The Foo Fighters

 

 

 

“Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast”  

Alice in Wonderland

          

Relax all you metal heads - this article is not about the band. I did however, use their logo to garner attention. No, this article is about another one of those strange, yet mostly untold stories of World War II. If it is real or not is up for discussion. It is real enough that many have come forward and said the Foo Fighters of World War II were "something".

The war was starting to wind down in Europe. The hand writing was on the wall that Hitler was not going to make it unless he was able to throw a "Hail Mary" - in other words, come up with a super weapon that could turn the tide for him. It was the worst kept secret in the world. The Allies knew that Hitler had his brain trust working on jet technology, guided as well as unguided rockets, and maybe even WMD.

This is where the story gets interesting. Many pilots in the 415th Night Fighter Squadron started seeing "something" when flying in the European theater. Starting in November 1944, these "something" sightings pilots witnessed were nicknamed Foo Fighters. It was a nonsensical name, as some believe the name "Foo" came from the underside of a oriental figurine. The name stuck, and anytime a pilot saw a glowing orb or a shiny disk doing things a plane should not be able to do, the pilot would file a Foo Fighter report.

These reports were very unsettling to the brass, as some in the higher reaches of our government thought the Nazis had come up with something really unbeatable. According to our pilots, the Foo Fighters could turn on a dime, fly many times faster than our best planes, and reach unobtainable altitudes. The real mystery however, was Foo Fighters never engaged our pilots. They just seemed to "tag along" for awhile and then disappear.

After the war was over, hostilities stopped, but not the sightings of the Foo Fighters. When the Cold War started, both Allied and Axis continued to see Foo Fighters from time to time. After 1947, a new name emerged - Flying Saucers. That lasted until some clear thinker decided they were just unidentified flying objects, or UFOs. 

Just like with Operation Paperclip, there are stories from World War II that are as fascinating as they are under reported. The next time the musical group Foo Fighters comes to your town to play a gig, think about the Foo Fighters from World War II. You probably will never again think the same about this group's name.