UFOs of the First World War

Nigel Watson examines reports of phantom airships, strange aircraft, balloons and other unexplained aerial sightings recorded during the First World War. The book places these accounts alongside the rapid development of military aviation, where unfamiliar machines, observation flights and wartime nerves could make identification difficult.

Among the stories discussed are an alleged encounter involving the Red Baron and a mysterious aerial object, and the reported disappearance of the 1st/4th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment after marching into a cloud at Hill 60 near Suvla Bay in 1915. Watson considers the different evidential weight of documented observations, rumours and legends that grew through later retellings.