Early Foo Fighters (1940-1942)

While the term “Foo Fighters” became famous during 1944-1945, when Allied pilots over Europe and the Pacific regularly encountered mysterious balls of light that followed their aircraft, the phenomenon actually began earlier. From 1940 onwards, RAF crews flying missions over Germany reported strange aerial phenomena - lights that paced their aircraft, exhibited intelligent behavior, and displayed flight characteristics beyond any known technology. These early encounters were the precursors to one of World War II’s greatest mysteries.

The Phenomenon

What Were Foo Fighters?

The typical description:

• Balls or globes of light
• Various colors reported
• Followed aircraft persistently
• Matched speeds and maneuvers
• Never hostile but alarming

Why “Foo Fighters”?

The name came later:

• Term coined 1944
• From “Smokey Stover” comic strip
• “Where there’s foo, there’s fire”
• Pilots’ slang adopted
• Now universal term

Early Encounters (1940-1942)

RAF Over Germany

British pilots reported:

• Strange lights during missions
• Following bomber formations
• Appearing alongside aircraft
• Matching exact speeds
• Exhibiting intelligence

Timing

The early sightings:

• Beginning 1940
• Throughout Battle of Britain period
• Continuing into 1941-1942
• Before American entry
• British forces primarily

Characteristics

Flight Behavior

What witnesses observed:

• Impossible speeds
• Instant acceleration
• Hovering capability
• Formation flying with aircraft
• Evasion of attacks

Physical Appearance

Descriptions included:

• Glowing orbs
• Red, orange, white colors
• Various sizes
• Luminous quality
• Seemingly solid

Intelligent Control

Evidence of purpose:

• Deliberate following
• Responsive to aircraft movements
• Maintained precise distances
• Never collided
• Appeared and disappeared at will

Military Concerns

Initial Reactions

The armed forces response:

• Concern about new enemy weapons
• Fear of surveillance technology
• Reports filed officially
• Investigation attempted
• No conclusions reached

German Weapons Theory

What authorities considered:

• Nazi secret technology
• Psychological warfare device
• Guidance for anti-aircraft fire
• Observation platforms
• New weapon system

The Problem

Why theories failed:

• Germans reported them too
• Japanese pilots saw them
• No weapon effects observed
• No wreckage ever found
• Both sides mystified

Documented Incidents

Types of Encounters

Categories of sightings:

• Single orb following one aircraft
• Multiple orbs in formation
• Orbs passing through formations
• Stationary objects observed
• Objects pacing for extended periods

Duration

Encounters lasted:

• Seconds to minutes typically
• Some for extended periods
• Across miles of flight
• Throughout entire missions occasionally
• Variable and unpredictable

Analysis

What They Weren’t

Ruled out explanations:

• Not enemy aircraft (no attacks)
• Not flak (wrong behavior)
• Not St. Elmo’s fire (too mobile)
• Not hallucinations (too consistent)
• Not ball lightning (too persistent)

What They Might Be

Theories proposed:

• Unknown natural phenomenon
• Advanced technology (whose?)
• Extraterrestrial observation
• Interdimensional manifestation
• Something entirely unknown

Historical Significance

Pre-1944 Documentation

Why early cases matter:

• Establishes longer timeline
• Before term “Foo Fighter” existed
• Genuine mystery from start
• Not suggestion or expectation
• Original observations

The Pattern

What emerged:

• Consistent descriptions
• Multiple witnesses
• Both sides of conflict
• Various theaters of war
• Phenomenon was real

Global Phenomenon

Not Just Europe

Sightings occurred:

• European theater primarily early
• Pacific theater later
• Multiple nations’ pilots
• Different aircraft types
• Universal experience

All Sides Saw Them

Importantly:

• British saw them
• Americans saw them
• Germans saw them
• Japanese saw them
• Not one side’s weapon

The Mystery Deepens

No Explanation Found

Despite investigation:

• No technology identified
• No natural cause proven
• No enemy weapon confirmed
• Mystery remained
• War ended without answers

Post-War Questions

After 1945:

• No German wonder weapon found
• No Japanese equivalent
• No Allied secret project
• Nobody claimed responsibility
• Phenomenon simply stopped

Connection to UFO History

Transition

The Foo Fighters lead to:

• 1947 Kenneth Arnold sighting
• Modern UFO era
• Same type of observations
• Continuous phenomenon?
• Pattern across decades

Credible Witnesses

Military pilots were:

• Trained observers
• Used to identifying aircraft
• Not prone to fantasy
• Multiple crew confirmation
• Official reports filed

The Question

From 1940, even before the famous waves of 1944, something was flying alongside military aircraft over Europe.

Balls of light. Glowing orbs. Objects that followed bombers and fighters with apparent intelligence, matching their speeds, mimicking their maneuvers, staying just out of reach.

The RAF saw them. Then the Americans saw them. Then it emerged that the Germans were seeing them too.

Everyone thought they were the enemy’s secret weapon.

But they weren’t anyone’s weapon.

They never attacked. They never damaged aircraft. They just… watched. Followed. Observed.

What were the Foo Fighters?

The war ended. Scientists examined German facilities. There was no Foo Fighter technology. The Japanese had nothing similar. Neither did the Allies.

No one had built them.

No one knew what they were.

And then, after the war, they were gone. The skies returned to normal - for a while.

But something had been there. Something had flown alongside thousands of military aircraft during the deadliest conflict in human history. Something that all sides saw. Something that no side created.

The Early Foo Fighters of 1940-1942.

The beginning of the mystery.

Intelligent lights in the war-torn skies.

Observing humanity at its worst.

And never explaining why.

Still unknown.

Still unexplained.

Still one of World War II’s strangest secrets.

Waiting in the historical record.

For someone to finally understand.