| In the 1938 comic strip Smokey Stover, a | | | | their efforts were unsuccessful, and the |
| firefighter was known for his line, "Where | | | | objects usually zoomed away of their own |
| there's foo, there's fire." From Smokey, | | | | accord. |
| aircraft pilots borrowed the term "foo fire" | | | | |
| to describe the various unexplainable | | | | Foo fighters were mentioned in the American |
| phenomenon seen in the skies over Europe and | | | | mass media. Ponderous articles appeared in |
| the Pacific theatre during World War II. | | | | Time and Newsweek in 1945, contributing to |
| While Allied pilots initially thought the | | | | the wave of UFO consciousness building in the |
| flying objects were German secret or | | | | US. By 1952 so many civilians were contacting |
| psychological weapons, after the war it was | | | | government agencies regarding UFO reports |
| discovered that sightings were also reported | | | | that regular intelligence work was being |
| by the enemy, who had assumed the crafts were | | | | affected. |
| US-made. To this day, the sightings remain a | | | | |
| mystery. | | | | While scientists have never been able to |
| | | | explain the phenomenon, many speculations |
| Over the course of the war, fireballs, | | | | have been advanced as possibilities. Five of |
| estimated to be as big as 300 feet and as | | | | the most plausible theories are: |
| small as 1 foot in diameter, were reported | | | | |
| and thoroughly documented. These apparitions | | | | 1. The fireballs may be nothing more than St. |
| left witnesses awe-inspired, wary, and | | | | Elmo's Fire, a reddish brush-like discharge |
| frightened-although the foo fighters never | | | | of atmospheric electricity which has often |
| harmed or attempted to harm anyone. The CIA | | | | been seen near the tips of church steeples, |
| was commissioned in 1952 to study the reports | | | | ships' masts and yardarms. It also appears at |
| and concluded that while mysterious, foo | | | | a plane's wing tips. |
| fighters were not a considered a threat to | | | | |
| national security. | | | | 2. They may have been optical illusions, mere |
| | | | after-images of light remaining in pilots' |
| A Foo fighter is an umbrella term that | | | | eyes after being dazzled by flak bursts. |
| includes flying objects of various shapes and | | | | |
| sizes. Wobbling, or vibrating flares were | | | | 3. Occurrences may have been the rare effect |
| described as glowing globes of intense green, | | | | of "ball lightning," a glowing, drifting |
| yellow, red, orange, or white lights. One | | | | bubble of light typically eight inches in |
| crew even reported observing the | | | | diameter. These generally, though not always, |
| phosphorescent spheres going through a | | | | follow regular lightning strikes. |
| sequence of color changes at regular | | | | |
| intervals. Other reports describe them as | | | | 4. Bright ground objects reflected from the |
| silver or gold metallic, and disk-shaped. | | | | curved plastic canopy of an aircraft can be |
| They frequently appeared at the wing tips of | | | | perceived as images above the horizon. |
| planes in pairs or alone, although sometimes | | | | |
| they were found in larger clusters of fifteen | | | | 5. Proponents of the extraterrestrial |
| or more. In one report 150 objects were | | | | hypothesis (ETH) have suggested that foo |
| estimated to be arranged in 10-12 lines. | | | | fighters are hard evidence of ETs visiting |
| Picking up an aircraft, these blobs of fire | | | | earth. |
| could reportedly pace a plane at very high | | | | |
| speeds through extensive evasive maneuvers | | | | Foo fighters are certainly some of the best |
| for several minutes. One British officer and | | | | documented reports of UFOs, and photographs |
| his crew of sailors tracked an object from | | | | and respected testimony abound. Hopefully in |
| the deck of their vessel for over an hour. | | | | time the mystery will be solved, and this |
| Although a few baffled pilots attempted to | | | | comic book name will be replaced by its true |
| intercept, and even fire upon the globes, | | | | name. |