:10:00,042 --> 00:10:04,374
Nazi Germany launches
over 3,000 V-2 rockets.
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00:10:04,375 --> 00:10:05,624
They're especially effective
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00:10:05,625 --> 00:10:07,457
against targets in
Belgium and France
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00:10:07,458 --> 00:10:08,749
and in the United Kingdom,
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because the weapons
move at such high-speed
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that Allied forces have
absolutely no weapon system
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that can stop them.
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00:10:17,958 --> 00:10:19,916
The supersonic V-2 rockets
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00:10:19,917 --> 00:10:23,374
are unlike anything Allied
pilots have seen before,
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00:10:23,375 --> 00:10:27,791
especially as the V-2's
streaked through the night sky.
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00:10:27,792 --> 00:10:32,041
The V-2 are powered
by a mixture of alcohol
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00:10:32,042 --> 00:10:33,666
and liquid oxygen.
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00:10:33,667 --> 00:10:35,041
And what's
interesting about that
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00:10:35,042 --> 00:10:36,916
in relation to the Foo Fighters
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00:10:36,917 --> 00:10:41,875
is that, at night, the plume
is a sort of yellowish-orange;
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00:10:43,083 --> 00:10:46,249
so if a pilot saw it
perhaps from a long way off,
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00:10:46,250 --> 00:10:50,499
they would see a sort of
yellowy-orange streak of light,
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and they might think that this
was an object tracking them.
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00:10:55,500 --> 00:10:57,957
But the V-2s aren't
the only Nazi super weapon
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that leaves fire in its wake.
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The Komet rocket
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00:11:01,708 --> 00:11:03,874
is one of Hitler's most
touted wonder weapons.
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Traveling at 600 miles per hour,
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00:11:06,792 --> 00:11:10,291
these vehicles were the
only rocket-powered planes
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00:11:10,292 --> 00:11:12,416
ever used in battle.
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At about the time that
these Foo Fighter reports
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00:11:15,208 --> 00:11:16,291
were coming in,
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00:11:16,292 --> 00:11:19,041
there were apparently
several hundred
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00:11:19,042 --> 00:11:22,125
of these Komet rocket
aircraft in production.
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These planes are
highly maneuverable,
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00:11:25,208 --> 00:11:29,124
and they can rapidly
climb to 30,000 feet,
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00:11:29,125 --> 00:11:32,874
before descending to
intercept enemy airplanes.
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00:11:34,375 --> 00:11:37,291
What was powering
this rocket plane
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00:11:37,292 --> 00:11:40,166
was a mixture of liquid
hydrogen peroxide,
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00:11:40,167 --> 00:11:41,749
methane, and water.
250
00:11:41,750 --> 00:11:43,207
And when it went off,
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00:11:43,208 --> 00:11:46,874
what it created was
this huge amber plume
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that would appear
behind the jets.
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If you're a pilot
looking out,
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and you're seeing this mixture
of rocket fuel burning,
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00:11:55,292 --> 00:11:58,541
it would look unlike anything
you had ever seen before.
256
00:11:58,542 --> 00:12:02,791
This fiery plume coming
out of the rear of this thing
257
00:12:02,792 --> 00:12:05,750
could be mistaken for the
so-called Foo Fighters.
258
00:12:11,375 --> 00:12:13,707
Foo Fighter sightings by the
415th Night Fighter Squadron
259
00:12:13,708 --> 00:12:17,082
continue into the
spring of 1945,
260
00:12:17,083 --> 00:12:21,791
then vanish just as victory
is declared in Europe.
261
00:12:21,792 --> 00:12:25,416
The timing fuels speculation
that the Foo Fighters
262
00:12:25,417 --> 00:12:27,707
were a secret Nazi weapon,
263
00:12:27,708 --> 00:12:30,332
but what kind remains a mystery.
264
00:12:30,333 --> 00:12:33,041
The war ends in
Europe in May of 1945,
265
00:12:33,042 --> 00:12:36,707
but it is still ongoing in
the Pacific against Japan.
266
00:12:36,708 --> 00:12:40,374
Flight crews in
bombers, the B-29s,
267
00:12:40,375 --> 00:12:42,499
which fly at higher altitudes,
268
00:12:42,500 --> 00:12:44,624
longer distances across water,
269
00:12:44,625 --> 00:12:47,041
they're starting to report
the same kind of lights,
270
00:12:47,042 --> 00:12:48,749
similar to the Foo Fighters
271
00:12:48,750 --> 00:12:52,207
that the 415th Night
Squadron had seen.
272
00:12:52,208 --> 00:12:53,916
The pilots are
reporting
273
00:12:53,917 --> 00:12:56,957
that there are these balls
of fire coming up at them
274
00:12:56,958 --> 00:13:00,541
and hanging on their tails
as they fly over Japan.
275
00:13:00,542 --> 00:13:03,791
The colors seem to
shift from orange to red to
276
00:13:03,792 --> 00:13:06,374
white in kind of a
cyclical pattern.
277
00:13:06,375 --> 00:13:08,874
And even though these
balls of light or fire
278
00:13:08,875 --> 00:13:11,499
never seem to offer
any kind of attack,
279
00:13:11,500 --> 00:13:13,167
they seem dangerous.
280
00:13:14,250 --> 00:13:15,916
There's one
occasion where a pilot
281
00:13:15,917 --> 00:13:18,166
is being chased by
one of these things,
282
00:13:18,167 --> 00:13:20,582
and he goes into a cloud bank
283
00:13:20,583 --> 00:13:21,957
that would give
this thing the slip,
284
00:13:21,958 --> 00:13:23,291
and he comes out of the cloud
285
00:13:23,292 --> 00:13:26,083
and this thing is still
right there on his tail.
286
00:13:27,292 --> 00:13:30,749
The pilot describes
this giant orange ball
287
00:13:30,750 --> 00:13:32,374
about three-feet in diameter
288
00:13:32,375 --> 00:13:35,874
that's just sitting about
500 yards off of his wing;
289
00:13:35,875 --> 00:13:37,041
and it keeps up with him
290
00:13:37,042 --> 00:13:39,458
and then vanishes
in the dawn light.
291
00:13:40,792 --> 00:13:42,207
Several B-29 pilots
292
00:13:42,208 --> 00:13:44,749
say that if they use
evasive maneuvers,
293
00:13:44,750 --> 00:13:46,999
they can escape
these balls of fire,
294
00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,374
but if they're flying
steadily on course,
295
00:13:49,375 --> 00:13:51,874
which is what you
do on a bombing run,
296
00:13:51,875 --> 00:13:53,582
those balls of fire
are right behind them,
297
00:13:53,583 --> 00:13:54,666
and they can't lose 'em.
298
00:13:56,208 --> 00:13:57,957
Some argue that
these encounters
299
00:13:57,958 --> 00:13:59,874
with Foo Fighters in the Pacific
300
00:13:59,875 --> 00:14:02,124
indicate that the
Nazis may have shared
301
00:14:02,125 --> 00:14:05,874
their secret weapon technology
with their Japanese allies
302
00:14:05,875 --> 00:14:08,457
as the war drew to a close.
303
00:14:08,458 --> 00:14:10,582
These sightings give
credence to the idea
304
00:14:10,583 --> 00:14:12,291
that whatever the objects are,
305
00:14:12,292 --> 00:14:13,499
they might be a part
306
00:14:13,500 --> 00:14:15,707
of the Axis power's
last-ditch defensive effort.
307
00:14:17,208 --> 00:14:19,541
Once the
Nazi regime falls,
308
00:14:19,542 --> 00:14:22,374
Allied scientists rushed
to uncover evidence
309
00:14:22,375 --> 00:14:26,207
that these advanced secret
weapons actually existed.
310
00:14:26,208 --> 00:14:30,707
May, 1945, Allied
scientists took possession
311
00:14:30,708 --> 00:14:33,124
of a number of prototype weapons
312
00:14:33,125 --> 00:14:35,374
that the Nazis had
been developing
313
00:14:35,375 --> 00:14:40,125
in secret military installations
deep in the Black Forest.
314
00:14:41,708 --> 00:14:43,999
The Associated
Press has an article come out
315
00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,416
in August 20th, 1945,
316
00:14:46,417 --> 00:14:49,166
and it reports that British
and American scientists
317
00:14:49,167 --> 00:14:52,749
have found more of
Germany's weapons,
318
00:14:52,750 --> 00:14:57,166
including a giant bazooka
that could fire accurately
319
00:14:57,167 --> 00:14:59,958
at a target over 120 miles away.
320
00:15:01,208 --> 00:15:03,166
There was also
something called a Spider Bomb,
321
00:15:03,167 --> 00:15:05,374
a sort of air-to-air missile
322
00:15:05,375 --> 00:15:08,832
that could be fired from
a long distance away,
323
00:15:08,833 --> 00:15:13,207
perhaps 15 miles, using
a wire to guide it.
324
00:15:13,208 --> 00:15:15,249
None of these
experimental weapons
325
00:15:15,250 --> 00:15:17,082
ever got past the
prototype phase,
326
00:15:17,083 --> 00:15:19,291
but by the time
the 415th Squadron
327
00:15:19,292 --> 00:15:21,499
is flying in the
skies over Germany,
328
00:15:21,500 --> 00:15:23,666
there's a possibility
that the Axis forces
329
00:15:23,667 --> 00:15:26,666
are just throwing everything
they've got at the Allies
330
00:15:26,667 --> 00:15:28,292
and just hoping for a miracle.
331
00:15:29,708 --> 00:15:32,999
One possible
miracle weapon Allied pilots may
332
00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,791
have seen was allegedly kept a
secret for decades.
333
00:15:36,792 --> 00:15:38,999
In 1968, Renato Vesco,
334
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,124
an Italian aerospace
engineer, writer,
335
00:15:42,125 --> 00:15:44,874
comes out and reveals
that he has had contacts
336
00:15:44,875 --> 00:15:46,916
with high officials in
the German Luftwaffe
337
00:15:46,917 --> 00:15:48,541
and the German army
338
00:15:48,542 --> 00:15:51,249
presenting information about
these German wonder weapons
339
00:15:51,250 --> 00:15:54,832
that have been held secret
ever since World War II.
340
00:15:54,833 --> 00:15:58,249
Renato Vesco claims
that the Germans had produced
341
00:15:58,250 --> 00:15:59,666
what he called the "Feuerball,"
342
00:15:59,667 --> 00:16:02,874
which was a device
powered by a jet engine.
343
00:16:04,458 --> 00:16:06,874
This was essentially
a self-propelled fireball
344
00:16:06,875 --> 00:16:08,749
that could be
launched into the sky
345
00:16:08,750 --> 00:16:11,541
to either disrupt or
destroy Allied aircraft.
346
00:16:13,250 --> 00:16:15,416
The plan was that they
would get close enough
347
00:16:15,417 --> 00:16:19,291
and emit some sort of
electromagnetic pulse
348
00:16:19,292 --> 00:16:22,707
that would wreck the
plane's radar system
349
00:16:22,708 --> 00:16:24,666
and might bring it down.
350
00:16:24,667 --> 00:16:27,166
One witness claimed
that when fired during the day,
351
00:16:27,167 --> 00:16:29,874
it looked like a shiny
disc spinning on its axis,
352
00:16:29,875 --> 00:16:31,874
but if you fired it at night,
353
00:16:31,875 --> 00:16:33,499
it looked like a burning globe.
354
00:16:35,167 --> 00:16:36,457
Vesco also claims
355
00:16:36,458 --> 00:16:38,541
that due to advanced
engineering,
356
00:16:38,542 --> 00:16:41,541
these devices were
invisible to radar.
357
00:16:41,542 --> 00:16:43,416
What Vesco says
is that in addition,
358
00:16:43,417 --> 00:16:46,082
they had the ability
when disengaging
359
00:16:46,083 --> 00:16:48,624
to go vertically very rapidly,
360
00:16:48,625 --> 00:16:52,666
which is exactly what the
415th pilots were witnessing.
361
00:16:52,667 --> 00:16:57,041
Vesco claims that this
fireball, feuerball, program
362
00:16:57,042 --> 00:16:59,207
was based in the Black Forest,
363
00:16:59,208 --> 00:17:03,707
the area that the 415th
Night Fighter Squadron
364
00:17:03,708 --> 00:17:05,249
was patrolling and operating.
365
00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:09,874
However, skeptics point
out
366
00:17:09,875 --> 00:17:11,832
that there's actually
no hard evidence
367
00:17:11,833 --> 00:17:14,874
that these weapons were in
development and production
368
00:17:14,875 --> 00:17:17,207
in the area where the 415th
369
00:17:17,208 --> 00:17:19,457
was reporting Foo
Fighter sightings.
370
00:17:19,458 --> 00:17:21,624
But it is interesting
to speculate
371
00:17:21,625 --> 00:17:23,749
on the types of weapons
that the Germans
372
00:17:23,750 --> 00:17:26,083
might have thrown into the sky
at that time.
373
00:17:31,625 --> 00:17:33,082
More than a
hundred Foo Fighter encounters
374
00:17:33,083 --> 00:17:34,707
are reported during
World War II.
375
00:17:34,708 --> 00:17:37,707
Many of these accounts
describe strange lights
376
00:17:37,708 --> 00:17:41,791
moving in ways unlike any
known aircraft or weapon,
377
00:17:41,792 --> 00:17:44,374
leaving some to wonder
whether these objects
378
00:17:44,375 --> 00:17:46,624
were actually in the sky at all.
379
00:17:48,292 --> 00:17:52,249
World War II was really
the first non-stop war.
380
00:17:52,250 --> 00:17:56,582
It was 24/7, as much
fighting at night as at day,
381
00:17:56,583 --> 00:18:00,291
obviously, the night
fighters, night bombing raids,
382
00:18:00,292 --> 00:18:04,041
and people were exhausted,
physically and mentally.
383
00:18:05,875 --> 00:18:09,124
There are lots of
advantages to fighting at night,
384
00:18:09,125 --> 00:18:11,041
especially in the air,
385
00:18:11,042 --> 00:18:12,707
but this means that
the service people
386
00:18:12,708 --> 00:18:14,041
that are fighting overnight
387
00:18:14,042 --> 00:18:15,999
are subject to
sleep deprivation,
388
00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,333
including members of the 415th.
389
00:18:19,250 --> 00:18:20,624
In an ideal world,
390
00:18:20,625 --> 00:18:23,666
these pilots would have
at least one rest day
391
00:18:23,667 --> 00:18:25,166
between missions,
392
00:18:25,167 --> 00:18:28,374
but with manpower shortages
being what they were,
393
00:18:28,375 --> 00:18:31,124
a lot of these people were
just flying constantly
394
00:18:31,125 --> 00:18:33,083
night after night after night.
395
00:18:34,292 --> 00:18:35,916
When it comes
to the reports by pilots
396
00:18:35,917 --> 00:18:37,457
of Foo Fighter encounters,
397
00:18:37,458 --> 00:18:40,707
could it be that extreme
fatigue and combat stress
398
00:18:40,708 --> 00:18:44,041
were playing tricks
on the airmen's minds?
399
00:18:44,042 --> 00:18:45,499
Experts say that
these factors
400
00:18:45,500 --> 00:18:48,624
could mess with
perceptions of reality,
401
00:18:48,625 --> 00:18:51,541
but given the very large
number of encounters
402
00:18:51,542 --> 00:18:54,999
and the fact that these
fighters are trained
403
00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:56,707
to fight at night,
404
00:18:56,708 --> 00:19:00,374
it seems unlikely that
all of these sightings
405
00:19:00,375 --> 00:19:03,332
were due to fatigue and stress.
406
00:19:03,333 --> 00:19:04,916
Knowing what we now
know,
407
00:19:04,917 --> 00:19:06,874
it's intriguing to speculate
408
00:19:06,875 --> 00:19:10,624
that these Foo Fighter sightings
might have been triggered
409
00:19:10,625 --> 00:19:11,750
by something else.
410
00:19:12,958 --> 00:19:14,707
These pilots that
we're talking about
411
00:19:14,708 --> 00:19:17,666
were exhausted quite often,
but they had to overcome this.
412
00:19:17,667 --> 00:19:20,374
They couldn't take a nap
while they were flying,
413
00:19:20,375 --> 00:19:23,041
they needed to stay awake,
they needed to stay alert,
414
00:19:23,042 --> 00:19:25,749
and they needed a
tool to get there.
415
00:19:31,375 --> 00:19:33,791
An awful lot of
aviation personnel operating at
416
00:19:33,792 --> 00:19:37,667
night were doing so under
the influence of drugs.
417
00:19:38,625 --> 00:19:40,624
The Germans were
the first to rely
418
00:19:40,625 --> 00:19:43,916
upon the use of amphetamines
to basically drive their troops
419
00:19:43,917 --> 00:19:46,791
beyond the normal limits
of human endurance.
420
00:19:47,917 --> 00:19:49,207
In the early
stages of the war,
421
00:19:49,208 --> 00:19:51,082
the Germans experienced
great success
422
00:19:51,083 --> 00:19:53,374
with this new tactic
that they have developed
423
00:19:53,375 --> 00:19:55,916
that is nicknamed
Blitzkrieg, "lightning war."
424
00:19:55,917 --> 00:20:00,374
The idea is to press a
breakthrough so fast and so hard
425
00:20:00,375 --> 00:20:02,207
that it leaves the
enemy with no recourse
426
00:20:02,208 --> 00:20:03,708
but to beat a hasty retreat.
427
00:20:05,083 --> 00:20:06,582
In 1939,
428
00:20:06,583 --> 00:20:10,041
as Germany begins a Blitzkrieg
onslaught across Europe,
429
00:20:10,042 --> 00:20:12,166
soldiers are given
large quantities
430
00:20:12,167 --> 00:20:15,832
of a powerful amphetamine
called Pervitin
431
00:20:15,833 --> 00:20:18,541
to fuel their rapid advance.
432
00:20:18,542 --> 00:20:21,832
Their mental acuity
goes up, they're able to stay
433
00:20:21,833 --> 00:20:25,707
awake, and it also boosts
confidence, it boosts
434
00:20:25,708 --> 00:20:28,624
aggression, it makes them into
better soldiers.
435
00:20:28,625 --> 00:20:30,541
And at one point in the 1940s,
436
00:20:30,542 --> 00:20:34,124
the British discover
a downed German plane;
437
00:20:34,125 --> 00:20:37,916
and in it, they find
these amphetamines,
438
00:20:37,917 --> 00:20:42,832
and they realize this is what's
powering the German forces,
439
00:20:42,833 --> 00:20:46,416
maybe it could be powering
the Allied forces as well.
440
00:20:46,417 --> 00:20:48,416
In response, American pilots
441
00:20:48,417 --> 00:20:51,541
also begin using amphetamines.
442
00:20:51,542 --> 00:20:53,374
You might not hear
about this in history class,
443
00:20:53,375 --> 00:20:55,124
but by late 1943,
444
00:20:55,125 --> 00:20:58,332
the US Army Air Force is
distributing millions of tabs
445
00:20:58,333 --> 00:21:01,207
of the powerful stimulant
Benzedrine sulfate
446
00:21:01,208 --> 00:21:04,582
to personnel who will
conduct night flights
447
00:21:04,583 --> 00:21:07,166
in both bombers
and fighters to men
448
00:21:07,167 --> 00:21:10,707
who the army needs to
stay awake and alert
449
00:21:10,708 --> 00:21:12,958
under conditions of
almost total darkness.
450
00:21:14,208 --> 00:21:18,041
By the time the Foo
Fighter sighting start in 1944,
451
00:21:18,042 --> 00:21:23,250
the US has handed out over
70 million of these tablets.
452
00:21:24,625 --> 00:21:26,374
The men called
these go-pills
453
00:21:26,375 --> 00:21:29,374
with the idea that it
was basically speed,
454
00:21:29,375 --> 00:21:31,457
this is going to
keep them hyped up.
455
00:21:31,458 --> 00:21:32,791
We don't have documentation
456
00:21:32,792 --> 00:21:36,124
about if the 415th was
actually using these pills,
457
00:21:36,125 --> 00:21:38,374
but overall, the
evidence suggests
458
00:21:38,375 --> 00:21:41,457
that about 15% of
American fighter pilots
459
00:21:41,458 --> 00:21:42,749
were using these pills.
460
00:21:43,792 --> 00:21:45,249
But there's a downside
461
00:21:45,250 --> 00:21:48,874
to the continuous use
of these amphetamines.
462
00:21:48,875 --> 00:21:51,166
The Nazis soon
figured out that this wasn't
463
00:21:51,167 --> 00:21:52,791
good for their soldiers.
464
00:21:52,792 --> 00:21:55,291
It made them too aggressive,
it made them too paranoid,
465
00:21:55,292 --> 00:21:56,749
they had too many problems.
466
00:21:56,750 --> 00:22:00,082
So they declared it
was a dangerous drug,
467
00:22:00,083 --> 00:22:02,500
and they stopped giving
it to their troops.
468
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,124
People get addicted and
then start to take too
469
00:22:06,125 --> 00:22:07,541
much of it.
470
00:22:07,542 --> 00:22:10,624
And if you take too much
of these particular drugs,
471
00:22:10,625 --> 00:22:14,916
you get symptoms such as
delirium, panic attacks,
472
00:22:14,917 --> 00:22:18,499
paranoia, hallucinations,
473
00:22:18,500 --> 00:22:22,957
exactly the sort of thing
that might make you mistake
474
00:22:22,958 --> 00:22:24,999
an innocuous light in the sky
475
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:28,541
for something rather more
unusual and extraordinary,
476
00:22:28,542 --> 00:22:31,207
like Foo Fighters.
477
00:22:32,708 --> 00:22:33,917
There's a standard
set of side effects
478
00:22:34,042 --> 00:22:35,957
associated with the use
of Benzedrine sulfate,
479
00:22:35,958 --> 00:22:39,582
and one factor that often
gets overlooked in all of this
480
00:22:39,583 --> 00:22:43,124
is that there is an
individual variability.
481
00:22:43,125 --> 00:22:46,957
And what that means is that
you give the drug to 10 people,
482
00:22:46,958 --> 00:22:49,207
all 10 of them will
experience the drug
483
00:22:49,208 --> 00:22:51,499
in completely different ways,
484
00:22:51,500 --> 00:22:54,999
some of them will hallucinate,
some of them will not.
485
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,166
And this provides a
powerful explanation
486
00:22:58,167 --> 00:23:00,374
for why some people report
487
00:23:00,375 --> 00:23:02,832
seeing these glowing
balls of light
488
00:23:02,833 --> 00:23:03,458
and others don't.
489
00:23:07,708 --> 00:23:10,707
When Foo Fighters gained
global attention In 1944,
490
00:23:10,708 --> 00:23:13,541
the term UFOs had
not been coined yet
491
00:23:13,542 --> 00:23:16,082
and tales of
extraterrestrial encounters
492
00:23:16,083 --> 00:23:17,832
were mere science fiction.
493
00:23:17,833 --> 00:23:20,707
But a few years later,
all that changes
494
00:23:20,708 --> 00:23:23,957
when a possible alien
spacecraft sighting
495
00:23:23,958 --> 00:23:25,916
becomes national news.
496
00:23:25,917 --> 00:23:28,374
On June 24th,
1947,
497
00:23:28,375 --> 00:23:30,082
just a couple of
years after the war,
498
00:23:30,083 --> 00:23:32,957
there's a private pilot
near Mount Rainier
499
00:23:32,958 --> 00:23:37,082
who reports that he has seen
a number of flying discs.
500
00:23:38,417 --> 00:23:39,832
Kenneth Arnold's vivid report
501
00:23:39,833 --> 00:23:42,666
instantly becomes
a media sensation.
502
00:23:42,667 --> 00:23:44,832
The press called
them flying saucers.
503
00:23:44,833 --> 00:23:46,166
The pilot himself was like,
504
00:23:46,167 --> 00:23:49,207
"Hey, I never said they
were flying saucers,"
505
00:23:49,208 --> 00:23:52,666
but we got that
term coined for us
506
00:23:52,667 --> 00:23:54,332
in that year of 1947.
507
00:23:56,042 --> 00:23:58,124
Suddenly, people
all across America
508
00:23:58,125 --> 00:24:00,749
are claiming to see
unexplained objects
509
00:24:00,750 --> 00:24:02,749
flying in the skies overhead.
510
00:24:02,750 --> 00:24:05,541
The frenzy only gets
worse later in the year
511
00:24:05,542 --> 00:24:07,832
when the military
reports having recovered
512
00:24:07,833 --> 00:24:10,416
some form of unidentified
flying object
513
00:24:10,417 --> 00:24:12,374
near Roswell, New Mexico.
514
00:24:12,375 --> 00:24:17,374
Something came down
near Roswell Army Airfield,
515
00:24:17,375 --> 00:24:20,374
and the military put
out a press release
516
00:24:20,375 --> 00:24:23,166
harking back to
Kenneth Arnold sighting
517
00:24:23,167 --> 00:24:24,874
over Washington State,
518
00:24:24,875 --> 00:24:29,916
and said, "We have recovered
one of these flying saucers."
519
00:24:31,208 --> 00:24:33,082
Within 24 hours, they
changed their story and said,
520
00:24:33,083 --> 00:24:35,624
"It had been just
a weather balloon,"
521
00:24:35,625 --> 00:24:36,999
but it was too late,
522
00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,374
the story had gone
all around the world.
523
00:24:40,375 --> 00:24:42,374
And these two incidents,
524
00:24:42,375 --> 00:24:44,916
Kenneth Arnold's
flying saucer sighting
525
00:24:44,917 --> 00:24:48,624
and Roswell could be
said to be the birth
526
00:24:48,625 --> 00:24:52,041
of the modern UFO phenomenon.
527
00:24:52,042 --> 00:24:54,707
The UFO craze that's
kicked off after Roswell
528
00:24:54,708 --> 00:24:58,541
reignites interest in the
wartime Foo Fighter sightings,
529
00:24:58,542 --> 00:25:00,541
and it causes some to wonder
530
00:25:00,542 --> 00:25:02,999
if there is an alien
presence out there,
531
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,749
and whether or not
they might explain
532
00:25:05,750 --> 00:25:08,166
the wartime Foo
Fighter phenomenon.
533
00:25:12,375 --> 00:25:16,041
UFO fears are
heightened in the summer of 1952
534
00:25:16,042 --> 00:25:19,707
with a mysterious sighting
over Washington, DC.
535
00:25:19,708 --> 00:25:22,749
On Saturday, July
19th, 1952,
536
00:25:22,750 --> 00:25:25,582
air-traffic controllers at
Washington National Airport
537
00:25:25,583 --> 00:25:30,082
reported seeing about 10
different unidentified orbs
538
00:25:30,083 --> 00:25:32,374
hovering above the city.
539
00:25:32,375 --> 00:25:33,874
This became an overnight story.
540
00:25:33,875 --> 00:25:35,416
You're talking about these orbs
541
00:25:35,417 --> 00:25:37,416
that are moving at fast pace.
542
00:25:37,417 --> 00:25:38,874
So the fighter
jets were sent out,
543
00:25:38,875 --> 00:25:41,166
and they were reporting
that these orbs,
544
00:25:41,167 --> 00:25:44,457
they were moving
600 miles per hour.
545
00:25:46,042 --> 00:25:49,249
These UFO sightings
by air-traffic controllers
546
00:25:49,250 --> 00:25:51,416
are a national story.
547
00:25:51,417 --> 00:25:52,707
But the next weekend,
548
00:25:52,708 --> 00:25:55,874
another dozen orbs are
spotted in the skies
549
00:25:55,875 --> 00:25:59,500
over the DC region,
feeding the UFO frenzy.
550
00:26:00,833 --> 00:26:04,707
People across the country
are talking about UFOs,
551
00:26:04,708 --> 00:26:07,582
they're worried about them,
they're wondering about them,
552
00:26:07,583 --> 00:26:09,667
and they're reporting
them everywhere.
553
00:26:10,833 --> 00:26:12,791
The Air Force convenes
a press conference
554
00:26:12,792 --> 00:26:14,957
and announces that
there's nothing to fear,
555
00:26:14,958 --> 00:26:16,916
but a lot of people
aren't convinced,
556
00:26:16,917 --> 00:26:19,625
they think that the Air Force
is covering something up.
557
00:26:20,667 --> 00:26:21,874
We're in the Cold War
558
00:26:21,875 --> 00:26:23,957
and in arms race with
the Soviet Union,
559
00:26:23,958 --> 00:26:25,874
and the CIA's job
is to determine
560
00:26:25,875 --> 00:26:28,207
whether or not
these UFO sightings
561
00:26:28,208 --> 00:26:31,499
are something that we actually
need to be concerned about.
562
00:26:31,500 --> 00:26:35,957
So in 1953, the CIA brings
together a scientific committee
563
00:26:35,958 --> 00:26:37,582
that it calls the
Robertson Panel
564
00:26:37,583 --> 00:26:40,083
to investigate all of
these UFO sightings.
565
00:26:41,458 --> 00:26:43,707
The conclusion they
come to,
566
00:26:43,708 --> 00:26:45,291
it's a bit of a letdown.
567
00:26:45,292 --> 00:26:46,749
They basically end up saying
568
00:26:46,750 --> 00:26:49,166
all of these different things
569
00:26:49,167 --> 00:26:53,332
are misidentification of
known aerial presences,
570
00:26:53,333 --> 00:26:54,624
known phenomena,
571
00:26:54,625 --> 00:26:56,707
might be a weather situation
572
00:26:56,708 --> 00:26:58,333
that somebody interpreted wrong.
573
00:26:59,667 --> 00:27:01,499
But there's
one series of sightings
574
00:27:01,500 --> 00:27:04,041
the Robertson Panel
can't explain.
575
00:27:04,042 --> 00:27:08,457
The one holdout that
even the CIA recognizes
576
00:27:08,458 --> 00:27:09,999
is the Foo Fighters.
577
00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:14,041
They allow that some accounts
simply defy explanation,
578
00:27:14,042 --> 00:27:15,916
and, in fact, they even say,
579
00:27:15,917 --> 00:27:20,917
"Had the term flying
saucer existed in 1945?"
580
00:27:21,083 --> 00:27:23,124
That is undeniably
what the Foo Fighters
581
00:27:23,125 --> 00:27:24,291
would've been called.
582
00:27:25,875 --> 00:27:27,541
The lack of
a satisfactory explanation
583
00:27:27,542 --> 00:27:31,166
from the government gives rise
to imaginative speculation
584
00:27:31,167 --> 00:27:34,541
about what the World
War II Foo Fighters were
585
00:27:34,542 --> 00:27:36,749
and where they came from.
586
00:27:36,750 --> 00:27:39,207
For the believers,
the Foo Fighters
587
00:27:39,208 --> 00:27:40,916
really were just the start
588
00:27:40,917 --> 00:27:44,499
of what has become
an ongoing engagement
589
00:27:44,500 --> 00:27:46,499
with unidentified
flying objects.
590
00:27:46,500 --> 00:27:48,832
And as recently as 2024,
591
00:27:48,833 --> 00:27:51,791
we have reports from
pilots flying in Oregon
592
00:27:51,792 --> 00:27:54,916
of lights incredibly similar
593
00:27:54,917 --> 00:27:56,957
to the way that Foo
Fighters are described,
594
00:27:56,958 --> 00:27:58,916
and, in fact, the
air-traffic controllers,
595
00:27:58,917 --> 00:28:00,082
when they're called in,
596
00:28:00,083 --> 00:28:01,582
the pilots, of
course, are asking,
597
00:28:01,583 --> 00:28:03,457
"What is in the sky with me?",
598
00:28:03,458 --> 00:28:05,249
just as Ed Schlueter was asking
599
00:28:05,250 --> 00:28:08,207
when he was flying his
Bristol Beaufighter,
600
00:28:08,208 --> 00:28:10,832
and the reply from
the base comes back,
601
00:28:10,833 --> 00:28:12,124
"It's a UFO."
602
00:28:13,042 --> 00:28:14,957
Nick] Some UFO believers
603
00:28:14,958 --> 00:28:17,957
say that these things
must be extraterrestrial,
604
00:28:17,958 --> 00:28:21,332
and that they were
probably drawn to Earth
605
00:28:21,333 --> 00:28:26,291
to witness firsthand one
of the most cataclysmic
606
00:28:26,292 --> 00:28:29,624
and high-technology
wars in human history.
607
00:28:35,667 --> 00:28:37,166
Skeptics have suggested
608
00:28:37,167 --> 00:28:39,832
that the Foo Fighter
encounters of World War II
609
00:28:39,833 --> 00:28:42,207
might have been hallucinations,
610
00:28:42,208 --> 00:28:45,624
but the dozens of airmen
who reported those sightings
611
00:28:45,625 --> 00:28:47,333
strongly reject that theory.
612
00:28:48,833 --> 00:28:51,874
These are men known for their
bravery, their judgment,
613
00:28:51,875 --> 00:28:53,999
and their keen eyesight;
614
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,332
they insist that what
they saw was really there.
615
00:28:58,875 --> 00:29:01,749
Some people who've looked
at the Foo Fighter mystery
616
00:29:01,750 --> 00:29:04,041
believe right from the outset
617
00:29:04,042 --> 00:29:06,499
that these strange
balls of light
618
00:29:06,500 --> 00:29:08,707
might have a
natural explanation.
619
00:29:10,292 --> 00:29:12,041
Civilian and military
pilots are well aware
620
00:29:12,042 --> 00:29:15,166
of this weather phenomenon
that's called St. Elmo's fire,
621
00:29:15,167 --> 00:29:17,707
which is an atmospheric
weather condition
622
00:29:17,708 --> 00:29:20,374
that's produced by
electrically charged ions
623
00:29:20,375 --> 00:29:22,041
that discharge into the air;
624
00:29:22,042 --> 00:29:24,041
and this can sometimes occur
625
00:29:24,042 --> 00:29:26,666
along the wings of an
aircraft in flight at night,
626
00:29:26,667 --> 00:29:29,332
it sometimes looks
like balls of flame.
627
00:29:29,333 --> 00:29:31,999
Most experts
believe that St. Elmo's fire
628
00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,624
is unlikely to explain
the Foo Fighter sightings
629
00:29:34,625 --> 00:29:36,499
during the Second World War,
630
00:29:36,500 --> 00:29:39,957
but a related atmospheric
phenomenon might.
631
00:29:41,250 --> 00:29:45,541
What gives St. Elmo's
fire its glow is plasma.
632
00:29:45,542 --> 00:29:48,374
Plasma is described as the
fourth state of matter;
633
00:29:48,375 --> 00:29:53,207
so we have solid, liquid,
gas, and we have plasma
634
00:29:53,208 --> 00:29:56,374
Plasmas are what
occur when you add energy to a
635
00:29:56,375 --> 00:29:59,374
gas and that rips electrons
off of the atoms,
636
00:29:59,375 --> 00:30:02,874
and now you end up with
positively charged ions
637
00:30:02,875 --> 00:30:05,291
and negatively
charged electrons.
638
00:30:05,292 --> 00:30:09,332
When lightning strikes, the
illumination is due to plasma.
639
00:30:09,333 --> 00:30:12,207
Plasma is the
most abundant form of matter
640
00:30:12,208 --> 00:30:13,374
in the universe.
641
00:30:13,375 --> 00:30:17,207
The Aurora Borealis,
or Northern Lights,
642
00:30:17,208 --> 00:30:19,499
is a naturally occurring display
643
00:30:19,500 --> 00:30:21,874
of plasma physics in action.
644
00:30:21,875 --> 00:30:23,791
It's plasma that
produces naturally
645
00:30:23,792 --> 00:30:25,791
amazing sights.
646
00:30:25,792 --> 00:30:27,541
And some believe that plasma
647
00:30:27,542 --> 00:30:31,042
could be a potential explanation
for the Foo Fighters.
648
00:30:36,458 --> 00:30:38,207
Even in the 21st
century,
649
00:30:38,208 --> 00:30:41,541
we're not certain what plasma
balls are, how they form,
650
00:30:41,542 --> 00:30:43,791
or why they behave
the way they do.
651
00:30:43,792 --> 00:30:45,541
There are some
scientists that claim
652
00:30:45,542 --> 00:30:49,000
that they seem to act almost
like living organisms.
653
00:30:50,042 --> 00:30:52,207
Plasma balls are
a clear sphere.
654
00:30:52,208 --> 00:30:56,749
Inside, you have a mixture
of noble gases like neon
655
00:30:56,750 --> 00:30:58,916
interacting with
high-voltage electrodes.
656
00:30:58,917 --> 00:31:01,541
Once that electric current
moves through the gas,
657
00:31:01,542 --> 00:31:03,041
it emits a light,
658
00:31:03,042 --> 00:31:06,499
and that's what you see
glowing with plasma balls.
659
00:31:06,500 --> 00:31:08,791
Sometimes they grow in
size,
660
00:31:08,792 --> 00:31:12,166
sometimes they split
into multiple parts,
661
00:31:12,167 --> 00:31:14,874
they interact with each other,
662
00:31:14,875 --> 00:31:17,541
and they interact
with the environment.
663
00:31:17,542 --> 00:31:20,041
Plasmas can also take
on different shapes
664
00:31:20,042 --> 00:31:21,916
and they can move
in different ways,
665
00:31:21,917 --> 00:31:24,124
with some plasma
balls moving quickly
666
00:31:24,125 --> 00:31:26,999
and others appearing
to just float in space.
667
00:31:28,417 --> 00:31:31,124
Most documented
plasma ball sightings
668
00:31:31,125 --> 00:31:35,041
have occurred high above the
Earth in the thermosphere.
669
00:31:35,042 --> 00:31:40,000
In 1965, two astronauts
on the Gemini 4 orbiter
670
00:31:41,375 --> 00:31:45,583
reported a strange metallic
object approaching their craft.
671
00:31:47,042 --> 00:31:49,499
Six months later, the famed
astronaut, James Lovell,
672
00:31:49,500 --> 00:31:53,417
reports seeing a bogey at 10
o'clock on another mission.
673
00:31:54,958 --> 00:31:57,207
Decades after Lovell's
report,
674
00:31:57,208 --> 00:32:00,707
shuttle missions being
conducted into low Earth orbit
675
00:32:00,708 --> 00:32:02,791
on 10 separate occasions
676
00:32:02,792 --> 00:32:05,791
captured images of
huge plasma blobs.
677
00:32:07,708 --> 00:32:10,916
Scientists
believe these same plasma balls
678
00:32:10,917 --> 00:32:13,916
occasionally descend
into the lower atmosphere
679
00:32:13,917 --> 00:32:15,457
shared by aircraft.
680
00:32:15,458 --> 00:32:18,082
And what happens when
plasma comes in contact
681
00:32:18,083 --> 00:32:20,374
with flying manmade objects
682
00:32:20,375 --> 00:32:23,041
may explain the Foo
Fighter sightings.
683
00:32:23,042 --> 00:32:25,457
These plasma balls
exist almost entirely
684
00:32:25,458 --> 00:32:26,666
in the thermosphere,
685
00:32:26,667 --> 00:32:29,666
but they've been known
to be drawn downwards
686
00:32:29,667 --> 00:32:32,124
through some sort of
electromagnetic presence.
687
00:32:33,708 --> 00:32:35,874
Plasmas can also
occur around manmade objects
688
00:32:35,875 --> 00:32:37,332
zipping through the sky
689
00:32:37,333 --> 00:32:39,667
and emitting their own
electromagnetic energy.
690
00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,249
So you have these
planes that are manmade objects
691
00:32:43,250 --> 00:32:45,124
moving through this
electric field.
692
00:32:45,125 --> 00:32:47,707
This can help those
plasma balls to form.
693
00:32:49,125 --> 00:32:50,541
The Bristol
Beaufighters themselves,
694
00:32:50,542 --> 00:32:51,791
moving through the sky,
695
00:32:51,792 --> 00:32:54,416
would've generated their
own electrostatic field
696
00:32:54,417 --> 00:32:57,499
to create the conditions
under which these plasma balls
697
00:32:57,500 --> 00:33:00,791
might come from the thermosphere
into our atmosphere.
698
00:33:00,792 --> 00:33:04,916
And this ties in perfectly
with the way the Foo Fighters
699
00:33:04,917 --> 00:33:07,416
are described by the
airmen who saw them
700
00:33:07,417 --> 00:33:10,166
as being drawn
towards the planes,
701
00:33:10,167 --> 00:33:11,874
almost like they're
investigating
702
00:33:11,875 --> 00:33:14,457
or attaching themselves to them.
703
00:33:14,458 --> 00:33:16,791
According to the
research, when this happens,
704
00:33:16,792 --> 00:33:20,874
these plasma balls have been
known to "toy with" military
705
00:33:20,875 --> 00:33:21,999
and civilian aircraft.
706
00:33:23,500 --> 00:33:25,499
The Foo Fighters were
variously described
707
00:33:25,500 --> 00:33:30,333
as silver, white, or red, but
often pulsing and glowing,
708
00:33:30,583 --> 00:33:34,582
and this is a very common
feature of plasmas.
709
00:33:34,583 --> 00:33:37,249
The phenomenon is
visually astonishing
710
00:33:37,250 --> 00:33:38,957
and attention attracting,
711
00:33:38,958 --> 00:33:41,457
because when it's
being played out,
712
00:33:41,458 --> 00:33:46,457
you see visible balls of
fire around the aircraft
713
00:33:46,458 --> 00:33:49,707
while it's flying.
714
00:33:49,708 --> 00:33:51,041
In 2020,
715
00:33:51,042 --> 00:33:53,707
a study by scientists
at Cornell University
716
00:33:53,708 --> 00:33:57,416
connects advanced technology
aboard the night fighter planes
717
00:33:57,417 --> 00:34:00,291
to the appearance
of plasma balls.
718
00:34:00,292 --> 00:34:01,916
The idea is that these
planes
719
00:34:01,917 --> 00:34:03,874
that the Night
Fighters were flying,
720
00:34:03,875 --> 00:34:05,624
the way that their radar worked
721
00:34:05,625 --> 00:34:07,374
was that it was pulsing,
722
00:34:07,375 --> 00:34:09,666
and it pulsed so that
it wouldn't overheat
723
00:34:09,667 --> 00:34:11,291
all of the equipment.
724
00:34:11,292 --> 00:34:14,249
The radar signals
that were sent out by these
725
00:34:14,250 --> 00:34:16,207
airplanes were very
strong signals,
726
00:34:16,208 --> 00:34:17,457
'cause they had to travel miles
727
00:34:17,458 --> 00:34:19,249
and then reflect
back to the airplane
728
00:34:19,250 --> 00:34:20,999
for them to get a signal.
729
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:23,374
Sending that strong radio signal
730
00:34:23,375 --> 00:34:27,541
through the exhaust from the
plane, ionizing that gas,
731
00:34:27,542 --> 00:34:30,332
could easily have
formed a plasma ball.
732
00:34:30,333 --> 00:34:32,874
And any fireballs
that were created
733
00:34:32,875 --> 00:34:35,332
would then stay
next to the plane.
734
00:34:35,333 --> 00:34:37,249
And so, as the plane maneuvers,
735
00:34:37,250 --> 00:34:39,541
the fireball would
maneuver along with it,
736
00:34:39,542 --> 00:34:42,416
and so, that would match
exactly what the pilot saw
737
00:34:42,417 --> 00:34:43,957
when they were observing
the Foo Fighters.
738
00:34:49,292 --> 00:34:50,332
Since Foo
Fighters were first sighted
739
00:34:50,333 --> 00:34:52,874
in November of 1944,
740
00:34:52,875 --> 00:34:56,249
American military personnel
and civilians alike
741
00:34:56,250 --> 00:34:58,249
have developed a
host of theories
742
00:34:58,250 --> 00:35:01,332
to explain the Foo
Fighter mystery.
743
00:35:01,333 --> 00:35:05,541
While some theorists believe
the Foo Fighters could be UFOs,
744
00:35:05,542 --> 00:35:10,166
or the result of some obscure
meteorological phenomenon,
745
00:35:10,167 --> 00:35:13,416
others propose a more
conventional explanation.
746
00:35:13,417 --> 00:35:14,999
The common
denominator
747
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:17,291
with all of these Foo
Fighter encounters
748
00:35:17,292 --> 00:35:19,291
is that they happen at night,
749
00:35:19,292 --> 00:35:22,124
and that was a new
environment for the pilots
750
00:35:22,125 --> 00:35:25,249
of the 415th Night
Fighter Squadron.
751
00:35:25,250 --> 00:35:26,666
To keep from being spotted,
752
00:35:26,667 --> 00:35:30,166
the pilots used airplanes
that were painted black
753
00:35:30,167 --> 00:35:32,124
and even had darkened
instrument panels.
754
00:35:33,542 --> 00:35:35,499
So these pilots,
when they're flying,
755
00:35:35,500 --> 00:35:37,291
yes, they're looking at
their instrument panel,
756
00:35:37,292 --> 00:35:39,541
yes, the radar operator's
looking at the radar,
757
00:35:39,542 --> 00:35:42,624
but they're also staring
out into the darkness
758
00:35:42,625 --> 00:35:44,666
with very few other
lights around them
759
00:35:44,667 --> 00:35:47,457
trying to see what
they can make sense of,
760
00:35:47,458 --> 00:35:52,500
and this is an incredibly
disorienting experience.
761
00:35:53,625 --> 00:35:55,624
Flying at night
with a moonless sky
762
00:35:55,625 --> 00:35:59,582
with very few reference points
and clouds coming over them,
763
00:35:59,583 --> 00:36:02,416
maybe the pilot's eyes were
just playing tricks on them.
764
00:36:07,167 --> 00:36:08,874
Back in 1799,
765
00:36:08,875 --> 00:36:12,374
exploring scientist,
Alexander Von Humboldt,
766
00:36:12,375 --> 00:36:15,374
was out at night and he
reported that he started to see
767
00:36:15,375 --> 00:36:17,999
the stars swing
around in the sky.
768
00:36:19,708 --> 00:36:22,749
He used the term
sternschwankung, swinging stars,
769
00:36:22,750 --> 00:36:24,291
to describe these.
770
00:36:24,292 --> 00:36:26,582
And it wasn't until almost
a hundred years later
771
00:36:26,583 --> 00:36:29,082
that science was able to show
772
00:36:29,083 --> 00:36:30,874
the stars aren't
actually moving.
773
00:36:32,167 --> 00:36:33,666
What's happening
in the night sky
774
00:36:33,667 --> 00:36:35,999
is actually a pretty
common phenomenon
775
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:37,582
known as autokinesis.
776
00:36:39,708 --> 00:36:42,457
Autokinesis is a visual illusion
777
00:36:42,458 --> 00:36:44,666
where a stationary light source,
778
00:36:44,667 --> 00:36:47,249
set against a very
dark background,
779
00:36:47,250 --> 00:36:49,582
can appear to be moving.
780
00:36:49,583 --> 00:36:51,207
This could be a
problem for pilots
781
00:36:51,208 --> 00:36:54,666
because it creates the illusion
that a stationary light
782
00:36:54,667 --> 00:36:57,499
could be on a collision
course with their airplane.
783
00:36:58,875 --> 00:37:00,541
In February, 1945,
784
00:37:00,542 --> 00:37:02,874
The War Department actually
sets up an experiment
785
00:37:02,875 --> 00:37:04,874
to try to determine
whether autokinesis
786
00:37:04,875 --> 00:37:07,457
is the source of the
Foo Fighter reports.
787
00:37:07,458 --> 00:37:10,707
They put together an experiment
within a simulated cockpit
788
00:37:10,708 --> 00:37:13,249
of one of these
Bristol Beaufighters.
789
00:37:13,250 --> 00:37:15,124
They were in this
pitch-black room,
790
00:37:15,125 --> 00:37:17,124
and you have this
one little light
791
00:37:17,125 --> 00:37:19,666
that's being shined
right in their eyes.
792
00:37:19,667 --> 00:37:23,082
The pilots would stare at
that single source of light
793
00:37:23,083 --> 00:37:24,957
with no reference around them.
794
00:37:24,958 --> 00:37:26,207
And with the passage of time,
795
00:37:26,208 --> 00:37:27,874
they would eventually
begin to hallucinate
796
00:37:27,875 --> 00:37:29,207
that the light was moving;
797
00:37:29,208 --> 00:37:30,791
it would swing
from side to side,
798
00:37:30,792 --> 00:37:33,541
it would approach them, it
would retreat away from them,
799
00:37:33,542 --> 00:37:35,041
and all of it was in their head.
800
00:37:36,542 --> 00:37:38,541
During the
experiment that they conducted,
801
00:37:38,542 --> 00:37:42,374
it only took six to 12 seconds
for this optical illusion
802
00:37:42,375 --> 00:37:43,374
to take place.
803
00:37:44,667 --> 00:37:46,832
When a pilot is
flying a plane,
804
00:37:46,833 --> 00:37:49,541
that plane is rolling
and pitching and yawing
805
00:37:49,542 --> 00:37:51,291
and moving through space,
806
00:37:51,292 --> 00:37:54,916
that movement alone is
enough to create a sense
807
00:37:54,917 --> 00:37:57,541
that a stationary light
outside of the plane
808
00:37:57,542 --> 00:38:00,624
is actually the thing
doing the moving.
809
00:38:00,625 --> 00:38:02,707
Even the best pilots
can get confused
810
00:38:02,708 --> 00:38:04,207
and see things
that aren't there,
811
00:38:04,208 --> 00:38:05,832
and that's something
that even happens today.
812
00:38:07,500 --> 00:38:10,124
As recently as 2011,
813
00:38:10,125 --> 00:38:14,416
a pilot flying a commercial
plane caused major havoc
814
00:38:14,417 --> 00:38:18,582
when he mistook a planet
for an oncoming aircraft.
815
00:38:18,583 --> 00:38:22,707
A 767 was en route
from Toronto to Zurich.
816
00:38:22,708 --> 00:38:24,624
The co-pilot had been informed
817
00:38:24,625 --> 00:38:27,249
that there was a cargo
aircraft in his vicinity,
818
00:38:27,250 --> 00:38:29,332
and so he should
maintain awareness
819
00:38:29,333 --> 00:38:31,416
for the possibility
of its presence.
820
00:38:31,417 --> 00:38:34,082
The co-pilot saw a light
that was coming towards him,
821
00:38:34,083 --> 00:38:37,582
and mistakenly identified
it as cargo aircraft.
822
00:38:37,583 --> 00:38:39,707
To avoid hitting
that bright light
823
00:38:39,708 --> 00:38:41,832
that the pilot thought
was coming at them,
824
00:38:41,833 --> 00:38:43,666
they decided to
take a nose dive.
825
00:38:43,667 --> 00:38:45,332
Thankfully, the
captain took over,
826
00:38:45,333 --> 00:38:47,666
and it was not a deadly crash,
827
00:38:47,667 --> 00:38:50,707
but it almost hit the
actual cargo plane
828
00:38:50,708 --> 00:38:55,583
that was in the area about a
thousand feet below the 767.
829
00:38:56,708 --> 00:38:58,207
Later investigation
demonstrated
830
00:38:58,208 --> 00:39:00,541
that what he was seeing was
actually the planet Venus
831
00:39:00,542 --> 00:39:02,291
60 million miles away.
832
00:39:03,875 --> 00:39:05,541
We have almost
limitless amounts of information
833
00:39:05,542 --> 00:39:08,207
about pilots becoming
confused in the sky.
834
00:39:08,208 --> 00:39:10,374
Once that
disorientation sets in,
835
00:39:10,375 --> 00:39:12,791
it's very difficult for
a pilot to overcome it
836
00:39:12,792 --> 00:39:15,166
and regain
situational awareness.
837
00:39:16,292 --> 00:39:17,541
This kind of
disorientation
838
00:39:17,542 --> 00:39:19,457
means that pilots that
are flying straight
839
00:39:19,458 --> 00:39:20,832
feel like they're turning,
840
00:39:20,833 --> 00:39:23,332
or even worse, they're
so disoriented,
841
00:39:23,333 --> 00:39:25,249
they think that
they're upside down
842
00:39:25,250 --> 00:39:27,249
when they're actually
flying right side up
843
00:39:27,250 --> 00:39:29,541
because of the lights and
things that they're seeing.
844
00:39:30,875 --> 00:39:31,957
So with all this
aerial clutter
845
00:39:31,958 --> 00:39:33,666
that they were seeing
in World War II,
846
00:39:33,667 --> 00:39:35,374
this could account
for the Foo Fighters.
847
00:39:36,958 --> 00:39:39,541
Is it possible
the Foo Fighter witnesses
848
00:39:39,542 --> 00:39:42,541
were misled by stray
lights in the sky?
849
00:39:42,542 --> 00:39:45,374
Some say that might be the case.
850
00:39:45,375 --> 00:39:46,666
Proponents of this
theory
851
00:39:46,667 --> 00:39:49,207
feel that this
autokinesis phenomenon
852
00:39:49,208 --> 00:39:51,332
is an incredibly
powerful illusion
853
00:39:51,333 --> 00:39:53,874
that these airmen
were never trained on.
854
00:39:53,875 --> 00:39:55,832
According to a night
fighter commander
855
00:39:55,833 --> 00:39:57,707
who was interviewed
after the war,
856
00:39:57,708 --> 00:40:02,667
his men were never trained on
misperceptions or illusions
857
00:40:02,792 --> 00:40:05,249
or disorientation
that could occur
858
00:40:05,250 --> 00:40:07,291
during night air fighting.
859
00:40:08,875 --> 00:40:10,624
So these pilots
racing over Germany at night,
860
00:40:10,625 --> 00:40:12,707
you can see where the
power of suggestion
861
00:40:12,708 --> 00:40:14,667
overrides rational thought.
862
00:40:15,917 --> 00:40:18,874
For the men who
encountered the Foo Fighters
863
00:40:18,875 --> 00:40:22,291
in those closing
years of World War II,
864
00:40:22,292 --> 00:40:24,832
this remained an experience
865
00:40:24,833 --> 00:40:28,666
that was to them profound
and unforgettable.
866
00:40:28,667 --> 00:40:30,707
It was something that
would be with them
867
00:40:30,708 --> 00:40:33,291
for the rest of their lives.
868
00:40:33,292 --> 00:40:36,666
Maybe it was a German
weapon that's been lost to time,
869
00:40:36,667 --> 00:40:40,916
maybe it is something literally
beyond our understanding.
870
00:40:40,917 --> 00:40:44,374
It was certainly the
origin of UFO stories;
871
00:40:44,375 --> 00:40:46,541
and to true believers,
872
00:40:46,542 --> 00:40:48,374
that final chapter
has yet to be written.
873
00:40:52,417 --> 00:40:53,832
Whether the Foo Fighters
874
00:40:53,833 --> 00:40:56,541
were created by a state of
matter, a state of mind,
875
00:40:56,542 --> 00:40:58,749
or something otherworldly,
876
00:40:58,750 --> 00:41:00,707
we may never know
the complete truth
877
00:41:00,708 --> 00:41:04,457
about what or who the
Foo Fighters really were,
878
00:41:04,458 --> 00:41:06,208
or if they actually existed.
879
00:41:07,208 --> 00:41:08,957
I'm Laurence Fishburne,
880
00:41:08,958 --> 00:41:13,207
thank you for watching
"History's Greatest Mysteries."