My current nighttime reading is THE FLAK HELPERS by H. D. Nicolaisen. I was somewhat astonished by the report of an Air Force helper who was stationed at a flak (anti-aircraft gun) near Hamburg in 1943, whose radar equipment had detected an "aircraft" traveling at an unusually low speed:
Summary of the Observation near Hamburg 1943
In 1943, the radar equipment of an Air Force helper near Hamburg detected an unusual flying object. The tracked speed of 10 to 40 meters per second was far too slow, as typical aircraft at that time traveled at much higher speeds. However, the superior officer believed it to be a technical defect in the device and ordered them to calculate with the standard empirical values instead. As a result, the Kattwyk heavy battery spent a long time firing completely pointlessly into the darkness.
Further Incidents in World War II
The intruder could not be identified further. Apparently, however, this was not the only "encounter" with unusual aircraft during the Second World War.
For instance, G. Steinhäuser, author of the book "Return to the Gods", provides an authentic report, confirmed by witnesses, of a flak soldier of the former German Wehrmacht who was stationed with his unit in Poland in 1944. This man, a Tyrolean by the way, recounted:
Summary of the Sighting over Poland in 1944
Another incident occurred in the autumn of 1944 in Poland, when radar devices reported an extremely high and fast-flying object that was unreachable for Russian aircraft at the time. As the object descended, the heavy flak opened fire, which, however, only seemed to increase its speed.
The soldiers could hardly believe the measurements, which ultimately displayed impossible speeds of up to 5,000 kilometers per hour.
Even when the roundish object dropped lower and was targeted by lighter quad flak guns, the fire remained entirely ineffective. Ultimately, the object made a turn and vanished without a trace in front of the entire unit, an event that was initially forgotten in the chaos of the war's end.
This translation was prepared by GEMINI!ʬ