1 00:00:02,417 --> 00:00:05,042 [intriguing eerie dramatic music] 2 00:00:06,875 --> 00:00:08,457 [cannons blasting] 3 00:00:08,458 --> 00:00:09,124 [airplane whirring] 4 00:00:09,125 --> 00:00:10,167 - [Laurence] Tonight, 5 00:00:11,417 --> 00:00:15,041 a fiery phenomenon terrorizing American airmen 6 00:00:15,042 --> 00:00:16,916 during World War II, 7 00:00:16,917 --> 00:00:18,916 - Eight to 10 balls of fire 8 00:00:18,917 --> 00:00:20,791 come at the Night Fighter Squadron 9 00:00:20,792 --> 00:00:23,499 with serious speed and intent. 10 00:00:23,500 --> 00:00:25,124 - A huge red light 11 00:00:25,125 --> 00:00:28,791 traveling at an estimated 200 miles an hour. 12 00:00:28,792 --> 00:00:31,249 - He aims his plane towards these balls of light 13 00:00:31,250 --> 00:00:32,791 and prepares to engage. 14 00:00:32,792 --> 00:00:35,916 And just like that, the lights all just disappear. 15 00:00:35,917 --> 00:00:39,832 - The men call these fiery orbs Foo Fighters. 16 00:00:39,833 --> 00:00:42,124 They seem to be stalking US pilots. 17 00:00:42,125 --> 00:00:43,374 But what are they? 18 00:00:43,375 --> 00:00:45,541 - These pilots are stressed and fatigued. 19 00:00:45,542 --> 00:00:47,582 You're looking out into the darkness, 20 00:00:47,583 --> 00:00:50,166 your mind is going to play tricks on you. 21 00:00:50,167 --> 00:00:53,166 - The witnesses were adamant, they saw what they saw, 22 00:00:53,167 --> 00:00:55,374 and it defied the laws of physics. 23 00:00:55,375 --> 00:00:58,374 - Now, we explore the top theories 24 00:00:58,375 --> 00:01:00,957 surrounding these strange encounters. 25 00:01:00,958 --> 00:01:03,082 - Maybe it was a secret German weapon 26 00:01:03,083 --> 00:01:05,207 on a collision course with their airplane. 27 00:01:05,208 --> 00:01:08,124 - The idea of unidentified flying objects 28 00:01:08,125 --> 00:01:11,249 was almost entirely in the realm of fiction. 29 00:01:11,250 --> 00:01:15,291 - This is an 80-year-old mystery, and it's still here. 30 00:01:15,292 --> 00:01:16,624 - [Laurence] What's the hidden truth 31 00:01:16,625 --> 00:01:20,124 behind World War II's mysterious Foo Fighters? 32 00:01:20,125 --> 00:01:24,583 [intriguing cinematic dramatic music] 33 00:01:33,083 --> 00:01:34,291 [dramatic whooshing] 34 00:01:34,292 --> 00:01:37,291 - [Laurence] November 26th, 1944, 35 00:01:37,292 --> 00:01:40,207 Longvic Air Base, Dijon, France. 36 00:01:40,208 --> 00:01:41,457 [cannon blasting] 37 00:01:41,458 --> 00:01:43,707 Allied forces are battling their way 38 00:01:43,708 --> 00:01:45,582 toward the German homeland, 39 00:01:45,583 --> 00:01:48,166 when American pilot, Edward Schlueter, 40 00:01:48,167 --> 00:01:50,916 and his radar operator, Donald Meiers, 41 00:01:50,917 --> 00:01:54,166 take off on a search and destroy mission over Germany 42 00:01:54,167 --> 00:01:57,624 for the 415th Night Fighter Squadron. 43 00:01:57,625 --> 00:01:58,749 - The 415th 44 00:01:58,750 --> 00:02:01,624 Night Fighter Squadron is the point of the spear 45 00:02:01,625 --> 00:02:04,499 for a new type of nighttime war fighting 46 00:02:04,500 --> 00:02:06,417 near the end of World War II. 47 00:02:07,333 --> 00:02:09,499 - It's six months after D-Day, 48 00:02:09,500 --> 00:02:11,874 Allied forces are gaining ground, 49 00:02:11,875 --> 00:02:14,041 and Germany is getting desperate. 50 00:02:14,042 --> 00:02:15,541 While the tide of war is shifting 51 00:02:15,542 --> 00:02:17,499 in the favor of the Allies, 52 00:02:17,500 --> 00:02:21,332 there is an effort to bring the war directly to German soil, 53 00:02:21,333 --> 00:02:24,916 and that leads to a growing emphasis on night fighting. 54 00:02:24,917 --> 00:02:26,207 [air whooshing] [airplane whirring] 55 00:02:26,208 --> 00:02:28,791 - The 415th Night Fighter Squadron 56 00:02:28,792 --> 00:02:33,707 are flying these stealth planes, these Bristol Beaufighters. 57 00:02:33,708 --> 00:02:37,332 They're painted black, they are just armed to the teeth; 58 00:02:37,333 --> 00:02:41,332 they have guns, they have cannons, they can drop bombs. 59 00:02:41,333 --> 00:02:43,707 - The tactic of these night fighters 60 00:02:43,708 --> 00:02:47,124 was to go after things like supply trains 61 00:02:47,125 --> 00:02:50,291 and military installations after dark. 62 00:02:50,292 --> 00:02:51,707 [airplane whirring] 63 00:02:51,708 --> 00:02:53,582 - [Laurence] That night, near Mannheim, Germany, 64 00:02:53,583 --> 00:02:56,374 Schlueter and Meiers attack and destroy 65 00:02:56,375 --> 00:02:58,832 a German military train. 66 00:02:58,833 --> 00:03:00,374 - [Lynne] They're headed back to Dijon, 67 00:03:00,375 --> 00:03:02,207 and they see in the sky 68 00:03:02,208 --> 00:03:04,082 something that they can't explain; 69 00:03:04,083 --> 00:03:07,582 it's like a big red glowing light. 70 00:03:07,583 --> 00:03:10,374 - Schlueter reports that there's a strange red light 71 00:03:10,375 --> 00:03:13,499 about 2000 feet off his starboard side. 72 00:03:13,500 --> 00:03:16,707 - [Nick] It's like nothing they've really seen before. 73 00:03:16,708 --> 00:03:19,207 In the battlefield, there are all sorts of lights 74 00:03:19,208 --> 00:03:20,874 and explosions all the time, 75 00:03:20,875 --> 00:03:24,541 but this is something new, something different. 76 00:03:24,542 --> 00:03:26,207 - [Martin] After it follows their aircraft 77 00:03:26,208 --> 00:03:28,124 for a pronounced period of time, 78 00:03:28,125 --> 00:03:30,249 they notice that the ball of light 79 00:03:30,250 --> 00:03:32,625 suddenly disappears in a long red streak. 80 00:03:33,958 --> 00:03:37,332 - [Laurence] Schlueter soon learns he's not alone. 81 00:03:37,333 --> 00:03:40,541 - [Nick] Another aircrew on the same squadron 82 00:03:40,542 --> 00:03:44,582 encounter very similar strange lights. 83 00:03:44,583 --> 00:03:47,707 This has gone from being a one-off incident 84 00:03:47,708 --> 00:03:50,333 to something of a developing phenomenon. 85 00:03:51,458 --> 00:03:53,291 A few nights later, 86 00:03:53,292 --> 00:03:56,582 the intelligence officer, Fred Ringwald, 87 00:03:56,583 --> 00:03:59,541 decides to come along and see for himself. 88 00:03:59,542 --> 00:04:01,541 His thinking is that perhaps 89 00:04:01,542 --> 00:04:05,541 this is some sort of new German secret weapon. 90 00:04:05,542 --> 00:04:07,707 - [Paul] On this mission, Schlueter and his crew 91 00:04:07,708 --> 00:04:09,541 are on what's called a ground sweep; 92 00:04:09,542 --> 00:04:11,249 they're flying very close to the ground, 93 00:04:11,250 --> 00:04:12,749 following the Rhine River, 94 00:04:12,750 --> 00:04:14,791 they're looking for targets of opportunity, 95 00:04:14,792 --> 00:04:18,332 but they're also trying to stay below German defenses. 96 00:04:18,333 --> 00:04:19,874 - [Laurence] Ringwald suddenly spots 97 00:04:19,875 --> 00:04:23,207 a strange cluster of orange lights in the distance 98 00:04:23,208 --> 00:04:25,707 off the left wing of their aircraft. 99 00:04:25,708 --> 00:04:28,541 - [Lynne] This time, instead of one big glowing red light, 100 00:04:28,542 --> 00:04:31,166 they see maybe about eight to 10 101 00:04:31,167 --> 00:04:33,917 reddish, orange glowing objects. 102 00:04:35,208 --> 00:04:37,707 - [Paul] Schlueter thinks they might just be stars twinkling 103 00:04:37,708 --> 00:04:39,124 far, far away. 104 00:04:39,125 --> 00:04:41,666 He recognizes that things can look different at night 105 00:04:41,667 --> 00:04:44,291 and over great distances in the air. 106 00:04:44,292 --> 00:04:45,832 But then they seem to come closer, 107 00:04:45,833 --> 00:04:48,791 and he realizes this is not simple starlight. 108 00:04:48,792 --> 00:04:51,374 It's eight to 10 balls of orange fire 109 00:04:51,375 --> 00:04:53,874 that seem to be coming towards his aircraft 110 00:04:53,875 --> 00:04:55,541 at breakneck speed. 111 00:04:55,542 --> 00:04:56,791 - [Nick] Schlueter is like, "This is something 112 00:04:56,792 --> 00:04:59,207 really bizarre." 113 00:04:59,208 --> 00:05:01,749 So he gets on the radio and he says, 114 00:05:01,750 --> 00:05:04,666 "Have we got any enemy aircraft in the area?" 115 00:05:04,667 --> 00:05:06,457 And they say, "No. What, are you crazy? 116 00:05:06,458 --> 00:05:08,582 You're the only guys up there." 117 00:05:08,583 --> 00:05:10,374 - [Lynne] And yet men in the plane, 118 00:05:10,375 --> 00:05:12,791 they 100% see something coming at them. 119 00:05:12,792 --> 00:05:14,666 And so, Ed Schlueter, the pilot, 120 00:05:14,667 --> 00:05:17,541 he's a trained fighter pilot, he knows what he has to do. 121 00:05:17,542 --> 00:05:20,416 He decides he's gonna intercept whatever this is. 122 00:05:20,417 --> 00:05:23,624 - [Nick] He prepares to engage these strange lights 123 00:05:23,625 --> 00:05:26,166 and prepares for a dogfight. 124 00:05:26,167 --> 00:05:27,582 At the last moment, 125 00:05:27,583 --> 00:05:31,457 these lights just disappeared off at high speed. 126 00:05:31,458 --> 00:05:32,749 - [Hakeem] A few weeks later, 127 00:05:32,750 --> 00:05:35,416 as Lieutenant Harry Giblin and his radar observer 128 00:05:35,417 --> 00:05:38,374 crossed the Rhine into German territory, 129 00:05:38,375 --> 00:05:41,416 they see two huge orange balls above them, 130 00:05:41,417 --> 00:05:45,249 about 1000 feet higher in altitude. 131 00:05:45,250 --> 00:05:47,457 - [Lynne] The balls of light were moving 132 00:05:47,458 --> 00:05:49,457 at an incomprehensible speed. 133 00:05:49,458 --> 00:05:50,916 So whatever these things are, 134 00:05:50,917 --> 00:05:52,957 they are incredibly fast 135 00:05:52,958 --> 00:05:55,707 and they're incredibly maneuverable. 136 00:05:55,708 --> 00:05:57,332 [eerie dramatic whooshing] [airplane rumbling] 137 00:05:57,333 --> 00:05:58,666 - [Nick] A few nights later, 138 00:05:58,667 --> 00:06:02,457 another crew encounter two glowing balls 139 00:06:02,458 --> 00:06:04,082 heading towards their plane; 140 00:06:04,083 --> 00:06:07,332 and then the next night, they see exactly the same thing. 141 00:06:07,333 --> 00:06:10,416 And it seems to be these balls of light 142 00:06:10,417 --> 00:06:12,999 are tracking the plane. 143 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:15,749 These balls don't attack the planes, 144 00:06:15,750 --> 00:06:18,207 but there's a sense of menace. 145 00:06:18,208 --> 00:06:19,499 The pilots say, "Look, 146 00:06:19,500 --> 00:06:21,124 we don't know what we're dealing with here, 147 00:06:21,125 --> 00:06:24,333 but it's under intelligent control." 148 00:06:25,542 --> 00:06:27,041 - [Hakeem] Back on the base, 149 00:06:27,042 --> 00:06:30,041 the pilots named these balls of fire that they'd seen 150 00:06:30,042 --> 00:06:31,541 Foo Fighters. 151 00:06:31,542 --> 00:06:33,791 - [Paul] It's a play off of a popular comic strip 152 00:06:33,792 --> 00:06:36,249 in which the main character uses the catchphrase 153 00:06:36,250 --> 00:06:38,666 "Where there's Foo, there's fire." 154 00:06:38,667 --> 00:06:40,374 - [Hakeem] It's a silly name, 155 00:06:40,375 --> 00:06:44,541 but these airmen are deadly serious about what they've seen. 156 00:06:44,542 --> 00:06:47,042 They don't think it's a figment of their imagination. 157 00:06:48,333 --> 00:06:50,624 - [Laurence] By the end of 1944, 158 00:06:50,625 --> 00:06:55,124 the 415th has had more than a dozen mysterious encounters 159 00:06:55,125 --> 00:06:56,957 with Foo Fighters, 160 00:06:56,958 --> 00:07:00,207 and a war correspondent picks up the story. 161 00:07:00,208 --> 00:07:02,541 - [Hakeem] On January 2nd, 1945, 162 00:07:02,542 --> 00:07:04,791 the New York Times runs a story 163 00:07:04,792 --> 00:07:07,082 about these Foo Fighter encounters; 164 00:07:07,083 --> 00:07:09,541 that the Germans have thrown this new technology 165 00:07:09,542 --> 00:07:13,541 into the night skies, and no one knows what it is. 166 00:07:13,542 --> 00:07:16,207 - [Lynne] Suddenly, it's not just the night fighters 167 00:07:16,208 --> 00:07:17,791 who wanna know what's going on, 168 00:07:17,792 --> 00:07:20,541 everyone wants to know what's going on. 169 00:07:20,542 --> 00:07:22,582 What if it's the Germans? 170 00:07:22,583 --> 00:07:25,874 What if this is the Axis powers creating a new weapon, 171 00:07:25,875 --> 00:07:26,916 a new aircraft, 172 00:07:26,917 --> 00:07:28,374 something that we don't know about 173 00:07:28,375 --> 00:07:31,207 that's going to start shifting the advantage 174 00:07:31,208 --> 00:07:33,916 that, at this point, the Allied powers have in the war? 175 00:07:33,917 --> 00:07:38,958 [dramatic thud] [tense dramatic music] 176 00:07:40,042 --> 00:07:42,082 A few days after the New York Times article, 177 00:07:42,083 --> 00:07:44,707 the AP Science editor writes another article 178 00:07:44,708 --> 00:07:46,541 that puts out this theory 179 00:07:46,542 --> 00:07:49,832 that maybe what the German army has done 180 00:07:49,833 --> 00:07:53,957 is put an electric charge over all of its occupied territory 181 00:07:53,958 --> 00:07:56,874 that would disrupt anything flying into it. 182 00:07:56,875 --> 00:07:59,457 And there's a suggestion that these balls of light 183 00:07:59,458 --> 00:08:01,874 are basically latex balloons 184 00:08:01,875 --> 00:08:04,124 that might be getting dragged along 185 00:08:04,125 --> 00:08:05,541 in the wake by these fighters 186 00:08:05,542 --> 00:08:08,707 and moving through this electrified airspace. 187 00:08:08,708 --> 00:08:10,957 - [Nick] It kind of sounds a little crazy, 188 00:08:10,958 --> 00:08:15,124 but there was an occasion where another air crew, 189 00:08:15,125 --> 00:08:19,082 shortly before all this Foo Fighter business took off, 190 00:08:19,083 --> 00:08:20,624 actually encountered 191 00:08:20,625 --> 00:08:24,707 what looked like hundreds of small latex balloons 192 00:08:24,708 --> 00:08:27,249 in the skies over occupied Euro. 193 00:08:27,250 --> 00:08:28,541 [airplane whirring] 194 00:08:28,542 --> 00:08:30,207 - [Paul] Thunderbolt pilots report seeing 195 00:08:30,208 --> 00:08:31,874 about a hundred yellow balloons 196 00:08:31,875 --> 00:08:33,707 approximately one-foot in diameter 197 00:08:33,708 --> 00:08:35,958 at an altitude of two to 3,000-feet. 198 00:08:37,083 --> 00:08:39,166 - [Martin] Seeing these yellow latex balloons by day, 199 00:08:39,167 --> 00:08:43,124 and these similarly-sized orange balls of light by night, 200 00:08:43,125 --> 00:08:45,249 makes the theory seem very plausible. 201 00:08:45,250 --> 00:08:47,582 [tense dramatic music] 202 00:08:47,583 --> 00:08:49,082 - [Laurence] While some in the military 203 00:08:49,083 --> 00:08:52,874 suspect the Foo Fighters may merely be latex balloons, 204 00:08:52,875 --> 00:08:55,707 others fear that the pilots are catching glimpses 205 00:08:55,708 --> 00:08:59,207 of something far more powerful and deadly. 206 00:08:59,208 --> 00:09:01,874 - [Paul] Hitler's putting an enormous amount of resources 207 00:09:01,875 --> 00:09:04,666 into wunderwaffen or "wonder weapons." 208 00:09:04,667 --> 00:09:06,332 Essentially, he's hoping that Germans 209 00:09:06,333 --> 00:09:10,207 will make a breakthrough to create a war-winning weapon 210 00:09:10,208 --> 00:09:13,124 that will destroy Allied forces. 211 00:09:13,125 --> 00:09:14,374 [film flickering] [intriguing dramatic music] 212 00:09:14,375 --> 00:09:15,707 - [Laurence] One such super weapon 213 00:09:15,708 --> 00:09:18,666 is the terrifying V-2 rocket. 214 00:09:18,667 --> 00:09:20,166 - [Lynne] The V-2 ballistic missile 215 00:09:20,167 --> 00:09:24,041 was the world's first long-range ballistic missile; 216 00:09:24,042 --> 00:09:27,207 in fact, it goes farther, it launches higher, 217 00:09:27,208 --> 00:09:29,916 it carries a bigger payload than any of the rockets 218 00:09:29,917 --> 00:09:31,666 that anyone has experienced before. 219 00:09:31,667 --> 00:09:33,874 And in Hitler's arsenal, 220 00:09:33,875 --> 00:09:37,499 he calls this one the vergeltungswaffen, 221 00:09:37,500 --> 00:09:39,874 "the vengeance weapon." 222 00:09:39,875 --> 00:09:42,207 - [Reporter] London after a V-2 raid, 223 00:09:42,208 --> 00:09:43,332 the Nazi vengeance weapon, 224 00:09:43,333 --> 00:09:47,041 which in six months killed or maimed 9,000. 225 00:09:47,042 --> 00:09:50,999 - [Kevin] The worst attack by a V-2 occurs when a V-2 rocket 226 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:55,042 hits a department store in London killing 168 people. 227 00:09:56,208 --> 00:10:00,041 - [Martin] Between September of 1944 and March of 1945, 228 00:10:00,042 --> 00:10:04,374 Nazi Germany launches over 3,000 V-2 rockets. 229 00:10:04,375 --> 00:10:05,624 They're especially effective 230 00:10:05,625 --> 00:10:07,457 against targets in Belgium and France 231 00:10:07,458 --> 00:10:08,749 and in the United Kingdom, 232 00:10:08,750 --> 00:10:11,749 because the weapons move at such high-speed 233 00:10:11,750 --> 00:10:14,666 that Allied forces have absolutely no weapon system 234 00:10:14,667 --> 00:10:15,792 that can stop them. 235 00:10:17,958 --> 00:10:19,916 - [Laurence] The supersonic V-2 rockets 236 00:10:19,917 --> 00:10:23,374 are unlike anything Allied pilots have seen before, 237 00:10:23,375 --> 00:10:27,791 especially as the V-2's streaked through the night sky. 238 00:10:27,792 --> 00:10:32,041 - [Nick] The V-2 are powered by a mixture of alcohol 239 00:10:32,042 --> 00:10:33,666 and liquid oxygen. 240 00:10:33,667 --> 00:10:35,041 And what's interesting about that 241 00:10:35,042 --> 00:10:36,916 in relation to the Foo Fighters 242 00:10:36,917 --> 00:10:41,875 is that, at night, the plume is a sort of yellowish-orange; 243 00:10:43,083 --> 00:10:46,249 so if a pilot saw it perhaps from a long way off, 244 00:10:46,250 --> 00:10:50,499 they would see a sort of yellowy-orange streak of light, 245 00:10:50,500 --> 00:10:54,000 and they might think that this was an object tracking them. 246 00:10:55,500 --> 00:10:57,957 - [Laurence] But the V-2s aren't the only Nazi super weapon 247 00:10:57,958 --> 00:11:00,416 that leaves fire in its wake. 248 00:11:00,417 --> 00:11:01,707 - [Hakeem] The Komet rocket 249 00:11:01,708 --> 00:11:03,874 is one of Hitler's most touted wonder weapons. 250 00:11:03,875 --> 00:11:06,791 Traveling at 600 miles per hour, 251 00:11:06,792 --> 00:11:10,291 these vehicles were the only rocket-powered planes 252 00:11:10,292 --> 00:11:12,416 ever used in battle. 253 00:11:12,417 --> 00:11:15,207 - [Nick] At about the time that these Foo Fighter reports 254 00:11:15,208 --> 00:11:16,291 were coming in, 255 00:11:16,292 --> 00:11:19,041 there were apparently several hundred 256 00:11:19,042 --> 00:11:22,125 of these Komet rocket aircraft in production. 257 00:11:23,208 --> 00:11:25,207 - [Hakeem] These planes are highly maneuverable, 258 00:11:25,208 --> 00:11:29,124 and they can rapidly climb to 30,000 feet, 259 00:11:29,125 --> 00:11:32,874 before descending to intercept enemy airplanes. 260 00:11:32,875 --> 00:11:34,374 [tense dramatic music] 261 00:11:34,375 --> 00:11:37,291 - [Lynne] What was powering this rocket plane 262 00:11:37,292 --> 00:11:40,166 was a mixture of liquid hydrogen peroxide, 263 00:11:40,167 --> 00:11:41,749 methane, and water. 264 00:11:41,750 --> 00:11:43,207 And when it went off, 265 00:11:43,208 --> 00:11:46,874 what it created was this huge amber plume 266 00:11:46,875 --> 00:11:49,000 that would appear behind the jets. 267 00:11:49,792 --> 00:11:51,416 - [Martin] If you're a pilot looking out, 268 00:11:51,417 --> 00:11:55,291 and you're seeing this mixture of rocket fuel burning, 269 00:11:55,292 --> 00:11:58,541 it would look unlike anything you had ever seen before. 270 00:11:58,542 --> 00:12:02,791 - [Nick] This fiery plume coming out of the rear of this thing 271 00:12:02,792 --> 00:12:05,750 could be mistaken for the so-called Foo Fighters. 272 00:12:11,375 --> 00:12:13,707 - Foo Fighter sightings by the 415th Night Fighter Squadron 273 00:12:13,708 --> 00:12:17,082 continue into the spring of 1945, 274 00:12:17,083 --> 00:12:21,791 then vanish just as victory is declared in Europe. 275 00:12:21,792 --> 00:12:25,416 The timing fuels speculation that the Foo Fighters 276 00:12:25,417 --> 00:12:27,707 were a secret Nazi weapon, 277 00:12:27,708 --> 00:12:30,332 but what kind remains a mystery. 278 00:12:30,333 --> 00:12:33,041 - The war ends in Europe in May of 1945, 279 00:12:33,042 --> 00:12:36,707 but it is still ongoing in the Pacific against Japan. 280 00:12:36,708 --> 00:12:40,374 Flight crews in bombers, the B-29s, 281 00:12:40,375 --> 00:12:42,499 which fly at higher altitudes, 282 00:12:42,500 --> 00:12:44,624 longer distances across water, 283 00:12:44,625 --> 00:12:47,041 they're starting to report the same kind of lights, 284 00:12:47,042 --> 00:12:48,749 similar to the Foo Fighters 285 00:12:48,750 --> 00:12:52,207 that the 415th Night Squadron had seen. 286 00:12:52,208 --> 00:12:53,916 - [Kevin] The pilots are reporting 287 00:12:53,917 --> 00:12:56,957 that there are these balls of fire coming up at them 288 00:12:56,958 --> 00:13:00,541 and hanging on their tails as they fly over Japan. 289 00:13:00,542 --> 00:13:03,791 - [Paul] The colors seem to shift from orange to red to 290 00:13:03,792 --> 00:13:06,374 white in kind of a cyclical pattern. 291 00:13:06,375 --> 00:13:08,874 And even though these balls of light or fire 292 00:13:08,875 --> 00:13:11,499 never seem to offer any kind of attack, 293 00:13:11,500 --> 00:13:13,167 they seem dangerous. 294 00:13:14,250 --> 00:13:15,916 - [Nick] There's one occasion where a pilot 295 00:13:15,917 --> 00:13:18,166 is being chased by one of these things, 296 00:13:18,167 --> 00:13:20,582 and he goes into a cloud bank 297 00:13:20,583 --> 00:13:21,957 that would give this thing the slip, 298 00:13:21,958 --> 00:13:23,291 and he comes out of the cloud 299 00:13:23,292 --> 00:13:26,083 and this thing is still right there on his tail. 300 00:13:27,292 --> 00:13:30,749 - [Lynne] The pilot describes this giant orange ball 301 00:13:30,750 --> 00:13:32,374 about three-feet in diameter 302 00:13:32,375 --> 00:13:35,874 that's just sitting about 500 yards off of his wing; 303 00:13:35,875 --> 00:13:37,041 and it keeps up with him 304 00:13:37,042 --> 00:13:39,458 and then vanishes in the dawn light. 305 00:13:40,792 --> 00:13:42,207 - [Kevin] Several B-29 pilots 306 00:13:42,208 --> 00:13:44,749 say that if they use evasive maneuvers, 307 00:13:44,750 --> 00:13:46,999 they can escape these balls of fire, 308 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,374 but if they're flying steadily on course, 309 00:13:49,375 --> 00:13:51,874 which is what you do on a bombing run, 310 00:13:51,875 --> 00:13:53,582 those balls of fire are right behind them, 311 00:13:53,583 --> 00:13:54,666 and they can't lose 'em. 312 00:13:54,667 --> 00:13:56,207 [dramatic whooshing] 313 00:13:56,208 --> 00:13:57,957 - [Laurence] Some argue that these encounters 314 00:13:57,958 --> 00:13:59,874 with Foo Fighters in the Pacific 315 00:13:59,875 --> 00:14:02,124 indicate that the Nazis may have shared 316 00:14:02,125 --> 00:14:05,874 their secret weapon technology with their Japanese allies 317 00:14:05,875 --> 00:14:08,457 as the war drew to a close. 318 00:14:08,458 --> 00:14:10,582 - [Martin] These sightings give credence to the idea 319 00:14:10,583 --> 00:14:12,291 that whatever the objects are, 320 00:14:12,292 --> 00:14:13,499 they might be a part 321 00:14:13,500 --> 00:14:15,707 of the Axis power's last-ditch defensive effort. 322 00:14:15,708 --> 00:14:17,207 [airplane whirring] 323 00:14:17,208 --> 00:14:19,541 - [Laurence] Once the Nazi regime falls, 324 00:14:19,542 --> 00:14:22,374 Allied scientists rushed to uncover evidence 325 00:14:22,375 --> 00:14:26,207 that these advanced secret weapons actually existed. 326 00:14:26,208 --> 00:14:30,707 - [Nick] May, 1945, Allied scientists took possession 327 00:14:30,708 --> 00:14:33,124 of a number of prototype weapons 328 00:14:33,125 --> 00:14:35,374 that the Nazis had been developing 329 00:14:35,375 --> 00:14:40,125 in secret military installations deep in the Black Forest. 330 00:14:41,708 --> 00:14:43,999 - [Katherine] The Associated Press has an article come out 331 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,416 in August 20th, 1945, 332 00:14:46,417 --> 00:14:49,166 and it reports that British and American scientists 333 00:14:49,167 --> 00:14:52,749 have found more of Germany's weapons, 334 00:14:52,750 --> 00:14:57,166 including a giant bazooka that could fire accurately 335 00:14:57,167 --> 00:14:59,958 at a target over 120 miles away. 336 00:15:01,208 --> 00:15:03,166 - [Nick] There was also something called a Spider Bomb, 337 00:15:03,167 --> 00:15:05,374 a sort of air-to-air missile 338 00:15:05,375 --> 00:15:08,832 that could be fired from a long distance away, 339 00:15:08,833 --> 00:15:13,207 perhaps 15 miles, using a wire to guide it. 340 00:15:13,208 --> 00:15:15,249 - [Paul] None of these experimental weapons 341 00:15:15,250 --> 00:15:17,082 ever got past the prototype phase, 342 00:15:17,083 --> 00:15:19,291 but by the time the 415th Squadron 343 00:15:19,292 --> 00:15:21,499 is flying in the skies over Germany, 344 00:15:21,500 --> 00:15:23,666 there's a possibility that the Axis forces 345 00:15:23,667 --> 00:15:26,666 are just throwing everything they've got at the Allies 346 00:15:26,667 --> 00:15:28,292 and just hoping for a miracle. 347 00:15:29,708 --> 00:15:32,999 - [Laurence] One possible miracle weapon Allied pilots may 348 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,791 have seen was allegedly kept a secret for decades. 349 00:15:36,792 --> 00:15:38,999 - [Kevin] In 1968, Renato Vesco, 350 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,124 an Italian aerospace engineer, writer, 351 00:15:42,125 --> 00:15:44,874 comes out and reveals that he has had contacts 352 00:15:44,875 --> 00:15:46,916 with high officials in the German Luftwaffe 353 00:15:46,917 --> 00:15:48,541 and the German army 354 00:15:48,542 --> 00:15:51,249 presenting information about these German wonder weapons 355 00:15:51,250 --> 00:15:54,832 that have been held secret ever since World War II. 356 00:15:54,833 --> 00:15:58,249 - [Paul] Renato Vesco claims that the Germans had produced 357 00:15:58,250 --> 00:15:59,666 what he called the "Feuerball," 358 00:15:59,667 --> 00:16:02,874 which was a device powered by a jet engine. 359 00:16:02,875 --> 00:16:04,457 [device roaring] 360 00:16:04,458 --> 00:16:06,874 - [Martin] This was essentially a self-propelled fireball 361 00:16:06,875 --> 00:16:08,749 that could be launched into the sky 362 00:16:08,750 --> 00:16:11,541 to either disrupt or destroy Allied aircraft. 363 00:16:11,542 --> 00:16:13,249 [explosion booming] 364 00:16:13,250 --> 00:16:15,416 - [Nick] The plan was that they would get close enough 365 00:16:15,417 --> 00:16:19,291 and emit some sort of electromagnetic pulse 366 00:16:19,292 --> 00:16:22,707 that would wreck the plane's radar system 367 00:16:22,708 --> 00:16:24,666 and might bring it down. 368 00:16:24,667 --> 00:16:27,166 - [Paul] One witness claimed that when fired during the day, 369 00:16:27,167 --> 00:16:29,874 it looked like a shiny disc spinning on its axis, 370 00:16:29,875 --> 00:16:31,874 but if you fired it at night, 371 00:16:31,875 --> 00:16:33,499 it looked like a burning globe. 372 00:16:33,500 --> 00:16:35,166 [device roaring] 373 00:16:35,167 --> 00:16:36,457 - [Laurence] Vesco also claims 374 00:16:36,458 --> 00:16:38,541 that due to advanced engineering, 375 00:16:38,542 --> 00:16:41,541 these devices were invisible to radar. 376 00:16:41,542 --> 00:16:43,416 - [Kevin] What Vesco says is that in addition, 377 00:16:43,417 --> 00:16:46,082 they had the ability when disengaging 378 00:16:46,083 --> 00:16:48,624 to go vertically very rapidly, 379 00:16:48,625 --> 00:16:52,666 which is exactly what the 415th pilots were witnessing. 380 00:16:52,667 --> 00:16:57,041 - [Nick] Vesco claims that this fireball, feuerball, program 381 00:16:57,042 --> 00:16:59,207 was based in the Black Forest, 382 00:16:59,208 --> 00:17:03,707 the area that the 415th Night Fighter Squadron 383 00:17:03,708 --> 00:17:05,249 was patrolling and operating. 384 00:17:05,250 --> 00:17:07,999 [airplane whirring] 385 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:09,874 - [Paul] However, skeptics point out 386 00:17:09,875 --> 00:17:11,832 that there's actually no hard evidence 387 00:17:11,833 --> 00:17:14,874 that these weapons were in development and production 388 00:17:14,875 --> 00:17:17,207 in the area where the 415th 389 00:17:17,208 --> 00:17:19,457 was reporting Foo Fighter sightings. 390 00:17:19,458 --> 00:17:21,624 But it is interesting to speculate 391 00:17:21,625 --> 00:17:23,749 on the types of weapons that the Germans 392 00:17:23,750 --> 00:17:26,083 might have thrown into the sky at that time. 393 00:17:31,625 --> 00:17:33,082 - [Laurence] More than a hundred Foo Fighter encounters 394 00:17:33,083 --> 00:17:34,707 are reported during World War II. 395 00:17:34,708 --> 00:17:37,707 Many of these accounts describe strange lights 396 00:17:37,708 --> 00:17:41,791 moving in ways unlike any known aircraft or weapon, 397 00:17:41,792 --> 00:17:44,374 leaving some to wonder whether these objects 398 00:17:44,375 --> 00:17:46,624 were actually in the sky at all. 399 00:17:46,625 --> 00:17:48,125 [cannon blasting] 400 00:17:48,292 --> 00:17:52,249 - [Nick] World War II was really the first non-stop war. 401 00:17:52,250 --> 00:17:56,582 It was 24/7, as much fighting at night as at day, 402 00:17:56,583 --> 00:18:00,291 obviously, the night fighters, night bombing raids, 403 00:18:00,292 --> 00:18:04,041 and people were exhausted, physically and mentally. 404 00:18:04,042 --> 00:18:05,874 [siren wailing] 405 00:18:05,875 --> 00:18:09,124 - [Hakeem] There are lots of advantages to fighting at night, 406 00:18:09,125 --> 00:18:11,041 especially in the air, 407 00:18:11,042 --> 00:18:12,707 but this means that the service people 408 00:18:12,708 --> 00:18:14,041 that are fighting overnight 409 00:18:14,042 --> 00:18:15,999 are subject to sleep deprivation, 410 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,333 including members of the 415th. 411 00:18:19,250 --> 00:18:20,624 - [Nick] In an ideal world, 412 00:18:20,625 --> 00:18:23,666 these pilots would have at least one rest day 413 00:18:23,667 --> 00:18:25,166 between missions, 414 00:18:25,167 --> 00:18:28,374 but with manpower shortages being what they were, 415 00:18:28,375 --> 00:18:31,124 a lot of these people were just flying constantly 416 00:18:31,125 --> 00:18:33,083 night after night after night. 417 00:18:34,292 --> 00:18:35,916 - [Laurence] When it comes to the reports by pilots 418 00:18:35,917 --> 00:18:37,457 of Foo Fighter encounters, 419 00:18:37,458 --> 00:18:40,707 could it be that extreme fatigue and combat stress 420 00:18:40,708 --> 00:18:44,041 were playing tricks on the airmen's minds? 421 00:18:44,042 --> 00:18:45,499 - [Hakeem] Experts say that these factors 422 00:18:45,500 --> 00:18:48,624 could mess with perceptions of reality, 423 00:18:48,625 --> 00:18:51,541 but given the very large number of encounters 424 00:18:51,542 --> 00:18:54,999 and the fact that these fighters are trained 425 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:56,707 to fight at night, 426 00:18:56,708 --> 00:19:00,374 it seems unlikely that all of these sightings 427 00:19:00,375 --> 00:19:03,332 were due to fatigue and stress. 428 00:19:03,333 --> 00:19:04,916 - [Nick] Knowing what we now know, 429 00:19:04,917 --> 00:19:06,874 it's intriguing to speculate 430 00:19:06,875 --> 00:19:10,624 that these Foo Fighter sightings might have been triggered 431 00:19:10,625 --> 00:19:11,750 by something else. 432 00:19:12,958 --> 00:19:14,707 - [Katherine] These pilots that we're talking about 433 00:19:14,708 --> 00:19:17,666 were exhausted quite often, but they had to overcome this. 434 00:19:17,667 --> 00:19:20,374 They couldn't take a nap while they were flying, 435 00:19:20,375 --> 00:19:23,041 they needed to stay awake, they needed to stay alert, 436 00:19:23,042 --> 00:19:25,749 and they needed a tool to get there. 437 00:19:25,750 --> 00:19:29,375 [intriguing dramatic music] 438 00:19:31,375 --> 00:19:33,791 - [Paul] An awful lot of aviation personnel operating at 439 00:19:33,792 --> 00:19:37,667 night were doing so under the influence of drugs. 440 00:19:38,625 --> 00:19:40,624 The Germans were the first to rely 441 00:19:40,625 --> 00:19:43,916 upon the use of amphetamines to basically drive their troops 442 00:19:43,917 --> 00:19:46,791 beyond the normal limits of human endurance. 443 00:19:46,792 --> 00:19:47,916 [explosion booming] 444 00:19:47,917 --> 00:19:49,207 - [Martin] In the early stages of the war, 445 00:19:49,208 --> 00:19:51,082 the Germans experienced great success 446 00:19:51,083 --> 00:19:53,374 with this new tactic that they have developed 447 00:19:53,375 --> 00:19:55,916 that is nicknamed Blitzkrieg, "lightning war." 448 00:19:55,917 --> 00:20:00,374 The idea is to press a breakthrough so fast and so hard 449 00:20:00,375 --> 00:20:02,207 that it leaves the enemy with no recourse 450 00:20:02,208 --> 00:20:03,708 but to beat a hasty retreat. 451 00:20:05,083 --> 00:20:06,582 - [Laurence] In 1939, 452 00:20:06,583 --> 00:20:10,041 as Germany begins a Blitzkrieg onslaught across Europe, 453 00:20:10,042 --> 00:20:12,166 soldiers are given large quantities 454 00:20:12,167 --> 00:20:15,832 of a powerful amphetamine called Pervitin 455 00:20:15,833 --> 00:20:18,541 to fuel their rapid advance. 456 00:20:18,542 --> 00:20:21,832 - [Lynne] Their mental acuity goes up, they're able to stay 457 00:20:21,833 --> 00:20:25,707 awake, and it also boosts confidence, it boosts 458 00:20:25,708 --> 00:20:28,624 aggression, it makes them into better soldiers. 459 00:20:28,625 --> 00:20:30,541 And at one point in the 1940s, 460 00:20:30,542 --> 00:20:34,124 the British discover a downed German plane; 461 00:20:34,125 --> 00:20:37,916 and in it, they find these amphetamines, 462 00:20:37,917 --> 00:20:42,832 and they realize this is what's powering the German forces, 463 00:20:42,833 --> 00:20:46,416 maybe it could be powering the Allied forces as well. 464 00:20:46,417 --> 00:20:48,416 - [Laurence] In response, American pilots 465 00:20:48,417 --> 00:20:51,541 also begin using amphetamines. 466 00:20:51,542 --> 00:20:53,374 - [Martin] You might not hear about this in history class, 467 00:20:53,375 --> 00:20:55,124 but by late 1943, 468 00:20:55,125 --> 00:20:58,332 the US Army Air Force is distributing millions of tabs 469 00:20:58,333 --> 00:21:01,207 of the powerful stimulant Benzedrine sulfate 470 00:21:01,208 --> 00:21:04,582 to personnel who will conduct night flights 471 00:21:04,583 --> 00:21:07,166 in both bombers and fighters to men 472 00:21:07,167 --> 00:21:10,707 who the army needs to stay awake and alert 473 00:21:10,708 --> 00:21:12,958 under conditions of almost total darkness. 474 00:21:14,208 --> 00:21:18,041 - [Nick] By the time the Foo Fighter sighting start in 1944, 475 00:21:18,042 --> 00:21:23,250 the US has handed out over 70 million of these tablets. 476 00:21:24,625 --> 00:21:26,374 - [Katherine] The men called these go-pills 477 00:21:26,375 --> 00:21:29,374 with the idea that it was basically speed, 478 00:21:29,375 --> 00:21:31,457 this is going to keep them hyped up. 479 00:21:31,458 --> 00:21:32,791 We don't have documentation 480 00:21:32,792 --> 00:21:36,124 about if the 415th was actually using these pills, 481 00:21:36,125 --> 00:21:38,374 but overall, the evidence suggests 482 00:21:38,375 --> 00:21:41,457 that about 15% of American fighter pilots 483 00:21:41,458 --> 00:21:42,749 were using these pills. 484 00:21:42,750 --> 00:21:43,791 [dramatic whooshing] 485 00:21:43,792 --> 00:21:45,249 - [Laurence] But there's a downside 486 00:21:45,250 --> 00:21:48,874 to the continuous use of these amphetamines. 487 00:21:48,875 --> 00:21:51,166 - [Katherine] The Nazis soon figured out that this wasn't 488 00:21:51,167 --> 00:21:52,791 good for their soldiers. 489 00:21:52,792 --> 00:21:55,291 It made them too aggressive, it made them too paranoid, 490 00:21:55,292 --> 00:21:56,749 they had too many problems. 491 00:21:56,750 --> 00:22:00,082 So they declared it was a dangerous drug, 492 00:22:00,083 --> 00:22:02,500 and they stopped giving it to their troops. 493 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,124 - [Nick] People get addicted and then start to take too 494 00:22:06,125 --> 00:22:07,541 much of it. 495 00:22:07,542 --> 00:22:10,624 And if you take too much of these particular drugs, 496 00:22:10,625 --> 00:22:14,916 you get symptoms such as delirium, panic attacks, 497 00:22:14,917 --> 00:22:18,499 paranoia, hallucinations, 498 00:22:18,500 --> 00:22:22,957 exactly the sort of thing that might make you mistake 499 00:22:22,958 --> 00:22:24,999 an innocuous light in the sky 500 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:28,541 for something rather more unusual and extraordinary, 501 00:22:28,542 --> 00:22:31,207 like Foo Fighters. [airplane rumbling] 502 00:22:31,208 --> 00:22:32,707 [dramatic whooshing] 503 00:22:32,708 --> 00:22:33,917 - [Martin] There's a standard set of side effects 504 00:22:34,042 --> 00:22:35,957 associated with the use of Benzedrine sulfate, 505 00:22:35,958 --> 00:22:39,582 and one factor that often gets overlooked in all of this 506 00:22:39,583 --> 00:22:43,124 is that there is an individual variability. 507 00:22:43,125 --> 00:22:46,957 And what that means is that you give the drug to 10 people, 508 00:22:46,958 --> 00:22:49,207 all 10 of them will experience the drug 509 00:22:49,208 --> 00:22:51,499 in completely different ways, 510 00:22:51,500 --> 00:22:54,999 some of them will hallucinate, some of them will not. 511 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,166 And this provides a powerful explanation 512 00:22:58,167 --> 00:23:00,374 for why some people report 513 00:23:00,375 --> 00:23:02,832 seeing these glowing balls of light 514 00:23:02,833 --> 00:23:03,458 and others don't. 515 00:23:07,708 --> 00:23:10,707 - When Foo Fighters gained global attention In 1944, 516 00:23:10,708 --> 00:23:13,541 the term UFOs had not been coined yet 517 00:23:13,542 --> 00:23:16,082 and tales of extraterrestrial encounters 518 00:23:16,083 --> 00:23:17,832 were mere science fiction. 519 00:23:17,833 --> 00:23:20,707 But a few years later, all that changes 520 00:23:20,708 --> 00:23:23,957 when a possible alien spacecraft sighting 521 00:23:23,958 --> 00:23:25,916 becomes national news. 522 00:23:25,917 --> 00:23:28,374 - [Katherine] On June 24th, 1947, 523 00:23:28,375 --> 00:23:30,082 just a couple of years after the war, 524 00:23:30,083 --> 00:23:32,957 there's a private pilot near Mount Rainier 525 00:23:32,958 --> 00:23:37,082 who reports that he has seen a number of flying discs. 526 00:23:37,083 --> 00:23:38,416 [dramatic whooshing] 527 00:23:38,417 --> 00:23:39,832 - [Laurence] Kenneth Arnold's vivid report 528 00:23:39,833 --> 00:23:42,666 instantly becomes a media sensation. 529 00:23:42,667 --> 00:23:44,832 - [Lynne] The press called them flying saucers. 530 00:23:44,833 --> 00:23:46,166 The pilot himself was like, 531 00:23:46,167 --> 00:23:49,207 "Hey, I never said they were flying saucers," 532 00:23:49,208 --> 00:23:52,666 but we got that term coined for us 533 00:23:52,667 --> 00:23:54,332 in that year of 1947. 534 00:23:54,333 --> 00:23:56,041 [dramatic thud] 535 00:23:56,042 --> 00:23:58,124 - [Paul] Suddenly, people all across America 536 00:23:58,125 --> 00:24:00,749 are claiming to see unexplained objects 537 00:24:00,750 --> 00:24:02,749 flying in the skies overhead. 538 00:24:02,750 --> 00:24:05,541 The frenzy only gets worse later in the year 539 00:24:05,542 --> 00:24:07,832 when the military reports having recovered 540 00:24:07,833 --> 00:24:10,416 some form of unidentified flying object 541 00:24:10,417 --> 00:24:12,374 near Roswell, New Mexico. 542 00:24:12,375 --> 00:24:17,374 - [Nick] Something came down near Roswell Army Airfield, 543 00:24:17,375 --> 00:24:20,374 and the military put out a press release 544 00:24:20,375 --> 00:24:23,166 harking back to Kenneth Arnold sighting 545 00:24:23,167 --> 00:24:24,874 over Washington State, 546 00:24:24,875 --> 00:24:29,916 and said, "We have recovered one of these flying saucers." 547 00:24:29,917 --> 00:24:31,207 [dramatic whooshing] 548 00:24:31,208 --> 00:24:33,082 Within 24 hours, they changed their story and said, 549 00:24:33,083 --> 00:24:35,624 "It had been just a weather balloon," 550 00:24:35,625 --> 00:24:36,999 but it was too late, 551 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,374 the story had gone all around the world. 552 00:24:40,375 --> 00:24:42,374 And these two incidents, 553 00:24:42,375 --> 00:24:44,916 Kenneth Arnold's flying saucer sighting 554 00:24:44,917 --> 00:24:48,624 and Roswell could be said to be the birth 555 00:24:48,625 --> 00:24:52,041 of the modern UFO phenomenon. 556 00:24:52,042 --> 00:24:54,707 - [Martin] The UFO craze that's kicked off after Roswell 557 00:24:54,708 --> 00:24:58,541 reignites interest in the wartime Foo Fighter sightings, 558 00:24:58,542 --> 00:25:00,541 and it causes some to wonder 559 00:25:00,542 --> 00:25:02,999 if there is an alien presence out there, 560 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,749 and whether or not they might explain 561 00:25:05,750 --> 00:25:08,166 the wartime Foo Fighter phenomenon. 562 00:25:08,167 --> 00:25:12,374 [dramatic thud] [intriguing dramatic music] 563 00:25:12,375 --> 00:25:16,041 - [Laurence] UFO fears are heightened in the summer of 1952 564 00:25:16,042 --> 00:25:19,707 with a mysterious sighting over Washington, DC. 565 00:25:19,708 --> 00:25:22,749 - [Karlene] On Saturday, July 19th, 1952, 566 00:25:22,750 --> 00:25:25,582 air-traffic controllers at Washington National Airport 567 00:25:25,583 --> 00:25:30,082 reported seeing about 10 different unidentified orbs 568 00:25:30,083 --> 00:25:32,374 hovering above the city. 569 00:25:32,375 --> 00:25:33,874 This became an overnight story. 570 00:25:33,875 --> 00:25:35,416 You're talking about these orbs 571 00:25:35,417 --> 00:25:37,416 that are moving at fast pace. 572 00:25:37,417 --> 00:25:38,874 So the fighter jets were sent out, 573 00:25:38,875 --> 00:25:41,166 and they were reporting that these orbs, 574 00:25:41,167 --> 00:25:44,457 they were moving 600 miles per hour. 575 00:25:44,458 --> 00:25:46,041 [airplanes whooshing] 576 00:25:46,042 --> 00:25:49,249 - [Laurence] These UFO sightings by air-traffic controllers 577 00:25:49,250 --> 00:25:51,416 are a national story. 578 00:25:51,417 --> 00:25:52,707 But the next weekend, 579 00:25:52,708 --> 00:25:55,874 another dozen orbs are spotted in the skies 580 00:25:55,875 --> 00:25:59,500 over the DC region, feeding the UFO frenzy. 581 00:26:00,833 --> 00:26:04,707 - People across the country are talking about UFOs, 582 00:26:04,708 --> 00:26:07,582 they're worried about them, they're wondering about them, 583 00:26:07,583 --> 00:26:09,667 and they're reporting them everywhere. 584 00:26:10,833 --> 00:26:12,791 - [Paul] The Air Force convenes a press conference 585 00:26:12,792 --> 00:26:14,957 and announces that there's nothing to fear, 586 00:26:14,958 --> 00:26:16,916 but a lot of people aren't convinced, 587 00:26:16,917 --> 00:26:19,625 they think that the Air Force is covering something up. 588 00:26:20,667 --> 00:26:21,874 - [Martin] We're in the Cold War 589 00:26:21,875 --> 00:26:23,957 and in arms race with the Soviet Union, 590 00:26:23,958 --> 00:26:25,874 and the CIA's job is to determine 591 00:26:25,875 --> 00:26:28,207 whether or not these UFO sightings 592 00:26:28,208 --> 00:26:31,499 are something that we actually need to be concerned about. 593 00:26:31,500 --> 00:26:35,957 So in 1953, the CIA brings together a scientific committee 594 00:26:35,958 --> 00:26:37,582 that it calls the Robertson Panel 595 00:26:37,583 --> 00:26:40,083 to investigate all of these UFO sightings. 596 00:26:41,458 --> 00:26:43,707 - [Lynne] The conclusion they come to, 597 00:26:43,708 --> 00:26:45,291 it's a bit of a letdown. 598 00:26:45,292 --> 00:26:46,749 They basically end up saying 599 00:26:46,750 --> 00:26:49,166 all of these different things 600 00:26:49,167 --> 00:26:53,332 are misidentification of known aerial presences, 601 00:26:53,333 --> 00:26:54,624 known phenomena, 602 00:26:54,625 --> 00:26:56,707 might be a weather situation 603 00:26:56,708 --> 00:26:58,333 that somebody interpreted wrong. 604 00:26:59,667 --> 00:27:01,499 - [Laurence] But there's one series of sightings 605 00:27:01,500 --> 00:27:04,041 the Robertson Panel can't explain. 606 00:27:04,042 --> 00:27:08,457 - The one holdout that even the CIA recognizes 607 00:27:08,458 --> 00:27:09,999 is the Foo Fighters. 608 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:14,041 They allow that some accounts simply defy explanation, 609 00:27:14,042 --> 00:27:15,916 and, in fact, they even say, 610 00:27:15,917 --> 00:27:20,917 "Had the term flying saucer existed in 1945?" 611 00:27:21,083 --> 00:27:23,124 That is undeniably what the Foo Fighters 612 00:27:23,125 --> 00:27:24,291 would've been called. 613 00:27:24,292 --> 00:27:25,874 [dramatic whooshing] 614 00:27:25,875 --> 00:27:27,541 - [Laurence] The lack of a satisfactory explanation 615 00:27:27,542 --> 00:27:31,166 from the government gives rise to imaginative speculation 616 00:27:31,167 --> 00:27:34,541 about what the World War II Foo Fighters were 617 00:27:34,542 --> 00:27:36,749 and where they came from. 618 00:27:36,750 --> 00:27:39,207 - [Lynne] For the believers, the Foo Fighters 619 00:27:39,208 --> 00:27:40,916 really were just the start 620 00:27:40,917 --> 00:27:44,499 of what has become an ongoing engagement 621 00:27:44,500 --> 00:27:46,499 with unidentified flying objects. 622 00:27:46,500 --> 00:27:48,832 And as recently as 2024, 623 00:27:48,833 --> 00:27:51,791 we have reports from pilots flying in Oregon 624 00:27:51,792 --> 00:27:54,916 of lights incredibly similar 625 00:27:54,917 --> 00:27:56,957 to the way that Foo Fighters are described, 626 00:27:56,958 --> 00:27:58,916 and, in fact, the air-traffic controllers, 627 00:27:58,917 --> 00:28:00,082 when they're called in, 628 00:28:00,083 --> 00:28:01,582 the pilots, of course, are asking, 629 00:28:01,583 --> 00:28:03,457 "What is in the sky with me?", 630 00:28:03,458 --> 00:28:05,249 just as Ed Schlueter was asking 631 00:28:05,250 --> 00:28:08,207 when he was flying his Bristol Beaufighter, 632 00:28:08,208 --> 00:28:10,832 and the reply from the base comes back, 633 00:28:10,833 --> 00:28:12,124 "It's a UFO." 634 00:28:12,125 --> 00:28:13,041 [UFO roaring] 635 00:28:13,042 --> 00:28:14,957 - Nick] Some UFO believers 636 00:28:14,958 --> 00:28:17,957 say that these things must be extraterrestrial, 637 00:28:17,958 --> 00:28:21,332 and that they were probably drawn to Earth 638 00:28:21,333 --> 00:28:26,291 to witness firsthand one of the most cataclysmic 639 00:28:26,292 --> 00:28:29,624 and high-technology wars in human history. 640 00:28:29,625 --> 00:28:30,792 [explosion booming] 641 00:28:35,667 --> 00:28:37,166 - [Laurence] Skeptics have suggested 642 00:28:37,167 --> 00:28:39,832 that the Foo Fighter encounters of World War II 643 00:28:39,833 --> 00:28:42,207 might have been hallucinations, 644 00:28:42,208 --> 00:28:45,624 but the dozens of airmen who reported those sightings 645 00:28:45,625 --> 00:28:47,333 strongly reject that theory. 646 00:28:48,833 --> 00:28:51,874 These are men known for their bravery, their judgment, 647 00:28:51,875 --> 00:28:53,999 and their keen eyesight; 648 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,332 they insist that what they saw was really there. 649 00:28:57,333 --> 00:28:58,874 [airplane whirring] 650 00:28:58,875 --> 00:29:01,749 - Some people who've looked at the Foo Fighter mystery 651 00:29:01,750 --> 00:29:04,041 believe right from the outset 652 00:29:04,042 --> 00:29:06,499 that these strange balls of light 653 00:29:06,500 --> 00:29:08,707 might have a natural explanation. 654 00:29:08,708 --> 00:29:10,291 [thunder rumbling] 655 00:29:10,292 --> 00:29:12,041 - [Martin] Civilian and military pilots are well aware 656 00:29:12,042 --> 00:29:15,166 of this weather phenomenon that's called St. Elmo's fire, 657 00:29:15,167 --> 00:29:17,707 which is an atmospheric weather condition 658 00:29:17,708 --> 00:29:20,374 that's produced by electrically charged ions 659 00:29:20,375 --> 00:29:22,041 that discharge into the air; 660 00:29:22,042 --> 00:29:24,041 and this can sometimes occur 661 00:29:24,042 --> 00:29:26,666 along the wings of an aircraft in flight at night, 662 00:29:26,667 --> 00:29:29,332 it sometimes looks like balls of flame. 663 00:29:29,333 --> 00:29:31,999 - [Laurence] Most experts believe that St. Elmo's fire 664 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,624 is unlikely to explain the Foo Fighter sightings 665 00:29:34,625 --> 00:29:36,499 during the Second World War, 666 00:29:36,500 --> 00:29:39,957 but a related atmospheric phenomenon might. 667 00:29:39,958 --> 00:29:41,249 [thunder rumbling] 668 00:29:41,250 --> 00:29:45,541 - What gives St. Elmo's fire its glow is plasma. 669 00:29:45,542 --> 00:29:48,374 Plasma is described as the fourth state of matter; 670 00:29:48,375 --> 00:29:53,207 so we have solid, liquid, gas, and we have plasma 671 00:29:53,208 --> 00:29:56,374 - [Hakeem] Plasmas are what occur when you add energy to a 672 00:29:56,375 --> 00:29:59,374 gas and that rips electrons off of the atoms, 673 00:29:59,375 --> 00:30:02,874 and now you end up with positively charged ions 674 00:30:02,875 --> 00:30:05,291 and negatively charged electrons. 675 00:30:05,292 --> 00:30:09,332 When lightning strikes, the illumination is due to plasma. 676 00:30:09,333 --> 00:30:12,207 - [Laurence] Plasma is the most abundant form of matter 677 00:30:12,208 --> 00:30:13,374 in the universe. 678 00:30:13,375 --> 00:30:17,207 The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, 679 00:30:17,208 --> 00:30:19,499 is a naturally occurring display 680 00:30:19,500 --> 00:30:21,874 of plasma physics in action. 681 00:30:21,875 --> 00:30:23,791 - [Lis] It's plasma that produces naturally 682 00:30:23,792 --> 00:30:25,791 amazing sights. 683 00:30:25,792 --> 00:30:27,541 And some believe that plasma 684 00:30:27,542 --> 00:30:31,042 could be a potential explanation for the Foo Fighters. 685 00:30:31,917 --> 00:30:35,542 [intriguing dramatic music] 686 00:30:36,458 --> 00:30:38,207 - [Paul] Even in the 21st century, 687 00:30:38,208 --> 00:30:41,541 we're not certain what plasma balls are, how they form, 688 00:30:41,542 --> 00:30:43,791 or why they behave the way they do. 689 00:30:43,792 --> 00:30:45,541 There are some scientists that claim 690 00:30:45,542 --> 00:30:49,000 that they seem to act almost like living organisms. 691 00:30:50,042 --> 00:30:52,207 - [Karlene] Plasma balls are a clear sphere. 692 00:30:52,208 --> 00:30:56,749 Inside, you have a mixture of noble gases like neon 693 00:30:56,750 --> 00:30:58,916 interacting with high-voltage electrodes. 694 00:30:58,917 --> 00:31:01,541 Once that electric current moves through the gas, 695 00:31:01,542 --> 00:31:03,041 it emits a light, 696 00:31:03,042 --> 00:31:06,499 and that's what you see glowing with plasma balls. 697 00:31:06,500 --> 00:31:08,791 - [Nick] Sometimes they grow in size, 698 00:31:08,792 --> 00:31:12,166 sometimes they split into multiple parts, 699 00:31:12,167 --> 00:31:14,874 they interact with each other, 700 00:31:14,875 --> 00:31:17,541 and they interact with the environment. 701 00:31:17,542 --> 00:31:20,041 - [Hakeem] Plasmas can also take on different shapes 702 00:31:20,042 --> 00:31:21,916 and they can move in different ways, 703 00:31:21,917 --> 00:31:24,124 with some plasma balls moving quickly 704 00:31:24,125 --> 00:31:26,999 and others appearing to just float in space. 705 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:28,416 [dramatic whooshing] [intriguing dramatic music] 706 00:31:28,417 --> 00:31:31,124 - [Laurence] Most documented plasma ball sightings 707 00:31:31,125 --> 00:31:35,041 have occurred high above the Earth in the thermosphere. 708 00:31:35,042 --> 00:31:40,000 - [Nick] In 1965, two astronauts on the Gemini 4 orbiter 709 00:31:41,375 --> 00:31:45,583 reported a strange metallic object approaching their craft. 710 00:31:47,042 --> 00:31:49,499 Six months later, the famed astronaut, James Lovell, 711 00:31:49,500 --> 00:31:53,417 reports seeing a bogey at 10 o'clock on another mission. 712 00:31:54,958 --> 00:31:57,207 - [Paul] Decades after Lovell's report, 713 00:31:57,208 --> 00:32:00,707 shuttle missions being conducted into low Earth orbit 714 00:32:00,708 --> 00:32:02,791 on 10 separate occasions 715 00:32:02,792 --> 00:32:05,791 captured images of huge plasma blobs. 716 00:32:05,792 --> 00:32:07,707 [intriguing dramatic music] 717 00:32:07,708 --> 00:32:10,916 - [Laurence] Scientists believe these same plasma balls 718 00:32:10,917 --> 00:32:13,916 occasionally descend into the lower atmosphere 719 00:32:13,917 --> 00:32:15,457 shared by aircraft. 720 00:32:15,458 --> 00:32:18,082 And what happens when plasma comes in contact 721 00:32:18,083 --> 00:32:20,374 with flying manmade objects 722 00:32:20,375 --> 00:32:23,041 may explain the Foo Fighter sightings. 723 00:32:23,042 --> 00:32:25,457 - [Lynne] These plasma balls exist almost entirely 724 00:32:25,458 --> 00:32:26,666 in the thermosphere, 725 00:32:26,667 --> 00:32:29,666 but they've been known to be drawn downwards 726 00:32:29,667 --> 00:32:32,124 through some sort of electromagnetic presence. 727 00:32:32,125 --> 00:32:33,707 [dramatic whooshing] 728 00:32:33,708 --> 00:32:35,874 - [Hakeem] Plasmas can also occur around manmade objects 729 00:32:35,875 --> 00:32:37,332 zipping through the sky 730 00:32:37,333 --> 00:32:39,667 and emitting their own electromagnetic energy. 731 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,249 - [Karlene] So you have these planes that are manmade objects 732 00:32:43,250 --> 00:32:45,124 moving through this electric field. 733 00:32:45,125 --> 00:32:47,707 This can help those plasma balls to form. 734 00:32:47,708 --> 00:32:49,124 [dramatic whooshing] 735 00:32:49,125 --> 00:32:50,541 - [Lynne] The Bristol Beaufighters themselves, 736 00:32:50,542 --> 00:32:51,791 moving through the sky, 737 00:32:51,792 --> 00:32:54,416 would've generated their own electrostatic field 738 00:32:54,417 --> 00:32:57,499 to create the conditions under which these plasma balls 739 00:32:57,500 --> 00:33:00,791 might come from the thermosphere into our atmosphere. 740 00:33:00,792 --> 00:33:04,916 And this ties in perfectly with the way the Foo Fighters 741 00:33:04,917 --> 00:33:07,416 are described by the airmen who saw them 742 00:33:07,417 --> 00:33:10,166 as being drawn towards the planes, 743 00:33:10,167 --> 00:33:11,874 almost like they're investigating 744 00:33:11,875 --> 00:33:14,457 or attaching themselves to them. 745 00:33:14,458 --> 00:33:16,791 - [Hakeem] According to the research, when this happens, 746 00:33:16,792 --> 00:33:20,874 these plasma balls have been known to "toy with" military 747 00:33:20,875 --> 00:33:21,999 and civilian aircraft. 748 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:23,499 [dramatic whooshing] 749 00:33:23,500 --> 00:33:25,499 - [Nick] The Foo Fighters were variously described 750 00:33:25,500 --> 00:33:30,333 as silver, white, or red, but often pulsing and glowing, 751 00:33:30,583 --> 00:33:34,582 and this is a very common feature of plasmas. 752 00:33:34,583 --> 00:33:37,249 - [Martin] The phenomenon is visually astonishing 753 00:33:37,250 --> 00:33:38,957 and attention attracting, 754 00:33:38,958 --> 00:33:41,457 because when it's being played out, 755 00:33:41,458 --> 00:33:46,457 you see visible balls of fire around the aircraft 756 00:33:46,458 --> 00:33:49,707 while it's flying. [orb whooshing] 757 00:33:49,708 --> 00:33:51,041 - [Laurence] In 2020, 758 00:33:51,042 --> 00:33:53,707 a study by scientists at Cornell University 759 00:33:53,708 --> 00:33:57,416 connects advanced technology aboard the night fighter planes 760 00:33:57,417 --> 00:34:00,291 to the appearance of plasma balls. 761 00:34:00,292 --> 00:34:01,916 - [Lynne] The idea is that these planes 762 00:34:01,917 --> 00:34:03,874 that the Night Fighters were flying, 763 00:34:03,875 --> 00:34:05,624 the way that their radar worked 764 00:34:05,625 --> 00:34:07,374 was that it was pulsing, 765 00:34:07,375 --> 00:34:09,666 and it pulsed so that it wouldn't overheat 766 00:34:09,667 --> 00:34:11,291 all of the equipment. 767 00:34:11,292 --> 00:34:14,249 - [Hakeem] The radar signals that were sent out by these 768 00:34:14,250 --> 00:34:16,207 airplanes were very strong signals, 769 00:34:16,208 --> 00:34:17,457 'cause they had to travel miles 770 00:34:17,458 --> 00:34:19,249 and then reflect back to the airplane 771 00:34:19,250 --> 00:34:20,999 for them to get a signal. 772 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:23,374 Sending that strong radio signal 773 00:34:23,375 --> 00:34:27,541 through the exhaust from the plane, ionizing that gas, 774 00:34:27,542 --> 00:34:30,332 could easily have formed a plasma ball. 775 00:34:30,333 --> 00:34:32,874 And any fireballs that were created 776 00:34:32,875 --> 00:34:35,332 would then stay next to the plane. 777 00:34:35,333 --> 00:34:37,249 And so, as the plane maneuvers, 778 00:34:37,250 --> 00:34:39,541 the fireball would maneuver along with it, 779 00:34:39,542 --> 00:34:42,416 and so, that would match exactly what the pilot saw 780 00:34:42,417 --> 00:34:43,957 when they were observing the Foo Fighters. 781 00:34:43,958 --> 00:34:44,458 [airplane whooshing] 782 00:34:49,292 --> 00:34:50,332 - [Laurence] Since Foo Fighters were first sighted 783 00:34:50,333 --> 00:34:52,874 in November of 1944, 784 00:34:52,875 --> 00:34:56,249 American military personnel and civilians alike 785 00:34:56,250 --> 00:34:58,249 have developed a host of theories 786 00:34:58,250 --> 00:35:01,332 to explain the Foo Fighter mystery. 787 00:35:01,333 --> 00:35:05,541 While some theorists believe the Foo Fighters could be UFOs, 788 00:35:05,542 --> 00:35:10,166 or the result of some obscure meteorological phenomenon, 789 00:35:10,167 --> 00:35:13,416 others propose a more conventional explanation. 790 00:35:13,417 --> 00:35:14,999 - [Hakeem] The common denominator 791 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:17,291 with all of these Foo Fighter encounters 792 00:35:17,292 --> 00:35:19,291 is that they happen at night, 793 00:35:19,292 --> 00:35:22,124 and that was a new environment for the pilots 794 00:35:22,125 --> 00:35:25,249 of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron. 795 00:35:25,250 --> 00:35:26,666 To keep from being spotted, 796 00:35:26,667 --> 00:35:30,166 the pilots used airplanes that were painted black 797 00:35:30,167 --> 00:35:32,124 and even had darkened instrument panels. 798 00:35:32,125 --> 00:35:33,541 [dramatic thud] 799 00:35:33,542 --> 00:35:35,499 - [Lynne] So these pilots, when they're flying, 800 00:35:35,500 --> 00:35:37,291 yes, they're looking at their instrument panel, 801 00:35:37,292 --> 00:35:39,541 yes, the radar operator's looking at the radar, 802 00:35:39,542 --> 00:35:42,624 but they're also staring out into the darkness 803 00:35:42,625 --> 00:35:44,666 with very few other lights around them 804 00:35:44,667 --> 00:35:47,457 trying to see what they can make sense of, 805 00:35:47,458 --> 00:35:52,500 and this is an incredibly disorienting experience. 806 00:35:53,625 --> 00:35:55,624 - [Kevin] Flying at night with a moonless sky 807 00:35:55,625 --> 00:35:59,582 with very few reference points and clouds coming over them, 808 00:35:59,583 --> 00:36:02,416 maybe the pilot's eyes were just playing tricks on them. 809 00:36:02,417 --> 00:36:07,166 [dramatic thud] [intriguing dramatic music] 810 00:36:07,167 --> 00:36:08,874 - [Hakeem] Back in 1799, 811 00:36:08,875 --> 00:36:12,374 exploring scientist, Alexander Von Humboldt, 812 00:36:12,375 --> 00:36:15,374 was out at night and he reported that he started to see 813 00:36:15,375 --> 00:36:17,999 the stars swing around in the sky. 814 00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:19,542 [dramatic thud] 815 00:36:19,708 --> 00:36:22,749 - [Lynne] He used the term sternschwankung, swinging stars, 816 00:36:22,750 --> 00:36:24,291 to describe these. 817 00:36:24,292 --> 00:36:26,582 And it wasn't until almost a hundred years later 818 00:36:26,583 --> 00:36:29,082 that science was able to show 819 00:36:29,083 --> 00:36:30,874 the stars aren't actually moving. 820 00:36:30,875 --> 00:36:32,166 [dramatic thud] 821 00:36:32,167 --> 00:36:33,666 - [Paul] What's happening in the night sky 822 00:36:33,667 --> 00:36:35,999 is actually a pretty common phenomenon 823 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:37,582 known as autokinesis. 824 00:36:37,583 --> 00:36:39,707 [dramatic thud] [intriguing dramatic music] 825 00:36:39,708 --> 00:36:42,457 - [Laurence] Autokinesis is a visual illusion 826 00:36:42,458 --> 00:36:44,666 where a stationary light source, 827 00:36:44,667 --> 00:36:47,249 set against a very dark background, 828 00:36:47,250 --> 00:36:49,582 can appear to be moving. 829 00:36:49,583 --> 00:36:51,207 - [Hakeem] This could be a problem for pilots 830 00:36:51,208 --> 00:36:54,666 because it creates the illusion that a stationary light 831 00:36:54,667 --> 00:36:57,499 could be on a collision course with their airplane. 832 00:36:57,500 --> 00:36:58,874 [dramatic whooshing] [intriguing dramatic music] 833 00:36:58,875 --> 00:37:00,541 - [Paul] In February, 1945, 834 00:37:00,542 --> 00:37:02,874 The War Department actually sets up an experiment 835 00:37:02,875 --> 00:37:04,874 to try to determine whether autokinesis 836 00:37:04,875 --> 00:37:07,457 is the source of the Foo Fighter reports. 837 00:37:07,458 --> 00:37:10,707 They put together an experiment within a simulated cockpit 838 00:37:10,708 --> 00:37:13,249 of one of these Bristol Beaufighters. 839 00:37:13,250 --> 00:37:15,124 - They were in this pitch-black room, 840 00:37:15,125 --> 00:37:17,124 and you have this one little light 841 00:37:17,125 --> 00:37:19,666 that's being shined right in their eyes. 842 00:37:19,667 --> 00:37:23,082 - The pilots would stare at that single source of light 843 00:37:23,083 --> 00:37:24,957 with no reference around them. 844 00:37:24,958 --> 00:37:26,207 And with the passage of time, 845 00:37:26,208 --> 00:37:27,874 they would eventually begin to hallucinate 846 00:37:27,875 --> 00:37:29,207 that the light was moving; 847 00:37:29,208 --> 00:37:30,791 it would swing from side to side, 848 00:37:30,792 --> 00:37:33,541 it would approach them, it would retreat away from them, 849 00:37:33,542 --> 00:37:35,041 and all of it was in their head. 850 00:37:35,042 --> 00:37:36,541 [intriguing dramatic music] 851 00:37:36,542 --> 00:37:38,541 - [Karlene] During the experiment that they conducted, 852 00:37:38,542 --> 00:37:42,374 it only took six to 12 seconds for this optical illusion 853 00:37:42,375 --> 00:37:43,374 to take place. 854 00:37:43,375 --> 00:37:44,666 [intriguing dramatic music] 855 00:37:44,667 --> 00:37:46,832 - [Lynne] When a pilot is flying a plane, 856 00:37:46,833 --> 00:37:49,541 that plane is rolling and pitching and yawing 857 00:37:49,542 --> 00:37:51,291 and moving through space, 858 00:37:51,292 --> 00:37:54,916 that movement alone is enough to create a sense 859 00:37:54,917 --> 00:37:57,541 that a stationary light outside of the plane 860 00:37:57,542 --> 00:38:00,624 is actually the thing doing the moving. 861 00:38:00,625 --> 00:38:02,707 - [Kevin] Even the best pilots can get confused 862 00:38:02,708 --> 00:38:04,207 and see things that aren't there, 863 00:38:04,208 --> 00:38:05,832 and that's something that even happens today. 864 00:38:05,833 --> 00:38:07,499 [airplane whooshing] [intriguing dramatic music] 865 00:38:07,500 --> 00:38:10,124 - [Laurence] As recently as 2011, 866 00:38:10,125 --> 00:38:14,416 a pilot flying a commercial plane caused major havoc 867 00:38:14,417 --> 00:38:18,582 when he mistook a planet for an oncoming aircraft. 868 00:38:18,583 --> 00:38:22,707 - [Paul] A 767 was en route from Toronto to Zurich. 869 00:38:22,708 --> 00:38:24,624 The co-pilot had been informed 870 00:38:24,625 --> 00:38:27,249 that there was a cargo aircraft in his vicinity, 871 00:38:27,250 --> 00:38:29,332 and so he should maintain awareness 872 00:38:29,333 --> 00:38:31,416 for the possibility of its presence. 873 00:38:31,417 --> 00:38:34,082 - The co-pilot saw a light that was coming towards him, 874 00:38:34,083 --> 00:38:37,582 and mistakenly identified it as cargo aircraft. 875 00:38:37,583 --> 00:38:39,707 - [Lynne] To avoid hitting that bright light 876 00:38:39,708 --> 00:38:41,832 that the pilot thought was coming at them, 877 00:38:41,833 --> 00:38:43,666 they decided to take a nose dive. 878 00:38:43,667 --> 00:38:45,332 - [Karlene] Thankfully, the captain took over, 879 00:38:45,333 --> 00:38:47,666 and it was not a deadly crash, 880 00:38:47,667 --> 00:38:50,707 but it almost hit the actual cargo plane 881 00:38:50,708 --> 00:38:55,583 that was in the area about a thousand feet below the 767. 882 00:38:56,708 --> 00:38:58,207 - [Paul] Later investigation demonstrated 883 00:38:58,208 --> 00:39:00,541 that what he was seeing was actually the planet Venus 884 00:39:00,542 --> 00:39:02,291 60 million miles away. 885 00:39:02,292 --> 00:39:03,708 [dramatic thud] [airplane whirring] 886 00:39:03,875 --> 00:39:05,541 - [Martin] We have almost limitless amounts of information 887 00:39:05,542 --> 00:39:08,207 about pilots becoming confused in the sky. 888 00:39:08,208 --> 00:39:10,374 Once that disorientation sets in, 889 00:39:10,375 --> 00:39:12,791 it's very difficult for a pilot to overcome it 890 00:39:12,792 --> 00:39:15,166 and regain situational awareness. 891 00:39:15,167 --> 00:39:16,291 [dramatic thud] 892 00:39:16,292 --> 00:39:17,541 - [Kevin] This kind of disorientation 893 00:39:17,542 --> 00:39:19,457 means that pilots that are flying straight 894 00:39:19,458 --> 00:39:20,832 feel like they're turning, 895 00:39:20,833 --> 00:39:23,332 or even worse, they're so disoriented, 896 00:39:23,333 --> 00:39:25,249 they think that they're upside down 897 00:39:25,250 --> 00:39:27,249 when they're actually flying right side up 898 00:39:27,250 --> 00:39:29,541 because of the lights and things that they're seeing. 899 00:39:29,542 --> 00:39:30,874 [dramatic thud] 900 00:39:30,875 --> 00:39:31,957 - [Karlene] So with all this aerial clutter 901 00:39:31,958 --> 00:39:33,666 that they were seeing in World War II, 902 00:39:33,667 --> 00:39:35,374 this could account for the Foo Fighters. 903 00:39:35,375 --> 00:39:36,957 [dramatic thud] 904 00:39:36,958 --> 00:39:39,541 - [Laurence] Is it possible the Foo Fighter witnesses 905 00:39:39,542 --> 00:39:42,541 were misled by stray lights in the sky? 906 00:39:42,542 --> 00:39:45,374 Some say that might be the case. 907 00:39:45,375 --> 00:39:46,666 - [Hakeem] Proponents of this theory 908 00:39:46,667 --> 00:39:49,207 feel that this autokinesis phenomenon 909 00:39:49,208 --> 00:39:51,332 is an incredibly powerful illusion 910 00:39:51,333 --> 00:39:53,874 that these airmen were never trained on. 911 00:39:53,875 --> 00:39:55,832 According to a night fighter commander 912 00:39:55,833 --> 00:39:57,707 who was interviewed after the war, 913 00:39:57,708 --> 00:40:02,667 his men were never trained on misperceptions or illusions 914 00:40:02,792 --> 00:40:05,249 or disorientation that could occur 915 00:40:05,250 --> 00:40:07,291 during night air fighting. 916 00:40:07,292 --> 00:40:08,874 [dramatic thud] [airplane whirring] 917 00:40:08,875 --> 00:40:10,624 - [Kevin] So these pilots racing over Germany at night, 918 00:40:10,625 --> 00:40:12,707 you can see where the power of suggestion 919 00:40:12,708 --> 00:40:14,667 overrides rational thought. 920 00:40:15,917 --> 00:40:18,874 - [Nick] For the men who encountered the Foo Fighters 921 00:40:18,875 --> 00:40:22,291 in those closing years of World War II, 922 00:40:22,292 --> 00:40:24,832 this remained an experience 923 00:40:24,833 --> 00:40:28,666 that was to them profound and unforgettable. 924 00:40:28,667 --> 00:40:30,707 It was something that would be with them 925 00:40:30,708 --> 00:40:33,291 for the rest of their lives. 926 00:40:33,292 --> 00:40:36,666 - [Lynne] Maybe it was a German weapon that's been lost to time, 927 00:40:36,667 --> 00:40:40,916 maybe it is something literally beyond our understanding. 928 00:40:40,917 --> 00:40:44,374 It was certainly the origin of UFO stories; 929 00:40:44,375 --> 00:40:46,541 and to true believers, 930 00:40:46,542 --> 00:40:48,374 that final chapter has yet to be written. 931 00:40:48,375 --> 00:40:50,666 [intriguing dramatic music] [orb roaring] 932 00:40:50,667 --> 00:40:52,416 [static whirring] [tense dramatic music] 933 00:40:52,417 --> 00:40:53,832 - Whether the Foo Fighters 934 00:40:53,833 --> 00:40:56,541 were created by a state of matter, a state of mind, 935 00:40:56,542 --> 00:40:58,749 or something otherworldly, 936 00:40:58,750 --> 00:41:00,707 we may never know the complete truth 937 00:41:00,708 --> 00:41:04,457 about what or who the Foo Fighters really were, 938 00:41:04,458 --> 00:41:06,208 or if they actually existed. 939 00:41:07,208 --> 00:41:08,957 I'm Laurence Fishburne, 940 00:41:08,958 --> 00:41:13,207 thank you for watching "History's Greatest Mysteries." 941 00:41:13,208 --> 00:41:14,750 [cinematic dramatic music]