Zeider Zee: RAF Bomber Tail Gunner Fires on Luminous Sphere
On March 25, 1942, an RAF bomber returning from Essen over Holland's Zeider Zee encountered a luminous disc or sphere that the tail gunner fired upon without effect.
Background
An RAF bomber returning from a mission to Essen, Germany, was over Holland's Zeider Zee on March 25, 1942, when the tail gunner noticed a luminous disc or sphere approaching. After notifying the pilot, the gunner readied his weapon and waited. When it was within 100-200 yards, he fired several rounds, apparently hitting it, but to no effect. Shortly the vehicle flew away at a speed that the crew thought to be beyond the speed of sound.
This engagement represents one of the earliest documented military interactions with an unidentified aerial object during World War II. The object's apparent invulnerability to gunfire and its supersonic departure speed were characteristics that would be reported repeatedly in subsequent decades.
Significance
One of the first documented cases of military engagement with a UFO during WWII.
Connections
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