If you’re a history buff, you may have heard the term ‘foofighters’; not the rock band, but the mysterious objects seen by pilots during World War II.
These sightings led to much speculation and controversy, as some people thought they were secret weapons or even alien spacecraft. But what were they actually?
A new study by researchers from the Universities of California, Arizona and Harvard-Smithsonian may have found the answer, at least for some cases. They suggest that some of the ‘foofighters’ were actually plasmas, or ionized gases, which come in different shapes and sizes and are attracted to electromagnetic activity.
Plasmas are not uncommon in nature and can be observed in phenomena such as lightning, auroras and fireballs. They can also behave strangely and unpredictably, especially when interacting with magnetic fields or electric currents.
The researchers analyzed several reports of ‘foofighters’ from World War II pilots and compared them with modern observations of plasmas by astronauts and spacecraft.
They found that some descriptions matched very well, such as spherical or disk-shaped objects that glowed with different colors, moved irregularly, and sometimes followed or approached the plane.
An example is the report of Lieutenant David McFalls of the US Navy, who encountered a ‘foo fighter’ over the Pacific Ocean in 1943. He described it as “a fireball, reddish orange in color, about six inches in diameter” that “flew along our port beam for several minutes” and “then made a 90 degree turn and flew into engine number two.”
The study does not claim to explain all the ‘foofighter’ sightings, as some of them may have been optical illusions, misidentified aircraft or hoaxes. But it does provide a plausible and scientific explanation for some of the most puzzling and mysterious cases.
“These plasmas are electromagnetic entities with a variety of shapes and sizes,” says study co-author Dr. Rudolph Schild of Harvard-Smithsonian.
“They have repeatedly approached spacecraft and space shuttles and are attracted to electromagnetic activity, including thunderstorms.”
“Based on video, photographic and computerized analyses, including reports from military officers and astronauts, we believe these plasmas explain at least some of the numerous reports of UFOs and unidentified aerial phenomena over the past several thousand years, including the observed ‘foo hunters ‘. by German, Japanese and Allied pilots during World War II.”
