THE NATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS COMMITTEE ON AERIAL PHENOMENA (NICAP)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81R00560R000100010001-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 186
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 12, 2001
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: January 1, 1964
• Content Type: REPORT

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(UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS)
Published by
THE
NATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS- COMMITTEE
ON
AERIAL PHENOMENA
(N I CAP)
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NATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS COMMITTEE ON AERIAL PHENOMENA
1536 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Mr. J.B. Hartranft, Jr.; President, Aircraft Owners & Pilots As-
sociation, Washington, D.C. Former Army Air Corps Lt. Colonel,
founder of U.S. Air Guard (now Civil Air Patrol), graduate Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania.
Col. J. Bryan III, USAFR (Ret.); Writer and author, Richmond,
Virginia. Former special assistant to Secretary of Air Force
(1952-53), assigned to staff of Gen. Lauris Norstad, NATO
(1959), editorial staff of national magazines, author of several
books.
Dr. Earl Douglass; Presbyterian clergyman, Princeton, N. J.
Religious Columnist, member of New York Authors League.
D.D., Tusculum College (1931), Litt.D., Catawba College (1941).
Dr. Charles P. Olivier; President, American Meteor Society,
Narbeth, Pa. Professor emeritus of astronomy, Univ. of Pennsyl-
vania, contributor to Encyclopedia Britannica and Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory reports on meteors.
Dr. Marcus Bach; State University of Iowa, School of Religion.
Author and playwright, member American Academy of Political
and Social Sciences, contributor to scholarly journals and popu-
lar magazines, Ph.D. University of Iowa (1942).
Col. Robert Emerson, USAR; Research Chemist, Emerson Testing
Laboratory, Baton Rouge, La. Member American Chemical
Society Speaker's Bureau, graduate Chemical Warfare School
Edgewood Arsenal, General Staff College Fort Leavenworth,
other military schools.
Mr. Frank Edwards; WTTV, Indianapolis, Indiana, radio-television
commentator and author. Recipient of Amvets Service Award
(1953) and VFW National Service Award (1945), former news
analyst on Mutual Broadcasting System.
Prof. Charles A. Money; Head, Department of Physics, Defiance
College, Ohio. Author of Atoms For Peace proposal now on file
in National Archives, M.S. Univ. of Chicago (1915), astrophysics,
additional graduate work Universities of Michigan and Kentucky.
Mr. Dewey Fournet, Jr., former Major USAFR; Baton Rouge, La.
Former Air Force Headquarters Monitor of AF Project Blue Book
UFO investigation, prepared analyses of UFO data for AF,
liaison officer between Dayton project and Pentagon.
Rev. Albert Bailer; German Congregational Church, Clinton, Mass.
Author of children's books, graduate Nebraska Wesleyan Uni-
versity and Boston University School of Theology.
Rear Adm. H.B. Knowles, USN (Ret.); Eliot, Maine. Veteran of
both World War I and World War II, held important submarine com-
mands, graduate U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis (1917).
PANEL OF SPECIAL ADVISERS
Science & Technology
Dr. James C. Bartlett, Jr., astronomy, Baltimore, Maryland.
Mr. Norman S. Bean, engineering, Miami, Florida.
Mr. Robert C. Beck, Pres., Color Control Company, Hollywood,
California.
Mr. Jack Brotzman, physics, Naval Research Laboratory, Wash-
ington, D.C.
Dr. Hugh S. Brown, M.D., Spokane, Washington.
Mr. A.L. Cochran, engineer, Richardson, Texas.
Dr. Fred C. Fair, professor emeritus of engineering, New York
University.
Dr. Robert L. Hall, sociology & social psychology, program direc-
tor, National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C.
Mr. Frank Halstead, astronomy, former curator Darling Observatory,
University of Minnesota.
Dr. Leslie K. Kaeburn, biophysics, University of Southern Cali-
fornia.
Prof. N.N. Kohanowski, geology and mining engineering, Uni-
versity of North Dakota.
Mr. Delbert C. Newhouse, former Naval Aviation Photographer,
Coronado, California.
Mr. Ralph Rankow, photography, New York City.
Mr. Frank G. Rawlinson, physics, NASA Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, Maryland.
Mr. J.R. Reiss, research engineer, Lakewood, Ohio.
Mr. Kenneth Steinmetz, astronomy, former head of Denver Moon-
watch, Colorado.
Mr. Walter N. Webb, astronomy, Charles Hayden Planetarium,
Boston, Massachusetts.
Aeronautics & Space
Capt. C.S. Chiles, Eastern Airlines pilot, New York City.
Mr. George W. Earley, administrative engineer, major aerospace
firm, Connecticut.
Mr. Samuel Freeman, past president National Aviation Trades
Assoc., Bedminster, New Jersey.
Mr. Morton Gerla, past director, N.Y. Chapter, American Rocket
Society, Jamaica, New York.
Capt. R.B. McLaughlin, USN, missile expert, Corona, California.
Maj. John F. McLeod, USAFR, former Air Force pilot, Civil Air
Patrol, Jacksonville, Florida.
Capt. William B. Nash, Pan American Airways pilot, Frankfurt,
Germany.
Mr. W.R. Peters, former First Officer, Pan American Airways,
Coral Gables, Florida.
Mr. G.D. Sheridan, Jr., former Marine Corps pilot, Ponte Vedra,
Florida.
News & Public Relations
Mr. James C. Beatty, civil defense and Ground Observer Corps,
Santurce, Puerto Rico.
Mr. Albert M. Chop, NASA public information officer, Space Flight
Center, Houston, Texas.
Mr, Lou Corbin, Chief WFBR News Bureau, Baltimore, Maryland.
Mr. Lee R. Munsick, news and radio, Morristown, New Jersey.
Mr. Leonard H. Stringfield, public relations, Ground Observer
Corps, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Mr. George Todt, columnist, Los Angeles Herald Examiner,
California.
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T
UFO
EVIDENCE
(Unidentified Flying Objects)
STATINTL
Published
by
National Investigations Committee
on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP)
1536 Connecticut Ave. , N. W.
Washington 36, D. C.
Richard H. Hall
Washington D. C.
May 1964
Editor
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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
STATINTL
Copyright 1964, National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena. All rights reserved, except that newspapers, magazines, radio
and television stations may quote up to 750 words without special permission.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Art: Eric Aldwinckle, Eugene Bergeron, Richard Hall, James Kemple, Earl J. Neff (cover design), Dr. John Pagano, Edward L. Smith,
Walter N. Webb.
Editorial: Maj. Donald E. Keyhoe, USMC (Ret)., Consultant. Other research, proof-reading and typing assistants: Don Berliner, Mrs.
Lelia S. Day, Carmen Johnson, Joan Lusby, Elizabeth Sabow.
Scientific & Technical Consultants: West H. Armistead, Jr. (electronics engineer); Dr. James C. Bartlett, Jr. (astronomy); Dr. Fred C.
Fair (engineering); Dr. Robert L. Hall (social psychology); Stanley J. Hryn (electronics); John F. McLeod (aviation); Max B. Miller
(photography); David L. Morgan, Jr. (physics); Ralph Rankow (photography); J. R. Reiss (electronics engineer); L. D. Sheridan, Jr.
(aviation); Walter N. Webb (astronomy).
We are also indebted to Isabel Davis, New York City, whose extensive files on UFOs were opened to NICAP; and to the following per-
sons for valuable help and advice during the preparation of this report:
Ted Bloecher, Jose A. Cecin, Paul C. Cerny, George W. Earley, Alexander D. Mebane, Lee R. Munsick, Leonard H. Stringfield.
The Ronald Press Company, New York, kindly granted permission to quote an important sighting from 200 Miles Up--The Conquest of
the Upper Air, by J. Gordon Vaeth (c. 1956), which appears in Section I.
We are also grateful to the NICAP Affiliates, Subcommittees and Associate Members whose support and encouragement, and practical
help, made this report possible.
Manufactured in the United States of America
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CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................ i
Abstract. Explanation of NICAP and its policies. Statement by Board of Governors.
Section I. CROSS-SECTION DIGEST ............................................................................................................ 1
Sample cases showing general features of UFO reports.
Section II. INTELLIGENT CONTROL .......................................................................................................... 9
Cases indicating intelligence: pacing of vehicles, reaction to stimuli,
formation flights.
Section III. AIR FORCE OBSERVATIONS .................................................................................................... 19
Sightings by Air Force pilots, navigators, other officers and men.
Section IV. ARMY, NAVY & MARINE CORPS .............................................................................................. 29
Reports of other military personnel.
Section V. PILOT & AVIATION EXPERTS ................................................................................................ 33
Observations by airline, military and private pilots.
Section VI. SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS ......................................................................................................
Observations by professional scientists and engineers, including astronomers and
aeronautical engineers.
Section VII. OFFICIALS & CITIZENS ............................................................................................................ 61
Sightings by police officers, civil defense and ground observer corps,
cross-section of citizens' reports.
Section VIII. SPECIAL EVIDENCE .................................................................................................................. 73
Electro-magnetic effects. Radar cases. Photographic evidence. Physical and
Physiological effects. Sound. Angel's Hair.
Section IX. THE AIR FORCE INVESTIGATION .......................................................................................... 105
Background of secrecy. Official regulations. History and analysis of the
official UFO investigation.
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CONTENTS (Con't)
Page
Section X. FOREIGN REPORTS .................................................................................................................... 118
A survey of reports from other countries, attitudes of foreign governments, and
world-wide interest in UFOs.
Section XI. THE UFO CHRONOLOGY ............................................................................................................ 129
Chronological listing of sightings, statements and events.
Section XII. PATTERNS .................................................................................................................................... 143
Statistics and analyses of consistent physical appearance, maneuvers,
flight characteristics, recurrent concentrations.
Section XIII. CONGRESS AND THE UFOs .................................................................................................... 173
Survey of Congressional interest in UFOs.
Section XIV. THE PROBLEMS. & THE DANGERS .................................................................................... 179
Discussion of the implications of UFOs, and what is needed in the way of a
scientific investigation.
ABSTRACT
A synthesis is presented of data concerning Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) reported during the past 20 years through govern-
mental, press and private channels. The serious evidence is clarified and analyzed. The data are reported by categories of specially
trained observers and studied by patterns of appearance, performance and periodic recurrence.
During the process of selecting the most reliable and significant reports, emphasis was placed on the qualifications of the observer
and on cases involving two or more observers. This resulted in 746 reports being selected, after consideration of over 5000 signed
reports and many hundreds of reports from newspapers and other publications.
An overall look is taken at the UFO problem: The historical development of the mystery, Congressional attitudes and activity, con-
sideration of the problems and dangers involved, and discussion of what is needed in the way of organized scientific research.
Evidence is presented in support of the hypothesis that UFOs are under intelligent control, making plausible the notion that some of
them might be of extraterrestrial origin.
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INTRODUCTION
In an article for Yale Scientific magazine, April 1963, Dr. J.
Allen Hynek (Chief scientific consultant to the Air Force on
UFOs) said: . .there are more reports per year now than
there were in the early years of the `flying saucer era'. . .
[UFO reports] have been coming to the Air Force at the rate of
better than one a day over the past fifteen years. . . the daily
press no longer carries such reports, except perhaps as fillers,
because monotonously repeated items do not constitute news.
But it is justthis repetitionthat is of potential scientific interest."
Dr. Hynek added that the intelligence of the UFO witnesses has
been "at least average," often "decidedly above average,"
and sometimes "embarrassingly above average."
There are basically two explanations for the consistent, world-
wide reporting of UFOs every year: (1) Widespread and presently
unaccountable delusion on a scale so vast that it should be, in
itself, a matter of urgent scientific study; (2) people are seeing
maneuvering, apparently controlled objects in the atmosphere.
Of the two hypotheses, the second appears to be more reasonable
and it is solidly grounded in empirical observations. It is also
borne out, in enough cases to warrant far more scientific inves-
tigation, by instruments. [Section VIII]. However, the basic
problem is to determine as conclusively as possible which
hypothesis is correct. For obvious reasons, verification of the
second hypothesis could be one of the most important discoveries
of all time.
This report is an attempt to clarify the reliable evidence of
UFOs, and to remove the fog of mysticism and crackpotism which
has helped to obscure the real issues. These issues are (1)
the factual evidence for UFOs and its interpretation; (2) official
secrecy and its effect on efforts to arrive at truth.
Under no conditions is this report, or any part of it, to be
considered an endorsement, acceptance or other recognition of
any claims and beliefs of a philosophical, religious or spiritual
nature. Diverse beliefs in these areas are being expounded by
many cults, including individuals who use the UFO subject for the
purpose of self-enrichment at the expense of an ill-informed public.
This report presents documented facts on the physical aspects
of UFOs, which we believe should be investigated scientifically.
If our hypotheses are correct they stand independently of, and do
not prove, unsubstantiated tales of rides in "flying saucers."
Our investigations have found no evidence to support these claims,
but considerable evidence of fraud. This does not mean that we
believe a meeting with space men is impossible. It merely
means that the public is being misled by some unscrupulous in-
dividuals making these claims, whose false stories are be clouding
serious evidence.
NICAP and its Policies
NICAP is a non-profit organization incorporated in the District
of Columbia (1956). Our main goals and purposes are scientific
investigation and research of reported unidentified flying objects,
and encouragement of full reporting to the public by responsible
authorities of all information which the government has accumu-
lated on this subject. The U.S. Air Force is charged with the
official investigation of UFOs, but has practiced an intolerable
degree of secrecy keeping the public in the dark about the amount
and possible significance of UFO evidence. [Section IX]. There-
fore, we have urged Congressional hearings to help clarify the
evidence and encourage a full scientific review, with the public
being kept fully informed.
NICAP policy is set by a Board of Governors [see inside front
cover] and carried out by the executive staff. Investigations are
carried out by Subcommittees (field units) of specially trained
and equipped personnel. Affiliates in four states also assist with
investigations, and public relations work. Panels of Special
Advisers assist with evaluations of data. The executive staff are
the only salaried employees.
NICAP is supported by membership fees and donations. (Asso-
ciate Membership is $5.00, covering six issues of the member-
ship bulletin, The UFO Investigator, published approximately bi-
monthly). Members assist the investigation, on their own in-
itiative, by submitting newspaper clippings, first-hand reports,
and other leads to information. The current membership is
approximately 5000, covering all 50 states and about 25 foreign
countries. A Panel of Foreign Advisers (including lawyers, en-
gineers, and other professionals) aids in data gathering on a
world-wide basis.
NICAP has a secondary interest in all aerial phenomena, and
has contributed to scientific studies of meteors and ice-falls.
Data has been furnished to the American Meteor Society, various
college and university departments, individual scientists, and to
many hundreds of students at all levels. A recently formed NICAP
Youth Council is encouraging young people to pursue a scientific
interest in UFOs, aerial phenomena, and space travel.
Various beliefs and attitudes have been attributed to NICAP
erroneously by some of our opponents in the past several years:
That we are engaged in a vendetta against the Air Force for pur-
poses of sensationalism; that we accuse the Air Force of being
involved in a vast conspiracy (sometimes, it is said, on an
international scale) to suppress from the public proof of the
reality of extraterrestrial visitations, etc. These are irrespon-
sible distortions of our views.
We are presenting serious, documented facts as evidence of
an important phenomenon, the reality of which is denied by the
Air Force. We are dissenting from the official (Air Force)
position.
A phrase coined by the NICAP Director--"The Silence Group" - -
has been misused by people on both sides of the issue. The term
was used to apply to one faction within the Air Force which favors
suppression of UFO information from the public. This view was
supported in a book by Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt, chief of the Air
Force UFO project, who similarly described a continuing struggle
between two factions within the Air Force--one of which favored
complete secrecy. The question of whether the Air Force is
suppressing information about UFOs does not rest on a conspir-
atorial view of history. [Section IX]
We have no quarrel with the Air Force and its important mis-
sion of national defense. Our criticisms are directed entirely
at its allegedly scientific investigation of UFOs and public infor-
mation policies on the same subject. If the United States Marine
Corps were responsible for the UFO investigation, and handled
it in the same manner, we would criticize its policies on the sub-
ject for the very same reasons.
It is claimed that the reality of UFOs has been disproved,
but we are asked to accept this conclusion on authority alone
without access to the data which would allow independent evalua-
tion by the scientific community. We are asked to accept this
conclusion in the face of evidence, such as contained in this
report, which has often been "explained" in strange ways.
[Section IX].
Merely on the basis of examining the explanations advanced
by the Air Force for specific cases, one can find substantial
reason to question the scientific adequacy of the official inves-
tigation. This has. nothing to do with the motivation of the
investigators, who no doubt are perfectly honest and sincere.
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At the heart of h matter is the effect of an authoritarian military
system on scientific investigation. Science requires free and
open discourse among scientists, individual initiative, and an
atmosphere of inquiry not restricted by arbitrary regulations.
Virtually all of the Air Force analyses have been conducted
in secrecy, affording the scientific community as a whole no
opportunity to cross-check and review the methods and reasoning
used. Only end results have been released to the public, and
often (without explanation) these have been counter-to-fact.
Statement by NICAP Board of Governors
"Although a large percentage of reported UFOs canbe explained
in terms of conventional objects and events, the residual un-
explained cases constitute a separate and important problem.
(The word "UFO" hereafter refers to the residual cases). These
UFOs have proved to be a consistent phenomenon, with significant
new reports made each year. A large number of the reports
come from reputable and competent observers, honest and
intelligent citizens.
"Given the evidence in this report, it is a reasonable hypo-
thesis that the unexplained UFOs are:
* real physical objects, rather than the result of imagination,
hallucination, illusion or delusion;
* artificial, rather than purely natural, such as meteorological
and astronomical phenomena;
* under the control (piloted or remote) of living beings.
"To date serious scientific attention to UFOs has been limited
by several factors including:
* the Air Force practice of artificially reducing the significance
of the data through the use of counter-to-fact explanations of
sightings and issuance of misleading statistics;
* the Air Force practice of implying, through its public relations
program, that all available information has been disseminated
and there is no need for further investigation;
* the lack of governmental recognition, through the Congress or
the Executive Branch, that a scientific problem exists which
ought to be thoroughly probed.
'We believe the following steps should be taken to rectify an
unsatisfactory situation:
(1) The evidence in Air Force files (after deletion of legitimate
security information such as data concerning the capabilities of
radar) should be made freely available to any interested cit-
izens.
(2) There should be a Congressional inquiry into the Air Force's
Project Blue Book to establish, a. the amount and kind of UFO
information in the files, and whether all significant non-security
data has been made public; b. the scientific adequacy of the in-
vestigation (whether there has been a consistently objective, scien-
tific study of the evidence, or whether it has been erratic and
influenced negatively by high-level policy decisions, lack of
funds, or other factors).
"The foremost question which remains is: What are the
UFOs? The importance of these objects, if the above hypothesis
is correct, is readily apparent. In order to settle this question,
we strongly recommend that a much larger scale and more
thorough scientific investigation be undertaken."
Rev. Albert H. Bailer, Congregational Minister, Clinton, Mass.
Col. J. Bryan III, USAF (Ret.), Writer, Richmond, Va.
Mr. Frank Edwards, WTTV, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Col. Robert B. Emerson, USAR, Research Chemist, Baton Rouge,
La.
Mr. Dewey J. Fournet, former Major, USAF, Baton Rouge, La.
Rear Adm. H. B. Knowles, USN (Ret.), Eliot, Maine.
Prof. Charles A. Maney, Department of Physics, Defiance Col-
lege, Ohio.
Trained
or
Experienced
5
Good
22%
Average
25%
QUALIFICATIONS OF OBSERVERS
Trained or Experienced------- 288
(Scientists, professional pilots....)
Good-------------------------
(Private pilots, police...)
125
Average----------------------
(Other reliable citizens)
143
Radar (no visual)------------
19
575
In a separate statement, Dr. Charles P. Olivier (President of
the American Meteor Society), Narberth, Pa., reiterated his
reasons for serving on the Board of Governors. Dr. Olivier
does not take a position about the nature of UFOs, and his prime
reason for supporting NICAP is to help dispel secrecy and en-
courage scientific investigation of the phenomenon:
"In serving as a NICAP Board Member, my only purpose is
to help in forcing further scientific investigation. UFOs have not
been fully studied scientifically due to suppression of pertinent
data and subjecting reports of trained and reputable people to
ridicule. It is possible UFOs might eventually have serious effects
upon our planet and its inhabitants, either for good or ill. I have
no personal theory to advance or refute. In view of the importance
of the subject, no matter what the outcome, I would be glad to
see a very full inquiry, and the old secrecy fully removed. What
I want is the whole truth brought out. I do not know what it is."
In preparing this report, it has been our aim to establish the
facts to the best of our ability, and to present them for study. In
so doing, we hope to encourage a more careful, detached examina-
tion of detailed specific cases. Itwillbe found that some explana-
tions which have been advanced for specific cases have been super-
ficial, often glossing over details which contradictthe explanation.
Detailed interpretation of specific cases is difficult, and often
depends on one or two facts. For anyone wishing to examine
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divergent interpretations of some of the cases in this report, we
suggest two books which present the skeptical position:
Flying Saucers and the U.S. Air Force, Lt. Col. Lawrence J.
Tacker, (Van Nostrand, 1960).
The World of Flying Saucers, Dr. Donald H. Menzel, (Doubleday,
1963).
Both books argue that UFOs have been adequately investigated,
and that there is no evidence indicating they are anything other
than misidentified conventional objects or phenomena.
This report contains a total of 746 UFO sightings. The main
chronology [Section XI] lists 575 cases, with cross-references.
(Statistics based on the main chronology are reported in Section
XII) The witnesses in 50% of these cases were trained or ex-
perienced observers. An additional 171 cases are included in
separate chronologies [Section XII] which show the major con-
centrations of UFO sightings.
The reports come from 46 states, the District of Columbia,
Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Central America, 6 South Amer-
ican countries, 10 European countries, 4 African countries, 5
Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand, major oceans and
numerous islands.
States with the highest frequency of sightings, as indicated by
the selective process used, were: (1) California; (2) Ohio; (3)
New Mexico; (4) Florida; (5) Illinois.
Other countries: (1) England; (2) France; (3) Canada; (4) Japan;
(5) Brazil.
Of the 575 cases, two UFOs were observed in 41 cases, three
UFOs in 30 cases, more than three UFOs in 81 cases. The re-
mainder were observations of single objects.
Richard Hall
Washington, D. C.
May 1964
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SECTION I.
A Cross-section of significant cases and guide
to additional examples in other sections.
Most people are unaware that UFO sightings, many by exception-
ally good witnesses, have been reported regularly in recent years.
Contrary to popular belief, the reports have continued into the
1960's. The last fully publicized series of sightings was in
November 1957 [Section XII; November 1957 Chronology]. At that
time the cases involving electromagnetic effects on automobile
motors and lights made headlines all over the country for two
weeks.
Before that, UFO sightings were reported and discussed widely
through 1952; in that year, the Air Force (officially charged with
investigation of UFO reports) investigated a record number of
cases-1,501. UFOs violated the restricted air spaces over
Washington, D.C., on two consecutive weekends is July, were
tracked on radar, and pursued by jet interceptors [Section XII;
July 1952 Chronology].
Since 1957, the newswire services and national radio and tele-
vision have rarely mentioned UFO sightings. As a result, few
people outside the immediate area of occurrence ever learn about
a report. Local newspapers and stations continue to report UFO
activity, but it has been considered "local" rather than "national"
news, in general.
The misconception that UFOs are no longer being sighted, and
other erroneous beliefs, are challenged in this Section. Sample
reports are given, representing a cross-section of the entire
report, and providing a digest of the type of evidence which
constitutes the UFO problem. The cases also were chosen to
furnish examples of features of UFO sightings, such as maneuver
patterns [Section XIII and UFOs tracked by instruments [Section
VIII].
ARE UFOs STILL BEING SEEN?
This is probably the most common question asked by casually
interested persons. The answer is "yes." But the sighting
reports do not receive the publicity they once did. [See Section
XI for chronology of recent sightings].
A grayish disc-shaped object which hovered, wobbling on its
axis, then evaded pursuit, was sighted October 2, 1961 at Salt
Lake City, Utah, airport. Private pilot Waldo J. Harris, a real
estate broker, investigated the object in his light aircraft as
8-10 ground personnel at the airport watched. Mr. Harris signed
a NICAP report form on October 10, and later answered additional
questions by a NICAP Subcommittee member. His report: "I was
preparing to take off in a Mooney Mark 20A from the North-
South runway at Utah Central Airport when I noticed a bright
spot in the sky over the southern end of the Salt Lake Valley. I
began my take-off run without paying much attention to the bright
spot as I assumed that it was some aircraft reflecting the sun as
it turned. After I was airbourne and trimmed for my climb-out,
I noticed that the bright spot was still about in the same position as
before. I still thought it must be the sun reflecting from an
airplane, so I made my turn onto my cross-wind leg of the traffic
pattern, and was about to turn downwind when I noticed that the
spot was in the same spot still.
"I turned out of the pattern and proceeded toward the spot to
get a better look. ' As I drew nearer I could see that the object
had no wings nor tail nor any other exterior control surfaces
protruding from what appeared to be the fuselage. It seemed to
be hovering with a little rocking motion. As it rocked up away
from me, I could see that it was a disc shaped object. I would
guess the diameter at about 50 to 55 feet, the thickness in the
middle at about 8 to 10 feet. It had the appearance of sand-
blasted aluminum. I could see no windows or doors or any other
openings, nor could I see any landing gear doors, etc., protruding,
nor showing.
"I believe at the closest point I was about 2 miles from the
object, at the same altitude or a little above the object. It rose
abruptly about 1000 feet above me as I closed in, giving me an
excellent view of the underneath side, which was exactly like the
upper side as far as I could tell. Then it went off on a course
of about 170 degrees for about 10 miles where it again hovered
with that little rocking motion.
"I again approached the object, but not so closely this time,
when it departed on a course of about 245 degrees climbing at about
18 to 20 degrees above the horizon. It went completely out of
sight in 2 or 3 seconds. As you know I can keep our fastest jets
in sight for several minutes, so you can see that this object was
moving rather rapidly.
(1800) S
(1) UFO hovered with rocking motion at about 6000 ft. south of the airport.
(2) UFO rose abruptly estimated 1000 ft. as Harris closed in.
(3) UFO quickly moved away an estimated 10 miles, stopped and hovered, rocking motion.(SSE).
(4) As Harris closed in second time, UFO took off at high speed on 245? course (WSW) climbing
at an angle of about 20?, completely out of sight in 2-3 seconds.(Copy of observer's sketch).
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 Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81 R00560R0001 00010001 -0
"All the time I was observing the object, after getting visual
confirmation from the ground, I was describing what I saw on
radio unicom frequency. I was answering questions from the
ground both from Utah Central, and Provo. The voice at Provo
said that they could not see the object, but at least 8 or 10 people
did see it from the ground at Utah Central Airport.
"As to seeing it again, I was returning to the field after it had
departed when I was asked over radio if I still could see the ob-
ject, and I reported that I could not. They said they had it in
sight again. I turned back and saw it at much greater distance
only for about a second or two when it completely vanished. The
guys on the ground said it went straight up as it finally left, but
I didn't see that departure."
On the NICAP report form, Mr. Harris pointed out that the
UFO at one time "passed below the horizon in front of mountains
to the south." This fact rules out any astronomical explanation.
Later that month, an engineer in Pennsylvania saw a formation
of four disc-shaped objects, with apparent lights or ports on the
rims.
HAVE SCIENTISTS
REPORTED UFOs?
LocelI'Y ?f Obrawli- Ligonier, Pa.
lbw Isna did psi e. 1ite ebj.c:] 0 !bun
NILL
STeMED C,, seer Alva O.er,eEO.
LIGONIER
C?"e'r,RSY 516H]ING
REPORT ON UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT(S)
rhi, ben i vlud.r gw+Nem .4.4 by '6. 0,I.d S:a., Al, Fen. and by Whet v, sd F?r.e' Ins..tlaerip apa.b,, ad addlYaal
gw+riau ro which ww.n w :eed" fo, full awlwri- by NIGP.
Alt., all The in-ion he, bean fully ,tidied, rha .salmon of ea Evelwrien Psel wi I1 6 published by NICAP I. in -alp
bimd empa.in a. in enotb., psbli-ri-. Pb..,. Try Is on., es man, gnniem a pselbl.. S6.sld yes ,.d ddiYonal Is..,
ple em nthet. -ref p.-,. PI-. pi,' a ryp?wrin. Yea sehroc? I. of e,.?, wlw ?r,,1 h saniI.ly app.ci?rd. ThW yes.
Add.. 228 Ridge Ave., Derr Pa. Oeos (Div. of Carrier Corp.)
Y, ,?N- Engineer
edwori- Pennsylvania State University
r.laphse OXbov 4-2678 Special T.robe
WlI.ry S.6., U. S. Army, C.I.C.
D.. elOWo inlet October 30, 1961 Ti- 12:20 AM 116.10 N.. ls,ra Eastern
Me de.alb w-r6., ceeIrioa ad rtepp?.1 py; I..., biphr deyliphr, nl Mrim?, duk, .,c.
Nighttime -sporadic cloud
~lr
n epprmxima[e~y 1/2 full.
burl- o! tie Sun o. Moon in .l?ri- me r6. obi cr and ro y-.
Moon E-N-E position about 30 above horizon - objects passed just below mo - they
If e., ar niehr, :willel, a dawn, wn N.? rsoer teen ddbI.? were below cloud c over mentioned
M-
W-- Then ne:? Then on obis.,] 4 If e, pie ,ell hoer ?'-Y. ad draw a.b.h of rhes above.
dies!- er tewa, .1 -Y. ye. e., Idlv,iq
Me d.rc,ib. 06. objerr0) In 4rol I. b: I.r?nn, did N (Nay) wpaw elid, ar ady e a eua N Ileh6 a I, .-Ivl ,
aa] Meale w .ddli-I+h-l. -1111, if ieumry, see attached sheet.
Ww the abj.cl(l) brlph., 'b, de b?ckpsmd of r6. Ay? Yes.
If e, enema de briehm.m wish d. Sun, Moan, h-dNeh., ... See attached sheer.
Did the abj.rN,) - (Me .lasses., ify--reels. des,".)
MRECriON EPIRAVE~-_
S
NATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS COMMITTEE ON AERIAL PNENOMENA
1536 Co.:ecriarl Awns. N. W.
W.,hirpron 6, D. C.
by-,road .rill ?, -yrla] No.
swde,ly sped w and ,.dr awayar-y tl.mv No.
Br-k w ltn pee a, eyld.] Seemed to explode, but obviously did not.
GIs. Ml eek?] No.
t-Tasty ri.isle hall] No.
Dnv aryrbim O No.
C6.nwbiehmw] Yee.
C6.,,.. dba's? No.
Cleves la] No change in color, only in intensity of color.
Didtb sbjaer6)?rwryri:.p.e in(t4,-Weird eI, eeytbl,ssIf e,pie.labia. sing diems., Js, ..,ifp.Wbb.
sae .`tamed Shear.
Wes ,6.n.y.id] Yes. Ifs, Pleaiwd""ee.d seed. Approx. 15 mph from West to Seat
Did y- shirty the ebl.c'(1) rOba etc pt I I.em-nt a axe, ale, wlddrl?ld, eled?.Pas, :71.d.. , ,aa..le
?.] w6.] Observed objects through c at windshield - ope- and out
i
h
n t
e open.
Did ne m u) hew
scr my.ad] No. VA W kid].
Me ell if tie obi.er0) wes (.are) -
F~ e,
N. LI b hr,w.
shandy eerli ed.
Sell-Nmi.e] self-luminous
b. Dsll Dni.67
R.N?c:iny]
d. r.n,paanr]
Did r6. obpotl,I riw e, 1.11 whit. I. neuon] They oscillated in a seemingly sidevard motion
from direction of travel.
Tell r6. spy.,.,? dze of rh. obj..t(,) when compered wlrh r6. tellewi? held
ar eta'. I?ryrh:
P1,6 ad d. Nickel peep
b. p- *.. Moil dollar H. G.pdrsir
Dime !. Silterdoll?r I. tarp,
0,, if ..+i.,, aiw?ppenm ,i.. 1. Inch,-...I., held le en:', broth.
Ito did wu happen n,uric. the ebiacr(N] An interested in astronomy. Noticed the 4 objects in a
ralght line across sky, all f sae magnitude 6 altitude - er
seld
y
om..
when w?. yes ed [her a"? s? delnper4. lee? onfigurations a celestial
like this.
Driving first ighting, c
fbw did The ebl?nHd dlepp-, fro?ri?w] Objects seemed to float over untain top.
Cof piom en r6.pe+p-d ofabr6. obla(.) eiA a plan wear elrcnl:le Theate eppmanr.lA,W.~COmpares more vi th speed
r . I paced them in ar arty p Jerellel a[ about 20 mph. sp+,?'i
W.r6..-r smwesrsrel al,...n1.:1.-l-.,.--..-w-_. ,_-:_ '._ ..
Me .time. r6. di+m.. of :ha ebl?cH-0. 1/2 to 3/4 mile
When -+'6. .I?wrlon eI Nr ebiacr6) in r6. 'by? Ne .S,b an ,he b.el,yb.,..k.rch:
Nm:e, and addmw.ofrepl~l,s,rwm,, If-y. None. Tried to get Wm. Huskey of Rector, Pa. out it.
n.'"e a. seeep`ar ,M Pin . o4YN,: ;:?gp,Rce lye$p. n~cxi . q~ Sh.sAbn iron which Ma oblenthl
appaa..d ad divpp.md fret: law; N+a di:+c,len of In sauna es., ,s way mad,, ma+., rlllaps, ,el led,, sd es6.,
la:de,erk+ wl-Nn ? il..
3a. I. den 5,e,Ilre,y, Sor?mm.nlol, a raumch hatellarlan in the am] Nearest civilian airport about
10 miles from a
Cl. New ye s.enarh., ,bl el. .,an -1d-rllld-tea] If e, pie dnviba has v,,,, tan, ,lip ? Tepees rh-r el papa..
Yes - e to hed sheep.
30. M. ?nclo,ephor.ervph., mare, i N,.. re- olippI-+, -o, sT t die a .I?dd- pmgmm. (Include rim., ,.rl- and
der., if -dbl.) ,ryp,di? lid, se .L.ila ebu,...... e, wry ah., b-kamad memorial. W .,11 leNm ,6. teed.! Is y-.
None.
13. Were you m.-.1d by all Fe to ltseo4aron] BY mry elver 5.4..l, .nn, n-ry, ar I-ol afli.lal,] If n, pl-m abr.
r6.:-ne and.c.4e,'irl?al,M?p-r, hi. olDw, ad d.all,erowham ad.h-r6. quasi-ir,. rock plan. Did n t
report to Air Force. Have read J. Keyhoeh Its S disagree vi [h A.F. hendlinss of eitua-
Wn ws ed.d o, hid -::e ...-I a dl.cw r6. I.Ida.] If_, wn -y ram-+w elficldl eNan m-NaW ] Platy Lion.
.lab.'. co.fully.
34. Wl ,buld 116. p-leis, q q 1.1 m. yaourN nee IGP. In mr.,.oos,if wirh Ibis npoN. willThkis-?eprionyoawill
6.ic. by -mwap. adnr n+pwuibla
le r?pen ,i kin eburwN lbe.wr, yew p.f.r, ll ,mr:a mdld.elel. Plwu -.
yet c.6.561,,. r6. pop., ,era-nr blew. In arty as, plead. 011 I, all pal. of Ne Iaa, fa.ur awn ,.aeNd?etlel
mil.,. T6.nk sou Is, yore -apemen-.
35. Da. el !il lire 501 Ibis .p.N:
November 16, 1961
Skeptics have often claimed in public forums that "no as-
tronomer has ever seen a UFO," sometimes implying that this
proved UFOs do not exist. Astronomers, other scientists, and
experienced observers of many types have often made reports
[Section V, VI].
One detailed report by trained observers, describing a man-
euvering elliptical UFO, has been reported briefly in the literature.
The full, copyrighted story is here reproduced, with permission
of the publisher.
[J. Gordon Vaeth, 11200 Miles Up - The Conquest of the Upper
Air," Second Edition, Revised Printing. Copyright (c) 1956, The
Ronald Press Company, N. Y., ppg. 113-116.]
The General Mills, Inc., balloon personnel, who launched and
tracked most of the large plastic research balloons during the
1940's and 1950's took little stock in UFO reports until April 24,
1949.
"On that date, a balloon crew was at the White Sands Proving
Ground in New Mexico, together with personnel from the U.S.
Navy Special Devices Center for a special Skyhook flight to be
undertaken for that Office of Naval Research activity. The
author was present as Navy representative in charge of the
ground handling and balloon phases of the operation.
"As part of this particular project, a balloon launching site
had been established three miles north of Arrey, New Mexico.
Charles B. Moore, Jr., an aerologist, graduate engineer and
balloonist, and four enlisted personnel from the Navy Unit,
White Sands Proving Ground, had set up facilities there to ob-
serve and record local weather data preparatory to the Special
Devices Center Skyhook operation. Instrumentation on hand con-
sisted of a stop watch and a ML-47 (David White) theodolite, a
tracking instrument consisting of a 25-power telescope so
mounted as to provide readings of vertical (elevation) and
horizontal (azimuth) bearings.
"At 10:20 A.M. on April 24th, this group of five released a
small 350-gram weather balloon for observation of upper wind
velocities and directions. The balloon was followed by Moore
with the theodolite until immediately after the 10:30 reading,
when he relinquished the tracking instrument to look up to find
the balloon with the naked eye.
"Searching the sky for the balloon, he thought he had found it
when he s i i d'
t'
'
1e
i
rec ion
Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81 R0O5
6DRDOO1U0UWO1gO
 Approved For Release 2001/04/02
the theodolite was pointed (45 degrees elevation and 210 degrees
azimuth). The object was moving east at a rate of 5 degrees of
azimuth change per second.
"When the difference in angle between the theodolite and the
supposed balloon became apparent, Moore took over the theodolite
and found the true balloon still there, whereupon he immediately
abandoned it and picked up the unidentified object as it came out
of the sun. At the time, the sun was at a computed bearing of 60
degrees elevation and 127 degrees azimuth. The object was moving
too fast to be kept in the scope through cranking the theodolite
around; one of the men, therefore, had to point the theodolite
while Moore observed the object through the telescope.
"The object was an ellipsoid about 2-1/2 times as long as it
was wide. It had a length of about .02 degrees subtended angle
and was gleaming white in color. It did not have metallic or
reflected shine. Toward the underside near the tail, the gleaming
white became a light yellow.
"The object, readily visible to the naked eye and seen by all
the members of the group, filled the field of the theodolite's
25-power scope. Its rapid movement, unfortunately, prevented
Moore from obtaining a hard or clear focus, and no good detail
was observable.
"The azimuth angle decreased as the object continued on a north
heading (it originally came out of the southwest). Becoming
smaller in size it moved to an azimuth reading of 20 degrees to
25 degrees, at which point the azimuth held constant. Coinci-
dentally with this constant azimuth, the elevation angle suddenly
increased from 25 degrees minimum to 29 degrees, at which point
the object was lost to sight. It disappeared in a sharp climb
after having been visible to Moore and his group for about 60
seconds.
"Fifteen minutes after the object had disappeared, Moore sent
up another pibal weather balloon to check wind values. .This
balloon burst after an 88-minute flight to 93,000 feet and traveled
only 13 miles in a southerly direction during that time. This
was positive proof that the object could not have been a balloon
moving at such angular speed below 90,000 feet.
"The object was seen under conditions of a cloudless sky and
no haze. It left no vapor trail or exhaust. It was observed from
an isolated mud flat in the New Mexico desert where there was
extreme quiet; no noise of any kind was heard in connection with
the sighting, and there were no cars, airplanes, or other noises
nearby which might have blotted out sound coming from the
object.
"As the day progressed and airplanes flew over and near the
balloon launching site, Moore's group was able to identify them
by appearance and engine noise. They saw nothing again that day
which bore any resemblance to the white elliptical, unidentified
object.
"Moore's sighting was an extremely fortunate one in that
tracking instrumentation was set up and a weather balloon air-
bourne at the time. It represents one of the best substantiated
and authentic unidentified object sightings on record.
"The foregoing discussion of 'flying saucers' does not represent
any desire by the author to become involved in this controversial
subject. The saucers have been mentioned because there has
been in a number of cases a close relationship between reported
sightings and the flight trajectories of Skyhook balloons. The
description of Moore's instrumented sighting of an unidentified
object has been included because it is authentic, details have
not been previously published, and it occurred during a Skyhook
operation.
"The author, and indeed Moore himself, make no claim that
the unidentified object was a 'flying saucer.' The details have
been set forth. Let the reader take the sighting for what it is
worth and evaluate it for himself!" [1.]
Dr. Seymour L. Hess, who sighted a UFO in 1950, is a meteor-
ologist and astronomer. He is currently head of the Department of
Meteorology, Florida State University, and is considered an ex-
pert on planetary atmospheres. [2.] See letter next col.
Another sighting by General Mills, Inc., personnel in the
vicinity of White Sands, New Mexico, was reported by Capt.
Edward J. Ruppelt, former Chief of the Air Force Project Blue
Book UFO investigation. [3.] Two General Mills employees and
four others at Artesia, New Mexico, were watching a Skyhook
balloon, January 16, 1951. Suddenly they noticed two tiny specks
on the horizosipprovedl`i'or` elease ~hbdbqedts shot
4/02
: CIA-RDP81 R00560R0001 00010001 -0
I saw the object between 12:15 and 12:20 P.M. May 20,1950 from the grounds
of the Lowell Observatory. It was moving from the South-east to the Northwest.
It was extremely prominent and showed some size to the naked eye,that is, it
was not merely a pinpoint. During the last half of its visibility I observed
it with 4-power binoculars. At first it looked like a parachute tipped at an
angle to the vertical, but this same effect could have been produced by a
sphere partly illuminated by the sun and partly shadowed, or by a disc-
shaped object as well. Probably there are still other configurations which
would :ive the same impression under proper inclination and illuminatisn. I
could see it well enough to be sure it was not an airplane (no propeller or
wings were apparent) nor a bird. I saw no evidence of exhaust gases nor any
markings on the objects
Most fortunately the object passed between me and a small bright cumulus
cloud in the Northwest. Thus it must have been at or below the cloud level.
A few seconds later it disappeared, apparently into the cloud.
Against the sky it was very bright but against the cloud it was dark.
This could be produced by agrey body which would be bright against the
relatively dark sky, but dark against the bright cloud. Alternatively, if
the object were half in sunlight a:d half shadowed the sunlit part might
have had no detectable contrast with the cloud while the shadowed part ap-
peared dark.
I immediately telephoned the U.S. Weather Bureau (2-3 miles S.W. of the
Observatory). They were estimating the cloud to be 6000 feet above the
ground. Now estimates of cloud heights are rather risky, no I obtained their
observations of temperature and dew point, and from the known lapse rates of
these quantities in a convective atmosphere, calculated the cloud base to be
at 12,000 ft. I believe this latter figure to be the more accurate one be-
cause later in the afternoon the cumulus clouds thickened but at all times
remained well above the tops of our nearby mountains. These are about 6000
feet above us.
Thus, having some idea of the object's elevation and its angular diameter
through the binoculars (about equivalent to a dime seen at 50 ft. with the
naked eye), I calculated its size to be 3 to 6 ft. for a height of 6-12
thousand feet, and a zenith -;Is of about 450. This size estimate could
easily be in error bya factor or two, but I am sure it was a small object.
The clouds were driftin_ from the SW to the NE at right angles to the
motion of the object. Therefore it must have been powered in s ome way. I
did not time it but for that elevation I would estimate its speed to be
about 100 miles per hour, perheps as hih as 200 m.p.h. This too means a
powered craft. However, I could hear no engine noise.
straight toward the balloon, tipped on edge revealing their disc
shape, circled the balloon once and flew off over the horizon.
In comparison with the known size of the balloon, the discs were
estimated to be 60 feet in diameter.
A particularly detailed account of a lens-shaped disc was ob-
tained from an experienced engineer by the NICAP Assistant Di-
rector in personal correspondence during 1955. [4.]
Date: October 1954, about mid-month
Location: Cherry Valley, New York
Time: About 4:00 p.m.
Witness: Major A. B. Cox, graduate of Yale University, mem-
ber of the American Society of Mechanical Engin-
eers, and Society of American Engineers.
Excerpts from letter dated December 28, 1955 from Major
A. B. Cox to Richard Hall:
"The sky was more or less covered with streaks or layers of
clouds, with blue sky between, so that the rays of the sun came
through almost horizontally, the time being not far from sunset in
the Valley. I was walking in a NE direction, having been an air-
plane spotter for a long time, I have formed the habit of looking
at the sky, quite naturally.
"I happened to be looking at the West in the direction of my
farm buildings, perhaps a half mile distant, and saw something
which at first glance was about over my farm buildings. It was
quite low, and did not seem to be more than a few hundred feet
above the earth. I thought at first it was a large airplane not
moving very swiftly. . . . It was moving horizontally in a direction
parallel to my own direction. Then I noticed that it seemed to
make no noise, and then I could not see any wings or tail or
fuselage generally.
"It seemed to be a large disc or lens-shaped object, and in
comparison with the objects below I estimated it to be perhaps
30 or 35 feet in diameter. . . . It was moving like a wheel
sliding sidewise and not rotating, and in perspective presented
an elliptical appearance such as any circular object would when
viewed from an angle; the degree of ellipticity varying as it came
up and then passed me. I must have seen it for 20 seconds or a
little more. Then it got ahead of me and it presented the appear-
^~~ kcb2 chi R0~i c,6e, 6661 UUU1 oU01 -6 The color
 Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81 R00560R0001 00010001 -0
was grey, and I think perhaps a little darker on the rim or edge;
not much but enough to make the edge sharply defined.
"Suddenly it stopped and seemed to be going in a direction
more or less at right angles to its first motion, but still in an
upright direction. . . This sudden stop interested me as an en-
gineer, because any sudden retardation or acceleration requires
in so large an object the application of a very considerable force,
and seemed a much shorter turn and a more rapid turn than any
airplane I had ever seen could be capable of.
"It then began to ascend in a direction of perhaps at right angles
to its first direction and at an upward angle of perhaps 30 or 35
degrees from the horizontal. . . . There were some fleecy clouds
above it, and it entered them and was lost to sight for perhaps
a second or so, to emerge into vision again above this first layer
of clouds. Its direction had not changed, and shortly after it
entered some more layers of cloud, which were thicker, and was
lost to view."
ARE UFOs INTELLIGENTLY
CONTROLLED?
The definitive answer to this question must await a full-fledged
investigation by scientists using appropriate instrumentation, as
NICAP advocates [Section XIV]. However, the accumulation of
reports by good observers and some of the special evidence such
as radar trackings [Section VIII] strongly suggest this hypothesis.
How else can one explain the maneuvers of the disc which pilot
Waldo Harris attempted to investigate? The "curiosity" evidenced
by the two discs which circled the Skyhook balloon? The powered
flight indicated by the reports of Dr. Hess, Engineer Cox, and
others? Section II discusses this question in detail.
How else can one explain reports such as the following of
objects approaching at meteorlike speed, then hovering or man-
euvering? When these reports come from pilots, scientists,
engineers, and police officers they deserve far more serious,
scientific attention than they have yet received.
Date: May 13, 1952
Location: National City, California
Time: Approximately 8:55 p.m. PDT
Witnesses: Donald R. Carr, aeronautical engineer, and at least
six others in separate locations, including a
teacher who is a former Navy pilot.
Excerpts from Mr. Carr's report. [5.]
"I saw what I thought was the trail of a large meteor appear,
approximately 5 degrees of arc East of a line between the two
pointers and almost exactly in the center of the bowl of the Big
Dipper. [See diagram.] The trail was of a red color and
appeared to be coming down at about an angle of 20 degrees
to my line of sight and in a southwesterly direction. Only
the red trail was visible for about two seconds and then a
small white dot became visible, from which the trail was eman-
ating. The speed appeared to be meteoric and so I still thought
the object was what is commonly called a 'shooting star.' [After
2 or 3 seconds] the white object had an apparent diameter of
1/64 to 1/32 inch. The trail faded and the object still continued
coming down. The speed appeared to be decreasing and I noted
a certain erratic quality to the flight of the object, which now ap-
peared to have a self-luminous or fluorescent quality. . . [for
about 10 more seconds] the object was following a gradual curved
path in process of levelling off. . . [then] the object was flying
level on a course almost due West. . . . I estimated the altitude
of the object at this point of its trajectory to be from 10,000
to 15,000 feet. Its speed at this time appeared to be within the
range of known aircraft speeds. To the naked eye the object
appeared as a sphere of about 1/16 inch diameter. . . . Through
the [6 power] telescope the object presented a larger disc but
the brightness did not appreciably increase. . . . In level flight
the object seemed to dart from side to side in an oscillating
motion without diminishing of forward speed. . . . After travel-
About 9:25 p.m., Mr. Carr observed what appeared to be the
same object returning from the North, and circling West. It
passed over downtown San Diego, where bright ground lights
seemed to reflect off a metal hull.
"It is my conviction," Mr. Carr stated, "that since this ob-
ject followed an apparently controlled course it was not moving
under the influence of gravity, and must have been guided by an
intelligence unknown to us. Its dive from an extreme altitude
at possibly meteoric speed, its deceleration, levelling off, and
circle of the city twice indicate that it arrived from interplanetary
space and was under intelligent control."
The former Navy Pilot, Harold Strawn, with a group of students
in La Mesa also witnessed the meteoric appearance, the levelling
off and circling.
SIDE-TO-SIDE OSCILLATION
DESCENDED IN GRADUAL
CURVE, SLOWING UP A
INCREASING IN APPARENT
NORTH
PATH OF OBJECT IN SKY
FROM WITNESS CARR'S DESCRIPTION
-WNW
A multiple visual and multiple radar sighting, similarly sug-
gesting controlled flight, occurred August 12, 1953; near Rapid
City, South Dakota. The UFO was first spotted hovering in the
eastern sky by the Ground Observer Corps. It moved in over the
city, then back to its original position. Then ground radar began
tracking the UFO, and an F-84 was scrambled and vectored in
on the object, chasing it for 120 miles. Both the UFO and the jet
showed plainly on the GCI radar screen. Each time the jet
began to close in, the UFO would move ahead with a burst of
speed. When the pilot gave up and turned back to base, the UFO
turned and followed.
A second F-84 scrambled and chased the UFO 160 miles, ob-
taining a radar lock-on. The UFO again stayed just out of reach.
When the pilot switched on his radar-ranging gunsight, and the
red light blinked on showing something real and solid was ahead
of him, the pilot was scared. ("When I talked to him, he readily
admitted that he'd been scared. . .he asked the controller if he
could break off the intercept." [6., p. 305].) This time the UFO
continued on course to the north. The Ground Observer Corps
on the path ahead was notified, and reported seeing a light speed-
ing north.
At the climax of the sighting, when the pilot became frightened,
ground radar showed the jet and the UFO; the pilot's gunsight
radar showed the UFO, and the pilot could see with his own eyes
a speeding unidentified light in front of him.
A NICAP member later queried the Air Force about the case, and
received a written reply on September 17, 1958 stating: "Photos
of the radar scope and gun camera photos were made but were
not sufficiently clear for evaluation. The Ellsworth Air Force
Base case is still listed as unknown or unsolved." [7.]
NICAP Note: The fact that the gun camera photos showed an
image at all is further proof that something real and solid was
outspeeding jet interceptors. In conjunction with the multiple
radar and multiple visual observations, an image on the film
is close to complete proof of the reality of UFOs.
ling a course almost due West for approximately one mile, the Capt. W. J. Hull, veteran Capital Airlines pilot, was a UFO
object turned toward the Northwest and appeared to circle over skeptic. He had written an article entitled "The Obituary of the
San Diego Bay and Point Loma and disappeared travelling North Flying Saucers" for The Airline Pilot magazine. At 10:10 p.m.,
at a constant altitude and speed. During the entire time the November 14, 1956, Captain Hull was a pilot of Capital Flight
object was visible there was absolutely no apparent sound created No. 77, approaching Mobile, Alabama, enroute from New York
by it. Despite its terrific speed in its dive there was no shock City [8.] Suddenly, he and his co-pilot, Peter MacIntosh, noticed a
bri wave or noise from its 2001/04/02 CIA l DP 1 R00v60R00010 0~f00bl'-oshield. The
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plane was on a southwesterly course, and the object, looking
like a meteor, was falling across their path from left to right.
But instead of burning out, the "meteor" halted abruptly directly
in front of the plane.
"What the hell is it, a jet?" MacIntosh shouted.
As the UFO remained a constant distance in front of the plane,
Captain Hull grabbed his microphone and called Mobile Tower:
"Bates Tower, this is Capital 77. Look out toward the north
and east and see if you can see a strange white light hovering in
the sky."
Mobile quickly answered that a thick cloud layer was obscuring
vision, and asked Captain Hull if he thought the object was in the
vicinity of Mobile.
"Affirmative," Hull replied. "It is directly ahead of us and
at about our altitude or slightly higher. We are right over Jackson
and have descended to 10,000 feet. . . "
Immediately after the radio exchange, the UFO began to move.
It darted back and forth, rising and falling, making extremely
sharp turns, sometimes changing course 90 degrees inan instant.
The color and size remained constant.
"MacIntosh and I sat there completely flabbergasted at this
unnerving exhibition," Captain Hull reported. After 30 seconds
or more, the UFO ceased its violent maneuvers and again appeared
to hover ahead of the plane. About this time Mobile Tower called
back:
"Capital 77, we are trying to raise the Brookley AFB Tower."
At this moment, the UFO began another series of "crazy
gyrations, lazy 8's, square chandelles. . . " and then shot out
over the Gulf of Mexico rising at a steep angle. It diminished
rapidly to a pinpoint and disappeared in the night. (Elapsed
time: At least two minutes.)
"The one thing which I can't get over," Captain Hull stated,
"is the fact that when it came, it came steeply downward; when
it departed after its amazing show, it went steeply upward!"
December 19/20 of 1958 was a cloudless night in Dunellen,
New Jersey. At 12:55 a.m., Patrolmen LeRoy A. Arboreen and
B. Talada were on night patrol, cruising west on Center Street.
From an area elevated about 15 to 20 feet they had an unobstructed
view to north, south, and west.
In a signed report to NICAP, [9] Patrolman Arboreen (ex-
Navy man and graduate of the New Jersey State Police Academy)
described the experience:
"This object came at us from the west. At first it looked
like a red hot piece of coal about the size of a quarter held at
arm's length. In a matter of seconds it was as large as a ruler
held at arm's length. That is when it came to a complete stop. . .
"The shape of the object was distinct. (See illustration.)
The body of the object was solid bright red and it gave off a
pulsating red glow completely around the object. The object
hovered a few seconds, then made a left turn and again hovered
for a few seconds, then went straight up like a shot. We watched
it until it completely faded beyond the stars."
In this matter-of-fact manner, the two officers described an
occurrence which is totally inexplicable. Meteors do not hover
or shoot upward. No known aircraft is elliptical, and glows
bright red in flight, not to mention the observed performance.
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Nor does any known phenomenon descend through the atmosphere
like a meteor, then circle around, as Engineer Carr observed.
Nor does the gyrating light observed by Captain Hull, descending,
pacing the airliner, then ascending, have any natural explanation.
HAVE UFOs BEEN SEEN IN
OTHER COUNTRIES?
This surprising misconception, that UFOs are exclusively
a native phenomenon of the United States, is completely refuted
in the Foreign Reports Section [X]. Part of the reason for this
erroneous belief is the lack of information on foreign sightings
reported by newswire representatives abroad. In 1962, for in-
stance, a major concentration of sightings occurred in Argentina
[Section XII, Argentine Chronology], beginning in May and lasting
almost all year. A few of the May sightings were reported briefly
in the New York Times (June 3, 1962) from a Reuters dispatch,
but in a manner implying that the sightings lasted only one day.
In general, U.S. news coverage of these sightings was practically
nonexistent. Reuters apparently was the only news agency to
report them at all outside of Argentina.
Most major countries of the world for years have had either
official or unofficial investigations of UFO sightings [Section X].
American servicemen overseas have contributed many reports.
At 11:20 a.m. March 29, 1952, an Air Force pilot was flying
a T-6 north of Misawa, Japan. It was a bright cloudless day.
Lt. D. C. Brigham was in the T-6 target plane in a practice
intercept mission, with a flight of two F-84's pursuing him.
As the first F-84 overtook him at 6000 feet, Brigham noticed
a flash of sunlight behind it and saw a small shiny disc-shaped
object gaining on the interceptor. The UFO curved toward the
F-84, decelerating rapidly to the Thunderjet's air speed (150
to 160 mph) and flipping up on edge in a 90 degree bank. Then
it fluttered along close to the interceptor's fuselage (between
the two aircraft) for 2 to 3 seconds, and pulled away around the
starboard wing, flipping once, apparently as it hit the slipstream.
Finally, the object passed the F-84, crossed in front, pulled up
abruptly, accelerated, and shot out of sight in a near vertical
climb.
Lieutenant Brigham estimated that the UFO at its closest point
was 30 to 50 feet away from his plane. It was round, shiny as
polished chromium, and seemed to be about 8 inches in diameter.
Throughout the observation, the disc rocked back and forth in
40 degree banks at about one-second intervals. [See Section
XII, Flight Characteristics.] Lieutenant Brigham saw no exhaust
or protrusions, but reported a ripple in the apparently metal
skin around the edge of the disc. [10]
Foreign pilots, scientists, and engineers also have observed
UFOs many times. Around sunset June 30, 1954, south of Goose
Bay, Labrador, a British Overseas Airways (BOAC) airliner was
paced by a large "parent" object and about six satellite objects
[See Section X, Foreign Reports]. Later that night (about 2:15
p.m. local time near Oslo, Norway), two UFOs operating in
tandem were observed and filmed under especially favorable
conditions. [11.] A solar eclipse was in progress, and three
planes carrying scientists and technicians on a scientific ex-
pedition were flying through the moon's shadow. About 50 people
in the three aircraft saw two "enormous" silvery discs swoop
down from some clouds 15 to 20 miles away (estimate based on
fact UFOs were in sunlight).
The objects sped along the horizon keeping an exact distance
from each other, one slightly behind and above the other, both
with forward edge tilted down. The observers detected apparent
rotation, as the UFOs levelled off and disappeared into the distance
after about 30 seconds. The chief cameraman of the expedition,
John Bjornulf, managed to expose about 10 seconds of movie film
which showed the UFOs. The films, released by Gaumont, a
British firm, were shown on American television September 26,
1954. Still photographs of the UFOs have also been printed.
Ernest Graham, one of the witnesses, stated that 50 persons
afterwards wrote reports on what they had seen. [12]
Another unexplainable disc was observed, tracked on radar, and
chased by two U. S. Air Force jet pilots somewhere in the Far
East. [13.]
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"On December 1956 two USAF jet pilots were practicing
ground radar positioned intercepts on each other in the vicinity
of
During one run, the report states, the intercepting pilot picked
up a large unexplained radar blip; he estimated the UFO to be as
large as a B-29 bomber. Radar showed it to be 20 miles away
and 30 degrees to the left. .
"Pilot called the GCI [Ground Control Intercept] site to ask
if they had a target which would correspond to the unidentified
blip. After receiving an answer in the negative, he asked for
and received permission to determine the nature of the source
of the radar return."
The pilot closed in at over 700 mph; at 8 miles range a round
object became visible exactly where the radar showed it. The
apparent size was very large. The pilot described it as "the
size of a lead pencil eraser if placed against the windscreen."
[Using figures supplied by North American Aviation, the dia-
meter of the UFO was computed to be about 350 feet.] [14.]
The pilot got a radar "lock-on" (automatically guiding his
plane toward the UFO). As he continued to close in, his radar
was suddenly jammed by a strong interference. Using anti-
jam procedure, the pilot switched frequency. For 10 seconds,
this eliminated the mysterious interference pulses, thentheybegan
again. But the pulsations were not strong enough to break the
radar lock-on, and the jet held its course.
"The jet closed to within 5 nautical miles of the object and
could not close further. When the pilot was closest to the uni-
dentified object, it appeared to make a shallow left turn. It had
the appearance of being circular on the bottom."
The color of the UFO was described as a golden tan, with no
reflection from the sun. After the UFO began turning, the pilot's
radar indicated that the object was "moving up and away at
from 1,500 to 1,800 knots [1,700 to over 2,000 mph]."
The Air Force report states that this is an estimate, since
the UFOs' rate of departure was faster than the jet's radar could
track. The blip "disappeared by moving rapidly off the top of
the scope."
The Intelligence Report shows that the jet and all of its equip-
ment was immediately checked, and all systems were satisfactory.
Under "Comments of the interrogation officers," the Report
states:
"The observing pilot, Lt. , had many flying hours as
of the time of the incident. Over half had been logged in this type
of jet. He appeared to be conscientious and reported the incident
in a straightforward, slightly embarrassed manner, saying that
he would doubt the possibility of such an occurrence if it hadn't
actually happened to him.
"The fact that no unidentified tracks were observed by ground
radar should not be given much weight in evaluating this report.
Both the jet aircraft involved required IFF in order that the con-
trolling GCI site could plot them." [??IFF" is an identification
code transmitter system developed in World War II called
"Identification, Friend or Foe." The fact that IFF signals
were required for ground radar to plot the jets indicates that
the Air Force planes otherwise would not have shown up on the
ground radar.]
The above sample cases contain examples of most of the
recurring features of reported UFOs:
V Reports from competent observers such as scientists and
pilots.
J Flight characteristics such as a disc wobbling on its axis.
V Maneuver patterns such as hovering andterrific acceleration.
'/Physical evidence such as radar trackings and electro-
magnetic effects.
Typically, the majority of reports describe disc-shaped or el-
liptical objects. [See Section XII, Patterns, for additional de-
tails.]
COULDN'T THEY BE U.S. OR
SOVIET SECRET DEVICES?
When a person who has been a skeptic first becomes con-
vinced that UFOs are, or might be, real, his usual first reaction
is that they must be secret devices. While space activity in the
past six years undoubtedly has caused some false UFO reports,
the activity of secret test devices on the other hand would nec-
essarily be confined to restricted test areas. The arguments
against the secret device theory, then, are:
a. Test devices of one nation would not be observed worldwide
[see Section X, Worldwide UFO Reports].
b. If secret devices were operational in the scope necessary
to account for UFO reports, the technology implied would cause
all current jets and rockets to be completely outmoded. Yet,
the direction of our research and experimentation does not reflect
such a breakthrough.
c. Perhaps most damaging to the secret device theory is the
fact that UFOs apparently have been observed for a very long
time [see Section XI, Chronology]. Soviet aerial technology
through and after World War H was not impressive. German
technology at the end of World War II was impressive, and this
has caused advocates of this theory to attribute UFOs to captured
German scientists and engineers working secretly for the U.S.
or Russia. American technology was making rapid strides at
the close of the war, but our hottest operational aerial devices
were propeller-driven aircraft, and our few guided missiles were
hardly out of the laboratory.
However, NICAP examined this possibility thoroughly, con-
sulting scientists and engineers (including Prof. Dr. Hermann
Oberth, famous German rocket expert) and found not the slightest
evidence to confirm the rumors of secret devices developed by
former Nazi scientists.
The antiquity of UFO sightings, especially, rules out the pos-
sibility of any sort of test devices, secret or otherwise, account-
ing for more than a handful of UFO reports.
Explorer Nicholas Roerich, on an expedition in the Himalayan
Mountains, August 5, 1926, and others in his caravan, saw a shiny
oval-shaped object [15.] While watching a soaring eagle, they
noticed the object far above moving south at high speed and
observed it through binoculars. The UFO then made a turn to the
southwest and moved out of sight in the distance.
An early postwar observation by an unusually well-trained
observer was reported to NICAP Board Member, the Rev. Albert
Baller: [See photostat].
Rev. Albert Roller
I+:uns on Street
Greenfield, Mass.
Dear Mr. Haller: Be: "Flying Saucer"eighting.
The circumstances of the sighting of an unknown flying
object by me were as follows:-
It was I. May 1946, at my wife's family home, at La Grange,
4 miles north of Titusville, Florida, where I was spending my
terminal leave as Lieutenant j.g. 5.5.N.R., having just returned
from the Pacific and Far East.
I had spent over a year aboard a destroyer escort as
senior watch officer, gunnery officer and radar officer, and was
very familiar, both in training and practice to ship and aircraft
recognition, night and day under combat circumstances.
I was picking oranges in the forenoon about 100 feet from
the house, when a distinct wavering whistling noise of a fast
moving body through air made me look up.
flying from west to east at about 1000 feet elevation,
Possibly less, at the speed of a light plane - say 125 m.p.h.
It appeared dark against the bright cloud layer which had a
ceiling of perhaps 1500 feet - there was no blue sky showing. The
sight astonished me, as the only sound was its passage through the
air. There was no sound of any engine, it had no wings or other
appendages, no props, and no trail of smoke in back. It appeared
about 15 or 20 feet long, perhaps less, and as I watched it
owed smoothly in an are to the southeast and vanished forever
in a lower cloud bank.
My wife and the rest of the family heard this queer noise
and all rushed out to see what it was, and my wife glimpsed it as
it vanished in the clouds, confirming my story.
I had never heard of flying saucers and had no Idea what
e had s , but assumed that it was some secret device of the Air
Force, A never reported It.
It w not a MAD (magnetic airborn detector) used for anti-
submarine work, as it w attached to no cable to a plane above, and
there n e the noise of no other plane or blimp at the time that could
have been hidden, say, in the clouds above.
So that is the story of my "Flying Football", still as much
a mystery today as it was to as 9 years ago.
Sincerely yours, [~ [I n
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NOTES:
1. For other examples of UFO sightings by General Mills balloon
personnel, see J. J. Kaliszewski reports, Section VI.
2. Sample contributions to astronomy literature:
Hess, Dr. Seymour L., "A Meteorological approach to the
question of water vapor on Mars and
the mass of the Martian atmos-
phere," Publications of the Astro-
nomical Society of the Pacific, 60,
289, (1948).
"Some Aspects of the Meteorology of
Mars," Journal of Meteorology, 7, 1,
(1950).
"Blue Haze and the Vertical Structure
of the Martian Atmosphere," The
Astrophysical Journal, 127, 743,
(1958).
3. Ruppelt, Edward J., The Report on Unidentified Flying Ob-
jects, (Doubleday, 1956), p. 161.
4. Letter on file at NICAP.
5. Report on file at NICAP.
6. Ruppelt, Edward J., op. cit., p. 303; True, May 1954.
7. Air Force letter on file at NICAP.
8. Quotes taken from Capt. Hull's report to John DuBarry, former
associate editor of True magazine, published in CSI News-
letter by a New York UFO group of which DuBarry is presi-
dent.
9. Report on file at NICAP.
10. From U.S. Air Force Intelligence Report.
11. Chapman, Robert, London Evening News, December 21,
1955; Frame from movie film reproduced in RAF Flying
Review, London, July 1957.
12. It is not known whether any of these reports have been pub-
lished.
13. All quotes taken from unclassified U.S. Air Force Intelligence
Report. Exact date, names, and location were deleted in ac-
cordance with Air Force policy.
14. The average distance from the pilot's face to the windscreen
was determined to be 2.27 feet for the F-86-D Sabrejet, and
about 2.50 feet maximum for most jets in operation at the
time. The average pencil eraser is one-fourth of an inch in
diameter. If the pilot's face was 2.50 feet from the wind-
screen, the diameter of the UFO was about 352 feet. Even
allowing for appreciable error in the pilot's estimation of
size, the true size of the UFO would be well over 100 feet
diameter.
15.Roerich, Nicholas, Altai-Himalaya, (Fred Stokes, N.Y., 1929),
Part II, ppg. 361-362.
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SECTION II
INTELLIGENT CONTROL
What is -intelligence"? In reference to human behavior, we
usually use the word to mean the application of logic and reason
to understand nature or solve human problems. However, we
observe "intelligence" by observing the behavior of people as they
go about their affairs. We infer that they are intelligent or un-
intelligent by noticing their apparent awareness of their environ-
ment, and how they cope with problems in their environment.
We note their behavior as individuals, and in groups. The ability
of people to act in concert to accomplish mutual goals generally
is considered to be intelligent activity.
In regard to the question of whether aerial devices are intel-
ligently controlled, how is intelligence indicated by the perfor-
mance of aircraft? If we did not know that the airliners and
military jets we see coursing through the sky were guided by pi-
lots, how would their actions lead us to suspect this? First, we
might observe some jets rendezvousing, joining formation, then
proceeding to act in concert. Then we might see a jet depart from
its course and circle a balloon, apparently curious about it,
before continuing on its way. Finally, we might notice indications
(smoke trails, mechanical parts, high performance, etc.) which
suggest to us that these are powered mechanical objects. This
would imply intelligent construction and guidance.
UFOs have shown all of these features:
V Inquisitiveness, and reaction to environment.
\/ Powered flight.
\ /Formations in coordinated flight.
Reasoning by analogy to human devices and intelligence, the
hypothesis that UFOs are intelligently operated is explored below.
Caution is required in using this method of reasoning, because
it is conceivable that actions which we normally associate with
intelligence may not seem so to alien beings, and vice versa.
However, there is a good chance that there would be an overlap
of "intelligent behavior" between human and alien beings.
In particular, we should expect any intelligent beings to be fun-
damentally curious about things in their environment. Curiosity
underlies the acquisition of useful knowledge, which is necessary
to intelligence.
In addition to the evidence advanced in this section, other
sections contain data showing (a) that UFOs show repeating pat-
terns suggesting a unique and unexplained phenomenon [Section
XII], (b) that the observed objects and patterns have no counter-
parts among atmospheric phenomena which could account for them
in terms of known events [Section XII: Maneuvers and Flight
Characteristics], and (c) that the hypothesis of intelligently op-
erated devices is reasonable, and adequate to explain the data.
Inquisitiveness
and Reaction to Environment
In case after case, UFOs singly or in formation have paced or
followed automobiles, trains, airplanes, and rockets. Often the
UFOs have circled the device and taken "evasive action" when
pursued.
A Monon Railroad freight train was proceeding through Clinton
County, Central Indiana, October 3, 1958. About 3:10 a.m. a
formation of four odd white lights crossed ahead of the train.
The UFOs turned and traversed the full length of the train, front
to back (about a half mile) observed by the entire crew.
After passing the rear of the train, the objects swung east,
1
d
the conductor shone a bright light on them. Immediately, the
UFOs sped away, but returned quickly and continued to pace the
train. Total time of observation: about 1 hour 10 minutes.
Finally the UFOs moved away to the northeast and disappeared.
The coordinated maneuvers in formation, reaction to a bright
beam of light, and pacing of the train, all suggest some form of
intelligence. [1]
Similar cases of vehicles being paced by UFOs also have been
reported by experienced observers such as pilots and missile
trackers. At White Sands, New Mexico, June 10, 1949, a missile
had just been launched when two circular UFOs appeared. As
the missile accelerated to about 1,430 mph, the UFOs climbed
after it, passed through its exhaust, passed the missile and
climbed out of sight. Five separate observation and tracking
posts, scattered around the nearby mountains and not in communi-
cation with one another, reported observing this performance.
One of the posts tracked a similar UFO several minutes later,
as it sped west against the wind. [2]
Inquisitiveness and Reaction
Fifty sample cases in which UFOs displayed apparent awareness
of their environment, charted here, are divided into two basic
types: (a) UFOs which paced vehicles or otherwise appeared to
be inquisitive about human devices; (b) UFOs which evaded or
otherwise reacted to human devices. (All reports on file at
NICAP.)
turned back and followed the train. The bright glow concea e
the exact shape of the UFOs, but they appeared flattened and some-
times flew on edge. Operating part of the time in-line abreast
with coordinated motions, the objects followed the train until
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INQUISITIVENESS AND REACTION CASES
Date & Location
Reported Shape or Appearance
Witnesses
(b) 7-23-48 near
Montgomery, Ala.
Cigar
(a) 10-1-48
Fargo, N.D.
Disc
Pilot, control tower
operators
(b) 11-18-48 near
Washington, D. C.
Oval
Pilot, ground crew
(b) 3-26-50 near
Washington, D. C.
Disc
(a) & (b) 4-27-50
Goshen, Ind.
Red disc
Pilot, passengers
(a) 5-29-50 near
Washington, D. C.
Ellipse, bright body light
Pilots
(a) 1-16-51
Artesia, N.M.
2 discs
Balloon tracking crew
(a) 1-20-51
Sioux City, Iowa
Cigar with body lights
Pilots, passengers
(b) 9-11-51 near
Sandy Hook, N.J.
Disc
(b) 10-9-51 near
Paris, Ill.
Oblate spheroid
(a) 1-29-52
Wonsan, Korea
Disc
Bomber crew
(a) 3-29-52 near
Misawa, Japan
Disc
(a) 6-18-52
California
Not specified
Bomber crew
(a) & (b) 7-13-52
Ball of light
Nr. Washington, D.C.
Action
Came head-on toward airliner, veered
to side, shot straight up into clouds.
[Section V]
"Dogfight" with National Guard plane,
intricate maneuvers, head-on passes,
finally shot up out of sight. [Section V]
Led USAF pilot through "astounding
maneuvers." When pilot flashed landing
lights on UFO, it streaked away.
[Section III]
Pilot spotted UFO below him, dove to-
ward it, object shot up into overcast.
[Section V]
Overtook airliner, paced it alongside,
fled when plane turned toward it.
[Section V]
Approached airliner head-on, circled it
completely stopping once on each side,
suddenly sped away. [Section V]
Two discs approached rapidly from hor-
izon, tipped on edge and circled balloon,
then sped away. [Section I]
Circled, came head-on toward airliner
which was investigating, abruptly re-
versed direction and paced plane for few
seconds, finally shot straight up.
[Section V]
First seen descending by USAF pilots in
T-33; when pursued levelled off, ac-
celerated, outsped jet and curved away.
[Section III]
Pilot saw UFO hovering motionless,
turned directly toward it, object shot
away. [Section V]
Paralleled USAF bomber for 5 minutes,
pulled ahead, shot away at angle.
[Section III]
Made pass at USAF F-84, slowed and
paced it, passed in front, climbed away
vertically. [Section I]
Paced USAF B-25 for 30 minutes [Of-
ficially reported to AF UFO Project; see
Section III]
Approached airliner and hovered. When
pilot switched on all lights, UFO "took
off, going up and away." [Section XII;
July 1952 Chronology]
(b) 8-1-52
Dayton, Ohio
Round
Pilots
Jets climbed up to investigate hovering
UFO, it streaked away at high speed.
[Section III]
(a) 8-28-52
LeRoy, N.Y.
Disc
Family
Observed from ground making tight
vertical circles around airliner. [3]
(a) 9-19-52
To
liff
E
l
Disc
Airbase ground
Followed meteor jet to base, descended
pc
e,
ng
and
observers
,
hovered rotating, suddenly sped away.
[Section X]
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Date & Location
Reported Shape or Appearance
Witnesses
(b) 10-11-52
Newport News, Va.
Disc
(a) & (b) 12-29-52
Northern Japan
Circular
(a) 1953
Anaco, Venezuela
Round gray
(b) 1-28-53 near
Albany, Georgia
Circular
(a) & (b) 2-16-53 near
Anchorage, Alaska
Bright red light source
Transport crew
Action
Hovered in one spot 20 minutes. As jet
interceptors neared, UFO tilted up and
shot away.
Paralleled USAF F-84; when jet tried to
close in, UFO sped away disappearing in
seconds [Section III]
Approached airliner, paced it for 40
minutes, ascended out of sight. [Section
X]
USAF F-86 pursued UFO; it sped up
(confirmed by radar) and disappeared.
[Section III]
Approached USAF C-47, stopped and
hovered 5 minutes; when plane gave
chase, UFO accelerated and quickly van-
ished. [Officially reported to AF UFO
Project; see Section III]
(b) 2-17-53 Red light source Air Base ground Observed near end of runway climbing;
Elmendorf AFB, observers jet gave chase; UFO accelerated "notice-
Alaska ably" and climbed vertically away. [Of-
ficially reported to AF UFO Project; see
Section III]
(a) & (b) 8-12-53
Light source
Rapid City, S.D.
(b) 3-24-54
Florida Missile
range
Round
(a) & (b) 6-23-54
Ohio
Round white light
(a) & (b) 6-30-54
near Goose Bay,
Labrador
Large dark object with smaller
satellites
Airliner crew
(b) 9-7-54
Origny, France
Luminous disc
(a) 10-3-54 near
Waben, France
Light source
Motorists, others
(b) 11-26-54
Millville, N.J.
Disc, with 4 body lights forming
rectangle
Several
(a) & (b) 2-2-55
near Merida,
Venezuela
Round, "ports" above & below
central ring
(a) 5-25-55
London, England
Round, luminous
(a) & (b) 11-14-55
Globe of white light
San Bernardino, Calif.
USAF F-84 chased UFO, turned back and
UFO followed. Second jet gave chase,
turned back, UFO continued on course
seen by Ground Observer Corps post.
[Section I]
Descended and hovered at 3,000 feet.
Marine Corps jet banked toward UFO, it
accelerated and sped away. [Section IV]
Followed Air National Guard F-51 from
Columbus to Vandalia; "took off" when
pilot gave chase. [Section V]
Paralleled BOAC airliner for 80 miles;
disappeared when F-86 interceptor neared
to investigate [Section X]
Disc maneuvered up and down, hovering;
as it hovered, motorists turned headlights
on it. UFO took off at high speed and
dwindled into distant speck.
UFO followed car at estimated distance
of 100 yards, slowed when car did; fi-
nally accelerated and sped away, observed
by independent witnesses.
Circled town; when search-light hit it,
UFO sped away (large V-formation of
round UFOs sighted 70 miles to NE same
night).
Approached airliner; when plane turned
toward it, UFO dove, leveled off, sped
away. Radio transmitter failed as pilot
tried to report sighting. [Section X]
Sped toward B-47 from SW, hovered above
it about 5 seconds; glided away to SE,
reversed direction and hovered 8 seconds,
suddenly shot away to SW.
Approached small plane; pilot blinked
landing lights, UFO blinked twice in
seeming response. UFO came closer,
pilot blinked lights three times; UFO
blinked three times, "suddenly backed up
in mid-air." [Section VI
11
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(b) 12-56 Circular
Far East
(a) 3-8-57 Large object with 3 brilliant
Beaumont-Houston, white body lights
Texas
(b) 11-5-57 Cylinder
Transvaal, Africa
(a) & (b) 5-5-58 Top-like
San Carlos, Uruguay
(b) 5-17-58 Orange light
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
(a) & (b) 10-3-58 4 objects, elongated
near Rossville, Ind.
(a) 1-13-59 Blindingly brilliant light
Pymatuning Lake, Pa.
USAF F-86 investigated unidentified
radar blip. Experienced radar interfer-
ence as he saw and tried to close on cir-
cular UFO. When pursued, object shot
up and away [Section I]
Approached and passed plane S to N,
hovered; moved away when plane neared.
Swooped up and down at high speed.
[Section V]
Hovered, tracked by South African Air
Force searchlights; witnesses said UFO
"withdrew" behind clouds when light hit
it. [Section X]
Approached plane, hovered (pilot felt
heat); when plane attempted to close in,
UFO darted away and disappeared.
[Section X]
Approached from N at low altitude; high-
powered spotlight turned on it, UFO
flared brilliantly, shot out of sight.
Approached ahead of train, traversed
full length, swung around and followed
for over an hour. Once darted away
when conductor shone spotlight at them.
[Section II].
Approached truck, hovered above it
(truck electrical system failed); after 3
to 4 minutes, UFO shot away. [Section
VIII]
(a) & (b) 7-14-59 Luminous object Pilot, airport observers Followed Brazilian Air Force B-26,
Minas Gerais State frightening pilot; hovered near airport
Brazil after plane landed. When airport per-
sonnel fired flares in direction of UFO,
it changed color then shot up and dis-
appeared. [Section X]
(a) 7-2-60 near Bright light source
Maiquetia, Venezuela
Followed airliner on parallel course
angling toward plane; suddenly shot
away at terrific speed. [Section X]
(a) 5-61 near Luminous disc
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil
Observed circling at sea level; UFO as-
cended "with incredible speed" to level
of plane, circled plane, followed it for
over an hour. [Section X]
(b) 10-2-61 Disc Private pilot, airport Hovered near airport; private pilot ap-
Salt Lake City, Utah observers proached to investigate, UFO moved up
like an elevator and away to S, hovered
again; finally rose and shot away to West.
[Section I]
(a) 10-21-61 Four light sources
near Datil, N.M.
One UFO flashed ahead of car on Highway
60; as car entered dark canyon, UFO was
there; object split into four parts which
paced car. As car neared service area,
objects flashed up into sky and disappear-
ed.
(b) 9-20-62 Object with two body lights
Hawthorne, N.J.
(b) 9-24-62 Bright light source
Hawthorne, N.J.
Night watchman Hovered over quarry; watchman approach-
ed in jeep to investigate, UFO maneuvered
out of headlight beams.
Hovered, moved away when police shone
spotlight on it.
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Powered, Controlled Flight
Many observations by competent observers (including engineers
and aeronautical experts) suggest that the UFOs they saw were
powered objects. The observations sometimes have included visual
signs of mechanical-functional construction, in addition to other
indicators of the UFOs' being, literally, machines.
Most of the cases cited previously in this section contain
descriptions of observed "maneuvers." However, the following
group of reports by unusually well-qualified observers is worth
special mention.
UFO Formation Tracked Above Security Area at over 4,500 mph.
During the Fall of 1949 at a key atomic post, five apparently
metallic objects in formation were tracked by radar. The UFOs
crossed the 200-mile scope in less than 4 minutes. The officer
in charge, who held a top military post, reported to Intelligence
that this was a legitimate radar contact with unidentified objects.
[4] (Official secrecy conceals other details of this case, in
particular information on tracking and other detection of the
UFOs by separate military posts. Nevertheless, it tends to sub-
stantiate the many other reports by reputable people of UFOs,
and UFO formations, moving at spectacular speeds).
Technicians at Secret Test Base Observe Mechanical UFO
At Muroc AFB (now Edwards AFB) and adjacent Rogers Dry
Lake, scientists and engineers test and develop the latest aircraft,
including secret projects. Although thoroughly familiar with
anything that flies, the base technical personnel had no explanation
for the UFOs which maneuvered over the area July 8, 1947.
Twice that morning, disc-shaped objects were observed cavorting
overhead. Then about 11:50 a.m., a crew of technicians at Rogers
saw a round white, apparently metallic object descending, moving
west northwest against the wind. They observedthick projections
on top which crossed each other at intervals, suggesting either
rotation or slow oscillation. In their official report they stated:
"It was man-made, as evidenced by the outline and functional
appearance." [5] (Next day, near Boise, Idaho, a disc-shaped
object maneuvering in front of a cloud bank was observed from a
plane by Dave Johnson, aviation editor of the Idaho Statesman.
See Section VII.)
Top Astronomer Reports "Novel Airborne Device"
On July 10, 1947, one of the country's top astronomers re-
ported an elliptical UFO. At 4:47 p.m. in southern New Mexico,
the astronomer observed a smooth ellipse with firm regular
outline, motionless near some clouds, but wobbling. [See
Section XII; Flight Characteristics.] The UFO then moved into
the clouds, reappeared and rose quickly at an estimated speed
of 600 to 900 mph. In his report to the Air Force, the astronomer
stated: "The remarkably sudden ascent convinced me it was an
absolutely novel airborne device." [4]
Scientist Observes Powered UFO
A very similar observation was made nearly three years later
by an eminent meteorologist and astronomer. On the grounds
of Lowell Observatory, Arizona, May 20, 1950, Dr. Seymour L.
Hess, now head of the Department of Meteorology, Florida State
University, noticed a disc (or partly illuminated sphere) moving
across the front of some cumulus clouds at about 12:15 p.m.
Studying the UFO with four-power binoculars, Doctor Hess
could see no evidence of exhaust or markings on the object.
"The clouds were drifting from the southwest to the northeast
at right angles to the motion of the object. Therefore it must
have been powered in some way. . . I would estimate its speed
at 100 mph., perhaps as high as 200 mph. This too means a power-
ed craft. However, I could hear no engine noise." [Full state-
ment, Section I.]
High-Speed Disc Arcs Above Airliner
Airline pilots, although not necessarily technically trained in
the sense of being scientists or engineers, are experienced ob-
servers of the sky, familiar with most atmospheric and astrono-
mical displays. At 9:29 p.m., March 31, 1950, a Chicago &
Southern Airlines plane was flying at2,000feeton a southwesterly
course near Little Rock, Arkansas. Captain Jack Adams and
Co-pilot G. W. Anderson, Jr., suddenly noticed a distinct circular
object, apparently disc-shaped approaching from the left. The
UFO passed in an arc above their plane, proceeding north at an
estimated 700 to 1,000 mph. Eight to 10 lighted windows or ports
were visible on the underside, and "the strongest blue-white
light we've ever seen" flashed intermittently from the top. The
pilots told official investigators they believed they had witnessed
some secret experimental craft. To this date, the sighting
remains unexplained. [6]
Aeronautical Engineer Amazed by UFO Performance
Another particularly well-qualified observer was "amazed" by
a UFO performance he witnessed on the night of July 16, 1952.
Paul R. Hill, an aeronautical research engineer of Hampton,
Virginia, at 9:00 p.m. saw two amber-colored lights speed in
from the south over the Hampton Roads channel. The UFOs
slowed and circled rapidly around each other. Two similar ob-
jects then approached and joined the first two, one from the south
and one from the north, and the formation moved off toward the
south. "Their ability to make tight circling turns was amazing,"
Mr. Hill said. [Full report in Section VI.]
Formations and Coordinated Flight
A prime indicator of intelligence behind the maneuvers of UFOs
is the observation that they often fly in formation, which requires
coordination and mechanical control. (Aircraft and birds also
fly in formations, but these can often be ruled out as cause of
the sightings.) In UFO reports, the formations are of three
general types: (a) Geometrical (V's, lines, etc.); (b) clusters,
and (c) object with smaller objects maneuvering around it.
(a) Geometrical
1904: Circular UFOs Maneuvered Near Ship
One of the earliest formation cases was reported February 28,
1904, by a ship in the North Pacific off San Francisco. Three
members of the crew of the USS Supply, at 6:10 a.m. local time,
sighted an echelon formation of three "remarkable meteors"
which appeared near the horizon below clouds, moving directly
toward the ship. As they approached, the UFOs began soaring,
rose above the cloud layer, and were observed climbing into
space, still in echelon. The lead object was egg-shaped and about
the size of six suns (about 3 degrees of arc). The other two were
smaller and appeared to be perfectly round. They remained
visible for over two minutes. [7] (Meteors, of course, do not
travel in echelon formation, change course and climb, nor re-
main visible for two minutes).
Precise Formation, Sharp Turn Near Airliner
Perhaps the most detailed and instructive formation case on
record is the sighting by Capt. William B. Nash, Pan American
Airways pilot, and his co-pilot, William Fortenberry, July 14,
1952, near Newport News, Virginia. [See Section V.] In addi-
tion to being an example of precise formation flight, the report
contains several other elements suggesting intelligent control.
When an in-line formation of discs made an abrupt stop, two of
the rear objects overrode the front one. This could be interpreted
as a sign of pilot error or lag in reaction time. After the six
discs flipped over and reversed course, two more sped up and
joined the formation.
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GEOMETRICAL FORMATION CASES
(All reports on file at NICAP)
Date
Location
Witnesses
Number
Type
2-28-04
North Pacific
Crew, U.S.S. Supply
3
In-line, echelon
Changed course, climbed
6-23-47
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Railroad engineer
10
In-line
Fluttered
6-24-47
Mt. Ranier, Wash.
Pilot
9
In-line
Zig-zag, skipping flight
7-4-47
Portland, Ore.
Police,
Pi '1 t
0
2
Unspecified
Unspecified
Oscillating motion
Oscillating motion
1948
Scientist
3
In-line
Last zig-zagging [Section VI]
3-30-50
Selma, Ala.
Radio engineer &
others
3
In-line
Middle disc pulled ahead, shot up out of
sight
11-27-50
Evansville, Wis.
Pilot
6
Echelon
8-11-51
Portland, Ore.
Pilot
3
V
Flew north in perfect formation
2-20-52
Greenfield, Mass.
Minister
3
V
[Section VII].
3-10-52
Oakland, Calif.
Inspecting engineer
2
Side-by-side
One on steady course, one swaying back
and forth. [Section VI]
5-13-52
Greenville, S.C.
Amateur astronomers
"several"
Diamond
Wobbled in flight
7-14-52
Newport News, Va.
Airline pilots
6 + 2
In-line
Flan nvpr 12n aouvaoa r,, roe a: 1.,
-
--w===r=~ _, 4.
rierunauucat engineer
4
Varied; in-line
2 made tight circling turns [Section VI]
7-17-52
Staten Island, N.Y.
Citizens
5
V
Nev.
v
UFOs were delta shaped [Section III]
8-1-52
Albuquerque, N.M.
Scripps-Howard staff
writer
About 10
Cluster, V, 2
rows in-line
Shifted formation with precision.
[Section VII]
8-5-52
Baltimore, Md.
Amateur Astronomer
2 + 2
Paired
[Section VI]
10-12-52
Palo Alto, Calif.
A/C maintenance man
6
V
Edges of discs glowing. [Section VI]
11-22-52
Bocaranga, Africa
Missionary
4
Rectangle
Sometimes moved singly, returned to
formation
2-22-54
York, Pa.
GOC
14
Unspecified
3
10
54
-
-
San Francisco, Calif.
Pilot, executive
12
V
3-24-54
Baltimore, Md.
Civil Defense official
14
V; in-line
Changed to in-line as airliner passed,
5
5
54
-
-
Minneapolis, Minn.
Astronomy students
Unspecified
V
5
6
54
-
-
Heppner, Ore.
Several
Unspecified
V
Oscillating motion
5-15-54
Southampton, England
Amateur astronomer
18
V
"Windows" visible in some through
telescope
6
30
54
-
-
Near Oslo, Norway
Scientists
2
Echelon
First in tilted position, then levelled off.
[Section I]
8-28-54
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Hundreds
15
Triangle, semi-
Changed to semicircular and sped up
circle
when pursued. [Section III]
9-6-54
Baltimore, Md.
Amateur Astronomer
4
In-line, echelon
One left, 3 changed formation
11-26-54
Manasquan, N.J.
Professor
15-20
V
[Section VII]
4-10-55
Baltimore, Md.
Several
Unspecified
(1) V
Two separate sightings
(2) T
8-25-55
Birmingham, England
Ex-Navy officer
15
In-line
Groups of 3 in-line
11-9-55
Philadelphia, Pa.
Newspaperman, many
others
12
V, A
Changed to A in flight [Section VII],
8-56
Boulder City, Nev.
Research technician
5
Staggered V
Spaced one diameter apart. [Section VI]
9-12-56
N
O
l
ew
r
eans, La.
Watchman
4
Y
Hovered, formed vertically, scattered
11-19-56
Frankfurt, Germany
Engineering student
7
V
[Section X]
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6-18-57
North Pacific
Ship's captain and 3
crew
7-17-57
Cuyahoga Falls,
Ohio
Two
V
Elliptical rotation around vertices of
triangle, departed in different directions
In-line
abreast
Paced train, reacted to light. [Section II]
10-6-58
Near Mt. Vernon,
Ohio
Family
In-line
Jets passed above UFOs, which then took
off.
5-24-60 Ocumare..., Doctors, police 3
Venezuela
In-line, Vertical Second group 2 hovering, third made
V V, moved away
Unspecified V Vertical orientation
(b) Clusters
In some cases clusters, or groups, of UFOs not in any clear
geometrical pattern have acted in concert.
Discs Filmed by Navy Officer
The best known case of this type was documented on film by
Navy Warrant Officer Delbert C. Newhouse, July 2, 1952. [See
Section VIII, Photographs.] About 10 or 12 disc-shaped objects
milling around in a group were observed by Newhouse and his
wife near Tremonton, Utah. The 16 mm. color film shows
bright round lights, occasionally tilting and appearing elliptical
in outline. From film analysis report: The UFOs "often seem
clustered in constellations, or formations which are recognizable
for as long as 17 seconds. . . [they] seem to cluster in groups
of two's and three's. . . the edges of the images are sharp
and clear on many of the properly exposed frames. . . their pat-
tern of motion is essentially a curvilinear milling about. . . some-
times the objects appear to circle about each other." [8]
Airliner Crew Watches Flight of Discs
An early cluster case, also from responsible witnesses, took
place July 4, 1947. At about 9:12 p.m. Capt. E. J. Smith and the
crew of a United Airlines plane were enroute to Portland, Oregon
(where earlier that day formations of disc-shaped UFOs had
been reported; see chart). Five disc-shaped objects in a loose
group or formation were seen silhouetted against the western
sky for several minutes, opening and closing formation. Then
a second group of objects appeared, three discs together and one
off by itself. [9]
Other examples of cluster or group formation cases appear.
in the UFO Chronology in Section XI.
(c) Satellite Objects
Some of the most startling formation cases on record are those
in which a large central object is observed in the process of
launching or taking on board smaller objects, very much like an
aircraft carrier or "mother ship." An example of this was
observed by Maj. Paul A. Duich, Air Force Master Navigator,
and other officers, September 8, 1958 at Offutt AFB, Omaha,
Nebraska. [See Section III.] An elongated object tilted at an
angle was seen in the western sky. Then small dark objects
were seen maneuvering around the large object. Finally, the
formation moved away to the west, the parent object still tilted
at an angle.
In at least one instance, this phenomenon apparently was
recorded on radar. December 6, 1952, over the Gulf of Mexico,
the crew of a B-29 on a training mission repeatedly tracked UFOs
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moving at high speed past the plane, and crew members reported There is only one aerial phenomenon which remotely resembles
brief visual sightings of fast-moving lights. Finally the UFOs the description and performance of the UFOs in these cases:
were seen on the radarscope to merge with a gigantic blip (radar aerial refueling operations by jets and tanker aircraft. In the
target) which shot off the scope at about 9,000 mph. [Section cases cited, no such operations were reported in progress in the
VIII, Radar], area of the sightings.
SATELLITE OBJECT CASES
Summer
Grenada, Miss.
Artist
1944
Fall
Birmingham to
Pilot
1951
Chattanooga
Early Oct.
Anderson, Ind.
Family
1951
1952
San Mateo, Calif.
Engineers
April 29,
Singapore
Hundreds
1952
July 23,
Culver City,
Aircraft Plant
1952
Calif.
employees
Aug. 28,
Denham,Bucks,
3 residents
1952
England
Oct. 17,
Oloron College
School Supt.
1952
France
& others
Oct. 27,
Gaillac, France
Hundreds
1952
June 30,
nr Labrador
Crew of BOAC
1954
airliner
July 8,
Abbey Lakes,
Astronomer
1954
Lanc. Eng.
Aug. 23,
Vernon, France
Businessman,
1954
police, engineer
Sept. 14,
Vendee, France
Farmer, others
1954
Sept. 22,
Fontainbleu,
Woman
1954
France
Sept. 27,
Rixheim, France
Three; two in-
1954
dependent
sightings
Oct. 3,
Lievin & Ablain-
Many; two in-
1954
St. Nazaire,
dependent
France
sightings
Oct. 10/11
Riom, France
Night watchman
1954
Feb. 16,
nr Pinchincha
Pilot, Air Force
1955
volcano, Peru
officer, others
Oct. 6,
Tucson, Arizona
Engineer
1957
Dec. 15,
Alminde, Jutland,
three youths
1957
Denmark
Parent Object (oval) emitted 3 smaller discs from underside, which
hovered, moved away in different directions
Parent Object (5 smaller flew out of it) paralleled plane, but when pilot
pressed radio button to report sightings UFOs disappeared quickly
Parent Object (Wing-shaped UFO) trailed by circular formation of over
30 evenly spaced dark objects which tilted back and forth in unison (app.
discs).
Parent Object (flat oval) emitted 5 smaller objects from one end
Parent Object (silver cigar) leaving fiery exhaust, emitted bright lights
after slowing; lights formed in clusters, sped away in various directions
Parent Object (silvery elliptical) moved NW over city, stopped launched
2 small discs which circled area, went back on board, climbed straight
up at high speed
Parent Object (unspec.) ejected small object, minutes later 2 more small,
3 flew off in different directions
Parent Object (narrow cylinder inclined 45?) plus 30 Saturn-like discs,
small, moved in pairs, zig-zagged, angel's hair fell
Parent Object (cigar-inclined 45?) plus 16 discs with "domes", small,
flew in pairs, zig-zagged, angel's hair fell
Parent Object (variously described) plus about 6 small shiny objects some-
times appearing to enter and leave object
Parent Object (apparently cylindrical) accompanied by 15-20 smaller lights
moving around independently
Parent Object (vertical cigar) emitted 5 discs from lower end which
moved away horizontally.
Parent Object (cigar) appeared out of clouds horizontally, tilted vertically,
emitted shiny disc which spiralled around cigar, darted away; finally re-
turned, re-entered cigar, which returned to horizontal, flew away into
clouds.
Parent Object (luminous ball) emitted several smaller ball-like objects
from underside, which flew away in all directions. As plane approached,
large object rose into clouds at high speed.
Parent Object (cigar) with 10 or more small luminous objects navigating
in all directions
Parent Object (elongated luminous) hovered, something detached from
bottom, descended to ground, rose and rejoined hovering object
Parent Object (cigar) moving S to N; three glowing objects detached,
sped away
Parent Object (hemispherical, domed) hovered, descended, emitted small
lighted object just before speeding away.
Parent Object (oval-shaped) 5 smaller objects emerged, flew away
Parent Object (oval-shaped) 2 smaller emitted, parent object flew up out
of sight leaving exhaust trail.
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Jan. 11,
Vista, Calif.
Student
1958
March 3,
nr Marshall,
Family
1958
Texas
Sept. 10,
N. Scituate,
Store Propri-
1960
Mass.
etors
Oct. 4,
Cressy, Launce-
Minister &
1960
ton, Australia
wife
May 3,
Toonpang, N.S.W.,
5 men
1961
Australia
June 4,
Blue Ridge
Librarian
1961
Summit, Pa.
Parent Object (spindle-shaped) 8-10 smaller dropped from it, hovered,
all disappeared upward.
Two Parent Objects (bright lights) 6-7 smaller lights clustered and
moved around stationary large ones.
Parent Object (dark cigar) with two large discs apparently resting on top;
3 in cluster flying nearby.
Parent Object (cigar with vertical bands) 5-6 smaller discs. Parent ob-
ject descended from clouds, followed in about 2 minutes by discs, which
stopped around cigar; finally rose rapidly in clouds.
Parent Object (round, domed) 4 small silvery v-shaped objects left and re-
turned to parent object after maneuvering around at high speed.
Parent Object (cigar or long ellipse) and cluster of smaller hovering ob-
jects; small objects streaked toward parent object, and all moved out of
sight behind trees.
NOTES
1. Witnesses interviewed by NICAP Board Member Frank Ed-
wards: Cecil Bridge, fireman; Harry Eckman, engineer;
Morris Ott, head brakeman; Paul Soshey, flagman; and Ed
Robinson, conductor.
2. True Magazine, March 1950. (Case confirmed by Capt. (then
Cdr.) Robert B. McLaughlin,. USN, head of Navy missile
tracking crew.)
3. Interview report by Walter N. Webb, NICAP Adviser, on file
at NICAP.
4. Life Magazine, April 17, 1952, from Air Force Intelligence
Report.
5. Ruppelt, Edward J., Report on Unidentified Flying Objects,
Doubleday, 1956, p. 38.
6. Flying, July 1950 (including pilot's sketch). See also Memphis
Commercial Appeal, March 22, 1950.
7. Monthly Weather Review, March 1904.
8. Baker, Robert M. L., Jr., `Analyses of Photographic Ma-
terial; Photogrammetric Analysis of the Utah Film Tracking
UFOs," p. 2. (Copy on file at NICAP.)
9. Flying, July 1950; Life Magazine, July 21, 1947.
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SECTION III
Air Force Observations
Before the issuance of Air Force Regulation 200-2 in 1953
(see extracts), a large number of significant UFO sightings by
active Air Force personnel were made public. During the early
1950's, dozens of Intelligence Reports describing amazing UFO
performances were released to the present NICAP Director.
[1.] An article in LIFE, April 7, 1952, suggesting UFOs were
interplanetary, represented the opinion of "several very high-
ranking officers in the Pentagon," according to the former Air
Force UFO project chief. [2.] After an early phase of official
confusion and secrecy following the first publicized U. S. sightings
in 1947, the Air Force was openly treating UFOs as a serious
and important problem.
As indicated in the following chart, UFOs have been sighted
regularly at dozens of Air Force bases in the United States and
in foreign locations. Since 1953, however, Air Force UFO reports
have steadily diminished. The effect of AFR 200-2 (and other
Air Force policies; see Section IX) has been to dry up this source
of current information about UFOs. With Air Force fliers active
all over the globe, it is easy to imagine the amount of information
which has been lost to the public.
In spite of the repressive effects of AFR 200-2 in recent years,
a considerable number of good UFO sightings by Air Force
witnesses has accumulated. These reports are a matter of
public record. Others from unofficial and private sources have
been obtained by NICAP.
Within the Air Force there is a strong difference of opinion
about the official policies toward UFOs. Many officers and
airmen do not agree with them, and favor more public disclosure
of UFO information. A number have supplied NICAP with infor-
mation when this could be done without violating security.
After NICAP was formed in 1956, Air Force officers (active
and retired) began to visit the office. Some had personal ex-
9. Exceptions. In response to local inquiries
resulting from any UFO reported in the vicinity
of an Air Force base, information regarding a
sighting may be released to the press or the gen-
eral public by the commander of the Air Force
base concerned only if it has been positively
identified as a familiar or known object.
11. Contacts. Private individuals or organi-
zations requesting Air Force interviews, brief-
ings, lectures, or private discussions on UFO's
will be referred to the Office of Information Serv-
ices, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force.
Air Force personnel, other than those of the
Office of Information Services, will not contact
private individuals on UFO cases nor will they
discuss their operations and functions with un-
authorized persons unless so directed, and then
only on a "need-to-know" basis.
Air Force Regulation 200-2
Intelligence. Unidentified Flying Objects Reporting
DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
WASHINGTON, 26 AUGUST 1953
periences to relate, others had general information about the
UFO project. The visitors have included several former Project
Blue Book (the UFO project) personnel and intelligence officers;
a Master Navigator who had sighted several UFOs while on active
duty; and a fighter pilot still on active duty. All expressed general
agreement with NICAP's goals, and offered encouragement and
support.
The reports from Air Force sources, many taken directly
from Intelligence Reports, constitute good evidence that un-
explained aerial objects are seen with regularity by observers
who spend more time than the average person scanning the sky.
(This is also true of airline crews; see Section V).
AIR FORCE UFO SIGHTINGS
UFO Sightings by U. S. Air Force Personnel
(All Reports on File at NICAP. Cases shaded in gray are detailed following chart).
8-29-42 Michael Solomon, Control tower
Columbus, Miss, operator
3-44 B-17 pilot (conf. report certi-
Carlsbad, N.M. fied by Bluegrass NICAP Af-
filiate)
8-10 Capt. Alvah Reida, B-29 pilot
Sumatra
11-44 Lt. Ed Schlueter, pilot, 415th
France Night Fighter Squadron
12-44
Austria
Two round reddish objects descended near Army (Air Corps) Flying
School, hovered, accelerated and sped away
High-speed glowing green object lit cockpit, moved out of sight over
horizon.
Eight to ten orange ball-like objects in-line formation, sometimes
moving at high speed. [3.]
1-45 415th Night Fighter Squadron
Germany pilot
Abt. 1-2-45 Lt. Donald Meiers, pilot
France
8-1-46 Capt. Jack Puckett, pilot
Florida
Plane followed by three red and white lighted objects; UFOs followed
plane's evasive maneuvers. [4.]
Two UFO sightings reported; one object paced plane at 360 mph.,
"then zoomed up into the sky." [5.]
19
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6-28-47
Maxwell AFB, Alabama
Two pilots, two intelligence
officers
Bright light source zig-zagged with bursts of speed, made 90 degree
turn [6.]
6-28-47
near Lake Meade, Nevada
F-51 pilot
5-6 circular UFOs in formation off right wing. [6.]
Disc=shaped UFO below plane. [8.]
7-6-47
Fairfield-Suisun AFB, Calif.
Pilot
UFO "oscillating on its lateral axis" shot across sky in few seconds.
[9.]
7-8-47
Muroc AFB, Calif.
Four separate sightings by at
least four officers, and a crew
of technicians
Circular or disc-shaped UFOs sighted at 9:30 a.m., 11:50 a.m.,
12:00 noon, 3:50 p.m. [See Chronology, Sect. XI].
8-47
Media, Penna.
Single engine pilot
Hovering disc.
Three UFOs dove at transport. [10.]
Summer 1948
Labrador
Major Edwin Jerome, Command
Pilot
Reports tracking of UFO at about 9000 mph., by U.S. and Canadian
radar [See Section VIII, Radar].
10-15-48
Japan
F-61 crew, radar
Elongated UFO which alternately moved slowly, accelerated to about
1200 mph. [See Section VIII, Radar].
11-18-48
Washington, D. C.
Lt. Henry G. Combs, Lt.
Kenwood W. Jackson, pilots
"Dogfight" with glowing oval UFO which put on. bursts of speed up
to est. 600 mph. [11.]
11-23-48
Fursten-Feldbruck, Germany
Two F-80 pilots
Bright red light source, tracked on radar at 900 mph. [See Section
VIII, Radar].
12-3-48
Fairfield-Suisun AFB, Calif.
Pilot
Ball of light flashed into view, ascended rapidly out of sight. [12.]
11-3-49
Baja, Mexico
Capt. William H. Donnelly, pilot
Four discs in "cavorting" flight
Atomic Base
[Section IT]
2-2-50
Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona
Lt. Roy L. Jones B-29 pilot
Chased unidentified object which was leaving smoke trail. [13.]
3-8-50
Dayton, Ohio
Two F-51 pilots, several airline
pilots
Round UFO observed from ground, tracked on radar, climbed away
from interceptors through clouds. [See Section VIII, Radar].
6-21-50
Hamilton AFB, Calif.
S/Sgt. Ellis Lorimer (control
tower operator), Cpl. Garland
Pryor (ccto), and S/Sgt. Virgil
Cappuro
Fiery object made several passes at the control tower. [14.]
12-50
near Cheyenne, Wyoming
Capt. J. E. Broyles
Aluminum-like oval with conical tail streaming behind, moving
slowly.
2-14-51
Alamagordo, N.M.
Capt. J. E. Cocker, Capt. E. W.
Spradley, pilots
Flashing white disc observed while tracking a balloon. [15.]
6-1-51
Dayton, Ohio
Unit Chief, Wright-Patterson
AFB
Disc observed making rightangle turn. [Confidential report to
NICAP, certified by NICAP Director and Ass't. Director].
Summer 1951
Augusta, Ga.
Lt. George Kinman, F-51 pilot
Large disc about twice the size of F-51 made repeated passes at
plane.
9-10-51
Sandy Hook, N.J.
Capt. Edward Ballard, Lt.
Wilbert S. Rogers, flying T-33
Chased silvery disc which evaded them at speeds est. over 900
mph. [16.]
9-23-51
March AFB,.California
F-86 pilots
Attempted to intercept UFO in apparent orbit at 50,000 feet. [17.]
1-20-52
Fairchild AFB, Wash.
Two M/Sgt's, intelligence
specialists
Blue-white spherical object sped below overcast; speed computed
at 1400 mph. [18.]
1-29-52
Wonsan, Korea
B-29 crew
Disc paced bomber for 5 minutes, shot away at angle. [19.]
3-29-52
near Misawa, Japan
Lt. D. C. Brigham, T-6 pilot
Watched small disc maneuver around an F-84. [See Section I].
4-17-52
Nellis AFB, Nevada
T/Sgt. Orville Lawson, other
airmen
18 circular UFOs in group, one zig-zagging. [20.]
6-18-52
Calif.
B-25 crew
UFO paced bomber for 30 minutes. Official "unknown" [21.]
7-12-52
Chicago, Ill.
Captain, weather officer
Reddish object with small white body lights, made 180 degree turn,
disappeared over horizon. [22.]
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Date & Location Witnesses Description
7-20-52 Betty Ann Behl, WAF, Weather High-speed UFOs tracked on radar during Washington, D.C.~ sight-
Andrews AFB, Md. observer ings. [See Section VIII, Radar; Section XII, 1952 Chronology .
7-22-52
Uvalde, Texas
Round silvery UFO spinning on vertical axis sped across 100 degrees
of sky in 48 seconds, passing between two banks of cumulus clouds.
[24.]
Note: Assuming various altitudes, it is possible to compute the speed of the UFO for those altitudes: 5 2 miles = about 250 miles = about 635 mph.
10 miles = about 1270 mph.
7-23-52 Capt. Harold W. Kloth, Jr. Two blue-white objects, changed course. [25.]
South Bend, Indiana (over 2000 hours flying time)
Pilot vectored in on UFO by radar, saw blue-green light, got radar
Braintree, Mass. lock-on, UFO sped away. [26.]
7-24-52 Two Pentagon Colonels in B-25 Three silvery triangular UFOs sped past bomber at est. speed over
near Carson Sink, Nevada 1000 mph. Official "unknown." [27.]
7-26-52 Lt. William L. Patterson Chasing UFOs detected by CAA radar saw glowing objects all around
Washington, D. C. F-94 pilot his plane. [28.]
7-26-52 F-94 pilot Chased UFO detected by radar, saw large yellow-orange light, got
radar lock-on. UFO repeatedly pulled away at high speed, slowed
again until jet caught up. Official "unknown." [29.]
7-28-52 Pilot, others Several UFOs tracked on radar, pilot saw fast-moving lights, which
near St. Paul, Minn. accelerated, sped away. [30.]
7-29-52 Jet pilots, reserve Colonel Jets chased two UFOs, which maneuvered around behind planes;
Albuquerque & Los Alamos, Colonel saw elliptical UFO. [31.]
N. M.
Summer 1952 Colonel, pilot; co-pilot & scanner Investigated radar target, saw maneuverable egg-shaped object.
MacDill AFB, Florida
8-1-52 Major, 1st Lt., pilots Chased UFO detected by radar, saw and photographed circular
Dayton, Ohio object. [See Section VIII,, Radar].
Saw dark cigar-shaped object right where radar indicated a UFO.
near Yaak, Montana [See Section VIII, Radar].
8-3-52 Lt. Duane Swimley, jet pilot; Two discs "dogfighting," joined by six others; took diamond forma-
Hamilton AFB, California others tion and moved away. Also tracked on radar [See Section VIII,
Radar]-
8-5-52 Control tower operators Dark circular UFO with brilliant white body light hovered, maneuv-
Oneida AFB, Japan ered over base, tracked on radar. [See Section VIII, Radar)-
8-13-52 Capt. Stanley W. Thompson, Three V's of large bright UFOs in "perfect formation." [32.]
Tucson, Ariz. USAFR
8-24-52 Colonel, F-84 pilot Two high-speed maneuvering discs. [33.]
near Hermanas, N.M.
10-13-52 Maj. William D. Leet, on C-54 Disc hovered in clouds 7 minutes, sped away disappearing in sec-
Oshima, Japan mission onds.
High-speed maneuvering, "controlled" UFO evaded interceptors.
Hempstead, L. I. [34.]
16-4-06 a vim y.....
Laredo, Texas turns, climbed steeply at high speed. [35.]
Glowing object made several passes at plane, maneuvered in tight
Radar-visual sighting; UFOs tracked at 9000 mph. [See Section
Gulf of Mexico VIII, Radar].
12-29-52 Col. Donald J. Blakeslee, UFO with rotating red, green and white lights, 3 fixed beams of
No. Japan Command pilot white light, outsped F-94. [36.]
1-9-53 B-29 pilots V-formation of blue-white lights approached plane, banked, climbed
Santa Ana, Calif. away. [37.]
1-26-53 Radar crew Brilliant reddish-white light tracked on radar moving slowly (12-15
New Mexico knots) into wind. [See Section VIII, Radar].
Circular UFO accelerated away from jet, observed on ground radar.
near Albany, Ga. [See Section VIII, Radar].
1-29-53 F-94 and other pilots Gray oval UFO. [38.]
Presque Isle, Maine
2-1-53 T-33 pilot Visual UFO sighting. [39.]
Terre Haute, Indiana
2-6-53 B-36 crew Circling UFO with flashing lights. [40.]
Rosalia, Wash.
2-7-53 F-94 pilot Radar-visual sighting of bright orange light which changed altitude
Korea pulled away from jet at high speed. [See Section VIH, Radar].
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2-11-53 C-119 crew UFO approached plane, fell back, paced plane for long period. [41.]
Tunis- Tripoli
2-13-53 B-36 crew Radar-visual UFO sightings. [42.]
Ft. Worth, Texas
Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
scrambled. [44.]
Yuma, Arizona
gunnery meet. [45.]
Spring 1953
Laredo, Texas
1st Lt. Edward B. Wilford III
(jet pilot instructor) in T-33
Dark cigar-shaped UFO leaving contrail; speed estimated at Mach 2.
Moscow, Idaho
from jets. 146.]
Ellsworth AFB, So. Dak.
followed it back to base. [Section I].
August 26, 1953 - Air Force Regulation 200-2 issued by Secretary of Air Force: "Intelligence. Unidentified Flying Objects.* Reporting."
Paragraph 9 forbids public release of unexplained sightings. Paragraph 8 requires classification of radar-scope photographs of UFOs.
Air Force personnel instructed to discuss sightings only with "authorized personnel."
(Note rapid drop-off of officially reported sightings after this date.)
Kinross AFB, Michigan plane never found. [See Section IX].
1954 Lt. Col. USAFR, Senior Pilot Two UFOs which hovered, took evasive action
Dayton, Ohio
near Dayton, Ohio by crew. Photograph never made public. [47.]
6-30-54 Control tower operators Radar-visual sighting of silvery UFO; streaked in from Gulf, circled,
Brookley AFB, Alabama moved away northeast. [48.]
Albuquerque, New Mexico 2600 mph. [See Section VIII; Radar].
7-11-54 Jet bomber crews Disc paced four bombers. [49.]
Hunterdon, Pa.
7-23-54 Two jet interceptor pilots, 97th Four large glowing UFOs seen by GOC; jets closed in on one, then
Franklin, Indiana Interceptor Squadron veered away and left scene. Incident officially denied. [50.]
8-28-54 Jet interceptor pilots Radar-visual, 15 UFOs in precise triangular formation, changing to
Tinker AFB, Oklahoma semi-circular formation. [See Section VIII, Radar].
6-16-55 Dozens of interceptor pilots UFOs reported seen over wide area of Eastern U. S., jets scrambled
Eastern United States from many points. [51.]
Cincinnati, Ohio to catch them; first detected by radar [See Section VIII; Radar].
Rapid City, So. Dak. 54th Fighter-Interceptor Sgdn., radar trackings. [52.]
Far East over 1800 mph. [See Section VIII; Radar].
Houston, Texas sweeps across sky at est. 2000 mph. [53.]
11-5-57 A/1C William J. Mey Elliptical UFO which accelerated and entered clouds. Report coincided
Keesler AFB, Miss. with Coast Guard Cutter Sebago sighting. [See Section VIII; Radar].
11-5-57 Maj. Louis F. Baker, others Six shiny circular UFOs maneuvering "like planes in a dogfight."
Long Beach, California [54.]
4-14-58 S/Sgt. Oliver Dean About 12-18 golden orange lights, V-formation with smaller irregular
Albuquerque, New Mexico formation on each side in steady flight. CAA reported no aircraft
flights in area.
7-17-58 Control tower operator, others Reddish star-like UFO circled over base, tracked on radar. Sighting
Hokkaido, Japan officially denied. [55.]
9-8-58 Maj. Paul A. Duich, Master Elongated object tilted at angle, small satellite objects.
Offutt AFB, Nebraska Navigator, others
5-20-61 Air Police, others Radar-visual report, UFO maneuvered over base, dove and climbed.
Tyndall AFB, Florida Reported by NICAP in summer 1961. Later analysis by Adviser Webb
determined radar reports did not coincide with visual. Reports still
unexplained. [Confidential report to NICAP. Certified by NICAP Di-
rector, Asst Director, and Adviser Walter N. Webb].
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 Bomber Paced by OF
(Capt. Alvah M. Reida, during his military flying career, was
an Airplane Commander on B-26's, B-24's and B-29's. At the
time of the sighting, he was based at Kharagapur, India, in the
468th Bomb Group, 792nd Squadron, XX Bomber Command,
All quotes from his report, on file at NICAP).
"I was on a mission from Ceylon, bombing Palembang, Sumatra.
The date was August 10, 1944, time shortly after midnight.
There were 50 planes on the strike going in on the target at about
2 or 3 minute intervals. My plane was the last one in on the
target and the assignment was for us to bomb, then drop photo-
flash bombs, attached to parachutes, make a few runs over the
target area, photographing damage from the preceding planes.
The weather was broken clouds, with an overcast above us. Our
altitude was 14,000 feet, indicated air speed about 210 mph.
"While in the general target area we were exposed to sporadic
flak fire, but immidiately after leaving this area it ceased. At
about 20 or 30 minutes later the right gunner and my co-pilot
reported a strange object pacing us about 500 yards off the star-
board wing. At that distance it appeared as a spherical object,
probably 5 or 6 feet in diameter, of a very bright and intense red
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observed w a t oug t o he a s noting star to the southeast over
"My gunner reported it coming in from about five o'clock
position at our level. It seemed to throb or vibrate constantly.
Assuming it was some kind of radio controlled object sent to
pace us, I went into evasive action, changing direction constantly
as much as 90 degrees and altitude about 2000 feet. It followed
our every maneuver for about 8 minutes, always holding a
position of about 500 yards out and about 2 o'clock in relation
to the plane. When it left, it made an abrupt 90 degree turn,
up and accelerating rapidly; it disappeared in the overcast."
Capt. Reida added: "During the strike evaluation and interro-
gation following this mission, I made a detailed report to Intelli-
gence, thinking it was some new type of radio controlled missile
or weapon."
Cigar-Shaped UFO Near
AF Transport
(Capt. Jack Puckett, at the time of his UFO sighting, was Flying
Safety Officer, Hdq., Tactical Air Command, 300th Base Unit,
Langley Field, Va. His duties included supervision of flying op-
erations and training, investigation of all aircraft accidents in his
command. He has served as an instructor pilot, four engine air-
craft, and flew a tour of combat in the European Theater, World
War II).
"I was making a scheduled flight from Langley Field, Virginia
[August 1, 1946] to MacDill Field, Tampa, Florida. At approxi-
mately 6 p.m. while flying a C-47 at 4000 feet northeast of Tampa
the Atlantic Ocean. My copilot, Lt. Henry F. Glass and my engi-
neer both observed this object at the same time.
"This object continued toward us on a collision course at our
exact altitude. At about 1000 yards it veered to cross our path.
We observed it to be along, cylindrical shape approximately twice
the size of a B-29, with luminous portholes."
The UFO seemed to be rocket propelled, Capt. Puckett stated.
The object trailed a stream of "fire" about one-half its own
length, and remained in sight 2 1/2 to 3 minutes.
Pilot Has "Dogfight"
With Oval Object
About 9:45 p.m. November 18, 1948 Lt. Henry G. Combs was
approaching Andrews AFB, Maryland, near the Nation's Capital,
in a T-6. Suddenly he noticed an odd light over the base, so he
closed in to check on it. Abruptly, the light ''began to take violent
evasive action." Repeatedly, Combs tried to close in on the
maneuvering object. But each time it would turn so sharply that
he couldn't turn with it.
In his official report on the incident, Lt. Combs stated: "I
chased the light up and down and around for about 10 minutes,
then as a last resort I made a pass and turned on my landing
lights. Just before the object made a final tight turn and headed
for the coast I saw that it was a dark gray oval-shaped object,
smaller than my T-6."
The UFO moved at variable speeds, vertically and horizontally.
Lt. Combs estimated it traveled as fast as 600 mph.
TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE CENTER
OFFICIAL OBSERVES DISC, SHARP TURN
On June 1, 1951, about 10:00 p.m., an official at Wright-
Patterson AFB, Ohio, sighted an apparently disc-shaped UFO.
Because of his sensitive position, he has requested that his name
be kept confidential. The report is certified by the NICAP
Director and Assistant Director. (Note: All confidential reports
in this document, certified by NICAP officials, will be made
available to any authorized Congressional investigators.)
''While driving West near Dayton, Ohio, I suddenly became aware
of a large blue-white light moving parallel to me. It was parallel
and to the left at 30 to 45 degrees elevation. I can best describe it
as being similar to the flame trail from a rocket power plant.
It was a clearly defined outline similar to a stubby cigar. It
was much brighter at the leading end, and gradually dimmer to-
ward the trailing end. After l0 to 15 seconds it made approximate-
ly a right angle turn, became circular and even-colored, and
rapidly disappeared. I detected no trace of yellow, orange, red
or purple in the color. The speed was faster than an airplane,
slower than a meteor."
Disc Buzzes Fighter Plane
The following case was reported by Cleveland Press Aviation
Editor Charles Tracy, a former wing operations officer in the
Air Force. (Originally reported in Cleveland Press, picked up
by United Press International, July 30, 1952).
During the Summer of 1951, Lt. George Kinmanwas flying over
Augusta, Georgia, on a clear, sunny day. At the time, he was a
seven year flying veteran, since a jet pilot at overseas bases.
"I was cruising at about 250 mph.," Lt. Kinman told Tracy.
"All of a sudden I noticed something ahead, closing in on me,
head on. Before I could take evasive action - before I even
thought of it, in fact - this thing dipped abruptly and passed under-
neath just missing my propeller. The thing was definitely of
disc shape. . . white. . . pretty thick. . . it looked like an
oval. . . it was about twice as big as my plane. It had no visible
protrusions like motors, guns, windows, smoke or fire."
Lt. Kinman swung his F-51 around, but the disc was out of
sight. Within about 15 seconds, he said, the disc came at him
again, dipping at the last minute. This performance was repeated
several times for a period of 5 to 10 minutes. Finally, on its
last pass, the UFO zoomed upward instead of down, just missing
his canopy.
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 MAR 2, IS
MAJOR WELE.1A31 lie Y.1II+:T .%11- IlDRf'1. Re
Rt. 1 ex r~?e , Le ngton, Icy. ,~w# ~'Lt 2
11 March 1958
Major Donald E. Keyhoe, Director
National Investigating Committee
on Aerial Phenomena
Washington, D. C.
Dear Major Keyhoe:
Long before your book, "Flying Saucers Are Real",
was published, my B-17 and my crew and I were kept company
by a "Foo Fighter", a small amber disc, all the way from
Klagenfurt Austria to the Adriatic Sea. This occurred on
a "lone wolf" mission at night, as I recall, in Dqcember,
12~~ in the 15th Air Force, 5th Wing, 2nd Bomb Group. The
intelligence officer who debriefed us stated that. it was a
new German fighter but could not explain why it did not fire
at us or, if it was reporting our heading altitude and air-
speed, why we did not receive anti-aircraft fire.
On about 13 October.1952, while I was copilot on a
C-54 Troop carrier mission out of Tachikawa and heading
South toward Oshima at dusk, I noticed in the strato-cumu-
lus formation Westward what appeared to be a perfectly
round cloud. After watching it for about a minute, and
deciding it wasn't a cloud, I called it to the attention
of the pilot and engineer. The pilot was intent upon his
flight plan but the engineer got several good glimpses of
the object. Seven minutes after I first saw it, it took
an ellptical shape and sped off to the West, disappearing
within a few seconds, toward Mount Fuji.
While atationed at McClellan AFB near Sacramento,
California from July, 1955 to December, 1957, I noticed a
tremendous number of luminous blue-green objects trans-
cending the sky from horizon to horizon in an instant. On
an AOC mission one night off the California Coast I had
the radio operator report such an observation. He, and
a day or two later one of our intelligence offficers, told
me that the same object was reported by an airline pilot.
As a crusader for truth I believe that I understand
the difficulties under which you and your associates labor,
and I would like to offer my services. I am coming to Wash-
ington soon for an appointment with Senator Cooper and if it
is not inconvenient would like an appointment with ybu. I
am enclosing a copy of Form.57 for your information.
Sincerely, - C'~
r
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Radar, Pilot, Spot Elliptical UFO
One of the former Project Blue Book personnel who have visited
NICAP is Don Widener. During 1952, he was a Staff Sergeant,
senior information specialist in the Strategic Air Command,
stationed with the 809th Air Base Group, MacDill AFB, Florida.
Mr. Widener was assisting a Captain who was doing investigative
work. When the Captain was called off base, Widener kept track
of all sightings in the area for Project Blue Book.
Extracts from a letter to NICAP signed by Mr. Widener:
"One of the key sightings which I was involved in was a radar
sighting in the summer of 1952. Captain was off base
and the operations officer notified me of the UFO, which radar
had picked up at 40,000 feet proceeding at a speed of 400 knots.
A check showed only two aircraft in the area; one a commercial
airliner 300 miles out and the other a B-29 on the downwind leg
to land.
The B-29 was piloted by a Colonel who reported he had five
hours fuel and would investigate. The craft searched until mid-
night and finally reported a visual sighting at 20,000 feet. The
object was at 40,000 feet flying at about 220 knots. The sighting
was witnessed by the co-pilot and scanner. The Colonel and other
witnesses described the object as a glowing white light shaped
like a football. The B-29 turned to give chase, but the object
reversed its field and disappeared at high speed. . . The weather
that night was excellent. Bright moonlight, no inversion. Perfect
for flying."
Jet Instructor Observes
Circling UFO
A former Air Force jet pilot instructor, in a signed report to
NICAP, detailed a sighting of a cigar-shaped UFO which left a
contrail of constant length. 1st Lt. Edward B. Wilford III, a
West Point graduate, was on a maintenance test flight in a T-33
from Laredo AFB, Texas, in about April 1953.
"While flying, I noticed a contrail at least 100 miles southeast
coming in my direction. I had previously seen B-36's in our
area, but within 5 minutes the contrail approached so rapidly
that I thought it must be a B-47." He had just passed through
20,000 feet in a climbing spiral over the field.
Lt. Wilford gave the following log of the sighting:
T. First sighting, 100+ miles ESE of Laredo. [Approached
from over Gulf in direction of Corpus Christi.
T+5. Passed north of air base (my altitude, approx. 25,000
ft.)
T+10. Almost out of sight WNW of Laredo (my altitude 30,000
ft.), appeared to make 90 degree left turn.
T+17. Passed south of Laredo. I passed object through
but could not see any wing or tail structures.
altitude, approx. 35,000 ft.)
sun,
(My
T+20. Passed north of Laredo. I saw waves in contrail for
first time. (My altitude, 37,000 ft. +)
T+25. Contrail disappeared to NW 100 miles away. (My
altitude 41,000 ft. +).
Part of the time the UFO was sharply outlined, appearing as a
"solid brown cigar-shaped object with contrail beginning one
ship length behind," Lt. Wilford stated. "The contrail was a
constant 2-1/2 or 3 ship lengths, disappearing as rapidly as it was
forming, thus keeping constant length."
Based on the fact that the visibility at altitude exceeded 100
miles, Lt. Wilford estimated the UFO's speed at 1200 m.p.h.
After circling the base, it took the UFO 5 minutes to speed out of
sight to the NW. The object was as much as 45-50 degrees above
his plane, and when he reached 40,000 feet it still seemed to be
at least 20,000 feet above him.
Pilot Reports Two "Intelligently
Controlled" Objects
In a letter to NICAP, Lt. Col. Richard T. Headrick, USAFR,
Senior Pilot, described briefly a sighting of two UFOs in Dayton,
Ohio, during 1954. A full report was made at the time to Project
Blue Book. Col. Headrick outlined his views in this manner:
1. "Saucers exist. (I saw two).
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2. They were intelligently controlled or operated.
(Evasive tactics, formation flight, hovering flight.)
3. They are not propelled on any thermodynamic principle.
(No contrails while jet intercept aircraft left heavy ones).
4. They are mechanisms rather than hallucinations, optical
illusions, natural phenomena.
Col. Headrick added his evaluation of UFOs in general:
5. They are not U.S. secret weapons, for if they were, many
contracts I am now working on would be dropped. [56.] Also
they would not fly outside military test reservations.
6. They are not Russian for similar reasons. Russians have
complained about their flying over their borders. They would
not risk malfunction over our territory.
7. I presume they are extraterrestrial.
8. Provided they are, interstellar navigation would likely
present little more complication than navigation within our
solar system. Therefore, discussion on whether or not
planets in the solar system are capable of supporting life are
not material.
9. Judging from all evidence I have read, personal contact
has not yet been established either on the ground or by radio
transmission."
~'- X
0
Approx.
30?
Approx
5' WEST
o ~ HORI20N
OPFu++ AFB
OMAHA, NEBRASKA
SEPTEMBER 8, 1958
1. UFO first appeared as vapor streak, bright flare
of light. Then turned red-orange, solid shape
became distinct. Black specks appeared, cavorted,
near lower end.
2. Specks disappeared, object tilted to 45 degrees
from horizontal, began moving slowly WSW.
3. Object tipped to horizontal, then as it moved into
distance tilted upwards again.
SAC Officers Watch
UFO With Satellite Objects
At SAC headquarters in 1958, a group of officers, airmen,
and missile engineers observed an elongated UFO with satellite
objects for about 20 minutes. The case was reported to NICAP by
Major Paul A. Duich, USAF (Ret.), one of the witnesses, who was
then on active duty. Until recently, Major Duich was an Air
Force Master Navigator, accumulating 4000 flying hours and
300 combat hours. During World War II he was one of those who
saw "foo-fighters," while crew member of a B-29 making bomb
runs on Japan.
The time was approximately 1840. The date: 8 September
1958. I had just ordered dinner at the Officers Club, Strategic
Air Command Headquarters, Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha,
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WAYNE THOMAS, JR.
P. 0. BOX 831
PLANT CITY. FLORIDA
October 3, 1963
Mr. Richard Hall
NICAP
1536 Connecticut Avenue N. W.
Washington 6, D. C.
Pardon my delay in answering your letter of August 27 reqesting in-
formation on UFOs seen by B-29 crews during World War II.
I was a group intelligence officer stationed on Tinian, and the cases
I recall were all night-time sightings.
These lights, ranging from green to orange and yellow, would approach
and move along with the bombers for several minutes at a time before
breaking off. The crews were sure they were not reflections on plexi-
glass, or stars, or the moon.
I recall of no case where an aircraft or form was distinguished as
such, just the lights.
These "Foo-fighters" were so common, that they were discussed in the
various unit publications around the island.
I also remember no discussions about the possibility of space-craft;
just strange unidentified lights.
It is hoped that this small bit of fragmentary information may be of
help.
Very truly yours,
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Nebraska. I excused myself from my friend and co-worker,
Major , and went out the side door to cross
the open space between the club and the Visiting Officers Quar-
ters next door. I wanted to buy a newspaper in the lobby of the
VOQ to read after dinner.
As I crossed the open area, something caught my eye.
Glancing up and to the west, I noticed what appeared to be a short
vapor trail in an otherwise clear, blue sky. There were no clouds.
The sun had just set. I continued walking but somehow that vapor
trail didn't register properly. I have seen thousands of vapor
trails but this one was peculiar. I did a double take at that point
for suddenly the short 'vapor trail' became a brilliant source
of light, much the same as a magnesium flare. I stopped dead
in my tracks and watched.
The light was intense, but the "vapor trail" hung motionless.
Even a short trail shows generation and dissipation as the air-
craft moves across the sky. I watched for several minutes--
maybe 2 or 3--before I called to another officer: "Hey, what
do you make of that?", pointing to the spot in the sky. He
replied, "Looks like a short vapor trail." I pointed out that it
wasn't moving or growing or diminishing in size. He stopped
to gape and several others joined us.
By then, I decided this called for a better look. What we
all agreed, rather quickly, was that the vapor was reflecting
sunlight, the effect being similar to a sun-dog, even though the
sun had already slipped below the horizon.
As the small crowd gathered, I hurried into the VOQ office
and called the Offutt tower. I asked the tower operator to look
west, about 30 degrees from the horizontal and tell me what he
saw.
"Looks like a short vapor trail. Very odd."
"Vapor trail my foot! Look at it now."
I could see it through the window as I talked to the tower op-
erator. The glow was now diminishing and changing to a dull
red-orange and at the same time the fuzzy appearance gradually
took on a solid look, in the distinct shape of a pencil or slender
cigar. The upper end was blunter than the lower end.
By then all those in the office were curious and we all stepped
outside to join the 10 or 20 others who had gathered to gape at
the thing. All of a sudden we all started checking each others
faces for some silly reason--for assurance of reality, perhaps,
for as we watched there appeared at the lower end of the object
a swarm of black specks cavorting every which way, much like
a swarm of gnats. This procedure continued for a minute or
so before they (the black specks) disappeared.
Then the object, which had hung motionless on the same spot,
slowly changed attitude from an upright position to a 45 degree
angle with the horizontal and started moving slowly toward the
west. At the same time there was no drastic change in the
coloring, but a perceptible color change did take place. It re-
mained a dull orange-red color and continued its westerly
movement.
We watched in awe for several minutes--perhaps 5--andthen
the object changed attitude, again very gradually, until its
longitudinal axis appeared parallel to the horizon. The westward
movement continued, slightly to the southwest. The apparent
size of the object diminished gradually and the color faded.
About 5 minutes before we lost it completely (as it faded into
the haze just above the horizon) the object changed attitude
again, back toward the 45 degree position, but not quite.
As it continued on its westerly path, it maintained this last
attitude until completely swallowed up by the haze. It never did
drop below the horizon--just faded away. The fading, of course,
was due to the many miles of hazy atmosphere between us and
the object. The sky was cloudless, but the western horizon
did have a slight haze, readily apparent against the bright
background.
About 10 minutes after I sighted the object, a full colonel set
up a tripod and 35 mm camera with color film and took several
photographs of the object. He later denied getting any successful
exposures after I asked him on several occasions.
Immediately after the object faded away, we asked one another
what it was we saw. The popular answer was, "I don't know, but
I saw something."
The crowd was composed of airmen, officers and civilians
(at least 25 officers and airmen were present). Several of the
officers (and possibly a few civilians) were from the.Air Force
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Ballistic Missile Division in Los Angeles. Several more, like
myself, were Operations personnel engaged in a SAC planning
session at the time. All except a few of the airmen were
seasoned, veteran flyers or highly trained missile engineers.
We concluded that what was seen by all was no conventional
vehicle, nor was it an atmospheric phenomenon.
I collected a few names of individuals present, as I intended
to report the UFO to the proper authorities. I called the filter
center and reported the facts over the telephone in the presence
of a fellow officer and co-worker. I was told that I would be
contacted for interview within 48 hours by ATIC [Air Technical
Intelligence Center] representatives. I am still waiting--5-1/2
years later.
NOTES
1. Keyhoe, Donald E.,
(Henry Holt, 1953).
(Doubleday, 1956), ppg. 177-178.
3. American Legion Magazine; December
4. Ibid.
5. New York Times; January 2, 1945.
6. Ruppelt, Edward J., op. cit., p. 36.
7. Ibid., p. 35.
8. Ibid., p. 37.
9. Ibid., p. 37.
10. Ibid., p. 61.
11. Ibid., p. 96. (See also Saturday Evening Post, May 7, 1949.)
12. Keyhoe, Donald E., Flying Saucers Are Real, (Gold Medal
Books, 1950), ppg. 79, 158.
13. Los Angeles Daily Mirror; February 2, 1950.
14. Associated Press; June 21, 1950.
15. New Yorker; September 6, 1952.
16. International News Service; September 12, 1951. (See also
Ruppelt, Edward J., op. cit., p. 127).
17. From USAF Intelligence Report. (See alsoRuppelt, Edward J.,
op. cit., p. 131).
18. Ruppelt, Edward J., op. cit., p. 26.
19. Newsweek; March 3, 1952. LIFE; April 7, 1952.
20. Report on file at NICAP. (See also International News Service;
April 18, 1952.)
21. Ruppelt, Edward J., op. cit., p. 195.
22. Ibid., p. 204.
23. Ibid., p. 205.
24. From USAF Intelligence Report.
25. United Press; August 1, 1952.
26. From USAF Intelligence Report.
J., op. cit., p. 217).
27. Ruppelt, Edward J., op. cit., p. 24.
28. Tape recorded statement by Al Chop, former Air Force press
official. (See also LIFE; August 4, 1952).
29. Ruppelt, Edward J., op. cit., p. 222.
30. From USAF Intelligence Report.
31. From USAF Intelligence Report. (See also Ruppelt, Edward
J., op. cit., p. 217).
32. Associated Press; August 14, 1952.
33.-42. From USAF Intelligence Reports
43. True; May 1954.
44. Ibid.
45. Associated Press; March 9, 1953.
46. Keyhoe, Donald E., Flying Saucer Conspiracy, (Henry Holt,
1955), p. 30.
47. Ruppelt, Edward J., op. cit., p. 312.
48. United Press; June 30, 1954 (from Major James Zicherelli,
public information officer).
49. Keyhoe, Donald E., Flying Saucer Conspiracy, op. cit.,
p. 190.
50. Ibid., p. 191.
51. Ibid., p. 270.
52. Associated Press; November 26, 1956.
53. Associated Press; February 28, 1957.
54. Los Angeles Times; November 6, 1957.
55. Japan Times; July 20, 1958.
56. Col. Headrick is Field Engineer and West Coast Military
Coordinator for Bowser Inc., Engineers & Manufacturers.
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SECTION IV
Army, Navy & Marine Corps
The other armed services, required by law to channel UFO
reports to the Air Force, have also contributed some important
cases to the public record. It is impossible to determine how
many additional military reports have not been made public.
Several of the cases in this section, however, strongly suggest
that the on-the-record reports are only a small sample.
Several Navy cases can be detailed here primarily because of
the background and personal connections of the NICAP Director.
As a graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy (class of 1920) and
former Marine Corps aircraft and balloon pilot, Major Keyhoe
knows many active and retired officers, including Admirals who
have held important positions. Some have taken an active part,
supporting NICAP's investigations.
Rear Admiral Delmer S. Fahrney, USN (Ret.) - still a NICAP
member - served for a time as Chairman of the Board of Gov-
ernors. Adm. Fahrney, credited with important aeronautical and
guided missile development work, has obtained several highly
significant UFO reports from his associates in aerospace ac-
tivities.
Vice Admiral R. H. Hillenkoetter, USN (Ret.), a long-time
acquaintance of Major Keyhoe, also served on the NICAP Board of
Governors for five years. His service as a former Director of
the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), coupled with a distin-
guished Naval record in war and peace, cause his statements
about UFOs to be of unusual interest. In 1960, Adm. Hillenkoetter
said the UFOs appeared to be intelligently controlled. "They
wouldn't be maneuvering accidentally. I think they are under in-
telligent guidance from all things seen." In 1961, Adm. Hillen-
koetter joined with a majority of the NICAP Board in urging a
Congressional investigation of the UFO problem.
HEADQUARTERS
KAGNEW STATION
APO 843, New York, New York
nG
Lal1l~:. L ~~
KS2.001
11 February 1957
Hq Sq Sec, First Air Force
SUBJECT:
Unidentified Objects
Mitchel Air Force Base, NY
20 September 1957
TO:
Chief, US Army Security Agency
Arlington Hall Station
Arlington 12, Virginia
Mr. Donald E. Keyhoe
ATTN: GAS22
Director NICAP
1536 Connecticut Ave, N. W.
Washin
ton 6
D
C
g
,
.
.
1. The following, a summary of statements given by several members
of this organization pertaining to unusual objects in the sky, is sub-
mitted for your information and any action deemed necessary.
"Sighting of unconventional objects was made at Ft. Devens, Mass.
between 2015 and 2055 hours, 17 Sep 57. Sky conditions varied from clear
to partly scattered clouds. During the period a total of 8 objects, round
in shape, were sighted from the ground. One went from East to West
and then South. Two went from West to Northeast. Two went from East
to West. One from West to East.
" Exact time for each of the foregoing sightings was not reported,
but they are listed in the order which sighted. Sometime after the sight-
ings were made two conventional aircraft were sighted in the area and
identified as such.
The color of the unidentified objects was orange, speed unknown,
but reportedly faster than conventional aircraft and approximately of
jet aircraft.
" Altitude of objects varied with the lowest altitued estimated 5, 000
feet. Just one object was sighted at this altitude, the remaining 7
appeared to be considerably higher. The objects made no sound and
left no vapor trail. Bedford Air Force Base reported that they had only
one jet aircraft up during the period. The Fort Devens Airport Duty
Officer reported sighting a jet aircraft which was further to the north
than the unidentified objects. These objects which changed direction
did so in a gradual swing. All objects except the first one sighted
appeared in steady flight. The first object appeared to be oscillating
up and down. Lights utilized by conventional aircraft were not sighted
on the objects. The objects appeared to be very small in size. The
G-2 at Fort Devens reported that the objects were sighted by several
people in one area and two people from a different location."
2. At approximately 1045 hours, 21 January 1957, 14/ Sgt Billy J.
Woodruff, Sgt Frank Beverly, SP2 Robert 0. Clewell, SP2 George R. Dean
and SF3 Gerald L. Fennell, while returning to the 4th USASA Operations
Area, noticed an unusual object in the sky. Yi/Sgt Woodruff was the first
to see it, and brought it to the attention of the others. They all
stated that at first they thought it was an airplane flying either direct-
ly toward or directly away from them, at an altitude of about 2000 feet.
However, upon further observation they saw that it was not a plane, but
rather an object with the appearance of a large shiny metal ball. The
object was not moving, and even after they had changed their position on
ground several times, the object still appeared to be motionless and to
have the same shape. Suddenly the object disappeared. A few minutes
later they saw what they believed to be the same or a similar object.
This time the object acted in the same manner as stated above; it remain-
ed motionless for a few minutes and then suddenly disappeared. Later in
the day N,/Sgt Woodruff and Capt Jesse M. Strong observed two brownish
objects maneuvering in close formation at high altitude. They first
thought the objects to be birds; then one of the objects broke formation
and took off at a right angle from the other object, in level flight,
at a very high rate of speed. M/Sgt Woodruff stated that he knew that
it was not a bird because it was disk shaped.
3. Several other persons have reported unusual objects in the sky,
both prior to and after this incident, but their statements have been
hazy and of little value, because the objects were always seen during
the hours of darkness, and no clear discription could be given.
/s/James A. Muncie
/t/JAMES A. MUNCIE
Capt, MI(Arty)
Intelligence Officer
U.S. ARMY INTELLIGENCE REPORTS ON UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS
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Rear Admiral Herbert B. Knowles, USN (Ret.), currently is
a NICAP Board Member. Adm. Knowles held important submarine
commands in World War II. He has also been active in encouraging
witnesses to report sightings to NICAP.
Major Keyhoe also has obtained information on UFO sight-
ings and official attitudes from top-level Naval officers on active
duty in the Pentagon. Other Navy and Marine Corps officers on
active duty contact him from time to time, and report personal
sightings or related information.
NICAP has fewer connections with Army personnel, but some
Army cases are on record. Of particular interest are two un-
classified Army Intelligence Reports describing UFO activity.
These were submitted to NICAP by members in the armed
services.
Summer 1944
Normandy, France
George Todt, now Los Angeles
columnist, other officers
October 1944
Holland
Capt. J. B. Douglas, Jr., 489th
Field Artillery.
3-13-50
Clarksburg, Calif.
Maj. Herbert W. Taylor, USAR
(Signal Corps)
Droning sound heard; saucer-shaped object descended, hovered,
swayed back and forth; later sped away. [1]
3-17-50
Farmington, N.M.
Capt. Clayton J. Boddy, USA (Ret.),
Army Engineers; dozens of others
Shiny "saucer-like discs" cavorted around sky, hovered, moved with
sudden bursts of speed. [2]
1-21-57
Army Base,
A.P.O., N.Y.
Two separate sightings; one of a disc which accelerated rapidly.
(See above)
5-12-57
Nr. La Sal, Utah
Lt. Col. Samuel E. Craig, USAR
Round blue-green UFO viewed below observers' altitude moving at
high speed. [3]
9-17-57
Ft. Devens, Mass.
First Army Intelligence Report
Eight round "unconventional objects" observed, one UFO oscillating
up and down. (See above)
11-3-57
White Sands, N.M.
Army Jeep Patrol
3:00 a.m.
Egg-shaped UFO descended slowly brightened and appeared to land.
[Section XII; Nov. 1957 Chronology
11-3-57
White Sands, N.M.
Separate Army jeep patrol,
8:00 p.m.
Hovering UFO took oii at 45 degree angle, pulsating. [Section XII;
Nov. 1957 Chronology]
May 1946
LaGrange, Florida
Lt. (j.g.) Andrew A. Titcomb,
gunnery and radar officer
6-29-47
White Sands, N.M.
C. J. Zohn, Naval rocket expert
Silvery disc observed moving northward at estimated 10,000 feet.
[4]
Summer 1947
Pittsburgh, Kansas
Cmdr. L. H. Witherspoon
7-3-49
Longview, Wash.
Cmdr. M. B. Taylor, pilot
2-22-50
Key West, Fla.
Pilots, ground observers, radar at
Naval Air Station
Two glowing objects streaked over field at height too great for pur-
suit. (From USAF Intelligence Report). [6]
3-16-50
Dallas, Texas
C.P.O. Charley Lewis
Oblong disc approached B-36, followed under it briefly, sped away
at 45 degree angle. [7]
6-24-50
Nr. Daggett, Calif.
Navy transport pilot and crew
Cigar-shaped object maneuvered above desert, also seen by airline
pilots.
7-11-50
Nr. Osceola, Ark.
Lt. (j.g.) J. W. Martin, pilot; enlisted
pilot R. E. Moore
Fall 1951
Korea
Fleet radar sighting
UFO circled fleet, paced aircraft, departed at over 1000 mph.
[Section VIII; Radar]
1-21-52
Mitchel AFB, N. Y.
Navy TBM pilot
Chased dome-shaped UFO which turned, accelerated, pulled away.
[8]
6-52
Tombstone, Ariz.
Lt. Cmdr. John D. Williams,
pilot
7-2-52
Nr. Tremonton, Utah
C.P.O. Delbert C. Newhouse, aviation
photographer
Group of 12-14 maneuvering discs; 16 mm. color movies obtained.
[Section VIII; photographs]
1953
Squadron of carrier-based attack
planes
Rocket-shaped UFO swooped down, hovered over flight; sped away
when pursued
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2-9-53
Virginia-No. Car.
border
Rocket-like object chased in jet for 3-4 minutes; white with red
glow at rear
9-7-53
Vandalia, Ohio
Lt. (j.g.); FG-1D pilot
UFO sped under plane, pulled up, climbed out of sight. (cf., Section
V; July 4-5, 1961)
1-4-54
Quantico, Va.
Marine details
Story broke this date that red-lighted UFOs had hovered, maneuv-
ered over base for past six nights. [9]
3-24-54
Florida
Capt. Don Holland, USMC, pilot
Round UFO descended, hovered at about 3000 feet; pilot banked to
attempt gun camera photos, UFO sped away. (Report verified by
Gen. William G. Manly, USMC).
5-14-54
Nr. Dallas, Texas
Maj. Charles Scarborough, USMC
Winter 1954
Pohang, Korea
John A. Potter, Marine Corps
weather observer
Formation of about seven discs, moved with side-to-side oscillation.
[Section XII]
1955
Virginia, Near
Washington, D. C.
12-11-55
Nr. Jacksonville, Fla.
Navy jet pilots, others
1956
North Atlantic
Cmdr., Senior pilot; other flight
crews as passengers
8-15-57
Woodland Hills, Calif.
Eugene S. Allison, Chief Aviation
Pilot (ret)
7-12-59
Nr. Ridgecrest, Calif.
Albert Guerrero, electronics mechanic,
U.S. Naval Ordnance Test Station,
China Lake
Three round lights, apparently oscillating discs, maneuvered SW of
Test Station. [10]
10-20-59
Key West Florida
Two enlisted men (names on file)
Star-like UFO slowed, joined by second at high speed; two objects
sped away. [11]
7-10-62
New Iberia, La.
Confidential Report (certified by
NICAP Director & Ass't Director)
UFOs Observed by Navy & Marine Corps Pilots
July 3, 1949. Longview, Wash.; Cmdr. M. B. Taylor, USN
(former Officer-In-Charge of guided missile work under R. Adm.
D. S. Fahrney) was giving the commentary at the beginning of an
air show at Longview Fairgrounds, when he and others spotted an
object above a sky-writing biplane. The UFO moved against the
wind with an undulating motion, made right-angle turns and ap-
peared like a discus of bright metal when viewed through field
glasses. Cmdr. Taylor estimated its size as equal to a 50-foot
object at an altitude of 20,000 feet. Among those who watched
it and confirmed his description were many qualified airmen.
While they saw but one object, others in the surrounding-area
reported seeing up to a dozen UFOs at the same time. Cmdr.
Taylor concluded, "The sighting was definitely of some flying
object unlike anything then or even presently [1957] known."
June 24, 1950. The crews of two commercial airliners
and a Navy transport sighted a cigar-shaped object about 100
miles northeast of Los Angeles, Calif. The pilot of the Navy
plane (name confidential) spent 22 years in Naval aviation and
now is a project administrator with a West Coast electronics
firm. He was alerted by a United Airlines pilot who had seen the
object and they both discussed the matter with CAA (now FAA)
ground stations at Daggett and Silver Lake, Calif. The co-pilot
of the Navy plane was the first to see it, and pointed it out to
the pilot and navigator.
The pilot described the object as cigar-shaped, dark gray or
gunmetal in color and giving off a faint shimmering heat radia-
tion appearance at the tail end. He judged its apparent size as
about 1/8th that of the full moon. Estimated altitude 50,000-
100,000 feet, speed 1000-1500 mph. for the three minutes it was
in view. At first it was traveling north, but then turned west
presenting a tail end view as it sped out of sight.
Signed report on file at NICAP, (Case certified by Paul
Cerny, Chairman, Bay Area NICAP Subcommittee).
July 11, 1950. Near Osceola, Arkansas, the crews of two
Navy planes saw a disc-shaped UFO whose presence was con-
firmed by airborne radar. Lt. (j.g.) J. W. Martin, enlisted pilot
R. E. Moore, and electronics technician G. D. Wehner said the
their planes. As it crossed their flight path, disappearing in
the distance to the right, the UFO resembled "a World War I
helmet seen from the side, or a shiny, shallow bowl turned
upside down." Wehner said he "caught it on the radar scope;"
at the closest point, it was estimated to be about a mile away.
[12]
June, 1952. Tombstone, Ariz. Lt. Cmdr. John C. Williams,
USN (Ret.), his wife, Josephine, and a guest were watching the
sunset when they saw "a huge circular object flying toward us
from the direction of Tucson. . . Suddenly it stopped in mid-
flight, seemed to hover, then reversed its direction and retraced
its course. In a matter of seconds, however, it returned,
stopped again, appeared to oscillate and tilt from one side to
another. Again it reversed itself and apparently returned in the
same straight line. It reappeared and acted in exactly the same
manner two or three times." Cmdr. Williams graduated from the
Naval Academy in 1919, completed flight training at Pensacola
in 1922 and spent 10 years flying with the Navy. In a 1956 letter
to the NICAP Director, he stated, "We had a perfectly clear view
of the object which looked something like a cup and saucer, or a
derby hat. Its speed was unbelievable. . . it diminished to a
tiny speck [the last time it flew away] and then out of sight in
the space of about four seconds."
1953. During off-shore combat maneuvers, a squadron of
carrier based Navy AD-3 attack planes was approached by a
rocket-shaped UFO which swooped down on the flight from above.
The object levelled off about 1000 feet overhead, slowed and paced
the aircraft. When the Squadron Commander led his flight in
pursuit of the UFO, it turned sharply so that its tail was pointed
away, and shot upwards out of sight in seconds. (Confidential
report acquired by Adm. Fahrney, Adviser Lou Corbin).
Feb. 3, 1953. A Marine Corps fighter pilot, alerted by a Navy
signal tower at Norfolk, Va., chased a silver object which had
been sighted from the ground over an area near the Virginia-
North Carolina border. After cruising in his F9F Panther for
half an hour without seeing anything unusual, 1st Lt. Ed Balocco
was returning to his base. "Over Washington, North Carolina,"
object first appeared as a round ball, ahead and to the left of he said, "I saw what looked like an airplane with red lights which
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appeared below me. I was cruising at about 20,000 feet. What
caused me to lookback at the object was the fact that it moved from
below me 10,000 feet vertically in a matter of seconds."
He turned and chased the object at better than 500 mph., but
was unable to gain on it. Balocco estimated the UFO was about
10 miles from him during the 3-4 minute chase. At that distance,
he said, it appeared about 1/4" wide and about 3" long. "The ob-
ject was the color of white heat and it threw out a red glow behind
it. It had two red lights on the left hand side, bounding and flashing
off the end, encircling an arc." The Marine officer said he seemed
to gain on the object for a time, but it then dropped from his
altitude and disappeared toward the coast.
Another pilot involved in the search, Capt. Thomas W. Riggs,
reported he sighted an object flying low near the Carolina coast,
but couldn't identify it. [13]
September 7, 1953. Near Vandalia, Ohio, U. S. Navy Reserve
Lt. "S.D.S." was flying to Indianapolis from Columbus with his
wingman, both in FG-1D Corsairs. Shortly after 8 p.m., he
"noticed a brilliant white flashing light pass directly below us
from south to north, traveling extremely fast at about 2000 feet."
He was at 4000 feet. "I called my wingman, but he did not see it.
After passing beneath us, it pulled up and climbed rapidly out of
sight to the north. The light was much like burning magnesium.
`'Returning from Indianapolis (about 9 p.m.) I was leading the
flight. I noticed the same brilliant white light at 12 o'clock high
and called my wingman again. This time he saw it. It stayed
motionless relative to the airplane's movement for about two min-
utes, then disappeared. It reappeared again quickly at 9 o'clock
level. It again remained motionless for about two minutes
and then dove and pulled up ahead of us and climbed out of sight.
At no time were we close enough to see any concrete object or
shape. Both of us were at a loss to explain this phenomenon."
(Case reported by L. H. Stringfield, Ground Observer Corps
official; see Section VII)
? Jorgensen
42,000 Ft.
UFOs
3
Scarborough ?~i--
18, 00o Pf.
May 14, 195+
May 14, 1954. Near Dallas, Texas, a flight of Marine Corps
jets led by Maj. Charles Scarborough, was headed north in mid-
afternoon. At a point 6 miles west of the city, Major Scarborough
sighted 16 unidentified objects in groups of four, dead ahead but
at higher altitude, 15 degrees above. He radioed Capt. Roy
Jorgensen, whose jet he had in sight by its contrail. Captain
Jorgensen, at higher altitude, saw the UFOs below his left wing.
Just as the two pilots triedtoboxin the UFOs, Major Scarborough
saw them fade from glowing white to orange and disappear, ap-
parently speeding away due north. (See sketch) Based on Captain
Jorgensen's position the UFOs were 3 miles ahead of Major
Scarborough's plane, and 15 degrees above him. Triangulation
shows that the UFOs were at about 32,000 feet.
1955. A Navy Commander stationed at Anacostia Naval Air
Station, was flying over Virginia, when he looked back over his
shoulder and saw a huge disc flying formation on him, about 75
feet away. The Commander, also a Navy missile expert, de-
scribed it as "two saucers, face to face," apparently metallic
about 100 feet in diameter, thick at the center with a domed top
through which shone an amber light. When he tried to ease his
plane in for a closer look, the disc tilted upward and accelerated
away, leaving the clouds swirling behind it. (Report acquired by
Rear Adm. Delmer S. Fahrney, USN, Ret.)
Dec. 11, 1955. At about 9 p.m., along the Atlantic Coast near
Jacksonville, Florida, a fast-maneuvering, round, orange-redob-
ject was reported by the crews of two airliners and by persons
on the ground. Two Navy jets, on a night practice mission,
were directed to the area by the Jacksonville Naval Air Station
control tower. The jets located the object, but when they at-
tempted to close in, it shot up to 30,000 feet and then dived back,
circling and buzzing the jets, while Naval Air Station officers and
tower controlers watched via radar. (Reported by Capt. Joe
Hull, Capital Airlines pilot).
1956. A Navy R7V-2 Super Constellation, approaching
Gander, Newfoundland, on its way from the other side of the
Atlantic, carried its regular crew, the relief crew and two other
crews being returned home from foreign duty --almost 30 airmen
in all. The senior pilot, a Commander, spotted a cluster of lights
below and an estimated 25 miles ahead; this was confirmed by
the co-pilot, navigator, radioman, and several others called to
the cockpit for the purpose. As the pilot banked to give them a
better look, the lights dimmed and several colored rings appeared
and began to spread out. At this point, the Commander realized
the lights were not on the ocean surface, but climbing toward
him. He levelled out and began a full-power climb, in an effort
to avoid what by this time looked like a giant disc. Just before
the impact was due, the disc tilted, slowed and went by the trans-
port's wing. As the Navy pilot began a bank, he saw the disc was
flying alongside, about 100 yards away. He estimated its diameter
as 3-4 times his plane's wingspan (370-500 feet) and thickness as
at least 30 feet at the center. It looked like one dish atop another.
Gradually the object pulled away then tilted upward, accelerated
and was lost to sight among the stars. After it left, the pilot
contacted Gander by radio and was informed they had watched
both his aircraft and the other object on radar, but were unable
to get a radio reply from the other "aircraft."
(Report acquired by Rear Adm. Delmer S. FahrneyUSN, Ret.)
August 15, 1957. In Woodland Hills, Calif., Eugene E. Allison,
Chief Aviation Pilot (ret.), his wife, son and a relative were
around the family swimming pool, late in the afternoon, when they
saw what appeared to be a solid white disc-shaped object hovering
between two drifting cirro-stratus clouds. After about six min-
utes, "the object appeared to rock from side to side, rising straight
up out of sight in approximately three seconds" according to the
10-year Navy veteran and Pensacola graduate. [14]
July 10, 1962. On the U. S. Naval Auxiliary Air Station, New
Iberia, La., a Navy man (name confidential) was watching a group
of S-2 Trackers in the landing pattern. "Suddenly, a discus shaped
object came in very fast and low about 1500 feet, slowed over the
area of the runway and hangar, and then went out of sight while
climbing at a 20 degree to 30 degree angle. It passed across the
station heading northeast, and as it came directly ahead, I stopped
the car to try to time it. It was accelerating rapidly at this
time, however. The only unusual feature of the object, aside from
the fact that it was no conventional aircraft, was a rotating dome
on top that appeared to be equally divided into two sections, one
half light gray in color, the other half black. The estimated speed
of rotation was about 90 rpm." [15]
NOTES
1. True; March 1950
2. San Diego Journal, March 16, 1950; newswire reports; etc.
3. Report on file at NICAP
4. Keyhoe, Donald E., Flying Saucers Are Real. (Gold Medal
Books, 1950), p. 27
5. Report on file at NICAP
6. True; December 1952
7. Ruppelt, Edward J., Report on Unidentified Flying Objects.
(Doubleday, 1956), p. 106
8. Ibid., ppg. 162-165
9. United Press; January 4, 1954
10. Report on file at NICAP
11. Report on file at NICAP
12. New York Post, New York Journal-American, July 12, 1950
13. Associated Press; February 12, 1953
14. Report on file at NICAP
15. Report on file at NICAP
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SECTION V
PILOTS & AVIATION EXPERTS
If UFOs had not been reported by pilots of scheduled air-
liners, and military pilots in operation all over the globe, there
might be some justification in writing off reports of ground ob-
servers as mistaken observations. For, if unknown objects are
maneuvering in our skies, pilots would be among the most likely
to see them. (Others whose professions cause them to spend many
hours watching the skies, such as General Mills Corporation
balloon trackers, also have reported numerous UFOs. [1] )
Airline and military pilots are among the most experienced
observers of the sky. Their profession requires them to spend
hundreds of hours per year in the air. Few, if any, occupations
require more practical knowledge of weather, other aircraft, and
unusual activity such as missile tests. Undoubtedly, few groups
of observers have seen more meteors or watched planets under
a wider variety of sky conditions. In addition, professional pilots
normally are trained in rapid identification of anything which may
endanger a flight. Therefore, it is significant that airline and
military pilots have reported a large number of totally unexplained
UFO sightings.
Recognizing that airline pilots have special training and are
in a unique position for observation, the Defense Department in-
cludes them in the military system of reporting vital intelligence
sightings (CIRVIS), as detailed in the Joint Chiefs regulation
JANAP-146(D). [See Section IX.] In 1954, the groundwork for
CIRVIS reports was laid by meetings between representatives of
the airlines and Military Air Transport Service (MATS) intelli-
gence branch. The reason? "The nation's 8,500 commercial
airline pilots have been seeing a lot of unusual objects while
flying at night, here and overseas," Scripps-Howard reported.
"But," the report continued, "there hasn't been much of an or-
ganized system of reporting to military authorities. . . [the air-
lines and MATS] agreed to organize a speedy reporting system
so that a commercial pilot spotting strange objects could send
the word to the Air Force in a hurry. The Air Force could then
send jet fighters to investigate." [2]
With a few exceptions, most UFO reports on record from
military pilots have come from the World War II and Korean War
eras, or from recently retired officers. Militarypilots, naturally,
are restricted from discussing the sightings freely while they are
on active duty. But airline pilots (although in recent years some-
times under pressure from their companies not to discuss
sightings) have contributed some of the best reports on record.
There had been scattered reports by airline pilots previously
but "In the Spring of 1950," the former Chief of the Air Force
UFO project reported, "the airline pilots began to make more and
more reports -- good reports. . . In April, May, and June of
1950 there were over thirty-five good reports from airline crews."
[3] That June, Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker said in an interview:
"Flying saucers are real. Too many good men have seen them,
that don't have hallucinations." Flying magazine, July 1950,
published a roundup report on pilot sightings, giving them very
serious treatment (as did other aviation journals in later years;
for example, see RAF Flying Review, July 1957).
When NICAP was formed in 1956, four airline pilots (two of
whom had personally sighted UFOs) joined the NICAP Panel of
Special Advisers. Federal Aviation Agency personnel, aviation
industry engineers, and other aviation experts also related their
sightings and offered their services. Why are UFOs taken so
seriously by professional pilots and aviation experts?
WHAT THE PILOTS HAVE SEEN
This chart lists over 100 UFO sightings by pilots (AL=Airline pilot; M=Military; P=Private), the majority of whom reported
typical geometrical objects such as discs and ellipses. The resulting patterns of the observations, and their strong similarity to
reports by other reliable witnesses, are readily apparent.
M
8-10-44
Sumatra
Capt. A.M. Reida,
USAF bomber pilot
Spherical object with halo paced B-29 during mis-
sion; maneuvered sharply, climbed away vertically.
[Section III]
M
12-44
Austria
Maj. W.D. Leet,
USAF bomber pilot
Amber disc followed B-17 across Austria.
[Section III]
M
8-1-46
nr Tampa, Fla.
Capt. Jack Puckett,
USAF 4-engine pilot
Cigar with "portholes" approached C-47 head-on,
veered across path. [Section III]
P
6-24-47
Mt. Ranier, Wash.
Kenneth Arnold,
businessman, pilot
Nine flat shiny objects in line, zig-zagged.
[4]
AL
7-4-47
nr Portland,
Oregon
Capt. E.J. Smith,
United Airlines;
Ralph Stevens,
Co-pilot
Two groups of discs.
M
7-6-47
Fairfield-Suisan
AFB, Calif.
Pilot (name deleted
by Air Force)
UFO sped across sky "oscillating on lateral axis."
[5]
M
7-8-47
nr Los Angeles,
Calif.
F-51 pilot (name de-
leted by Air Force)
Flat, light-reflecting UFO passed above'fighter.
[6]
P
7-9-47
nr Boise, Idaho
Dave Johnson, pilot
& aviation editor;
others on ground
Large disc, maneuvered erratically. (Section VII)
M
8-47
Media, Pa.
W. Boyce, USAF
fighter pilot
Hovering disc. [7]
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M
1-7-48
Ft. Knox, Ky.
Capt. Thomas Man-
tell, Air National
Guard (A.N.G.); many
on ground
P
7-48
Pasco, Wash.
Don Newman, 6-year
USAF veteran of WW II
and Korean War
AL
7-23-48
nr Montgomery,
Ala.
Capt. C.S. Chiles,
F/O J.B. Whitted,
Eastern Airlines
M
10-1-48
Fargo, N.D.
Lt. George F. Gorman,
A.N.G.; 3 others
M
7-3-49
Longview, Wash.
Cmdr. M.B. Taylor,
USN; many others
at air show
M
11-3-49
nr Baja, Calif.
Capt. William H.
Donnelly, USAFR
AL
3-8-50
Dayton, Ohio
TWA Captains W.H.
Kerr, D.W. Miller,
M.H. Rabeneck; plus
USAF pilots
P
3-18-50
nr Bradford, Ill.
Robert Fisher and
family
AL
3-20-50
nr Little Rock,
Ark.
Capt. Jack Adams,
F/O G.W. Anderson,
Jr.
P
3-26-50
nr Washington,
D.C.
B.A. Totten, former
USAF aircraft in-
spector
AL
4-27-50
nr Goshen, Ind.
Capt. Robert Adickes,
Capt. Robert F. Man-
ning, TWA; passengers
AL
5-29-50
nr Washington
D.C.
Capt. Willis T. Sperry,
F/O Bill Gates,
American Airlines
AL
6-24-50
California desert
F/O David Stewart,
United Airlines
M
6-24-50
nr Daggett, Calif.
Navy transport pilot
M
7-11-50
nr Osceola,
Ark.
Lt(jg) J.W. Martin;
Enlisted Pilot R.E.
Moore, USN
AL
10-5-50
nr San Fernando,
Calif.
Capt. Cecil Hardin,
F/O Jack Conroy,
California Central
Airlines
P
11-27-50
Evansville,
Wisc.
Bill Blair, commer-
cial pilot & flight
instructor
AL
12-27-50
nr Bradford, Ill.
Capt. Art Shutts,
TWA
AL
1-20-51
Sioux City, Iowa
Capt. Lawrence
Vinther, F/O James
F. Bachmeier, Mid-
Continent Airlines;
plus control tower
operators.
AL
2-19-51
Mt. Kilimanjaro,
Africa
Capt. Jack Bicknell,
Radio Officer D.W.
Merrifield, East
African Airways;
plus 9 passengers
AL
5-22-51
nr Dodge City,
Kans.
Capt. W.R. Hunt,
American Airlines
P
8-11-51
Portland, Ore.
R.O. Dodge, former
Pilot killed in crash of F-51 while chasing
"huge ... metallic" circular object. [8]
Disc diving and climbing.
Cigar with lights like portholes approached head-
on, accelerated, climbed away.
"Dogfight" with disc; UFO outsped F-51. [9]
Round UFO wobbling on axis, sharp maneuvers.
[Section IV]
Four discs which cavorted in an "astounding man-
ner. [Section III]
Round UFO tracked on radar, observed from
ground and air, climbed away through clouds.
[Section VIII, Radar]
Oval UFO, self-illuminated, sped past plane at
estimated 600 to 1,000 mph.
Disc with apparent "portholes" flew above airliner
in arc. [Section II]
Disc flew below plane; when pilot dove at it, UFO
"zoomed up into overcast." [10]
Disc paced plane, sped away when pursued.
Elliptical object circled plane, raced away.
Cigar-shaped object paced plane for 20 miles.
[11]
Cigar-shaped object above desert [Section IV]
Domed circular UFO passed in front of two Navy
planes [confirmed by radar]. [Section IV]
UFO with body lights came head-on at plane, dipped
down and passed below; "It appeared to be a wing,"
Captain Hardin said. "It had no fuselage." Bands
of blue light were visible across its width. [12]
Six elliptical objects in loose echelon formation,
made sound similar to helicopters. Appeared to
be at about 10,000 feet, travelling about 500 mph.
[13]
Light source, making erratic and violent maneu-
vers.
Cigar with bright body light approached, reversed
direction, climbed away.
Cigar-shaped object with vertical bands hovered
for long period, ascended vertically at high speed.
[Section X]
Blue-white star-like object gyrated around air-
liner, "moved backward and forward, then up and
down" and finally dove below plane and sped away.
[14]
Three disc-like UFOs in formation. [15]
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Code Dat Location witness
M
1-21-52
Mitchel AFB, N.Y.
Navy TBM pilot
M
3-29-52
Misawa, Japan
Lt. D.C. Brigham,
USAF
M
6-52
Tombstone, Ariz.
Lt. Cmdr. John C.
Williams, USN (Ret.);
others
AL
7-5-52
Richlands, Wash.
Capts. John Baldwin,
George Robertson,
plus two co-pilots,
Conner Airlines
AL
7-13-52
nr Washington,
D.C.
Capt. W. Bruen,
National Airlines
AL
7-14-52
Newport News,
Va.
Capt. William B. Nash
F/O William Forten-
berry, PAA
AL
7-18-52
Denver, Colo.
Capt. Paul Carpenter,
American Airlines
AL
7-20-52
Washington, D.C.
Capt. Casey Pierman,
F/O Charles Wheaton
M
7-23-52
South Bend, Ind.
Capt. Harold W.
Kloth, USAF
M
7-26-52
Washington, D.C.
Lt. William Patterson,
USAF
M
8-1-52
Dayton, Ohio
Maj. James B. Smith,
Lt. Don Hemer,
USAF F-86 pilots
M
8-13-52
Tucson, Ariz.
Capt. Stanley W.
Thompson, USAFR
AL
8-13-52
Dallas, Texas
Capt. Max M. Jacoby,
Chief Pilot; Capt. J.W.
McNaulty, Pioneer
Airlines.
M
Summer 52
MacDill AFB,
Fla.
USAF Colonel,
B-29 pilot
AL
10-29-52
nr Richmond,
Va.
Capt. Francisco
Rivas, Venezuelan
M
10-29-52
Hempstead, L.I.,
N.Y.
Two USAF F-94 pilots
AL
Fall, 1952
New York to
Puerto Rico
Capts. Charles Zam-
mett, Robert Harris,
William Hutchins
PAA
M
12-8-52
Chicago, Ill.
Ernie Thorpe, Co-
pilot H.S. Plowe
P
1-27-53
nr Livermore,
Calif.
J.B. Bean
M
2-9-53
nr Washington,
D.C.
Lt. Ed Balocco, USMC
M
4-53
Laredo, Texas
Lt. E. Wilford, USAF
jet instructor
P
5-21-53
Prescott, Ariz.
Bill Beers; two others
M
8-12-53
Rapid City, S.D.
Two USAF jet pilots;
ground observers
AL
10-18-53
English Channel
Capt. Peter Fletcher;
F/O R.L. Lemon
Chased dome-shaped UFO [Section IV]
Small disc observed maneuvering around F-84.
[Section I]
Disc hovered in plain sight, sped away. [Section
IV]
"perfectly round disc" observed hovering above
Hanford atomic plant
Light source approached plane, hovered, fled
when pilot turned on lights. [Section XII, July
1952 Chronology]
Six discs flew below airliner, executed sharp
turn in formation, sped away joined by two more
discs.
Three observations of speeding lights in period
of 2 minutes, maximum of 3 UFOs seen at one
time; objects appeared to reverse direction [16]
Lights moving rapidly, up, down, and horizontally,
also hovered; coincided with radar targets. [Sec-
tion XII, July 1952 Chronology]
From ground saw two blue-white light sources;
one veered sharply. [Section III]
Glowing objects surrounded his interceptor, con-
firmed on radar. [Section III; Section XII, July
1952 Chronology]
Saw and photographed round hovering object,
tracked on radar; UFO sped away. [Section III]
Nine UFOs in three V's. [Section III]
Chased unidentified light, which turned and dove.
Investigated radar target, saw elliptical UFO.
[Section III]
Bright, luminous object with apparent exhaust,
travelled from 450 above plane, over horizon in
8 minutes [17]
Chased object which maneuvered at high speed.
[Section III]
Large green sphere which hovered, then sped
away.
String of lights, 5 or 6 white, one rapidly
blinking red, flew alongside plane [18]
Shiny circular object, climbed steeply at
"terrific rate."
Alerted by ground sightings, searched, saw
luminous UFO with red glow, climbing rapidly.
[Section IV]
Cigar-shaped UFO leaving contrail of constant
length, made right angle turn. [Section III]
Eight disc-like objects maneuvered overhead for
about an hour. Beers, a veteran pilot, said the
UFOs "swooped around in formation, peeled-off,
and shot directly up and down in a manner that
could not be duplicated by a plane." [19]
Multiple radar and visual sighting. [Section I]
UFO "like two shallow saucers with their rims
together."
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 Code ^pprove
Dayton, Ohio
Lt. Col. Richard
Headrick, USAFR,
Senior Pilot
Capt. Don Holland,
US MC
M
5-14-54
nr Dallas, Texas
Maj. Charles
Scarborough, USMC
AL
6-1-54
nr Boston, Mass.
Capt. Charles
Kratovil, TWA
AL
6-30-54
nr Goose Bay,
Labrador
Capt. James Howard;
crew, British Overseas
Airways Corporation
M
10-4-54
Essex, England
Flt. Lt. J.R. Salandin
Royal Air Force
M
10-24-54
Porto Alegre,
Brazil
Brazilian Air Force
pilots
AL
11-21-54
nr Rio de Janeiro
Brazil
Captain; crew;
passengers
M
12-54
Nowra Air Base,
Australia
Royal Australian
Navy Pilot
M
1955
Virginia, nr.
Washington, D.C.
Cmdr., Navy pilot
AL
1-2-55
nr Punta San Juan,
Venezuela
Captain & crew,
National Airlines
AL
2-2-55
nr Merida
Venezuela
Capt. Dario Celis,
Aeropost Airlines
AL
2-11-55
Miami to
New York City
Capt. J. King, PAA
AL
10-31-55
nr Auckland,
New Zealand
Capt. W.T. Rainbow,
Co-pilot S.G. Trounce,
National Airways
P
11-14-55
San Bernardino
Mts., Calif.
Gene Miller
AL & M
12-11-55
nr Jacksonville, Fla.
Navy jet pilots,
airline pilots, others
M
1956
North Atlantic
Cmdr. Senior Pilot,
other flight crews
as passengers
AL
2-17-56
Paris, France
Air France pilot
AL
4-8-56
Schenectady, N.Y.
Cappt. Raymond Ryan,
F/O William Neff,
American Airlines
AL
9-6-56
Pasadena, Calif.
Western Airlines
pilot
AL
11-14-56
nr Mobile, Ala.
Capt. W.J. Hull,
F/O Peter MacIntosh,
Capital Airlines
M
12-56
Far East
USAF jet pilot
Commercial pilot;
others on ground
P
3-8-57
nr Houston, Texas
Victor Hancock and
Guy Miller
AL
3-9-57
nr San Juan
Puerto Rico
Capt. Matthew Van
Winkle, F/O D.W.
Taylor, PAA; other
airliners in area
Large "metallic" elliptical UFO, speed estimated
over 700 m.p.h.
Two UFOs which hovered, flew in formation, evaded
pursuing jets. [Section III]
Chased round UFO, which sped away. [Section IV]
Sixteen UFOs, in groups, evaded pursuit by Marine
jets. [Section IV]
White disc paced airliner.
Large dark UFO with several satellite objects,
paced airliner; disappeared as jet interceptor
neared to check. [Section X]
Disc (Saturn-shaped) approached head-on veered
to one side. [Section X]
Formation of silvery circular UFOs over base.
[Section X]
About 19 discs rushed by close to airliner, causing
panic among passengers. [Section X]
Aircraft paced by two UFOs, ground radar confirmed
sighting. [Section X]
Disc with dome on top paced aircraft. [Section IV]
Orange light source approached plane, beam of light
shone in cockpit. [Section X]
Top-like UFO with central ring and "portholes" paced
airliner. [Section X]
Two reddish-green UFOs shot by close to airliner.
(20)
Brilliant pulsating light overtook and passed airliner.
[Section X]
Jets in dogfight with round, reddish UFO, confirmed
on radar. [Section IV]
Large disc climbed up to R7V-2, paced it, moved
away. [Section IV]
Investigated radar target, saw odd maneuvering
light. [Section VIII, Radar]
Bright light source hovered, sped through 90? arc.
Reported UFO to Air Defense Command; erratically
moving white light source confirmed visually from
ground by 1st Lt. Mark Matlock, USAF. [21]
Bright light source descended, gyrated near airliner,
climbed away. [Section I]
Radar-visual sighting of disc, radar jammed by
interference. [Section I]
Four UFOs, in-line formation, last one larger and
egg-shaped. [22]
UFO with three brilliant white lights sped past DC-3,
kept just ahead of plane, speeding up each time plane
closed in. [23]
Round greenish-white object came toward airliner;
outer ring appeared to reflect light from center; pilot
took violent evasive action. [24]
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3-29-57
Off East Coast
of Florida
Capt. Kenneth G.
Brosdal, F/O George
Jacobson, PAA
AL
6-30-57
Belo Horizonte,
Brazil
Capt. Saul Martins;
passengers
AL
7-4-57
nr Campos,
Brazil
Cdr. Delgado,
REAL Airlines
AL
8-14-57
nr Joinville,
Brazil
Cdr. Jorge Campos
Araujo, Varig Airlines
P
8-15-57
Woodland Hills,
Calif.
Eugene Allison, Chief
Aviation Pilot, USN
(Ret.)
AL
10-8-57
nr Boston, Mass.
Capt. Joseph L. Flynn,
PAA
AL
11-4-57
Ararangua, Brazil
Capt. Jean Vincent de
Beyssac, Varig Airlines
AL
11-6-57
Nebraska
Capt. Irving Kravitz,
TWA
AL
11-9-57
Lafayette, La.
Capt. Truman Gile,
Eastern Airlines
AL
12-12-57
Chatham-Windsor
area, Canada
Capt. J.A. Miller,
Trans-Canada Air-
lines; police officers,
others, on ground
P
5-5-58
San Carlos,
Uruguay
Carlos Alejo
Rodriguez
AL
5-27-58
Bahia State coast,
Brazil
Cdr. Bittar,
Varig Airlines
AL
2-4-59
Off New Orleans,
La.
Capt. H. Dunker, PAA
AL
2-24-59
Pennsylvania
Capt. Peter Killan
F/O John Dee
American Airlines;
other airliners;
ground observers
AL
7-11-59
Pacific Ocean
Capt. George Wilson,
PAA; several other
aircraft
M
7-14-59
Pampulha, Minas
Gerais, Brazil
Brazilian Air Force
pilot
M
10-7-59
nr Forrest City,
Ark.
Lt. E.L. Barksdale,
Kentucky Air National
Guard
M
1960
Cincinnati, Ohio
Kentucky Air National
Guard pilot
P
3-4-60
Dubuque, Iowa
Charles Morris,
flight instructor
AL
7-2-60
nr Maiquetia,
Venezuela
Captain & crew
Venezuelan Airlines
P
8-16-60
Oak Forest, Ill.
Harry J. Deerwester,
former USAF pilot
P
1-10-61
Benjamin, Texas
W. K. Rutledge,
Passenger George
Thomas
P
7-4/5-61
Akron, Ohio
Ernest Stadvec, owner
of flying service, for-
mer USAF bomber pilot;
others
AL
7-24-61
Ilha Grande, Brazil
Cdr Jose G. Saez and
crew, VASP Airlines
AL
9-21-61
Pacific Ocean nr
Wake Island
Capt. R. F. Griffin,
BOAC; also PAA crew;
ship at sea
Observed brilliant pulsating light, confirmed by
radar. Visual sighting lasted 4 to 5 minutes.
Disc-like object paced airliner, maneuvered around
it. [Section X]
Disc with dome and "portholes" paced airliner, shot
away. [Section X]
Disc with dome, alternately hovered and moved at
high speed; aircraft engines affected. [Section X]
Disc hovered, rocked back and forth, shot straight
up out of sight. [Section IV]
Brilliant planet-like object (in daylight) moving at
high speed on steady course.
Red light source approached below plane, made
erratic jump; electrical equipment on aircraft burnt
out. [Section X]
Bright light source in high speed flight. [25]
Flaring bright light source, visible several minutes.
[26]
Oval disc, changed course. [Section X]
Brilliant UFO approached plane, hovered (pilot felt
intense heat); when pilot tried to pursue object, it
sped away. [Section X]
Luminous circular object maneuvered, hovered, below
airliner. [Section X]
Reddish light source sped back and forth across path
of DC-6B, shot straight up.
Three glowing UFOs paced airliner.
Formation of bright lights sped toward plane, veered
away. [Section X]
Luminous object paced B-26, hovered near airport,
reacted to flares. [Section X]
Glowing UFO passed plane, pilot turned to chase it,
object sped away. [27]
Pilot pursued UFO which pulled away each time
plane closed to within about 10 miles. (Confidential
report, certified by Bluegrass NICAP Affiliate,
William D. Leet, President.)
Three elliptical UFOs, in-line formation.
Bright light source, paralleled plane for 20 minutes,
shot away. [Section X]
Disc-like UFO hovered, bobbed around in various
directions. [28]
Glowing red UFO changed course, descended, ap-
peared to land.
Light source dove toward plane, climbed away;
similar experience next night, confirmed by radar.
Light source approached plane, bobbed around mak-
ing angular turns. [Section X]
Ring-like UFO, passed above plane and over horizon
at high speed. [Section X]
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P
10-2-61
Salt Lake City, Utah
Waldo J. Harris,
several others
Disc hovered, wobbled, moved away when pursued.
[Section I]
M
1-29-62
Eastern Holland
Royal Dutch Air Force
pilot in F-86
UFO si hted, confirmed by radar, fled when pur-
sued. [Section X]
AL
5-21-62
England
Capt. Gordon Pendleton,
Irish International
Airlines
Globular UFO with antenna-like projections,
streaked below his Viscount. [Section X]
M
5-22-62
Argentina
Several Navy pilots
Series of sightings by flight of aircraft. [Section
XII, Argentine chronology]
AL
8-2-62
Liberal, Kans.
Capt. Jack Metzker,
Central Airlines; air-
port observers
Brilliant light source, hovered, streaked west;
airport alerted, also saw UFOs. [29]
AL
12-22-62
Buenos Aires,
Argentina
Pilots of Panagra and
Aerolineas Argentina
airlines; control tower
operators
Bright circular UFO observed near end of Ezeiza
Airport runway, took off rapidly. [Section X]
P
2-5-63
nr Washington, D.C.
Carl Chambers, pas-
senger
Pulsating yellow-white light source, maneuvered
around plane.
M
3-11-63
Hawaii
Air National Guard jet
pilots
Rocket-like UFO sped over high above jets, which
were at 40,000 feet. [30]
THE PATTERNS
What professional and private pilots have seen is readily
classifiable into three general types of UFO phenomena (corre-
sponding very well with the Air Force Project Grudge Report; see
Section XII):
* Geometrical objects, generally circular (disc, oval, el-
lipse)
* Maneuvering or gyrating lights
* Cigar-shaped or rocket-like objects
(Since military pilot sightings are covered in previous sections,
head-on and notified Capt. Willis T. Sperry. Flight Engineer
Robert Arnholt also witnessed what followed. An unidentified
object with a brilliant bluish light on the leading edge neared, and
seemed to stop. Suddenly it darted to the left of the plane, stopped
for a few seconds, then circled around to the right. There it
was silhouetted against the moon, revealing a torpedo-shaped or
narrow elliptical body. Finally the UFO sped away to the east.
Captain Sperry called the speed "fantastic," and said it was
"without a doubt beyond the limits of anyknown aircraft speeds."
[35]
they will not be detailed here. In general, they correspond to non- A "perfectly round disc" hovering above the Hanford atomic
military reports, so the latter are discussed in this section as plant, Richland, Washington, was observed by four veteran pilots
typical pilot sightings.) July 5, 1952. The four Conner Airlines pilots were interviewed
by United Press when they landed in Denver, Colorado, and their
Geometrical Objects story was put on the newswires that day.
The earliest recorded UFO sighting by an airline pilot, during Capt. John Baldwin (former Air Force pilot, with 7000 hours
the initial flurry of sightings in the United States, was the report airline pilot experience at the time) said he was flying near the
by Capt. E. J. Smith, United Airlines, July 4, 1947. Flying a DC-3 Hanford atomic plant at about 9000 feet. The UFO was noticed
from Boise, Idaho, to Portland, Oregon, Captain Smith and his above the plane about 6:00 a.m. It was "just below a deck of
crew observed two separate groups of flat round objects ahead, wispy clouds about 10,000 to 15,000 feet directly above us,"
silhouetted against the sunset. The UFOs were visible for about Baldwin said. He described it as "a perfectly round disc, white
10 minutes over a distance of about 45 miles, opening and closing in color and almost transparent with small vapor trails off it
formation. In the second group of UFOs, three operated close like the tentacles of an octopus." [cf., September 24, 1959 FAA
together, and a fourth was off to one side by itself. [31] case below]
Since that date, dozens of pilots on all the major airlines have Capt. George Robertson, D. l (both former Air Force
reported UFOs. pilots) and Steven Summers confirmed rmed Baldwin's report. "All
Private clots also, have witnessedt of us have been flying a number of years," Baldwin said, "and
p ypical geometrical UFOs. we've seen all kinds of clouds and formations, but none of us had
During July 1948, in Pasco, Washington, Don Newman (former Air
Force pilot) watched a disc-shaped UFO with a dome on top ever seen anything like this before."
maneuvering over the city at 1:00 p.m. "The exterior finish At first, the UFO was hovering. Then it "seemed to back
appeared to be spun or brushed aluminum," Newman said in his away" and tilt edge-on. "It became flat, gained speed and then
report to NICAP. The UFO alternately slowed and accelerated disappeared quickly," Baldwin reported.
rapidly, diving, and climbing over the area. [32] DISC FORMATION
On March 18, 1950, Robert Fisher was flying his family from On the evening of July 14, 1952, a Pan American Airways
Chicago to Keokuk, Iowa. Near Bradford, Illinois, at 8:40 a.m., he DC-4 airliner, flying at 8,000 feet, was approaching the Norfolk,
spotted an oval, metallic-appearing disc ahead and slightly to the Virginia, area enroute to Miami. The senior Captain was back in
left of his Bonanza NC 505B. The UFO was moving on a course of the cabin and Capt. William B. Nash, temporarily acting as
about 120 degrees true. (Fisher was flying a southwesterly course, First Officer, was at the controls. In the righthand cockpit seat
approximately 225 degrees.) The UFO shone in the sunlight, but was Second Officer William Fortenberry. The night was clear
when it flew below an overcast continued to glow, indicating that and visibility unlimited. Norfolk lay about 20 miles ahead, on the
it was self-illuminated. It quickly moved off into the distance, at plane's course of 200 degrees magnetic. Off to the right were the
a speed estimated to be 600 to 1,000 mph. [33] lights of Newport News.
Near Goshen, Indiana, April 27, 1950, a bright orange-red About 8:10 p.m. EST, both men noticed a red brilliance in the
disc paced a Trans World Airways DC-3, which was piloted by sky, apparently beyond and to the east of Newport News. The
Capts. Robert Adickes and Robert F. Manning. As the crew and light quickly resolved itself into sixbright objects streaking toward
many passengers watched, the UFO pulled alongside the plane. the plane, at lower altitude. The UFOs were fiery red. "Their
It looked "like a big red wheel rolling along." Each time the shape was clearly outlined and evidently circular," Captain Nash
pilot moved toward the object, it moved away as if controlled by stated. "The edges were well-defined, not phosphorescent or
repulse radar. When the pilot turned, the disc dove (presenting an fuzzy in the least." The upper surfaces were glowing red-orange.
edge-on view) and sped off to the north toward South Bend. [34] Within seconds, "we could observe that they were holding a
A month later (May 29), an American Airlines plane departed narrow echelon formation--a stepped-up line tilted slightly to our
Washington, D. C., enroute south over Virginia. About 9:30 p.m., right, with the leader at the lowest point and each following craft
First Officer
noticed a light
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Abruptly, the leader seemed to slow. The second and third
objects wavered slightly and almost overran the leader. The
pilots estimated that the UFOs were a little more than a mile be-
low them, at about 2,000 feet, and about 100 feet in diameter.
When the line of discs was almost directly underneath the
plane and slightly to the right front, the UFOs abruptly flipped up
on edge in unison and reversed direction. (See diagram.) Captain
Nash described the maneuver: (' . . . they flipped on edge, the
sides to the left of us going up and the glowing surfaces facing
right. Though the bottom surfaces did not become clearly visible,
we had the impression that they were unlighted. The exposed
edges, also unlighted, appeared to be about 15 feet thick, and the
top surface, at least seemed flat. In shape and proportion, they
were much like coins.
"While all were in the edgewise position, the last five slid
over and past the leader so that the echelon was now tail foremost,
so to speak, the top or last craft now being nearest to our posi-
tion. Then, without any arc or swerve at all, they all flipped back
together to the flat attitude and darted off in a direction that formed
a sharp angle with their first course, holding their new for-
mation. . .
"Immediately after these six lined away, two more objects
just like them darted out from behind and under our airplane at
the same altitude as the others."
As the two additional discs joined the formation, the lights
of all eight blinked out, then came back on again. Still in line,
the eight discs sped westward north of Newport News, climbed in
a graceful arc above the altitude of the airliner. Then the lights
blinked out one by one, though not in sequence.
Captain Nash also noted that the original six discs had dimmed
slightly before their angular turn, and brightened considerably
after making the turn. The two discs speeding to join the forma-
tion were brightest of all. Captain Nash and Third Officer
Fortenberry radioed a report of the sighting to be forwarded to
the Air Force.
"At 7:00 a.m. the morning after the sighting," Captain Nash
reported, "we were telephoned by the Air Force. . . to come for
questioning. There were five men, one in uniform; the others
showed us I.D. cards and badges of Special Investigators, USAF.
In separate rooms, we were questioned for one hour and 45 min-
utes--then about a half hour together. We made sketches and
drew the track of the objects on charts. . . the tracks matched. . .
the accounts matched. . . all conversation [was] recorded on a
stenotype machine.
"They had a complete weather report. . . it coincided with our
visual observations. . . our flight plan. The investigators also
advised us that they already had seven other reports. One was
from a Lieutenant Commander and his wife. . . They describeda
formation of red discs travelling at high speed and making im-
mediate direction changes without turn radius. . .
"Regarding speed: We tried again to be very conservative
in our computations. The objects first appeared about 10 miles
beyond Newport News. . . They travelled to within about a half
mile of our craft. . . changed direction, then crossed the western
suburban edge of the town areas. . . out over a dark area at
least 10 miles beyond the lights, then angled up at about 45
degrees. ..
"We drew a line through the lighted area, measured the dis-
tance from our aircraft (and we knew our exact position both
visually and by VAR navigation using an ILS needle) to the line
through the lighted area. The distance was 25 miles. We had
seen them cross this line twice, so we knew they had travelled at
least 50 miles. . . . To get a time, we, seven times, separately,
using our own panel stopwatch clocks, pushed the button, men-
tally went through the time, even to saying to ourselves again,
'What the hell's that!' Each time we came up amazingly close to
12 seconds. To be conservative, we increased it to 15 seconds. . .
50 miles in 15 seconds equals 12,000 miles per hour." [36]
Hovering Green Sphere
During the Fall of 1952, three airliners 15 minutes apart
sighted a UFO simultaneously. Pan American Airways Captains
Charles Zammett, Robert Harris, and William Hutchins were
flying DC-4 aircraft about 600 miles south of New York, enroute
from New York City to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Suddenly they all
saw ahead of them a huge greenball, extremely brilliant and much
larger than a full moon in apparent size. The object seemed to
be absolutely stationary.
The sighting was not reported to anyone until several years
later when one of the pilots happened to fly with Capt. William B.
Nash, PAA pilot and NICAP Adviser. Captain Nash describes
what happened next:
One ship called to one of the others: "Do you see that?"
"I'll say I see it ! What the devil is it?"
Then the third crew broke in: "We see it too. Who could
miss it!"
The three pilots continued to watch the amazing sight for
about 45 seconds, as the UFO stood perfectly still. Then one
pilot started to ask: "Do you think we'll pass it-----wow ! Look
at it go !"
Just then the bright green orb suddenly sped off to the west
at fantastic speed. They watched it move straight away from them
on a horizontal path gradually diminishing in size, seemingly due
to perspective diminishment.
DISC SIGHTINGS
John B. Bean, a flyer with 17 years experience, made the
following report in a letter dated February 7, 1953. [37]
"On the afternoon of January 27, 1953, after stopping at the
Purchasing Office of the Atomic Energy Commission Research
Facilities near Livermore, California, I was driving north on the
road which runs parallel to the eastern fence bounding the Com-
mission properties. Immediately opposite the northeast corner of
the fence, I pulled over to the side of the road in order to stop and
check some papers which I had in my briefcase behind the front
seat of my car. In order to do this, I opened the door and stepped
out of the car, thus facing southward. Having finished removing
the papers from the briefcase, I was about to climb into the car
again when I heard the sound of airplane engines overhead coming
in from an easterly direction. . . . It was a DC-6 letting down in
the direction of Oakland Municipal Airport, which is to the west
of Livermore. Estimated altitude of this aircraft was 2,500 to
3,000 feet.
"As the DC-6 proceeded westward, I was about to take my
hand down from my eyes when I noticed a small, whitish object
proceeding southward on a course which had just brought it across
the Commission property. My initial reaction was that it was
some sort of plant fiber floating in the air. Since this was the
first clear, sunny day in several weeks and the atmosphere was
very springlike, it was a perfectly natural reaction.
"It suddenly occurred to me that we are still in the middle
of winter and, insofar as I knew, there were no plants which were
giving off any white fibrous substance into the air at this time.
As this realization came to me, I also noticed that this object
was moving directly away from me at a very rapid rate of de-
parture.
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"It began a shallow left turn and at that point I could see "IF THIS IS A WEATHER BALOON... IT'S THE FIRST
that it was perfectly round and had a metallic sheen somewhat TIME I EVER SAW ONE TRAVELING AGAINST THE WIND."
similar to that of aluminum with a satin finish. I believe another
term for this type of finish on aluminum is known as brushed
aluminum. It did not have a sharp glint which one often sees when
light is reflected from a conventional aluminum aircraft. The
light was more diffused and whitish in color. . . . Having gathered
my wits about me to this extent, I followed its course and suddenly
it began to alter direction, at first seemingly heading due south
again, and then suddenly making a steep righthand turn. It also
began to climb at the most terrific rate of ascent that I have ever
witnessed. I should like to say parenthetically at this point that
only the week previously I had watched two swept-wing F-86's
chasing tails near Hamilton Field late one evening. The two F-86's
had remained relatively stationary over one spot and I had an
excellent opportunity to watch them in several merry-go-rounds.
A number of times they each climbed almost vertically, but their
speed was insignificant compared to the speed at which this object
was able to climb and execute a sharp right turn.
"The moment the object began its climb, I started a count of
1,000-2,000-3,000. By the time the count of 3,000 had been reached
the object disappeared from sight.
"At this moment, coming in from the East on a due westerly
heading, at an altitude somewhat lower than that at which I had
sighted the disc, was a jet. It was leaving a very definite contrail
all the way across the sky and was on a collison course with that
of the disc prior to its rapid ascent. When I say collison course,
I mean that directionally the two objects were on a collision course
but that actually they were separated by several thousand feet of
altitude. However, it occurred to me that the disc might have
taken evasive action in order to avoid the jet.
"The jet proceeded on its course due west and to the south of
the Atomic Energy Commission grounds and at a point approxi-
mately over Hayward or Castro Valley turned and headed due
north.
"The interesting facts about this sighting were that I had
three distinct types of aircraft within my sight range simultaneous-
ly so that it was possible to evaluate their relative speeds. Thus
there was no question that the disc-like object had far more
power and far more rapid maneuverability than the other two.
An additional interesting factor to be kept in mind is that, where-
as the jet was leaving a distinct contrail at the higher altitude,
the white disc left no contrail whatsoever. Neither of the two
higher aircraft made any sound. However, both of them were well
to the south of my position and the wind was blowing from me
toward them at about 15 to 20 knots. Actually I imagine the correct
direction of the wind was approximately north-northwest.
"As soon as the sighting was over, I glanced at my watch
and noticed the time to be 1343. The date again was the afternoon
of January 27, 1953 and the atmospheric conditions were CAVU
. . . . In closing, there is one other factor which may be of in-
terest. The whole elapsed time from the original sighting to the
disappearance of the disc was approximately nine seconds in my
estimation. It may have been slightly longer, but certainly no
shorter. Three of those seconds were counted time, three or
four of them were observed time when I had my wits about me,
and the other two to four were initial-reaction time."
A disc-shaped UFO paced a Trans-World Airways plane
June 1, 1954. United Press reported the incident (newswire
copy on file at NICAP):
FLYING SAUCER OR A WEATHER BALLOON... THAT
SEEMS TO BE THE ISSUE BETWEEN AN AIRLINES PILOT
AND THE AIR FORCE.
TRANS-WORLD AIRWAYS PILOT CHARLES KRATOVIL
OF PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, SAYS HE SAW AN
UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT . . . LARGE, WHITE-COLORED,
AND DISC-SHAPED.
HE SAYS HE AND HIS TWO CREW MATES SPOTTED
THE OBJECT 10 MILES NORTH OF BOSTON THIS MORNING
. . . THAT IT WAS PURSUING THE SAME COURSE AS HIS
PLANE BUT WAS OBSCURED BY HIGH CLOUDS.
KRATOVIL SAYS HE RECEIVEDA MESSAGE FROM THE
AIRLINES BOSTON OFFICE QUOTING THE AIR FORCE AS
SAYING THE OBJECT PROBABLY WAS A WEATHER BAL-
LOON.
HOWEVER, THE PILOTS PUT IT THIS WAY:
Elliptical Objects
Charles R. Morris of Dubuque, Iowa, attempted (unsuccess-
fully) to film three elliptical objects observed by him and his
wife on March 4, 1960. The 8 mm kodachrome film, which he
exposed in late afternoon, failed to show the UFOs. At 5:57 p.m.
while watching one of his flying students perform aerobatics,
Morris first noticed the three UFOs in the southeast sky. They
moved in line, glowing a neon-like blue-white and arced from
about 25 degrees elevation in the southeast toward the northeast.
In about 4 minutes, the objects covered an are of about 135 degrees.
During that time, Morris ran into the house for his camera while
his wife continued to watch the UFOs. As the objects disappeared
in the distance to the northeast, they appeared to be climbing
slightly. [38]
NICAP Member Lex Mebane telephoned Morris and in-
terviewed him at length a few days after the sighting, obtaining
some additional information. At their largest, the UFOs appeared
to be about one-eighth the apparent size of the moon. They made
no sound and left no trails. The third UFO lagged behind occasion-
ally. [cf., February 24, 1959, American Airlines case, following.]
Morris was interrogated by the Air Force, who told him there
were no aircraft scheduled in the vicinity. He had checked in-
dependently with Cedar Rapids Air Traffic Control and determined
the same.
Maneuvering or Gyrating Lights
The typical disc -shaped or elliptical UFOs seem to fly a rec-
ognizable course, though they do hover, alter direction abruptly
and accelerate rapidly. The second main category of sightings,
however, displays a characteristically different pattern of flight
in a number of cases. This pattern has been compared to the
gyrations of a hummingbird- -alternately hovering and flitting here
and there, horizontally and vertically. Whether some of the er-
ratically maneuvering lights seen at night are in fact different
from the geometrical UFOs observed in daylight is an open ques -
tion. In some cases the lights have proved to be body lights on
discs or ellipses; in others no definite silhouette could be seen.
TWA Pilot Reports Gyrating Light
December 27, 1950: A TWA flight was enroute from Chicago
to Kansas City. Shortly after sunset Capt. Art Shutts, at the con-
trols, noticed a bright white light ahead of the plane, also flashing
to green and red occasionally. The aircraft was on a heading of
approximately 200 degrees. At first Captain Shutts thought it
was a star, until it began to "wobble and swerve unsteadily."
Then the UFO began to streak back and forth in a north-south
line, through an are of 10 degrees to 30 degrees, changing direc-
tion abruptly. The UFO would move at terrific speed, hover
oscillating slightly, then speed up. Captain Shutts noticed that
the visible horizon near the UFO appeared to vibrate as if light
were being distorted, especially after the object put on a burst of
speed.
Finally the light dimmed to a pinpoint and began to move
slowly south in a straight line. Sudaenlyit "lurched," accelerated
rapidly and zoomed upward at a 45 degree angle, made a nearly
square turn, plunged downward and disappeared below the hori-
zon on a north heading. It had been visible for 25 minutes. [39]
Chief Pilot Chases Unidentified Light
The following is an exact copy of a 1952 United Press news-
wire report:
DALLAS, TEX., AUG. 15--(UP)--A VETERAN AIRLINES
PILOT TOLD TODAY HOW HE CHASED A MYSTERIOUS
ORANGE LIGHT THROUGH THE SKY NEAR DALLAS IN
AN ATTEMPT TO LEARN WHAT IT WAS HE HAD SIGHTED
SKIMMING THROUGH THE AIR.
THE PILOT, CAPT. MAX M. JACOBY, MERELY CALLED
THE OBJECT A "LIGHT." HE SAID HE WAS AFRAID HE
WOULD BE LAUGHED AT.
JACOBY, CHIEF PILOT FOR PIONEER AIRLINES, SAID
HE SAW THE LIGHT WHILE ON A ROUTINE TEST FLIGHT
WEDNESDAY NIGHT. HE SAID HE DELAYED TELLING OF
THE INCIDENT BECAUSE HE FEARED HE WOULD BE
RIDICULED.
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 THE LIGHT BUT IT ELUDED HIM AND FINALLY DIS-
APPEARED.
HE SAID HE FIRST SPOTTED IT 15 TO 25 MILES FROM
LOVE AIR FIELD AT AN ALTITUDE OF ABOUT 3,000
FEET.
THE PILOT SAID THE OBJECT TURNED AND DIVED
BUT THE APPEARANCE OF ITS BODY "DID NOT CHANGE
WHEN IT TURNED . . . I COULDN'T TELL WHETHER
IT WAS JUST A LIGHT OR A LIGHT COMING FROM SOME
OBJECT."
HE SAID HE WAS ACCOMPANIED ON THE FLIGHT BY
CAPT. J.W. MCNAULTY, ALSO A PILOT.
June 23, 1954: An Air National Guard pilot, flying an F-51
Mustang fighter, was trailed by a UFO over Ohio. The incident
was reported to Leonard H. Stringfield, then director of an Ohio-
based UFO investigation organization. [See Section VII; Ground
Observer Corps]. Lt. Harry L. Roe, Jr., first noticed the object
about 8:00 p.m. near Columbus, and kept it in sight for 45 minutes
all the way to Vandalia. Lt. Roe repeatedly tried to maneuver so
that he could see a silhouette behind the "round white light," but
"it kept maneuvering around so it was against the darkened part
of the sky." When Roe swung the F-51 around to give chase, the
UFO "took off" and sped away.
November 14, 1955: Another UFO which gave the appearance
of intelligence behind its actions was observed at night above the
San Bernardino Mountains of California. Gene Miller, a former
Air Force instructor, was enroute from Phoenix, Arizona, to
Banning, California. His passenger, Dr. Leslie Ward (Redlands
physician) also witnessed the UFO.
A "globe of white light" appeared ahead of Miller's plane,
moving very slowly. Assuming it was an airliner, he blinked his.
landing lights twice. The "white globe" went out twice, in ap-
parent acknowledgment. As the light grew larger, closing on his
plane, Miller flashed his landing lights three times. The UFO,
he said, blinked three times, then "suddenly backed up in mid-
air."
The sighting by Miller, who later became a NICAP member,
was reported in the Los Angeles Times, November 26, 1955.
Commercial Plane Follows UFO
Ryan: Just about standing; it was off our wingtip.
Int: Was there anyone else on the flight with you?
Ryan: Oh, we had Miss Reynolds, our stewardess was with us.
Int: Did she happen to notice it too ?
Ryan: She came up. We called her and she came up and looked
at it later on after this had taken off at this terrific speed
from where we first noticed it. . .
Int: How long was it stationary there?
Neff: We couldn't say that it was actually stationary. . .
Several talking at once
Ryan: . . . from the time we were off the ground at Albany,
until we --it's about 15 miles by air to Schenectady and it
was off our wingtip, and we watched it go through a ninety
degree arc, go right straight to the west, and it was --
how many seconds does it take to go through a ninety
degree arc ?
Int: Bruce ?
Foster: How fast would you say it appeared to be going? Did it
change speed very radically during the time that you saw
it ?
Ryan: The initial speed I would say probably was 800 to 1000
miles an hour. How fast can it--it's hard to say, just to
compute that speed.
Neff.. Certainly much faster than another airplane would.
Ryan; Oh much faster, much faster than a jet.
Int: Faster than a jet?
Ryan: Yes ma'am.
Neff: Couldn't be a jet, not at that altitude because their fuel
is so critical.
Foster: Did it appear to change color at all ?
Ryan: Yes it did. It changed color after it got to the west of us,
probably 8 to 10 miles. It appeared--the light went out,
that's what had Bill and I concerned. It went out momen-
tarily, and we knew there was something up there, and
now here we were with a load of passengers with some -
thing on our course up ahead, and what are we going to
do, so we watched this where the light went out and this
orange object came on--this orange light.
April 8, 1956: A very brilliant light was followed across
New York State by an American Airlines plane. The pilots were
Ryan:
Capt. Raymond Ryan and First Officer William Neff. The chase
was described by radio to Air Force and civilian control tower
operators. The following account of the sighting is taken from a
tape-recorded interview program, "Meet the Millers," onWBEN-
TV, Buffalo, New York, April 16, 1956 (tape on file at NICAP).
Mr. and Mrs. Miller are the interviewers (Int.); Captain Ryan,
Neff:
F/O Neff, and Bruce Foster (a Bell Aircraft Company engineer)
are the guests:
Int:
Was that a regular flight of American Airlines ?
Ryan:
Yes, it was.
Int:
Int:
From Buffalo to New York ?
Ryan:
Ryan:
This flight comes out of New York and lands at Albany,
Syracuse, Rochester, and terminates in Buffalo.
Int:
What was your first idea that anything was happening-
that you were seeing something?
Neff:
This very brilliant white light, like an approaching air-
craft with its landing lights on. Naturally we moved away
from it thinking that's what it was. Then we noticed it was
Neff.
standing still at the time and we got sort of curious.
Int:
Just about what location was this ?
Ryan:
This was just about over Schenectady. We were coming
We took off north and we made a left turn
out of Albany
.
and we noticed this light over Schenectady. It seemed to
Int:
Neff:
be standing still.
Int:
when you say a light do you mean a light
A light? Now
Int:
,
like a light bulb--about that color?
Neff:
Ryan:
very fluorescent--a very bright light. . .
Oh yes
Int:
,
Ryan:
Int:
A big what?
Ryan:
A large light. It looked more like a light coming into
Albany airport.
Int:
And both of you saw it? At the same time?
Int:
How close were you to it, do you think?
Ryan:
We turned a little bit to pass to the south of it, and we
were probably 2 or 3 miles from it.
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Int: And the thing was bus standing ere .
We looked at one another a little bit amazed, so we de-
cided we'd call Griffiss Air Force Base, and I thought
they had the radar on. . . And they didn't have it on-
It would take them 30 minutes to energize the set.
They asked us to keep it sighted and we did, and we kept
calling out our location and as we told them where we were
we turned all our lights on. They asked us to turn them
off and they couldsee us, and they asked if this object you
see is orange in color. We said it was --
This is after it turned on I understand
Yes. They said "we have a definite silhouette in sight
south of the field. " Now those fellas are observers who
are in the tower. They said that they could see a sil-
houette.
Watertown could see it and they're quite a ways north of
Griffiss, and Albany saw it--two men in the tower at Al -
bany--one an Air Force man and one a CAA man. And
they saw it after we first called them, and noticed--and
they looked over to the west and saw it right away.
And when they saw it was it moving?
Well, we didn't get to talk with them --
But to you it was moving?
Oh yes.
Real fast?
It stayed just that far ahead of us, and they asked us what
our point of next intended landing was, and I told them
Syracuse, and they wanted to be identified--our aircraft,
number and serial number, and they said "well abandon
that next landing temporarily and maintain the course and
your altitude," so we did. They were calling scramble.
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Int: When you said ****(garbled), was it low, or was it low for Capt. Brosdal indicated that he was most impressed by the
a jet? exceptional intensity of the light during the bright phase of pul-
Neff.? Well, it was low and it was also low for a jet. There sation.
happened to be an overcast that evening which eliminated
the possibility of a star right off the bat, and ****(gar-
bled) the way I understand it a jet burns up three or four
times the amount of fuel at low altitude than it does at high
altitude. I don't think a jet could stay down that long with -
out using up a considerable amount of gas.
Int: How fast were you going?
Ryan: About 250 miles per hour.
Int: ****(garbled) then did they slow down or why didn't****
(garbled)
Ryan: They must have slowed down. ? "They" or "it" must have
slowed down.
Neff.? We trailed out as far as Oswego which is right on the south
shore of Lake Ontario and we passed up our point of land-
ing at Syracuse and we weren't sure we should hold the
passengers up any longer, and of course we didn't ad-
vise them.
Ryan: We called them (Griffiss AFB) and they said they were
"about off, "and that was about 8 minutes and we couldn't
work them any longer, and we turned over with Syracuse
tower, and they were giving--relaying the messages back
and forth, and it was then about 10 to 12 minutes and
they're still not off yet. And we can't-4 don't know, we'd
probably still be flying. I just don't know where the jets
were. Why didn't they get the jets up ?
Int: Well what happened to the object?
Ryan: It went off, it just went to the northwest and it went out of
sight.
Foster: Was it more rapid? All of a sudden did it accelerate its
speed?
Ryan: It did appear to --after it got over the water it appeared
really get out of sight very fast.
Neff. It did, in the direction of Toronto--in that direction.
Int: Was this object saucer-shaped or not?
Ryan: Oh I don't know; I couldn't say.
Neff. There was no definite shape to it, it was just a brilliant
light.
Radar-Visual Sighting by PAA Flight
March 29, 1957: About 7:30 p.m. local time, Pan American
flight 206A was northbound off the east coast of Florida, at 30
degrees N. Latitude. The plane was enroute to New York from
Nassau at 16,000 feet, moving through the tops of cumulus clouds,
on a heading of 25 degrees magnetic. At the controls was Capt.
Kenneth G. Brosdal. The engineer, John Wilbur, was in the
co-pilot's seat. The co-pilot, George Jacobson, was navigating.
"About 50 miles east of Papa-3, a checkpoint between Nassau
and Tuna," Capt. Brosdal stated, "we (the co-pilot, engineer and
myself) saw this very bright white light. It seemed to grow in
intensity to the point where it would be about 3 or 4 strengths of
a rising Venus, then would subside. This happened about 3 or 4
times, during which I came to enough to check on the radar
screen. Sure enough, a target showed up at 3 o'clock between
45-50 miles away.
"Using the curser on the face of the radar, I checked the
angle of sighting and it checked with the visual angle. This light
appeared to be stationary, or moving in a N.E. direction (same
as us). I observed this on the scope long after the light went out.
I checked with Miami ATC [Air Traffic Control] but no other
traffic or firing was in the area, to their knowledge." [40]
The radar set, tuned to the 50 mile range, tracked the uni-
dentified target for 20 minutes. The visual observation lasted
4-5 minutes. The blip on the scope, Capt. Brosdal added, indi-
cated an apparent size in excess of the size of normal aircraft.
The altitude of the light, on the basis of angle of sight and radar
ranging, was estimated to be 20,000 to 25,000 feet.
Pilot Reports High-Speed Light
October 8, 1957: Another Pan American pilot sighted an
unidentified light. Capt. Joseph L. Flynn, bringing a DC-7C
flight into New York from Paris, noticed the UFO at 7:05 a.m. about
25 miles southwest of Boston. The object, "like a star travelling
very fast," showed up to the right of the plane. "The sun was
directly behind the plane and the object glowed a very bright
silver," Captain Flynn said. "It was much brighter than the
morning star." The pilot turned the plane and, for five minutes,
tried to follow the UFO. But it sped out of sight.
At first Captain Flynn assumed the object was the Russian
satellite, Sputnik I. But a check with the Smithsonian Institution's
astrophysical observatory revealed that the satellite had passed
over the New York area at 8:03 a.m., nearly an hour after the UFO
sighting. [41] Nor would a satellite be so readily visible or
appear to travel at high speed as described.
Gyrating Light Ascends After Crossing Path of Plane
February 4, 1959: Over the Western Caribbean, 3:00 a.m.,
Capt. H. Dunker, Pan American Airways, was piloting a DC-6-B
from New Orleans to Panama. He and the crew saw a reddish
light speed across their course from right to left (west to east).
About 45 degrees to their left the light stopped suddenly, fading
in luminosity. Seconds later it sped back across and stopped
about 10 degrees to the right. Then the UFO moved again to the
left. After remaining visible about 45 seconds, the object went
straight up out of sight at tremendous speed. [42]
Airliners Paced by Three UFOs
The sighting of three glowing objects by several airline crews
February 24, 1959 is one of the most thoroughly investigated (and,
ironically, one of the most controversial) on record. The key
witness, Capt. Peter W. Killian, was interviewed by NICAP per-
sonnel. A detailed investigation report, including weather data,
air navigation maps, etc. , was submitted to NICAP by the New
York City Affiliate. The Akron UFO Research Committee co-
operated in the investigation, adding valuable details. Other pub-
lished references are listed in the Section Notes [43].
The Air Force later attributed the sighting to a refueling mis -
sion involving a tanker aircraft and jet bombers flashing brilliant
lights. Discrepancies in this explanation are discussed in Section
IX.
February 24, 1959: Captain Killian and First Officer James
Dee, American Airlines, were flying a DC -6B nonstop from Newark
to Detroit. It was a clear night, with stars brightly visible and no
moon. At 8:20 p.m. EST the plane was approximately 13 miles
west of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, flying on a heading of 295
degrees at 8,500 feet. Off the leftwingtip, Captain Killian noticed
three bright lights, which he first thought were the three stars
making up the belt of the constellation Orion. But then he real-
ized that Orion was also visible, higher overhead. The UFOs
were about 15 degrees above the plane.
As he and F/O Dee continued to watch, the objects pulled
ahead of the wingtip. At this point, in the vicinity of Erie,
Pennsylvania, Captain Killian contacted two other American
Airlines planes in the area. One at the Dolphin checkpoint (over
the northern shore of Lake Erie) saw the objects directly to the
south over Cleveland. The other aircraft, near Sandusky, Ohio,
and headed toward Pittsburgh, spotted the objects a little to the
left of their heading, to the southeast. [See map in Section IX]
As the DC-6B continued west, the UFOs occasionally pulled
ahead and dropped back until they were in their original position
with respect to the left wingtip. Then Captain Killian began letting
down for landing in Detroit, and the crew no longer had time to
watch the objects.
During the 45 minute observation, the UFOs continuously
changed brightness, flashing brightly "brighter than any star,"
and fading completely. This did not occur in any apparent pattern.
The color fluctuated from yellow-orange to a brilliant blue-white
at their brightest. The last object in line moved back and forth
at times, independently of the generally western motion of the
formation.
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Visibility was unlimited. The pilots agreed, "It could not be
any clearer than it was that night above 5,000 feet."
When the plane began letting down for landing, about 9:15 p.m.,
Captain Killian and F/O Dee lost sight of the objects. At 9:30
p.m. in Akron, Ohio, George Popowitch of the UFO Research
Committee received a phone call from a contact at the Akron
airport. A United Airlines plane (Flight 937) had just landed for
a 15-minute stop, and reported sighting three UFOs which had
followed their plane for 30 minutes. Popowitch had already re-
ceived 9 reports from local citizens between 9:15 and 9:20 of
three UFOs seen in the area, so he arranged to interview the crew
of the airliner.
Capt. A. D. Yates and Eng. L. E. Baney said they had tracked
the objects from the vicinity of Lockhaven, Pennsylvania, to
Youngstown, Ohio, between 8:40 and 9:10 p.m. United Airlines
flight 321, also, had discussed the objectsby radio. Captain Yates
had seen the UFOs pacing his plane to the south. But in the vicin-
ity of Warren, Ohio the objects passed the aircraft, veered to the
right, and finally disappeared to the northwest.
UFO Landing Reported
Early in 1961, a private pilot in Texas witnessed an apparent
landing of a UFO. NICAP Member Jack Varnell, Knox City,
Texas, conducted an extensive investigation into the sighting and
the resulting USAF interest. [44] An employee of the Agricultural
Stabilization and Conservation office, he joined the search for the
landed object shortly after noon of the day following the sighting,
and observed proceedings firsthand from then on.
January 10, 1961: Pilot W. K. Rutledge and passenger George
Thomas, both of Abilene, Texas, were enroute to Abilene from
Tulsa, Oklahoma. At 6,500 feet over Wichita Falls, Texas, about
9:00 p.m. they spotted a red object about 1,500 feet above the
plane, glowing brilliantly in the night sky. Rutledge changed
course to follow it at about 180 mph, establishing radio contact with
the control tower at Shepard AFB, Wichita Falls, during the chase.
He followed it WSW to Munday, then north to Vera (where several
persons on the ground saw it). Then the object moved WSW again,
toward Benjamin, finally turning SW. When beyond Benjamin, the
object began to reduce its speed and altitude, going into a glide
and apparently landing 4 to 5 miles SW of the town in a heavily
wooded area.
The pilot circled in his single-engine Beech "Debonair"
while law officers, alerted by radio, sped to the scene. Included
were Knox County Sheriff Homer T. Melton (now a Texas Ranger),
one of his deputies, and the police chiefs of Knox City and Munday.
Rutledge radioed his position to the Shepard AFB control tower
when he began to circle, and the word was relayed to the conver-
ging patrol cars.
Poor communication between air and ground hampered Rut-
ledge in his efforts to direct the search cars. At one point, a
cruiser driven by Deputy Stone came within 100 yards of the
landing spot, but the pilot was unable to direct him closer. During
this period the glow from the UFO, which had been visible to
Rutledge on the ground, was diminishing to a dull red. About
the time Stone approached it (unknowingly) and blinked his lights,
the glow from the UFO vanished completely.
After about 90 minutes of chasing and circling, Rutledge
noticed he was running low on fuel and decided to go on to Abilene.
AIR FORCE INVESTIGATION
Next morning the search was resumed by police, about 20
high school boys, and several other citizens of the area. Despite
a cold drizzle, they hunted until 3:00 p.m., when Rutledge and
Thomas flew back from Abilene. Since there was no convenient
airport, Rutledge landed on a highway near Benjamin. When
they got into town they were immediately metby USAF Lieutenant
McClure and a Sergeant; the four retired to a restaurant nearby
for the questioning. NICAP Member Jack Varnell listened from
the next table.
The Air Force officer's opening implications that the object
might have been a balloon or meteorite were quickly shortcut
by Rutledge's firm statement: "What I saw last night was certain-
ly not a meteorite or a weather balloon." He then made it clear
that the object "came down slowly," and did not "fall." The
lieutenant changed his tone at this point, Varnell reported, and
became much more serious and interested.
As the interview progressed, the cafe began to fill, since the
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sighting was by this time the chief topic of conversation in the
small Texas town. Questions were posed and answers noted for
more than a half hour, but the muffled voices were hard to hear
in the crowded room.
The USAF men expressed an interest in locating the site of
the landing, so the group returned to Rutledge's parked airplane.
While Jack Varnell and the sheriff stopped traffic, Rutledge,
Thomas, and Lieutenant McClure took off from the highway.
The sergeant and the enlisted driver of the USAF car drove off.
The small plane made three or four passes over the 1,000
acre tract of mesquite where the object had reportedly landed,
and then flew off. Contrary to expectations, the other USAF men
did not join the ground search party, which broke up about the
time the plane departed.
Shortly after 5:00 p.m., the three airmen, the pilot and his
companion were seen at a drive-in restaurant near Knox City.
Rutledge was observed by Jack Varnell to be filling out what
appeared to be the standard USAF Technical Information Sheet
with Lieutenant McClure.
July 4-5, 1961: On two consecutive nights while flying in the
Cleveland-Akron area, Ernest Stadvec encountered strangely man-
euvering lights which he could not identify. A World War II
bomber pilot, he now owns a flying service in Akron, Ohio.
"I have been flying since 1942 both day and night," he stated,
"and currently own a flying business that requires us to fly day
or night in all types of weather. Over the years I have seen many
falling stars and other phenomena associated with atmospheric
conditions as well. What we saw was not an astronomical or
meteorological phenomenon."
On the first night, over northwest Akron, Stadvec and two
passengers spotted a brilliant green and white light apparently
suspended to the right of the plane, about 10:15 p.m.
"The object we saw dived at us on a collison course to the
extent that I actually called out to my passengers that the object
was going to ram us," Stadvec said. "After the object came at
us it reversed course and climbed rapidly into a clear night
sky."
And he continued: "This happened again the next night [about
the same time] when the object flashed up from in front of us and
again climbed into a clear sky. In both instances, the object
climbed at tremendous speeds, levelled off and disappeared to
the northwest."
On the second night about the time of the sighting, radar at
Cleveland Hopkins airport detected a meteor-like object, which
flared up on the screen and faded out within a few minutes. [46]
A similar experience was reported more recently by a private
pilot from Williamsport, Penna., and his passenger, John P.
Campbell, reporter for the Williamsburg Sun-Gazette.
February 7, 1963: Returning to Pennsylvania from Danville,
Virginia at 11:45 p.m. (near Charlottesville, Virginia, about 95
miles SW of Washington, D.C.) Carl Chambers noticed a starlike
light, and soon realized it was moving toward his plane. "After
noting that its altitude and position changed rapidly, I radioed the
Washington FAA and reported the incident," Chambers said in a
signed report to NICAP.
"For nearly an hour after, we stayed in contact with Wash-
ington. During that time, the object hovered off the right wing
[easterly] and moved toward, under, and above the aircraft. Then
it dropped off and a few minutes later appeared about 35 miles
south of Washington, where it seemingly hovered over a missile
defense base. From that position and less than a half-minute
later it reappeared some 10 or 15 miles north of the capital."
FAA tower personnel confirmed to Chambers that they had
received a similar report from another pilot in the area at the
same time. The object had an intermittent yellow-white glow,
and at its closest point appeared to be about three feet in diameter.
Cigar-Shaped or Rocket-Like UFOs
The third general category of UFO types which pilots and others
have reported is the rocket or cigar shape, sometimes leaving a
flame -like exhaust. Reports of this type are comparatively rare,
but they have been seen by enough competent witnesses to estab-
lish them as a distinct type. (Some objects reported as "cigar-
shaped" have, on closer investigation, turned out to be elliptical
in shape, i.e., tapered to a point--or nearly so--on the ends.
The term "cigar-shaped" is used here to apply to spindle or cyl -
indrical shaped objects with somewhat blunted ends).
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The "classic" case of this type is the sighting by Eastern
Airlines pilots C. S. Chiles and J. B. Whitted, July 23, 1948. At
2:45 a.m. in the vicinity of Montgomery, Alabama, Captain Chiles
and his co-pilot noticed a brilliant light loom up in front of the
DC-3, hurtling head-on toward them. The UFO swooped down,
veered to the right of the airliner, emitted a long red exhaust
blast and shot straight up into clouds. Captain Chiles later
described the UFO as torpedo-shaped, about 100 feet long, with
two rows of brightly-lit apparent windows along the side.
The USAF currently contests the fact that the airliner was
rocked when the UFO climbed away, but the statement that it
was appears in the Air Force Project "Saucer" Report from the
witnesses' original descriptions. [47] At Robbins AFB, Georgia
on the same night, about 2:00 a.m., a "long, dark wingless tube"
was seen rushing overhead spurting flame from the stern.
Similar maneuvering rocket-shaped objects have been re-
ported by military pilots [see August 1, 1946 case, Capt. Jack
Puckett, Section III] and private pilots.
January 1, 1949: Tom Rush of Jackson, Mississippi, saw a
cigar-shaped object while approaching to land at Dixie Airport.
The UFO crossed in front of his plane, accelerated and flew out
of sight. [48]
January 20, 1951: A bright light, source unknown, was ob-
served from the control tower at Sioux City, Iowa, airport about
8:30 p.m. Chief Controller John Williams cautioned a Mid-
Continent Airlines DC-3, which was about to take off; thinking it
was another aircraft approaching the field.
Shortly after take-off, Capt. Lawrence W. Vinther and Co-
pilot James F. Bachmeier, in the DC-3, were startled to see the
bright light closing on them very rapidly. Before they could
take any action, the light flashed past the airliner and the pilots
saw a clear silhouette of a cigar-shaped object behind the light.
The Co-pilot turned quickly, and there was the UFO pacing
the airliner. The object had apparently reversed direction in
an instant. Bachmeier called out to Captain Vinther, and he
turned and looked. Then the UFO shot straight up and disappeared.
[49]
One of the passengers who also witnessed the UFO was a
full colonel of Air Force Intelligence, who filed a report along
with the pilots. He was reportedly greatly impressed by what
he had seen. [50]
AVIATION PERSONNEL OTHER
THAN PILOTS
Aviation personnel other than pilots --Federal Aviation Agency
(FAA) [51] control tower operators and flight controllers, flight
crew members, ground crews, airport supervisors, etc. --have
made regular reports of UFOs. The FAA often has cooperated
with NICAP, in some cases furnishing logs, teletype reports, and
other documentary material. Some of the information has come
from NICAP members employed by the FAA, other from public
servants (not NICAP members) who apparently have no prejudices
about UFOs and merely believe that the subject should be treated
frankly and openly.
September 24, 1959: Redmond Airport, Oregon, is situated
southeast of the city. (see sketch map). Just before dawn,
policeman Robert Dickerson was cruising the city streets when
he noticed a bright falling object like a meteor. Instead of
"burning out," the object took on a larger, ball-like appearance,
stopped abruptly, and hovered about 200 feet above the ground.
Its glow lit up juniper trees below it.
The patrolman watched the UFO for several minutes, then
drove toward it on Prineville Highway, turning in at the airport.
The UFO, meanwhile changed color from bright white to a duller
reddish-orange color, and moved rapidly to a new position NE
of the airport.
At the FAA office, Flight Service Specialist Laverne Wertz
had just completed making weather observations minutes before,
and had seen nothing unusual. Now Patrolman Dickerson, Wertz,
and others studied the hovering object through binoculars.. The
UFO was round and flat, with tongues of "flame" periodically
extending from the rim.
At 1310Z (5:10 a.m. PST), official logs show, the UFO was
reported to Seattle Air Route Control Center. Logs of the Seattle
center show that the report was relayed to Hamilton AFB. The
Seattle log continues: "UFO also seen on the radar at Klamath
Falls GCI [Ground Control intercept] site. F-102's scrambled from
Portland."
As the Redmond observers studied the UFO, they noticed a
highspeed aircraft approaching from the southeast. The log con-
tinues: "As aircraft approached, UFO took shape of mushroom,
observed long yellow and red flame from lower side as UFO rose
rapidly and disappeared above clouds."
The UFO was seen again briefly, hovering about 25 miles
south of the airport. Radar continued to show the UFO south of
Redmond for about two hours. [See FAA log, Section IX.]
October 9, 1951: An earlier UFO, rated an "unknown" by
the Air Force after investigation of similar evidence (apparently
without radar confirmation) was reported at Municipal Airport,
Terre Haute, Indiana. About 1:43 p.m., CAA Airways Operations
Specialist R. L. Messmore noticed an unusual object approaching
from the SE, and quickly called another witness. C. W. Sonner,
Chief of Interstate Airways Communication Station, ran outside
to watch. "I have been working atairports for 16 years." Sonner
said, "and never before have I seen an aircraft like it." The
flattened round object sped overhead, disappearing to the NW
after 15 seconds. Using the angle of sighting, Messmore and
Sonner calculated that the UFO was travelling at 2,880 mph,
assuming it was at treetop level; 18,000 mph if at 3,000 feet; etc.
Because of the experience of the observers, this would have
been a good sighting as it stood. But two minutes later, near
Paris, Illinois (19 miles to the NW), a private pilot encountered
a hovering UFO shaped like a flattened sphere. (See diagram.)
When the pilot turned directly toward the UFO, it accelerated
and shot away to the NE. [53]
In the next two days, General Mills, Inc., balloon personnel
spotted UFOs over Wisconsin and Minnesota. [Section VI]
1. Time: 1:43 p.m. UFO sped over airport, visible
15 seconds.
2. Time: 1:45 p.m. Private pilot enroute from Green-
castle to Paris encountered hovering UFO.
3. When pilot turned toward it, object accelerated
and shot away northeast.
OTHER SAMPLE CASES
March 13, 1950; Mexico City, Mexico. Santiago Smith, chief
weather observer for the Mexican Aviation Company, J. de la
Vega of the airport commander's office, and others saw a total
of four UFOs passing over the airport during the day. Smith
caught one in a theodolite telescope, and described it as resem-
bling the "shape of a half-moon." [54]
March 26, 1950; Reno, Nevada. Mrs. Marie H. Matthews,
CAA Tower Operator (over four years experience in aircraft
observation with Navy and as a civilian), others in the tower, and
United Airlines employees Robert Higbee and Fred Hinkle at
about 8:50 p.m. saw a brilliant light NE of Hubbard Field which
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was "so bright it was impossible to determine shape." Visible
on each side of it was a green light. The UFO appeared to hang
motionless for 5 or 6 minutes; then it began moving slowly
across the sky, and suddenly shot upward into a cloud bank. [55]
March 29, 1950; Ironwood, Michigan. Tom Christensen, air-
lines representative for Wisconsin Central Airlines, and six
other persons at the airport (all pilots or with flying experience)
viewed a round UFO through binoculars at 2:55 p.m. It was
moving directly into a north wind at "pretty good" speed. As it
travelled, the UFO made a "slipping and sliding sideways"
motion. [56]
July 1950; Cincinnati, Ohio. At 1:45 p.m., a C.A.A. flight
engineer with 11 years of aeronautical experience observed a
"wingless, fuselage-shaped" object which maneuvered in a sunny
sky. The UFO climbed at a steep angle, hesitated, dove and sped
away to the west. Estimated speed: 5,000 m.p.h. The object
made no sound and left no trail. (Confidential report obtained
by NICAP Adviser L. H. Stringfield, Cincinnati, Ohio).
November 27, 1950; Huron, South Dakota. In the early
morning, Gene Fowler of the Weather Bureau, Winfield Henry of
CAA, and two Western Airlines ground crew members watched a
UFO which alternately hovered and darted around the sky. The
UFO changed color, red to white to green. At Aberdeen, 75
miles north, William B. Hiller, CAA Aircraft Communicator, also,
saw a lighted UFO that changed colors. [57]
July 8, 1952; near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Joseph J.
Greiner, CAA equipment provider (experienced as radio operator
weather observer, and traffic controller) at 10:00 p.m. saw a
domed UFO speed overhead below a high overcast. The object
was visible about 10 seconds, travelling at an estimated 1,000
mph. The main body was green, with a reddish domed portion
on top. [58]
Early 1952; Cleveland, Ohio. Clark Croft, chief of the CAA
Tower staff, stated to the Associated Press July 22 that "several
months ago" a member of his staff had sighted a red light hovering
in the sky in the direction of nearby Berea. He asked a pilot
taking off for Akron to watch for it. The pilot saw it first below
and ahead of him. "Suddenly it took off at a very rapid rate,"
Croft said. "He tried to catch it, but couldn't. It was faster than
any jet aircraft we know about."
Washington, D.C., Sightings
On two consecutive weekends in July 1952, UFOs swarmed
over Washington, D.C. Maneuverable, erratically performing
objects were seen visually by pilots where radar showed them to
be. Among the aviation personnel who either tracked the UFOs
on radar or sighted them visually were the following:
July 19, 11:40 p.m. CAA radar operators at National Airport
control center and in tower; 8 unidentified targets moving
100 to 130 mph.
July 20, midnight to 5:40 a.m. Harry G. Barnes (senior air
route traffic controller), Ed Nugent, Jim Copeland, and Jim
Ritchey (radar controllers); up to 10 unidentified targets at
one time on radar; motions coincided with visual sightings by
Capt. Casey Pierman, Capitol Airlines pilot, who about 1:00
a.m. saw a total of 7 UFOs which maneuvered in all direc-
tions, sometimes hovering.
July 20, early a.m. Howard Cocklin, CAA control tower oper-
ator, saw yellow-orange light gyrating low in NW sky where
control center radar indicated it was.
July 20, 3:00 a.m. Capt. Dermott, Capitol Airlines pilot,
watched unidentified light follow his plane to within 4 miles of
National Airport; radar also showed object.
July 26, 9:08 p.m. Jim Ritchey and other radar personnel saw
12 unidentified targets move onto scope from NW headed SE;
helped vector in jet interceptors, which reported glimpses of
high speed lights. Commercial pilot reported yellow light
that turned to red, then back to yellow, pacing his plane about
two miles away; "Radar confirmed that he was between two and
three miles from the object," Ritchey stated.
[For additional details, see SectionXII, July 1952 Chronology.]
October 12, 1952; Palo Alto, California. Harry C. Potter,
aircraft maintenance man for United Airlines, was standing talking
to friends at 1:00 a.m. Suddenly they noticed a V-formation of six
apparent discs speeding overhead from N to S, travelling about
120 degrees in about 8 seconds. One separate UFO crossed at the
same time from W to E. The UFOs appeared as rings of very
bright blue-white light, apparently dark discs lighted only on the
outer rim. [59]
1952; San Mateo, California. At 6:30 a.m., Leonard L. Musel,
United Airlines mechanic, was one of five persons in a car pool
who saw a large flat UFO take on board five smaller objects of
similar shape. [See Section H, Satellite Object Cases.] All six
UFOs were roughly diamond-shaped, the main object nearly el-
liptical as it hovered 50 to 75 feet above salt flats visible from
Hillsdale Boulevard. When the smaller objects were on board,
the parent object flipped over flat side down (presenting an ellip-
tical outline) and took off eastward at fantastic speed, going out of
sight in seconds. [60]
December 3, 1954; Wilmington, North Carolina. About 12:30
p.m. Luther H. O'Banian and J. B. Bradley, CAA traffic control-
lers, and others at the airport saw a round yellowish UFO which
sped overhead on a southwesterly course. The two controllers
studied the object through binoculars, but could not identify it.
The UFO, visible about 45 seconds, seemedtobe moving at a down-
ward angle at an estimated speed of 500 mph or more. [61]
January 8, 1959; near Walworth, Wisconsin. Gordon Higgins,
a draftsman who has had two years USAF experience as control
tower operator and flight controller, watched a UFO descend and
then speed away horizontally. (See self-explanatory diagram with
number keys.)
September 29, 1960? Arlington, Texas. J. Rodriguez, Jr.,
flight radio officer for Pan AmericanAirways, reported to NICAP:
"At 6:23 p.m. CST while watching 8 or 9 kids (ages 10 to 16) play
fast ball in front yard across street from my home, I looked up,
east, elevation 50 degrees approximately, and I saw a bright pin-
point of orange-colored light travelling towardthe south; its speed
was faster than a high flying jet aircraft, but slower than a meteor.
As it reached a point below the moon it slowed down very rapidly,
at which time I turned and ran toward my house for my field
glasses. [see sketch, position "A" to "B"].
"Upon returning with my field glasses (7 power) the kids had
now taken up the watch. Mr. Louis Via, my neighbor across the
street, was also out in his front yard where we all were. While
the kids insisted that it was up there just below a bright star,
Mr. Via and myself said 'no it's just another star.' [See sketch,
position "C"]
"Soon we all realized that the stars were moving, as though
around each other clockwise. I took up a position where I could
use the house roof for reference to see if one was moving.
"Mr. Via and myself soon agreed that the bottom one was
slowly moving upward and clockwise around the star, which I
then realized was the planet Jupiter. The movement between
positions 'B' and 'C' was seen by the 8 or 9 kids. While watching
the movement between positions 'C' and 'D', Mrs. Via came
outside and also saw the orange colored point of light moving.
My field glasses did nothing for seeing what it was, still a bright
point of light.
"At about 6:35 another neighbor came over from two houses
down, Mr. and Mrs. Rowmach. Mrs. Rowmach said: 'Rod, I've
been watching that very fast moving light since you ran toward
your house a while ago.' We all stood there and watched it slowly
moving up and getting smaller, but still bright. . . "
About 6:37 p.m. while trying to point out the UFO to another
neighbor, Rodriguez saw it take off suddenly toward the west and
eon
ARLINGTON, TEXAS
SEPTEMBER 28, 1960
6:23 to 6:39 P.M. (C.S.T.)
S+ar
31
01
1
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 TIME OF SIGHTING : 5:15 R M. THURSDAY JANUARY e, 1959
POSrTION : 11"\ILE NORTH OP ILL1NO\5-W 1SCOt.-S1N STATE L\NE
Owl U. 5, 14
J. 40? FROM HORIZON 100? FROM t.IORTN
3. 150 ? .6 1 30? H 1.1
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WHILE TRAVELING EAST AT 5:15 P.M. T1-\E OBJECT WAS S\GNTE? AT
POSIT10N N=1. AS IT STARTED TO DE5CEN'D SLOWLY V -1E AUTOMOBILE:
WAS BROUGHT TO A STOP TO CBET A BETTER VtEW. IT TOOK APPROXCMATELY
15 SECONDS FOR THE OBJECT TO RIzACH PoSrTION r1Q.2. \T ST\LL GLOWED P.
t321Gt-FT WI-11TE ASS IN PO's\T\ON N=1 . THEN IT St10T OFF AT TREMENDOUS SP-E4
LEAVINIG A TP N1\.,. OF SPAFaKB CHANGING FROM TI-IS OR\G~wAL BRILLIANT
WH\TE,TO 0RAN(iE..) AND SEEMED `TO ETHER So OUT OF 5tCaHT?DI$APPEA6L~gR p1SINT 4I
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 Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81 R00560R0001 00010001 -0
NOTES
Re
Edward J
elt
l
R
port on
Un-
41. New York World Telegram & Sun; October 8, 1957. New York
.,
,
upp
so
1. See Sections I, VI; A
p. 161.
1956)
(Doubleday
ing Objects
tified Fl
id
Daily Mirror; October 9, 1957.
,
,
,
y
en
2. Washington Daily News; February 23, 1954.
42. Reported to Capt. William B. Nash, Pan American Airways,
NICAP Adviser
3. Ruppelt, Edward J., op. cit., p. 109.
.
1959 sighting by Am-
nts of the February 24
d
l
h
July 1950. (For contemporary accounts, see Life,
Flying
4
,
accou
is
e
43. Pub
,
.
July 21, 1947; Time, July 14, 1947).
erican and United Airlines crews:
1959, (Vol. 14,
March 9
American Airlines
i
N
37
cit
p
o
rd J
lt
Ed
,
,
ews,
p
Flagsh
.
.,
.
p.
wa
.,
,
5. Ruppe
Flying Saucers: Top Secret.
Donald E
hoe
Ke
N
6. Ibid., p. 38.
.,
,
y
o. .
"T a Killian Case."
Chapter H
1960)
(Putnam's
7. Report on file at NICAP.
Saturday Evening Post; April 30, 1949. New Yorker; Septem-
8
,
,
,
Akron UFO Research Committee, (Box 5242, Akron 13, Ohio)
24
d Februar
b
.
1952
ber 6
,
y
serve
Report on Unidentified Flying Objects O
.
,
April 27,
Project "Saucer" Report
Force
Ai
9
1949.
1959 by American United Airline Pilots, (c. 1960).
"
,
,
r
. U.S.
(Other sources: Saturday Evening Post, May 7,
1949;
Mys-
Detroit Times; February 25, 19959. Front page story:
liner
"
it Ai
t
l
Reader's Digest, July 1952).
.
r
ro
De
tery Sky Objects Trai
"Saucers Might Be Just
1959
26
Februar
it Ti
Washington Post; March 27, 1950.
10
.
,
y
mes;
Detro
l
L
t
.
Associated Press; June 27, 1950.
11
ee
.
. Co
That." (Follow-up story, quoting opinions of L
.
San Francisco Chronicle; October 7, 1950.
12
B. James, army ordnance, Huntsville, Alabama).
In
ht
Li
"
.
t N
CAP
l
g
s
Strange
Long Island Newsday; February 26, 1959.
.
e a
I
13. Report on fi
United Press; May 23, 1951.
14
Sky Make Pilot, Crew Blink." (Interview with Capt. Killian).
t
r
M
h
"
.
t NICAP
fil
t
y
ys
e
ose
T
Long Island Daily Press; March 24, 1959.
.
e a
on
15. Repor
1952.
United Press; July 18
16
Lights in the Sky Were NOT Jets, LI Pilot Insists." (Capt.
ti
,
.
New York Journal-American; October 30, 1952.
17
ons,
Killian is quoted as being familiar with refueling opera
f hi
.
Chicago Sun-Times; December 10, 1952.
18
s
and rejecting this and other Air Force explanations o
.
Prescott Evening Courier; May 22, 1953.
19
sighting)..
Pil
t
li
"
.
irac
Cons
(Henry Holt
ne
o
Air
New York Journal-American; March 25, 1959.
y.
p
20. Keyhoe, Donald E., Flying Saucer
,
" (Essentially same as above).
s
S
p. 259.
1955)
.
aucer
Insists He Saw
,
21. C.R.I.F.O. Orbit, October 5, 1956; Case 210. (L.H. String-
44. Report on file at NICAP.
P
4412 Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio).
field
Ed
.
45. Statement on file at NICA
t
.,
,
Independent reports to NICAP Board Member Frank Edwards
22
46. Statement to Cleveland Plain Dealer; July 8, 1961, by Airpor
.
(WTTV, Indianapolis, Indiana).
Operations Supervisor John M. Gieb.
July 1950; Saturday Evening
see Flying
dditional details
47
F
United Press; March 10, 1957.
23
,
,
or a
.
.
Tape recorded interview with pilot, on file at NICAP.
24
Post, May 7, 1949.
15
3
.
1957
November 6
ws
il
N
hi
D
.
), P.
48. Menzel, Donald H., Flying Saucers. (Harvard, 195
.
,
;
y
e
a
cago
25. C
June 1951
i
Fl
49
New Orleans Times-Picayune; November 10, 1957.
26
.
ng,
y
.
.
27. Memphis Press-Scimitar; October 8, 1959.
50. Ruppelt, Edward J., op. cit., p. 119.
28. Report on file at NICAP.
29. Report on file at NICAP.
30. Honolulu Advertiser; March 12, 1963.
31. Flying, July 1950.
32. Report on file at NICAP.
33. Air Facts; May 1, 1950, ppg. 29-30.
34. Case personally investigated by NICAP Director. For detailed
account, see Keyhoe, Donald E., Flying Saucers From Outer
Space (Henry Holt, 1953), ppg. 145-148. See also Flying,
July 1950.
35. Flying, September 1950 (includes pilot's sketch). See also
Ruppelt, Edward J., op. cit., p. 120; Popular Science, August
1951.
36. Capt. Nash is a member of the NICAP Panel of Special Ad-
visers; correspondence on file. (For detailed account of his
sighting, see True, October 1952).
37. Report on file at NICAP.
38. Report on file at NICAP.
39. Air Facts; September 1, 1951, p. 37 if.
40. Interviewed by CSI, N.Y. (67 Jane Street, New York 14).
Aviation Personnel
51. The FAA formerly was CAA (Civil Aeronautics Administra-
tion). This designation appears in some of the reports.
52. The FAA freely admitted observations of a glowing, high-speed
UFO, and stated that Air Force radar had confirmed the
sighting. The Air Force denied the radar tracking, and sug-
gested the UFO was "probably a balloon."
53. Terre Haute Star; October 10, 1951. Ruppelt, Edward J., op.
cit., ppg. 152-153.
54. United Press; March 14, 1950.
55. Reno Evening Gazette; March 27, 1950.
56. Ironwood Daily Globe; March 30, 1950.
57. New York Times; November 27, 1950.
58. Report on file at NICAP.
59. Report on file at NICAP.
60. Interviewed by Bay Area NICAP Subcommittee, report on file
at NICAP.
61. Associated Press; December 3, 1954.
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 Approve& For Release 2001/04/02 : CA-RDP81 R00560R0001 X 01-0
tXHAUST 30-50 Ft, ~~-H~,1~'-N,'.?"~~"" "~, 'M
? . ~N1rFei .
:uurB.i~;~~ 111_.
I -A
90-I0OFt, MACHINE ~'';,.-~, ,. >r~sr~~r,;trut~srku?~~~~-n~~"''i~~~.
GLOWING " PORTS' -~ BLUE GLOW
Sti l l on AF radar O
1 h r later at
~-- 4co ft. 4
Roe hclo
5 on ong flame as
Hovered and emitted
tongues of light
4
F-102s --~ ...r
4
Planet Venus
this direction
Hovered at
200-300 ft.
REDMOND
~~e roache
Administration
Building
(Observers)
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SECTION VI
SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS
One of the many current myths about UFOs is that no trained
observers have reported them. Often this argument is used by
skeptics to imply that UFO reports result only from careless ob-
servations. This attitude is reflected in a question often posed in
newspaper articles: "If UFOs are real, why haven't astronomers
seen them?" The answer is that they have, on many occasions.
The ridicule evoked by the reporting of a UFO sighting de-
finitely has taken its toll among professional scientists and
engineers who value their reputations. A significant number of
scientists have told NICAP privately that it would be professional
suicide for them to discuss the subject openly among their
colleagues. Nevertheless, a number of good UFO reports by sci-
entific observers are on record.
Another myth is that only amateurs and pseudo-scientists
consider UFOs worth further investigation. One scientist who took
early notice of UFO reports was Dr. Anthony O. Mirarchi, chemist
employed by the Air Force in its geophysical laboratory. In
1951 Dr. Urner Liddel, a Navy scientist, insisted all UFOs were
Skyhook balloons. Dr. Mirarchi challenged this conclusion and
urged a full investigation of UFOs which, he said, could be foreign
experiments of some kind. Dr. Mirarchi rejected the idea that
UFOs were only misidentified conventional phenomena and said he
had recommended a "considerable appropriation" to investigate
them. After studying Air Force reports, he said UFOs appeared
to have "maneuvered motion" and their vertical and horizontal
motions could not be reconciled with natural phenomena. [1.]
A former German rocket scientist, Dr. Walther Riedel, headed
the now defunct Civilian Saucer Investigation of Los Angeles,
which attained national prominence in 1952 after being publicized
in Life and Time. Dr. Riedel stated his opinion that UFOs were
of extraterrestrial origin. [2.] (Some of the cases gathered by
CSI are incorporated in this report).
Three world-famous scientists have expressed similar views:
Prof. Hermann Oberth, whose pioneering studies paved the way
for space travel, has stated his complete conviction that UFOs are
piloted by super-intelligent beings from another planet. [3.]
Admiral Delmer S. Fahrney, U.S.N. (Ret.), "father of guided
missiles," and former NICAP Board Member, in a 1957 press
conference stated that there was an urgent need to know the facts
about the apparently controlled objects reported to be entering
our atmosphere. His statement received wide coverage in the
world press.
Dr. Carl Jung, famous Swiss psychologist, shortly before his
death in 1961, sent a personal communication to the NICAP
Director. In it he stated he had come to the opinion that UFOs
did appear to be space ships. [4.] (Previously he had been
embroiled in international publicity, accidentally misquoted as
believing UFOs were real when he still considered this an open
question).
UFO Sightings by Scientists
(All Reports on File at NICAP)
Field
7-10-47;
S. New Mexico
"top astronomer"
Astronomy
Summer 1948;
Easton, Penna.
Carl A. Mitchell
Physics
8-49;
Las Cruces, N.M.
Clyde W. Tombaugh
Astronomy
5-20-50;
Flagstaff, Arizona
Seymour L. Hess
Meteorology,
Astronomy
6-12-50;
California
John Zimmerman
Geology
10-3-50;
Pomona, California
J. D. Laudermilk
Geochemistry
8-3-51;
near Pinckney, Mich.
Walter N. Webb
Astronomy
1952;
London, Ont., Canada
W. Gordon Graham
Astronomy
7-27-52;
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Dr. Charles H. Otis
Biology
8-5-52;
Baltimore, Md.
Dr. James C. Bartlett,
Jr.
Astronomy*
1-30-53;
near Yuma, Arizona
Wells Alan Webb
Chemistry
5-5-53;
near Yuma, Arizona
Wells Alan Webb
Chemistry
Elliptical object which hovered, wobbled, ascended suddenly.
[Section II.]
Three luminescent greenish discs one second apart, passed
across sky from N to S and over horizon.
Circular pattern of rectangular lights, keeping fixed interval.
Disc or sphere in apparent "powered" flight. [Section I.]
Silvery discs looping around aircraft, disrupting its vapor trail.
Disc moving with wobbling motion passed behind mountain peak;
minimum speed computed to be 720 mph.
UFO "like a smoke ring, elliptical in shape, and having two bright
pinpoints of light along its main axis;" sailed overhead from W
to E. [5.]
During daylight observation of Venus, saw a flight of two discs
diameter about 30 minutes of arc; passed overhead to S, turned
E. Then two more discs with dome-like protrusions in center.
Silvery disc, turned sharply; observed through Polaroid glasses,
dark circular bands around object became visible.
*Technically an amateur astronomer; member Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers, frequent contributor to scientific journals.
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6-11-54;
near Atlanta, Georgia
H. Percy Wilkins
Astronomy
Two silvery objects "like polished metal plates" moving against
wind; third grayish oval arced across sky.
11-25-54;
Cordoba, Argentina
Dr. Marcos Guerci
Meteorology
Two luminous objects observed from airport; one apparently
semi-circular, other circular. [Section X.]
12-7-54;
Upington, Cape Province,
So. Africa
R. H. Kleyweg
Meteorology
Hemispherical disc tracked through theodolite. [Section X.]
11-1-55;
Mojave Desert, California
Frank Halstead
Astronomy
6-18-57;
Jackson, Mississippi
Prof. Henry Carlock
Physics
Observing sky with telescope; twice glimpsed UFO with halo
around it and "what appeared to be three portholes."
11-10-57;
Toulouse, France
Jacques Chapuis
Astronomy
At Toulouse Observatory observed maneuvering yellow star-like
object for 5 minutes. "Itwas something Ihad never seenbefore."
UFO finally ascended straight up out of sight.
10-2-58;
near Blairstown, N.J.
Ivan T. Sanderson
Zoology
10-26-58;
LaFayette, Indiana
T. C. Shafer
Chemistry
While observing moon with 4 inch reflector telescope, saw three
bright unidentified objects pass from East to West.
5-22-60;
Majorca
Observatory staff
Astronomy
Triangular UFO about 1/4 apparent size of moon sighted at 9:33
a.m., spinning on its axis while on steady course. Report cabled
to NASA in Washington. [6.]
6-8-60;
New York City
Lee Ball
Biochemistry
Flat ellipse traversed about 15 degrees of sky; appeared about
8 times apparent size of moon.
11-24-60;
Ohio
Confidential report,
certified by NICAP
Board Member.
Ellipse in smooth silent flight; 5 minute observation.
3-16-61;
Antarctica
R. J. Villela
Meteorology
11-22-61;
near Grafton, N.D.
Melvin C. Vagle, Jr.,
Metallurgy
5-20-62;
Defiance, Ohio
Prof. C. A. Maney
six others
Physics
DISCS CIRCLE AIRCRAFT
Source: "Mars, The New Frontier" by Wells Alan Webb, (Fearon
Publishers, Calif., 1956) p. 124.
Witnesses: John Zimmerman, Geologist; Charles Fisher, civil
engineer.
Date: June 12, 1950.
Location: California.
Time: About 4:00 p.m.
Working outdoors at a quarry, they had noticed a high-flying
swept-wing aircraft leaving a vapor trail, and paused to watch
it.
"He [Zimmerman] was startled to notice a rift form in the
vapor trail not far behind the airplane and a wisp of cloud suddenly
streak upward as if an object had come from below and cut up-
ward through the vapor trail, disturbing it. Looking quickly for
the object, Zimmerman saw a silvery disc of diameter about
one-third the apparent length of the airplane's fuselage, flying
rapidly in a circle above the airplane, overtaking it. With an
exclamation he called Fisher's attention to the phenomenon, and
together they watched two additional discs pass from below, dart
up through the vapor trail, overtake the airplane and then dive
down in front of it, making vertical loops around the airplane.
Each object made several such loops in succession, each time
coming up behind the airplane and cutting the vapor trail, each cut
displacing a filament of the trail in an upward direction."
Date: August 3, 1951. Witness: Walter N. Webb, Chief Lec-
turer on Astronomy, Charles Hayden Planetarium, Boston,
Mass., (former member of the Smithsonian Institution Satellite
Tracking Program): "That summer I was a nature counselor
at Camp Big Silver, the Toledo (Ohio) Boy's Club camp on the
shores of Silver Lake in southern Michigan, three miles south
of Pinckney. It was a clear, moonless night. I had been showing
two boys various celestial objects through my 3-1/2 inch re-
flecting telescope and pointing out constellations. The time was
about 11 p.m. or midnight. Suddenly I noticed a glowing yellow,
or yellowish-red light moving in an undulating path (but on a
straight course) over the hills south of Silver Lake. As the object
traveled slowly westward in this peculiar manner, the three of
us watched in fascination. It was at such a low elevation that
its regular wavelike course caused it to dip behind the hills a
few times. At first I frankly didn't realize that I might be seeing
anything unusual and thought the object was a plane light. But
something was disturbing about that flight path and by the time it
dawned on me that planes don't fly on wavy paths, the thing was
about to vanish for good behind trees in the foreground. I
swung the telescope toward the hills, but it was too late.
"I had seen something strange in the sky that I could not ex-
plain. No known object I could think of followed a path like
that. The remote possibility that the UFO might have been the
reflection of a moving ground light from a rippling inversion layer
was quickly rejected. An inversion reflection would appear as a
hazy spot of light in the sky much reduced in brightness when
compared with its original light source. My UFO appeared to be
a bright, glowing object moving in a regular wavy pattern. It
is impossible for an inversion layer to produce a smooth rhythmic
reflection. A turbulent rippling layer of air would be required,
and such a condition would not be capable of producing any image
at all."
Formation of Rocket-like Objects
The following report was submitted to NICAP by Dr. Charles
H. Otis, professor emeritus of Biology, Bowling Green State
University.
"Place of observation: 3724 Dexter Rd., R.D. No. 1, Ann
Arbor, Washtenew County, Michigan; a small acreage at the top
of Lyon Hill, called Sleepy Hollow, situated about four miles
west from Main Street (or the County Court House). Altitude
at the road, about 975 feet (the place is easily located on the
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Ann Arbor quadrangle, topographical map, U.S. Geological Sur-
very), at the place of observation, in the hollow, probably 950
feet, or a little more. Along the west property line is a small
woods and two low buildings. To the east is a wide expanse of
sky.
"Date of sighting: July 27, 1952. Time of observation, about
10:40 a.m. Conditions for observation, perfect; a beautiful day,
not a cloud in the sky (see an observation later); the sun at this
time of day high in the heavens; no observable haze. Photo-
graphically speaking, conditions were probably those of maximum
light for the year and suitable for the fastest exposure (only,
no camera-what a picture, I think, could have been made, with
a ray filter over the lens, and with telephoto equipment, either
snapshot or movie-explanation will appear in the story).
"The story: (apologies for the use of "I").
"I was working on a lawn setee, giving it a coat of white
enamel, in the shade of a walnut tree. My wife was sitting nearby
. . . . For some reason-perhaps my back was tired-I stood
up, laid down my brush, stepped out into the sunshine and glanced
up and to the east. I was startled by what I saw. There in a
pattern, were a number of objects, seemingly floating along,
making no sound. My first thought was that something had been
released from a plane that I remembered had passed overhead
not long before (I refer to a noisy 4-engined plane that makes
its regular east to west trip at about this time of day, and to
which we never pay any attention, although it usually passes
over the house, both coming and going), and I called to my wife
to come and then I realized that these objects were probably
much higher than the plane was flying and that there was no
connection with it (I mention these reactions because, so far as
I am aware, the pilot of the plane did not report on these strange
objects, and, they might not even have been there at the time of
his passing). It was my impression that the objects were as
high as the highest fleecy white clouds, but it may be only an
impression (later checking of the sky revealed only two small
white clouds lying low on the horizon at the north, and there was
nothing at the time to use as a gauge). I assumed that they
were traveling over the city of Ann Arbor, as if a reconnaissance
were being made; the direction appeared to be due south. They
were travelling so slowly (but, of course, they may have been
much higher than I supposed) that I told my wife to keep looking,
while I ran to the house and seized a bird glass (magnification
near 5X). From then on, with the glass, I studied the objects
until they disappeared at my horizon.
"When first counted, the objects number 15; and they were
traveling in the form of an organized flotilla, the horizontal
distribution being something on this order (but probably not an
exact duplication): X
X
X X
X
X X X
X
X X
For this reason, I will hereafter refer to the objects as "ships."
The "ships" traveled so slowly that it seemed to me that I was
able to study them for minutes (that may have been one of those
times, however, when a minute may seem an hour; but, of course
they were going farther away all the time). Before they reached
my horizon, one "ship" as if receiving a signal, left the flotilla
and, describing what to me seemed to be a wide arc, disappeared
with a burst of speed that seemed incredible. I had the glass on
it, and then it was gone. . . The mathematics has not been worked,
but just after the episode the approximate angle of sight when
first seen was determined to be 34 degrees with the horizontal,
using level and planimeter, and if we knew the height, it could
be calculated.
Description of a "ship":
The 15 "ships" appeared to be identical in size, shape, and
other discernible characteristics. In the way in which they
seemingly floated, one got the impression that they were of very
light weight (unless someone has discovered some way to eli-
minate the force of gravity). There was no sound (even from
15 of them in a body). They maintained position in the flotilla
perfectly. The body appeared to be elongated, but split at the
rear; there were no wings. Nothing like a cabin could be dis-
cerned, nor windows, nor persons. The sketch shown here is a
copy of one hastily made in my notebook immediately after
"Tai I i~ Body Brighf Glow
Two items stand out conspicuously. In the "bow" end of
each "ship" was a relatively large and exceedingly bright glow
(brighter than a star, even in the bright light of the day; - this
might explain the reported "lights over Washington" episode,
which occurred at night). Each "ship" also had, emanating from
the "stern" portion, two "tails", seemingly streaming out
horizontally, never changing in length, nor wavering. These
"tails" had none of the aspects of vapor trails, and they cut off
cleanly; i.e. they had definite ends. It was as if the "ships"
laid down a caterpillar track, walked on it, but carried it along
with them. They gave the appearance of the tail of a comet,
like Halley's, which I once saw very beautifully one night (1910?),
but in this instance, and strangely enough, in a bright sky. They
gave somewhat the appearance of the Tyndall effect which the
stereopticon beam gives in a darkened theater. But, if due to
the Tyndall effect, why should the "tails" or "beams" have
been visible in broad daylight? It is possible that the "tails"
just described represent atomic or subatomic particles leaving
the "ship" with terrific speed and with propulsive force, that
they were luminous in themselves, and that they had a limited
and short length of life (which could account for the definite
length of the "tail" which has been mentioned previously).
What other explanations are there which might account for the
appearance and behavior of the "ships" upon which I am re-
porting?"
GYRATING LIGHT
Wells Alan Webb
B.S., M.S., Chemistry, University of California
Chemical Engineer & Research Chemist
Provided Univ. of Calif. with deuterium source for cyclotron re-
search.
Source: "Mars, The New Frontier", by W. A. Webb (Fearon
Publishers, 1956), page 125:
"on January 30, 1953, at approximately 7:25 p.m. the author
was riding in the back seat of an automobile in which Felix Gelber
and Grover Kihorny, both of Los Angeles, were also passengers.
The night sky appeared black except for stars. The desert
air was clear andthe stars andgroundlights shone with brilliance.
We were on Highway 80, traveling west toward Yuma, Arizona,
7 miles away at the approximate rate of 60 miles per hour.
While looking through the windshield the writer noticed a half
mile ahead among a group of steady bright ground lights there
was one light which flickered and danced. At about 15 degrees
above the horizon stood the evening star. All of these lights,
the steady, the dancer and the star, had approximately equal
brilliance in the field of vision at that moment. As we approached
the ground lights, they resolved into floodlights on twenty foot
poles illuminating the hangar area of Spain Flying Field. We
saw through the side window a single engine Army trainer standing
in this area with a man working over it. The dancing light,
now apparently higher than at first, hovered directly over the
airplane at about twice the height of the floodlights. Suddenly,
looking out the side, then the rear window, we became aware
of the dancing light's rising motion. It rose slowly at first,
then gathering momentum it lifted rapidly. The author strained
at the rear window and watched the light blink repeatedly, then
vanish among the stars at an altitude of at least 60 degrees.
This was not more than about ten seconds after we had passed
the flying field, still traveling at 60 mph.
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 of the details had been the same as the author's, so the next
morning the writer prevailed upon them to investigate the myster-
ious light. We returned to the place on the highway opposite the
hangar. The airplane stood on the same spot as the night before.
We paced off the perpendicular distance from the highway to the
airplane. It was one hundred yards. Then we found a mechanic
who said that he was the man who had been working on the air-
plane the evening before. He had not seen the dancing light; there
had been no sound to attract his eyes overhead. Therefore the
light had not been on a helicopter. He referred us to the U. S.
Weather Station, one quarter of a mile eastward. There the
weatherman said that he had released a lighted balloon at about
the time we had seen our flickering light. He showed us one of
the balloon lights, a very small flashlight blub without reflector.
It did not flicker, it burned steadily the weatherman said, but its
light could never appeartobe of the same brightness as the glaring
floodlights of the Spain Flying Field. Furthermore, the weather
balloon had not hovered over the hangar of that flying field; at a
uniform rate it had mounted steadily in the sky above the weather
station. The weatherman proved this by showing us the chart he
had plotted by taking telescope sightings of the altitude of the light
at timed intervals.
When all of the facts about the light that Gelber, Kihorney and
the writer had seen were laid before the weatherman, he said
that ours must have been a UFO, that such things were a great
mystery but had nevertheless been seen frequently in the neighbor-
hood by the personnel of the Weather Station and also of the nearby
Air Force Fighter Base."
Mr. Webb's second UFO sighting was on May 5, 1953. Time:
9:45 - 10:00 a.m.
"It was a clear sunny morning; the author was standing in a
field near the Vacuum Cooling Company plant, not far from Spain
Flying Field, and about a mile north of the Yuma Air Force Fighter
Base. His attention was drawn by the buzzing of jet fighters
taking off in quick succession, passing directly overhead traveling
northward. As he scanned the northern sky, the author's atten-
tion became fixed upon what at first appeared to be a small white
cloud, the only one in the sky at the time. The author was wearing
Polaroid glasses having a greenish tint, and as was his custom
when studying clouds he took the glasses off and put them on at
intervals to compare the effect with and without Polaroid. The
object was approximately oblong with the long axis in a horizontal
plane. It floated at an elevation of about forty-five degrees.
During the course of about five minutes the object traveled
approximately 30 degrees toward the east. Then it appeared
abruptly to turn and travel northward; at the same time its oblong
shape changed to circular section. As a circular object it rapidly
became smaller as if receding. While receding, the object did not
noticeably lose any of its brightness. In about thirty seconds of
this, its diameter became too small for the author to hold in
his vision.
During the first period the writer had not noticed a change
in the oblong nor in the field of view about it as a result of putting
on and taking off his Polaroid glasses. But during the second
period several uniformly spaced concentric circles appeared
around the now circular object. The circles were distinct dark
bands which enveloped the silvery disc. The largest of these
circles was, perhaps, six times the diameter of the central disc.
When the writer removed his polarizing glasses the silvery
disc remained but the concentric rings vanished. When the
glasses were put on again, the rings reappeared. The writer
repeated this several times, each time with the same result. The
rings with glasses on, faded to invisibility before the disc became
too small to see."
ASTRONOMERS' REPORTS
Dr. Wilkins was flying from Charleston, W. Va. to Atlanta,
Ga. on the morning of June 11, 1954. At 10:45 a.m. he noticed
two brilliant oval-shaped objects apparently hovering above the
tops of cumulus clouds an estimated two miles away. They were
"sharp-edged objects," the color of polished brass or gold,
and much brighter than the clouds. "They looked exactly like
polished metal plates reflecting the sunlight," Dr. Wilkins
reported, "and were in slow motion northwards, in contrast to
the clouds which were drifting southwards." [p. 411. Then he
noticed a third object of the same description against the shadowed
side of the cloudbank; it was grayish and not reflecting sunlight.
The third UFO accelerated, and arced across the sky, disappearing
behind another cloud mass.
The UFOs were about 15 minutes of are in length [about 1/2
the apparent diameter of the moon], and the two bright ones
maintained a separation of about five degrees. Based on his
estimation of distance (2 miles) and apparent size (15 minutes
of arc), Dr. Wilkins calculated the actual size of the UFOs
to be nearly 50 feet in diameter.
L h+ S+raius
Delaware Wafer Gap
(D-1 stance :9m; Ies)
October 2, 1958; near Blairstown, New Jersey. Shortly after
5:00 p.m., noted Zoologist Ivan T. Sanderson observed a disc-
shaped UFO maneuvering over the Delaware Water Gap. The
flat disc looped back and forth, appearing sometimes edge-on
(as a very thin line), sometimes oval to circular. It vanished
once, but quickly reappeared, and continued its rapid gyrations,
finally speeding away to the west.
Frank Halstead
Former Curator of Darling Observatory,
University of Minnesota
Mr. Halstead and his wife saw two UFOs while crossing the
Mojave Desert on a Union Pacific train in 1955. He reported the
experience to NICAP Board Member, Frank Edwards:
"It was the first day of November, 1955. We were on our way
to California - about 100 miles west of Las Vegas when it
The late Dr. H.
relates several UF
book "Mysteries of
1955). Attributing
Percy
O repor
Space a
most U
Wilkins, British lunar astronomer,
ts including one of his own in his
nd Time", (F. Muller Ltd., London,
FO reports to conventional objects,
happened.
called m
moving j
parallel t
Dr. Wilkins states:
11 . .
. a residuum remains which cannot
in the sa
be thus explained."
[p. 4.1
I first th
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My wife Ann was sitting next to the window and she
y attention to an object which she saw - something
ust above the mountain range. Our train was running
o this range of mountains and this object was moving
me direction as the train, just above the mountains.
ought the thing was a blimp. . . But as I watched it I
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realized that it could not be a blimp - they are only about 200
feet long. And this thing was gigantic. It was about 800 feet
long. I could estimate thatbecause itwas so close to the mountain
ridge where trees and clumps of trees were visible for com-
parison.
While we were watching the cigar-shaped thing, for four or
five minutes as it paced the train, we noticed that another object
had joined it. This second object appeared very suddenly in
back of the first one. It was a disc-shaped thing. Both of them
were very shiny, we noticed. . . If my estimate of size on the
cigar-shaped thing was correct then the disc-shaped object would
have been about 100 feet in diameter, flat on the bottom with a
shallow dome on top.
They were moving at about the same speed as the train and they
were very close to the top of the ridge, not more than 500 feet
above it, I should say. Then they began to rise, slowly at first
and then much faster. In a matter of seconds they had risen
so high that we couldn't see them any more from the train window.
All over the world credible witnesses are reporting exper-
iences similar to mine. Holding these people up to ridicule does
not alter the existing facts. The time is long overdue for ac-
cepting the presence of these things, whatever they are and dealing
with them and the public on a basis of realism."
NEW MEXICO COLLEGE
OF AGRICULTURE AND MECHANIC ARTS
-1-NT - ANO CAO~tRATINO -H
WHITE SANDS PROVING GROUND
Mr. Richard Hall
SAT E L LIT E
721 Burdette Street
New Orleans 18, La.
Dear Mr. Hall:
Regarding the solidity of the phenomenon I saw: My wife thought
she saw a faint connecting glow across the structure. The illuminated
rectangles I saw did maintain an exact fixed position with respect to
each other, which would tend to support the impression of solidity. I
doubt that the phenomenon was any terrestrial reflection, because some
similarity to it should have appeared many times. I do a great deal of
observing (both telescopic and unaided eye) in the backyard and nothing
of the kind has ever appeared before or since.
As I have said before, I was so unprepared for such a strange sight
that I was really petrified with astonishment. Consequently, some of
the details I might have noted were missed.
Antarctic Sighting
March 16, 1961; Antarctica. A Brazilian Meteorologist, re-
cently employed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center near
Washington, D. C., observed a strange phenomenon while aboard
an ice-breaker in Admiralty Bay, Antarctica on a scientific
expedition. He noted the observation in his diary, and later filled
out a NICAP report form. Though in some respects the phenom-
enon resembles a meteor, in other respects it does not. At
CLYD' W. TOMBAUGH
Astronomer
any rate, it is worth recording as an unexplained aerial phenom-
enon, possibly related to UFO activity.
Rubens J. Villela, who also has experience as a glider pilot
and Moonwatch observer, was on the deck of the U.S.S. Glacier
about 6:15 p.m. The temperature was about 33 degrees, dew
point 28, wind calm, sky overcast, visibility about 5 miles.
Weak, yellowish sunset light was visible to the NW. About 50
degrees above the horizon he noticed a strange tear-shaped
"luminous body" crossing the sky fromNWtoSE. It was "multi-
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 colored, leaving long trail as tracer bullet; abruptly divided in
two (in tandem) as if 'exploding', shone more brightly in bluish-
white and red, and threw lateral rays radiating backwards at an
angle. Appearance neither solid' nor purely light'; best described
as 'corporified light', forms geometrical and not diffuse," The
object was roughly tear-shaped before and after splitting.
The object travelled on a level course, completely disappearing
"very suddenly" after about 10 seconds. It moved "rather
slowly" leaving a long trail.
"I believe it was much too slow for a meteor," Mr. Villela
stated, "also its appearance was 'out of this world.' I can think
of nothing on earth which would reproduce the phenomenon."
Hovering Cigar-Shaped Object
A Minneapolis Honeywell metallurgist, Melvin C. Vagle, Jr.,
saw a cigar-shaped UFO on November 22, 1961. NICAP later
learned of the sighting through the Honeywell newspaper [7.], and
obtained a first-hand report from Mr. Vagle, as well as a detailed
painting of the UFO done under his supervision. [See sketch.]
It was a clear starlit night about 7:00 p.m. (CST). Mr. and
Mrs. Vagle were traveling north on U. S. Highway 81 approaching
Grafton. A red light in the sky west of the highway up ahead
attracted their attention, then other associated lights made them
think it might be an aircraft. As they neared the site and pulled
alongside they saw "a cigar-shaped object hovering at a sharp
angle over a plowed field. . .At the lower end. . . there was a
bright 'flashing white light ana at the upper end there was a
steady red light. Along the length of the fuselage there was a
row of square-appearing ports, illuminated with a white yellowish
light."
The UFO seemed to be motionless until, when the Vagle's
son started crying, they drove on. Then the UFO appeared to
drift westward across the highway. Earlier the same evening a
farmer in the Grafton area had seen a reddish cigar-shaped UFO
west of Grafton and reported it to an area newspaper. Accompany-
ing Mr. Vagle's report to NICAP was a letter from the farmer
confirming the basic points of his sighting, which occurred at
sunset. The farmer could not see any "ports", only a dull
reddish glow from the UFO. The object vanished behind a dark
cloud after about 10 minutes.
THE DEFIANCE COLLEGE
DEFIANCE, OHIO LLn l 0'f' ~,~,
111~)c tl~y cj"fj -y r~4t i ki {-allDw~? acco ~
{("O W n }? .,,
oSPARTMENT OF PHY 1lRC I}n4550 by a sclsxtist CN VACLK
CHARLES LEB A. . MANEY V FO Sl hI tl III O a%) S~
L )4k i ttiniLVfhsl~~ "
OYI Y tm. w~ly Of INAMli t0.x, 1L~S LG,1C~ I Il?S VSSM ~~
s ? h~ulK Salt' o C,
of fh stS KGHCCtthfit i S 14l#NASN1. b ~1t
by ivin Day. Thursday,
"At about 10:00 A.M. on Tha my car south on a highway not
nksg was a passenger.
November 24, 1960, I was drimembvierng of my family
us. A eared a black spot which I first
far from the ahead of me app But as the object got
Low in tto be y approaching plane. object had no wings.
assumed to bl an the o e of the road
closer I could see that unlike a plane
companion got out to
My curiosity aroused I drove the car to the side
olf course, where I and myobject. As it lpassed
adjacent to a g roaching sky ine dis-
get a better look at the the object was at a straight line d is-
get at its closest point, at an
tance of altitude of apprOxi
from 1200 to 1500 feet,
visible.
ly 70 degrees and clearly rly smooth, no pro-
it was egg-shaped or elliptical, perfectly
tuberances or markings , curved edges, and a bright chalk-
white on top with just a clear narrow band of shadow across the bottom.
axis c f the
th ori figured al out major to be axis approxi-
o ft
The apparent diameter of the horizontal
ellipse shape viewed at arms leng
mately 100 feet. conven-
The object moved at moderate speed like that of a
tional propeller-driven plane, but silently with no trace of
object traced a smooth are of travel m with wing
noise whatever. The owas in sight some five minutes,
down motion. It appeared from
toward view."
no ard or the northwest until it disappe
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NICAP Board Member, Prof. Charles A. Maney, was among
seven witnesses to a UFO sighted in Defiance, Ohio, May 20,
1962. Prof. Maney is Head of the Defiance College Physics
Department.
About 8:00 p.m., Don Reimund noticed a distinctly round un-
identified object in the northwest sky, moving horizontally at an
elevation of about 10 degrees. Knowing of Prof. Maney's interest
in UFOs, Mr. Reimund telephoned him. Prof. and Mrs. Maney
rushed to the Reimund residence, only to learn that the UFO had
disappeared to the southwest minutes before.
20 degrees. Prof. Maney and the others present viewed the ob-
ject through binoculars, and with the unaided eye. It appeared as
a brilliant blue light, changing to brilliant yellow. Then the UFO
stopped abruptly, hovered for 5-6 seconds, reversed course and
headed south. Its motions continued to be erratic, sometimes
moving rapidly, then apparently hovering. The UFO finally
disappeared in the southwest about 9:00 p.m.
Prof. Maney later learned that near St. Johns, Ohio, 55 miles
to the south, a UFO had been witnessed at about the same time.
Mr. Quincy L. Dray, Jr., and a neighbor, had watched a similar
performance between 8:10 and 8:30 p.m. "It moved erratically,
As they discussed the sighting, the same or a similar object seemed to dip or back up then start forward fast," Mr. Dray
appeared in the southwest, moving north, at an elevation of about said. [8.]
UFO Sightings by Engineers
In addition to the detailed report by the crew of General Mills balloon technicians headed by aerologist Charles B. Moore on
April 24, 1949 (Section I), dozens of professional engineers and technicians have reported UFOs. As indicated in these sample cases,
their backgrounds include a cross-section of technological fields. Many are uniquely qualified to evaluate the appearance and perfor-
mance of aerial phenomena in comparison to known devices or atmospheric effects. (All reports on file at NICAP).
7-6-47; S. Central
Wyoming
David A. Kenney,
two others
Instruments Engineer,
Aviation Co.
Oval UFO in steady flight at high altitude.
7-8-47; Muroc,
California
Several
Aircraft technicians
Oval object, apparently rotating [Section II].
Summer 1948;
Erie, Penna.
Victor G. Didelot
Aircraft Instrumen-
tation
Elliptical or oval UFO, sudden vertical ascent.
4-24-49; White Sands,
N.M.
Charles B. Moore,
Jr., Others
Aerology, balloon
technicians
Elliptical UFO tracked with theodolite [Section I].
6-10-49; White Sands,
N. M.
Guided missile
unit
Missile tracking
Two white round UFOs paced missile [Section II].
1-16-51; Artesia,
New Mexico
Six
Balloon technicians
Two discs, approached rapidly, circled balloon. [Section I].
8-51; Central
New Mexico
Alford Roos
Mining engineer
Two discs descended, hovered, shot away.
10-10/11-51; near
Minneapolis, Minn.
J. J. Kaliszewski,
others
Aeronautical research
Maneuvering UFOs observed during balloon tracking flights.
3-10-52; Oakland,
California
Clarence K.
Greenwood
Inspector Engineering
Metals
Two hemispherical discs, one in oscillatory flight.
4-8-52; near Big
Pines, California
H. I. Smith
Staff Engineer
television
Reddish disc-like UFO with raised portion like dome on top,
observed through binoculars.
4-23-52; Lexington,
Massachusetts
R. C. Munroe
Engineering Standards
UFO accelerated to meteor-like speed.
5-13-52; National City,
California
Donald R. Carr,
six others
Aeronautical engineer
Circular UFO descended at meteor-like speed, circled [Section I].
7-16-52; Hampton,
Virginia
Paul R. Hill
Aeronautical research
engineer
Four maneuvering lights rendezvoused, sped away.
7-27-52; Manhattan
Beach, California
Former Navy
Pilot, seven others
Aeronautical engineer
large object separated like "stack of coins" into 7 round UFOs;
three took V-formation, others followed in pairs flying abreast.
[From USAF Intell. Report].
8-6/7-52; Kerkrade,
Holland
Will Jansen
Marine engineer
Detailed observation of two domed discs. [Section X].
9-30-52; Edwards AFB,
California
Dick Beemer, two
others
Aviation photography
Two flattened spherical UFOs, hovering, turning sharply at
variable speeds.
10-54; Cherry Valley,
New York
Maj. A. B. Cox
Chemical & mechanical
engineer
Disc, 90 degree turn, ascended at steep angle. [Section I].
8-56; Boulder City,
Nevada
E. F. Carpenter
Aviation research
technician
Six discs in V-formation.
11-11-57; San Fernando,
California
Harold R. Lamb,
3 others
Rocketdyne engineers
Three oval UFOs ascending, est. speed: 5000 mph.
8-11-58; Chautauqua
Lake, New York
Dr. Fred C. Fair,
one other
Professor Emeritus of
engineering, N. Y.
University
Several observations; one apparent oval object.
9-4-60; Lexington,
Kentucky
John R. Cooke
Electronics, former
USAF radar
technician
Glowing sphere, passed from horizon to horizon.
10-30-61; Ligonier,
Pennsylvania
Carl H. Geary, Jr.
Engineer, Carrier
Corp. division
Four discs with lights like portholes [Section I].
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VERTICAL ASCENT, OTHER MANEUVERS a strange object crossing the skies from East to West, a great
deal higher and behind our balloon. I estimate that our balloon
Summer 1958; Erie, Penna. Victor G. Didelot, B.S. Physics, was at approximately 20,000 feet at the time.
research engineer in aircraft instrumentation and magnetics: Using our balloon for comparison, this object appeared to be
"The object appeared to be elliptic or oval shaped, approximately about 1/4 the size of the balloon. We were climbing and about
twice as long about its longest axis as it was thick. The object six miles northeast of the balloon. The object had a peculiar glow
maintained a course parallel to the ground for a visible arc of to it, crossing behind and above our balloon from East to West
close to 120 degrees, and roughly parallel to the shore line of very rapidly, first coming in at a slight dive, leveling off for about
Lake Erie. The object moved at a very rapid pace from west to a minute and slowing down, then into a sharp left turn and climb
east. When it had reached what appeared to be a position directly at an angle of 50 o to 60 o into the southeast with a terrific accel-
over the city of Erie, it abruptly and at a speed at least three eration, and disappeared.
times its horizontal speed ascended vertically until it passed from Jack Donaghue and I observed this object for approximately two
my sight." minutes and it crossed through an arc of approximately 400-500 Mr. Didelot adds that the time was early afternoon, and the We saw no vapor trail and from past experience I know that this
UFO was a silvery-white color. "I was also able to see that the object was not a balloon, jet, conventional aircraft, or celestial
star.
object did wobble sli
htl
but when it chan
d
t
th
g
y,
ge
course
o
e
vertical, it seemed to lose this apparent instability. There was
a complete absence of noise, and there was no discernible vapor
trail."
Mid-August 1951; Central, N.M. At his ranch 10 miles east of
Silver City, N.M., about 10:30 a.m., AlfordRoos, mining engineer,
heard a "swishing" noise, looked up and observed the performance
of two lens-shaped UFOs in particularly interesting detail. Mr.
Roos at the time had a Civil Service rating of senior mining
engineer, was a project engineer for the U.S. Bureau of Mines
and other government agencies, and a member of the American
Institute of Mining & Metal Engineers. Extracts from his report:
"I saw an object swooping down at an angle of about 45 degrees,
from southerly direction, travelling at immense speed, coming
quite close to the earth over Ft. Bayard, 2 miles to the NW.
Reaching the bottom of the swoop it hovered for moments, then
darted up at an angle of about 70 degrees from vertical, in a
northwesterly direction, directly over Ft. Bayard. . . . I ne-
glected to state that there were two objects that [converged at
the point of hovering] at which time they were in close proximity
. . . . Over Ft. Bayard there was an isolated cloud island covering
perhaps 3 degrees of arc and perhaps a mile across. The two
objects shot up at this steep angle at incredible speed, both enter-
ing the cloud, and neither appeared beyond, and no trace after
entering the cloud.
"Their track was as straight as a ruled line, no zig-zagging.
The astonishing thing was that the cloud immediately split into
3 segments, ever widening, where the objects entered. . . Each
object left a pencil-thin vapor trail."
At first, Mr. Roos continued, the UFOs appeared spherical,
"but after the hovering and the turn up, they must have tipped,
canted so I then saw the edge-on of the lens-like object. Going
toward the cloud they were disc-shaped. There was no gathering
of momentum from the low hover, to the lightning-like shoot. . .
From almost stationary to instant about 500 mph., the shock of
inertia would have made human (terrestrial) survival impossible.
"After the objects turned on their sides at the hover, there
appeared to be a button, or some small protrusion on the upper
side as viewed edge-on. . . the objects were quite close and we
[Ed. Note: other witnesses named in report] could all detect
some form of outer ornamentation or processor possibly orifices
or port holes, on the lower side just below the rim of the lens,
and these seemed to undergo change of iridescent color, almost
like a blinking."
Time: 1010, 10 October 1951
Place: 10 miles east of St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin
Observers: J. J. Kaliszewski and Jack Donaghue
We had just spotted our trajectory flight and were approaching
from the north at an altitude of 4000 feet. We started a climb
towards the balloon on a course of 230?. At 6,000 feet I noticed
JJK: rj
cc: G. O. Haglund
/s/ J. J. Kaliszewski
[Supervisor of balloon manufacture
Aeronautical Research Laboratories
General Mills, Inc.]
From: J. J. Kaliszewski
Subject: SIGHTING OF UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS
Time: 0630, 11 October 1951
Dick Reilly and I were flying at 10,000 feet observing the grab
bag balloon when I saw a brightly glowing object to the southeast
of the University of Minnesota airport. At that time we were a
few miles north of Minneapolis and heading east. I pointed it out
to Dick and we both made the following observation:
The object was moving from east to west at a high rate and very
high. We tried keeping the ship on a constant course and using
reinforcing member of the windshield as a point. The object moved
past this member at about 5? per second.
This object was peculiar in that it had what can be described as
a halo around it with a dark under surface. It crossed rapidly and
then slowed down and started to climb in lazy circles slowly.
The pattern it made was like a falling oak leaf inverted. It went
through these gyrations for a couple minutes. I called our track-
ing station at the University of Minnesota airport and-the-observers
there on the theodolite managed to get glimpses of a number of
them, but couldn't keep the theodolite going fast enough to keep
them in the field of their instruments. Both Doug Smith and Dick
Dorion caught glimpses of these objects in the theodolite after I
notified them of their presence by radio. This object, Dick and
I watched for approximately five minutes.
I don't know how to describe its size, because at the time I
didn't have the balloon in sight for a comparison.
Two hours later we saw another one, but this one didn't hang
around. It approached from the west and disappeared to the east,
neither one leaving any trace of vapor trail.
JJK:rj
cc: G. O. Haglund
Oscillatory Flight
March 10, 1952; Oakland, California. Two UFOs, one in
oscillatory flight, were observed by Clarence K. Greenwood, an
Inspector of Engineering Metals:
"About 6:45 a.m., as I waited for my bus to come along, I was
examining the sky predicting the weather for the day, when two
dark objects came into my line of vision apparently from my
right rear. It was difficult to gauge their altitude. I estimated
very roughly between five thousand and seventy-five hundred feet.
The two dark objects flew - scooted wouldbe a better description
of their flight - diagonally away from me gradually picking
up speed. One followed a direct or regular course while the
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other seemed to play at flight - a sort of pendulum motion. I
could only estimate their size. I judged about forty-five feet.
Their length about one-half the width. Below is a sketch of how
they appeared to me."
r I
April 23, 1952; Lexington, Mass. Mr. R. C. Munroe (then
Engineering Standards Section Head of Raytheon Manufacturing
Company). While watching an AT-6 trainer aircraft about 9:30
a.m., noticed a second object nearby:
"Because of the speed at which this second aircraft was
moving, I immediately concluded it was of the jet variety. I
would estimate its altitude at approximately 40,000 feet. . . just
below the cloud cover. My curiosity was aroused upon realizing
that I could not distinguish a fuselage wing configuration. My
curiosity was further aroused when this aircraft began to deceler-
ate at an unbelievable rate. I observed the aircraft going into a
flat turn, while continuing to decelerate and believe I saw the
aircraft come to a stop. . .
"The observation that inspires writing this letter to you [i.e.,
to CSI of Los Angeles] was the speed of this aircraft, apparently
accelerating from a stopped condition and flying in a northeast
direction which would carry it over the north end of Boston. I
would relate this speed to the apparent speed of a falling star.
This speed was considerably in excess of that of any jet aircraft
that I have observed.
"The altitude of this aircraft did not permit color identification.
There was no apparent exhaust or vapor trail. It is inconceivable
to me that any human being could have withstood the deceleration
or acceleration displayed by this aircraft."
about 50 degrees, from about 10 to 60 degrees, during the
observation.
Mr. Hill was interrogated by an Air Force intelligence officer
from Langley Air Force Base. [9.]
NICAP note: Four amber-colored UFOs were reported at
Patrick Air Force Base, Florida later the same evening.
1. Two UFOs approached, slowed.
2. Point of fast circling.
3. Third UFO joined circling ones.
Aviation Expert
UFO RENDEZVOUS OBSERVED
July 16, 1952, Hampton, Virginia, 9:00 p.m. (EST). Mr. Paul
R. Hill, an Aeronautical Research Engineer, holds a B.S. degree
in mechanical and aeronautical engineering from the University of
California. At the time of the report he had 13 years experience
in aeronautical research.
Mr. Hill was aware of previous UFO sightings which had been
headlined in July 1952, particularly the report by Capt. William
B. Nash, Pan-American Airways pilot, who on the night of July
14 had sighted 8 circular UFOs while flying above Newport News,
Va. [Section V]. Mr. Hill was situated on Chesapeake Avenue
(near La Salle Avenue) on the north shore of Hampton Roads
watching the sky. With him was his wife, Frances, who also
witnessed what followed.
At 9:00 p.m., he noticed two amber-colored lights. He gave
this description: "Two were seen first coming in over Hampton
Roads at about 500 mph. from the south. These slowed down as
they made a "U" turn at the southern edge of the Peninsula.
They moved side by side until they revolved around each other
at a high rate of speed in a tight circle 2 or 3 hundred feet in
diameter. This appeared tobe a rendezvous signal as a third UFO
came racing up from the direction of Virginia Beach and "fell
in" several hundred feet below the first two, forming a sort of
"V" formation. A fourth UFO came in from up the James River
and joined the group which headed on south at about 500 mph."
Mr. Hill added that the UFOs changed altitude "only when they
revolved around each other, circling or spiraling rapidly (as
fast as once per second).
"They moved jerkily when moving slowly. The speed varied
from about 50 to 500 mph. Their ability to make tight circling
turns was amazing." [See diagram.]
At about 9:03 p.m., the four UFOs had moved into the distance
out of sight to the south. The color and brightness of the objects,
which did not change except apparently due to increase in dis-
tance, was compared to "an amber traffic light about 3 or 4
blocks away." The elevation angle of the UFOs covered a range of
4. Fourth joined formation.
5. All four moved south in group.
Paul R. Hill - Hampton, Virginia
July 16, 1952
September 30, 1952; Edwards AFB, California. In a letter to
the President of CSI of Los Angeles, Dick Beemer, aviation
photographer for North American Aviation Company, described
the following sighting. [Note that once again observation of a
passing aircraft attracted the witnesses' attention to the sky.
Otherwise they probably would not have noticed the UFOs]
"I went to Edwards Air Force Base [Muroc]. . . to direct the
motion picture photography of a flight test. We had driven to the
test site on the lake bed, and were standing outside. At 10:30
a.m., Carlos Garcia, one of our cameramen, looked up at a B-29
which was passing overhead. He said that he believed something
had fallen from the plane. He then discovered that it was not from
the plane, but seemed tobe flying around. Then he noticed another.
I thought he was joking and didn't pay much attention. Then Gene
Pichler, the other cameraman looked up. He too observed them.
By this time, I joined the watching party, and sure enough, there
was really something there. We watched them for nearly ten
minutes, and they appeared as follows:
"They were east of us at approximately a fifty degree angle
from the ground level, and just below the mid-morning sun.
They were flying at a very high altitude, moved at an extremely
high rate of speed (much faster than a jet plane), left no vapor
trails, and made no sound. Each of us thought that there were at
least three in flight, but we could see no more than two at one
time. They moved in no definite direction. For a short time,
fifteen seconds or more, one would hover while the other would
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zoom down past one side of it, make a sharp turn, and flash back
above it on the opposite side.
"They seemed to be shaped more like flattened spheres, rather
than thin saucers. In fact, they looked and behaved somewhat
like yo-yo's. They moved about quickly, but seemed to have no
particular destination.
"Although the sun was above them, the side away from the
sun, that is, the side toward us, appeared as if it were reflecting
the sunlight. They were somewhat metallic in appearance, but
seemed whiter than modern aircraft.
"We had a color motion picture camera with us, but were
waiting for them to fly away from the direct rays of the sun.
Instead, they disappeared away from us, and we were left with
nothing but memories. "
Formation of Discs
Mid-August 1956; Boulder City, Nevada. A formation of five
disc-shaped UFOs was seen about 10:15 p.m. (PDT) by Edison
F. Carpenter, a research technician for a division of North
American Aviation. At the time of the sighting, Mr. Carpenter
was employed by the U.S. Bureau of Mines.
"My wife and I were sitting on the back step of our home.
It was a clear night, not a cloud in sight and a slight breeze from
the southwest. We were facing due south. . . Suddenly from
directly overhead, they had come over the house from the north,
we both became aware of a group of slightly glowing objects
as they flew to the south. The group numbered five and was in
roughly this formation:
Their shape was perfectly round as viewed from below and they
had a sort of phosphorescent glow (pinkish in color). The general
shape must have been round and flat rather than round like a ball
because as they drew away the shape was like this p rather
than this 0 as a ball would appear from any angle.
"They held the formation illustrated while in view and main-
tained a spacing of approximately one diameter between ships.
This diameter was about the diameter of a cigarette cross-section
held at arm's length. They crossed approximately 60 degrees
of sky, from the time they came into view over our roof until I
lost sight of them, in about 6 seconds. I'm quite sure of the time
element because pistol shooting is a hobby of mine and I've
become accustomed to counting off 10 and 20 seconds for rapid
and timed fire."
(In an accompanying letter to NICAP, Mr. Carpenter added an
important point about the duration of some UFO sightings: "I
am also aware that 10 seconds is a much longer interval than
most people realize since it allows time for 5 aimed shots with
a pistol." Some skeptics deny the validity of observations of
several seconds duration, even when made by trained observers.
Anyone in military service who has taken courses in aircraft
and ship identification is also aware of how much detail can be
observed in 2-3 seconds, and even in a fraction of a second with
appropriate training).
Rocketdyne Engineers
During a large flurry of UFO sightings in November 1957,
four engineers for Rocketdyne, near Canoga Park, California,
observed three UFOs flying in formation in bright daylight. One
of the engineers, Harold R. Lamb, Jr., filled out a NICAP report
form. [10.]
November 11, 1957: at 4:20 p.m. the group was driving in a
generally ESE direction from the Rocketdyne SanSu facility
toward Canoga. Park, with the late afternoon sun to their back.
One of the men happened to look up and saw three shiny objects
crossing their path, from NE to SW. He alerted the others, and
they all clearly saw a large narrow oval object (almost cigar-
shaped) accompanied by two smaller nearly circular objects
(slightly oval, as if discs viewed at an angle). The large UFO
was silvery on top, but bright orange underneath, possibly re-
fleeting sunlight. The two smaller UFOs were solid silver color-
ed. Keeping the same positions relative to each other, a V with
one of the smaller objects slightly ahead and one slightly behind
the large object, the three UFOs accelerated and climbed away
into the distance.
The four men compared notes, and arrived at a consensus of
opinion that the UFOs were first seen at about 10,000 feet altitude,
climbing to 30,000 feet, at an estimated 5000 mph.
TELESCOPIC SIGHTINGS
August 11, 1958; Chautauqua Lake, N.Y.
Time: 9:15 to 10:30 p.m.
Observers: Fred C. Fair, Ph.D., and Gary Phillips.
Dr. Fair, a retired professor of Engineering, New York Uni-
versity, submitted the following log of observations of aerial
phenomena. He and Gary Phillips were using a survey transit to
observe the altitude and azimuth of certain stars.
"(1) A white light was observed moving across the sky to the
right and away from the observers. When the transit telescope
was sighted on the moving light, possibly a minute had elapsed
since it was first observed. At first only one white light was seen,
then a second was noted, then a third and finally a fourth light,
all four being more or less in line, and each separated by an
angular distance of about 2 degrees. It is the opinion of both ob-
servers that when the first of the four lights was seen, that there
were no other moving lights in the vicinity. Which does not mean
that the objects were not in the sky, but that they were not emitting
visible light at that time.
Shortly after watching all four lights with the naked eye, the
third light became about ten times as bright as the others, be-
coming brighter than Jupiter which was in the same sky area.
The other three lights at this time were about as bright as a
second magnitude star. A few seconds later this third light rather
suddenly dimmed until it was the faintest of the four lights.
Due to the narrow field of view of a surveyor's transit tele-
scope, it is rather difficult to locate and follow a rapidly moving
object. By the time that Gary made his first observation through
the telescope the moving lights had traveled from Northwest to
Southwest, passing close to Jupiter. Gary made the statement
that the objects were Flying Saucers, and that the telescope showed
that what appeared to be a single light to the naked eye was
several lights, and that there was a red light above the others.
When Dr. Fair took his turn to observe the lights, three of the
objects had already disappeared behind trees to the south.
The very brief glance that Dr. Fair had showed several white
lights, he thought there were five, and he observed a faint red
light to the rear and above the white ones.
(2) Fifteen minutes later, while in a boat on Lake Chautauqua,
while looking for meteors, a single white light was seen in the
southeast sky traveling from south to north. The light slowly
and continuously varied intensity, fluctuating from 5th to 3rd
magnitude, but the time of the cycle was irregular, but of more
than three-second duration per cycle. For several seconds the
light appeared to be stationary and when it resumed its motion it
was traveling in a direction opposite to when first observed.
Total time of observation of this light was about five minutes.
As it receded in the south it became too faint to be further seen.
At about this time a jet trail, making an are of about 180 degrees
was observed in a tighter radius than that described by the first
four objects, but following essentially the same course. At the
head of the jet trail Gary saw a red glow, possibly the exhaust
from the jet.
(3) Still later a different type of lighting was seen close to
the horizon in the western sky. We were still out on the lake at
the time. A bright, rapidly blinking red and white light moved
rapidly from right to left. Soon a similar blinking red and white
light was seen to the right of this light, moving from right to left.
It was fainter than the other which could have been due to being
farther away. When the two lights passed each other they were
separated by a vertical angle of about 2 or 3 degrees.
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(4) After returning to the transit on shore, star observations
were resumed but in a few minutes were interrupted to again
observe a white light in the northwest traveling rapidly from west
to north. The telescope showed this light to be similar to the
first objects. Dr. Fair noted in particular that the five white
lights were not arranged in a straight line, but appeared as though
spaced on the circumference of an oval. [Emphasis added]. Again,
a red light was noted above and slightly to the rear of the white
lights. This was followed with the telescope until it disappeared
behind some nearby trees. Gary who noticed this object first
saw only two white lights. Probably fifteen seconds elapsed before
Dr. Fair was sighted on the object and observed that there were
five white lights.
September 4, 1960; Lexington, Kentucky. John R. Cooke,
currently owner of an automobile company, was a radar tech-
nician in the U. S. Air Force Strategic Air Command for four
years, completing special electronics courses during Air Force
service. His report was obtained by the Bluegrass NICAP
Affiliate in Lexington, on a NICAP report form.
About 9:30 p.m., Mrs. Cooke noticed a bright light low on the
horizon to the SW, and called it to the attention of her husband.
As they watched, the UFO, appearing as a fiery-looking, glowing
sphere, passed from horizon to horizon in about 2 minutes, fading
from sight in the bright lights above the city. The UFO did
not move particularly rapidly, but was unlike any conventional
phenomenon, and flew parallel to the earth.
(Mr. Cooke also stated that in 1952, while a passenger in a
B-25, he had listened on the radio to an F-86 jet pilot describing
the maneuvers of a UFO).
NOTES
1. Associated Press; February 25, 1951
7. The Honeywell World, Minneapolis; Vol. 2, No. 17 January 1,
2. Time; March 3, 1952
1962
3. American Weekly; October 24, 1954
8. Defiance, Ohio, Crescent-News; June 2, 1962.
See also
4. Letter on file at NICAP
May 21st edition.
5. London, Ontario, Free Press; May 1,
1954
9. See Ruppelt, Edward J., Report on Unidentified Flying Ob-
6. Copy of cable furnished to NICAP by member employed at
Space Agency
jects, (Doubleday, 1956), p. 210.
10. Names of other witnesses on file at NICAP
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SECTION VII
Officials & Citizens
The reports of technically trained observers, military and
civilian pilots, in themselves are sufficient to make a strong case
for UFOs. However, when we also realize that a broad cross-
section of reputable citizens has described identical phenomena,
it seems incredible that UFOs are not an acknowledged fact.
The disc-shaped, elliptical and other main types of UFOs ob-
served by pilots and scientists have been reported with great
frequency by such responsible persons as judges, civil defense
officials, professors, lawyers and clergymen.
Some of these individual observer categories could fill another
complete section of this report. From the hundreds of cases on
file, the following have been selected to provide a survey of what
has been seen by officials and private citizens of various back-
grounds.
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS
Police switchboards normally and logically are the first to
be swamped with calls during concentrations of sightings, since
there is no established procedure for citizens to follow when they
see a UFO. Examples abound of cases in which police responded
to citizens' reports of UFOs, and, saw the objects for themselves.
Police Officers on patrol duty, too, have observed unexplainable
objects maneuvering overhead.
During a six-day concentration of UFO sightings in northern
California, August 13-18, 1960, at least 14 police officers were
among the numerous witnesses. At 11:50 p.m. (PDT) August 13,
State Policeman Charles A. Carson and Stanley Scott were pa-
trolling near Red Bluff when they noticed an object low in the sky
directly ahead of them. (Their report of the sighting was put on
the police teletype, a copy of which was submitted to NICAP con-
fidentially by a police source. Later, NICAP Adviser Walter N.
Webb contacted Officer Carson and was sent another copy of the
teletype report, a sketch of the UFO, and a letter giving additional
information.)
Verbatim text of the police teletype report to the Area
Commander:
"STATEMENT MADE BY OFFICER CHARLES A. CARSON
CONCERNING OBJECT OBSERVED ON THE NIGHT OF AUGUST
13, 1960.
Officer Scott and I were E/B on Hoag Road, east of Corning,
looking for a speeding motorcycle when we saw what at first
appeared to be a huge airliner dropping from the sky. The object
was very low and directly in front of us. We stopped and leaped
from the patrol vehicle in order to get a position on what we were
sure was going to be an airplane crash. From our position outside
the car, the first thing we noticed was an absolute silence. Still
assuming it to be an aircraft with power off, we continued to
watch until the object was probably within 100 feet to 200 feet off
the ground, when it suddenly reversed completely, at high speed,
and gained approximately 500 feet altitude. There the object
stopped. At this time it was clearly visible to both of us. It was
surrounded by a glow making the round or oblong object visible.
At each end, or each side of the object, there were definite red
lights. At times about five white lights were visible between the
red lights. As we watched the object moved again and performed
aerial feats that were actually unbelievable.
At this time we radioed Tehama County Sheriff's Office re-
questing they contact local radar base. The radar base confirmed
the UFO - completely unidentified.
Officer Scott and myself, after our verification, continued to
watch the object. On two occasions the object came directly
towards the patrol vehicle; each time it approached, the object
turned, swept the area with a huge red light. Officer Scott turned
the red light on the patrol vehicle towards the object, and it im-
mediately went away from us. We observed the object use the
red beam approximately 6 or 7 times, sweeping the sky and
ground areas. The object began moving slowly in an easterly
direction and we followed. We proceeded to the Vina Plains
Fire Station where it was approached by a similar object from
the south. It moved near the first object and both stopped, re-
maining in that position for some time, occasionally emitting the
red beam. Finally, both objects disappeared below the eastern
horizon. We returned to the Tehama County Sheriff's Office and
met Deputy Fry and Deputy Montgomery, who had gone to Los
Molinos after contacting the radar base. Both had seen the UFO
clearly, and described to us what we saw. The night jailer also
was able to see the object for a short time; each described the
object and its maneuvers exactly .as we saw them. We first saw
the object at 2350 hours and observed it for approximately two
hours and 15 minutes. Each time the object neared us we ex-
perienced radio interference.
We submit this report in confidence for your information.
We were calm after our initial shock, and decided to observe
and record all we could of the object.
Stanley Scott 1851
Charles A. Carson 2358."
Extracts from Officer Carson's letter of November 14, 1960,
in answer to Adviser Webb's questions:
"We made several attempts to follow it, or I should say get
closer to it, but the object seemed aware of us and we were more
successful remaining motionless and allow it to approach us,
which it did on several occasions.
"There were no clouds or aircraft visible. The object was
shaped somewhat like a football, the edges (here I am confused
as to what you mean by edges, referring to the outside visible
edges of the object as opposed to athin, sharp edge, no thin sharp
edges were visible) or I should say outside of the object were
clear to us ... [the] glow was emitted by the object, was not a
reflection of other lights. The object was solid, definitely not
transparent. At no time did we hear any type of sound except
radio interference.
"The object was capable of moving in any direction. Up and
down, back and forth. At times the movement was very slow. At
times it was completely motionless. It moved at high (extremely)
speeds and several times we watched it change directions or
reverse itself while moving at unbelievable speeds.
"When first observed the object was moving from north to
south [patrol car moving almost due east]. Our pursuit led in an
easterly direction and object disappeared on eastern horizon. It
was approximately 500 feet above the horizon when first observed,
seemingly falling at approximate 45 degree angle to the south ...
"As to the official explanation [See Section IX.], I have been
told we saw Northern lights, a weather balloon, and now refrac-
tions.
"I served 4 years with the Air Force, I believe I am familiar
with the Northern lights, also weather balloons. Officer Scott
served as a paratrooper during the Korean Conflict. Both of us
are aware of the tricks light can play on the eyes during dark-
ness. We were aware of this at the time. Our observations and
estimations of speed, size, etc. came from aligning the object
with fixed objects on the horizon. I agree we find it difficult to
believe what we were watching, but no one will ever convince us
that we were witnessing a refraction of light.
/s/ Charles A. Carson
Calif. Highway Patrol." [1]
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 o rzoN
1A 13
gLD66ARA
BETELGEUSE
POSITIONS OF MARS,
ALDEBARAN, & BETELGEUSE
AT START OF SIGHTING
LOCATION OF SIGHTING
~oLo2
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/-5-?-
Police In Four Counties
Sight UFOs
Six police officers in four adjoining counties of Northeast
Ohio, in five separate locations, independently observed UFO
activity within a 15 minute period September 18, 1962. The
officers were: State Policemen Roger A. Stinard, and David
McCurry; Mahoning County Deputy Sheriff Donald E. Corey,
Carroll County Police Officers James Nelson and Delmus Earley,
Ptn. Dave Richey of Canal Fulton. All reported a generally north-
east or east direction, but in two of the observations the UFOs
maneuvered across the sky. Comparison of the reports strongly
suggests that associated phenomena were observed.
(1) State Policeman David McCurry, chasing a speeding car
about 5:00 a.m. in the vicinity of Minerva, intermittently watched
two white oval-shaped objects which he had noticed hovering in
the sky just before the speeder came by. When he looked again
he saw that one of the UFOs had descended and was glowing
brilliantly. Suddenly the object took off at high speed to the NE.
Later Officer McCurry checked with a patrol just across the
County line in Carroll County, and learned they had seen es-
sentially the same phenomenon.
(2) Ptn. James Nelson and Delmus Early, opposite Minerva
across the County line in Carroll County, were cruising north on
route 80 checking out various business establishments. Between
5:00 and 5:10 a.m., they noticed two UFOs, widely separated but
apparently maneuvering in unison. The objects descended, seemed
to stop momentarily, then accelerated and sped away NE. In a
taped interview, the officers described the UFO closest to them
as cone-shaped with a fiery exhaust, leaving a trail of smoke.
The sighting lasted 4-5 minutes.
(3) Deputy Sheriff Donald E. Corey, Mahoning County, was
cruising near Poland, about 35 miles north and east of Minerva
(4) Ptn. Dave Richey, Canal Fulton, about the same time
sighted a stationary UFO, also in the NE sky. It was cone-shaped
with a bright blue-white light on one end, visible about 45 sec-
onds. After parking his car, Officer Richey looked again about a
minute later and the object was gone.
(5) State Policeman Roger A. Stinard was cruising near
Hudson, about 45 miles NNW of Minerva; it was cloudy and
drizzling. He places the time at 5:15 a.m. A bright light in the
sky attracted his attention, and he looked toward the E. Visible
through the clouds was an "extreme white light, brighter than
headlights." The light was completely stationary as long as he
watched it, for 2-3 minutes. [2.]
September 18, 1962 5:00-5:15 a.m. EDT
McCurry 2. Ptn. Nelson & Early 3. Dep'y Corey 4. Ptn.
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Dispatcher, Officers,
Watch Flashing Objects
Over the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, in an area
about 60 miles in diameter, UFOs were seen on several oc-
casions during the week of October 21-27, 1962. On the night of
the 25th between 6:40 and 8:15 p.m., police officers in Delta
and Cedaredge observed two bright objects "shaped like an
inverted umbrella with a number of bright tail-like appendages."
[cf., September 24, 1959, Redmond, Oregon; Section V.] Cedaredge
Marshal Ed Marah and State Policeman Richard Kuta (who later
declined to answer NICAP questions) watched the UFOs through
binoculars, and said they changed color, at various times ap-
pearing blue, white and orange.
The sighting was confirmed to NICAP by another witness,
Mrs. Helen G. Mitchell, Police Dispatcher at Delta County Court
House. [3.] At 6:40 p.m., while on duty, she received a call from
the Civil Defense Coordinator advising her to look out to see an
object in the sky. Through the window of the Dispatcher's office
she saw to the NE a bright white object, which changed color
rapidly, "flashing or blinking."
"Since I was on duty in the Radio Room," Mrs. Mitchell
told NICAP, "and under the rules of the F.C.C., I am unable to
give any information which I received via short wave radio from
Units reporting to me on these sightings."
The object she saw turned reddish, then to dark glowing red,
and back to "dazzling white." It rose and lost altitude jerkily
while moving slowly SW toward her position, then stopped and
hovered for about 25 minutes. Finally it drifted out of her line of
sight to the SE. She thought it might be some type of balloon
"because of the jerky way in which it rose and lost altitude."
However, weather balloons are only faintly visible, rise quickly
and burst, and do not hover for 25 minutes. Larger high-altitude
research balloons do remain in flight for days, but are not bril-
liantly lighted. Nor do they normally operate in pairs, as reported
by Marshal Marah and Officer Kuta.
Disc On Edge Reported
During the early morning of September 26, 1963, a UFO was
sighted by people in scattered locations around the San Francisco
Bay area. Paul Cerny, Chairman of the Bay Area NICAP Sub-
committee, conducted an investigation and located nine witnesses.
(The sighting was reported September 26 in the San Jose Mercury
News Los Altos Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.) A
particularly detailed report was obtained from Officer Galen
Anderson of the Sunnyvale Police Department, who observed the
UFO for about 45 seconds.
About 4:20 a.m., Officer Anderson was patrolling the streets
in a squad car. A radio call from other officers alerted him, and
he stopped to watch the UFO. The object was traveling from east
to west at an elevation angle of about 45 degrees, at about the
speed of a propeller-driven aircraft. The leading edge was
brightly illuminated, the main body grayish in color, with a
small point of light visible on it. (See sketches and description
prepared by Bay Area Subcommittee). The UFO then made a
turn toward the northwest, was momentarily visible edge-on,
then quickly disappeared from view.
In nearby Monta Vista about 4:15 a.m., George W. Scott was
on the job as a supervisor at the Permanente Cement Company.
One of the work crew called his attention to a strange object in
the sky, and he watched its flight for about a minute. To him, it
appeared that the UFO stopped briefly each time the small body
light pulsed, then moved 3 to 4 degrees between pulses. The UFO
continued on a westerly course, disappearing behind the coastal
mountains.
SM.4LI- /ND/V/Di'AL LIGHT
EKRAT"/CALLy c//ANE-6D poS/TioN
EVERY ?-,/ S& ND$ AS /T PI'4_5FD,
This object appeared larger than a full moon, according to Officer Anderson, about basketball size at about 8 feet away. It
appeared as a disc on edge, with about 3/4 or more of its outline showing. The trailing 1/4 of the circle, if it were there,
appeared more or less invisible. Police Officer Lt. Haag told Anderson that he saw what appeared as heat waves in this
quarter area and further to the rear. The disc appeared grayish in color except when the small spot of light ("A") lighted up
about every 3 to 4 seconds. The color then changed to yellowish - white, some trace of orange, but predominately along the
front leading edge portion ("B"). This produced a pulsing effect every three or four seconds. This in turn gave an eerie
lighted haze or mist illumination of the area just outside the disc circle itself as if it were glowing or surrounded by a gas,
or thin cloud, halo, etc. At each 3-4 second pulse, the small inner bright light would move around erratically to various new
positions within the disc area.
The object was visible about 45 seconds to Officer Anderson and traveled in a perfectly straight line over Sunnyvale toward
Los Altos, then suddenly made a turn and was momentarily edgewise and vertical to Anderson's vision, then immediately
disappeared from sight. Officer Anderson and Lt. Haag were only about a third of a mile apart at the time and Officer Girard
was perhaps a mile to their northeast. Speed of the object was about that of a propeller driven military aircraft, elevation
about 450 from Officer Anderson, estimated altitude 4000-6000 ft., visible about 45 seconds. Brighter than full moon.
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(Names and addresses of other witnesses on file at NICAP.)
A somewhat similar case during the winter of 1943 or 1944
was reported by Harry G. Barnes, then a member of the Wash-
ington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department stationed at No. 1
Precinct. About 3:00 p.m., Barnes saw three oval-shaped UFOs
in V-formation speed eastward across the NE sky. The objects
had pulsating greenish-red "exhausts", which occasionally flared
and curled around them. [5.]
State Policeman Fred Porcello, Portville, N.Y., saw two
UFOs of uncommon configuration July 24, 1960. He described
the sighting to Olean, N.Y., newsman Bob Barry who relayed the
report to NICAP.
While Officer Porcello was playing in the yard with his chil-
dren between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m., his youngest son, Fred Jr. (age
7) pointed to the sky and said: "Look Daddy, two light bulbs in the
sky." He looked and saw two glowing reddish objects which did
resemble light bulbs, moving toward them in the southern sky.
As the UFOs changed angle relative to the sun, they appeared
silvery and metallic (suggesting that the glow was reflected sun-
light). They changed course to the NNW, then stopped and hovered
for a short period of time. Then the objects made a fairly sharp
right turn, heading east, swung back toward the south and moved
out of sight in the distance. They had been visible 4-5 minutes.
When not glowing, the UFOs appeared to be dumbbell-shaped,
round on the ends with an oblong section between.
(On August 21, 1956, J. Gordon Campbell observed similar
objects while flying between Sheridan, Wyoming, and Billings,
Montana. Mr. Campbell is president of a Minneapolis machine
tool and industrial supply company. Shortly after 8:00 p.m., a
dark elongated object with knobs at each end rapidly approached
his plane, hovered, then sped away. Seconds later, four similar
objects maneuvered near his plane).
OTHER POLICE CASES
Names
July 7, 1947
Tacoma, Wash.
Ptn. Evan Davis & Stan
Johnson
July 28, 1952
Shelby Co., Ind.
State Policemen Charles
Longstreet & Norman
Mellis
Aug. 28, 1952
Atlanta, Ga.
Six officers including Ptn.
M.J. Spears and A.L.
Elsberry
Sept. 22, 1952
Fairfax Co., Va.
Police Pvt's. Douglas Dunn,
Julian Burke, Martin
Eherill, and Sgt. Wall
Sept. 11-13,
1953
Chiloquin, Ore.
Police Chief Lew Jones
Nov. 2, 1955
Williston, Fla.
Deputy Sheriff A.H.
Perkins, Ptn. C.F. Bell
Nov. 24-25,
1956
So. Dakota
Sheriff Glen Best, State
Policeman C.D. Erickson
Nov. 2, 1957
Levelland, Tex.
Sheriff Weir Clem,
Deputy Pat McCullough
Nov. 4, 1957
Elmwood Park,
Ill.
Officers Joseph Lukasek,
Clifford Schau, and
Daniel DeGiovanni
Nov. 6, 1957
nr. Danville,
Ill.
State Policemen Calvin
Showers, John Matulis
Nov. 10, 1957
Hammond, Ind.
Capt. Dennis Becky,
Officers Charles Moore,
Charles Mauder, and
Steve Betustak
(Many other police reports during November 1957)
April 9, 1958
Newport Beach,
Calif.
Ptn. R. Gordon
Aug. 24, 1958
Westwood, N.J.
Ptn. Richard Schulz and
Richard McCabe
Oct. 12, 1958
Aurora, I11.
Ptn. William Hornyan and
Jack Adams
April 3, 1959
Ocoee, Fla.
John F. Wilmeth, retired
U.S. Treasury enforcement
officer, former Coast
Guard Lieut.
3 spinning objects, sparks emitted, attracted back;
hovered, changed direction.
Huge round UFO reported to Godman AFB. Capt.
Mantell case; [See Section V.]
Star-like UFO "moved up and down, and back and forth,
and at times it would hover."
UFO changing color, "every so often it would sprout a [10]
red flamed trail, then it would move up and down... it
turned a flip a couple of times."
1-4 glowing objects circled and maneuvered over area. [11]
Dunn saw 3-4 at one time: "Looked like a white ball of
fire coming through the clouds ... they would come and
go ... it was like tag." Burke: "One would pop out here,
another there ... Weird.. . weird indeed."
Top-like UFOs, seen by many citizens over three nights, [12]
sighted once by Chief Jones. Watched through binoculars,
appeared top-shaped with body lights.
Perkins twice witnessed UFOs seen by over a dozen [13]
area residents. Bell saw 6 oval-shaped UFOs moving
in spurts, felt stinging heat.
Widespread sightings, rumors of radar contacts by [14]
Ellsworth AFB pilots; near Rapid City officers chased
a UFO which had steady green light, flashing red light.
UFO occasionally beamed a white light upwards.
Bright red elliptical UFO, also seen by many others.
[See Section XII; Nov. 1957 Chronology]
Round, reddish object hovered over cemetery, moved [15]
away when pursued by police.
Brilliant white light, changing to amber and orange, [16]
viewed 20 minutes; cruiser radio failed.
Elongated object with one red, one white, body light; [17]
interference on police radio. Object eluded pursuing
police.
Two flat objects with rows of six flashing lights on [18]
leading edge of each, low above ocean with light reflect-
ing in water; maneuvered, made sharp turns.
Glowing orange circular UFO hovered, moved E [19]
rapidly disappearing in seconds.
Several yellow objects moving in all directions; many [20]
witnesses.
Large greenish-yellow light ascending, reflecting on [21]
lake; faded, re-appeared descending, hovered ...
finally ascended out of sight.
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CIVIL DEFENSE
August 23, 1953; Columbus, Ohio. 0415 EST; red and
white, half dollar [apparent size], moving very slowly up-
GROUND OBSERVER CORPS
The Ground Observer Corps was created in January 1950,
and inactivated January 31, 1959. By that time the improvement
of electronic detection equipment reduced the need for civilian
volunteer observers to supplement the air detection network of the
Air Defense Command. During the period of its operation, the
GOC made a great contribution to the security of the United
States. It also logged hundreds of sightings of unexplainable
aerial phenomena.
NICAP Adviser Leonard H. Stringfield, during this period,
was Director of an effective world-wide organization (C.R.I.F.O.)
in Cincinnati, Ohio, which sifted and publicized reliable UFO in-
formation. In September 1955, the Air Defense Command Filter
Center in Columbus designated Stringfield's home as an official
"UFO reporting post." Thereafter, when UFOs were observed in
the skies above Cincinnati, Stringfield would checkout the reports.
If the objects did not appear to be anything conventional, he would
alert the Filter Center. On several occasions, Stringfield helped
vector in jet interceptors to track down unidentified objects in
the skies.
A similar incident occurred August 23, 1955. In a privately
published book, [22.] Stringfield described what happened:
"About midnight, residents throughout the city were jarred
by the roar of jets. From S.A.C., Lockburne AFB, south of
Columbus, the Air National Guard jets were alerted, scrambled
and were over Cincinnati in 12 minutes. The alert began when
three UFOs were sighted and confirmed by radar somewhere
between Columbus and Cincinnati.
"In the meantime, Walter Paner, Supt. of Hamilton County
GOC, on duty at the Mt. Healthy Post, phoned the author of the
existent alert and relayed the word that jet interceptors were
due over the area. He said the UFOs had been active over Mt.
Healthy and could be seen clearly by observers from the tower.
In a short time, the jets, at approximately 20,000 feet, were over
Cincinnati, but poor visibility prevented me and a visiting friend
from Toronto, Canada, from seeing the UFOs which had deployed
over a wide area. According to radar, the interlopers had exten-
ded 37 miles south, 24 miles north of the city, and as far as 10
miles east of Mt. Healthy.
"A later call from Paner disclosed that a UFO was seen
hovering in pendulum-like motions directly over the tower. At
about 12:10 a.m., the interceptors made contact, and swooping
in, chased the UFO - which disappeared at incredible speed. In
the meantime, the Forestville and Loveland GOC Post reported
the erratic flights of UFOs to the Air Filter Center describing
them as round brilliant white spheres and discs."
The Cincinnati-Columbus, Ohio, area has long been a scene
of extensive UFO activity. During 1953 and 1954, another NICAP
member, Don Berliner, logged UFO sightings at the Columbus
Filter Center. A selection of the reports indicates the flavor and
frequency of UFO observations:
July 9, 1953; Columbus, Ohio. "Circular, silver" object
traveling at terrific rate of speed" at very high altitude seen
by accountant at North American Aviation plant.
July 24, 1953; Mt. Vernon, Ohio. 0900 EST; "large
silver object" circles over town and then leaves in SW
direction at speed slightly faster than clouds. Altitude esti-
mated at 30,000 ft.
July 31, 1953; Port Clinton, Ohio. White light; going east
45 degrees in 30-40 seconds; viewed through 7x field glasses;
ceiling was 15-20,000 feet. 2050 EST.
August 1, 1953; Toledo, Ohio. 0030 EST; "amber to
green or blue;" ... "flickers and jumps."
August 14, 1953; Columbus, Ohio. 2030 EST; lighted
object came straight down out of the sky, stopped, then sped
out of view; in sight 30 seconds; observed by two young boys.
(From Ohio State Journal; 8-15-53).
August 15, 1953; Crestline, Ohio. 2030 EST; light:
white, red, green; circling; clear and calm.
August 21, 1953; Maumee, Ohio. 2200-2300 EST; Black
oval, beads of light with green and red around perimeter;
going NW, 20 degrees above horizon.
ward; observed 1-1/2 hours.
September 24, 1953; Columbus, Ohio. 1027 EST; round
disk, silvery, few seconds, following plane.
October 30, 1953; Mt. Vernon, Ohio. 1725Z; round,
silver, did not look like plane; heard motor sound; low
altitude; circular motion; clear.
November 14, 1953; vicinity of Toledo, Ohio. 2330Z;
orange, white, blue and red flashing; gaining altitude; very
clear.
December 13, 1953; Central Ohio. 0030 EST; long with
white lights at both ends. Altitude approx. 5000 feet. Clear.
December 16, 1953; Toledo, Ohio. 1920 EST. Small
group of lights changing from red to white, each appearing
to revolve; altitude very high. Disappeared to NW a few
minutes prior to arrival of seven aircraft from east. Seven
were in loose formation, 1 mile apart and at different
altitudes. Four miles from point of observation, broke
formation and flew off in different directions.
GOC, Radar,
Track UFO Across New York
From 1951 to 1955, NICAP Adviser James C. Beatty served
as a civilian leader at the Air Force Filter Center in White
Plains, N.Y. The Center covered parts of three states: A portion
of southern New York, about one-half of Connecticut, and most
of New Jersey. Approximately 15,000 Ground Observer Corps
spotters reported to this Center. During this period, Beatty
served as an instructor, a team supervisor, and also as alert
crew supervisor. In the latter capacity, he would have been the
civilian in charge at the Filter Center if New York had actually
been attacked. In a tape recorded talk to the New York NICAP
Affiliate, Beatty said that UFO sightings reported byGOC spotters
were numerous; "It was a fairly frequent occurrence."
Beatty recalled in particular one sighting in which he helped
track the UFO. It was late August or early September 1954, on
the 8:00 p.m. to midnight shift. At first, all was quiet. Then about
9:30 p.m. a post about 20 miles southeast of Poughkeepsie, N.Y.,
reported that "a large round orange object" the apparent size of
the moon had appeared suddenly in the sky. The moon was also
visible in another sector of the sky, and was not full that night.
For 20-30 minutes, the ground observers watched the UFO.
At first it appeared stationary, except for an oscillatory effect
as if it were about to start moving. Then it began moving slowly
in a southeasterly direction. As it moved the color changed
slightly from orange to a more yellow-orange.
"During the next hour," Beatty reported, "our team at the
Filter Center plotted the progress of this object across the
board... This track as it began to evolve had a southeasterly
direction. During this whole period of an hour it was under
constant observation.
"While the object had been progressing across our board, I
at that particular time was on the hot-line at the Filter Center ...
Two radar stations we were hooked into confirmed at that time
that they had been holding an electronic fix on this same object ...
It coincided in position and movement with the object we had seen
visually."
Over the hot-line, Beatty could hear the various ground
bases talking to each other, and heard the "scramble" order
go out from two different Air Force bases. Two jets were
scrambled from Stewart AFB, Newburgh, N.Y., and two from
the base at Newcastle, Delaware.
"At the time I was hearing the scrambles in the background,
the plot was progressing more in a direction toward the state of
Connecticut ... then we began to pick up the jet patterns, coming
in from the south in the case of the scramble from Delaware,
and from the west in the case of the scramble from Stewart
Field ... We could track the jets as they closed in on this object.
"Shortly before the interception occurred, a strange thing
happened to the orange object. This was reported both by the
ground observer posts and by the pilots of the jets. It seemed to
speed up in its motion - it had been oscillating or pulsating and
moved rather slowly - and it changed to a rotational effect with
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also a change of lights. By this time the reports came in that it
was a whirling combination of red, green and yellow lights ...
sort of a rainbow effect.
"Then at almost the same time we got reports from the
posts which had been holding this object under ground observa-
tion, and jets themselves, that the object disappeared straight
upward in a burst of speed ... At that moment it also became
apparent that not only the ground observers, but also the air-
craft and airborne radar had lost visual and electronic contact
with the object as it zoomed upward and vanished in the night
sky."
Later the witnesses were requested by the Air Force to fill
out standard UFO report forms. [23.]
Other GOC Reports
August 22, 1952; Chicago, Illinois. Associated Press re-
ported (Chicago, August 23): "Two Air Force jet fighters,
directed by ground observers, chased a yellowish light in the
sky last night but reported that it blinked out when they started
closing in on it. Air Force officers in the Chicago filter center
said the blink-out of the light over nearby Elgin, Illinois, was
reported simultaneously at 11:48 p.m., last night by the pilots
and by D.C. Scott, Elgin, Supervisor of the Center's ground
observers in the Elgin area ... Ground observers said that when
the planes gave up the chase the light reappeared and ascended
rapidly in the night sky." A few minutes later, another GOC
post about 20 miles to the NW reported a glowing object which
hovered blinked twice, and ascended out of sight.
August 9, 1953; Moscow, Idaho. Mr. L.E. Towner, super-
visor, and other GOC observers reported a large glowing disc.
As three F-86's closed in to investigate, the UFO abruptly sped
up and left the jets behind.
August 12, 1953; Rapid City, S.D. Two GOC posts observed
a UFO which was chased twice by F-84 pilots, tracked by ground
and airborne radar. [Section I.]
March 24, 1954; Baltimore, Md. A formation of UFOs was
observed at night by a Civil Defense official. Adolph Wagner,
Deputy Coordinator for the area, saw 13 sharply defined triangu-
lar objects in a V moving from west to east. They were glowing
a fluorescent blue. From the north, a larger object approached
and stationed itself in front of the V. At this point, Wagner
noticed a commercial airliner approaching the airport. Suddenly
the UFOs split formation. Six executed a sharp turn, their color
turning to purplish, and headed toward the airliner in single file.
The other 8 objects continued on to the east. [25.]
June 12 & 14, 1954; Nr Baltimore, Md. On two nights, Ground
Observer Corps spotters and radar tracked a large glowing object
hovering at over 75,000 feet. Jets circled below, unable to reach
the object's altitude. Reports of the UFO came into the Baltimore
Filter Center for about an hour the first night; two hours the
second night. The object alternately moved in a square pattern
at high speed, and hovered. [See Wilmington (Del.) Morning
News; July 9, 1954].
July 29, 1955; Cincinnati, Ohio. A Ground Observer Corps
post at Loveland, and many others in Cincinnati proper, saw a
round UFO at 1:00 a.m. The bright ball-like object made a
penetrating shrill sound, as it zig-zagged across the sky making
sharp turns. (cf., July 26, 1958 case following) [26.]
November 23, 1955; Spirit Lake, Iowa. Earl Rose (a biolo-
gist) and Gay Orr (superintendent of schools) were on duty at the
GOC post about 5:45 p.m. Attracted by a multi-motor sound on
their amplifying pickup system, the two men scanned the sky
with binoculars. A brilliant object at low altitude was visible
maneuvering erratically to the southwest. As it moved, the UFO
changed color from white to bluish-white to green and red. For
about twenty minutes, Rose and Orr watched the gyrating object
as it moved forward, up and down. At one point, the UFO hovered
over Center Lake for about 10 minutes. Its maneuvers were
totally unlike an aircraft, and it moved against the wind. [27.]
July 29, 1956; Pasadena, Calif. A brilliant white light mov-
ing at variable speeds was observed from Ground Observer
Corps posts by Homer Clem, Ray LaRoche and others at 8:43 p.m.
The UFO appeared in the south sky, and moved northeast, alter-
nately hovering and speeding up. According to a press report,
"The Air Defense Filter Center at Pasadena reported that the
mysterious object had been trailed with radar screens." [28.]
Chadwick, Walter Downey and others ataGOCpost saw a circular
or spherical object hovering high in the sky. Lining the UFO with
a chimney, they verified that it was vibrating up and down, and
from side to side. This continued for 3 or 4 minutes. The object
then disappeared, but reappeared quickly in a new position. The
UFO was observed intermittently afterwards, at times resembling
a cigar in shape. [29.]
November 22, 1957; Canutillo, Texas. The supervisor of the
GOC post, Mrs. G.A. Baker, saw a UFO which appeared "metallic,
like silver" about 4:00 p.m. When first noticed, the UFO was
nearly stationary in the south sky. Then it "flew west rapidly,"
stopped, sped back toward the east, and finally zoomed upward
out of sight after three minutes. [39.]
July 26, 1958; Durango, Colo. Another post supervisor,
Mrs. Elton Highland, observed a spherical UFO about 9:45 a.m.
The UFO, resembling a silver ball, was headed northwest "at
a tremendous rate of speed" making a noise similar to a jet. It
appeared to be at 35,000 to 40,000 feet. Within 45 seconds, the
UFO had vanished in the distance. [31.]
PROFESSIONAL
AND BUSINESS MEN
July 13, 1947; Gardner, Mass. A disc-shaped UFO which
accelerated with a burst of speed was observed at 5:48 p.m. by
Warren Baker Eames, A.I.D. Mr. Eames, president of an in-
terior design company, is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard
University. While driving west on Route 2, Eames noticed a large
bright object in the sky. The UFO seemed to be traveling in the
same direction. It was "round, disc-shaped, exactly like a silver
dollar in shape ... silver, aluminum color."
After a few seconds, "the edge of the disc nearest me ap-
peared to dip slightly down toward my direction, and then it
sped off to the WNW with a huge burst of speed. When it dipped,
I could see the edge very clearly," Eames said. [32.]
April 26, 1954; Newburyport, Mass. Russell M. Peirce,
Architect, reported a circular object which made a right-angle
turn.
,,The time of day was between three and four o'clock in the
afternoon, and the sky was clear overhead. I was standing at the
rear of the local High School building talking with two friends ...
Suddenly we all heard a very loud deep roar as of many motors,
which accelerated very rapidly and then faded out just as rapidly.
The direction of the sound was from the sky and I instinctively
turned my head and eyes upward. It just happened that the line of
my vision was such that my eyes were almost instantly focused
on the object, which was east, perhaps a little to the SE, from
where I was standing. It was up high overhead, and from the
angle at which I was looking up, about 60 degrees, with the earth,
I would say that the object could have been out over the ocean
as we are in about 4 miles from the coast ...
"The object as I first saw it appeared as a flaming ring.
The color was a little on the whitish tone but also had some sug-
gestion of the orange-yellow of the common flame of burning
wood, say. At the lower left quadrant of the ring there appeared
a small, bright disc tangent with the ring, same color as the
ring. The center of the remainder of the ring appeared dark.
The object was headed earthward, not quite in a direct line
toward me, but sort of downward and a little to the right. This
direction was indicated by a short, grayish trail upward to the
left. Then the object seemed to waver and `skid around' for just
a few seconds, apparently reversing its direction, because it
next went upward and to the right, disappearing from sight very
quickly.
"As it disappeared the appearance changed from that of a
ring and internal concentric disc, to a solid silvery colored
disc. . . The sound came and went synonymously with the object's
appearance and disappearance. The size appeared slightly smaller
than a full moon would appear high in the sky ... The time of
observation was short, say twenty seconds, but long enough to
get a good clear view of what was visible ... My daughter heard
the roar from inside our home, and three other people called
me, after seeing the newspaper article, to tell me they had heard
the unusual sound from the sky at the same time I had heard it ...
"It appeared as though the object were traveling earthward
at a terrific speed, and then as though a tremendous force were
November 5, 1957; Haverhill, Mass. At 4:30 p.m., Kenneth applied to arrest the earthward direction and send the object -1 Z pprove or Release 2001/04/02 :6CIA-RDP81 R00560R0001 00010001 -0
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back upward, and consequently it went rapidly out of sight and
out of hearing distance ... What the object was, where it came
from, and where it went, are all a complete mystery to me but
the sighting was as clear as a picture on a wall." [33]
July 31, 1957; Calistoga, California. William J. Besler,
president of Besler Corporation, Oakland, California, was relax-
ing in the natural hot springs mineral bath at Calistoga, about
9:30 a.m. "I happened to glance out the window," Besler said,
"and was attracted by a very bright light behind a poplar tree on
the top of a nearby knoll at an angle of about 20 degrees from
the horizon. The light was climbing behind the branches and I
thought it might be a brilliantly white bird, but discerned in a
matter of seconds that it was ascending too slowly and deliber-
ately for any bird. The bright light rose above the tree, and it
was then apparent that there were two objects approximately a
thumb-nail's height at arm's length above the tree and completely
stationary. I wondered what kind of jet-jobs or objects could be
reflecting the sun's light and remain so completely stationary but
so brilliantly white and maintain such a fixed position relative to
each other.
"The objects then started to rise higher above the tree and
I began to wonder, so I got out of the tub and proceeded to the
window for a better look, by which time the lights were no longer
in their previous position relative to the tree. I looked around
the horizon, left and right, and up; and there they were - now
almost due north and at an angle of about 70 degrees from the
horizontal, describing antics which no jet-jobs, guided missiles
or airplanes could accomplish.
"I pushed the window open ... and got a good look at the two
bright lights which can be described as the size of the tip of a
blue-head wood stick match at arm's length at a distance from
each other equal to about 6 or 7 times their diameter. No better
description can be given than that they were brilliantly white
lights against an azure blue cloudless sky ...
"To describe the antics they were going through is to first
CIA-RDP81 R00560R0001 00010001 -0
I was watching them intently they mysteriously and instantane-
ously went out ... I looked in all directions for the next 30 sec-
onds but they didn't reappear. . ."
(Mr. Besler added a note about the natural tendency for a
person to try to account for unusual observations in terms of
familiar experiences. "I was aware from almost the first of the
18 seconds I had them in observation that these could well be
UFOs. Nonetheless my mind was struggling at all times to
identify them as planes, birds, pieces of tinfoil in the wind, or
something familiar to this planet. Even after they disappeared
my mind kept searching for an explanation other than the obvious
that there had been a couple of brilliant flying unidentified ob-
jects (saucers?) under observation by the rare chance of a
glance out of a window.") [34]
November 11, 1957; California Desert. During the surge of
sightings in November 1957 [See Section XII; November 1957
Chronology], a silvery elliptical UFO was sighted flying below
an airliner. Robert D. Hahn, a jewelry designer, was flying from
Minneapolis to Los Angeles aboard Western Airlines flight #61.
"Flight #61 was over desert country approximately 30 to 45
minutes before landing at Los Angeles International Airport,"
Hahn reported. The sighting occurred approximately seven to
ten minutes before we passed what appeared to be an Air Force
base. My seat was just above the leading edge of the wing next
to the window on the right side of the plane. We were at about
14,000 feet, or so it had been announced some time previously.
I was observing several jets making vapor trails at high altitude,
crossing and criss-crossing. The earth seemed rugged and
deserted with no sign of roads or cultivation, with the exception
of a meandering, apparently dirt, road approximately 10 to 12
miles to the right angling away from our line of flight.
"My first observation of the object struck me as a large,
roughly elliptical, metallic building on the ground at the base of
a hill that seemed to have dark patches, like brush or small
trees. I wondered what such a structure was doing out there with
no roads or sign of access appearing near it - it was, I should
judge, eight to nine miles ahead and to the right of the plane.
Suddenly, I observed it was moving
"Dark patches on the hill, probably scrub trees, were pass-
ing beneath it. It went up and over the hill angling toward the
road. Its course was extremely erratic, seeming to zig-zag two
or three hundred feet in an instant to the right or left while
maintaining a general direction angle of about 45 degrees away
from our course. Its overall speed seemed to me (pure 'guesti-
mate') about one-third our own. It eventually disappeared from
my view behind and under the wing, paralleling the road about a
mile to the right ...
"I would judge the size of the object to be approximately 200
to 250 feet in diameter - its height off the ground to be only a
couple hundred feet as it went over the first hill and never over
1000 feet during my observation."
Mr. Hahn added that the UFO's surface resembled "sand-
blasted aluminum," and was not shiny. He saw no trail or exhaust
from the object. [35.]
(That afternoon a group of Rocketdyne engineers sighted
three elliptical UFOs over the San Fernando Valley; See Section
VI).
September 7, 1958; Mission, Kansas. The publisher of The
American Hereford Journal, Hayes Walker, Jr., and his wife saw
a white disc speed across the sky about 5:30 p.m. The UFO,
round and flat, passed nearly overhead traveling from southwest
to northeast, disappearing over the horizon in 12-15 seconds.
It was "more distinct than the daytime moon," Walker reported.
[36]
state that they made no pattern nor any sense. One could climb Rendezvous of Two UFOs
above the other, then the other would climb above the first, the
lights sometimes blinking on and off at a surprising frequency of February 16, 1960; Laguna Beach, Calif. Mr. Earl T. Ross,
four blinks per second as they climbed. When the lights would retired chemical manufacturing company executive (industrial
blink out, there was absolutely nothing to see, indicating that chemist and engineer) reported the following case to NICAP.
they could hardly have been a somersaulting disc, black on one "At 9:15 a.m., Tuesday, February 16, 1960, from my home ...
side and white on the other, as something would have shown up I saw, in a very clear and cloudless blue sky, an oval, light
against the clear azure sky. colored object move steadily toward the east from a point a little
"The two lights then circled around each other twice and south of overhead. Then, perhaps two seconds later, I saw another
began moving in a more or less straight line due west and con- similar object approach and overtake the first from a position
tinued in this path at a speed I would estimate at 200 mph., for lower in the southern sky; the second object wobbled or rather
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course, the axis being parallel to the earth's surface), as it
slowed down to join the first, and it altered its course and speed
so as to take up a steady position that appeared to be behind and
to the right of the first.
"The first object maintained its flight path steadily, without
nodding, and after joining up the second object stopped its nodding;
both objects then moved rapidly, that is, in a period of perhaps
eight or ten seconds, to the local horizon which is a range of
hills along the coast back of this town. I saw no vapor trails and
heard no sound. There was no wind.
"The objects each appeared to be about a third of the ap-
parent diameter of the full moon. They were sharply defined and
had some sort of surface structure that made it appear to me as
though they were flattened spheres having a thickness of about
one-third their diameter. The objects were an off-white color,
not silvery.
"During this sighting the sun was in the southeast, above the
path of the objects, and as they moved along past the sun's ap-
parent position, I observed a most peculiar darkening - to almost
black - of the side of the objects that faced the sun, so that each
object took on the appearance of a crescent. This dark crescent
developed and moved around over the surface of the objects as
they passed under the sun.
"The original light color of the objects then appeared to be-
come transparent as the dark crescents developed. The ap-
pearance of the dark crescents on the sunny side of the objects
of course seems to be at variance with our normal experience.
"The above account is from the detailed notes I made a
few minutes after the sighting." [37.]
October 27, 1960; Lexington, Kentucky. B.L. Kissinger, Jr.,
Attorney, and his wife at 5:50 p.m. watched a circular object
hovering in the sky to the southwest. After about ten minutes,
the UFO took off toward the northwest (the shape changing to
elliptical), at a speed "faster than a jet." The UFO departed on
a rising course, leaving a visible trail. [38.]
February 7, 1961; Kennebunkport, Maine. During a flurry of
sightings in northern New England, the president of an advertis-
ing agency was among the numerous witnesses. At 10:30 p.m.,
H. David Walley was returning home from a Chamber of Com-
merce meeting. As he rounded a curve in the road, he saw "what
appeared to be the lower half of an orange-red ball in the sky. It
was of such unusual brightness that I stopped and got out of my
car to observe more closely," Walley said.
"My first impression was that this was a harvest moon be-
cause of its size and color. I observed this stationary object for
at least two minutes and then saw it disappear at a tremendous
speed, far in excess of the capabilities of any of our military
aircraft.
"The object was at an angle of 20 to 30 degrees above the
horizon and traveled in an easterly direction... As the UFO
disappeared I could hear no sound or saw no contrails, or smoke
of any kind." [39]
PUBLIC OFFICIALS
Carl J. Henry
Chairman, Industrial Commission of Missouri
Department of Labor and Industrial Relations
March 29, 1952 - 6:40 p.m. Butler, Missouri (65 miles south
of Kansas City
Mr. Henry, along with several others, saw a silver-colored
cylinder-shaped object in the sky almost directly overhead. The
object was moving slowly in a northwesterly direction leaving
no trail or exhaust. It was definite and fixed in shape, and moved
end-ways with a steady motion. The observers watched the ob-
ject for approximately 2 minutes. Mr. Henry estimated its
length at about 100 feet. The sky was clear and not yet dark
at the time of the observation. No sound was heard. [40]
Marvin W. Skipworth
District Judge
District Court for Coos County, Oregon
the south, or maybe a little west of south. The sky was very
blue and the air very clear, except for the scattered clouds,
which were practically motionless. My attention was directed
to two white irregular roundish clouds and the sky beyond.
"Suddenly, what appeared to be a huge aluminum discus
appeared coming on a decline from above and beyond the cloud
to my left and when it appeared to be about midway between and
beyond the clouds and about even with the bottom of each cloud
it suddenly turned a little to the left (my right) and soared up-
ward and backward at a terrific speed ... (cf., April 26, 1954
report above; Professional Men.)
"As it reversed and started up and back it flattened again
so that it was traveling with its perimeter longitudinal to its
diameter in my line of sight. The sun was to the right of the
clouds and as I remember they may have been slightly pinkish
on their western sides, but the object was remarkably clear
and well defined - no fuzzy edges or vapor streaks, and it ap-
peared to have ridged or terraced sides. An ordinary track and
field discus describes it perfectly as to shape, as I saw it.
"I am not capable of judging how far away nor how high it
was, but as I remember it appeared to be about two-thirds or
three-fourths the area of the usual appearance of a full moon."
[41]
Arnold W. Spencer
Former Town Selectman (12 years)
April 25, 1960 - 9:00 p.m. Plymouth, N.H.
Mr. Spencer watched a bright hovering cigar-shaped ob-
ject, "dark scarlet as the deepest red in a rainbow," with
blunted ends. The UFO hung stationary low in the eastern sky,
vertical bands of pulsating light visible along its length. (cf.,
Mt. Kilimanjaro sighting, 1951; Section X.) After about 25 sec-
onds, the UFO suddenly moved off toward the south at high speed,
illuminating the branches of trees as it passed. It left no trail
and made no sound. [42]
Patrick McAley
Deputy Inspector, Weights & Measures
City of Chicago
October 3, 1962 - 9:25 p.m. Chicago, Illinois
While watching for the Echo satellite, McAley and his son
saw a domed disc cross the face of the moon traveling in a
westerly direction. The object, tilted at an angle, "seemed to
be floating." It appeared to be a small fraction of the apparent
size of the moon and gave the impression of being far out in
space. [43]
PROFESSORS AND TEACHERS
May 20, 1950; Flagstaff, Arizona. Dr. Seymour L. Hess, Head,
Department of Meteorology, Florida State University. Observa-
tion of "powered" disc. [Section I]
July 27, 1952; Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Charles H. Otis,
professor emeritus of Biology, Bowling Green State University.
Formation of elongated objects leaving constant length trails.
[Section VI.]
November 26, 1954; Manasquan, N.J. Confidential report
(certified by NICAP Director and Assistant Director); College
professor with M.A. degree, from Columbia University. V-for-
mation of 15-20 round luminous objects which moved overhead,
north to south. (witness stated: "For professional reasons, I do
not want my name used. I feel strongly that you are fighting some-
thing that should be fought, but at this time I cannot expose myself
as a fellow combatant.") [44]
June 18, 1957; Jackson, Miss. Prof. Henry Carlock, Physics
Department, Mississippi College. Reddish oval-shaped object with
three "portholes" observed passing over city. [Section VI.]
August 26, 1960; Mesa, Arizona. Mr. Clete L. Miller, Science
Department Head and Chemistry Teacher, Mesa High School.
(Holds M.S. degree, served in Army Air Corps 1942-1946, single
engine pilot.) At 8:00 p.m. Miller and his wife saw a hovering
object in the southeast sky, emitting four beams of light; flashes
1954 or 1955 - day Coos Bay, Oregon of light, apparently from a beacon on top of the object also were
"I was Approved tForuReleasec~ltuue f6D4l6~ : cl bPg 6O5 d6T6(\r6 tdtybjinyultaneously,"
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Miller said, "and reappeared in a like manner - standing still -
much farther to the north." A rumbling noise appeared to be
associated with the UFO.
When the local newspaper printed Miller's report next day,
several other citizens called to confirm his sighting. Miller
called nearby Williams Air Force Base, and determined that
there were no unusual aircraft in the area at the time. [45]
CLERGYMEN
A formation of UFOs which paused, made a sharp turn, then
sped away, was observed February 20, 1952 byRev. Albert Baller,
NICAP Board Member. Rev. Baller currently is pastor of the
German Congregational Church, Clinton, Mass.
"[It] was an exceptionally beautiful day at Greenfield, Mass.
There were no clouds and the sky was a `cobalt blue." Also, no
wind. At three o'clock p.m., I boarded the New York train at the
Greenfield station, took a seat away from the station and near a
window opening onto a vast expanse of sky to the north and east.
A minute or two afterward my attention was drawn to the sky by
a sharp flash of light about 35 degrees or more above the horizon.
Looking carefully toward this flash, I was quite astonished to
see three, perfectly circular, silver objects approaching in V-
formation ...
[In an accompanying diagram, Rev. Baller added that the
UFOs were "like highly polished silver; appeared approximately
2/3 size of a full moon."].
"They moved without vapor--or smoke--trail andatapproxi-
mately the speed of a second hand on a watch. At this speed and
in this formation they came to a point almost overhead but not
quite, since I could still watch them from my window. There they
stopped and hovered for perhaps ten seconds. Then I noted that
the lead object was slowly reversing and appearing to pull into a
line with the other two between them. After this brief shift, there
was another quick motion by all three (I am not too sure just
what) and they began to depart in a direction at right angles to
their approach...
"My astonishment increased as I saw them leave, because
they went with such speed that they dwindled to specks and were
out of sight in not more than six seconds. I could not tell whether
they made any noise, as there was such a racket about the sta-
tion. However, I doubt that they did, since nobody standing on
the station platform seemed to be aware of them ...
"I first tried to fit it into the conventional--balloons, jets,
etc. But it just would not fit. Obviously they were not planes, and
on second thought, they were just as obviously not balloons ...
[46]
Between 6:00 and 6:30 p. m. , November 5, 1955, Rev. and Mrs.
Kenneth R. Hoffman saw a large elliptical UFO, with light shining
from square "ports" like windows. At the time, Rev. Hoffman
was pastor of the Grace Lutheran Church, Cleveland, Ohio. Rev.
and Mrs. Hoffman were interviewed by C. W. Fitch, NICAP mem-
ber in Cleveland.
"We were driving south on Lee Road on our way to the
Cleveland-Hopkins Airport just at dusk ... Shortly after crossing
Fairmount Boulevard our attention was attracted to a row of
bright lights in the sky directly ahead over Lee Road... Mrs.
Hoffman saw them approaching on an are course and stop ...
"We watched the lights as we drove, speculating the while
on what they were and continued on across North Park and Shaker
Boulevards. At a point on the south side of Shaker Blvd., we
stopped the car in order to get a better look at them. We could
then discern that the lights were coming from a huge oval-shaped
object, similar in appearance to two saucers, the uppermost
inverted and resting on the edges of the lower one. Around the
portion of its perimeter visible to us were eight large windows
from which shone an intense white light. It was the light shining
from these windows that we had first seen.
"Viewed from this point the strange object appeared to be
hovering almost directly over the Van Aken-Lee intersection at
a height we estimated as not being over five hundred feet. From
the fact that it filled the sky above the highway beyond the width
of the street we felt it must have been close to one hundred feet
in diameter.
"At this point, which was our closest approach to the craft,
we were, in all probability, not more than half a mile away from
it. The body appeared to be metallic and was of a light gray color,
similar in appearance to weathered aluminum. Mrs. Hoffmande-
scribed it as being a pearly aluminum color.
"The windows were clearly defined as were the dark spaces
between them. We estimated that each window must have been at
least 8 feet by ten feet in size with a two foot space between
them. An intensely white glow or beam of light shone steadily
downward from each window at about a 45 degree angle. The
light rays were so bright that we could see the air dust in them.
"We watched it for about ten minutes, then started the car
and drove south on Lee Road hoping to get under it. When we
were at Fernway Road, it began to slip westward over the tree-
tops. It moved slowly and noiselessly and did not appear to ro-
tate. It disappeared from view, the trees blocking our vision.
When we reached the Van Aken intersection, which is an open
area, within a matter of a minute or less, the object had com-
pletely disappeared."
(Rev. Hoffman then described their mental reactions to the
experience: "We decided it would be best to keep the matter to
ourselves since we felt it might have certain undesirable reper-
cussions if it were made public, our principal concern being the
possibility of ridicule and disparagement. As time passed and we
heard and read of other persons having seen strange lights and
objects in the skies, our feelings underwent a change. We hereby
grant permission to publish or use this account, all or in part,
as you may see fit to inform or enlighten others.") [47]
Rev. Jack L. Sanford, First Congregational Church, was among
agroup of people who witnessed an elliptical UFO October 9, 1960,
in Longpoint, Illinois.
"When we turned west onto Longpoint Road [about 6:30 p.m.],"
Rev. Sanford said, "It was very bright and clear and attracted
our attention readily." There hovering in the sky in a tilted
position was a football-shaped object. Its lower portion was
distinct and golden-colored; the upper portion "hazy as when
steam heat rises from a radiator." The bottom portion was
tilted toward the observers.
Stopping the car, the group got out and watched the UFO
for 8-10 minutes as it hung motionless. "Then when it pulled
up horizontal," Rev. Sanford continued, "it began to become
smaller. We knew it was moving, so we chased it in the car. It
just pulled away rising slightly until it was too small to see any-
more. We chased it 3-1/2 miles." [48]
NEWSMEN
After a three day aerial search during the first widespread UFO
sightings in the United States, Dave Johnson, aviation editor of
the Idaho Statesman, observed a maneuvering disc July 9, 1947.
Ground observers at Gowan Field confirmed the sighting.
"For 45 seconds, I watched a circular object dart about in
front of a cloud bank," Johnson reported. [49] The object was
round ... it appeared black, altogether, as it maneuvered in front
of the clouds. I saw the sun flash from it once. "I was flying at
14,000 feet west of Boise, near the end of my third mission...
Frankly, I had given up hope of ever seeing one of the objects.
I turned the plane toward Boise, to begin a circular let-down over
Gowan Field, and over the nose of the aircraft I saw the object ...
clearly and distinctly. I turned the plane broadside to it and
pulled back the Plexiglas canopy so there would be no distortion.
The object was still there.
"It was rising sharply and jerkily toward the top of the tower-
ing bank of alto-cumulus and alto-stratus clouds. At that moment
it was so round I thought it was a balloon. The object was turning
so that it presented its edge to me. It then appeared as a straight,
black line. Then, with its edge still toward me, it shot straight
up, rolled over at the top of the maneuver, and I lost sight of it.
"The object could have been ten miles away, or forty, I do
not know. If it was a great distance from me, its speed was in-
credible ...This circular thing was maneuvering very swiftly."
In a story date linedAlbuquerque, N. M. , August 2, 1952, Scripps -
Howard Staff Writer Doyle Kline detailed a personal UFO sighting
which "made a flying saucers believer out of me. " [50]
At 9:50 p.m., August 1, Mr. Kline observed about 10 glowing
objects which "resembled nothing I had seen before. Their flight
was soundless and graceful." The UFOs shifted formation in a
coordinated maneuver as they passed overhead, Kline reported.
They appeared to be about 1/3 the size of the full moon.
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At first the UFOs were clustered together, heading north.
"Then they shifted to a perfect V. The shift was done with pre-
cision," Kline said. Within seconds, the objects took up a new
formation: Two rows, with the UFOs in one row spaced evenly
between those in the other row.
Assuming the UFOs were about 2500 feet above the city,
Kline concluded their speed would be about that of an F-86 Sabre-
jet. But "their shifts in position were incredibly swift and fan-
tastically violent--in terms of our experience." If the UFOs
were higher than they appeared to be, Kline continued, "their
performance takes on even more incredible aspects."
Mr. Kline reported his sighting to the 34th Air Defense
Division, and was asked to describe the maneuvers to intelligence
officers.
"I have witnessed both day and night rocket flights at White
Sands ... The saucers were something different altogether," he
concluded.
A formation of 12 UFOs passing overPhiladelphia was observed
by photographers of the Inquirer and the Bulletin, and many others,
November 9, 1955.
At 6:08 p.m., Charles W. James, of the Philadelphia In-
quirer, saw a V-formation of round, silvery-white objects pass
overhead. During the observation, the objects shifted into an
A-formation. The UFOs made no sound. The color did not change.
(James was interviewed by a correspondent of C.R.I.F.O., headed
by Leonard H. Stringfield, now a NICAP Adviser. See Ground
Observer Corps, this section).
CROSS-SECTION
After the many sightings in 1952 [See Section XI, Chronology],
UFO reports began to be publicized less and less. However, over
the following years there was no lack of sightings. Of the many
hundreds reported since 1952, the following selected cases com-
prise a cross-section of reports from observers of various back-
grounds, from 1952 to 1962, inclusive.
1953: Cleveland, Ohio; Don P. Hollister, a technical writer
for the Goodyear Aircraft Corporation, saw a UFO pass over-
head about 6:30 p.m., September 7. While waxing his car in the
back yard, Hollister happened to glance up and noticed a grayish-
blue object directly overhead, headed north. The sky was com-
pletely overcast, and the UFO appeared to be at less than 3000
feet altitude. It was shaped roughly like an equilateral triangle,
but rounded somewhat on the sides and angles, and was rotating
around a central axis. The UFO continued on over the visible
horizon at constant velocity, disappearing from view after about
5 seconds. [51]
1954: Grand Canyon, Arizona; Elbert Edwards (Superin-
tendent of Schools in Boulder City, Nevada) and John Goddard
(professional explorer) saw a cigar-shaped UFO April 16 about
10:20 p.m. While camped above Havasu canyon in the Grand
Canyon, they noticed a very bright light approaching at high
speed. For the next minute, Goddard studied the object through
8x binoculars. It was cigar-shaped and had a row of five bright
lights along the side "like portholes." The brilliant light which
they had first noticed was on the front of the object. The UFO
travelled from north to south-southwest, in the direction of
Mexico. [52]
1955: Ohio: UFO activity was observed over a wide area,
October 2, by many witnesses in separate locations. So-called
"angel's hair" fell the same day. (Walter N. Webb, NICAP Ad-
viser, interviewed several of the witnesses and wrote the follow-
ing report. Another Ohio report for the same day, discovered
later, is appended.)
"A remarkable local [Alliance, Ohio] UFO sighting took
place at sunset on Sunday, October 2, 1955. The sighting was
confirmed by at least eight witnesses who saw the same object
around the same time from three widely separated areas. Six
of the eight observers were interviewed.
"I first received word of the UFO from a close friend of
mine, James Ansley (Jr.) who called me right after he and his
family had returned home from a drive in the country. Jim was
an Alliance High School student and an amateur astronomer and
photographer whom I consider to be an accurate observer. Two
that Sunday. Finally, in late November I was visiting another
UFO investigator, Fred Kirsch of Cuyahoga Falls, and learned
that an Akron couple, Donald J. Karaiskos and his wife, had also
seen the same strange object at the same time, October 2. Mr.
Karaiskos had phoned his uncle, Mr. George Popowitch, after his
sighting, and several days later Mr. Popowitch in turn called
Kirsch.
Ansley Report
"The Ansleys were driving west (more exactly, WSW) from
Alliance on West Main Street when Jim noticed an orangish ob-
ject hanging in the sky about 15 degrees above the west horizon.
It was 6:10 p.m. (EST) just after sunset, and the sky was clear.
At first Jim thought it might have been Mercury or Venus, but
he soon realized that it could be no celestial object. The tiny
round object was as bright as Venus. Everybody in the car saw
it -- Mr. and Mrs. Ansley, Jim and his brother, Dave. After
they turned north on the Sawburg Road, the UFO appeared to
move south slightly but Jim couldn't be sure (probably an illusion
of movement since the car itself was in motion and also had to
make a turn).
When they pulled out on the Harrisburg Road, Route 173, the
thing was hovering over the road straight ahead (far away) and
soon began to change size and shape, becoming a darker orange,
then lighter in color again. It changed from a small disc to an
ellipse to a thin crescent and finally to a very thin, pointed cigar-
like object perpendicular to the horizon. Jim estimated the cigar
was 3/8" long, with dividers held at arm's length against the
sky. This agrees with the Akron observer's estimate - 1/3 the
length of a pin which is 3/8".
When the crescent stage was reached, the object began to
straighten out to become the vertical cigar. To Jim, the whole
change resembled the phases of the moon. It remained perpen-
dicular for about 7 seconds (timed on Jim's navigators watch),
then it started tilting downward, halting momentarily at an esti-
mated inclination of 20 degrees. It then tipped to a level position,
parallel to the horizon, and faded from view in this position -- like
a plane vanishing behind a cloud, said Mrs. Ansley ... Most of
the phases were watched along Freshley Road, and the Ansleys
saw it disappear from there.
The sighting lasted 10 minutes, from 6:10 to 6:20.
The observers said the cigar appeared solid and sharply
defined.
Barker Report
Wilma Faye Barker and her boy friend, Rudolph Holloway,
saw the same object. They were driving home from Guilford
Lake, southeast of Alliance, around 6 p.m. and first noticed the
thing at North Georgetown. She saw it as a very bright silver line
or needle, solid and sharply outlined. She could not estimate its
angular size or altitude except that it was big and low in the
western sky, tilted slightly toward the north ... and standing
still all the time. They continued to watch it now and then as
they drove along U.S. Route 62 into Alliance. Then they noticed
that the thing had changed shape, to a flattened oval, roughly
triangular, still hanging at a slant (Faye said they did not see
the actual change in shape occur). The oval was not as sharply
outlined as the needle and was duller in color. Driving north on
Union Avenue (Route 80) she lost sight of it at intervals because
of trees and finally discovered it was gone. She arrived home
at 6:20. The object was probably observed during a 15 or 20-
minute period.
Karaiskos Report
"In Akron a Kent State University student, Donald J.
Karaiskos, 25, and his wife were driving west along Cole Avenue
near Hammel Street at approximately 6 p.m. when they noticed a
bright white sharply outlined cigar-shaped object (also described
by him in his report as "rectangular, proportions of 1/3 the
length of a pin") about 10 degrees above the horizon. It was
tilted at a 45-degree angle and motionless. The sky was clear
except for some clouds along the horizon below the object. The
setting sun was partially obscured by the landscape and houses.
Mr. Karaiskos drove about three blocks, then turned around and
came back to the original spot to see if the object was still there.
It was, so he parked the car, got out, and watched it for 5 minutes.
They then went to his wife's sister's house in the nearby Cole
days after the sighting and Jim's report, Wilma Faye Barker, a Avenue housing project where he phoned the post supervisor of
chemistry major in her junior year at Mount Union College in the Akron GOC, a Mrs. Sutter, and also called his uncle, Mr.
Alliance, told me of the sighting she and her boy friend had made George Popowitch (who later notified FredKirsch). Following the
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two phone calls, Karaiskos and his brother-in-law went outside
to see if the object was still there. It was dark. The UFO was
gone. Karaiskos called Mrs. Sutter again, but she said no one
at the GOC post had seen the object.
"The UFO was in view for approximately 10 minutes, ac-
cording to the report, and was motionless the whole time.
"Mr. Karaiskos concludes: `The object was definitely not a
balloon nor a blimp. My first logical explanation was that it was
a vapor trail. This theory was dispelled as it was too low in the
sky to be a vapor trail, and it retained its shape for 10 minutes.
A vapor trail would have scattered in a few minutes. It is the
firm belief of myself and my wife that it was not any known
object.'
"If the angular altitudes and azimuths given were absolutely
dependable -- and they are not -- it might be possible to discover
the object's actual size, distance, and height. It must have been
huge -- several hundred feet in diameter -- to have been seen over
such a wide area. Using the times and descriptions of all three
groups of observers, it is possible to work out a continuous
change-of-phase pattern for the UFO (see diagram). This apparent
change in shape and size could have been due to a disc turning
vertically in flight and presenting its edge to the observers. Or
it may have been a real alteration ... Whatever the explanation,
it is evident that eight persons did see a UFO -- an extraordinary
UFO--from three different areas around the same time..."
V
IJ
J Cuyahcga Fal Is
.
I
6:00 05 10 IS 20
CHANGE-OF- PHASE
SEQUENCE
1. Ansley; driving wes
t and north of
Alliance
2. Barker; driving nor
thwest toward
Alliance
3. Karaiskos; driving
west In Akron
Addenda
Later two additional reports for the same date were un-
covered. Mrs. Albert Fanty, and her mother Mrs. Della Burroway
of Uhrichsville (south of Akron and southwest of Alliance) re-
ported two UFO sightings during the day.
In the morning, Mrs. Burroway saw seven disc-shaped ob-
jects bunched together at high altitude. About 1:00 p.m., Mrs.
Fanty arrived for a visit. As her mother described the discs
seen earlier, they searched the sky. Then they saw three or
four silvery objects travelling at high speed in an irregular line.
Shortly afterwards, the air was filled with 'fine silken-like silver
cobwebs which floated everywhere,' Mrs. Fanty said. [53]
1956: Los Angeles, California; about 1:50 p.m., December
Telaneus, a Real Estate Investor. Chancing to look up, Telaneus
noticed the objects at about 60 degrees moving westerly. The
sides of the UFOs toward the sun were reflecting sunlight brightly;
the other sides were shadowed. The objects moved on a slightly
rising course. Two did not alter their velocity, but one reversed
direction, seemed to speed up, and headed back toward the east.
All three objects moved out of sight in the distance after about
two minutes. [54]
1957: Toronto, Ontario, Canada; On the night of August 1, a
hovering UFO was observed by many residents and a telescopic
view of it broadcast on television. One of the witnesses was Eric
Aldwinckle, a professional artist, who reported the sighting to
NICAP. At 9:10 p.m., Aldwinckle saw the brilliant orange-yellow
object, appearing as a sizeable light source, and studied it care-
fully for 20 minutes. In the center were two adjoining oblong
orange lights, and these were surrounded by a paler yellow glow.
The UFO then began moving toward the northwest, climbing
"upward and outward" at "great speed" (estimated 2000 m.p.h.)
[55]
1958: Nantucket Channel, Mass.; Joseph Gwooz, Master of
the S. S. Nantucket, reported an October 7 sighting to NICAP
(quoting from the ship's log): "Time 1455 (2:55 p.m. E.D.T.),
entrance Nantucket Channel, while outbound from Nantucket for
Martha's Vineyard, Woods Hole and New Bedford. Sighted unknown
object hovering in the sky, estimated height 8,000 to 10,000 feet
at an angle of about 160 degrees. Object remained stationary for
a minute or more, then shot up and away to the N.E. and dis-
appeared out of sight at a rapid rate of speed. Color of object
grayish. Oval Shape." A sketch with the report shows an object
approximately 2-1/2 times as long as its central width. [56]
1959: Henderson, Nevada; Ed D. Arnold and Berdell S.
Haycock, security officers for a metal company, watched a forma-
tion flight of four elliptical UFOs about 7:45 p.m., June 11. While
on duty at the plant, Arnold noticed the objects and pointed them
out to Haycock, who confirmed the sighting. The objects were
silvery-white and moving slowly from WSW to ENE, remaining
visible about 5 minutes. Arnold, a former Navy air identifica-
tion and anti-aircraft gunnery control officer, said the UFOs
changed formation twice before disappearing. When first ob-
served, the objects were in a circular pattern. "They changed
from circular formation to in-line formation, held for two
minutes, then back to a circular formation," Arnold stated.
During the formation changes, two of the objects dipped slightly
below the others. Arnold estimated that the UFOs were about
100 feet long and 25-30 feet in diameter, assuming they were
within two miles distance. [57]
1960: Intervale, N.H.; At 8:53 p.m., February 3, William M.
Kendrick (former PT Boat Commander) spotted three lighted
objects travelling in an in-line formation. The first two were
yellow-orange, the third brighter and pulsating from red to
orange. As Kendrick continued to watch, the bright UFO appeared
to launch a fourth object which joined the formation, which then
moved quickly out of sight behind Mt. Washington and Mt. Adams.
(Next night, three UFOs were seen near East Madison, N.H.,,
travelling in-line, about 7:00 p.m. The third object pulsated from
yellow to bright red). [58]
1961: Blue Ridge Summit, Penna.; Mrs. James W. Annis,
librarian, in the early afternoon of June 4 noticed a large, narrow
elliptical object hovering low in the sky to the north. Farther to
the east, a cluster of smaller objects hovered. The UFOs were
just above treetops on the visible horizon. Mrs. Annis then saw
the smaller objects "streak across the sky to the large one."
All of the UFOs quickly moved out of sight behind trees to the
NNW. Mrs. Annis said the UFOs "were extremely faster than
any aircraft I have observed." The weather was clear, with
bright sunlight shining on the objects from behind the observer.
The large UFO "appeared like the flat end of a clam shell, seen
in profile [i.e., elliptical]." [59]
1962: Pompano Beach, Fla.; Mrs. Elizabeth Scott, a house-
wife and college graduate, saw a hovering cigar-shaped object
May 18. The UFO was first noticed about 7:00 p.m. in the north-
west sky. The underside was brilliantly lighted, the top dark. For
about 9 minutes, the object remained motionless." Then it moved
very slowly south for 30 seconds, and then speeded up and dis-
appeared into the southwest very rapidly," Mrs. Scott reported.
As it sped away, the lighted underside dimmed suddenly. When
it accelerated, it moved "like a flash of lightning," she said.
27, three sery, spherical UFOs were observed by Jack 60]
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NOTES
Law Enforcement Officers
1. Teletype report and letter on file at NICAP
2. Reports obtained by Cleveland and Akron UFO groups, on
file at NICAP
3-6. Reports on file at NICAP
7. Saturday Evening Post; April 30, 1949. Popular Science;
August 1951
8. Seattle Times; July 7, 1947
9. Associated Press; July 28, 1952
10. International News Service; August 28, 1952
11. Washington Times-Herald and Washington Daily News;
September 22, 1952
12. Los Angeles Daily News; September 15, 1953
13. Associated Press; November 1, 1955
14. Associated Press; November 26, 1956
15. Chicago Sun Times; November 5, 1957
16. Chicago Sun Times; November 8, 1957
17. Hammond Times; November 11-13, 1957
18. Santa Ana Register; April 10, 1958
19. Bergen Evening Record; August 25, 1958
20. Chicago Daily News; October 13, 1958
21. Report on file at NICAP
Civil Defense, Ground Observer Corps.
22. Stringfield, Leonard H.; Inside Saucer Post ...3-0 Blue.
(Privately published, 1957; 4412 Grove Avenue, Cincinnati,
Ohio), p. 26
23. Tape recorded report on file at NICAP
24. Keyhoe, Donald E., Flying Saucer Conspiracy. (Holt, 1955),
p. 30
25. C.R.I.F.O. Newsletter, L.H. Stringfield, Ed.; July 2, 1954
(See address above)
26. Ibid., September 1955.
27. Des Moines Register; November 24, 1955
28. San Bernardino Telegram; July 30, 1956
29. Haverhill Gazette; November 6, 1957
30. El Paso Times; November 24, 1957
31. United Press International, July 26, 1958
Professional and Business Men
32-39. Reports on file at NICAP
Public Officials
40-43. Reports on file at NICAP
Professors and Teachers
44-45. Reports on file at NICAP
Clergymen
46-48. Reports on file at NICAP
Newsmen
49. Associated Press; July 10, 1947
50. Scripps-Howard newspapers; August 2, 1952
Cross-Section
51. Report on file at NICAP
52. Las Vegas Sun; April 22, 1954
53. Uhrichsville Evening Chronicle; October 6, 1955
54-60. Reports on file at NICAP
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SECTION VIII
SPECIAL EVIDENCE
AFR 200-2
18-19
INTELLIGENCE
Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO)
19. Reporting Physical Evidence. Report
promptly the existence of physical evidence
(photographic or material). All physical evi-
dence forwarded to the ATIC should be marked
for the attention of AFCIN-4E4g.
a. Photographic:
(1) Still Photographs. Forward the nega-
tive and two prints. Title the prints
.. ~..7 o nnrcn+i~+ea. nr inrlinn a +h.+
(5) Radar. Forward two copies of each
still-camera photographic print. Title
radarscope photographic prints in ac-
cordance with AFR 95-7. Classify
radarscope photographs in accord-
ance with section XII, AFR 205-1,
1 April 1959.
ELECTRO-MAGNETIC (E-M) EFFECTS
In June 1960 NICAP published a booklet listing and analyzing
reported cases in which electrical circuits were disrupted in the
presence of UFOs. [1.] This phenomenon was first widely re-
ported during the widespread sightings of November 1957 [See
Section XII], but subsequent research uncovered additional cases
which occurred before and after the 1957 cases. The E-M report,
concluding that the evidence was "sufficient to warrant a more
thorough investigation of UFOs, and an attempt to learn more about
the E-M phenomenon through deliberate instrumentation for that
purpose," was circulated to several hundred interested parties,
including scientists and members of Congress.
The E-M Report was a study of 81 main cases, plus 9 border-
line cases which had some characteristics in common with the
main cases. It was suggested that there were no doubt other
similar experiences, either buried in the literature somewhere
or unreported due to poor news coverage of UFO sightings at
times. In the intervening 3-1/2 years, an additional 39 cases
have been discovered. Thirty-two of these had occurred before
the June 1960 publication date of the E-M Report; seven have
occurred since. Where sufficient information was available to
justify their inclusion, the newly discovered cases have been
added to the original chronology. The combined listing of cases
is reproduced below.
The recent discovery that electrical circuits were upset
by upper atmosphere atomic tests during 1961-62 leads to in-
teresting speculation, and makes a definite scientific experiment
feasible, concerning the manner in which UFOs could affect
electrical circuits. These points are discussed following the
chronology of E-M cases.
There are three basic types of UFO reports:
(1) UFOs detected by the unaided human senses.
(2) UFOs detected by instruments, but not by human senses.
(3) UFOs detected by{ the human senses, substantiated by instru-
ments.
Of these, the cases of UFOs being detected by the senses and
confirmed by instrument generally are considered the most
significant. Examples would include UFOs observed visually,
which apparently caused electro-magnetic interference atthe same
time; simultaneous radar-visual sightings; UFOs reliably observed
and also photographed. The cases in this section generally in-
volve detection of a UFO by more than one of the human senses,
or by the human senses substantiated by some instrument.
The human organism itself is a rudimentary scientific instru-
ment. When a person not only sees something, but also exper-
iences physiological effects of it, an extra dimension is added to
the observation. If the effects are objectively verifiable by other
persons, so much the better. If a UFO is reliably observed, and
also leaves physical markings or traces, this adds an objective
factor to the report.
Another way of analyzing UFO sightings is to consider what
they affect. A sighting may affect only the human senses; it may
also affect machines or instruments (causing electro-magnetic
interference in an automobile, leaving an image on film, or
showing up on radar); or it may affect nature (leaving physical
markings or substances on the ground). The strongest cases
would be ones involving several of these aspects.
Chronology of E-M Cases
The cases listed here represent reports in which a distinct
UFO, either a plainly visible object or light source (not merely
diffuse or intermittent flashes of light), was observed at the same
time and place that a definite electro-magnetic effect (E-M) such
as a car-stalling occurred. Cases added since publication of the
June 1960 report are denoted by a plus sign (+). (Sources appear
under Note 2 at the end of the section).
1. August 28, 1945; near Iwo Jima, C-46 had engine trouble,
lost altitude, as three UFOs were observed from plane.
[2.]
2. June 24, 1947; Cascade Mts., Oregon, compass needle
waved wildly as UFO passed overhead.
3. Fall 1949; New Mexico, music on car radio blanked out by
static as UFO passed low over car.
(+)4. September 1950; Korea, Navy planes on mission approached
by two large discs, radar jammed, radio transmitter
blocked by buzzing noise each time new frequency tried.
(+)5. March 26, 1952; Long Beach, Calif. Two yellowish discs
passed by slowly; "as they passed the radio was agitated
twice."
6. January 9, 1952; Kerrville, Texas. Odd "roaring" inter-
ference on radio as UFO circled town.
September 29, 1953; Easton, Pa., Television picture
"began going up and down real fast," as UFO emitting
white vapor passed overhead.
8. January 29, 1954; near Santa Ana, Calif., car radio quit
and motor missed as UFO passed low over car.
9. June 21, 1954; Ridgeway, Ontario, Canada, Car motor quit
as UFO crossed highway ahead of car.
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10. August 0, 1954; Porto Alegre, Brazil. House lights
failed as UFO passed.
(})11. September 16, 1954; Marion, Va. Radio station transmitter
failed to operate properly as round shiny UFO passed
tower.
12. September 18, 1954; New Mexico. Large green fireball
observed; radio and television interference noted over
wide area.
13. October 7, 1954; St.-Jean-d'Asse, France. Car motor
and headlights failed; UFO over road.
14. October 9, 1954; Cuisy (Seine-Et-Marne), France. Car
motor and headlights failed as cigar-shaped UFO passed
above.
15. October 11, 1954; Fronfrede (Loire) France. Car motor
and headlights failed as UFO crossed road ahead of car,
below cloud cover.
16. October 11, 1954; Clamecy (Nievre), France. Car motor
and headlights failed, passengers felt shock and numbness;
round UFO took off from nearby field.
17. October 11, 1954; Chateauneuf-Sur-Charente, France. Car
motor and headlights failed; two UFOs observed at low
altitude ahead of car.
18. October 14, 1954; near Brosses-Thillot, Saone-Et-Loire,
France. Motorcycle stalled, round lighted UFO observed
about 50 yards ahead.
19. October 16, 1954; Baillolet, Seine-Inferieure, France.
Four UFOs sighted at low altitude ahead of car. One
descended toward road; driver felt shock and numbness,
car motor and headlights failed.
20. October 18, 1954; Coheix, Puy-De-Dome, France. Driver
of light truck felt half paralyzed, motor began missing;
dark elongated object seen in nearby field. Police later
searched field, found nothing.
21. October 20, 1954; Schirmeck, France. Motorist felt para-
lyzed, motor stalled, heat felt; UFO on road.
22. October 21, 1954; near La Rochelle, France. Motorist
and child felt shock and heat, motor and headlights failed;
then luminous UFO became visible ahead of car.
(+)23. October 23, 1954; Cincinnati, Ohio. Radio made harsh
shrieking noise, volume increased; then reddish disc seen
circling overhead.
24. October 27, 1954; near Linzeux, France. Headlights and
motor failed, two passengers felt "electric shock"; UFO
passed ahead of car.
25. November 14, 1954; Forli, Italy. Conventional and diesel
tractors driving side by side, conventional stalled, diesel
did not, as luminous UFO flew overhead.
26. December 5, 1954; North East, Pa. House radio "pul-
sated" as UFO observed hovering low over Lake Erie.
27. February 2, 1955; near Valera, Venezuela. Commercial
airliner en route from Barquisimeto; radio went dead both
at Valera and Barquismeto as pilot started to report a
UFO sighting.
28. April 6, 1955; New Mexico. Three unusual green fire-
balls; heavy radio and TV disturbance.
29. June 26, 1955; Washington, D. C. National airport ceiling
lights went out as round UFO approached. UFO caught in
searchlight, searchlight went out.
30. August 25, 1955; Bedford, Indiana. House lights dimmed
and brightened as hovering UFO pulsated.
(+)31. Sept. or Oct., 1955; Agrinion, Greece. Truck driver and
hotel manager driving over mountain road saw luminous
object fly overhead, truck engine stopped.
(+)32. May 1954; La Porte, Indiana. Car lights and radio went
off, motorist saw three round or oval UFOs moving as
unit, emitting beams of light toward ground.
33. May 1, 1954; Tokyo, Japan. TV pictures distorted as UFO
passed over.
(+)34. July 28, 1954; Brentwood, Calif. "Sparkling green light"
appeared to land in orchard, television reception inter-
rupted.
35. October 1956; Oslo, Norway. Motorist felt "prickly
sensation," wristwatch magnetized (according to jeweler)
when UFO flew in front of car and hovered over road.
36. November 16, 1956; Lemmon, S.D. Railroadphones,auto-
matic block system "mysteriously dead" as UFO passed
over railroad yards.
37. December 1956; Far East. Visual and radar sighting of
round UFO by Air Force jet pilot. Radar jammed by
strong interference.
38. April 14, 1957; Vins-Sur-Caraney, France. Metal signs
magnetized after being observed vibrating as UFO maneu-
vered nearby. Fifteen degree deviation of compass noted
only in immediate area of sighting.
39. April 19, 1957; Maiquetia, Venezuela. Airliner en route
to Maiquetia sighted UFO; strange radio signals received
at Maiquetia airport at same time.
(+)40. April or May 1957; Moriah Center, N. Y. "Television
started to have all sorts of trouble"; witness called out-
doors in time to see red disc pass overhead.
41. May 31, 1957; Kent, England. Airliner suffered radio
failure during UFO sighting. Normal functions returned
when UFO left.
(+)42. June 25, 1957; Baltimore, Maryland. Car radio stopped
playing and street lights went out as formation of seven
white discs with red rims passed overhead.
43. August 14, 1957; near Joinville, Brazil. Airliner cabin
lights dimmed and engine sputtered during UFO sighting.
44. October 15, 1957; Covington, Indiana. Combine engine
failed as hovering UFO began to rise.
45. October 30, 1957; Casper, Wyoming. Car motor kept
stalling as motorist tried to turn around to avoid UFO
sitting on road.
46.. October 31, 1957; Lumberton, N.C. Car motor failed as
UFO observed.
47. November 2, 1957; near Seminole, Texas. Car motor
and headlights failed, UFO seen on road.
48. November 2, 1957; Amarillo, Texas. Car motor failed,
UFO seen on road.
49. November 2/3, 1957; Levelland, Texas. Many witnesses in
series of sightings watched egg-shaped UFOs on or near
ground, nine instances of car motors and lights failing.
50. November 3, 1957; near Calgary, Alta., Canada. Car
motor missed, headlights flickered as UFO arced over-
head.
51. November 3/4, 1957; Ararangua, Brazil. Airliner direction
finder and transmitter-receiver burnt during UFO sighting.
52. November 3/4, 1957; Sao Vicente, Brazil. Itaipu Fort
electrical system failed, sentries received burns as UFO
approached and hovered.
53. November 4, 1957; Elmwood Park, Illinois. Squad car
lights and spotlight dimmed as police pursued low-flying
UFO.
54. November 4, 1957; Toronto, Ont., Canada. TV interfer-
ence (audio); viewers called out by neighbors to see UFO.
55. November 4, 1957; Orogrande, N.M. Car motor stalled,
radio failed, heat felt. (James Stokes, White Sands
engineer).
56. November 4, 1957; Kodiak, Alaska. A "steady dit-dit-
dit" interference on police radio during UFO sighting.
(+)57. November 5, 1957; Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga. Brilliant round
orange object hovered, revolving; television blacked out.
(+)58. November 5, 1957; near San Antonio, Texas. Car radio
quit, headlights dimmed, engine stopped; UFO seen hover-
ing low over field.
59. November 5, 1957; Hedley, Texas. Farmer saw UFO;
neighbor reported TV off at same time.
(+)60. November 5, 1957; Philadelphia, Penna. Apartmentlights
dead, electric clock stopped; bright light awakened couple.
Milkman reported flaming disc.
61. November 5, 1957; Hobbs, N.M. Speeding car, motor
failed, lights went out as UFO swooped over car.
62. November 5, 1957; Ringwood, Illinois. UFO followed car
returning to town. TV sets in town dimmed, finally lost
both picture and sound during same period of time.
63. November 5, 1957; S. Springfield, Ohio. Car and cab
stalled as UFO observed.
64. November 6, 1957; Pell City, Alabama. Car motor stalled,
as driver attempted to approach UFO hovering low over
ground.
65. November 6, 1957; Houston, Texas. Car motor stalled,
radio blanked with static, during UFO sighting.
66. November 6, 1957; Santa Fe, N.M. Car motor failed, car
clock and wristwatch stopped as UFO passed low over car.
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67. November 6, 1957; Danville, Illinois. Police chased UFO,
unable to notify headquarters "because their radio went
mysteriously dead."
68. November 6, 1957; Montville, Ohio. TV blurred, next day
found automobile pockmarked. Night of Olden Moore's
report of UFO on ground about one-half mile from
viewer's house.
69. November 6, 1957; north of Ottawa, Canada. Battery radio
and portable short wave radio failed, then single tone
signal heard on one short wave frequency. UFO hovering
below overcast. Radios worked normally after UFO de-
parted.
70. November 7, 1957; Lake Charles, La. Car motor sputtered
and failed as UFO hovered low overhead.
71. November 7, 1957; near Orogrande, N.M. Car traveling
about 60 mph. Speedometer waved wildly between 60 and
110. UFO then sighted. (Car was 1954 Mercury with
magnetic speedometer.)
72. November 9, 1957; Near White Oaks, N.M. Car lights
failed as UFO observed.
73. November 10, 1957; Hammond, Indiana. Loud beeping
caused radio interference as police chased UFO. TV
blackout in city, motorist reported radio failure.
74. November 12, 1957; Rumney, N.H. Car motor and lights
failed. Ground observer corps reported UFO at same
time.
75. November 12 or 13, 1957; Hazelton, Penna. TV disrupted
as UFO seen.
76. November 14, 1957; Tamaroa, Illinois. Power failed for
10 minutes in a four mile area, just after hovering UFO
flashed.
77. November 15, 1957; Cachoeira, Brazil. Several car
motors failed as drivers attempted to approach UFO
hovering low above ground.
78. November 25, 1957; Mogi Mirim, Brazil. All city lights
failed as three UFOs passed overhead.
79. December 3, 1957; Near Ellensburg, Washington. Truck
motor "almost stopped," caught again, as UFO sighted.
Sighting confirmed by police.
80. December 3, 1957; Cobalt, Ont., Canada. Radio static as
several UFOs seen over area.
81. December 8, 1957; Near Coulee City, Washington. Auto-
mobiles stalled, headlights flickered and went out, as large
fiery object passed overhead.
82. December 18, 1957; Sarasota, Florida. White light source
glided overhead, TV interference noted.
83. January 13, 1958; Casino, N.S.W., Australia. Interference
on car radio as UFO followed car.
84. January 30, 1958; near Lima, Peru. Truck, bus, and car
passengers felt shock; motors of all three vehicles failed,
as UFO descended and hovered.
(+)85. February 24, 1958; Near Santa Antonio de Jesus, Brazil.
Car motor failed; passengers then noticed a Saturn-shaped
disc hovering overhead.
(+)86. May 1958; Near Richmond, Va. Engine of car began run-
ning roughly, driver then noticed UFO following car.
87. August 3, 1958; Rome Italy. Luminous UFO observed
passing overhead as city lights failed; one report of car
radio failure.
88. August 31, 1958; La Verde, Argentina. Light aircraft
(Piper) engine increased its revolutions abnormally during
UFO sighting. Engine normal after UFO left.
(+)89. October 3, 1958; Fukushima-Ken, Japan. Portable radio
emitted strange buzz as green fireball passed.
90. October 26, 1958; Baltimore, Maryland. UFO observed
hovering over bridge ahead of car; motor and headlights
failed, two passengers felt heat.
91. January 13, 1959; Pymatuning Lake, Penna. Truckmotor,
lights and radio failed as UFO hovered over truck.
92. January 13, 1959; Bygholm, Denmark. Car motor failed
as UFO passed overhead; headlights and spotlight func-
tioned normally.
93. February 25, 1959; Hobbs, N.M. Signals on car radio
(steady succession of two dots and a dash) as UFO passed.
(+)94. March 19, 1959; Kyger, Ohio. Buzzing static-like sound
on car radio. Lights dimmed; unidentified light source
seen ahead of car.
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95. June 22, 1959; Salta, Argentina. Luminous sphere observed
passing in sky, city lights failed.
(+)96. July 14, 1959; Salisbury, N.C. Television sets blacked
out, some lights reported off, as circular UFO observed;
loud oscillating high frequency noise reported.
97. August 13, 1959; Freeport, Texas. UFO crossed road
ahead of car at low altitude. Motor and headlights failed.
(+)98. August 17, 1959; Uberlandia, MinaisGerais, Brazil. Auto-
matic keys at power station turned off as round UFO
passed overhead following trunk line. After UFO left,
keys turned back on automatically, normal functions re-
sumed.
99. October 22, 1959; Cumberland, Maryland. Car motor,
headlights, and radio failed as UFO hovered low over road
ahead.
100. January 18, 1960; Near Lakota, No. Dak. Car lights dim-
med as UFO descended toward field, apparently about a
mile off highway.
(+)101. February 28, 1961; Lakeville, Mass. Houselights dimmed
three times, went out on two occasions as elongated UFO
twice passed overhead.
(4)102. February 9, 1962; Ashton Clinton, Beds., England. Car
motor lost power, headlights not affected, as UFO passed
ahead of car.
(4)103. July 30, 1962; Near Pojucara, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Car motor stopped, then oval UFO seen alongside road.
(+)104. September 20, 1963; Wonthaggi, Victoria, Australia. TV
difficulty noted, viewer called outside to see UFO. Object
hovered, darted around at high speed. TV interference
noted over area of three towns.
(+)105. November 7, 1963; San Francisco, Calif. Fireball ob-
served, shock wave felt, over Bay area. Unidentified
signal picked up by local radio station.
(4)106. November 14, 1963; Carson City, Nevada. Disc with
bluish-green glow hovered emitting beam of light which
illuminated hilltop; house radio failed, came back on when
UFO left.
E-M Cases (Continued)
Secondary Cases:
These borderline cases have some characteristics in common
with those on the main chronology. In each case, a definite E-M
effect was reported. However, either the associated aerial phen-
omenon was not distinct or it could not be determined that an
E-M effect and a UFO sighted nearby coincided in time.
(a) July 6, 1947; Acampo, Calif. All lights in community went
out, as citizens heard a roaring noise and saw a glow in the
sky.
July 20, 1952; Cumberland, Md. Engineer reported unusual
type of TV interference. Occurred within a few hours of the
famous Washington, D.C., UFO sightings all over D.C.-
Virginia area.
(c) January 21, 1957; Bristol, England. TV pictures disrupted
and noise heard on audio; same time as fiery light in sky
with rays running through it. (Aurora?)
(d) January 27, 1957; Glendora, Calif. Unexplained power fail-
ure. Two UFOs reported same night in general area.
(e) May 7, 1957; New York, N.Y. TV disrupted, citizens com-
plained about low-flying ''aircraft". Commercial test plane
blamed, but Air Force reported several unidentified blips
on radar.
September 1, 1957; LeMars, Iowa. Car motor and headlights
failed, as flash of light seen in sky.
November 2 or 3, 1957; Las Cruces, N.M. Car motor and
headlights failed twice as witness, a UFO skeptic, saw flashes
of light in the sky. Witnessblamedit on "static atmosphere."
driver felt numb, as bright flash of light appeared in sky
about 20 feet above highway ahead of car.
December 1, 1957; Ann Arbor, Michigan. Telephone lines
affected by odd noise in Detroit area, as numerous red lights
observed in sky. (Aurora?)
Approximately August 16, 1958; Olean, N.Y. and Eldred, Penna.
Strange noise lasting one minute heard on short wave, 20
meter band, in Olean. UFO seen in nearby Eldred about same
time.
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(k) December 7, 1959; Bangor, Me. Airport runway lights went
out, airliner circling over field reported unexplained blinding
glow around plane.
During the summer of 1963 the story broke that Russian
nuclear tests of 1961-1962 in the atmosphere had knocked out the
electronic equipment on board a U.S. satellite in space. [3.] Pub-
licity about this little-known side effect of high-yield nuclear
explosions immediately led to speculation on the military appli-
cations of it. A prominent magazine on space activities later
that year reported that the Soviet Union might be developing an
anti-ballistic missile system based on the E-M effects of nuclear
blasts. [4.]
The main significance of this discovery, in relation to UFOs,
is that it provides a clue about how UFOs might affect the elec-
trical systems of automobiles. American scientists have theorized
that an "electromagnetic pulse" is emitted by large nuclear
explosions at high altitude. John Crittenden, General Electric
consultant on radiation, has stated: "The detonation of (nuclear)
weapons produces radiation over the entire electromagnetic spec-
trum. The prompt gamma pulse will affect electronic devices
sensitive to ionization, and the radio-frequency signal propagated
carries enough energy to damage electronic circuits drasti-
cally. . ." Mr. Crittenden added that a one-megaton explosion
in space could affect electronic systems over a radius of 110
miles or more.
In testimony before the House Committee on Science &
Astronautics, major aerospace firms have strongly advocated the
development of an atomic engine for use in the U.S. space
program. [5.] Douglas Aircraft Corporation, for example,
citing the inefficiency and great expense of normal rocket
boosters, stated: "A gross reduction of these costs will come
only with the development of a propulsion system with truly
superior performance. Only then will extensive manned space
travel on an interplanetary scale be practical. In our opinion,
the greatest immediate hope for such an improvement may be
found in nuclear propulsion systems. . ." [6.]
The energy locked up in matter, obviously, is universal.
UFOs could plausibly have some nuclear propulsion component,
perhaps controlled explosions which incidentally interfere with
electrical circuits under certain conditions. (Another conceivable
G = Ground Radar V = Visual Sighting
A = Airborne Radar P = Photograph
Code
Date & Location
G
Summer 1948
Goose Bay,
Labrador
A, V
October 15, 1948
G
November 1, 1948
Goose Bay,
Labrador
G
November 6, 1948
Japan
G, V
November 23, 1948
Fursten-Feldbruck,
Germany
G
Fall 1949
Key atomic base
February 22, 1950
Key West, Fla.
G, V
March 8, 1950
Dayton, Ohio
explanation for the E-M effects observed in the presence of UFOs
is that some atomic device or weapon on board is used deliber-
ately and selectively, as a test or for other purposes. However,
this is purely speculative).
The fact remains that is is not necessary to postulate a "mys-
terious force" in some mystical sense to account for the observed
effects. An atomic device capable of producing the observed
effects is now technologically feasible. Even if this were not the
case, it is false logic for a scientist to deny observations on the
grounds that we cannot fully explain the mechanism involved in
E-M effects. Taken in association with the other accumulated
evidence about UFOs, the fact that we do have difficulty explaining
the E-M effects could also mean that we are dealing with a
superior technology about which we know very little.
RADAR UFO SIGHTINGS
Unidentified targets have been detected by radar on numerous
occasions. Air Force radar-scope photographs of UFOs are
classified (see box), but the facts of many radar observations
have been published. The question is, what causes the unexplained
"blips" on the scope? On the whole, theorists have tended to
attribute all such reports to the vagaries of radar. This view is
challenged here.
NICAP's position is that the radar-UFO reports, after all,
were made largely by experienced radar operators who were
convinced they had tracked something solid and unexplained.
The conflict amounts to data versus theory, with most theorists
all too prone to assume that radar operators are incompetent.
It is a well-known fact that false (or misleading) images can
appear on radar scopes. However, if these could not be dis-
tinguished from the blips of solid targets, radar would be a use-
less instrument. Also, lights and objects have been observed
visually in the positions where radar indicated the presence of
unexplained objects. The theorists' ad hoc arguments to account
for this aspect of the reports leave much to be desired.
What can radar detect? How do different phenomena appear on
the scope? What are so-called radar "angels?" These questions
are analyzed following the chart which includes the controversial
cases under discussion.
Radar Cases
Description Speed Altitude
Sources &
References
USAF and RCAF radar indepen- 9000 mph. 60,000 ft. [Details this Section]
dently tracked unidentified target.
Air Force F-61 night interceptor Abt. 200 mph. 5000 -
tracked and saw visually UFO Accel. to est. 6000 ft.
shaped "like a rifle bullet." On 1200 mph.
one pass, F-61 got close enough
to see silhouette 20-30 ft. long.
UFO tracked 600 mph. [8]
Air Force radar tracked two
maneuvering UFOs for over an
hour. On scope, looked like two
planes dogfighting.
UFO tracked, reddish star-like 900 mph.
object observed visually. Climbed
23,000 feet in few minutes.
Five UFOs in formation clocked 4500 mph.
covering 300 miles in less than (average)
4 minutes
Two glowing objects sped over
Naval Air Station
Two F-51 pilots saw "huge and
metallic" UFO which ground radar
detected. Object gave solid
"blip", climbed vertically
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 Code Date & Location Description
A, V July 11, 1950 Disc-shaped UFO sighting visual-
nr. Osceola, Arkansas ly by Navy pilots, tracked by air-
borne radar
G, V, P July 14, 1951 UFO sped near B-29, tracked on
White Sands, radar; 200 ft. of 35 mm film re-
New Mexico portedly shows bright round spot.
G, V July 23, 1951 UFO tracked on radar, pilots saw
March Field, silvery object circling above them
California
G August 26, 1951 Two radar sets tracked UFO
Washington State headed northwest
G, A Fall 1951 Over 14 Navy radar sets tracked
Korean area UFO circling above fleet.
(signed report at NICAP)
G, A January 22, 1952 Three F-94s scrambled to inter-
Alaska cept radar target; UFO maneu-
vered, ground radar saw object
streak away to west
G June 1, 1952 Hughes Aircraft radar tracked
Los Angeles, Cal. UFO which climbed at 35,000 ft.
per min., levelled off, dove, pulled
out, and headed southeast.
G, V June 19, 1952 Red-lighted object approached base,
Goose Bay, Labrador radar blip enlarged as object
seemed to wobble.
G, V July 1, 1952 Two shiny objects tracked; moved
Ft. Monmouth, slowly, hovered, burst of speed
New Jersey to southwest. Coincided with
other visual observations.
G, V July 10, 1952 Canadian destroyer tracked two
Near Korea shiny discs; calculated altitude of
2 miles, 7 miles from ship.
Speed
Altitude
Sources &
References
200 mph.
Est. 8000 ft.
[Section IV]
50,000 ft.
[14]
900 mph.
Slow to over
1000 mph.
5000 ft.
[Details this
Section]
1500 mph.
23,000 ft.
[16]
180-550 mph.
11,000 ft.
[17]
Slow -
"terrific
burst of
speed."
50,000 ft.
[19]
2 miles
[20]
-
G, V July 19/20, 1952 UFO's tracked by CAA and Air "On the order [Section XII;
Washington, D. C. Force radar; some visual of 7500 mph." July 1952 Chron-
sightings coinciding. (Air Force "fact ology]
sheet")
G July 21, 1952 UFO tracked at 10:30 am. 1200 mph Abt. ft. [21]
Dobbins AFB, Ga. - 50,000
G, A, V July 23, 1952 F-94 pilot obtained radar lock-on
Braintree, Mass. while chasing blue-green light
which circled at high speed.
G, V July 26/27, 1952 Series of radar-visual sightings Some "slow- [Section XII;
Washington, D. C. involving CAA airline and Air moving," some July 1952 Chron-
Force pilots. "fast." ology]
G, A, V July 26, 1952 F-94 interceptor obtained radar Slow to
California lock-on, UFO kept pulling away. "terrific speed"
Visually appeared as large
yellow-orange light.
G, V July 28, 1952 USAF jets chased UFO tracked 60 to over
Wisconsin-- by ground radar, UFO's sped up 600 mph
Minnesota and evaded interceptors.
G July 28/29, 1952 Eight to twelve UFO's tracked
Washington, D. C. at a time on CAA radar; airline
pilot investigated, saw nothing
but CAA said targets disappeared
from screen when plane was in
their area, then came in behind
plane.
G, A, V July 29, 1952 F-94's attempted to intercept
Michigan radar traget, observed visually
as flashing red and green light,
then solid white. (From USAF
Intelligence Report)
G, V Summer 1952 UFO target tracked at base. Air
MacDill AFB, Force bomber in area investigated
saw maneuverable egg-shaped
UFO.
G, V, P August 1, 1952 UFO tracked, seen visually and
Wright-Patterson photographed by F-86 pilot.
AFB, Ohio
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Section XII;
my 1952 Chron-
ology]
635 mph
20,000 ft.
[25]
400 knots
40,000 ft.
[Section III]
(460 mph)
480 mph
Above
[26]
40,000 ft.
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Code Date & Location Description Speed Altitude Sources &
References
G, V August 3, 1952 Two silver discs "dogfighting"
Hamilton AFB, joined by six others, took diamond
Calif. formation and sped away as jets
scrambled.
G, A, V August 5, 1952 Circular UFO tracked; ap- 300 knots [28]
Haneda AFB, Japan proached field and hovered
visible from control tower. Sped
away dividing into 3 parts.
G August 20, 1952 Air Defense Command radar Over
Congaree AFB, S.C. tracked UFO 60 miles from base 4000 mph
G During period of Confidential report, certified by
9-51 to 11-52 NICAP Board Member, Rev. Albert
Prominent east coast Baller. Moving object tracked
AF base. about 15 miles from base. Stopped
for long period of time, vanished as
plane approached.
G November 25/26,1952 two UFO's tracked by defense
Panama Canal radar.
A, V December 6, 1952 B-29 crew tracked several
Gulf of Mexico small, one large, object; saw
speeding lights coinciding with
radar tracks.
A, V December 10, 1952 F-94 obtained radar lock-on,
Nr Hanford, Wash. UFO seen as round, white, with
"windows"
A, V December 16, 1952 F-94 obtained radar lock-on;
Goose Bay, Labrador UFO observed visually as red light
changing to white during maneuvers.
G, V December 29, 1952 UFO spotted by B-29 crew, tracked
Japan on radar. Jet pilot investigated,
saw rotating lights on UFO, and
three fixed beams of light from it.
A, V January 9, 1953 Second "rotating lights" case,
Japan similar to above.
G, V January 26, 1953 Bright red-white UFO, official
New Mexico "unknown." Travelled steadily
into the wind.
G, V January 28, 1953 Ground radar tracked UFO, inter-
Nr Albany, Ga. ceptor pilot saw circular object.
UFO travelled slowly; radar indicated
it sped up as interceptor neared.
G, V February 7, 1953 F-94 scrambled after radar target,
Korean area pilot saw UFO as bright orange
light which changed altitude, sped
away.
A, V February 13, 1953 Radar-visual sighting by B-36
Fort Worth, Texas crew
G May 23, 1953 Air Force radar tracked UFO on
Cape, So. Africa six passes.
G, V Summer 1953 Six UFO's observed visually and
Yaak, Montana tracked by USAF radar site; ob-
jects changed formation repeated-
ly.
G, A, August 12, 1953 Official "unknown". Cat-and-mouse
V, P Rapid City, So. Dak. jet chase. UFO fled, turned back
and followed jet. Gun camera
photo showed image.
G, V November 3, 1953 Circular, flattened white UFO
London, England tracked, seen by telescope, also
by interceptor pilots.
G November 23, 1953 F-89 lost pursuing unidentified
Kinross AFB, radar target, blip of aircraft seen
Michigan to merge with UFO blip. No trace
ever found.
G, V May 13, 1954 Several large glowing objects seen
Washington, D. C. by National Airport police;
tracked on airport radar.
G, V June 30, 1954 Silvery UFO tracked, observed
B
roo
kl
ey
A
B
F
visually from base tower
Con
,
.
-
Alabama firmed by base PIO, Maj. James
Zicherelli.
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[Details this
Section]
5240-
9000 mph.
18,000 ft.
[31]
35,000 ft.
[34]
12-15 knots
(abt. 17 mph)
10,000 -
15,000 ft.
[35]
Below
30,000 ft.
[36]
Over
1250 mph
5000 -
15,000 ft.
[39]
1400 -
1600 mph
[Details this
Section]
Hover -
over 500
mph
16,000 ft.
[40]
Hover-abt.
200 mph.
Abt.
80,000 ft.
[43]
[44]
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Speed Altitude Sources &
Code Date & Location Description References
G, V July 3, 1954 Nine green spheres hovered, sped About 24,000 ft. [45]
Albuquerque, away, tracked by radar. 2600 mph.
New Mexico
G, V August 28, 1954 Fifteen UFO's in triangle forma-
Tinker AFB, Oklahoma tion tracked on radar, chased by
jets; changed to semi-circle for-
mation and sped away.
G, A, V August or September, Circular UFO tracked across N. Y. Above [Section VII]
1954 by GOC, Air Force radar. 45,000 ft.
White Plains, N.Y.
G, V September 17, 1954 Italian Air Force radar tracked About 3600 ft. [47]
Rome, Italy disc-like UFO sene by thousands. 150 mph;
burst of
speed
upwards.
G, V November 12, 1954 Air Force interceptors chased
Kentucky, (Indiana, spherical object seen over tri-
Ohio) state area; also followed by
theodolite.
G, V December 15, 1954 Royal Australian Navy pilot re-
Nr Nowra, turning to base, joined by two
Australia "strange aircraft resembling
flying saucers." Ground radar
showed his Seafury, when pilot
identified self by moving according
to pattern, and also two other
objects.
G, V August 23, 1955 SAC radar detected UFO's Jets en-
Cincinnati, Ohio gaged in dogfight with three circular
objects.
G, V December 11, 1955 Navy Jets in dogfight with UFO, con-
Nr Jacksonville, Fla. firmed on radar.
G, V February 17, 1956 Orly Airport radar tracked UFO,
Paris, France larger than commercial airliner.
Observed by Air France pilot as
blinking red light. UFO maneuvered
erratically, alternately hovering and
moving with jet-like bursts of speed.
G, V July 19, 1956 Naval Air Station tracked UFO, ob-
Hutchinson, Kansas served visually by State Police and
pilots as erratically moving tear-
drop shaped object.
G, V July 29, 1956 GOC spotters sighted brilliant white
Pasadena, California UFO, tracked by Air Defense Com-
mand radar. GOC said UFO appeared
to stop, then speed up again "faster
than a conventional airplane."
G Aug.-Sept., 1956 Report September 11 that NATO 2000--
Bornholm Island, radar had been tracking UFO's for 3500 mph.
Denmark three weeks, curving over Baltic
Sea.
G, V September 4, 1956 Several "fireball"-like UFO's flew 3000 km/h 5000 meters [53]
Copenhagen, Denmark over, tracked by radar. (abt. 1800
mph.)
G November 8, 1956 Donald Freestone, Pan American Hover - 7000 - [54]
Miami, Florida master radar mechanic, tracked 4000 mph. 8000 ft.
UFO maneuvering like "aerial
tag" over tip of Florida. (Bendix
RDR-lA weather radar.) "It had
a definite shape and moved on a
definite course so is not believed to
have been a freak weather return."
Object 4-5 times larger than any
known aircraft.
G, A, V November 25, 1956 Series of UFO sightings, one by
Hot Springs, state police of circular object
So. Dakota swaying back and forth across
road. Objects detected by radar,
jets scrambled from Ellsworth
AFB, S.D.
A, V December 1956 USAF jet tracking UFO, radar 3600 mph. Below [Section I]
Far East jammed by interference; changed 10,000 ft.
frequency and picked up UFO again,
saw circular object climb away.
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G, V March 23, 1957 Four UFOs tracked by CAA radar.
Long Beach, Calif. (Confidential report certified by 6
NICAP Board Members) Coincided
with visual reports by GOC, police
and Oxnard AFB.
A, V March 29, 1957 Pan American Airways flight #206A,
saw pulsating UFO, radar target
coincided.
G April 4, 1957 Three radar posts tracked UFO
Wigtownshire, which dove and circled. Wing
Scotland Cdr. W. P. Whitworth (at
Scottish base): "Quite definitely
this was no freak. It was an object
of some substance and no mistake
could have been made."
G, V October 21 or 29, 1957 UFO sighted visually by pilot near
Nr London, England atomic base, tracked by ground
radar; dimmed lights and sped away.
G, V November 5, 1957 Coast Guard Cutter Sebago
Gulf of Mexico tracked UFO, brief visual sighting
from deck.
G, V December 12, 1957 GCI radar tracked UFO seen by
Tokyo, Japan ground observers as vari-colored
object; jets scrambled.
G March 8, 1958 USAF radar site tracked slowly de-
Korea scending UFO.
G, V Summer 1958 Two maneuverable UFOs tracked,
Air Force Base, evaded jet interceptors.
SW United States.
[Details this
Section]
60,000 to
14,000 ft.
[56]
1020 mph
[Details this
Section]
77,000 -
25,000 ft.
[59]
G November, 1958 UFO descended from maximum alt. 500 knots
Dewline radar range of radar, moved horizontally (abt. 575
for 100 miles, ascended vertically. mph.)
G, V January 23, 1959 Bright silver object arced across
Panama Canal sky, tracked by U.S. radar.
G, V September 24, 1959 Air Force radar site reportedly
Redmond, Oregon tracked UFO, observed visually by
FAA personnel at airport as disc-
shaped object.
G, V August 13, 1960 State Police observed egg-shaped UFO
Red Bluff, reported USAF radar site confirmed
California tracking it.
G January 1961 UFO which alternately hovered and
Missile Base during moved rapidly to new position,
missile test flight tracked.
[Section V,
IX]
[Section VII,
IX]
G, V June 19, 1961 Large, bright shining UFO observed Hovered 50,000 ft. [65]
Exeter, England; at Exeter airport, tracked on radar.
Edinburgh, Scotland Cigar-object and speeding light ob-
served over Edinburgh twice during
preceding night.
G, V July 5, 1961 Former AF pilot saw maneuvering
Akron, Ohio glowing UFO, also tracked by FAA
radar at Cleveland airport.
G, A, V January 29, 1962 Royal Dutch Air Force jet intercep-
Eastern Holland tor chased UFO detected by ground and
airborne radar, and visually.
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Official Speed Records: Aircraft
10,000
70001-
4000
T
' 49 49 50 5! 52 53 54 55 5V 57 5 5? 60 Gl 62
0
E-- YEAR -
14
a x---x = Official World Speed Record
m o---o = Highest Known Speed (Rocket Research Aircraft)
r I
-ri
?---? = UFOs Tracked on Radar
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RADAR: THEORY & FACT
Except for cases of so-called "anomalous propagation"--false -
radar targets caused by bending or refraction of radar signals--
UFO targets on radar constitute objective confirmation of the
reality of unexplained objects in the atmosphere. Some research
reports have tended to explain-away radar UFO sightings as
"false targets. . . [sometimes caused by] a low angle radar beam
. . . reflected from one surface to another before retracing its
path to the radar." [66] Unexplained radar targets have been
observed since the early days of radar.
Some evaluations of this phenomenon appear to be more a
rationalization of troublesome reports than objective studies of
them. Facts of observation seemingly are ignored or glossed
over in order to make a theory fit. A prime example of this pro-
cedure is the study by the Civil Aeronautics Administration
(CAA) of the famous July 1952 radar sightings over Washington,
D.C. [67] The CAA report concludes that the Washington sightings
were "ground returns caused by reflection phenomena closely
connected with the temperature inversions in the lower at-
mosphere."
Table 1 of the CAA report, `'Tabulation of Unidentified Radar
Targets and Visual Objects Reported to Washington ARTC Center,"
includes one case for May, twenty-two for July, and 11 for August.
Yet the text goes into detail on, and bases its conclusions on,
only reports for the nights of August 14/15 and August 15/16.
Unlike the July cases, there were no visual sightings on these
nights and the recorded speeds were extremely slow (about 24-70
m.p.h.) The characteristics of the phenomena on these nights,
and the lack of visual sightings, do resemble so-called "angels"
(which are themselves little understood non-visual phenomena).
By contrast, many of the July cases involved objects tracked in
high-speed flight and also observed visually by pilots exactly
where radar showed the objects to be.
Evaluations of this kind, aside from their glaring omissions
of data and questionable reasoning, fail to take into account two
vitally important points: (1) Because of the long history of false
radar targets, they and their characteristics are well-known to
experienced radar operators. (2) The bending of radar beams
and creation of false targets on the scope cannot explain sustained
radar-visual sightings. If a pilot sees a light source or object
which changes its angular position radically, and ground radar
shows a target maneuvering as described right where the pilot
is looking, this cannot be explained in terms of the erratics of
radar.
Because it is known that false targets do occur on radar screens
which can be misinterpreted by inexperienced operators, radar-
visual sightings in general are more significant evidence than
reports lacking visual confirmation. As in all other aspects of
UFO investigation, it is necessary to weed out erroneous reports
and to recognize that human error is possible. But the same logic
often applied to UFOs in general seems to be used by skeptics
on radar cases: Because error is possible, and because some
people definitely have been mistaken, all the reports are false.
This is known as throwing out the baby with the bath-water.
In general, a blip on radar always corresponds to a reflection
off of some solid (or liquid) surface, though that surface may not
be where the radar scope indicates it to be. The surface may be
(a) a mass of raindrops in a cloud in the position where radar
shows it to be; (b) a solid object in the air in the position where
radar shows it to be; (c) something on the ground, reflecting back
to the scope and only seeming to be an object in the air. The
latter explanation commonly is invoked to account for all radar
UFO reports.
This highlights the real problem of radar sightings: Inter-
pretation of the scope by radar operators. The phenomenon
most subject to misinterpretation is the "ducting" effect, where
low-angle radar beams are bent around the earth's curvature.
An object which would ordinarily be out of radar range might then
be detected, and mistaken for something which seems to be closer
and in a different position. A radar set can pick up echoes of
its beam which have bounced around from more than one reflecting
surface, and back to the antenna. In a case of this type, it would
be severely strained coincidence for an unidentified object to be
sighted visually in the same position as the false radar target.
Weather targets on radar may be ruled out generally as a
source of false UFO reports. Clouds and cold fronts are not
detected by radar, except for rain-carrying clouds, in which case
it is the moisture (precipitation) which is detected. An Air
Force manual on the subject states " . . . in general, strong
radar echoes will be returned only from air of high specific
humidity in which intense convective activity releases water in
large amounts." [68] The echoes received are "false" only in
the sense of not representing solid airborne objects. They are
real liquid objects collectively acting as reflectors of the radar
beam.
Section II, Paragraph 15 of the Air Force manual discusses
"Interpretation of Echoes." In general, weather targets show
up as diffuse masses on the radar screen, and their origin is
easily recognizable.
Dense nimbostratus from which rain is falling, the manual
states, can be detected to short or moderate ranges. ".
echoes from nimbostratus usually appear on the PPI [Plan Position
Indicator] scope as a mass of brightness concentrated about the
center of the scope and merging into the blackness of the outer
rings. . . there are many breaks and irregularities in the pattern
since rain does not fall uniformly over even a small area."
A recent example of radar angels occurred at the NASA
Wallops Island, Virginia, base during the Spring of 1962. The
observations were analyzed by the Cornell University Center for
Radiophysics and Space Research, for the Air Force Cambridge
Research Laboratory. [69] The analysts theorized that "plate-
like" objects could explain the observations, but commented:
"It is difficult to conceive of foreign objects in the atmosphere
having this plate-like shape. It is even more difficult to imagine
that such objects would invariably maintain a consistent horizon-
tal orientation while passing over the radar station. . ."
Although it is clear that radar angels have not been satisfac-
torily explained, the Center suggested that "most" of them were
"caused either by very smooth layers of refractive index gradient
or by a single intense [atmospheric] discontinuity. . . "
What are radar "angels?" Used in its broadest sense, the term
applies to all unidentified targets on radar. But this terminology
is misleading, since the targets have been of three basic and
distinct types: (1) Diffuse and intermittent targets probably at-
tributable to meteorological effects; (2) Sharp, "solid" targets
which give a persistent blip exactly like that of a moving metallic
aircraft (sometimes also observed visually); (3) groups of targets,
usually in very slow-moving meandering swarms, for which there
are no known visual observations. We prefer to adopt the term-
inology of CSI, a UFO investigation group in New York City, and
call the third type "angels;" the second "UFOs."
The research section of CSI has published an excellent analysis
of radar angels; pertinent extracts are quoted here.
"ANGELS" Explained by Two Experts
(Two Different Ways)
Typical "angels" are characterized by being gregarious,
slow-traveling (30-60 mph.), and much more conspicuous to
radar than to the eye - in fact, it may be that no one has ever
seen them except on a radarscope. They have been observed
ever since 1943, when microwave radar was first being de-
veloped, and they have never been acceptably explained.
The celebrated Washington radar sightings of July 1952
occurred during a period when typical angels were being seen
there abundantly (for details, see C.A.A. Technical Report
#180, Note 67). . .
The radar visibility of birds happens to be known; it is very
much less than thatof angels. Birds (and a fortiori, flocks of
birds) can be detected on a powerful radar set - at distances
up to a mile or two. Bonham and Blake, authors of an earlier
claim that angels could be identified with birds (Scientific
Monthly, April 1956), admitted that the visually-confirmed birds
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 siderably less than a mile." Yet all authors agree that angels
are clearly visible at distances of 25 miles or even more. If
the "bird" theory is correct, it must be possible to show that
ordinary aircraft-control radar can "see" a bird 25 miles
away. No evidence that this is true has ever been presented,
and no practicing radar operator will take such a suggestion
seriously for a moment. . .
Something that appears only sporadically, like angels, can-
not - in the name of simple common sense - be identified
with something that is around all the time, like birds. That
the bird-theorists can ignore difficulties as fundamental as this
one only shows us once again how irrational the human mind
can be when confronted by facts that point to some conclusion
it does not wish to accept. . .
The other leading "orthodox" idea about angels is that they
are "refractive-index inhomogeneities of various types," in
the words of a valuable though turgidly-written article by Ver-
non G. Plank of the Air Force's Cambridge Research Center
(Bedford, Mass.) in Electronics of March 14, 1958. Plank,
like Harper, nails his thesis to the mast in his title: ''Atmos-
pheric Angels Mimic Radar Echoes." As forbirds, he informs
us that they have "radar cross-sections as large as 20
sq. cm at S-Band. . . Radar cross-sections of the non-wind-
carried sources range as large as 700 sq. cm at L-Band. . .
birds cannot explain echoes with such large indicated radar
cross-sections. There must be other sources." (In other
words: the angels give a radar echo far stronger than that
from a bird). This confirms what we have said above about
the applicability of the bird theory.
But when Plank puts forward "convective bubbles, highly
refractive portions of atmospheric layers and water-vapor or
temperature anomaly regions" as his candidates, he is shutting
his eyes to known impossibilities just as the bird-men have
done. Not only are such atmospheric phenomena obviously
incapable of flying counter to the wind, but they are known to
be just as incapable as birds of producing the sharp, relatively
intense "angel" echoes. To quote Herbert Goldstein in the
authoritative Radiation Laboratory treatise Propagation of
Short Radio Waves, ed. D. E. Kerr (McGraw-Hill, 1951):
"In Section 7.4 it is shown that the refractive index gradients
believed to exist in the atmosphere are much too low to ac-
count for the observed echoes." . . .
"Then there are radar flying saucers." Plank continues.
Here he cites no detail, and has only two remarks to make.
"The classic saucer incidents over Washington in July, 1952,
for example, occurred when the atmosphere was exceedingly
super-refractive and spotty anomalous propagation was de-
finitely in order.". . . (In reality, there was only a moderate
inversion on those nights, and "spotty anomalous propaga-
tion" is a purely imaginary phenomenon. It has never been
known to occur, there is no theoretical basis for believing
that it could occur, and it would have had no resemblanace
to the Washington sightings if it did occur.) Plank's other
"saucer mechanism" (as he calls it) is the suggestion that
real aircraft may generate ghost images by reflection to and
back from some radar mirror on the ground, thus producing
a phantom echo that might seem to accompany the plane. The
accompanying diagram [in the original article] shows that Plank
is unconscious of the optical grotesquerie of what he is
proposing. Quite apart from that, he has not stopped to think
that if this could happen at all, it would happen all the time,
and would be a perfectly familiar nuisance to the radar men.
The idea that reflection from refractive index gradients
could account for radar UFO reports is also challenged by
Merrill J. Skolnik, a scientist associated with the Research
Division of Electronic Communications, Inc. In a 1962 book
on the subject of radar, Mr. Skolnik states: ". . . there must
be a large change in the index of refraction over a very short
distance [to account for the observed radar targets]. Un-
fortunately, the refractive-index gradients required by the
theory are much greater than have been measured experi-
mentally, and it has not been possible on this basis to account
for the observed angel radar cross sections theoretically."
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ersons consulted in preparing his report was a
e of the
O
p
n
veteran Air Force radar operator, a Sgt. First Class, who has
operated sets all over the world. He has also tracked unidentified
targets, at White Sands, N.M.; in Detroit, Michigan; and during
NATO maneuvers overseas. He stated that he had observed some
"solid unidentified targets moving at variable speeds, up to 500
mph." He had observed targets which disappeared and reappeared
on his scope. Sometimes the objects simply moved out of range.
Ionized air "islands," which are commonly invoked to explain
radar-UFO reports, he said were easily recognizable. Their
blips "pile up" and they tend to develop a comet-like tail on the
screen. Birds, he said, cause no problem even to novice opera-
tors fresh out of radar school. The targets which caused prob-
lems were those which exactly resembled a solid object, when
there was no known aerial device in the position indicated.
Special records are kept of all such sightings. Usually, in a case
of this type, jets are scrambled and other radar stations along
the path of the UFO notified.
Another consultant, David L. Morgan, Jr. (physicist), Madison,
Connecticut, submitted a paper to NICAP which he preferred to
term "thoughts on the matter" rather than a detailed scientific
study. In it, Mr. Morgan approached the question of radar-UFO
targets theoretically, based on a general knowledge of physics.
Citing hypothetical cases of different types of images which appear
on radar screens, he analyzed each in terms of the probability
that they could be explained by weather phenomena.
Mr. Morgan independently concluded that the cases of an un-
explained radar target pacing an aircraft could not be explained
by an echo from the aircraft to another surface, and back to the
radar set. "If a large, stationary ground object did this," he
states, "it would always do it and this would be familiar to the
radar operator. If the [radar-detected] object were a meteoro-
logical condition such as an ionized layer of air, it is highly
doubtful that the reflection would be regular enough to give a
consistent appearance, and sharp enough to prevent the blip from
spreading in a radial direction."
In summary, Mr. Morgan stated: It may be said that highly
specialized UFO patterns on radar scopes can be explained only
by highly unlikely or even impossible meteorological conditions.
In the case of inversions, it is further unlikely that a specialized
condition would exist without the simultaneous presence of less
specialized conditions that would immediately be recognized as
coming from an inversion."
Having examined various known phenomena which produce blips
on radar, and theoretical attempts to account for unknown tar-
gets, a closer look at some of the radar-UFO reports is in order.
Summer 1948; Goose Bay, Labrador
Major Edwin A. Jerome, USAF (Ret.) reported the following
information to NICAP in 1961. Major Jerome was a Command
Pilot, Air Provost Marshal for about 8 years, and also served
as an Intelligence Officer and CID Investigator.
"My only real contact with the UFO problem was way
back in the summer of 1948 while stationed at Goose Bay,
Labrador. There an incident happened which is worthy of
note. It seems that a high-ranking inspection team was
visiting the radar facilities of this base whose mission at the
time was to serve as a prime refueling and servicing air base
for all military and civilian aircraft plying the north Atlantic
air routes. GCA [Ground Control Approach radar] was a
critical part of this picture, thus these high-ranking offi-
cers RCAF & USAF up to the rank of General as I recall.
"While inspecting the USAF radar shack, the operator
noted a high-speed target on his scope going from NE to SW.
Upon computation of the speed it was found to be about 9000
mph. This incident caused much consternation in the shack
since obviously this was no time for levity or miscalculations
in the presence of an inspecting party. The poor airman tech-
nician was brought to task for his apparent miscalculation.
Again the target appeared and this time the inspectors were
actually shown the apparition on the radar screen. The
only reaction to this was that obviously the American equip-
ment was way off calibration.
"The party then proceeded to the Canadian side to inspect
the RCAF GCA facility. Upon their arrival the OIC related
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is Most unbelievable target they had just seen. The in-
specting officers were appalled that such a coincidence
should happen. I was part of the meager intelligence report-
ing machinery at the base and I was called in to make an
immediate urgent intelligence report on the incident. The
prevailing theory at the time was that it was a meteor. I
personally discounted this since upon interviewing the radar
observers on both sides of the base they stated that it main-
tained an altitude of 60,000 feet and a speed of approximately
9000 mph.
"To make this story more incredible the very next day
both radars again reported an object hovering over the base
at about 10 mph, at 45,000 feet. The "official" story on this
was that they were probably some type of "high-flying sea-
gulls." You must remember all these incidents happened
before the days of fast high flying jets and missiles and the
now common altitude record-breaking helicopters."
(Maj. Jerome then added: "On my recent tour in Alaska
[circa 1960], I became very familiar with the early warning
and air defense systems on the DEW Line and Alaska Air
Defense Sectors. Many times high speed unknown objects
were discerned which could not be explained as normal air
breathing vehicles penetrating our sectors. Many of the citi-
zens of Alaska along the Bering Sea Coast have reported
seeing missile-like aircraft flying at very low altitudes at
very high speeds. The AF denied the presence of Russian
aircraft vehemently. When it was suggested that they might
be extra-terrestrial everyone clammed up.")
October 15, 1948; Japan
Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt reported the following case received
by Project Sign (the original Air Force UFO investigation pro-
ject) in October 1948.
An F-61 "Black Widow" night fighter on patrol over Japan,
October 15, picked up an unidentified radar target. The UFO
was traveling about 200 mph. between 5000 and 6000 feet. Each
time the F-61 tried to close in, the object would accelerate to an
estimated 1200 mph., outdistancing the interceptor before slowing
down again. On one of six passes at the UFO, the crew of the
F-61 got close enough to see its silhouette. The UFO appeared
to be 20-30 feet long and shaped "like a rifle bullet."
July 14, 1951; White Sands, N.M.
During the morning two radar operators at a missile tracking
site caught a fast-moving object on their scope. At the same
time a tracker watching a B-29 with binoculars saw a large UFO
near the bomber. Another observer sighted the UFO and, with
a 35 mm camera, shot 200 feet of film. The UFO showed on
the film as a round, bright spot. (The film has never been
released.)
Fall 1951; Korean Area
Following are extracts from a letter to NICAP dated May 16,
1957, signed by Lt. Cmdr. M. C. Davies, U.S.N., then stationed
at the U. S. Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida.
My background is a Naval Aviator with approximately 4000
hours. At the time of the incident I was deployed with an
Anti-Submarine Squadron aboard a CVE class carrier. I was
assigned Air Crew Training Officer and prior to deployment
had attended CIC Air Controller School at Point Loma, also
Airborne Air Controller School and Airborne Early Warning
School both located at NAS, San Diego. . .
It was at night, I was riding with a radar operator which I
often did to check on their proficiency. We were flying at
5000 feet, solid instruments, with our wingman flying a radar
position about 3 miles astern and slightly to our right or left.
The target, which was slightly larger than our wingman, I
picked up on our scope, had been circling the fleet; it left
the fleet and joined up on us a position behind our wingman,
approximately the same position he held on us.
I reported the target to the ship and was informed that the
target was also held on the ship's radars, 14 in number; and
for us to get a visual sighting if possible. This was impossible
because of the clouds. The target retained his relative
position for approximately 5 minutes and then departed in
excess of one thousand miles per hour. He departed on a
straight course and was observed to the maximum distance
of my radar which was two hundred miles.
Upon completion of my flight an unidentified flying object
report was completed, at which time I was informed that the
object was held on ship's radars for approximately seven
hours.
November 23, 1948; Fursten-Feldbruck, Germany
An unidentified object resembling a reddish light was sighted
east of the base at 2200 hours, local time. Capt. [names
deleted from Air Force reports] said the UFO was moving south
across Munich, turned southwest, then southeast. Not knowing
the height, the speed could not be estimated; but it appeared to
be traveling between 200 and 600 mph.
Capt. reported the sighting to base operations, and the
radar station checked its scope. An unidentified target, traveling
900 mph., was detected at 27,000 feet about 30 miles south of
Munich. Capt.. verified that the UFO was now visible in
that area. Radar then reported that the target had climbed quick-
ly to 50,000 feet and was circling 40 miles south of Munich.
March 8, 1950; Nr Dayton, Ohio
In mid-morning, the CAA received a report from Capt. W. H.
Kerr, Trans-World Airways pilot, that he and two other TWA
pilots had a UFO in sight. A gleaming object was visible, hover-
ing at high altitude. CAA also had 20 or more reports on the
UFO from the Vandalia area. Wright-Patterson AFB, near Dayton,
was notified, and sent up four interceptors. The UFO was also
visible to control tower operators and personnel of Air Technical
Intelligence Center on the base. Radar had an unidentified tar-
get in the same position.
Two F-51 pilots reported that they could see the UFO, which
presented a distinct round shape and seemed huge and metallic.
But clouds moved in, and the pilots were forced to turn back. The
Master Sergeant who tracked it on radar stated: "The target
was a good solid return. . . caused by a good solid target."
Witnesses reported that the UFO finally climbed vertically out of
sight at high speed.
July 1, 1952; Ft. Monmouth, N.J.
A radar tracking of two UFOs at Fort Monmouth, N. J. was
one of a series of sightings which fit a definite pattern. It
occurred at a time when the Air Force was swamped with UFO
reports - good ones. [See Section XII, 1952 Chronology.] Also,
it was the first of ten known incidents of UFOs tracked by radar
during July 1952. (See chart).
The sequence of events, reported by the Air Force UFO pro-
ject chief, was as follows.
7:30 a.m., Boston, Mass. A couple in nearby Lynn and an
Air Force Captain in Bedford saw two F-94's which had been
scrambled on an intercept mission. The Captain saw one and
the couple saw two silvery cigar-shaped UFOs, which moved
southwest across Boston, outspeeding the jets.
9:30 a.m., Ft. Monmouth, N. J. Radar tracked two UFO tar-
gets, also observed visually as two shiny objects. The UFOs
approached slowly from the northeast, and hovered nearby at
50,000 feet for about 5 minutes.. Suddenly the blips on the
scope accelerated and shot away to the southwest, confirmed
by visual observation.
A few hours later, Washington, D. C. A physics professor
at George Washington University, and dozens of others, saw
a grayish UFO bobbing back and forth in the sky about 30-40
degrees above the north-northwest horizon.
None of the sightings could be explained.
August 5, 1952; Haneda AFB, Japan
Just before midnight, two Air Force control tower operators
noticed a brilliant light in the sky, and joined others watching
it through binoculars. The UFO approached the base slowly and
hovered, plainly visible from the control tower. Behind the
brilliant light, the observers could see a dark circular shape
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four times the light's diameter. A smaller body light was visible
on the underside. The object was tracked by ground radar, and
an F-94 interceptor obtained a radar lock-on while chasing it.
At one point, the UFO suddenly raced away at a clocked speed of
300 knots (about 345 mph.), dividing into three separate radar
targets at spaced intervals. Contact with the UFO either by
radar or visually, was maintained for over 30 minutes. During
this period, scattered witnesses saw the UFO exactly where
radar showed it to be. Conclusion: Officially "unknown."
1951-1952 Period;' East Coast Air Force Base
Period of September 1951 to November 1952; prominent east
coast Air Force Base.
Confidential report, certified by Rev. Albert H. Bailer, Ger-
man Congregational Church, Clinton, Mass.
Extracts from letter by Air Force Control Tower Operator
to Rev. Baller, dated March 10, 1954:
-About 3 a.m., on a clear moonlit night, a buddy of mine
who was radar operator on the same night shift called me
rather excitedly on the intercom, and asked me if I could see
any object in the sky about- 15 miles southwest of the base.
Using a pair of powerful binoculars I carefully scanned the sky
in that direction and assured him that I could see nothing.
It was then that he told me why he was so concerned.
"For several minutes he had tracked an object on his
radar' scope, then all of a sudden it had stopped at a range of
about 15 miles from the base and remained stationary. Being
an experienced radar operator, he knew that whatever it was,
it was of good size, at least as big as any of our larger
transport planes. But what amazed him was the fact that it
stopped and remained motionless on the scope. A full half
hour passed and still this object remained in the same
location on the radar screen. Remembering that I had an in-
bound C-124 Globemaster coming in from that direction, I
thought that perhaps the pilot would see something out there
that we couldn't. I gave the pilot a couple of calls and finally
raised him just south of on his way in. I told him
what we had on radar and asked him if he would mind swinging
off his course slightly so that he could take a look for us.
"I then turned him over to the radar operator who had
picked up the inbound aircraft on radar and he guided the pilot
to a new heading that would bring him directly into this blip
that was still stationary on the screen. The pilot slowed his
aircraft and he and his copilot and engineer started looking
about them. I could hear the radar man giving the pilot di-
rections on a monitoring speaker in the tower.
"The aircraft got onto a line on the radar screen that would
intersect the blip that was unidentified; then as the minutes
went by the aircraft slowly approached the object on the scope.
Both blips were equally bright and distinct. Then when it
seemed that the two would collide, at about a half mile
separation on the scope, the stationary object simply dis-
appeared, vanished seconds before the big Globemaster reached
its location.
"None of the crew on the plane had seen anything at any
time, although they were all observing closely at the time and
were told how close they were getting all the way to the object.
"How anything could vanish so suddenly from a radar
screen without even leaving a trace ofwhatdirection it went is
really amazing. When you bear in mind that a radar scanner
usually has a sweep of better than 50 miles, that would mean
that whatever the object was it went from a dead standstill
at 15 miles and disappeared from the scope covering over 35
miles in a split second. Remember also that this object was
there for over a half hour and did not disappear until seconds
before the aircraft reached its position: certainly this couldn't
be any electrical disturbance or other phenomena. Why then
would it disappear precisely when it did?"
Summer 1953; Yaak, Montana
Unidentified objects were tracked at an Air Force radar site
several times. S/Sgt. William Kelly described the incidents in
CI
On one occasion A-RDP81 ROO5K614Ry an other 0901 00Od1 OOOJi7c1Fed up six
unidentified targets. In five sweeps of the antenna (about 1 min-
ute), the UFOs changed direction 5 times, sometimes making 90
degree turns. When radar indicated the UFOs had approached
within 10 miles of the station, the crew went outside to look for
them. They saw six objects in trail formation, switching to in-
line abreast, then stack formation. Other radar stations were
notified and they also tracked the UFOs.
The radar crew calculated th8 objects' speed: 1400-1600
mph. (In 1953 the official world speed record for aircraft was
755.14 mph.; see table).
At other times, the station tracked UFOs making similar man-
euvers. Sgt. Kelly had also tracked UFOs climbing vertically out
of the radar beam, with height finder equipment confirming the
rise, until the objects went off the scope.
July 3, 1954; Albuquerque, N.M.
Nine greenish spherical UFOs which invaded a restricted
flying area were detected by Air Defense Command radar and
sighted visually. The Albuquerque radar station's message on
the sighting was accidentally intercepted at Chicago Midway
Airport by an airline operations employee:
0105-C. . . NINE UNIDENTIFIED SPHERICAL OBJECTS
GIVING OFF GREEN LIGHT REPORTED 20 MILES NORTH
ABQ [Albuquerque] FIELD AT 24,000 FEET. OBJECTS
HOVERED MOTIONLESS FOR 6 MINUTES THEN PRO-
CEEDED 340 DEGREES AT APPROX 2600 MPH. ALTI-
TUDE AND SPEED BY TRIANGULATION. . . ABQ ADIZ
RADAR.
(NICAP Note: "ADIZ" means Air Defense Identification Zone;
only aircraft which have filed a flight plan are allowed to fly
through an ADIZ area.)
March 23, 1957; Los Angeles, Calif.
Confidential report obtained from CAA (now FAA) radar op-
erator confirming visual sightings at Oxnard AFB and vicinity.
Report certified by NICAP Board Members: Rev. Albert Baller;
Dr. Earl Douglass; Mr. Frank Edwards; Col. Robert B. Emerson,
USAR; Prof. Charles A. Maney; Rear Admiral H. B. Knowles,
USN (Ret.).
At 9:55 p.m., Mr. K. E. Jefferson, Pasadena, saw a brilliant
flashing object moving over Downey. Between that time and
midnight, police switchboards throughout the Los Angeles area
were flooded with hundreds of calls reporting a?UFO. The re-
ports poured into the Pasadena Filter Center.
According to Capt. Joseph Fry, commanding officer of the
Center, the first official report came in at 11:10 p.m., at which
time Capt. Fry notified Air Defense radar.
"Between 2310 (11:10 p.m.) and 2350," Capt. Fry said in a
statement to newsman Russ Leadabrand, "we had many reports.
We had reports that indicated the UFO was orange-red, flashing
a bright white light. Some of the callers claimed they heard the
'sound of reports' when the light flashed from the object."
At the Filter Center itself, Air Force T/Sgt. Dewey Crow and
newsman Les Wagner watched the UFO maneuver slowly around
the area for over an hour. Just after midnight, Mrs. Robert
Beaudoin, wife of an Oxnard AFB Captain, telephoned the base
tower to report sighting the UFO. It was described as a large
silent object, flashing a brilliant red light, and maneuvering
above the Santa Rosa Valley.
An F-89 interceptor attempted to locate the object, but the Air
Force denied it was able to make contact, although at the same time
witnesses on the ground could see the UFO plainly near one of the
Oxnard runways.
Reports continued into early morning hours, with witnesses
in various locations describing objects which sometimes hovered,
and sometimes moved swiftly.
The CAA radar report, obtained later, virtually proved that
unexplained objects were operating over Los Angeles. The
radar operator's report:
"At 2350 (11:50 p.m.) I was watching the radar scope,
when I noticed a target about 15 miles northwest and moving
northwest. At first I thought it was a jet, then I noticed it
was moving much faster than anything I had ever seen on the
scope. About 40 miles northwest it came to an abrupt stop and
newsman Bob Barry.
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PHOTOGRAPHS
It then traveled back along its course for about 20 miles,
reversed course again and disappeared off the scope at 50
miles (our radar reaches out only 50 miles).
`Approximately 5 minutes later 2 more targets appeared
and disappeared off the scope in the same direction as the
first; and these we had time to clock. They traveled 20 miles
in 30 seconds which figures out to 3600 mph. A minute or so
later a fourth target appeared in the same area as the other
3, 10 or 15 miles northwest, and went off the scope to the
northwest at 3600 mph.
"Our radar does not give height of aircraft so I couldn't
give you the height, however they had to be about 10,000 feet
or lower because our radar's maximum height range is about
10,000 feet."
November 5, 1957; Gulf of Mexico
Just after 5:00 a.m. the U. S. Coast Guard Cutter Sebago was
about 200 miles south of the Mississippi delta. At 5:10 the bridge
radar suddenly showed an unidentified target at 246 degrees true,
moving N to S, range 12,000 yards (almost 7 miles). On duty were
Ensign Wayne Schotley, deck officer, Lt. (j.g.) Donald Schaefer,
first class quartermaster Kenneth Smith, and radioman Thomas
Kirk.
Interviewed in New Orleans, Ensign Schotley was asked how
good the radar target was.
Schotley: "The ship's combat information center confirmed
the sighting. At that point it was reported falling astern rapidly.
It was a good pip [target]. It was a very strong contact, consid-
ered good."
Cmdr. James N. Schrader, spokesman in New Orleans, said
that at one point "in two minutes it went 33 miles straight away
from the ship." (About 1020 mph.)
At 5:14 contact was lost.
At 5:16 contact was regained, object about 22 miles north.
At 5:18 object faded off radar screen, range about 55 miles.
At 5:20 contact regained, object appeared stationary, seven
miles due north.
About this time, A/1C William J. Mey, an Electronics tech-
nician at Keesler AFB, Mississippi (about 320 miles to the
north on the Gulf Coast) spotted an elliptical UFO. In his signed
report to NICAP, A/lC Mey gives the time as approximately
5:20 a.m. Looking south, he saw the UFO approach on a norther-
ly course at about the speed of a propeller airliner, then ac-
celerate rapidly and disappear into some clouds.
This suggests that more than one UFO may have been op-
erating in the area, and that the Sebago's radar may have
tracked more than one of them. A/1C Mey's report is fairly
consistent with the 5:18 radar report of the UFO headed north
at over 1000 mph. If Mey actually saw the UFO at 5:28, it would
have averaged about 1590 mph., from the time it faded from the
Sebago's radar screen. If he saw it precisely at 5:20 a.m., it
would have had to accelerate to nearly 8000 mph. to cover the
distance in that time).
At 5:21 the Sebago regained radar contact, and also saw the
UFO visually for 3-5 seconds as a brilliant white object with no
distinguishable shape. It was at a bearing of 270 degrees true
(west), elevation about 31 degrees, moving horizontally from
south to north. (A navigator obtained the elevation by noting a
star at the same angle and taking a sextant reading of it). The
UFO finally entered a cloudbank and disappeared.
At 5:37 the cutter reported its last radar contact with the
object, about 175 miles to the north, traveling about 660 mph.
[See Section XII, November 1957 chronology, for other reports
during the same period.]
January 1961; Missile Base
Confidential report certified by NICAP Director Donald
E. Keyhoe and Assistant Director Richard Hall. During the
test of a solid fuel missile, radar which was supposed to track
the first stage instead tracked a UFO target. Test evaluation
report in NICAP possession states "object unidentifiable." The
UFO "appeared to be alternately hovering, then moving rapidly
to a new location."
The photographic material listed below has been
evaluated with this principle in mind: A still photograph
purporting to show a UFO is, at most, approximately as
reliable as the person who took it. If the witness is a
reputable person and all pertinent data is provided, his
photograph deserves careful analysis. Where character
information about the witness is lacking, the photograph
is of less value and it is necessary to suspend judgment
about it. Still photographs can be faked very easily. In
general, movie films are more valuable because they
are more difficult to fake, and more subject to analysis
independently of the character of the witness.
NICAP Adviser Ralph Rankow, a professional photographer
in New York City, gave the following estimate of photographic
evidence for UFOs:
"Everyone knows that photographs can be faked, but the real
question is, to what extent can they be faked? We have seen
Hollywood movies of realistic dinosaurs fighting one another.
We have seen dams break and towns washed away by the flood
waters. We have seen naval battles and ships blown up right
before our eyes. In one movie I even saw Moses hold back the
waters of the Red Sea. These were all very realistic scenes, and
we had to keep reminding ourselves that what we were seeing was
a Hollywood movie and not a real event.
If these complicated scenes can be photographed so real-
istically why can't a simple thing like a UFO be faked? The
answer, of .course, is that it can, and what's more it has--time
and time again. A UFO can be any shape, not just saucer or
cigar shaped. This makes it very easy to fake by anyone, and
furthermore any unintentional mark on a film can be, and some-
times is claimed to be a UFO.
If model airplanes can be photographed to look real, then
so can model UFO's. This does not mean that there are no air-
planes, just because we are easily able to fake a picture to repre-
sent one. In the same way, the ability to fake a UFO photograph
in no way implies that these things do not exist.
This is just to point up the extreme difficulty of determining
whether or not a photograph is authentic on just the unsupported
word of one or two witnesses who may or may not be reliable.
In truth, no photograph, no matter how clear it may be, can be
considered evidence of UFO reality without a reliable witness.
Now, this brings us to the question of what makes a reliable
witness? One need not be a famous person whose name we all
know, in order to be termed "reliable". A man's credentials
give him reliability, not his vocation. Is he a mature individual
or one given to playing tricks? What is the opinion of him held
by those who know him best? Questions of this nature will help
to determine how responsible and trustworthy an individual we
are dealing with.
It is only when a photograph is vouched for by such a ver-
acious individual that it becomes important as evidence."
In addition to the question of witness reliability, analysis of
photographic evidence for UFOs is complicated by other factors.
Many of the potentially most significant pictures were taken before
NICAP was formed in 1956. Belated attempts to obtain all the
necessary data for full analysis have proved extremely difficult.
Since then, quite a few of the seemingly better movie films and
photographs were submitted to the Air Force, rather than to
NICAP, by citizens unaware of NICAP's existence. Secrecy and
red tape thereupon obscured the facts. In some cases, because of
the confusion surrounding the UFO subject and reports of tamper-
ing with or confiscation of films [Section IX], witnesses have re-
fused to give up their films for analysis.
Because of these problems, we consider it appropriate merely
to list photographic evidence known to exist. This will supply
references to data which would need to be analyzed thoroughly in
any complete scientific investigation of UFOs. We have also at-
tempted to rate each case according to its probable significance
as evidence. The codes below indicate rating, film data, and
status of analysis by NICAP. Other description and comments
follow with cases numbered to match the entries on next page.
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RATING. * = considered strongest evidence of UFOs
(*) = potentially strong evidence, worth priority analysis
(#) = worth analysis; or possible value in conjunction
with other data
(X)= dubious, or negative evaluation
(Inc) = incomplete; no rating possible because of lack of
information
FILM DATA. M = movie film c = color
S = still photograph b = black & white
Status of NICAP Analysis
VN = print viewed, complete analysis not possible because of
lack of data or lack of reference points and detail in
photograph
AN = analyzed by NICAP
NN = NICAP unable to obtain for analysis.
1. March 1946. Fred J. Stange, Bernardston, Mass.
2. July 5, 1947. Frank Ryman, C. G., Seattle, Wash.
3. February 23, 1949. Cmdr. A. V. Orrego, Chile.
4. October 23, 1949. Norwood, Ohio, searchlight case.
5. April 24, 1950. Enrique Hausemann Muller, Balearic Islands.
6. April 27, 1950. White Sands theodolite photo.
7. May 11, 1950. Trent photographs, McMinnville, Ore.
* 1 9. August '15, 1950. Nick Mariana, Great Falls, Montana.
(*) 10. July 14, 1951. Near White Sands, tracking camera film.
(#) 11. August 30, 1951. Carl Hart, Jr., Lubbock lights, Texas.
(Inc) 12. May 7, 1952. Barra da Tijuca, Brazil. Ed Keffel.
13. July 2, 1952. Warrant Officer Newhouse, Tremonton, Utah.
(#) 14. July 16, 1952. Shell Alpert, Coast Guard, Salem, Mass.
(#) 15. July 19, 1952. Peru.
(*) 16. July 29, 1952. Ralph Mayher, Miami, Fla.
#) 17. August 1, 1952. Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. gun-camera
*) 18. September 19, 1952. Operation Mainbrace color photos.
* 19. November 16, 1952. David S. Bunch near Landrum, S. C.
(X) 20. December 13, 1952. Adamski "scout ship."
(#) 21. August 12, 1953. Ellsworth AFB gun-camera, "best unknown" case.
(#) 22. August 31, 1953. Port Moresby, New Guinea, T. C. Drury
(X) 23. February 15, 1954. Stephen Darbishire, Coniston, England
*) 24. March 1954. Rouen, France. RAF Flying Review.
(*) 25. May 24, 1954. USAF photo by RB-29 reconaissance plane
(*) 26. June 30, 1954. Scandinavian eclipse photos.
(*) 27. September 9, 1954. K. M. Gibbons, New Zealand
(#) 28. March 5, 1956. William L. Wannall, Hawaii (cS orig.)
(X) 29. July 17, 1956. Elizabeth Klarer, S. Africa.
(X) 30. July 19, 1956. Michael Savage, 15, San Bernardino, Calif.
R)c) 31. September 18, 1956. Ray Stanford, Calif.
32. October 10, 1956. Joe Kerska, Twin Peaks, San Francisco, California
33. August 20, 1957. Japan. S. Takeda
(Inc) 34. November 6, 1957. Anaheim, California
(X) 35. November 16, 1957. Near Holloman AFB, New Mexico
#) 36. December 1957. T. Fogl, radio officer, S.S. Ramsey
(#) 37. December 1, 1957. Ralph Benn, Los Angeles, California
(*) 38. January 3, 1958. Cliff DeLacey, Hawaii.
(*) 39. January 16, 1958. Trindade Isle, Brazil, sequence.
(#) 40. February 9, 1958. Troy, Michigan, airport
(Inc) 41. June 23, 1958. Near England AFB, Louisana State police.
(X) 42. July 28, 1959. Ray Stanford. Two movie films.
(Inc) 43. October 16, 1958. Mike Schultz, Newark, Ohio.
(#) 44. February 9, 1959. Purdon, Imperial Beach, California
(X) 45. September 24, 1959. Redmond, Ore. FAA case.
(Inc) 46. November 29, 1959. J. J. Rehill, USN, Miami, Florida
(X) 47. February 13, 1960. Joe Perry, Grand Blanc, Michigan
(Inc) 48. March 2, 1960. Schedelbauer, Vienna.
(X) 49. April 11, 1960. Mary Jo Curwen, Hazel Green, Wisconsin
(Inc) 50. August 3, 1960. Linz, Austria
(X) 51. August 9, 1960. Jay Rees, San Francisco, California
(Inc) 52. August 25, 1960. Grumman mystery satellite photo
(X) 53. January 1, 1961. A/3c Bellett, Golden, Colorado
(*) 54. January 22, 1961. Harry Caslar, Eglin AFB, Florida
(X) 55. May 27, 1961. Triangle, Nashville, Tenn.
(#) 56. May 29, 1961. Craig Seese, Newark, Ohio.
c) 57. July 13, 1961. Bob Feldman, Akron, Ohio
Rc) 58. September, 1961. Paccione moon photos
(Inc) 59. September 29, 1961. Savage, Warrenton, Virginia
(X) 60. March 9, 1962. Jeanne B. Johnson, Hawaii.
(Inc) 61. May 25, 1962. F. DiMambro, Woburn, Mass.
(Inc) 62. November 18, 1962. Bruce Fox, Bayonne, New Jersey
(X) 63. December 15 & 16, 1962. Ronald Gounad, New Jersey
(*) 64. December 21, 1962. All R. Diaz, Angel Falls, Venezuela.
PHOTOGRAPHIC CASES
1. Fred J. Stange, Bernardston, Mass. Photograph sub-
mitted in 1954 to Rev. Albert Bailer (nowNICAP Board member).
Witness states he first saw three discs in a group, then two other
single objects. Photograph shows all five, according to Leonard
H. Stringfield (CRIFO Newsletter; Vol. II No. 3, June 3, 1955).
Lead object of V-formation is largest image. Photo taken with
box camera. Other camera data not available. The slide
viewed by NICAP, a copy of the original, is of very poor quality.
bS/VN
bS/VN
MINN
bM/NN
S/VN
MINN
S/VN
MINN
cM/VN
MINN
bS/VN
bS/VN
cM/VN
bS/VN
bS/VN
M/VN (few frames)
M/VN (few frames)
cS/NN
cM/NN
bS/VN
MINN
MINN
bS/VN
bS/VN
/NN
cM/VN (few frames)
bS/VN
bS/VN
bS/VN
bS/VN
cM/NN
bS/VN
bS/VN
bS/VN
bS/VN
bS/VN
cM/NN
cM/NN
bS/VN
cS/VN
bS/NN
cM/AN
bS/VN
cM/NN
bM/AN
bS/VN
cS/AN
bS/VN
cM/AN
bS/AN
cS/AN
bS/VN
bS/AN
MINN
bS/AN
cM/VN
cS/VN
bS/AN
cM/VN
bS/AN
bS/VN
bS/VN
bS/VN
cM/AN
Many splotches are apparent, but no easily discernible UFO
images.
2. Frank Ryman, U.S. Coast Guard, Seattle, Wash. At 5:45
p.m. Mr. Ryman photographed a circular white object moving
across the wind. (See Popular Science, August 1951; "Report
on UFO", Ruppelt, p. 37). Photograph reproduced in "Coming of
the Saucers", by Arnold & Palmer, shows small, white, elliptical
image. Photo carries identification: "Acme Telephoto, SE 86-7/5
Seattle."
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Photographic Cases (Continued)
3. Cmdr. A. V. Orrego, Chilean Navy. Reported sighting
and photographing UFOs over an Antarctic base. Objects de-
scribed as "one above the other, turning at tremendous speeds."
Major Donald E. Keyhoe queried the Chilean Embassy and was
told the films were classified. ("Flying Saucers From Outer
Space," p. 44). Other sources indicate movie film was taken.
4. Norwood, Ohio, searchlight case. Rev. Gregory Miller,
Norwood, Ohio, in the presence of other witnesses, with help
of Norwood police officer, obtained 16 mmblackand white movies
of a large disc hovering in a searchlight beam. The disc emitted
I 'two distinct groups of triangular-shaped objects." (CRIFO News-
letter, Vol. I No. 5, August 6, 1954). One of series of well-
witnessed sightings logged by Army searchlight operator, Sgt.
Donald R. Berger. Three 25 foot rolls of movie film were ex-
posed, using a Hugo Meyer F-19-3 camera with telephoto lens;
also several still photographs with a Speed-Graphic and 14 inch
Wallensach telephoto lens, the best of which were submitted to
Time-Life and reportedly never returned. One photograph re-
produced in "Inside Saucer Post. . .3-0 Blue," by L. H. String-
field, Cincinnati, 1957.
5. Balearic Islands. A United Press Newspictures photo
reportedly taken by Enrique H. Muller is reproduced in "The
Coming of the Saucers," by Arnold & Palmer, Amherst, Wisc.,
c. 1952. Shows large circular, fiery-looking UFO with rays
of "flame" spinning off edge in pinwheel fashion. No reference
points visible. No camera data available.
6. White Sands, N.M. tracking station, April 27, 1950, photo-
graphed UFO which had been observed visually. Reportedly shows
smudgy dark object in motion. ("Report on UFOs," by Capt.
E. J. Ruppelt, Doubleday, 1956, p. 123). Filmed by Askania Cine
Theodolite.
7. Paul Trent, McMinnville, Oregon, obtained two of clearest
UFO photographs on record. Both show disc with superstructure.
Reproduced by Life magazine (June 26, 1950) with comment that
Mr. Trent is "an honest individual" and "the negatives show no
signs of having been tampered with." Images closely similar
to UFO photographed over France in March 1954 (see below).
8. White Sands, N.M., tracking station, May 29, 1950, photo-
graphed UFO which had been observed visually. Films by Askania
Cine Theodolite cameras from two separate stations reportedly
showed bright dots of light. ("Report on UFOs," Ruppelt, p.
124.)
9. Nick Mariana, Great Falls, Montana, obtained 16 mm color
movies of two UFOs which appear as bright circular points of
light. Footage of UFOs at closer range, confirming visual ob-
servation of discs with rotating rims, was reported missing from
film when returned by Air Force. Remaining footage.was con-
tained in United Artists documentary movie `,UFO" and compared
to July 2, 1952, Trementon, Utah film showing similar images.
Mr. Mariana used Daylight Kodachrome film in a Revere turret
type camera and obtained 315 frames showing the UFOs. The
film was examined by the Air Force and Navy, but no formal re-
ports released. Report on Photogrammetric analysis by Dr.
Robert M.L. Baker, Jr., Douglas Aircraft Corporation, on file at
NICAP. Air Force explanation that UFOs were reflections off
jet aircraft said to be "quite strained," and the analyst states
no definite conclusion. However, UFOs could not be explained
as any conventional objects.
10. White Sands, N.M., tracking station, July 14, 1951. UFO
tracked on radar, observed visually through binoculars, photo-
graphed on 200 feet of 35 mm movie film. Film reportedly shows
round, bright spot. ("F.S. From Outer Space," p. 48).
11. Lubbock (Texas) "Lights" photographs by Carl Hart, Jr.,
show V-formation of large perfectly circular objects. (See
"Report on UFOs", p. 144 et seq.). Capt. Ruppelt, head of Air
Force Project Blue Book, reported that "In each photograph the
individual lights in the formation shifted position according to
a definite pattern." Main photograph reproduced in True, May
1954. Taken with Kodak 35 camera set at f/3.5, shutter at 1/10
of a second.
12. Barra de Tijuca, Brazil, photographs of disc, taken by
magazine writers Ed Keffel and Joao Martins. NICAP has never
obtained any negatives for analysis. Prints show disc from five
different angles. Critics have pointed out that in main photograph
shadows on object do not coincide with shadows on ground below.
Until this criticism is fully answered, photographs must be
considered suspect.
13. Utah Movie. Warrant Officer D.C. Newhouse, USN, ob-
tained 16 mm color movies of a group of UFOs which he and his
wife observed visually near Tremonton, Utah. At relatively close
range, UFOs appeared flat and circular "shaped like two saucers,
one inverted on top of the other." Mr. Newhouse unpacked his
Bell and Howell Automaster camera, with 3 inch telephoto lens,
from the trunk of his car and obtained about 1200 frames of the
UFOs on Daylight Kodachrome film. During the filming, Mr.
Newhouse changed the iris stop of the camera from f/8 to f/16.
The film was submitted to Navy authorities, who forwarded it to
the Air Force at ATIC in Dayton, Ohio, where it was studied for
several months. According to Mr. Newhouse, frames of the movie
showing a single UFO moving away over the horizon (hence
providing some ranging information) were missing when the film
was returned. The hypothesis that the objects were out of focus
sea gulls was considered by the Air Force, but could neither be
confirmed nor denied. The report of Photogrammetric analysis
by Dr. Robert M.L. Baker, Jr., Douglas Aircraft Corporation
(which included a study of the 1950 Montana film--see above)
also examined this possibility. He states: "The motion of the
objects is not exactly what one would expect from a flock of
soaring birds (not the slightest indication of a decrease in
brightness due to periodic turning with the wind or flapping)."
Dr. Baker reports that no definite conclusion could be reached,
but "the evidence remains rather contradictory and no single
hypothesis of a natural phenomenon yet suggested seems to
completely account for the UFO involved." [See Section IX re:
later Air Force statements on Utah film]
14. Shell Alpert, U.S. Coast Guard, Salem, Mass., visually
observed and photographed four UFOs in formation. Taken
through window of laboratory, picture shows four roughly ellipti-
cal blobs of light. Photograph reproduced widely in newspapers
and magazines. Date coincides with peak of Summer 1952 sight-
ing "flap", in which four objects flying in formation were ob-
served several times. Official Coast Guard letter, 8 August 1962
(copy in NICAP files): "... it never has been determined what
caused the phenomenal lights shown [in the photograph]."
15. Peru. Round UFO observed by Sr. Pedro Bardi, agricul-
tural engineer, and others on a farm about 4:30 p.m., in Madre
de Dios, Peru, noticed when short wave radio went dead. Object
also seen four minutes later near Porto Maldo where Sr. Domingo
Troncosco, customs administrator, photographed it. Photo shows
elongated object trailing smoke, passing over the top of a tree
and in front of a cumulus cloud. Photograph submitted by James
W. Moseley. (For story and picture, see UFO Investigator, Vol.
I No. 2, August-September, 1957).
16. Ralph Mayher, Miami, Fla. Using 16 mm film exposed at
24 frames per second, Mr. Mayher obtained good footage of a
high speed UFO. Calculations by a physicist at the University of
Miami yielded the information that the object was about 27 feet
in diameter and travelling about 7550 mph. Retaining a few
frames for personal study, Mr. Mayher submitted the main
portion of the film to the Air Force for analysis. The film was
never returned and no analysis report was ever released. (For
story and pictures, see PIC magazine, June 1954). Enlarge-
ments of a few frames show a fiery looking roughly circular ob-
ject, symmetrical, with two small peaks or projection on opposite
sides of the disc.
17. Gun camera photos. Nr. Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio,
August 1, 1952. Two jet interceptors chased a UFO which had
been tracked on radar, and one obtained gun camera photographs
of it before the object accelerated at high speed and disappeared.
("F.S. From Outer Space," p. 107-8; Hartford, Conn., Courant,
August 2, 1952). Part of the 35 mm gun camera film is repro-
duced in True, December 1952, showing a faint, dark circular
image. The Air Force says radar tracked a jet aircraft, while
the pilots saw and chased a radiosonde balloon assuming it was
the UFO which had shown on radar. The rapid acceleration of the
object which the pilots observed (and filmed while stationary)
would appear to rule out this interpretation.
18. Operation Mainbrace. During fleet maneuvers in the North
Sea in September 1952, UFOs were sighted in the vicinity on
several occasions. [See section XII]. On September 19, American
reporter Wallace Litwin, on board the aircraft carrier "Franklin
Roosevelt", took three color photographs of a large silvery
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Photographic Cases (Continued) 25. RB-29 Photo. USAF photo taken as UFO was observed
flying beneath an RB-29 near Dayton, Ohio. Picture reportedly
spherical object which reportedly moved rapidly across the sky showing unexplained circular light source, never made public.
above the fleet. The pictures showed a round object, according [See "Report on Unidentified Flying Objects," Ruppelt, pp.
to press reports, but have not been released to our knowledge. 310-312]
("The Truth About Flying Saucers", Michel, p. 130). 26. Scandinavian eclipse film. Three aircraft carrying scien-
19. David S. Bunch film, Landrum, S.C. About 5:00 p.m. tists, newsmen and other observers were flying near Lifjell,
hundreds of people near Florence, S.C. had seen a large disc- Denmark; on an expedition to film and study a total eclipse of
shaped UFO. About six minutes later, a group of round glowing the sun. At 2:17 p.m. two shiny discs were noticed flying past
objects were sighted near Landrum. Among the witnesses were the planes and witnessed by about 50 people on the three planes.
J.D. McLean and David S. Bunch. Mr. Bunch took 40 feet of color John Bjornulf, chief cameraman of the expedition, managed to
movie film, using an 8 mm camera with telephoto lens. The film obtain about 10 seconds (of the approximately 30 second UFO
was submitted to the Air Force, and viewed by Maj. Donald E. flight) on 16 mm color film. The film was reportedly shown on
Keyhoe along with Air Force officers. It shows five glowing, American television December 26, 1954. [See Section I]
oval-shaped objects. 27. Gibbons film, N.Z. Three disc-like UFOs were observed
20. Adamski "Scout Ship." Because of Mr. George Adamski's simultaneously near Nelson, N.Z., at positions 5 miles apart
background as a self-styled "professor" of oriental mystical by Mr. K.M. Gibbons and Mr. Alex Ingram. A third witness
philosophy (later espoused by his "spacemen") and at least one later saw 5 similar discs in the same general area. Mr. Gibbons
claim of his which was conclusively proved false by NICAP in- took photographs (number unspecified) with a Cannon 35 mm
vestigators, his photographs are considered dubious. NICAP miniature camera equipped with telephoto lens, as the UFOs
Board Member, Frank Edwards, (an experienced photographer) hovered low over a mudflat, wobbling like tops and glowing
considers the Adamski pictures hoaxes. Mr. Adamski refuses to blue-white. Two of the discs tilted on edge, streaked up verti-
submit his negatives for analysis. cally and disappeared. Then the third disc brightened, and also
21. The Ellsworth AFB case, in which two jet interceptors streaked away. (CRIFO Newsletter, L.H. Stringfield, November
chased a UFO which turned and followed the first jet back towards 5, 1954; CRIFO Case 29). One of the photographs, showing an
its base, was termed by Capt. E.J. Ruppelt "an unknown ... the apparent oblate spheroid with small dark projection on top, is
best." Later information obtained by a NICAP member indicates reproduced in "Flying Saucers Uncensored", Wilkins, p. 96.
that the UFO was photographed by gun camera and that the film 28. Wannall Photo, Hawaii. Mr. and Mrs. William L. Wannall,
verified the presence of a UFO, making it an even stronger case. Honolulu, Hawaii were driving south on 10th Avenue at 8:45 p.m.,
Maj. Lawrence J. Tacker, then Air Force Spokesman on UFOs, when they noticed "three large lights flying in a wide formation
wrote to NICAP Member Alexander Overall: 17 September 1958, over the Kaimuki area. . .sky was clear, and visibility unlimited,
"Photos of the radar scope and gun camera photos were made but prevailing trade winds." (SAUCERS, Vol. IV No. 2). After
were not sufficiently clear for evaluation. The Ellsworth AFB watching the lights for about 1 minute, Mr. Wannall took a photo-
case is still listed as unknown or unsolved." As in other gun graph of them with his Cannon 35 mm camera using Ansco-
camera and tracking camera cases, the film has not been re- chrome color film (32 ASA), exposure 1/8, aperture f/1.8. NICAP
leased for outside scientific analysis. has viewed only a black and white print, which shows three
22. New Guinea film. Mr. T.C. Drury, then Deputy Regional lights in a triangle pattern, two of which have sharply curving
Director of the Civil Aviation Department at Port Moresby, "trails". Off to one side is another, slightly larger, apparent
obtained motion picture film of a UFO at high altitude leaving light. There is a dark background with no visible landmarks.
a clear vapor trail. (telephoto lens used). The UFO climbed According to Max B. Miller, who examined a color print, the
steeply and disappeared. Reuters, on March 14, 1954, reported lights are bright yellow except for one of the "trails" which
that the film had been sent to the United States for "special is bluish-green. The fourth "object" was not visible to the
processing." (Other sources indicate it was sent to ATIC at photographer. The light sources are surrounded by an "aureole-
Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.) On February 19, 1958, Mr. Drury, type effect."
replying to a query by Max B. Miller, stated he had turned his 29. Mrs. Elizabeth Klarer, Natal, South Africa, took three
film over to the Commonwealth Security Branch and had not seen photographs showing a metallic-appearing disc against a cloud
it since. background. She used a Brownie box camera. (See Flying Saucer
23. The "Coniston Saucer" photograph was taken by Stephen Review, November-December, 1956). Clearest photograph strongly
Darbishire, 13, at Coniston, Lancs., England. His brother Adrian, resembles an automobile hubcap. Mrs. Klarer is also a'?con-
8, also reportedly witnessed the UFO. Theboys' father is a doctor tactee" with claims of meeting spacemen, similar to George
of good reputation. Using an inexpensive Kodak, extending bellows Adamski's story. Photographs considered dubious.
type, with only two lens settings ("bulb" and "infinity"), Stephen 30. Savage Photo, California. Photograph taken by Michael
photographed a UFO rising low over a hillock. Savage, 15, son of Dr. Phillip M. Savage, Jr., San Bernardino,
The picture, although blurred and of poor quality, shows a California. Shows elliptical outline of apparent disc-like object,
bright object (lighter than the sky background) strongly resembling large apparent size, above trees and wires. Michael said the
a side view of the Adamski "scout ship". (See No. 20 above.) UFO appeared to be about 20 feet in diameter, with some "appara-
An orthographic projection by Leonard G. Cramp confirmed tus or portholes" visible near the trailing edge. He said it moved
that the Coniston and Adamski photographs were of identical at high speed and climbed out of sight at about a 55 degree angle.
proportions. The alleged UFO is barely in the frame of the picture, one end
David Wightman, NICAP Adviser in England, has met the clipped off by the edge of the frame. Could be cardboard or other
Darbishire family and now knows them very well. He found no model held up in foreground and photographed. Dubious.
reason to consider the incident a hoax. In spite of the above, we 31. Ray Stanford, California. Using a Wollensak 8 mm
are inclined to be dubious of the photograph (a) because it is an camera with telephoto lens, Mr. Stanford shot about 6 feet of
exact copy of the Adamski-type "saucer", which is in itself film of a "tiny, flickering object moving in and out of the field
dubious; (b) because it could easily be a cut-out or model of of view;" (as described by Max B. Miller). The sequence was
the Adamski "saucer", and in fact on the photograph a black accidentally considerably underexposed. He used Daylight Koda-
marking extends from the object to the hilltop, which could be chrome. (Pictures and story, SAUCERS, Autumn 1958); originally
a support for a cut-out or model. Admittedly, no motive for a described in' 'Look Up". privately publishedbookby Ray Stanford).
hoax is apparent, and the validity of the photograph is not dis- 32. Twin Peaks, California. Photograph showing dark disc-
proved, shaped object with lighter dome (about 1/5 diameter of the
24. Rouen, France. In conjunction with an article "Some- object) against light sky with city and mountains visible beneath.
thing in the Sky," RAF Flying Review (July 1957) published a SAUCERS (Vol. V No. 1) reports the picture was taken by Joe
UFO photograph which was taken over Rouen, France. No Kerska, about 12:30 p.m., facing east on the south slope of Twin
camera or film data were given. The highly-respected aviation Peaks, San Francisco. No camera data or character information
magazine termed it "one of the few [photographs] which seem available. The alleged UFO strongly resembles a small model
authentic." The UFO resembles a disc viewed edge-on, and has at relatively close range, thrown into the air and photographed.
a small projection on top. It closely resembles the May 11, 1950 No meaningful analysis is possible because of lack of data, but
Trent photograph _LXo_
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Photographic Cases (Continued)
33. Fujisawa City, Japan. Taken by Shinichi Takeda near
Enoshima Miami Beach at 11:28 a.m. Object reportedly also
seen by his sister, who called his attention to it. UFO silvery
in color, giving off brilliant glow at est. altitude of 3000-4000
feet, travelling N to S. When overhead, object made 90 degree
left turn, sped up, and disappeared in clouds. A few minutes
later 15 people on the beach reported a similar object which
passed over at high speed. No camera data available. Picture
shows capsule-shaped image near bank of cumulus clouds.
34. Leadford Photo, Calif. During the November 1957 "flap"
[see Section XI; Chronology] Mr. Edwin G. Leadford, Anaheim,
California, noticed an object giving off a reddish glow as he was
driving home at about 12:10 a.m. Using his Graphic camera,
at f/4.5 and 1/10, Mr. Leadford photographed the UFO. The
picture was printed widely as a United Press telephoto, showing
an irregular elongated mass with a round projection on the top
near one end. The Garden Grove Daily News reported receiving
about a dozen calls from people who had seen UFOs in the same
area that night. Mr. Leadford reported on November 8 that he
had turned the photograph over to the Air Force for analysis.
(San Diego Union, November 9, 1957).
35. Holloman AFB, N.M., photo taken by welfare nurse who
filled out NICAP report form on sighting. (She requested anony-
mity, but her name has been published elsewhere). Photo shows
white elongated object, huge in size, which did not move during
the sighting. The color, size and lack of movement make it im-
possible to distinguish from a cloud, which it resembles. Con-
clusion: Probably a cloud.
36. S. S. Ramsey Photo. Mr. T. Fogl, while radio officer of
the S.S. Ramsey, off the coast of California, about 2:30 p.m., was
alerted by the Second Officer to come see a disc. According to
the story, he grabbed his Yashica C reflex camera and ran to
the bridge. A thick circular object with a flat dome and a pul-
sating red light on the bottom was visible in the distance. As it
neared, Mr. Fogl managed a photograph before the UFO accelerated
rapidly and disappeared toward the coast. (See "Flying Saucer
Review", Jan.-Feb., 1959, for picture and story). NICAP's
Adviser in England was unable to contact Mr. Fogl, and nothing
is known of his character.
37. Ralph Benn, Los Angeles, Calif., was alerted to some
UFOs by his eight year old son at about 3:00 p.m. He ran outside,
but the objects were gone. Judging by the reaction of the children,
he figured they had seen something unusual, so he ran back to
the house and got his 8 mm movie camera equipped with 3 power
telephoto lens. Other people close by gathered to watch, as they
scanned the sky. Suddenly Mr. Benn noticed six objects in for-
mation, moving slowly west in the northern sky. They were oval
in shape and dull white. He obtained about 6-1/2 feet of Koda-
chrome film, using a Keystone Capri camera. The telephoto
lens was an Elgeet 1-1/2 inch f/3.5 fixed-focus. Four sizeable,
but undefined, blobs of light show up on the film. Mr. Benn al-
lowed the Air Force to develop his film, was promised and re-
ceived a 16 mm enlargement copy. Later, the original film was
returned and the UFOs were (according to the Air Force) iden-
tified as balloons. In his description of the case (SAUCERS,
Spring 1958) Max B. Miller states: "We have carefully examined
Ralph Benn's original film as returned by the Air Force. A
pronounced number of very noticeable horizontal streaks' were
prevalent on the UFO portion, and it was found that about three
splices were made in the UFO sequence, unknown to Mr. Benn.
Apparently no quantity of film is missing, and examination
indicates that only two or three frames were taken out at the
points of splice. . ." Other passes of the UFOs were witnessed
by a number of people, in formations including a three-quarter
circle, grouped pairs, and a straight line. In his account, Mr.
Benn states: "Who ever heard of planets, meteors or balloons
flying in formation and traversing the sky three times from
horizon to horizon--and maintaining a different formation pattern
with each pass?"
38. Cliff DeLacey, Hawaii. According to the Vallejo (Calif.)
Times Herald of January 19, 1958, Mr. DeLacey obtained about
90 seconds of 8 mm color film showing some of nine UFOs
which were sighted about 4:00 p.m. The maneuvers of the round
UFOs, treetops and other reference points, reportedly were re-
corded. Mr. DeLacey did not answer queries from NICAP or
from Max B. Miller, former NICAP photographic adviser.
39. Trindade Isle, Brazil. NICAP has carefully studied
prints (but not the negatives) of the four successful exposures
of a Saturn-shaped UFO, the verbal accounts and relevant facts.
The UFO was sighted about noon January 16, 1958, from the deck
of the Brazilian IGY ship "Almirante Saldanha" by a retired Braz-
ilian Air Force officer, Capt. Jose Teobaldo Viegas, and Amilar
Vieira Filho, chief of a group of submarine explorers on board.
They alerted Almiro Barauna, an expert submarine photographer,
who managed to take four successful pictures. Many other officers
and men, attracted by the commotion, soon witnessed the UFO,
including Capt.-Lt. Homero Ribeiro, ship's dentist. Capt. Viegas
later stated: "The First view was that of a disc shining with a
phosphorescent glow, which--even in daylight- -appeared to be
brighter than the moon. The object was about the apparent
size of the full moon. As it followed its path across the sky,
changing to a tilted position, its real shape was clearly outlined
against the sky: that of a flattened sphere encircled, at the
equator, by a large ring or platform."
In his 1963 book ("The World of Flying Saucers"), Dr.
Donald H. Menzel labels the Trindade photographs a hoax. His
main reason appears to be that Mr. Barauna is a skilled photo-
grapher capable of faking a picture, and in fact, Dr. Menzel says,
once did produce a fake "flying saucer" to illustrate an article.
Further, Dr. Menzel notes, several of the witnesses, including
Barauna were members of the same submarine explorers group
on board ship (implying complicity in a hoax). However, other
witnesses were not members of the explorer's group and there is
no evidence of fakery in the case.
On February 25, 1958 (four days after the pictures were
first publicized by the Brazilian press) United Press reported from
Rio de Janeiro that the Brazilian Navy Ministry vouched for the
Trindade photographs. The report went on: "Navy Minister
Adm. Antonio Alves Camara said after meeting with President
Juscelino Kubitschek in the summer Presidential Palace at
Petropolis, that he also vouched personally for the authenticity
of the pictures." This would be a curious statement to make to
newsmen if the Navy had any suspicion of a hoax.
The pictures and negatives were analyzed by both the Navy
Photo Reconnaissance Laboratory and the Cruzeiro do Sul Aero-
photogrammetric Service, both agreeing the pictures were au-
thentic. The latter's written conclusion stated: "It was established
that no photographic tricks are involved. The negatives are
normal."
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Photographic Cases (Continued) Jack Brotzman, NICAP scientific adviser in the ashington
-M
'1 ' th NICAP - and examined
8 f
h
Correspondence between U.S. UFO groups and leading Brazil-
ian investigators drew out many facts about the case, including
background information about other similar sightings at Trindade
Isle over a period of time, all of which tends to substantiate the
January 16 sighting and photographs. No suspicion of hoax was
uncovered by J. Escobar Faria, Sao Paulo attorney (NICAP
Adviser), Dr. Olavo Fontes, M.D., in Rio de Janeiro (APRO Spec-
ial Representative), or other Brazilian correspondents in a position
to ascertain the facts. [See APRO Bulletins, January, March, and
May 1960 for detailed series of articles about the Trindade
photographs by Dr. Fontes].
Weighing all the facts, we conclude that the pictures appear
to be authentic. They definitely are one of the potentially most
significant series of UFO photographs on record, so that clarifi-
cation of the incident and additional analysis is strongly desirable.
In the interests of scientific investigation, we urge that secrecy
about the case be lifted by the United States and Brazil and that a
frank report of the facts be issued to the public. In particular, the
full analysis reports by the Brazilian laboratories shouldbe made
available to scientists. Information currently withheldbythe U.S.
Air Force about its investigation of the case through the American
Embassy in Rio de Janeiro also should be made available to the
public.
Photographic data: Mr. Barauna used a Rolleiflex 2.8- -Model
E camera, speed 1/125, aperture f/8 (causing- a slight over-
exposure).
40. Troy, Michigan airport. Photograph taken by H. M. Stump
using an Argus C-3 camera, from a private plane landing at the
airport. Picture shows yellow-white oval with slight trail. Verbal
report states object hovered, then sped away to the west.
41. England AFB, La.--State Police case. Polaroid pictures
taken by a state policeman at 12:20 p.m. were published by the
Alexandria Daily Town Talk. The officer stated he saw "two
glowing balls" in the sky and that it "scared hell out of me."
He was not sure whether it was one double object, or two separate
ones close together. The Air Force later stated the "UFO" was
a reflection off the windshield of the patrol car. NICAP letters
to the state police were not answered.
42. Ray Stanford Movies. NICAP first learned of the two
color movies taken by Ray Stanford and a friend (one 8 mm, one
16 mm) inthe Fall/Winter 1959-60 issue of SAUCERS (now defunct)
by Max B. Miller. Mr. Miller, who later became a NICAP
photographic adviser, examined the films and his evaluation is
incorporated below. After preliminary correspondence with Mr.
Stanford requesting the films for analysis, the films and a filled-
out NICAP report form were received March 11, 1960. Additional
report forms were sent to Mr. Stanford for some of the approxi-
mately 12 other witnesses to fill out, and he promised to try to
obtain signed reports.
i
e mm m in a
area, projected t
the 16 mm film frame by frame in the government laboratory
where he is employed. Shortly thereafter, Max Miller became a
NICAP photographic adviser, and since he had already examined
the films he was consulted and asked for suggestions for further
analysis. He gave NICAP some comments about the films, to the
effect that they were not impressive in themselves, but together
(because of some overlapping scenes) might have special signifi-
cance. As he stated in SAUCERS, the overlap `'makes simulation
exceedingly improbable."
In June 1960, Mr. Stanford wrote inquiring about progress with
the analysis. He also stated that, through an intermediary, the
Air Force had requested copies of the films for analysis and
permission for NICAP to forward the copies in its possession.
Mr. Stanford granted permission. NICAP replied to Mr. Stanford,
giving preliminary conclusions, and adding: "For a more thorough
analysis, we would need the verbal reports you promised. . .to
correlate the action described verbally with the action visible
on the film. . .We also have [Max Miller's] analysis of your
films to guide us. Our consensus so far is that the films appear
to be authentic, and it now becomes a problem of interpretation.
For this reason, I believe it would be best to forward the films
to [the intermediary and the Air Force representative]. . ."
The films and Mr. Stanford's report form were forwarded, as
generally agreed by all parties, to the intermediary in a city on
the west coast. (Names and exact location are deleted here
because the intermediary and Air Force representative both
requested that their participation be kept confidential).
Over a year later, following an inquiry by Mr. Stanford, the
films were returned to him by the Air Force representative with
no comments about analysis results.
The Story:
The sighting and filming took place July 28, 1959, between
2:10 and 2:20 p.m. in Corpus Christi, Texas. There had been
numerous UFO sightings in the area, and Ray Stanford and a
friend had cameras ready. Mr. Stanford used a 16 mm Keystone
K51 Executive camera on a tripod, with 75 mm Kern Yvar tele-
photo lens, and daylight Kodachrome film. The aperture setting
was approximately f/10, and exposure was at 16 frames per
second. The friend used an 8 mm Keystone K27 Capri camera
with 25 mm lens, hand-held, and Type A Kodachrome film. The
aperture setting was f/8, exposure 16 frames per second.
Mr. Stanford notified Max Miller by telephone, August 1,
that he had the films, still unprocessed. Mr. Miller subsequently
viewed the films, which were processed in Los Angeles, several
days before they were forwarded to Mr. Stanford.
In his verbal report, Mr. Stanford states that three cigar-
shaped UFOs were visible at one time, and a fourth appeared
soon after. One of the objects reportedly "released" a small
disc beneath it, and the disc sped upwards at about a 45 degree
angle disappearing in the distance. Each of the objects was said
to be sharply outlined, and blue-white in color. Only one object
was photographed, appearing as a bright, slightly oblong light
source. It does not maneuver.
Also visible on both films is the contrail of an airplane curving
slightly around the UFO, after apparently moving in the direction
of the UFO.
NICAP Comments: Examination of the films by NICAP
showed no detail on the object, and no appreciable motion of the
object. Venus, which was prominent at the time, was considered
as an explanation, but ruled out because the image was enlarged
considerably by the larger telephoto lens. The verbally described
maneuvers, multiple objects, and launching of a disc were not
confirmed by the films.
The many other reports from alleged additional witnesses
were never received from Mr. Stanford. His background relative
to the UFO subject was considered. (He and his brother co-
authored a privately published book entitled "Look Up", in which
alleged contacts with space ships, ESP, and achapter on "how the
craft are constructed, propelled and controlled" are included. One
is an alleged personal close-up visual contact brought about by
ESP experiments). Also, Mr. Stanford previously took an 8 mm
color film, September 18, 1956, which purportedly shows two
jet interceptors chasing a UFO.
91
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Photosra ases ontinue paper photographs were forwarded to NICAP in January 1959
September 9, 1954; New Zealand (Case 27)
Drawing from photograph, by Eric Aldwinckle
M
0
August 30, 1951; Lubbock, Texas (Case 11)
Drawing from photograph, by Eric Aldwinckle
With this background, there was some natural suspicion about
the authenticity of the 1959 film. However, NICAP representatives
who have talked to Mr. Stanford were impressed by his sincerity,
and examination of the films by NICAP and Max B. Miller found
no evidence of fakery or tampering with the films (which, as stated
above, were processed in Los Angeles and examinedby Max Miller
before they were viewed by Mr. Stanford himself). We conclude
that the films themselves are authentic records of some object in
the sky, but that they do not substantiate the verbal report and
do not constitute significant evidence of UFOs as the matter now
stands.
Comments by Max Miller (quoted from SAUCERS, Vol. VII
Nos. 3 & 4):
"The 8 mm footage lacks sufficient resolution. . .The 16 mm
film is excellent, but the UFO sequence is extremely short, com-
prising not more than three or four feet. However, one or two
scenes are identical in the 8 mm and 16 mm films, making simu-
lation exceedingly improbable. . .
It is [my] not inexperienced opinion that the cameras did
photograph a visible object, and that super-imposure or double-
exposure could not account for the images produced. What the
object was, of course, remains an enigma. The first possibility
to cross our minds was a polyethelyne type balloon, but we have
never heard of any of the shape recorded. . ."
43. Mike Schultz, Newark, Ohio. The Newark Advocate,
Nov. 15, 1958 published three pictures and the story. Some ex-
cerpts from the article and a black and white print of the news-
by a member. Using an inexpensive camera and telescope, Mr.
Schultz photographed what looked like a bright star in the sky.
Then the object moved and stopped, and he took the second picture.
This was repeated once more. According to the member who
submitted the photographs, each picture is a double-exposure of
one object (the images are double in each case) because of un-
avoidable motion of the camera and telescope. The pictures in
NICAP possession (poor copies with no negatives) strongly re-
semble internal reflections in the telescope as might be obtained
by an inexperienced amateur astronomer using poor equipment.
Without more complete data, no final judgment can be made.
44. James M. Purdon, Jr., Imperial Beach, Calif. Mr.
Purdon, an engineer with a west coast aviation company, obtained
several feet of color movie film of a bright object with a halo
around it, observed by him and his family between 4:20 and 4:50
p.m. The equipment used was a Kodak camera with telephoto
lens on a turret.
According to a report which Mr. Purdon submittedto NICAP,
the UFO was first motionless for a long period of time. While
he was phoning a newspaper, his wife saw the UFO disappear.
Minutes later he obtained footage of a moving bright object (about
20 seconds of which, he states, "came out rather good").
According to his report, the UFO "hove into view from one
direction, slowed up to almost a stop, then proceeded at a 90
degree angle toward the ocean. It accelerated quite rapidly at
first. Then it oscillated up and down." A TV antenna in the fore-
ground furnishes a reference point on the film, and the object
moves behind a "Christmas tree" (presumably planted in his
August 20, 1957; Japan (case 33)
Drawing from photograph, by Eric Aldwinckle
92
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Photographic Cases (Continued) N. Y. The camera had been in operation on the nigh{ of an im-
sialiting, by Federal Aviation Agency personnel at
ortant UFO si hting by Federal Aviation Agency personnel at
March 1954; Rouen, France (case 24)
Drawing from photograph, by Eric Aldwinckle
May 11, 1950; Oregon (Case 7)
Drawing from photograph, by Eric Aldwinckle
January 16, 1958; Trindade Isle, Brazil
Drawing from photograph, by Eric Aldwinckle
Because the same film contained family scenes of great
personal value to Mr. Purdon, he was not willing to risk loaning
it for analysis. He did agree to show the film to any NICAP rep-
resentative, but the nearest NICAP personnel were not able to make
the trip for that purpose. To the best of our knowledge, the film
has not been analyzed.
45. Redmond, Ore., FAA Case. After a great deal of dif-
ficulty and lengthy correspondence, a copy of motion picture film
taken by an IGY "All-Sky" Camera site in Redmond, Oregon, was
obtained from the Cornell University Aurora Archive, Ithaca,
p
Redmond airport [Section V], and it was felt that an unusual op-
portunity for objective confirmation of the sighting was available.
However, the film was not received until August 1960 and the
covering letter stated: "You have been a victim of the testing
of the film copying process here at Ithaca, and we have just re-
ceived the first copy. . .You should bear in mind that the camera
gives a very small image of the sky, and it is seldom possible to
see star sized objects unless they are very bright. . ."
Max B. Miller projected the film and viewed it frame by
frame. In his report to NICAP, Mr. Miller stated the film was
"in such deplorable condition as to be almost worthless. There
are thousands of dust specks and processing specks. . .So unless
the UFO were of spectacular brilliance or dimensions, or were
recorded on at least three consecutive frames, you'd never find
it. Moreover, internal lens reflections (also countless) create
an additional problem." The attempt to find photographic confir-
mation was therefore totally inconclusive.
(For data about All-Sky cameras and their use, see IGY
General Report Series, Numbers 5 & 6, September 1959, National
Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, Washington 25,
D. C. The instruments consist of a convex mirror and a 16 mm
motion picture camera adjusted to time-lapse photography).
46. J. J. Rehill, Miami, Fla. According to a story in the
Miami Herald, December 6, 1959, Seaman Rehill while on leave
saw a flash of light in the sky while taking a picture in the city.
He used an Argus C-3 camera and color film. When the picture
was returned after processing, it showed five white spots, one
disc-shaped followed by a white streak. The paper reports:
"The transparency itself was undamaged. There was no evidence
whatsoever of any monkey business with the original film."
Norbert Gariety, then editor of a UFO publication in Coral
Gables, telephoned Rehill and interviewed him after the Herald
story appeared. Mr. Rehill stated he hadbeen interrogated by Air
Force investigators, and they had examined his camera and the
roll of pictures. NICAP wrote the public information officer at
Mr. Rehill's base on January 4, 1960, but did not receive any
reply.
47. Joe Perry, Grand Blanc, Michigan. The Detroit Times,
March 9, reported the story of this photograph, stating that the
FBI was investigating it. While pursuing his hobby of astronomical
photography, Mr. Perry obtained a color photograph (slide)
reportedly showing a UFO which was "disc-shaped with a dome
and leaving a green trail." (The image on the print examined by
NICAP is similar to a black disc viewed edge-on, but not per-
fectly symmetrical, and the "object" is surrounded by green
coloration resembling a glow.)
The FBI turned Mr. Perry's slide over to the Air Force for
analysis. Later the Air Force stated their opinion "that the blue
spots [sic] on the slide are not images but result from damage
to the emulsion during the developing process."
A color print of Mr. Perry's photograph was analyzed for
NICAP by Max B. Miller, who reported September 18, 1960: The
UFO "quite probably is a cinch mark. . . it could either be foreign
matter which attached itself to the film during processing or
undeveloped emulsion, and I'm inclined to say the latter. . . the
Appearance of typical lens flare sometimes mistaken for
UFOs; caused by bright light source reflecting from camera
lens.
(Drawing from photograph, by Eric Aldwinckle)
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Photographic Cases (Continued) In his initial report to NICAP, Mr. Rees stated: "I changed
greenish halation is sympathetic to the defect and is effected by
one of the color developers overcompensating around the un-
developed emulsion (if a cinch mark) or foreign matter."
48. Schedelbauer, Vienna. Edgar Schedlebauer, a reporter
for the Vienna newspaper "Wiener Montag", photographed a
round, glowing object which he said hovered low over the ground
for ten seconds emitting heat. The newspaper, alleging that the
photograph had been declared authentic by outside experts, printed
the picture' on the front page and labelled it ''the most sensational
photograph of our century." The picture shows a bright white
object something like a parachute canopy against a black back-
ground. There are no reference points.
NICAP wrote to Mr. Schedelbauer requesting the photograph
and negative for analysis, but received no answer. Therefore
the case must be considered incomplete. Since it is the type of
photograph which could easily be faked, we are presently skeptical
about it.
49. Mary Jo Curwen, Hazel Green, Wisconsin. A signed
report form was received from Miss Curwen in July 1960, with a
letter stating: "When the Air Force returns our film [A copy of
the original] we will be willing to lend it to you." After further
correspondence, the film was finally submitted to the Minneapolis
NICAP Subcommittee in April 1963. After analysis, it was then
forwarded to NICAP Photographic Adviser Ralph Rankow in New
York City, who also examined it. The film was returned to the
Curwen family in June 1963.
The analyses established that the film was worthless as
evidence of UFOs. The images were tiny, almost merging with
the grain of the film, showed no appreciable motion other than
typical movie film "jump" and were also visible in other scenes
against the ground. The witnesses did not explain why a mundane
farmyard scene appears between two scenes allegedly showing
UFOs against the blue sky.
In the verbal report the witnesses stated they saw three
saucer-shaped objects flying past in formation, oscillating up and
down in flight, at 5:50 p.m. Miss Curwen attempted to film the
UFOs with an 8 mm camera on a roll of color film which was
being used primarily for family scenes.
It is possible that the attempt was unsuccessful, and that the
family naturally misinterpreted routine film specks as being
images of the UFOs they had seen. At any rate, the film does not
verify the verbal report.
50. Linz, Austria A photograph showing a globular UFO
seemingly lighted more brightly on the underside, near what is
apparently out-of-focus tree branches, was submitted to NICAP
for analysis. Max B. Miller examined the picture, and stated:
"Knowing what camera and lens made the photo, we can determine
that the object was approximately 6 degrees in diameter. . .it
appears to be out of focus rather than blurred due to motion. . .
having no further data additional evaluations cannot be made. My
own opinion, however, is totally negative."
51. Jay Rees, San Francisco. This is one of the few photo-
graphic cases involving ideal conditions for analysis: (1) An
intelligent witness who saw and took good photographs of an un-
usual object in the sky; (2) Full cooperation between the witness
and NICAP analysts uniquely fitted for the analysis work; (3)
Thorough analysis and submission of detailed formal reports by
NICAP analysts.
Mr. Rees first spotted the UFO at 1:45p.m. (PDT), August 9,
1960, in the presence of other witnesses at the civic center plaza
in San Francisco. The object moved slowly west above a broken
overcast which was being blown east by westerly winds of 10-20
mph (according to newspaper weather reports). The relatively
rapid motion ruled out an astronomical explanation, and the wind
direction seemed to rule out a balloon.
Mr. Rees watched the object for 30 minutes, wishing he had
his camera to record it. By this time the UFO was about 70
degrees above the SE horizon. Finally he decided to get his camera
in the hope the object would still be visible. He rushed home and
picked up his Zeiss Tessar 2.8 35mm camera, with 45mm lens
and Kodachrome color film, and found a location at which the
overcast was broken. He then proceeded to take 12 photographs
in succession, taking care to include known objects in the fore-
ground of each picture for reference points.
exposure and f-stop every severalframes--from 1/500 to 1/250
to 1/125 and from f/5.6 to f/14. By this time the UFO was still
moving due west into a brisk wind and above the clouds in the di-
rection of the sun's disc, about the zenith or 85 degrees from the
southeast horizon. The slides were shot from 2:30 to 2:40.
Thus in nearly an hour [from 1:45 to 2:40] of observation about 45
degrees of sky had been crossed."
After using up his film, Mr. Rees began observing the UFO
through 8 x 30 binoculars, but it was perfectly circular and had no
distinguishable characteristics. It was extremely luminous and
clearly visible through thin clouds (confirmed on one of the slides).
To both the unaided eye and through binoculars, the object had a
node of light brighter than the remainder of the object on the
westward or leading edge. After 3:00 p.m. the UFO disappeared
in the sun's rays and did not reappear.
In later correspondence with Max B. Miller, to whom the
slides were sent for analysis, Mr. Rees cited six arguments against
the balloon explanation:
(1) The extreme brightness for an opaque plastic balloon,
suggesting emitted rather than reflected light.
(2) There was a brisk westerly wind from the ocean, strongly
evidenced by movements of the low fog and broken overcast.
(3) The object suddenly vanished when near the sun's disc,
not reappearing. There was no subsequent report of a balloon
landing.
(4) Through
visible, and no
apparatus.
binoculars there was no elongation of the object
instrument package, lines or other external
(5) The UFO gave the impression of rotating around its
vertical axis, though the position of the node did not change.
(6) The readily visible node and its constant orientation toward
the west. (Node confirmed on photographic enlargements)
In addition to making a thorough analysis of the pictures
themselves, and studying various enlargements, Max B. Miller
(with assistance from Robert C. Beck, another NICAP Adviser)
also checked weather records and balloon records. There were
no Weather Bureau, Navy or Air Force balloons in the area at
the time of the sighting. Winds aloft up to 50,000 feet were gen-
erally westerly and definitely inconsistent with the motion of the
UFO. However, at 60,000 feet (the highest reading taken) winds
were easterly at 9 knots.
Excerpts from Mr. Miller's detailed analysis report: "The
images of the object on the original slides varied between ap-
proximately .07mm and .09mm along their maximum axes. . .
[Based on camera data] the object appears to have been between
approximately 4.2 and 5.4 minutes of arc in angular diameter.
[This variation in size could have been caused by additional grain
structure in different exposures]."
Mr. Miller then considers and rules out Venus as the source
of the light (too small and too close to the sun). "An object 5
minutes in angular diamerter at 50,000 feet and 70 degrees above
the horizon. . .would have been approximately 82 feet in dia-
meter. . ."
"[My first] reaction was that Mr. Rees had photographed some
type of aerial balloon." Mr. Miller then discusses the wind
and balloon data, and cites a letter from the Weather Bureau giving
fairly complete information. "This statement did not, of course,
rule out the possibility that a Skyhook or similar high altitude
research balloon might have been photographed. . ." Mr. Miller
then cites Navy and Air Force letters stating none of their balloons
were in the area.
Neither the Air Force nor local newspapers had any record of
a UFO sighting in the area on that date, and no other witnesses
turned up aside from the original group at the civic center.
"Mr. Rees'. . objections [about the possibility the UFO was a
balloon] seem to be well taken. . . . It seems logical to this writer
that the usual appendage handing below these balloons would be
relatively apparent, even under minimum magnification. How-
ever, I certainly do not feel qualified to adequately comment on
this aspect, and therefore recommend that this phase of the
evaluation be dispatched to someone experienced inballoontrack-
ing."
In conclusion, Mr. Miller stated he believed the following
possibilities were eliminated: Aircraft, a bird, a cloud, foreign
matter such as windblown newspaper, radiosonde or pilot weather
balloons. "Unfortunately, the possibility that Jay Rees may have
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photographed a high altitude research balloon has not been
eliminated."
The photographs subsequently were delivered to the Minnea-
polis NICAP Subcommittee since one of its members, Mr. Wallace
Roepke, was formerly on the Skyhook balloon atmospheric re-
search program and was still connected with General Mills.
Also the Subcommittee has other scientists and a professional
photographer. Mr. Roepke also filed a detailed report with NICAP
on behalf of the Subcommittee.
In consultation with experienced balloon personnel Mr. Roepke
and Mr. Hub T. Sherman (Chairman of the Subcommittee and an
astronomer by training) obtained the following facts bearing on the
case:
1. Although plenty of advanced warning is given to airports
concerning balloon launchings, records of such are destroyed 72
hours after launching.
2. Release of payload usually causes a sudden rise of the
balloon and a resulting explosion or fragmentation, but there
are anomalous cases where the balloon survives for several
days or even weeks.
3. The balloons become nearly spherical at their maximum
altitudes where they are not normally seen by many people, are
easily seen in more teardrop form at lower altitudes.
In view of the above, there was no way to check on the
presence of a General Mills research balloon. One of the con-
sultants believed the UFO definitely was a balloon at about
100,000 feet. It was observed that apparent direction of motion
of the balloons can be misleading, due to cloud motion. ''The dis-
appearance of the object can be explained in at least three ways:
a. Proximity to the sun and its overpowering glare. b. Proximity
to the sun causing most of the reflection to be at the back side of
the object as seen from the position of the observer. c. The object
could have exploded or fragmented."
Mr. Roepke expressed his confidence that the analysts were
skilled and impartial, and stated his conclusion as follows:
"In consideration of all the foregoing, it is concluded by one
investigator that there is nothing of major significance in the Rees
sighting to show that a balloon was not observed. One investigator
considers that, in all probability, a balloon was sighted; while
two investigators consider that the object was a balloon. Two
other investigators were noncommital."
Thus four out of six of the General Mills scientists and
technicians consulted leaned heavily toward the balloon explana-
tion. In view of this fact and the lack of any maneuvers which
could not be attributed to a balloon, NICAP's conclusion is that
the UFO probably was a large plastic research balloon at 60,000
feet or higher. If so, this would be one of the anomalous cases
cited above when the balloon did not explode upon releasing its
instrument package. It is conceivable that the "node" was a
partial rupture--not quite sufficient to cause fragmentation--
resulting from the sudden rise following release of the instru-
ments.
52. August 25, 1960, "mystery satellite" photograph. Data
received by NICAP from the Grumman Aircraft Corporation in
Long Island were a contact print and enlargement showing the
motion of the unknown object in relation to the star field. Grumman
stated the object was moving at a speed comparable to previous
satellites, but from east to west.
53. A/3C Bellett, Golden, Colorado. Photograph submitted
in letter dated January 16, 1961. Negative requested and sub-
sequently furnished. Both were forwarded to Max B. Miller
for analysis. Mr. Miller stated: "This is a very common
negative defect. . .[which] occurs whenever a piece of foreign
matter happens to collect on the negative at the moment of
exposure." The picture shows a thin dark line (about the pro-
portions of a thin cigar) against the sky high above a plateau.
Nothing was observed visually.
54. Harry Caslar, Eglin AFB, Fla. At 4:45 p.m. while
taking movies of his son on the beach at Eglin AFB reservation,
Mr. Caslar noticed a UFO approaching from over the water.
He managed to obtain footage of it with his 8mm camera. The
film was viewed by the staff of a local newspaper. The film
reportedly showed a cigar shaped or elliptical object making a
U-turn and receding out over the Gulf. Both the Air Force and
a NICAP member approached Mr. Caslaraboutborrowingthe film
for analysis, but he refused to part with it. Based on the news-
paper description, the film sounds like an important one. How-
ever, neither the film nor stills from it have been viewed by
NICAP.
55. Nashville triangle. A shining object at very high alti-
tude, appearing roughly triangular in shape, was viewed over a
wide area near Nashville, Tenn., from about 5:00 p.m. to sunset.
Data on the incident was gathered for NICAP by member Paul
Norman, including photographs of the object. Navy jets tried
to inspect the object, but couldn't reach its altitude, which appeared
to be at about 60,000 feet. Examination of the photographs and
witness reports to NICAP led to the conclusion the object probably
was a high altitude research balloon. Nothing contained in
the photographs or reports strongly challenges this conclu-
sion. Huge "Moby Dick" plastic balloons (named after Mel-
ville's legendary whale) used for high altitude research are
pyramidal in form and can appear triangular in outline. Also,
local authorities often know nothing about these balloons, which
travel long distances glowing brightly in sunlight at times. When
local airports are unaware of the nature of the objects, this
sometimes adds to the mystery.
(The NICAP Assistant Director once experienced a sighting
of a "Moby Dick" hovering and glowing brightly over New
Orleans. No one could account for it, and the object still resem-
bled a bright light source through 6 power binoculars. With the
aid of an astronomical telescope, he was finally able to resolve
it. The plastic material and instrument packages were clearly
visible).
56. Craig Seese, Newark, Ohio. NICAP received a telegram
in June 1961 notifying us about the existence of some color movies
of a UFO taken by a 16 year old boy, Craig Seese. Our informant
was Robert William Miller, a young man with serious interest
in UFO investigation who had formed his own group for that
purpose. Mr. Miller had been one of five witnesses to the UFO
sighting and filming.
A meeting was arranged between the youths, and Mr. A. B.
Ledwith, a NICAP member in the area with technical background
(including photographic analysis work with Smithsonian Astrophy-
sical Observatory). Mr. Ledwith was requested to advise NICAP
whether he considered analysis of the film worthwhile. After
talking to the youths and viewing the film, Mr. Ledwith recom-
mended analysis of the film and advised Mr. Seese to have several
copies made, storing the original in a cool safe place.
Mr. Miller was advised to forward one copy of the film to
Max B. Miller in Los Angeles for analysis. (NICAP paid for the
printing of one copy of the film for this purpose). The film was
sent to Max Miller by registered mail August 7, 1961. About
this time photographic analysis work began to pile up on Max
Miller, and other committments began to make demands on his
time. Asa result several analyses in the past two years are either
incomplete or still pending. Max Miller is no longer a NICAP
Special Adviser, and other arrangements are being made to com-
plete the analyses.
The color film was taken between 10:00 p.m. and midnight
with a Brownie 8mm camera and telephoto lens (2.5 power),
f/1.9. The UFO appeared to the unaided eye as a single white
light, but the film indicates three objects, one slightly off-frame.
Mr. Ledwith has tentatively ruled out reflections and film de-
fects as the source of the images.
57. Bob Feldman, Akron, Ohio. Color photograph of alleged
UFO taken by 12 year old boy forwarded to Max B. Miller for
examination. No report received. Picture shows object resembling
sky rocket, on Echtachrome film E-21.5 at 1/1250 seconds.
58. Paccione Moon Photos. A series of four photographs
showing a dark spot moving across the face of the moon were
submitted to NICAP by Ralph Rankow (now a NICAP photographic
Adviser). A young employee, Michael Paccione, had taken them
sometime around September 20, but could not recall the exact
date. He used a Starmaster refractor telescope and 35mm single
lens reflex camera, with Tri-X pan film exposures of 1, 2, & 3
seconds. The time was just after 8:30 p.m.
Mr. Rankow, a professional photographer, considers the
negatives authentic. The photographs were then examined by Dr.
James C. Bartlett, Jr., NICAP astronomy Adviser in Baltimore,
and Mr. Sidney Parsons, professional astronomer and NICAP
member. Dr. Bartlett determined that, based on the fraction of
the moon's surface which was illuminated in the photographs, the
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data was consistent with conditions on September 17. Mr. Parsons
made some rough computations of the size (diameter) and velocity
of the object, assuming various distances from earth. The UFO
travelled too slow for a conventional aircraft and was unlike a
satellite. "The only conventional device which could comply
with such an observation," Mr. Parsons concluded, "is a high-
altitude balloon." Assuming the object was about 1/15th the angu-
lar diameter of the moon, and at an altitude of 10 miles (52,800
feet), its diameter would be 31 feet. If at 100 miles altitude, the
diameter would be 306 feet, etc.
59. Savage, Warrenton, Va. While returning home from
Washington, D.C. to Warrenton, Va. in a car pool, Mr. Harvey B.
Savage, Jr., and his companions noticed an unusual object in the
sky with an elongated pear shaped tailor trail. The object appeared
to remain stationary until he reached home. When he started to
photograph the UFO with his 16mm Bell & Howell camera using
telephoto lens, the UFO changed position, then began moving
rapidly. He managed to obtain several feet of film showing the
object. (The above is a second-hand account from a close friend
of Mr. Savage. The film was loaned to NICAP for analysis, a
misunderstanding developed over the timing of the analysis, and
Mr. Savage refused to fill out a NICAP form.)
The film was copied by NICAP, the original returned to Mr.
Savage. As viewed at NICAP, the film showed what appeared to
be a contrail. The film was nevertheless forwarded to Max
Miller for closer examination, and is among the unprocessed
material awaiting analysis.
60. Jeanne Booth Johnson, Hawaii. Following some UFO
sightings in Hawaii during March 1963, the Honolulu Advertiser
published Mrs. Johnson's UFO photograph taken about a year pre-
viously. NICAP contacted Mrs. Johnson about analyzing the pic-
ture and received full cooperation. She had taken five exposures
of ships in Kahului harbor, and the final exposure, when developed
showed a large, dark pear-shaped object with what appeared to be
a vapor-like trail above it. (She had not seen anything visually,
but was intent on photographing the harbor scene and had not
looked closely at the sky).
The camera used was a Rolleicord, with 120 Tri-X (400)
film. Camera settings f/5.6 and 1/250. All five prints and nega-
tives were submitted to photographic Adviser Ralph Rankow.
Enlargement of the UFO photograph revealed bubbles or Spots
caused by developmental defects elsewhere in the picture, making
the authenticity of the UFO doubtful. Stating that it could have
been coincidence, even though an unlikely one, that only this
photograph of the series showed such defects, Mr. Rankow termed
the case "undecided." However, the lack of visual sighting of such
a large object (well within the frame of the picture) in addition to
the detected defects on the negative cause us to conclude it is
most likely not a real UFO, only a developmental defect.
61. F. DiMambro, Woburn, Mass. NICAP first learned of
the existence of these four photographs in a news release form
Mr. George Fawcett received in June 1962. The witnesses or-
iginally were anonymous, but Mr. Fawcett was contacted and ob-
tained for NICAP the Polaroid prints and a signed report form in
which Mr. DiMambro gave permission to use his name. This
added considerable value to the case. The pictures were forwarded
to Ralph Rankow who examined them, and made copies for NICAP.
The images are faint, due to overexposure, but readily
visible. Mr. Fawcett's original report stated that the four pictures
were taken in 30 seconds. Concerning this, Mr. Rankow said:
"I sincerely question the ability of anyone to make 4 Polaroid
photos on one camera in 30 seconds. It must have taken longer,
or else they weren't developed for the full ten seconds. This is a
possibility, since the streaks on the top and bottom of photos #2
and #3 would indicate improper developing. . ." (On the report
form, Mr. DiMambro stated the UFO was observed for 40-50
seconds, but he gave no information about the actual filming).
Mr. Rankow also raised this question: "Why did he not
adjust the lens setting differently after seeing how light the first
one came out? It would have been better to get one good shot
than 4 like this."
As NICAP stated to Mr. Fawcett, "If the witnesses are of
sound character, I would say these are the most interesting
pictures we've seen in a longtime." Mr. DiMambro is a concrete
and brick mason who was building a chimney on the rooftop of a
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new home when the sighting and filming took place. Reportedly,
there were three other adult witnesses. Lacking information about
the witnesses, we are forced to place the pictures in the in-
complete category, pending additional data.
The first three photographs show no landmarks. The fourth
shows the UFO close above a definite skyline including trees.
The UFO, in one exposure, appears to be perfectly circular with
a smaller circular marking in the center. However, the alleged
UFO could also be one or more relatively small objects thrown in
the air and photographed.
62. Bruce Fox, Bayonne, N.J. Mr. Fox submitted this
photograph to NICAP in a letter dated November 19, stating he had
seen a bright moving object in the sky about 8:15 p.m. and managed
to take one successful photograph of it. The letter and photograph
were forwarded toRalphRankow, NICAP Adviser, on November 20.
Mr. Fox was asked to submit his negative, a signed report form,
and to include camera data. All the requested information was
provided, except the negative. The camera was a box type Spartus
with fixed lens setting, using 620 black and white film. In a
letter to Mr. Rankow, Mr. Fox stated that his original letter to
NICAP had been in error, and that he had obtained two clear
photographs. A second photograph was submitted directly to Mr.
Rankow. No meaningful analysis of the photographs has been
possible.
63. Ronald Gounad, Bayonne, N.J. Photographs showing
groups of lights in the sky were submitted in January 1963.
Lights resembling those on a Christmas tree were visible in the
foreground. The UFOs reportedly were visible, and photographed
two consecutive nights. The negatives were requested, and sub-
mitted in April. Meanwhile, Ralph Rankow examined the pictures
and stated that nothing could be determined from them. It was
deduced that the original light sources were three lights in a
straight line one above the other. However, the camera was
hand-held and the shutter snapped five times for each picture
further confusing already nebulous photographs. Since the witness
offered no comments or explanation about the needless multiple
exposures, the photographs and negatives were returned to him with
a rating of "dubious."
64. Angel Falls, Venezuela. Mr. Ali R. Diaz, Caracas,
aboard a tourist plane on a vacation trip to the Angel Falls area
of remote Venezuelan jungle, obtained color movies of a UFO
rising from the base of a mountain into the sky. With the aid of
Dr. Askold Ladonko, NICAP Adviser in Caracas, and other NICAP
members in the area. Mr. Diaz was interviewed and still shots
from the movie film were obtained.
Later a Spanish-speaking NICAP member, Mr. Jose' Cecin,
was able to fly to Caracas from New York City, and persuaded
Mr. Diaz to loan the film to NICAP for analysis. The U.S. Air
Force attache' had already viewed the film, but had not been per-
mitted to retain it.
As this Report is being written, the original film is in the
possession of a professional scientist on the west coast who has
previously analyzed UFO movies. An analysis report is expected
sometime in 1964. Mr. Cecin has retained a protection copy,
and plans are being made for independent analysis of it. A third
protection copy is being stored for safe-keeping.
The movie, taken from the side window of a DC-3 as it passed
Angel Falls, shows a yellowish tear-drop shaped object rising
at a slight angle across the face of Auyantupuy Mountain. The
object seems to oscillate from side to side, until it is lost in
the sky, apparently moving into clouds. The falls and mountain
provide landmarks throughout. The jungle area where the film
was taken is so impenetrable that no one has ever been known to
reach it on foot. While filming the falls, Mr. Diaz noticed a bright
flash of light through his view finder, and the film appears to
verify the presence of something unusual.
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Physical & Physiological Effects
In addition to radar trackings, electro-magnetic effects, and
photographs, there have been other indications of the physical
reality of UFOs. These include markings or substances left on
the ground, and physiological effects on the observers. (With a
few exceptions, the physiological effects have been temporary and
not severe.)
The following chart lists 35 sample cases; about half are
taken from Aime Michel's account of the intensive concentration
of UFO sightings in France during fall 1954, the remainder from
other sources. The chart gives a cross-section of the types of
physical and physiological effects which have been reported gen-
erally as resulting from UFOs.
In most cases, scientific investigation of these reports has
been totally lacking. Therefore, it is not claimed that they prove
anything. On the other hand, independent witnesses all over the
world have reported very similar experiences. Their reports
deserve far more attention than they have received to date.
NICAP has tried to encourage more thorough investigation of
them.
A comparison with the listing of electro-magnetic effects (this
section) will show that there appears to be a relationship between
E-M cases and physiological effects. Hypothesis: That the pre-
sumed electro-magnetic radiation from UFOs which affects elec-
trical circuits also affects the human body under certain condi-
tions. If this hypothesis is correct, the importance of scientific
investigation in this area is obvious.
Date & Location Physiological
Physical
Traces
Description
Notes
7-23-48
Montgomery, Ala.
X
Airliner rocked (Chiles-Whitted) as UFO passed
[Section V]
7-1-54
Walesville, N.Y.
X
Intense heat
[71]
9-10-54
Nr. Quarouble, France
X
X
X
Paralysis, markings, trees black
[72]
9-17-54
Vienne, France
X
Prickling sensation like "electric shock"
[73]
9-24-54
Correze, France
X
Tree branches dried and curled
[74]
9-26-54
Chabeuil, France
X
10. ft. circle; foliage crushed
[75]
9-27-54
Premanon, France
X
Holes in ground, grass flattened
[76]
9-28-54
Bouzais, France
X
Paralysis, lost consciousness
[77]
10-3-54
Nessier, France
X
Oily spots
[78]
10-3-54
Ronsenac, France
X
Grass flattened
[79]
10-4-54
St. Seine L'Abbaya, France
X
Crater over 4 feet long
[80]
10-7-54
Le Mans, France
X
Prickling, partial paralysis
[81]
10-7-54
Monteux, France
X
Paralysis
[82]
10-9-54
Briatexte, France
X
Brownish, sticky deposit
[83]
10-11-54
Clamecy, France
X
Electric shock, paralysis
[84]
10-14-54
Meral, France
X
Sticky deposit
[85]
10-15-54
Rovigo, Italy
X
20 ft. crater, trees "carbonized"
[86]
10-16-54
Nr. Baillolet, France
X
Electric shock
[87]
10-18-54
Auverne, France
X
Paralysis
[88]
7-22-55
Cincinnati, Ohio
X
X
Skin burned, tree petrified
[89]
8-6-55
Cincinnati, Ohio
X
Eyes badly irritated
[90]
8-25-55
Bedford, Indiana
X
Semicircular impressions in ground
[91]
11-2-55
Williston, Florida
X
Heat stung body
7-31-57
Galt, Ontario, Canada
X
Burned patches, impressions in ground
[92]
11-3-57
Scotia, Nebraska
X
Paralysis, fumes left in air
[93]
11-4-57
Sao Vicente, Brazil
X
1st & 2nd degree burns, 10% of body
[94]
11-4-57
Alamagordo, New Mexico
X
Minor facial burns
[Section XII]
11-6-57.
Nr. Merom, Indiana
X
Skin red, eyes swollen
[Section XII]
11-10-57
Ohio
Madison
X
Eye damage, shock, emotional upset
[Detailed in
,
this Section]
2-20-58
Nr. Espanola, N.Mex.
X
Skin burns, reported radioactivity
[95]
5-5-58
Nr. San Carlos, Uruguay
X
Intense heat, E-M effect
[Section X]
9-7-59
Nr. Lexington, Kentucky
X
13 ft. stained ring
[96]
5-24-60
Ocumare del Tuy, Venezuel
a
X
Diamond-shaped scorched marks
[97]
5-12-62
Argentina
X
Intense glow injured eyes
[Section XII]
5-12-62
Nr. LaPampa, Argentina
X
Grayish stain on ground
[Section XII]
TOTALS
20
10
8
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Physiological Effects; November 1957 "1 surely wish they [the Air Force] would call on me. I've
As in the fall 1954 French sightings, the November 1957
"flap" in the United States brought with it reports of physical and
physiological effects from UFOs. On a farm in Scotia, Nebraska,
November 3, Roger Groetzinger (10) was milking the cows when
he noticed an oblong object circling low over the barn. He thought
it was a plane about to land, and went outside to the pasture fence
to watch. The object was at low altitude emitting a humming
noise. Suddenly Roger found that he could not move. As the UFO
gained altitude and started moving away, the paralysis left.
When Roger's mother returned home, she found a thoroughly
frightened son. Where the UFO was seen low above the ground,
heavy fumes lingered in the air.
A week later, Mrs. Leita Kuhn in Madison, Ohio, observed a
brilliant glowing object at close range. The physiological after-
effects of her sighting were fairly serious. Between 1:00 and 2:00
a.m. on the morning of November 10, Mrs. Kuhn had been having
difficulty with an overheating stove in her kennel. It was a dark
night, snowing and windy, and she had to make several trips be-
tween her house and the kennel.
Finally, after she was sure all was well in the kennel, she
shut the door and stepped outside. Suddenly she realized the sky
was very bright. It had stopped snowing.
"I stepped away from the kennel," she told NICAP, "and there
in back about 60 feet above ground was a huge glowing object. . .
It was phosphorous in color. Base, forty feet wide and nine to
ten feet thick, domelike top. Top seemed brighter than bottom.
I looked the bottom over well. . ."Exhaust -like clouds were visi-
ble on the left side of the object.
"The top was brighter. I couldn't look at the top. My eyes
burned so I closed them--orange sparks seemed to glow every-
time I closed my eyes. . . The brilliance is beyond descrip-
tion."
Becoming frightened, Mrs. Kuhn fled to the house. She looked
out the window and it was dark again. "I went back outside and
it was gone. There was no noise, no odor. It was 1:55 a.m."
Mrs. Kuhn couldn't sleep, and wondered what to do about the
sighting. UFOs were not supposed to exist; who could she report
it to?
"I decided not to," she said. "A few days later I had to see a
doctor. My eyes were troubling me, a rash was driving me insane
and I hadn't slept since November 10. Upon hearing my story,
he advised me to report it. Which I did--thank goodness. The
publicity was tough but through it I met others who have seen
these too."
UFO witnesses sometimes need psychological reinforcement.
In the face of repeated official denials that UFOs exist, a person
would begin to doubt his own sanity unless he knew that others had
made similar reports. Mrs. Kuhn was shocked by her experience,
and a little bitter toward those in authority.
been wanting to tell them I'm mad--clear through. I feel duped
and deceived."
Later NICAP contacted Mrs. Kuhn again to inquire about her
health. In a detailed letter which she requested be treated as
confidential, she described in detail what the physiological effects
had been. Although ultra-violet radiation had been suggested as
the cause at one point, the doctors she consulted treated her for
a variety of ailments which had not been present prior to the UFO
sighting. Some were painful and emotionally disturbing, and she
began to fear for her life. In time, the symptoms began to clear
up until, as of her January 1959 letter,'her health was returning
and she felt "rather well."
Aside from the physical effects, Mrs. Kuhn experienced several
psychological problems. Local civil defense officials treated
her report seriously, but why did the government deny the existence
of UFOs? Some friends rebuffed her, curiosity seekers plagued
her. Getting no satisfactory explanation from government or
scientific authorities, she sought an answer among UFO believers.
In the process, she encountered the inevitable crackpots who took
every light in the sky to be a space ship bearing noble beings.
She was repelled by their attitude toward UFOs, and felt they
only obscured the truth.
Mrs. Kuhn seemed to be an intelligent and level-headed
woman who was shocked and disturbed by an experience so
immediate that it caused her to lose confidence in officialdom.
She now feels it is urgent that the truth about UFOs be made
public so that others may be prepared psychologically where
she was not. At last report, she had given up her kennel to devote
more time to establishing the truth about UFOs.
SOUND
The notion that UFOs are typically silent, unlike piston and jet
aircraft, is true in general. In a surprising number of cases,
however, UFOs have made noises of some kind. This aspect
of the phenomena should be studied carefully in the future, since
it could provide some important clues to the nature of UFOs.
To date, the descriptions of the sounds have been sketchy. This
line of questioning has not been pursued by investigators in as
much detail as it might have been, probably because of the "silent
UFO" stereotype.
Useful information for a study of UFO sounds would include
careful estimations (or measurements when possible) of the dis-
tance of the object from the observer when the sound was heard;
and ideally tape recordings of the actual sound, as well as infor-
mation about the appearance of the UFO and what maneuvers it
was making at the time. Sound detection and amplification
equipment would be required for any complete scientific inves-
tigation.
The following chart is intended only to be descriptive, and to
organize seeming patterns tentatively.
9-17-54; Nr Rome, Italy top-like 3600-6000 ft.
(radar track)
8-2-57; Sebago Lake, Maine greenish glowing
light
11-6157; Dunn, N.C. shaped like lamp-
shade
11-6-57; Dugger, Ind. est. 40 ft. diameter;
no description
hovered, exploded "like shotgun," took off
at high speed
penetrating shrill noise while zig-zagging,
making sharp turns [Section VII.]
maneuvered, rapidly at times; hovered 30
minutes, making loud humming noise
first on ground, rose & rush of wind, "noise like thunder"
sped low over truck
sharp explosive sound attracted witness;
saw UFO going straight up
1000 ft. altitude hovered, climbed straight up, moved away
horizontally making "whirring" noise
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9-21-58; Sheffield Lake,
glowing disc
6 ft. alt., 10 ft. distance
Ohio
10-26-58; Baltimore,
glowing ellipse
320 ft. distance, hovering
Maryland
low over bridge
8-17-60; Folsom, Calif. dark, body lights
visible
9-13-62; Nr Overfield, grayish disc
England
The eighteen cases above were selected from a larger sample
(approximately 50) of readily available sound cases, in a manner
designed to minimize the accidental inclusion of misidentified
aircraft, etc., which may have been seen under unusual lighting
conditions and reported as UFOs. This was done by taking cases
in which the UFOs exhibited "typical" characteristics such as
sharp turns, erratic maneuvers, and rapid acceleration. Cases
involving simple straight line flight at moderate speeds, regard-
less of the physical appearance of the supposed UFO, were ex-
cluded. The result gives a wide distribution, both by date and
geographical location, of fairly typical UFO sightings, with the
added feature of sound from the objects.
These apparent patterns emerge:
* UFOs which make sharp explosive noise during rapid acceler-
ation or high-speed flight.
* UFOs which emit a humming (whining or whirring) noise
while hovering or moving relatively slowly.
9- UFOs which make a whistling or "swishing" noise like
rushing air.
Assuming that the sample of cases is representative, we next
have to take into account variations in terminology used by dif-
ferent witnesses in describing what they have heard. We shall
assume that "whirring," "whining," or "humming" constitute a
single type of sound. This has sometimes been compared to the
sound made by an electric motor or generator.
The French theorist, Lieutenant Plantier, has developed the
concept of deriving propulsive force from primary cosmic rays by
transforming the energy into "a local field of force that can be
varied and directed at will." His theory has the merit of
predicting some of the observed features of UFOs. However,
it rules out sonic booms (postulating that an air cushion carried
along with the UFO would buffer sound), when there is evidence
that UFOs do make sonic booms.
Another similar approach, suggested by Prof. Dr. Hermann
Oberth, is that whoever operates the UFOs has knowledge of the
control of gravity. The UFOs' apparent circumvention of the
laws of inertia, as we understand them, has been the single
most difficult feature of UFO phenomena to account for. Could
control of gravity explain how this is possible?
The above speculation may or may not be close to the truth.
If we forget for the moment the problem of inertial effects and
assume we are dealing with controlled devices which in some
manner surmount that problem, we can hypothetically explain the
UFO sounds as (a) actual sonic booms; (b) actual "engine"
noises very similar to a "whirring" electric motor; and (c)
whistling, rushing air effects of a solid body traveling through
air.
There are indications that only the sonic booms are heard at any
appreciable distance. At distances comparable to those attained by
high-altitude aircraft, where we are able to hear jet or piston
engines at least faintly, UFOs apparently are virtually silent.
The July 13, 1959, New Zealand case (and similar data) suggests
"whirring" or "whining" noise, constant
hovered, shot straight up making thun-
derous explosive noise
descended, hovered, low humming sound;
rose vertically at high speed with "thin
high-pitched whine" [Section XIV]
about height of telegraph hovered, made "swishing" noise as it sped
poles away
Angel's Hair
An interesting phenomenon which has been linked with UFOs
is so-called "angel's hair." This gossamer-like substance has
been observed falling from the sky, sometimes in great quantity.
However, it (if indeed only one type of substance is involved)
has only been observed in association with UFOs in about one-half
of the cases. Also, it is obvious that in many cases the sub-
stance has been nothing but cobwebs spun by ballooning spiders.
[Natural History, January 1951; "Those Things in the Sky."] On
at least one occasion, small spiders have actually been found in
the material leaving little doubt about the identification.
Although we do not presently consider angel's hair to be
significant evidence of UFOs, (or for that matter to be clearly
differentiated from spider webs in most cases) there are some
surprising reports on record which cause us to suspend final
judgment.
A typical angel's hair report (though not designated as such)
is reported in the Humboldt (Calif.) Times, November 11 and 12,
1958. Residents of Trinidad, Rio Dell, and other northern Cali-
fornia towns reported showers of cobweb-like material onNovem-
ber 9, some in strands 5 to 6 feet long. Two fishermen at sea,
George Korkan and Jack Curry, said the substance settled on
their boat in such quantity that it made the boat appear to be
"a million years old."
A sample of the substance obtained at McKinleyville airport
was examined by Dr. Erwin Bielfuss, assistant professor of
biology at Humboldt State College. The newspaper quotes
him as ruling out the possibility of it being a mold growth or
animal product, and suggesting it is either plant life or a plastic
material.
Although it was reported that strands up to 40 feet in length
were draped over trees and wires, there were no reports of
spiders being found.
A trained biologist witnessed a fall of angel's hair about
1957. He gave the following statement to NICAP:
"Several years ago, I would estimate close to the summer
of 1957, two others and myself witnessed a phenomenon that
could be best described as "a sky full of cobwebs" off the Florida
coast a short distance south of Miami. At that time I held the
position of curator of the Miami Seaquarium, and I was taking
part in a specimen-collecting trip aboard the Seaquarium vessel
Sea Horse, which was skippered by collections director Capt.
W. B. Gray and his assistant, Emil Hanson.
"We were traveling northward after a successful day's col-
lecting, somewhere between Soldiers Key and Key Biscayne and
approximately three miles off the Florida mainland. The sky
was clear on this particular day andlittle or no wind was blowing.
For a period of two hours or more we observed occasional strands
of what appeared to be very fine cobwebs up to two or more feet
in length, drifting down from the sky and occasionally catching in
the rigging of our craft. On being questioned by the others as to
a direct relationship between the level of sound and acceleration, what might be the nature of these webs, I explained to the others
with increased intensity or shrillness when power is applied. that an oft-repeated statement in natural history books is that
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very young spiders on hatching will frequently pay out long strands
of silk from their spinnerets until the wind catches them and they
eventually become airborne, sometimes being transported many
miles and even, as I seemed to recall, far out to sea on occasion.
"At the time I assumed that some phenomenon of temper-
ature or timing had resulted in the mass hatching and exodus of
a certain type of spider somewhere on the mainland, and that
furthermore, these webs must be fragments of the original strands
which in themselves may have been of considerable length.
Spiders can and do at times produce vast lengths (in proportion to
their size) of web material at little expense to their own metabol-
ism, and I visualized the little spiderlets, wherever they might be,
continuing to emit their silken trails during their airborne
journey as the wind broke and blew the first ones away. Although
we captured a number of these strands on our fingertips, no
spiders were to be seen despite the likelihood that a certain
percentage of them would still have spiders attached.
"With the intention of examining the strands under my
laboratory microscope when we reached the Seaquarium,I care-
fully placed several of them inside a mason jar, allowing them to
cling to the inside of the glass before I capped it. Under high
power I had hoped to see the tiny adhesive droplets that adorn
most but not all spider webs, and were these present, there would
be little doubt of their true nature. However, when I uncapped
the jar later in my office, no trace of the web material could be
found.
"This phenomenon is to me still unexplained, and I have
seen nothing comparable to it before or since. I will mention
by way of information that I have always been interested in the
biology of spiders and their webs, particularly the giant orb-
weaver Nephilia, whose bright golden web is a fairly common
sight through the Everglades. Strong enough to support small
pebbles, this web has actually been woven into cloth by natives
of the tropics.
"From the foregoing, I would say that it is possible that
the strands we saw were something other than spider web, and. I
have no explanation for the apparent disappearance of the col-
lected material in the mason jar."
/s/ Craig Phillips
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service,
Department of the Interior; 11-5-63
The reported dissipation of the angel's hair in this case
is commonly reported. Some analysts who do not think all
angel's hair is cobwebs use this feature to differentiate "true"
angel's hair from spider webs. If this assumption is correct,
angel's hair unfortunately becomes a will-of-the-wisp which
disappears before it can be analyzed properly, and therefore it
does not constitute good physical evidence.
Biologists who have examined angel's hair which has subse-
quently dissipated have been unable to account for it in terms
of spiders. The substances which have not dissipated so far show
no particular pattern, and may be attributed to many different
phenomena. The following chart includes all reported cases of
falls of gossamer-like material which have been compiled by
NICAP for specific dates.
Date & Location
U.F.O.
reported
Dissi-
pation
Spi-
ders
Remarks & Notes
9-21-1741; Bradly, England
Strands 5-6 inches long "fell with some velocity" for hours
in great quantity. [From Charles Fort]
9-20-1892; Gainesville, Florida
Vast quantity "like great white sheets," some "50 yards or
more in length." [Proceedings, Entomological Society of
Washington, D.C., Vol. II (1892) ppg. 385-388.]
11-21-1898; Montgomery, Alabama
Strands several inches long fell in batches; reportedly
phosphorescent. [From Charles Fort]
11-10-49; Depues Ferry, Pennsylvania
X
["Inside Saucer Post ... 3-0 Blue, " Stringfield, p. 49]
10-11-50; Butte County, California
X
Sample analyzed by Dr. Willis J. Gertsch, Museum of
Natural History; identified as gossamer. [Natural History,
January 19511
10-11-50; Paradise, California
X
X
Partial dissipation reported, leaving "tough white threads--
resembling a spiderweb, but of much tougher consistency."
[Chico Enterprise-Record, October 12, 1950]
10-17-1952; Oloron, France
X
X
Fibres burned like cellophane when ignited. ["The Truth
about flying Saucers," Michel, ppg. 146-7]
10-27-52; Gaillac, France
X
X
[Ibid., p. 148]
4-15-53; Auckland, N.Z.
X
["Challenge of UFOs," Maney & Hall, p, 59]
5-30-53; Christchurch, N.Z.
X
[Ibid., p. 59]
10-9-53; Melbourne, Australia
X
[Ibid., p. 59]
10-13-53; Pleasant Hill, California
X
[Ibid., p. 59]
11-16-53; San Fernando Valley,
California
X
X
[Pageant, November 1954]
10-19-54; Fort Wayne, Indiana
[Stringfield, op. cit., p. 49]
10-22-54; Marysville, Ohio
X
X
[Maney & Hall, op. cit., ppg. 40-42]
10-28-54; Rome, Italy
X
[Ibid., p. 59]
11-4-54; Nelson, N.Z.
X
[Stringfield, op. cit., p. 49]
11-8-54; Florence, Italy
X
[Ibid., p. 59]
12-12-54; Christchurch, N.Z.
X
[Ibid., p. 49]
2-21-55; Horseheads, N.Y.
"White, fibrous and heavily impregnated with soot and dirt"
No odor, did not burn rapidly. [AP
2-22-55 ]
,
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Date & Location
U.F.O. re-
ported
Dissi-
pation
Spi-
ders
Remarks & Notes
7-29-55; Sacramento, California
[Stringfield, op. cit., p. 49]
9-1-55; Edmore, Mich.
X
Fell slowly in clumps, "some as large as big platters."
[Edmore Times, 9-9-55]
10-2-55; Uhrichsville, Ohio
X
[Section VII]
10-10-55; Cincinnati, Ohio
X
[Stringfield, op. cit., p. 49]
10-27-55; Whitsett, N.C.
X
Analysts disagreed whether substance was of animal or
synthetic origin. [Greensboro Daily News, Oct. 28, 1955]
7-10-56; Melbourne, Australia
X
"Millions of white web-like threads." [Bournemouth Echo;
7-10-56]
8-19-56; St. Louis, Mo.
[Stringfield, op. cit., p. 49]
9-25-56; Cincinnati, Ohio
Analyzed by AF, identified as rayon fibres. [CRIFO Orbit;
Nov. 2, 1956 & Dec. 7, 1956]
9-30-56; Cherry Valley, Illinois
X
[CRIFO Orbit; Dec. 7, 1956]
10-15-56; Indianapolis, Indiana
X
[Stringfield, op. cit., p. 50]
10-16-56; Fond de Lac, Wisconsin
[Ibid., p. 50]
4-28-57; Christchurch, N.Z.
[Ibid., p. 50]
10-4-57; Ichinoseki City, Japan
[Flying Saucer Review (London), Jan.-Feb.. 19581
10-17-57; Nr. Fatima, Portugal
X
[Irish News, from Lisbon, 10-23-57]
10-23/24-57; Portales, N.M.
Strands up to 50 feet long, enormous quantities.
[Associated Press, Oct. 24-25, 1957]
10-9-58; Portales, N.M.
[Associated Press, Oct. 10, 1958]
11-9-58; Humboldt County, California
Strands of 5-6 feet, one report of 40 foot strand by
airport dispatcher.
10-26/27-59; Savannah, Georgia
[Savannah Morning News; 11-4-59]
11-3-59; Centerville, Georgia
X
[Atlanta Journal; 11-5-59]
8-5-61; Mt. Hale, Australia
X
X
Visible objects traveled in pairs, as in Gaillac and
Oloron cases cited above. Substance described as "a
snowy white, fine mesh....." [Perth, Western Australia
newspaper, 8-6-611
10-14-61; Sunset, Utah
X
[Report from member]
11-11-62; Lakeland, Florida
X
"Loops and whorls" of "gossamer filaments" observed
in sky (No reports of striking ground). [Lakeland
Ledger; 11-12-62]
TOTALS: Number of cases 43
23
12
1
Of the 43 cases of angel's hair, visible unidentified objects
were reported in just over half (23). The most common descrip-
tions of the UFOs have been "cigar-shaped" or like "silvery
balls". Sudden accelerations and high speeds have been reported,
but a person seeing something at relatively close range and
thinking it is a larger object farther away could easily over-
estimate the speed. Nevertheless, the cases of cigar-shaped
UFOs (sometimes accompanied by other round objects) observed
in association with angel hair falls, are the most difficult to
explain.
Rapid dissipation of the substance was reported in 12 of 43
cases. In seven of these 12 cases, there were also visual sightings
of UFOs.
NOTES
"Electro-Magnetic Effects Associated With Unidentified Flying
Objects (UFOs)," by Washington, D. C., Subcommittee of the
National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena. June
1960.
E-M Cases, by Case Numbers:
E-1. Stringfield, Leonard H.; Inside Saucer Post. . .3-0
E-3.
E-4.
E-5.
E-6.
E-7.
E-8.
Tulsa, Okla., Tribune; 12-1-57
Lorenzen, Coral; The Great Flying Saucer Hoax.
(William-Frederick Press, N.Y. 1962), ppg. 19-22.
Report to NICAP
Miller, Max B. (1420 So. Ridgley Drive, Los Angeles,
Calif.).
Report to NICAP
Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (4145 East
Desert Place, Tucson, Arizona).
Report to NICAP
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Blue. (4412 Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio).
Time; May 9, 1949.
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E-10. Faria, J. Escobar (Rua General Mena Barreto, 527,
Sao Paulo, Brazil).
E-11. Lancaster, Pa., Intelligencer-Journal; 9-17-54.
E-12. New Orleans Item; 9-21-54.
E-13. Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight Line
Mystery. (Criterion, 1958), p. 143.
E-14. Ibid., p. 150.
E-15. Ibid., p. 157.
E-16. Ibid., p. 158.
E-17. Ibid., p. 160.
E-18. Ibid., p. 175.
E-19. Ibid., p. 185.
E-20. Ibid., p. 198.
E-21. Ibid., p. 203.
E-22. Ibid., p. 204.
E-23. CRIFO Newsletter; December 3, 1954 (Stringfield,
Leonard H. See address above).
E-24. Michel, Aime; op. cit., p. 204.
E-25. Ibid., p. 211.
E-26. North East Breeze (weekly); week of December 5, 1954.
E-27. Keyhoe, Donald E.; Flying Saucer Conspiracy. (Holt,
1955), p. 249.
E-28. Ibid., p. 265.
E-29. CSI (67 Jane Street, New York, N.Y.); Michel, Aime;
op. cit., p. 236.
E-30. Indianapolis Star; 8-27-55.
E-31. Flying Saucer Review; Sept.-Oct., 1955 (1 Doughty
Street, W.C. 1, London, England).
E-32. Report to NICAP
E-33. Fulton, H. H., New Zealand NICAP Adviser (from
Japan News).
E-34. CRIFO Orbit (formerly "Newsletter"); Sept. 7, 1956.
E-35. Trench, Brinsley le Poer; Ed.; World UFO Roundup.
(Citadel, 1958), ppg. 96-97.
E-36. Mobridge, S.D., Tribune, 11-22-56; Bowman, N.D.,
Pioneer, 11-22-56.
E-37. Report to NICAP (from Air Force Intelligence Report).
E-38. Thirouin, Marc; Ouranos. (27 Rue Etienne-Dolet,
Bondy, Seine, France).
E-39. Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO).
E-40. Report to NICAP.
E-41. Trench, Brinsley le Poer; op. cit., ppg 162-163.
E-42. Report to NICAP.
E-43. APRO Bulletin; September 1959.
E-44. Associated Press; 11-4-57.
E-45. Casper, Wyo., Tribune-Herald; 11-5-57. Also Report
to NICAP.
E-46. Charlotte, N.C., Observer; 11-4-57.
E-47. Hobbs, N.M., News-Sun; 11-5-57.
E-48. Amarillo Daily News; 11-4-57.
E-49. Associated Press; 11-3-57, etc.
E-50. Winnipeg Tribune; 11-7-57.
E-51. Faria, J. Escobar, Brazilian NICAP Adviser.
E-52. APRO Bulletin; September 1959.
E-53. Chicago Tribune; 11-5-57.
E-54. Toronto Daily Star; 11-5-57.
E-55. Clark, Terry; "The Day All Roads Led to Alamogordo,"
Writer's Digest, December 1957. Associated Press;
11-4-57, etc.
E-56. Anchorage, Alaska, Daily News; 11-4-57.
E-57. Report to NICAP
E-58. San Antonio Light; 11-6-57.
E-59. Amarillo News; 11-7-57.
E-60. Report to NICAP.
E-61. El Paso, Texas, Times; 11-7-57.
E-62. Aurora, Ill., Beacon-News; 11-7-57.
E-63. Marietta, Ohio, Times; 11-6-57.
E-64. Associated Press; 11-6-57.
E-65. Houston Chronicle; 11-6-57.
E-66. Santa Fe New Mexican; 11-6-57.
E-67. Hammond, Ind., Times; 11-7-57.
E-68. Report to NICAP.
E-69. CSI Newsletter #10 (see address above).
E-70. Michel, Aime; op. cit., p. 263.
E-71. APRO Bulletin; November 1957.
E -72. Ibid.
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E-73. Hammond, Ind., Times; 11-13-57.
E-74. Plymouth, N.H., Record; 11-14-57.
E-75. Hazelton, Pa., Plain Speaker; 11-13-57.
E-76. Chicago American, 11-15-57; St. Louis Post Dispatch,
11-15-57; etc.
E-77. Faria, J. Escobar (Sao Paulo, Brazil).
E-78. Ibid.
E-79. Ellensburg, Wash., Daily Record; 12-4-57.
E-80. Ontario Daily Nugget; 12-4-57.
E-81. Grant County, Wash., Journal; 12-10-57.
E-82. Report to NICAP.
E-83. UFO Bulletin, March 1958. (Box 1120, G.P.O., Sydney,
N.S.W., Australia).
E-84. La Prensa, 2-1-58; United Press.
E-85. Lorenzen, Coral; op. cit., ppg. 143-144.
E-86. Report to NICAP.
E-87. Faria, J. Escobar (from Italian newspapers).
E-88. Faria, J. Escobar.
E-89. Takanashi, June'Ichi; Modern Space Flight Association
(8-9-2, Sakurazuka Higashi, Toyonaka-City, Osaka, Ja-
pan).
E-90. Report to NICAP. Also Baltimore newspapers, 10-27-
58.
E-91. Greenville, Pa., Record-Argus; 1-31-59.
E-92. Flying Saucer Review; Sept.-Oct., 1959.
E-93. Associated Press; 2-26-59.
E-94. Gallipolis, Ohio, Daily Tribune; 3-20-59.
E-95. APRO Bulletin, November 1959.
E-96. Report to NICAP.
E-97. APRO Bulletin; September 1959.
E-98. Lorenzen, Coral; op. cit., ppg. 175-176.
E-99. Bolton, Whitney; Newark Evening News, 11-5-59.
E-100. Grand Forks, N.D., Herald; 1-21-60.
E-101. Report to NICAP.
E-102. Flying Saucer Review; March-April, 1962.
E-103. Ibid., Nov.-Dec., 1962.
E-104. Report to NICAP.
E-105. San Francisco Examiner; 11-8-63.
E-106. Carson City Nevada Appeal; 11-14-63.
(a) Portland Oregonian; 7-7-47.
(b) Associated Press; 7-23-52.
(c) Trench, Brinsley le Poer; op. cit., ppg. 115-116.
(d) Glendora, Calif., Press; 1-31-57.
(e) Washington Star; 5-8-57, 5-9-57.
(f) Miller, Max B. Saucers, Winter 1957/58 (see address
above).
(g) Houston Chronicle; 11-7-57.
(h) Honolulu Star-Bulletin; 11-29-57.
(i) Ann Arbor, Mich., News; 12-2-57.
(j) Buffalo, N.Y., Courier Express; 8-16-58.
(k) Portland, Me., Press-Herald; 12-8-59.
3. St. Louis Globe-Democrat; July 30, 1963
4. Missiles & Rockets; September 16, 1963
5. Space Propulsion Technology, Hearings before the Committee
on Science & Astronautics, U.S. House of Representatives,
87th Congress, 1st Session; No. 4, Committee Print, 1961
6. Ibid., p. 216.
7. Ruppelt, Edward J., Report on Unidentified Flying Objects.
(Doubleday, 1956), p. 68.
8. Keyhoe, Donald E., Flying Saucers FromOuterSpace. (Henry
Holt, 1953), p. 33. (From USAF Intelligence Report).
9. Ibid., p. 34. (From USAF Intelligence Report).
10. Ruppelt, op. cit., p. 68
11. Life, April 7, 1952. (From USAF Intelligence Report).
12. Ruppelt, op. cit., p. 103. True, August 1950.
13. Keyhoe, op. cit., p. 48. (From USAF Intelligence Report).
14. Ibid., p. 48. from USAF Intelligence Report).
15. Ruppelt, op. cit., p. 135.
16. Ibid., p. 167.
17. Ibid., p. 190.
18. Keyhoe, op. cit., p. 52. (From USAF Intelligence Report).
19. Ruppelt, op. cit., p. 201.
20. Time, August 11, 1952.
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21. International News Service, Atlanta; July 24, 1952. 63. New York Times; January ,
22. Keyhoe, op. cit., p. 97 (From USAF Intelligence Report). 64. Confidential report certified by NICAP Director andAssistant
23. Ruppelt, op. cit., p. 222. Director. Contains all tracking data (unclassified at source).
24. Keyhoe, op. cit., p. 98. (From USAF Intelligence Report). 65. Reuters; June 19, 1961. Edinburgh Evening Dispatch; June
25. Ibid., ppg. 105-106. (From USAF Intelligence Report). 19, 1961.
26. Ibid., p. 107. (From USAF Intelligence Report). 66. Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, Radars and
27. Ibid., p. 120. (From USAF Intelligence Report). Flying Saucers. 2 July 1962.
28. Ibid., p. 95; Ruppelt, op. cit., p. 247. 67. Borden, R. C. & Vickers, T. , K., Technical Development
29. Ibid., p. 96. (From USAF Intelligence Report). Report No. 180; A Preliminary Study of Unidentified Targets
30. Ibid., p. 258. (From USAF Intelligence Report). Observed On Air Traffic Control Radars. (Civil Aeronautics
31. Ibid., p. 161. (From USAF Intelligence Report). Administration Technical Development and Evaluation Cen-
32. Ruppelt, op. cit., p. 65. ter, Indianapolis, Indiana, September 1952).
33. Keyhoe, op. cit., p. 149. (From USAF Intelligence Report). 68. U. S. Air Force, Radar Storm Detection. (Washington,
34. Ibid., p. 189-191. (From USAF Intelligence Report). D.C., 6 August 1945).
35. True; May 1954. 69. Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, Report 63-434,
36. Ruppelt, op. cit., p. 295. 1963.
37. Keyhoe, op. cit., p. 257. (From USAF Intelligence Report). 70. Skolnik, Merrill J., Introduction to Radar Systems. (McGraw-
38. Ibid., p. 257. (From USAF Intelligence Report). Hill, 1962), ppg. 551-552.
1956), p. 123
40. Ruppelt, op. cit., p.
41. Keyhoe, Donald E.,
Holt, 1955), p. 79.
42. Ibid., p. 13.
43. Ibid., p. 144.
303. (Other data on file at NICAP).
Flying Saucer Conspiracy. (Henry
44. United Press; June 30, 1954.
45. Report obtained by Leonard
(See Section VII).
46. Keyhoe, op. cit., p. 25.
47. Associated Press; September 18, 1954.
48. Louisville Courier-Journal; November 13,
49. Auckland Star; December 16, 1954.
50. Associated Press, Paris; February 19, 1956.
51. United Press; July 19, 1956.
52. Altus (Okla.) Times-Democrat; September 11, 1956.
53. APRO Bulletin; November 1956.
54. CRIFO Orbit; January 4, 1957. The Clipper, Pan American
Airways; January 1957. Miami Daily News; November 8,
1956.
55. CRIFO Orbit; January 4, 1957. Pierre Daily Capitol Journal,
November 26, 1956.
56. Associated Press, United Press, London; April 6, 1957.
57. Unresolved discrepancy in dates. Flying Saucer Review
(London), Jan.-Feb., 1958 gives October 21. APROBulletin,
November 1957, gives October 29.
58. APRO Bulletin, January 1958.
59. Signed report on file at NICAP.
60. Signed report on file at NICAP.
from report.
61. Japan Times; July 28, 1958.
62. Confidential report obtained and certifiedby Calgary, Alberta,
NICAP Subcommittee.
71. Keyhoe, op. cit., p. 174.
72. Michel, op. cit., p. 44
73. Ibid., p. 58
74. Ibid., p. 76
75. Ibid., ppg. 82-83
76. Ibid., ppg. 90-92
77. Ibid., p. 97
78. Ibid., p. 131
79. Ibid., p. 130
80. Ibid., p. 133
81. Ibid., p. 143
82. Ibid., p. 145
83. Ibid., p. 154
84. Ibid., p. 158
85. Ibid., p. 177
86. Ibid., p. 181
87. Ibid., p. 184
88. Ibid., p. 198
89. Report obtained by
(See Section VII).
90. Ibid.
91. Indianapolis Star; August 27, 1955.
92. Reports on file at NICAP.
93. Lincoln Evening Journal & Nebraska State Journal; November
94.
95.
96.
8, 1957.
APRO Bulletin; September 1959.
Associated Press; February 20, 1958
Report obtained by William D. Leet, Pres., Bluegrass NICAP
Affiliate.
Reported by Dr. Askold Ladonko, Caracas, Venezuela, NICAP
Adviser.
103
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SECTION IX
THE AIR FORCE INVESTIGATION
NICAP contends that the Air Force has practiced an intoler-
able degree of secrecy and withholding of information in its
public policies on the UFO subject, and refuses to allow an
independent evaluation of its data. There are two general
schools of thought on the reasons for this secrecy:
(1) That the Air Force has obtained significant proof of UFO
reality, and is withholding its evidence until the public can be
psychologically prepared under a program guided by some
higher agency;
(2) That the withholding of information is not because of any
special knowledge on the subject, but results more or less
unconsciously from red tape, lack of continuity to the UFO
project, differences of opinion within the Air Force, etc.
In either case, the secretive public information policies are
symptomatic of the general governmental secrecy which has
mushroomed since World War II, and must be viewed in that
context. Since official secrecy has become so commonplace,
almost an accepted way of life, the topic is extremely complex.
For the sake of simplicity, this section is presented mostly in
outline form:
A. Background of Government Secrecy
B. Air Force Regulations & Policies
1. History of the UFO Project
C. Air Force Statements About Its UFO Investigation/NICAP
Rebuttals
D. Sample UFO Cases Involving Aspects of Secrecy.
A. GOVERNMENT SECRECY
It is a generally conceded fact in Washington that government
secrecy, since World War II, has grown by leaps and bounds.
Even high-ranking officers in the Pentagon, in testimony to Con-
gress, state that there is considerable over-classification of
information. Sometimes it appears tobe a case of the tail wagging
the dog.
There is no simple solution to this problem, though it should be
a matter of concern to anyone who believes in democracy. It is
worth examining the structure of this secrecy, to pinpoint some
aspects of it which have been uncovered by Congressional inves-
tigators, scholars and newsmen.
The Cold War burden plainly has put a severe strain on the
traditional American belief in freedom of information. Censors
can (and sometimes do) make a case that almost any information
released in this technological age is of value to a potential enemy.
Often information is withheld in the name of the "public interest."
But who defines the "public interest?"
Rep. John E. Moss (D.-Calif.), Chairman of the Government
Operations Subcommittee on Government Information, has long
been a champion of the public's "right to know." Hearings by
his subcommittee over the past several years have brought out
many specific instances of unwarranted secrecy, especiallybythe
Executive Branch. The subcommittee was chartered on June 9,
1955. A year later, the parent committee unanimously adopted
House Report No. 2947, which included a study of Defense Depart-
ment secrecy. The report stated:
"The study of the Defense Department so far shows that the
informational policies and practices of the Department are the
most restrictive--and at the same time the most confused--of
any major branch of the Federal Government." (2]
Two recent books indicate that there has been no appreciable
change in Defense Department information practices. Clark R.
Mollenhoff, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for Cowles Publica-
tions, in his 1963 book Washington Cover-Up, states what he be-
lieves is the crux of the problem: ". . . the arbitrary secrecy
of 'executive privilege' . . . There would be `managed news' as
long as executive departments and independent regulatory agencies
were able to invoke an arbitrary secrecy to prevent the press
and Congress from reviewing the record--and as long as news-
papers indolently accepted the management." [2]
Power In Washington, by Douglass Cater, also probes Wash-
ington "sub-governments" and their influence on government pol-
icies. According to reviewer James MacGregor Burns, Cater
considers the "military-industrial complex" (so phrased by
President Eisenhower) a sub-government. Part of it is "news
managers in the Pentagon who try to influence public opinion."
[3]
In summary, these aspects of the secrecy brought out by the
Moss subcommittee particularly concern us:
* The Defense Department, in practice, claims executive
privilege to withhold information from Congress and the public;
existing directives leave the decision in specific cases to an ar-
bitrary judgment by the Defense Department.
* Because of over-classification, the public often is not kept
properly informed.
* By existing regulations, Defense Department personnel are
forced to justify release of information and are not required to
justify withholding of it. (A natural desire on the part of indivi-
duals to avoid trouble on controversial issues by not releasing
information about them results in excessive secrecy).
A more pervasive tendency has developed among the military
services to issue reassuring statements, rather than facts;
generalized statements putting the best face on the matter (as far
as the agency is concerned), rather than useful detail. In short,
the concept of "public information" has been perverted to public
relations, which tries to put across a favorable idea or image
rather than to inform.
B. AIR FORCE REGULATIONS
& POLICIES
1. Regulations Governing the UFO Investigation
Air Force Regulation 200-2, "Intelligence; Unidentified Flying
Objects (UFOs), . . . establishes the responsibility and procedure
for reporting information and evidence on [UFOs] and for re-
leasing pertinent information to the general public."
Paragraph 3c, rather than furnishing objective guidelines, biases
the investigation by clearly implying that all UFOs are explainable
as misidentified conventional objects. (Thus the investigation
assumes its own conclusion). Contrary to the oft-repeated public
relations announcements about the investigation being "completely
objective and scientific," the regulation states what the conclusion
of the investigation must be:
"c. Reduction of Percentage of UFO 'Unknowns.' Air Force
activities must reduce the percentage of unknowns to the mini-
mum. Analysis thus far has provided explanation for all but a
few of the sightings reported. These unexplained sightings are
carried statistically as unknowns. If more immediate, detailed
objective data on the unknowns had been available, probably these
too could have been explained. . . [Due to subjective factors] it
is improbable that all of the unknowns can be eliminated."
Paragraph 9 explicitly states that, in the area of occurrence,
only explained cases may be released to the public:
105
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 "In res)kpppovei i riReteaase Q 0W4f 02e; CIAA MR1%1Rb RQQQ QQJ Q 13rOficials should
ported in the vicinity of an Air Force base, information regarding be permitted to arrogate to themselves." [4]
the commander of the Air Force base concerned only if it has been
positively identified as a familiar or known object." Follow-up
queries about unexplained cases are to be referred to the Office
of Information Services in the Pentagon (which seldom releases
detailed information on a specific case unless it has been widely
publicized).
Paragraph 11 restricts Air Force personnel from publicly dis-
cussing UFOs: ''Air Force personnel, other than those of the
Office of Information Services, will not contact private individuals
on UFO cases nor will they discuss their operations and functions
with unauthorized persons unless so directed, and then only on
a `need-to-know' basis."
JANAP 146 is a Joint Chiefs of Staff directive: "Communica-
tions Instructions for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings
[CIRVIS] From Airborne and Waterborne Sources." In addition
to military aircraft and surface vessels, the directive also applies
to civil aircraft under certain conditions.
Chapter II, Section I, paragraph 201 includes, under information
to be reported, (1) (c) "Unidentified flying objects."
Section III, "Security: 210. Military and Civilian. a. All per-
sons aware of the contents or existence of a CIRVIS report are
governed by the Communications Act of 1934 and amendments
thereto, and Espionage Laws. . . The unauthorized transmission
or revelation of the contents of CIRVIS reports in any manner is
prohibited."
The effect of this directive, relative to UFOs, is to silence
even commercial airline pilots cooperating with the intelligence
network, once they have made a UFO report through official
channels. It is, of course, also binding on all military personnel.
2. Regulations Concerning Release
of Information
There are only three classifications of military or national
defense information authorized directly by law: Top Secret,
Secret and Confidential. The types of information, and procedures
of classification, are carefully spelled out. Legitimate security
needs clearly necessitate withholding certain types of information
from the general public. Theoretically, the public interest is
protected by the limitations on the types of information which
can be classified.
In practice, military (and other) agencies have adopted other
quasi-legal means of withholding additional information from the
public for reasons of their own. "Executive privilege" and the
so-called "administrative classification" is the gray area of
secrecy, where no clear standards delimit the withholding of in-
formation. The particular agency itself becomes both judge and
jury in deciding what the public ought to know.
Any business (the U.S. Government is the world's largest
business organization) may have justifiable reasons for with-
holding certain types of information beyond those which are clearly
concerned with national defense. Personal information which if
released might unfairly damage an individual's reputation, for
example, might be considered private information. Files of
correspondence or personnel records, in most cases, could be
considered private information (unless needed for the defense of
an individual on trial or for other overriding considerations).
However, there is a great potential for abuse of a system
which, in effect, allows arbitrary withholding of government
information from the public. To the maximum possible extent,
government business should be public business. Clearly, the
system is continually abused and "administrative classifications"
are used to conceal facts which might embarrass an agency, or
which might throw a spotlight on government activities that a sig-
nificant segment of the public would oppose. The system continues
to encroach on the public's right to know what its government is
up to.
Worst of all, such pseudo-classifications as "For Official
Use Only" are rapidly being given status by default, largely
unchallenged by Members of Congress or the press. Many Air
Force regulations, for example, (using a free interpretation of
Federal Law) authorize Air Force personnel to judge what infor-
mation they may withhold "in the public interest." About
this practice Clark Mollenhoff said, "The broad right of arbitrarily
tody, Use and Preservation of DOD [Department of Defense]
Official Information Which Requires Protection in the Public
Interest."
The euphemistic phrase "in the public interest" is repeated
in paragraph 1, which explains the "Reason for Issuing Regula-
tion." Among other things, the regulation is intended to "assure
the proper. . . use of official information which in the public
interest should not be given general circulation." In spite of
outlining some apparently worthy uses of this administrative
classification, the regulation nevertheless does give blanket au-
thority to withhold information whenever someone in the Air
Force considers it to be "in the public interest." It is difficult
to imagine how the public benefits by this arrangement.
Air Force Regulation 11-7, "Administrative Practices; Air
Force Relations With Congress."
This regulation goes one step further than AFR 11-30, and
claims the authority to withhold "For Official Use Only" infor-
mation from Congress in some cases.
After stating that most "For Official Use Only" information
not given to the public is given to Congress, the regulation
continues:
"However, the considerations set forth [in AFR 11-30] which
preclude making information available to the public may raise a
question, in rare instances, as to whether the particular informa-
tion requested may be furnished to Congress, even in confidence
This, it must be emphasized, refers to information whose
release in no way endangers national security--or else it would
be legally classified "Top Secret," "Secret," or "Confidential."
This indicates the extent to which the Air Force has taken upon
itself the right to decide what the public--and even Congress--
should know.
Chronological History of the Air
Force UFO Project
[One of the most informative sources regarding the conduct
of the UFO investigation is the book Report on Unidentified
Flying Objects, (Doubleday, 1956), by Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt,
who headed the investigation from September 1951 to September
1953. Page references to this book are indicated after some of
the following entries].
Early Investigation
July 1947: The Air Force began investigating UFO reports
seriously after sightings by airline pilots, other qualified obser-
vers.
September 23, 1947: The Chief of Air Technical Intelligence
Center (ATIC) sent a letter to the Air Force Commanding General
stating the conclusion of ATIC that UFOs were real, and urging
the establishment of a permanent project to analyze future re-
ports. (p. 31)
January 22, 1948: Project "Sign" (popular name "Saucer")
established at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, to investigate UFO
reports.
September 1948: Top Secret "Estimate of the Situation",
concluding UFOs were interplanetary, sent from ATIC to Air
Force Chief of Staff, General Hoyt S. Vandenberg. (Report was
kicked back for additional proof; later declassified and burned).
(ppg. 62-63, 67)
February 11, 1949: Project name changed to "Grudge."
Because of internal disagreement about the significance of UFOs,
reports were then "evaluated on the premise that UFOs couldn't
exist." (ppg. 85-88)
April 27, 1949: Project Saucer report released: About 30% of
the sightings investigated to date were said to be explained as
conventional objects. An equal number, the report said, probably
would be explainable after further probing.
December 27, 1949: ProjectGrudge report released: Explained
away all reports to date as delusions, hysteria, hoaxes and crack-
pot reports. Announcement that project had disbanded.
Phase Two
1950-51: This period has been called the "Dark Ages" of UFO
investigation. Following the Project Grudge report, the project
was not disbanded. However, those who believed in a more positive
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investigation c 6WPi P JR(AuF t 9P1MS4e2POi1 P41N2
in 1951 when the situation was reviewed partly due to public
protests.
After reorganization of the UFO project during 1951, it be-
came an organization in its own right, at ATIC, Wright-Patterson
AFB, Ohio.
Summer 1951: Lt. Jerry Cummings
Sept. 1951-Sept. 1953: Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt
(Ruppelt's assistants at various times during this period
were Lt. Bob Olsson, Lt. Henry Metscher, Lt. Andy Flues, and
Lt. Kerry Rothstien. From May to July 1953, Lt. Olsson was
acting chief while Ruppelt was away on temporary duty. The
position devolved on A/1C Max Futch briefly in July 1953,
when Lt. Olsson was discharged).
1954-1956 (approx): Capt. Charles A. Hardin
1957-1959 (approx.): Capt. George Gregory
1959-early 1964: Lt. Col. Robert Friend
Early 1964 to date: Capt. Hector Quintanilla
PENTAGON UFO SPOKESMEN
April 1952-March 1953: Al Chop
1953-1957: Various officers including Capt. Robert White
(circa 1955), Maj. Robert F. Spence (circa 1957).
1958-March 1961: Lt. Col. Lawrence J. Tacker
April 1961-January 1962: Maj. William T. Coleman
Feb. 1962-Summer 1963: Maj. Carl R. Hart
Summer 1963 to date: Maj. Maston M. Jacks
September 15, 1951: Lt. Jerry Cummings, and a Lt. Col. from
ATIC, were called to Washington to brief a General (and a dis-
gruntled group of industrialists and scientists) about the conduct
of the investigation. Received orders to set up a new project.
(ppg. 128-130)
September 1951: Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt became chief of
the newly revitalized project.
October 27, 1951: New project officially established. (p. 154).
March 1952: Project Grudge had become a full-fledged organ-
ization, the "Aerial Phenomena Group." Soonthereafter, the code
name was changed to "Blue Book." (p. 176)
April 1952: Al Chop appointed public information officer for
UFOs.
Air Force Letter 200-5 gave Project Blue Book authority to
cut red tape, contact any Air Force unit in the U.S. without going
through channels; provided for wire transmission of reports to
ATIC, followed with details via Air Mail.
Life article "Have We Visitors From Space?", inspired by
several top officers in the Pentagon. (ppg. 177-178)
May 8, 1952: Capt. Ruppelt and a Lt. Col. from ATIC briefed
Air Force Secretary Thomas K. Finletter for one hour. (p. 185)
Mid-June 1952: Capt. Ruppelt briefed General Samford, Director
of Intelligence, others; given directive to take further steps to
obtain positive identification of UFOs. (ppg. 196-199)
Mid-July 1952: Every Air Force installation in U.S. swamped
with UFO reports. (p. 205)
August 1952: Study of UFO maneuvers initiated, to determine
whether objects displayed intelligent control. (ppg. 250-251)
November 1952: Panel of four scientists convened at ATIC to
make preliminary review of accumulated reports. Recommended
convening panel of top scientists. (p. 264)
January 12, 1953: The Air Force (reportedly with the assistance
of the Central Intelligence Agency) convened a panel of top
scientists to weigh the accumulated evidence. The panel was to
decide whether the evidence indicated UFOs were interplanetary,
whether it was all explainable, or whether the project should con-
tinue and seek better data. (p. 275). A study of UFO maneuvers
concluding the objects were interplanetary was presented to the
panel by Maj. Dewey Fournet. (p. 285)
January 17, 1953: The conclusions of the scientific panel were
not made public at the time. Since then, two conflicting versions
have been released:
c1ATRDF?IBAR0 5 QQO`e,QQO4?oo evOry phase"
of the investigation. The scientists believed this program would
"dispel any of the mystery" created by military security pro-
cedures, and also keep the investigation on a scientific basis.
The recommendations were not adopted. (ppg. 293-298)
Summary Released by Air Force, 1958
The panel concluded that UFOs constituted no "direct physical
threat to national security," there was no evidence of "foreign
artifacts capable of hostile acts," and no "need for the revision
of current scientific concepts." The panel recommended "im-
mediate steps to strip the Unidentified Flying Objects of the special
status they have been given and the aura of mystery they have
unfortunately acquired." The panel suggested "an integrated
program designed to reassure the public of the total lack of
evidence of inimical forces behind the phenomena."
Phase Three
The 1958 summary issued by the Air Force Office of Public In-
formation--five years after the fact--first released the names of
the scientists on the panel: H. P. Robertson, Luis W. Alvarez,
Lloyd V. Berkner, S. A. Goudsmit, and Thornton Page.
Exactly what transpired at the conclusion of this meeting is not
clear, though it is strongly suggested that the whole story has not
been told. If the decision of the panel had been clearly negative,
as the 1958 summary implies, there would have been no reason to
be so secretive about it. On the contrary, there would have been
every reason to make an immediate public announcement.
What is known about the affair is the public manifestation of the
UFO project following the meeting. After a period of apparent
serious interest ingathering better data (which supports Ruppelt's
version of the panel conclusions), the Air Force began debunking
UFOs. Since then the Air Force does not admit to having the
slightest shred of evidence that anything at all out of the ordinary
is taking place. Concurrently, a noticeable public relations pol-
icy has been adhered to by the Air Force through the Public In-
formation Office: A policy of public reassurance. Members of
Congress or citizens who request current information on the sub-
ject are told repeatedly that UFOs do not present any danger, or
threat to the national security.
About the same time as the panel meeting, or shortly there-
after, the Air Force (reportedly through its own RAND Corpora-
tion) had an independent study conducted. This resulted in the
Project Blue Book "Special Report No. 14. " What relationship this
had to the scientific panel meeting is not known. However, the
introduction to the Blue Book report states (p. vii): "The special
study which resulted in this report started in 1953. . . the infor-
mation cut-off date was established as of the end of 1952."
August 26, 1953: AF Regulation 200-2 issued by Secretary of
Air Force; procedures for reporting UFOs, restrictions on
public discussion.
December 1, 1953: The Air Force announced in Washington
it had set up cameras around the country equipped with diffraction
gratings to analyze the nature of light from UFOs.
January 6, 1954: Reporters seeking information on UFOs
were banned from Wright-Patterson AFB. [Cleveland Press]
February 23, 1954: Scripps-Howard papers said the Air
Force had worked out a plan with commercial airline companies
to report sightings quickly.
May 15, 1954: General Nathan F. Twining, Air Force Chief of
Staff, stated the best brains in the country were working on the
UFO problem; Air Force could not explain 10 per cent of the
sightings. [Quoted by United Press; Amarillo, Texas].
May 5, 1955: Project Blue Book "Special Report No. 14"
declassified.
October 25. 1955:
press; linked with statement that Air Force would soon have its
own saucer-shaped aircraft, the AVRO disc. (The AVRO disc
project subsequently was scrapped without producing a flying
model). Reported no evidence that UFOs "constituted a threat to
the security of the United States. . ."
1956-1957: UFOs all but faded out of the news. Queries to the
Air Force were answered by a "fact sheet" referring back to the
1955 report. A 1957 "fact sheet" stated the unexplained cases
had been reduced "from approximately 10% in 1954 to 3%, as of
now."
November 1957: When the "flap" of UFO reports began about
November 1 [See Section XII; November 1957 Chronology], "fact
sheets" were issued on the letterhead of the Department of De-
fense, Office of Public Affairs. These emphasized the percentages
Conclusions Reported by Ruppelt. 1956 of explained cases, and again the lack of evidence of "a threat
The panel recommended that the UFO project be expanded, the to the security of the country."
investigative force quadrupled in size and staffed by trained 1958-1959: "Fact sheets" were issued approximately semi-
scientists; that tracking instruments be established all over the annually reiterating the above position.
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December 4, 1959: Air Force Inspector General brief to
Operations and Training Commands: "UFOs Serious Business."
Stated that UFO investigators on base level "should be equipped
with binoculars, camera, geiger counter, magnifying glass and
have a source for containers in which to store samples."
August 15, 1960: "Air Force Information Policy Letter; For
Commanders," Vol. XIV, No. 12, issued by Office of Secretary of
Air Force. Under title "AF Keeping Watchful Eye on Aerospace,"
stated, `There is a relationship between the Air Force's interest
in space surveillance and its continuous surveillance of the
atmosphere near Earth for unidentified flying objects--'UFOs.' 11
1960-1961: Through its spokesman in the Pentagon, Lt. Col.
Lawrence J. Tacker, the Air Force began answering critics of
its UFO program publicly. Late in 1960, Col. Tacker's book
Flying Saucers and the U.S. Air Force (Van Nostrand) was pub-
lished, with a foreword by General Thomas D. White, Air Force
Chief of Staff. Col. Tacker went on a public tour to publicize
the book, appearing on radio and television, and giving lectures.
Examples--
December 5, debate with NICAP Director on Dave Garroway's
network television program.
December 18, interview on Westinghouse network radio program,
"Washington Viewpoint."
March 17, 1961, lecture of Aero Club of Buffalo, N.Y.
March 1961, article in Argosy magazine.
Col. Tacker used the strongest language to date in denouncing
critics of the UFO investigation. Their claims were "absolutely
erroneous;" "a hoax;" "sensational theories;" the work of "ama-
teur hobby groups." NICAP's evidence was "drivel," its claims
"ridiculous" and it was making "senseless accusations."
In April 1961, after being associated with the UFO project for
over three years, Col. Tacker was shipped to Europe on "routine
reassignment."
June 1961: The outspoken new policy, if that is what it was,
apparently backfired. Angered by Col. Tacker's attitude, NICAP
members and other citizens deluged Congress with requests for
an investigation of the Air Force project. Congressional hearings
were contemplated [See Section XIII] but never came about.
Instead, Air Force Congressional Liaison personnel briefed key
Congressional committees in private.
February 6, 1962:. The Air Force issued the last "fact sheet"
(No. 179-62) of the old style, then dropped that format.
1963-1964: In the past two years, packets of information--
including some details of specific cases--have been substituted
for the generalized "fact sheets." The unexplained cases for
each year are briefly described. (In the new "fact sheets",
the "unknown" category has been rendered meaningless by the
inclusion of vague and imcomplete cases. Formerly the term
"unknown" was applied to the most detailed and inexplicable
cases from the best observers. Now the distinction between
"unknowns", and cases which lack detail or apparently have
natural explanations, has been blurred.)
1947-1949: Serious investigation, conclusions UFOs real and
interplanetary..
1950-1951: These conclusions challenged on basis of lack of
proof; "explain-away" approach adopted by investigators.
1952-1953: After review of situation, new serious investigation
started; evidence uncovered led many high-ranking officers to
conclude UFOs were interplanetary.
1954 to date: Evidence again challenged as "proof," this time
by panel of scientists. Conflicting versions of whether ex-
panded investigation was recommended (and adopted) to obtain
more data. Public relations program adopted to assure public
UFOs posed no danger, or threat to national security.
CIA-RDP81 R00560R0001 00010001 -0
about its UFO investigation, general and specific. The right-
hand column contains NICAP rebuttals, comments, or other data
refuting the Air Force statements.
(Note the recurrence in these letters, and the detailed cases
following, of certain types of answers given by the Air Force.
These include counter-to fact, "shotgun," and "zig-zag" answers.
"Shotgun" refers to a fusillade of explanations given for one UFO
sighting, e.g., that it was either a balloon, an aircraft, or the planet
Venus. "Zig-zag" answers are those in which the press is given
a quick explanation for public consumption; this explanation is
later quietly changed one or more times. These techniques result
in a sort of patchwork explanation for a given case. If Venus
cannot explain one aspect of a sighting, then perhaps a balloon
or aircraft can.)
"The allegation that the Air
Force is withholding vital UFO
information has no merit what-
soever. The press release
approach is considered censor-
ship by some UFO organiza-
tions, because they do not re-
ceive individual attention from
the Air Force, they contend
that we are withholding vital
information. The Air Force
was compelled to adopt the
press release approach because
in the past when factual infor-
mation was furnished to certain
writers of UFO books, upon
their individual request, our
action was interpreted as grant-
ing approval and clearance for
the books in which the infor-
mation was used." (Maj. Gen.
W. P. Fisher, USAF, Director
of Legislative Liaison, to Sen-
ator Harry Flood Byrd,
1-20-59).
"No reports of unidentified
flying objects have been with-
held. . . As Director of this
Committee [NICAP], Major
Donald E. Keyhoe, Marine
Corps, Retired, has already
received all the information in
the hands of the United States
Air Force. . . " (Maj. Gen.
Joe W. Kelly, USAF, Director
of Legislative Liaison, to Rep.
Peter Frelinghuysen, 9-12-57).
"As stated in the material rec-
ently forwarded to you, limited
resources preclude the distri-
bution of case summaries to in-
dividuals and private organi-
zations. Summaries of findings
are published only when deemed
necessary. (Maj. Maston M.
Jacks, USAF, Public Informa-
tion Division, Office of Infor-
mation, to Charles R.
Culbertson, 8-1-63).
NICAP: These letters admit
that specific information is not
given out; only generalized
summaries. Conflicting rea-
sons given for this: "limited
resources" or alleged "mis-
use" of the material. The use
of public information is no con-
cern of the Air Force. It is
standard procedure in the De-
fense Department to stamp dis-
claimers on factual material
stating DOD is not responsible
for "factual accuracy or op-
inion" in the use of the ma-
terial.
Asked to provide data on speci-
fic cases which had not been
furnished to NICAP, General
Kelly replied: "I assure you
the Air Force never intended
to turn over 'official use only'
files to your organization."
(11-15-57) NICAP: This has
been standard practice; public
announcements that UFO infor-
mation is not classified, but
refusal to provide specific in-
formation when requested.
"The Department of the Air Photographs which the owners
Force does not 'edit' or 'splice' allege were either edited,
film submitted by private citi- spliced, or not returned to them
zens. When the Department by the Air Force [See Section
receives such a film, it does VIII; Photographs]: Aug. 15,
make the necessary studies, 1950, Great Falls, Montana.
analyses, and duplication of the Nick Mariana: Reported best
film. When this work has been frames of color movie film
completed, it has been the con- missing when returned by Air
sistent practice of the Depart- Force. July 2, 1952, nr
ment to return the film to the T r e m o n t o n , Utah. D. C.
person who submitted it." Newhouse: Reported frames
(Major Lawrence J. Tacker, of movie film showing a single
USAF, Executive Officer, Pub- UFO moving away over the hori-
lic Information Division, Office zon, missing when film returned
of Information Services, to Eli by Air Force. July 29, 1952,
C. Air Force Statements/NICAP
Rebuttals
Over the past ten years, the Air Force has had considerable
correspondence with citizens unsatisfied by the official conclusions
and attitudes about UFOs. The letters have reflected Air Force
thinking and the philosophy of their investigation at various
stages. The letters often have been more specific than the "fact
sheets," but fewer people are aware of their contents.
The leftApprovend' or Release bui ~ is
qj KLJw 111'[ 6&OR0001 k6M0' o1 -$alph Mayher:
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USAF STATEMENT'S
On December 1, 1957 at about 3 p.m.
Ralph Benn of Los Angeles, using a 3x
telephoto lens, took about six and a half
feet of Kodachrome film showing four of
x objects-resembling those in the Tre-
monton, Utah film-which made repeated
passes over the area.
Berm described the objectsas dull white
and oval shaped and said they moved
slowly west at constant speed. Other
passes -one described as "very fast" -
were observed by Benn's children.
EXTRACT FROM NICAP MEMBERSHIP BULLETIN
"There is no truth to allegations
that the Air Force withholds or
otherwise censors information
vital to public understanding or
evaluation of the nature of un-
identified flying objects (UFO).
(Lt. Col. William J. Lookadoo,
USAF, Public Information Di-
vision, Office of Information, to
Miss Miriam Brookman,
7-19-62).
"We are interested in the truth
concerning reported sightings
and are fully aware of our obli-
gation to keep the public in-
formed on such matters." (Hon.
Richard E. Horner, Assistant
Secretary of the Air Force for
Research and Development, to
Richard Tuttle, 7-3-58).
THE 1947 & 1948 DOCUMENTS
"There has never been an
Air Force conclusion that flying
saucers were real and were
interplanetary space ships. The
Alleged 1948 document in your
letter is non-existent." (Maj.
Gen. W. P. Fisher, USAF, Di-
rector of Legislative Liaison,
to Larry W. Bryant, 10-27-58).
"With regard to Mr.
Maccubbin's reference to the
1948 top secret report which
he states officially concluded
that UFOs were `real,' no such
report exists. . .There never
has been an official Air Force
report with the conclusion Mr.
Maccubin indicates." (Colonel
Carl M. Nelson, USAF, Con-
gressional Inquiry Division, Of-
fice of Legislative Liaison, to
Rep. Porter Hardy, Jr.,
3-31-60).
Reported submitting 16 mm "It is believed that the docu-
movie film to Air Force for ments you refer to are the first
analysis; film never returned. estimates of the UFO situation
Dec. 1, 1957, Los Angeles, prior to the establishment of
Calif. Ralph Benn: Reported the project. These'early docu-
several splices in his 8 mm ments did indicate that UFOs
film and two or three frames were probably real, in the sense
missing when returned by Air that they were objects and/or
Force. phenomena, but did not in any
Film Data reportedly analyzed
by USAF, but never released
to public [See Section VHI]:
Apr. 27, 1950; White Sands,
N.M., Cine-theodolite film of
UFO, also observed visually.
May 29, 1950; White Sands,
Cine-theodolite films (2) of one
or more UFOs, also observed
visually. July 14, 1951; White
Sands, Movie film (35mm) of
UFO, also seen visually,
tracked on radar. Sept. 20,
1952; North Sea, three color
photographs taken on board an
aircraft carrier. Aug. 12, 1953,
Rapid City, S.D., gun camera
film of UFO also seen visually,
tracked on radar. Aug. 31,
1953; Port Moresby, New
Guinea, movie film of UFO
taken by aviation official. May
24, 1954; nr Dayton, Ohio,
photograph of circular UFO
taken by Air Force photo-
reconnaisance plane.
"It is my belief that one of
the objectives ofyourorganiza-
tion [Air Research Group] is
the public dissemination of data
on unidentified flying objects...
this is contrary to Air Force
policy and regulations." (Capt.
Gregory H. Oldenburgh, USAF,
Information Services Officer,
Langley AFB, Va., to Larry W.
Bryant, 1-23-58).
Existence of 1948 Top Secret
document reported by Capt.
Ruppelt; described as a thick
document on legal-size paper
with a black cover. [Report on
Unidentified Flying Objects, p.
62]
Existence of 1948 document
confirmed by Dewey J. Fournet,
former Major, USAF, Pentagon
Monitor of the UFO investiga-
tion [See photostat]. Existence
of 1947 letter by ATIC stating
UFOs were real, reported by
Ruppelt [p. 85].
Dewey J. Fournet (see photo-
stat for complete statement):
11 . I would like to confirm
the existence of two USAF doc-
uments which were recently
denied by an official USAF rep-
resentative. These are: 1.
way indicate that they were
interplanetary space vehicles."
(Major William T. Coleman,
Jr., USAF, to George W. Earley,
9-7-61)
"There is no record of an
alleged Top Secret documentby
(sic) the late Mr. Ruppelt, as
suggested. It is true that an
early estimate, probably 1948,
of the UFO situation was pre-
pared by the Intelligence Di-
vision of the then Air Materiel
Command. It is not known
exactly what this estimate con-
sisted of in the way of conclu-
sions or leads thereto. It can-
not be positively stated that
such a document existed." (Col.
Carl M. Nelson, USAF, Chief,
Congressional Inquiry Division,
to Senator B. Everett Jordan,
9-20-61).
An intelligence summary on
UFOs prepared in 1948 by the
organization which later be-
came the Air Technical Intel-
ligence Center at Wright-
Patterson AFB. 2. An intel-
ligence analysis on specific as-
pects of UFO data which I
prepared in 1952 while acting
as UFO program monitor for
Headquarters USAF, Washing-
ton, D. C."
DEWEY J. FOURNET, JR. BATON ROUGE, LA.
MR. FOURNET IS A FORMER AIR FORCE MAJOR
WHO WAS AIR FORCE HEADQUARTERS MONITOR OF
THE PROJECT BLUE BOOK UFO INVESTIGATION
DURING 1952. IN THIS CAPACITY HE ACTED AS
LIAISON OFFICER BETWEEN THE DAYTON, OHIO,
PROJECT AND THE PENTAGON.
IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, MR. FOURNET WAS
INVOLVED IN ALL OF THE MAJOR UFO INVEST--
NATIONS DURING THIS PERIOD. HE SUPERVISED
THE ANALYSIS OF THE UTAH FI LMS, AND WAS
INTIMATELY FAMILIAR WITH THE HISTORY OF
UFO INVESTIGATION PRIOR TO THAT TIME.
MR. FOURNET HAS SERVED AS A MEMBER OF THEi
NICAP BOARD OF GOVERNORS SINCE 1957. HE
HAS STATED THAT THE WHOLE UFO SUBJECT
"SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED AND ANALYZED IN-
TENSIVELY" AND THAT IT "IS INDEED WORTHY
OF /5CIENTISTS17 SERIOUS ATTENTION."
ON-THE FOLLOWTNG PAGE 112 HIS COMMENTS
CONCERNING A RECENT AIR FORCE STATEMENT
ALLEGING THAT THE UTAH MOVIE FILM IMAGES
WERE IDENTIFIABLE AS SEAGULLS.
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Statement by Former Air
Force UFO Project Monitor
At the request of Major Keyhoe, I would like to confirm the existence
of two USAF documents which were recently denied by an official USAF
representative. These are:
1. An intelligence summary on UFOs prepared in 1948 by the organiza-
tion which later became the Air Technical Intelligence Center at
Wright-Patterson AFB.
2. An intelligence analysis on specific aspects of UFO data which I
prepared in 1952 while acting as UFO program monitor for Headquarters
USAF, Washington, D.C.
Since both documents were classified when I last saw them, I am not at
liberty to reveal their contents. I would also like to add a qualifica-
tion about ##2; I completed it in rough form just a few hours before my
departure from Washington (following my release from active duty) and
turned it over to one of my associates in the Directorate of Intelligence,
Therefore, I never saw it in its published form. However, since I had
prepared it - as well as other reports which I recorded on tape - at the
specific request of my Branch and Division Chiefs, I am certain that it
was published.
Another word of caution is necessary on the latter document: I prepared
it primarily as a weapon for use against the apathy and/or bias on the
subject which prevailed in certain official quarters. Although the pro-
cesses of logic employed would stand up under ordinary circumstances,
they become somewhat tenuous and difficult to defend completely when
applied to the task in question. The important point should be, there-
fore, that such a document did exist - not that it did or did not
establish anything about UFOs.
There is also a question about the report prepared by the panel of
civilian scientists convened in January 1953 to examine the UFO data.
I met with this panel during part of its deliberations; this was during
the week when I was being processed off active duty. Since I had departed
by the time the panel adjourned, I did not see any report which it may
have prepared. However, since it was convened for the specific purpose
of reviewing all available data and making recommendations on the UFO
program, it must necessarily have left some sort of report, undoubtBIly
written. (I have since been informed that it did, although let me repeat
that I never saw it.)
Dewey J. Fournet, Jr.
Baton Rouge, La.
May 4, 1958
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 USAF STATEME proved Fd1 R61& se 2001/04/02 CIA-P,,
PB'POQg fl 0n P. n n
BLUE BOOK: NICAP: Air Force logic ap- e: i 8, 1 s n ~A JaQQ l Qescription
"SCIENTIFIC & OBJECTIVE" pears to be that, if something Capt. Raymond Ryan, American of his sighting, Capt. Ryan
"Some cases arise which, on is observed which out-performs Airlines pilot; "The Air Force states that the UFO zoomed
the basis of information re- conventional aircraft and bal- concluded that the object viewed through a 90 degree are from
ceived, are of a weird and pe- loons, it must not be a real during this sighting was the off his wingtip to dead ahead.
culiar nature. The objects solid object. The "objective" planet Venus." (Air Force Control tower operators re-
display erratic movements and Air Force investigation denies "fact sheet", 1963). ported seeing a silhouette of a
phenomenal speeds. Since the possibility that UFOs could UFO. [See transcript, Section
maneuvers and speeds of this maneuver as reported, in effect V]
kind cannot be traced directly concluding that all witnesses
to aircraft, balloons, or known have been deluded. The hypo-
astronomical sources, it is be- thesis that UFOs represent a
lieved that they are reflections superior technology--and may
from objects rather than being be space ships--is not even
objects themselves... Reflec- considered. The "investiga-
tions may be projected to clouds tion" therefore consists of
and haze both from the ground searching for the conventional
and air. Many things which phenomenon--or phenomena--
are common to the sky have most nearly resembling the re-
highly reflective qualities, such ported UFO. If none is found,
as balloons, aircraft, and complex speculative "light re-
clouds." ("Fact sheet," No- flection" theories are invoked.
vember 1957).
11. ..the Air Force does not
proceed with an investigation
unless the sighting is reported
directly to the Air Force."
(Col. George M. Lockhart,
USAF, Congressional Inquiry
Division, Office of Legislative
Liaison, to Senator Harrison
A. Williams, Jr., 2-21-63)
NICAP: A scientific investi-
gation of any phenomenon would
set out to gather objective and
quantitative data about that
phenomenon. It would not ig-
nore potentially valuable data
merely because it was not re-
ported through official chan-
nels.
"Four frames from the films
taken by Mr. Diaz in Vene-
zuela [Dec. 1962--See Section
VIII] were forwarded to the
Air Force for evaluation. How-
ever, the negatives of these
frames were not submitted and
therefore, without them, it has
been impossible to make any in-
vestigation." (Maj. Maston M.
Jacks, USAF, Public Informa-
tion Division, Office of Infor-
mation, to Richard Hack, 12-
31-63).
"The images on the photographs
which were made by the U.S.
Coast Guard on 16 July 1952
at Salem, Mass., were evaluated
as being due to a double ex-
posure." (Maj. Carl R. Hart,
USAF, Public Information Di-
vision, Office of Information,
to George D. Fawcett, 2-12-63).
"The Long Beach sighting of
November 5, 1957 [See Section
XII; Nov. 1957 Chronology] has
been evaluated as possible re-
flections on sheet-ice, from
either the sun or from light-
ning. Also there was a balloon
in the area, and there were 10
aircraft in the vicinity. . . "
(Maj. Maston M. Jacks, USAF,
Public Information Division,
Office of Information, to
Herbert S. Taylor, 11-18-63)
NICAP: There is no such
thing as negatives of movie
film. Upon learning of this
statement, NICAP had its ad-
viser in Caracas, Dr. Askold
Ladonko, contact Mr. Diaz
again. The film was loaned to
the Air Force attache withper-
mission to make copies or stills
if desired, and was returned
intact with no frames missing.
Apparently the attache did not
have a copy of the film made;
just four stills.
"The unidentified flying objects
in the photographs taken at
Salem, Mass., on July 16, 1952
have been evaluated as light
reflections on the window
through which the photos were
taken." (Maj. MastonM. Jacks,
USAF, Public Information Di-
vision, Office of Information, to
John P. Speights, 8-5-63).
NICAP: A good example of
"shotgun" explanation for a
sighting which is difficulttoex-
plain in conventional terms; in
this case, six shiny circular
objects making sharp turns and
maneuvers. It is obvious guess-
work, hardly a "scientific" e-
valuation. This is one of many
similar cases during the No-
vember 1957 "flap" which the
Air Force lists as "explained."
"The objects which appeared
in the film taken at Great Falls,
Montana on 15 August 1950 were
identified as F-94 aircraft."
(Maj. Carl R. Hart, USAF,
Public Information Division,
Office of Information, to George
D. Fawcett, 2-12-63).
"The Air Technical Intelligence
Center reports concerning the
Washington Airport Control
Center sighting of July 1952
state there were radar blips ob-
served and that they were
caused by a temperature inver-
sion." (Maj. Gen. W. P. Fisher,
USAF, Director of Legislative
Liaison, to Senator Kenneth B.
Keating, 6-19-59).
"...the Air Force feels that
public hearings would merely
give dignity to the subject out of
all proportion to which it is
entitled. The sensation seekers
and the publishers of science
fiction would profit most from
such hearings, and in the long
run we would not accomplish
our objective of taking the aura
of mystery out of UFOs." (Maj.
Gen. W. P. Fisher, USAF, Di-
rector of Legislative Liaison, to
Senator A.S. Mike" Monroney,
6-4-59).
"The Air Force has a tremen-
dous task in defending this coun-
try against weapon systems
which we know exist. To divert
more men and money from this
mission into a greatly enlarged
program for investigation of and
defense against UFOs would
jeopardize the security of this
country against a known threat
and would, in our opinion, be
grossly imprudent." (Col. Carl
M. Nelson, USAF, Con-
gressional Inquiry Division, Of-
fice of Legislative Liaison, to
Senator Philip A. Hart, 4-8-60).
The F-94 aircraft were
observed by the photographer
behind him coming in for a
landing. Photogrammetric ana-
lysis [See Section VIII] states
there are "several factors
which make such a hypothesis
quite strained." Persistence
of reflection from alleged air-
craft "would require a very
rare coincidence of airplane
maneuver."
NICAP: Gen. Fisher failed to
mention that visual observa-
tions often coincided with the
unexplained radar blips; that
the degree of inversion was
insufficient to account for the
sightings; and that Project Blue
Book classified the sightings as
"unknown," contrary to public
announcements at the time. [Re-
port on Unidentified Flying Ob-
jects, Ruppelt, p. 226; also see
Section XII]
NICAP: Nothing would remove
the "aura of mystery" about
UFOs more rapidly than Con-
gressional hearings. Presum-
ably, the Air Force believes
hearings would prove its case.
If so, the alleged "myth" of
UFOs would be punctured. Sen-
sationalists and opportunists
thrive only because of public
confusion about UFOs. Hearings
could help to establish the facts
and clarify the entire picture.
Continued refusal to give out
detailed information en-
courages an "aura of mystery."
NICAP: These letters pinpoint
the real issue between the Air
Force and its scientific critics.
No one denies that the Air Force
mission is to defend the country
against attack, and that this is
an important mission. The
thinking is clear: UFOs are
evaluated in the light of being a
potential threat to the country.
If preliminary investigation
satisfies the Air Force the
country is not under attack, "an
understandably lower priority
is placed on the further ev-
aluation of the sighting." But
what about scientific investiga-
tion of the reported objects
thereafter? The Air Force
should not be expected to carry
through a job for which it is
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is intimately associated with
the air defense role of the United
States. As such, the first
thing to be determined is the
threat potential of an unidenti-
fied flying object. When this
determination has been made
(none of the over 7,000 sight-
ings have proven inimical or
hostile) an understandably
lower priority is placed on the
further evaluation of the sight-
ing. I'm sure you will agree
that the security of the nation
is and must be our primary
concern." (G. Wise, for Maj.
William T. Coleman, Jr., USAF,
UFO Project Officer, Public In-
formation Division, to Fred
Kempf, 8-17-61).
gation of a phenomenon. Yet,
as the agency officially charged
with investigation of UFOs, the
Air Force is under pressure to
do just that. Intelligence tech-
niques are not sufficient for
scientific investigation. The
full resources of the scientific
community, including tracking
instrumentation specifically for
that purpose, would be required.
Once satisfied that a given UFO
poses no threat, the Air Force
investigators apparently search
for the most plausible conven-
tional explanation. When none
can be found, the "shotgun"
approach is used. Clearly, this
is not a scientific investigation.
D. Sample UFO Cases Involving
Aspects of Secrecy
Red Bluff, California
The sighting of a UFO Aug. 13, 1960, by California Highway
Patrolmen [Section VII] described a highly maneuverable, ellip-
tical object. Toward the end of the observation, a second similar
object was observed.
In a letter to a NICAP member, the Air Force stated: "The
findings [are] that the individuals concerned witnessed a refraction
of the planet Mars and the two bright stars Aldebaran and Betel-
geux. . . [temperature inversions] contributed to the phenomena
as the planet Mars was quite low in the skies and the inversion
caused it to be projected upwards." (9-16-60).
In a letter to NICAP, the Air Force stated: "It is an impos-
sible task to determine what the exact light source was for each
specific incident, but the planet Mars and the star Capella were
the most probable answers for these sightings." (10-6-60).
The change of identification occurred about the time NICAP re-
ported, in a special bulletin for October, 1960, that the first
three named astronomical objects all were below the horizon at
the time of the sighting. As it happens, the star Capella is the
only one named which was above the horizon at the time of the
sighting.
NICAP recently telephoned the office of a California Senator
and confirmed that the state is on Daylight Saving Time (P.D.T.)
from April 26 to October 25. The sighting began at 11:50 p.m.
(P.D.T.), Aug. 13. At that time, the planet Mars was about one
hour (i.e., about 15 degrees) below the eastern horizon. It is
completely absurd to suppose that it could in any way account for
the sighting. Aldebaran did not rise until about 1 a.m., Betelgeux
about 3 a.m.
As for Capella, which was barely above the horizon when the
sighting began, no star, by the wildest .stretch of imagination,
could give the appearance of a large ellipse a few hundred feet
off the ground, nor could it maneuver as described by the police
officers. [See Section VII] Also, the objects disappeared below
the eastern horizon at the end of the sighting, whereas Capella
would have risen about 35 degrees in that period. The Air Force
explanation of this case is one of the most strained and counter-
to-fact on record.
UTAH FILM
In 1963, the Air Force circulated an information sheet labelled
"Ode D 'Classic' -- Seagulls" (See photostat) suggesting that
there was a "strong possibility" that the UFOs filmed by Delbert
C. Newhouse on July 2, 1952, were seagulls. By the end of the
statement, after baldly assuming that actual seagulls "undoubted-
ly" showed up in some of the frames, the conclusion was stated
more positively: There is "little reasonable doubt" that the
UFOs actually were seagulls The author refers to the "unani-
As a matter of fact, there is virtually no support for this iden-
tification. Mr. Newhouse, a Navy chief photographer (aviation),
viewed the UFOs at relatively close range at first. They were
shiny, perfectly disc-shaped objects. By the time he was able
to unpack his camera, the objects had receded into the distance,
but he was still able to capture them on film.
When the new Air Force information sheet was issued, NICAP
forwarded a copy to Board Member Dewey J. Fournet, Jr. Mr.
Fournet is a former Air Force Major who monitored the UFO
program for the Pentagon. While on active duty with the Air Force,
he handled the Utah movie film, helped arrange for its analysis,
was conversant with the analyses conducted and their results.
The following are excerpts from his reply to NICAP:
"This [document] was apparently written by someone only very
superficially acquainted with the Tremonton movie case -- some-
one who obviously didn't bother to study the case history in any
detail, or by someone who is purposely distorting the facts of the
case. . . .
"There were two different analyses made of the movies shortly
after I received them in 1952, both 13y the most qualified military
photoanalytical labs then in existence. One was by the Wright-
Patterson AFB photo lab and the other by the Navy photo lab at
Anacostia. . . . The W-P lab concluded that the objects were
not airplanes or balloons and probably not birds. The Navy
lab concluded that they were not any of these. In neither case
was there anything even remotely hinting that birds of any type
had been identified in any frames of the movie. . . .
"The `unanimity of opinion' to which the author of "Ode D"
refers must certainly be a recent development. There most
certainly was no such unanimity among the original parties in this
case that the objects were probably seagulls. Quite to the con-
trary, the majority concluded that they were probably not birds,
although some of us conceded this possibility if certain corol-
lary assumptions were made: [That the witness was lying or
unreliable; that despite his photographic experience, the witness
panned his camera opposite to the direction the lone object was
flying.]
"The 'Ode D' author apparently is unaware of or intentionally
omitted reference to Newhouse's statement. . . he described [the
UFOs] as 'two pie pans, one inverted on top of the other.' . . . .
"Overall, whether the USAF author realized it or not, it would
be necessary to conclude that Newhouse was lying in many of his
statements in order to conclude that the Tremonton objects were
birds. If I recall correctly, the unanimous opinion of the intelli-
gence officers was that he was completely sincere and somewhat
reserved. I have never heard anyone claim anything to the con-
trary. . . ."
ODE D"CLASSIC" - SEAGULLS
(FROM COLOMD MOTION PICTUBs FILM)
THEMONTON, UTAH INCIDENT
2 July 1952
At approximately 1110 on 2 July 1952 while driving in the vicinity
of Tremonton, Utah, Chief Petty Officer Delbert C. Newhouse's wife noticed
a group of objects in the sky that she could not identify. She asked him
to stop the car and look. There was a group of about ten or twelve objects
that bore no relation to anything he had ssen before milling about in a
rough formation and proceeding in a westerly direction. He opened the luggage
compartment of his car and got his camera out of a suitcase. Loading it
hurriedly, he exposed approximately thirty feet of film. There was no
reference point in the sky, and it was impossible for him to make any estimate
of speed, size, altitude or distance. Toward the end one of tie objects
reversed course and proceeded away from the main group. He held the camera
still and allowed this single one to cross the field of view, picking it up
again and repeating for three or four such passes. By this time all of the
objects had disappeared. He stated that he expended the balance of the film
late that afternoon on a mountain somewhere in Idaho.
The original film was analyzed by a photo reconnaissance laboratory
shortly after the sighting. The conclusion reached was that a strong
possibility existed that the bright spots of light appearing on the film
were caused by seagulls soaring in thermal air currents. The credibility
of the conclusion was undoubtedly supported by the presence of identifiable
seagulls in some of the frames.
This conclusion was further strengthened by movies of seagulls, taken
at various distances, which showed them as bright spots of light similar to those
in the Newhouse film.
A recent analysis (1956) of the Newhouse film, made by USAF photo
specialists totally unaware of the nature or previous history of this case,
yielded the opinion that the bright spots of light on the film were bird
reflections on the strong sunlight.
The unanimity of opinion present in all evaluations made in this case
leaves little reasonable doubt that the UFO's in the Newhouse films were, indeed,
seagulls.
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The Sheffield Lake Case
Early on the morning of Sept. 21, 1958, a domed, disc-shaped
UFO was observed a few feet above the ground outside a house in
Sheffield Lake, Ohio. The main witness was Mrs. William
Fitzgerald. Other residents in the area reported UFO sightings
that morning. After a superficial investigation, the Air Force
reported a completely counter-to-fact explanation (alsoincorpor-
ating the "shotgun" approach): Mrs. Fitzgerald had been fooled
by a train headlight, plus a spotlight on a Coast Guard ship on
Lake Erie. After a careful investigation, the Akron UFO Research
Committee published a documented report, "The Fitzgerald
Report" (P.O. Box 5242, Akron 13, Ohio), refuting the Air Force
statements.
"The investigation revealed that a railroad track ran near the
home of Mrs. Fitzgerald. The night of Mrs. Fitzgerald's sighting,
a train passed the house at approximately the same hour of the
reported sighting. The train had a rotating headlight which,
under some conditions, would produce unusual effects. Contact
was also made with Chief Bosun's Mate William Schott of the
Coast Guard Station, Lorain, Ohio. Chief Schott reported that he
was using his spotlight in an attempt to attract the attention of
another ship, and that the light was directed toward the shore
in the general direction of Mrs. Fitzgerald's house. . .The weather
at the time of the incident was a misty rain with haze and smoke.
"The conclusion of the Air Force investigators was that the
combination of moving lights, noise of the train and prevailing
weather account for the illusion experienced by Mrs. Fitzgerald.
The Air Technical Intelligence Center, after evaluating the evi-
dence in this case, concurred with the conclusion of the investi-
gators." (Maj. Gen. W. P. Fisher, USAF, Director, Legislative
Liaison, to Rep. A. D. Baumhart, Jr., 10-31-58).
The Air Force logic is apparent: UFOs are not real objects
and can all be explained in terms of honest but deluded witnesses.
Mrs. Fitzgerald only thought she saw a distinct disc-shaped
domed object. She must have been fooled by some local light.
A bright train headlight, or Coast Guard spotlight shining through
mist and haze could be the cause.
Checking each point of the Air Force statements, the Akron
group found many errors and omissions. Gen. Fisher had also
told Congressman Baumhart that one of the confirmatory witnesses
listed by Mrs. Fitzgerald had stated she had not seen anything
unusual that night. Later, the witness signed a statement, repro-
duced in the Akron report, that she had confirmed the sighting
to Air Force investigators: A round object with a "hump" or
dome. The investigators, she stated, then decided not to have her
fill out a report form.
* The railroad track is situated so that no train headlights
ever shine into the window of Mrs. Fitzgerald's house. Although
urged to do so by the Akron group, the Air Force investigators
made no attempt to check this.
* At the time of the UFO sighting, Chief Schott's ship was about
5-1/2 miles from Mrs. Fitzgerald's house. Lake Erie is not even
visible from her house, being obscured by trees and other houses.
Through Ohio Congressmen, the Air Force was asked to explain
these discrepancies. Various spokesmen for the Air Force
reiterated their confidence in the "competence" of their inves-
tigators and that their findings were "accurate and adequate."
Maj. Lawrence J. Tacker, Pentagon UFO spokesman, in a letter
to the Akron group, labelled their report ". . . the erroneous
charges [of] amateur organizations." He added, "Further, we are
not interested in your theories or science fiction approach to this
subject." (1-14-59).
When pressed by Congressman Baumhart for "a more complete
report" on the incident, the Air Force was totally unresponsive.
The Congressman was sent a form reply defending the Air Force
position against the "mistaken beliefs" of UFO groups which
make "sensational claims and contentions." The same form letter
has been sent to Members of Congress repeatedly.
Redmond, Oregon
When a UFO sighting by Federal Aviation Agency (FAA)
personnel on Sept. 24, 1959, at Redmond, Ore., airport [See
Section V] was reported in the press, NICAP made a thorough
investigation. Information was obtained from the FAA, the Weather
Bureau and the IGY World Data Center at Cornell University.
A taped interview of the witnesses was obtained by members in
the area. The essence of the report was that a round object had
descended and hovered, moved quickly to anew position, then shot
up into clouds emitting a flame trail as jet interceptors approached.
The jets were scrambled because, according to FAA logs, an
Air Force radar station was also tracking a UFO at the time.
When queried about the official explanation for this sighting, the
Air Force replied: "The Portland Oregon UFO sighting of 24
September 1959 is carried on the records of ATIC as 'insufficient
information.' The ATIC account of the sighting fails to reveal
any evidence of radar tracking or any success of the attempted
intercept. It is the ATIC opinion that this object was probably a
balloon as evidenced by its relatively long period in the area
(more than an hour), and the fact that, unless equipped with
reflectors, balloons are not good radar reflectors. The average
direction and strength of the wind at the time of the sighting was
south at 15 knots [NICAP: The UFO reportedly moved south,
where it showed on radar after the visual sighting had ended]."
(Maj. Lawrence J. Tacker, USAF, Public Information Division
Office of Information, 1-19-60).
NICAP obtained wind data from theU.S. Weather Bureau showing
steady winds from the southeast throughout the morning, from
3-7 knots, until nearly five hours after the sighting. No balloon
had been launched locally at the time of the sighting, and even if
one had been, it almost certainly would have travelled on a
northerly course. Later, the Air Force dropped the balloon ex-
planation.
After NICAP publicity on the case drew Congressional attention,
the Air. Force issued a much more detailed account (admitting
that six jet interceptors had been scrambled, but denying that
radar had tracked a UFO). Air Force letters to Members of Con-
gress attributed the radar sighting to an error on the part of
their Ground Control intercept radar station. "It was determined
by the four senior controllers on duty during the period of the
search that this radar return on the ground station scope was a
radar echo from a gap filler antenna located on a mountain at the
8010-foot level. This radar return did not move during the entire
period of the search. [NICAP: The FAA logs state, "Altitude
has been measured on height finder at altitudes that vary from 6000
to 54,000 feet."] . . . The fact that this radar return did not
move is in complete disagreement with ground observers who
sighted the UFO visually. They all testified it maneuvered rapidly
and at times hovered." (Col. Gordon B. Knight, Chief, Con-
gressional Inquiry Division, Office of Legislative Liaison, to
Senator Warren G. Magnuson, 4-27-60.)
On March 25, 1960, the Pentagon UFO spokesman had written
to NICAP that ". . . because of the information contained in the
FAA logs, your correspondence and the copies of the logs have
been forwarded to ATIC for possible additional consideration. . .
Based upon all the present data on this sighting, the finding of
insufficient data' is definitely valid." As of Col. Knight's
April 27, 1960, letter to Senator Magnuson, the case still was
classified as "insufficient data."
An Air Force information sheet circulated in 1963 attributes the
UFO to "the refraction of light from the planet Venus." (The
sheet also accuses NICAP of "exploitation" of the FAA logs which
contradicted the Air Force story). NICAP astronomy advisors
had already checked this possibility, andknew Venus was prominent
in the eastern sky that morning. The witnesses were queried
on this specific point and stated they did not see Venus during the
UFO sighting, but did see it and identify it afterwards.
NICAP concedes that, if the radar target was perfectly stationary
throughout, it was not the UFO observed visually. When trying to
establish the balloon explanation, the Air Force emphasized the
long period of observation (The FAA log indicates the visual
sighting lasted about 10 minutes.) When dissociating the radar
sighting from the visual sighting, the Air Force emphasized the
high maneuverability of the UFO. Finally, the UFO which "ma-
neuvered rapidly and at times hovered" has been explained as
the planet Venus.
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 Approved For Release 2001/04/07
Redmond Oregon.
Jan. 15, 1960
The following in the original records on file at this facility
and is All the information contained in this record concerning
UFO sighted September 24, 1959. Taken from log of this date.
12592
Robert Dickerson Redmond city polio. reported strange bright
light descending rapidly north of the station. At several
hundred feet it stopped and hovered for several minutes. He
drove toward it on the Prineville highway and turned in toward
the airport. At this time the light turned orange and it moved
to the northeast of the station very rapidly. Relocated
approximately 10 miles northeast of the station estimated 3000
feet.
13108
Reported object to Seattle Air Route Control Center. he continued
to observe UFO. Stayed very steady and projected long tongues
of red, yellow and green light. Theme tongues of light varied
in length and extended and retracted at irregular times.
Observed high speed aircraft approaching from southeast. As
aircraft approached UFO took shape of mushroom, observed long
yellow and red flame from lower side as UFO rose rapidly and
disappeared above clouds estimated 14,000 feet, scattered layer.
UFC reappeared south of Redmond approximately 20 miles estimated
25,000 feet. Seattle Air Route Control Center advised radar
contacted UFO at 142OZ located 25 miles south of Redmond at
52,000 feet. No further sightings made at this station.
15112
Battle Air Route Control Center advised UFO still 25 miles south
of Redmond, various altitudes from 6,000 to 52,000 feet.
L.E. Davis
Chief, i:edmond Air Traffic
Communication Station.
OLDEN MOORE
At the height of the November, 1957, "flap," [See Section XII],
a resident of rural Montville, Ohio, had a close-range sighting of
a UFO. The report quickly spread to newspaper reporters, area
Civil Defense officials and others. The witness, Olden Moore,
stated that not only was he interrogated by representatives of the
Federal Government, but also he was taken to Washington, D.C.,
and questioned repeatedly over a three-day period. At the con-
clusion, he was sworn to secrecy.
After more than three years' observance of this, he decided
the need for revealing his story superceded the need for secrecy,
so he told his story to newspaper reporter Don Berliner, then
of the Painesville (Ohio) Telegraph, on Jan. 21, 1961.
Moore stated that, within two weeks of the sighting, he was taken
to Youngstown (Ohio) AFB by car, then to Wright-Patterson
AFB by heliconter, and from there to an air base within 20-30
minutes drive of Washington, D.C. (probably Andrews AFB) in
a small Air Force transport plane. At all times he was ac-
companied by two government representatives.
During his stay in Washington, he was quartered in a hotel-
like room with one of the government men, who impressed Moore
as being there for the purpose of keeping an eye on him. Ques-
tioning and interviewing took place in the basement of. the building
in which he stayed. (The U.S. Court House fits the description.
Upstairs are hotel-like jury rooms; in the basement are many
offices, including those of U.S. Marshals.) The only time he was
permitted to leave the building prior to departure was for a
brief guided tour of some historic and scenic areas (which proved
highly impressive to one who had never before seen the Nation's
Capital.)
The interrogation, according to Moore, was not so much a
question-and-answer session, as a corroboration by him of details
of his experience, i.e. "was the thing you saw a such-and-such?"
His answer, in almost every instance, was affirmative. This led
him to conclude that his questioners were less interested in
learning what he had seen than in finding out how much he had
detected. He said he got the definite impression that those
asking the questions were quite familiar with what he had seen.
At the end of the third day of questions, Moore was required
to sign a statement promising never to tell of his trip to Washing-
? iW()oIQQQ1a9QPnl ,'Ad others else-
C'l'- n t`P, i?I t DA
where. His wife said he was taken to Washington, but Moore did
not confirm this at the time.
Don Berliner, who interviewed Moore in 1961, was highly
impressed by his sincerity, lack of sensationalism, and his aware-
ness of the seriousness of revealing information he had promised
to keep secret. This material was not published by Mr. Berliner
at the time because of its sensitive nature. However, Mr. Moore
did offer to tell his story to any Committee or Subcommittee
of Congress which might be interested.
Allegedly, the Air Force (government spokesmen on this subject)
has withheld nothing from the public. The implication of Moore's
story is that considerable information has been withheld. A
Congressional inquiry into this matter would appear to be fully
justified.
The 1956 sighting of a huge disc by the crew of a Navy transport
over the Atlantic [See Section IV] was followed by the personal
visit to the aircraft commander by a government scientist.
The man took a set of photographs out of a briefcase and showed
them to the pilot, asking him to point out the object he saw. The
Commander quickly identified one of the pictures as the machine
he had seen, whereupon the unnamed scientist put the picture back,
refused to comment further, and departed. [Report obtained
by R. Adm. D. S. Fahrney, USN, Ret.].
The obvious implication of this incident is that someone in
the government has considerably more information about UFOs
than has been released by the Air Force. It tends to substantiate
Olden Moore's report.
The Sheneman Case
On Aug. 1, 1955, W. M. Sheneman, proprietor of a radio and TV
store, arrived at his home near Willoughby, Ohio, (20 miles east of
Cleveland). As he got out of his car, he saw a large circular
object, with a red light on the front rim, descend rapidly over a
nearby field. It stopped at an estimated 800 feet altitude and shot
two beams of light toward the ground. As the glow illuminated
the ground, Mr. Sheneman saw several "windows" around the edge
of the hovering disc. He fled into the house, but returned after
a minute with his wife for another look. The craft had become dark
and was hovering about 200 feet above the house; from this vantage
point, he estimated its diameter at 80-100 feet. It then began
to move away, revealing a dome on top lit by a white glow from
within. Mrs. Sheneman reported hearing a soft humming sound.
Following report of the incident to the Air Force in 1956, the
Sheneman's were visited by a major from ATIC, who told them
they had seen a test of a Canadian Avro vertical-lift device de-
veloped for the U.S. Air Force. To back up his claim, the officer
displayed a glossy print purportedly showing the craft in flight.
This was, in fact, an artist's conception of what the Avro disc
might look like, as the first example was not completed until
1959. The major tried for three hours to convince Mr. and Mrs.
Sheneman that they had seen the Avro and to sign a statement to
that effect, but they refused.
While definitely resembling the public idea of a "flying
saucer," the 18-foot Avro VZ-9V failed to achieve its design
performance of vertical take off and high-speed flight. Wind-
tunnel and free-flight tests demonstrated that it would not fly
out of ground effect, and was therefore limited to an altitude of
several inches and top speed of about 35 mph. [5]
The Kinross Case
On the night of November 23, 1953, an unidentified flying object
was detected over Lake Superior by Air Defense Command radar.
An F-89C all-weather interceptor was scrambled from Kinross
AFB, near the Soo Locks in northern Michigan. Guided by radar,
the jet sped northwest across the lake on an intercept course.
On the radar screen, ground controllers saw the F-89 close in
on the UFO blip, and then the two blips merged and faded from
the screen. From all appearances, the aircraft and the UFO had
collided. No trace of the jet has ever been found.
The last radar contact with the F-89 showed it to be at 8000
feet, 70 miles off Keeweenaw Point, and about 160 miles north-
west of Soo Locks. Later, the Air Force reported that the
"UFO" was identified by the F-89 as a Royal Canadian Air
Force C-47. After identifying the friendly plane, the Air Force
states, the F-89 turned back to base. From that time, "nothing of
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from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Sudbury, Ontario, Canada." [Air
Force letter to NICAP member, 4-2-63].
The original report released by the Air Force PIO at Truax
AFB, Wise., stated that contact was lost with the F-89 when it
appeared to merge with the UFO. There is no mention of
tracking the jet after that.
In 1961, a NICAP member wrote to the RCAF concerning the
Kinross incident to verify the C-47 identification. The reply
stated:
"Thank you for your letter of April 4 requesting information
regarding an 'Unidentified Flying Object' on November 23, 1953.
"A check of Royal Canadian Air Force records has revealed
no report of an incident involving an RCAF aircraft in the Lake
Superior area on the above date." (Flight Lt. C. F. Page, for
Chief of the Air Staff, RCAF, to Jon Mikulich, 4-14-61).
Later, another NICAP member wrote to the RCAF and re-
ceived an even more specific denial that any Canadian aircraft
was intercepted by a U.S. jet. The spokesman added: ". . . as
you stated the C-47 was travelling on a flight plan taking it over
Canadian territory; this alone would seem to make such an inter-
cept unlikely." (See photostat).
There are two interpretations of what happened over Lake
Superior that night: (1) Air Force radar tracked a UFO, the
F-89 closed in to investigate, collided with or was in some manner
,
ips merg
e
radar, the fact that radar contact was lostafter
and the fact that no trace of the fully-equipped all-weather
aircraft has been found.); or (2) Air Force radar tracked a tem-
porarily unidentified RCAF plane, the F-89 intercepted it, made
the identification and then crashed for unknown reasons.
The latter explanation does not account for what was observed
on radar; it assumes that expert radar men cannot read radar
scopes. The RCAF has no record of such an incident, although
a flight plan allegedly was filed. If there was such a flight, it
would have been entirely over Canadian territory. Because
of international identification networks between Canada and the
U.S., its flight plan would have been known to the radar stations
and there would have been no need for the intercept mission to
begin with. The F-89 was originally reported to be chasing an
"unidentified object."
The Air Force information sheet on this case states: "It is
presumed by the officials at Norton AFB [Flying Safety Division]
that the pilot probably suffered from vertigo and crashed into
the lake." Judging by weather reports at the time, the pilot
would have been on instruments, so that vertigo (dizziness re-
sulting from visual observation) would be an extremely unlikely
explanation. Even if the F-89 was not on instruments at the
time, there is no explanation why radar tracked it 160 miles out
over the lake and then lost contact just after the blips appeared to
merge.
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 Approv d For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP881 ROO56OROOO1OOO1OOO1-0
The Killian Case ra ord, a., given as a geographical reference point for
FEBRUARY 24, 1959
AMERICAN & UNITED AIRLINES
'.Yc Dotted lines are flight paths of Capt. Peter Killian (top), Capt. A.D.
Yates (bottom).
31E Arrows show lines of sight.
SYc Shaded area is hypothetical path of UFOs.
1. 8:20 p.m. First sighting by Capt. Killian.
2. 8:40 p.m. First sighting by Capt. Yates.
3. 8:55 p.m. Simultaneous sighting by Capt. Killian, two other American
Airlines planes.
4. Abt. 9:00 p.m. Point where UFOs crossed in front of Capt. Yates,
headed northwest.
5. 9:15 p.m. Ground observers sighted three UFOs headed west.
Capt. Peter Killian, American Airlines pilot, was one of several
pilots who reported observing three UFOs above Pennsylvania,
Feb. 24, 1959. [See Section V]. While travelling westward across
the state, Capt. Killian and the other pilots saw the UFOs flying
a parallel course to the south. The Air Force later stated that
the pilots had seen Air Force bombers refueling from a tanker
aircraft.
Reconstructing the sighting (see map), it is possible to trace
a hypothetical, but very consistent, picture of the UFOs' flight
path. Around 8:20 to 8:40 p.m., from Central Pennsylvania, the
UFOs were observed to the SSW paralleling the westerly course
of the airliners. Their distance, of course, is unknown. But
based on subsequent observations, it is a reasonable supposition
that the UFOs were over southern Pennsylvania, in the vicinity
of Pittsburgh and Johnstown.
Around the same time that Capt. A. D. Yates, United Airlines,
saw the UFOs turn and head northwest in the vicinity of Akron,
three American Airlines pilots simultaneously saw the objects
(8:55 p.m.). Their lines of sight converge on the Cleveland-
Akron area. By 9:20 p.m., the Akron UFO Research Committee
had received reports from ground observers, describing three
UFOs headed west. Capt. Killian continued to observe the UFOs
until he began his landing approach at Detroit, about 120 miles
northwest of Akron.
In a letter to Senator Harry Flood Byrd, dated 6 May 1959,
Maj. Gen. W. P. Fisher (Air Force Director of Legislative Lia-
ison) stated:
"The investigation of this incident revealed that an Air Force
refueling mission, involving a KC-97 and three B-47 aircraft,
was flown in the vicinity of Bradford, Pennsylvania, at the time of
the sighting by Capt. Killian. The refueling operation was con-
ducted at 17,000 feet altitude at approximately 230 knots true air
speed (about 265 mph) for a period of approximately one hour."
Assuming that this is a completely accurate statement, the Air
Force could lay to rest this "flying saucer" report once and for
all by publishing the exact flight plan of the refueling mission.
Surely, at this late date there would be no compromising of se-
curity. On the surface, the explanation is plausible (except for the
back-and-forth motion of the third UFO in line). The distance
from the area of Johnstown, Pa., to Detroit is approximately
250 miles, which is consistent with the distance that would be
covered by the refueling tanker. On closer analysis, however,
there are several discrepancies in this explanation:
the refueling mission, is north of the flight paths of the American
and United airliners. All the pilots saw the UFOs to the south.
If the refueling mission actually took place over southern
Pennsylvania (which would have to be the case to account for the
reported facts), why wasn't Pittsburgh or Johnstown given as a
reference point? Bradford is virtually the full width of the state
away from the apparent location of the UFOs.
(2) Triangulation shows that (from the line of Capt. Killian's
flight path in Central Pennsylvania) the tanker and other aircraft
would have to be within 12 miles of Capt. Killian's position for a
sighting angle of 15 degrees to place them at approximately
17,000 feet altitude. Even allowing for a 1/3 error in estimation
of angle, the aircraft would have tobewithin 20 miles to the south
of Capt. Killian. This is inconsistent with the observation by
Capt. Yates, farther to the south, who also saw the UFOs to his
south as he travelled all the way to the Pennsylvania-Ohio border.
(3) Triangulation of the simultaneous sighting by the three
American Airlines pilots is even more damaging to the tanker
explanation. The three lines of sight converge on the general
Akron area, where ground sightings also tend to confirm the
distance from Capt. Killian's aircraft. From the position of
Capt. Killian's plane at the time of the simultaneous observation,
the distance to Akron is approximately 70 miles.
tan 15 degrees= 70
x = 70 tan 15 degrees
x = 18.1 miles
x = 95,568 feet (altitude of UFOs)
x = 70 tan 5 degrees
x = 6.1 miles
x = 32,208 feet (altitude of UFOs)
(4) The American Airlines pilots checked after landing and
learned that no jet tankers were in the area. (Taped statement by
copilot on file at CSI, New York). Capt. Killian is also quoted by
the Air Force as stating that a check with Air Traffic Control
showed no three aircraft in the area (see below).
(5) Several aspects of the Air Force handling of this case
suggest a desire to explain it away, including issuance of typical
counter-to-fact explanations.
Before any representatives of the Air Force contacted Capt.
Killian to obtain his report, the Air Force first suggested he had
been fooled by the belt of the constellation Orion seen through
breaks in the overcast. (There was no overcast). This statement
was issued from ATIC three days after the sighting. An anonymous
spokesman implied that UFO witnesses often proved to be drunks
(N.Y. Herald-Tribune; March 1, 1959).
On March 20 (more than three weeks after the sighting) the
Air Force issued a statement from Washington alleging that the
airline pilots had seen a refueling mission. (One critic of the
USAF UFO investigation wryly suggested to NICAP that it took
the Air Force three weeks to locate some of its own planes). The
refueling mission explanation has since been given all inquiring
Members of Congress.
When contacted by the press about the tanker explanation, Capt.
Killian gave a strong rebuttal: "If the Air Force wants to believe
that, it can," Capt. Killian said. "But I know what a B-47 looks
like and I know what a KC-97 tanker looks like, and I know what
they look like in operation at night. And that's not what I saw."
[See Notes, Section V]
Later, the Air Force began circulating a copy of a statement
(unsigned) which it alleges was obtained from Capt. Killian by
American Airlines:
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n v of Capt. Ryan and al other documen a ion, on fie t NICAP].
Departing Newark 1910 arriving Detroit 2252.
It was approximately 2045 I noticed these three lights off
my left wing in the vicinity of Bradford, Pennsylvania. I was flying
8,500 VFR on top of broken clouds. Visibility was unlimited
with no upper clouds observed. It was extremely difficult to
ascertain the distance of the lights. The color of the lights were
from a yellow to a light orange. The intensity of the lights also
changed from dim to a bright brilliant. Sometimes the interval
of the three lights were identical to the Belt of the constellation
Orion. Occasionally the rear lights lagged somewhat behind.
Also changed altitudes. During the 40 minutes of observation,
the three lights occasionally came forward from a 9 o'clock
position to 11 o'clock position and then fell back to the original
9 o'clock position. Also occasionally the lights extinguished
completely alternating from one to another, sometimes the whole
three were extinguished and during this whole operation, as I
mentioned before, the lights changed in intensity. This motion
was not only seen by myself but four crew members and passen-
gers on board and also by two other airplanes in the area.
The only possible explanation other than flying saucers could
be a jet tanker refueling operation. Never having witnessed re-
fueling operation at night, I am not aware of the lighting of the
jet tanker.
My air speed during this complete flight was 250 knots indicated.
I also do not know the air speed of tankers during operation if
this could be so. I contacted ATC to find out if they had any
airplanes on a clearance and no three airplanes were given.
In attempting to resolve the contradictions, NICAP once again
telephoned Capt. Killian. Mrs. Killian stated to the NICAP Director
that Capt. Killian had been instructed not to say any more about
the sighting. She indicated he was angry about being silenced,
and felt his rights were being denied.
Officially, the case has been "explained" as a refueling mission.
The facts obtained before Capt. Killian was silenced (including
his own public denial of that explanation), the above triangulations,
and the type and timing of the Air Force statements all cast
doubt on the validity of the explanation.
Though it may seem far-fetched to those unfamiliar with UFO
history to suppose that the Air Force would have any motive for
a deliberate cover-up, the former chief of the Air Force UFO
project, himself, reported many similar incidents. A good paral-
lel to the Capt. Killian sighting is described by Capt. Edward J.
Ruppelt (Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, ppg. 119-120).
When a report came in from airline pilots that their plane had
been buzzed by a cigar-shaped object as they were taking off
from Sioux City, Iowa [See Section V; 1-20-51], Capt. Ruppelt
witnessed the reaction by Air Force investigators. The sighting
was treated as a joke; the "investigator" merely located an Air
Force bomber near Sioux City and blamed it for the sighting.
Capt. Ruppelt acknowledged the absurdity of this answer: a
bomber buzzing an airliner in an airport traffic pattern. There
was no investigation; only an arbitrary and counter-to-fact
"explanation."
The Ryan Case
November 1957 Press Release
On November 15, 1957, after two weeks of highly publicized
UFO sightings, the Air Force issued news release No. 1108-57.
Out of hundreds of current sightings, five cases were listed and
debunked: 1. Levelland, Tex.; 2. Alamogordo, N. Mex. (James
Stokes); 3. Coast Guard Cutter, Gulf of Mexico; 4. White Sands,
N. Mex. (Army jeep patrols); 5. Kearney, Nebr. (Reinhold
Schmidt).
Two, the Kearney incident and the sighting by James Stokes at
White Sands, were labelled hoaxes. The first case no doubt was
a hoax, but there is not the slightest evidence of a hoax in the
White Sands case. At last report, Mr. Stokes was still employed
as a research engineer at White Sands in good standing.
The Levelland sightings were attributed to'weather phenomena
of electrical nature, generally classified as `Ball lightning' or
`St. Elmo's fire,' caused by stormy conditions in the area. . . ."
The two are totally different phenomena. The Air Force stated it
was able to locate only three persons who saw the "big light."
Actually, there were at least 10 witnesses who similarly de-
scribed elliptical objects. [See Section XII, Nov., 1957 Chronol-
ogy]
The Coast Guard sighting was attributed to "aircraft, and pos-
sible spurious radar returns." [See Section XII]
The Army jeep patrols sightings were evaluated as "astro-
nomical." The release said: "Astro plots indicate Venus is at
magnitude at the time, place and direction of the first patrol's
observation, and the Moon, with scattered clouds, was in general
direction of the second patrol's observation." [See Section XII]
With the exception of the Levelland sightings and the one fairly
obvious hoax, the remaining cases all involve personnel under
military control. This selection of cases could be significant.
A few days after the November sightings began, the Air Force had
rushed out a general news release stating that in 10 years of
UFO investigation "the number of unknowns has been reduced to
less than 2%." Both news releases bear all the earmarks of
public relations utterances designed to reassure the public that
(1) the Air Force is conducting a thorough scientific investigation,
and (2) nothing truly unexplainable is being seen. Inside of two
weeks, the Air Force found answers to hundreds of reports. The
time factor, alone, casts doubt on the thoroughness of investigation
and validity of the explanations.
NOTES
1. Committee on Government Operations, U.S. House of Repre-
sentatives, Availability of Information From Federal Depart-
ments and Agencies. (House Report No. 1884, 1958), p. 2
2. Mollenhoff, Clark R., Washington Cover-Up. (Popular Library,
1963), p. 73
3. Burns, James MacGregor, "The Eagle's Wings Need Re-
aligning," Book Week, March 8, 1964. [Review of Power in
Washington, by Douglass Cater (Random House, 1964)]
4. Mollenhoff, op. cit., p. 12
5. NASA Technical Note D-1432
On April 8, 1956, an American Airlines flight, headed west
across New York state, saw and followed a UFO. After notifying
an Air Force Base in the vicinity, the pilot, Capt. Raymond Ryan,
was requested to follow the UFO until jet interceptors could reach
the scene. In a taped interview [see transcript of sighting detail,
Section V], Capt. Ryan admitted going off course and following the
UFO as far as Oswego, N.Y., on the shore of Lake Ontario,
before giving up the chase.
Although Capt. Ryan stated the UFO zoomed through a 90 degree
arc from off his wingtip to dead ahead, the Air Force later
blamed the sighting on the planet Venus. NICAP asked the then
Civil Aeronautics Administration and the Civil Aeronautics Board
for an investigation. CAA, CAB and American Airlines all denied
that Capt. Ryan departed from his course. The Air Force does
not admit asking Capt. Ryan to follow the UFO. [Taped interview
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SECTION X
FOREIGN REPORTS
"Although we tend to think of flying saucers as peculiarly
American, they are international in scope. England has had
more reported sightings, per square mile of territory, than has
the United States. France has had its share, not only sporadical-
ly, but also in one apparently major wave in the fall of 1954.
Brazil, Spain, Italy, Australia, Canada and even several Iron
Curtain countries have also been the sources of reports."--
Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Chief scientific consultant to Air Force on
UFOs [Yale Scientific magazine, April 1963]
A Survey of Foreign UFO Activity,
Public Interest, and Official Attitudes
United States press coverage has sometimes given the im-
pression that UFOs are wholly, or mostly, a native phenomenon.
This is completely disproved by the evidence below. Nearly
every nation on earth has had reports of sightings from reputable
witnesses. Most have had official investigations, usually by
military departments rather than scientific agencies. Organiza-
tions exist on every continent, privately pursuing the study of
UFOs.
Wherever man travels on the globe, UFOs have been sighted.
Ships at sea have reported strange objects [For example see
Section II; U.S.S. Supply case]. Although not many reports have
been made in the polar regions, this is no doubt due to the small
populations and lack of opportunity for observations in these
areas. It is worth noting that increased population in Antarctica,
at scientific bases, has resulted in some reports. Even the natives
of remote islands in the South Pacific have reported UFOs.
The following survey is a small sample of thousands of
world-wide UFO reports, official statements and significant opin-
ions. The section is divided by geographical regions: A. Western
Hemisphere; B. Eastern Hemisphere; C. Oceana and Antarctica.
A. WESTERN HEMISPHERE
NORTH AMERICA
Canada has had a history of UFO sightings closely paralleling
that of the U.S. Early reports led to acceptance of UFOs as a
reality and establishment of a government laboratory to investi-
gate them, in the period 1952-53.
On April 16, 1952, RCAF Intelligence "went on record as
believing that 'flying saucers' could not be laughed off as optical
illusions." The spokesman termed UFOs a "bona fide phenom-
enon." Dr. Peter Millman, noted Dominion astrophysicist, stated:
"We can't laugh off these observations." [l]
In the fall of 1953 the government Department of Transport
announced establishment of a flying saucer laboratory designedto
prove or disprove UFO reports. The laboratory, with scientific
equipment to detect gamma rays, magnetic fluctuations, radio
noises, etc., was headed by engineer W.B. Smith, later a member
of the NICAP Panel of Advisers.
After the official project was closed in 1954 because of
"embarrassing" publicity, Mr. Smith issued a statement: "The
conclusions reached by Project Magnet and contained in the of-
ficial report were based on a rigid statistical analysis of sighting
reports and were as follows: There is a 91% probability that at
least some of the sightings were of real objects of unknown
origin. There is about a 60% probability that these objects were
alien vehicles." [2]
Typical Canadian Sightings
July 9, 1957: An attorney in Hamilton, Ontario, with another
witness watched a glowing white elliptical object speed overhead
from SW to NE, about 9:05 p.m. [3]
December 12, 1957: Capt. J.A. Miller, Trans-Canada Air-
line pilot, flying between Toronto and Windsor about 7 p.m., saw
a whirling orange oval object at about 2000 feet altitude, moving
at "a terrific rate of speed." The UFO flashed across Lake Erie
and was seen over a wide area before swinging back over the
lake and disappearing. Other witnesses included employees of
Windsor airport and police from every detachment in Southern
Essex County. [4]
April 12, 1959: Control tower operators at St. Hubert Air
Base, Montreal, and many others about 8 p.m. watched a reddish
UFO which hovered over the base for several minutes, then darted
away to the north. An RCAF spokesman stated: "It was a genuine
UFO as far as we are concerned." [5] About the same time
residents of north Montreal saw a red UFO, alternately described
as round and cigar-shaped, which hovered low over a field, then
climbed rapidly emitting "fiery sparks" from the underside.
Later official statements also paralleled U.S. policy. In a
1960 letter to a NICAP member, Group Captain L.C. Dilworth,
for the Chief of the Air Staff, RCAF, stated: "The RCAF has
recently implemented the JANAP 146 (D) procedure for the re-
porting of vital intelligence sightings [including UFOs; see Sec-
tion IX] ... Needless to say, the RCAF in concert with American
forces is interested in all such reports and evaluation is done on
a systematic basis. While the outcome of individual evaluations
is not made public, you may rest assured that any threat to the
security of Canada or the United States will be reflected in
appropriate military plans." [6]
In 1961, RCAF Station Comox, British Columbia, stated in a
letter to a NICAP member: "Most UFOB reports terminating at
Headquarters are unclassified and there should be no reason to
suspect that information on this subject is being withheld from the
public. Such phenomena pose no threat to the safety of North
America in so far as is known by this Headquarters ... Station
Comox does not receive directives which apply to the USAF AFR
200-2. This unit, however, does have a reporting guide to be
used when phenomena is [sic] reported." [7]
(As in U.S. statements, note the emphasis on assurances
that UFOs pose no threat, implying that the inquirer's letter is
motivated by fear rather than curiosity.)
In 1961 the Canadian Defence Minister, Douglas S. Harkness
wrote a NICAP member that official investigations "have not
revealed positive evidence of anything which might affect national
welfare and which could not be attributed to possible natural
phenomena or mistaken identity." As of 1963, "The Air Officer
Commanding Air Defence Command, is charged with the military
investigation of Unidentified Flying Object reports. . . . Informa-
tion compiled by the RCAF, pertaining to this matter [UFOs], is
not available to the public." [8]
Alaska has had many UFO sightings [SeeSectionXl; Chronol-
ogy]. In a typical case February 14, 1960, airline employees and
others in Nome about 4:40 p.m. saw a silvery tube-shaped object
spouting orange flame from the tail. The UFO moved ENE, then
curved up and away "as if it were manned and controlled."
Another similar UFO was sighted at Unalakleet the same day,
moving rapidly NW and leaving contrails. [9] (Five days later
the U.S. Air Force stated the objects were meteors.)
Three USAF F-94 jet interceptors pursued a UFO January
22, 1952 which had been tracked on ground and airborne radar
at a northern Alaska radar outpost. [See Section VIII; Radar].
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(Alaska, of course, is now one of the United States, and is
covered in this Section because of its geographical location).
Mexico: In 1949-1950, during the sighting wave which oc-
curred in that period, there were many press reports of UFOs
sighted over Mexico. Example: Los Angeles News, March 14 &
15, 1950, Mexico City (UP) --Hundreds of persons said they saw
four flying saucers over Mexico City, and one at Monterrey.
Witnesses included trained aircraft observers and meteorolo-
gists. [See Section V]
Many additional sightings in past 12 years.
In 1958, Mr. Rafael Aveleyra, Minister of the Embassy of
Mexico, Washington, in a letter to NICAP stated: "Please be
advised that in accordance with the information just received
from my Government, no reports have been received of unidenti-
fied flying objects within the area of Mexico, therefore no official
investigation has been made." [10]
CENTRAL AMERICA
UFOs have been sighted regularly over the Gulf of Mexico,
Caribbean Sea, and Central America [See December 6, 1952
Gulf of Mexico case; Coast Guard Cutter Sebago case, November
5, 1957, Section VIII; etc.] On January 23, 1959, the New York
Times reported that a bright silver unidentified object, which
had arced across the sky above the Panama Canal, had been
tracked by U.S. radar.
A NICAP member in El Salvador, who visited the NICAP
office in 1961, informed us that UFO sightings were very common
in her country, and that they were a regular topic of conversa-
tion, in schools and elsewhere.
SOUTH AMERICA
The same is true of most South American countries, at
least five of which have active UFO organizations. Two, Argentina
and Brazil, have treated the subject more frankly and openly
than any other nations.
Argentina: A letter to NICAP from the Argentine Embassy
dated October 10, 1958, requested information about the struc-
ture, scope and aims of NICAP, because "the creation of an
agency similar to NICAP, with the same objectives, is under
consideration by Argentine Air Force officials." [11]
Strong Argentine interest in UFOs is not surprising con-
sidering the well-documented cases which have occurred there.
At Cordoba Airport, November 25, 1954, two luminous objects
which hovered for nearly an hour were reported by Dr. Marcos
Guerci, chief of the meteorological service; Carlos Bassoli,
control tower operator; and many others. One UFO was roughly
semi-circular, appearing like a disc on edge, the other circular.
Dr. Guerci stated he believed he had observed "something foreign
to our knowledge," according to the official report released by
the Argentine Embassy. [12]
The most recent series of sightings in Argentina (as this is
being written) began in May 1962, continuing throughout the year.
The incidents included reported landings with resultant markings
and stains on the ground, highly maneuverable luminous phenom-
ena, electro-magnetic effects, and other typical UFO features.
[See Section XII; Argentine Chronology]
On May 22, 1962, UFOs were sighted four times in a period of
about 35 minutes by a flight of Navy pilots in the vicinity of
Espora Naval Air Base. In one instance, about 7:20 p.m., student
pilot Roberto Wilkinson reported that a luminous object trailing
his plane lit up his cockpit, and his radio-electric transmission
failed as the UFO passed below his aircraft. [13]
Sightings continued throughout the summer, many concen-
trated around aircraft and airports. Over Floresta District,
September 8, 1962, Lt. (j.g.) Juan Jose Vico sighted a "burnished
metal" lenticular UFO making smooth and apparently controlled
maneuvers, according to the report.
Investigations of the 1962 sightings by military authorities
brought forth two statements. Capt. Luis Sanchez Moreno, in-
vestigating for the Navy, told the press the Navy had been con-
In addition to receiving good cooperation from the Embassy,
NICAP is indebted to Mr. Thomas Williams, Fundacion Williams,
Buenos Aires; Mr. Christian Vogt, Secretary of the "Comision
Observadora de Objetos Voladores No Identificados (CODOVNI)"
and Ing. William Kalocai, Director of the "Centro Investigador
de Fenomenos Espaciales (C.I.F.E.)," Bahia Blanca, [14] for
details of many Argentine UFO cases. At Ezeiza International
Airport, Buenos Aires, December 22, 1962, a UFO was sighted
about 3:00 a.m. Tower operators Horacio Alora and Mario
Pezzutto were watching an Aerolineas Argentinas plane which
was about to take off, and an approaching DC -8 jet operated by
Panagra (a division of Pan American Airways).
One of the operators was radioing landing instructions when
the jet Captain suddenly broke in:
"What's that thing at the end of the runway?"
An instant later, the same question came from one of the
Argentine airliner pilots. Operator Alora turned and saw a large
round object, glowing with an intense fiery light, at the head of
runway 1-0-2-8. It had evidently descended while he and Pezzutto
were watching the two airliners.
Because of the UFOs' brilliant glow, Alora could not tell
whether it had actually touched down or was hovering just above
the runway. At the moment he turned, the UFO rose about ten
meters, hovering briefly. Then, rapidly accelerating, it took off
on a northeast course. Before it disappeared, it was also seen
by Operator Pezzutto.
During the 1962 sightings around Buenos Aires, as well as
in remote areas of the country, key cases were reported freely
on television. Argentina's treatment of the UFO question provides
an interesting contrast with the secretive policy of the U. S.
Government.
Brazil: UFO activity has been virtually constant in Brazil
during the past 10-15 years. The number and quality of sightings
has been at least equal to that of the U.S., and since 1952 sight-
ings have been reported much more openly than in this country.
In 1958, the majority of experienced UFO investigators, many
of whom had published bulletins or headed small UFO groups,
formed the "Comissao Brasileira de Pesquisa ConfidencialSobre
Objetos Aereos Nao Identificados (CBPCOANI)," a top level com-
mission to promote scientific investigation of UFOs on an in-
ternational basis. Members of the Commission include Dr. J.
Escobar Faria (Attorney and author), a NICAP Adviser; Dr.
Olavo Fontes, (M.D.), adviser to the Aerial Phenomena Research
Organization (APRO), Tucson, Arizona; Prof. Flavio Pereira,
President (also President of the Scientific Council, Brazilian
Interplanetary Society); Cmdr. A.B. Simoes (airline official and
writer). Significantly, the Commission includes representatives
of the Brazilian armed services. As in Argentina, UFOs are
considered an important problem justifying the formation of
civilian- military agencies for continuous investigation.
Virtually every large coastal city, military base, and airport
of Brazil has been visited by UFOs, and witnesses have included
high-ranking officers, public officials and scientists.
A formation of "circular silver-colored" objects, apparently
"mechanical" devices, were observed by FAB (Brazilian Air
Force) officers and men, as well as airline personnel and civil-
ians, as they sped over Porto Alegre AFB, October 24, 1954.
[15]
(SAUCER)
POA.TO ALEGRE BRAZIL.--THE AIR FORCE BASE HERE REPORTED THAT
"CIRCULAR SILVER-COLORED" OBJECTS MOVING AT TREMENDOUS SPEEDS HAD
BEEN SIGHTED OVER THE BASE LAST SUNDAY.
A STATEMENT DISTRIBUTED BY THE BASE COMMAND SAID THE PHENOMENON
WAS REPORTED IMMEDIATELY TO THE AIR MINISTRY IN RIO DE JANEIRO WITH A
REQUEST FOR INVESTIGATION.
THE STATEMENT SAID THE BODIES WERE NOT CELESTIAL -BECAUSE THEIR
MOVEMENTS APPEARED MECHANICAL AND INTERMITTENT." NO BALLOONS WERE
ALOFT AT THE TIME THE BASE ADDED.
IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO CALCULATE THE ALTITUDE OR VELOCITY AT WHICH
THE OBJECTS MOVED, BUT THE SPEED WAS GREATER THAN ANY OF WHICH THE BASE
HAS KNOWLEDGE. THEIR GENERAL SHAPE WAS CIRCULAR, SILVER-COLORED AND
SHIMMERING.
THE STATEMENT SAID THE OBJECTS WERE OBSERVED BY OFFICERS AND ENLISTED
MEN OF THE AIR BASE, BY PERSONNEL OF THE VARIG AIRLINE AND BY A NUMBER
OF CIVILIANS IN THE CITY, BETWEEN 1 P.M. AND 6 P.M. SUNDAY.
1O/ 7--PA306P
stantly concerned about UFOs since the great wave of global A startling incident on November 21, 1954, was reported on
sightings in 1952. Following the sightings by Navy personnel in the front pages of newspapers in South and Central America, and
May 1962, the investigation report released by the Argentine in England, but apparently not in the U.S. A Brazilian airliner in
Embassy concluded: "The testimonies of Naval Air Officer pilots flight near Rio de Janeiro, at night, encountered 19 glowing
and personnel of the Flying Course indicate the existence of saucer-shaped objects. The UFOs flew at high speed within
gr; ROyjgn6 ?}5Op y~~Ibl}gul g~ssengers.
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The crew had to act forcibly to calm the passengers and continue
the flight safely. [16]
Another extremely important incident, January 16, 1958,
was only sketchily reported in a few U.S. papers. Near Trindade
Isle off the Brazilian east coast, the Almirante Saldanha, an
IGY oceanographic vessel, saw and photographed a maneuvering
disc-shaped UFO which made several passes over the area [See
Section VIII; Photographs]. Marine photographer AlmiroBarauna,
officers and men on deck, sighted the UFO and Barauna obtained
four good exposures of the object. The film was developed on
board ship, the witnesses confirming that the Saturn-shaped
images (disc with central flange) corresponded to what they had
observed.
The impressive evidence created a stir in the Brazilian
Congress. At first the Navy was cautious and secretive about
the incident, but the President of Brazil, Mr. Juscelino Kubitschek,
intervened at the request of a reporter and the photographs were
published in the press. [17]
Both airline and military pilots in Brazil have often reported
UFOs:
June 30, 1957. An airliner enroute from Belo Horizonte to
Rio de Janeiro, at 6:30 p.m., encountered a glowing red-orange
disc-like object. Capt. Saul Martins later told the press the UFO
maneuvered all around the DC -3, pacing it, flying above and below
it. One of the many passengers who also witnessed the object
was a renowned Brazilian writer, Prof. Aires de Mata Machado
Filho. [18]
July 4, 1957. A REAL Airlines plane enroute from Campos
to Victoria, capital of Espirito Santo State, was paced by a
circular UFO. The pilot, Cmdr. Delgado, said that when his
plane and the UFO were passing through clouds, brightly lighted
apertures like windows became visible on the object. When they
left the clouds, these markings disappeared.. The UFO had raised
portions on top and bottom. [See Section IX; Patterns].
August 14, 1957. Near Joinville, at 8:55 p.m., a Varig Air-
lines C-47 enroute from Porto Alegre to Rio de Janeiro was
approached by a luminous object. The pilot, Cmdr. Jorge Campos
Araujo, said his co-pilot first noticed the UFO pacing the plane
to the left. As they watched, the UFO suddenly sped ahead and
crossed just in front of the plane. Then it hovered briefly, and
dove into the undercast at about 5,700 feet. (The plane was fly-
ing at 6,300 feet). At the moment when the strange object hovered
briefly, the engines of the airliner began coughing and missing,
and the cabin lights dimmed. When the UFO moved away, the
aircraft electrical system returned to normal. [See Section VIII;
Electro-Magnetic Effects].
Cmdr. Araujo described the UFO as "shaped like a saucer
with a kind of cupola or dome on top of it. The whole cupola
glowed with an intense green light. The flattened base glowed
with a less intense yellowish luminosity." [19]
November 4, 1957. Capt. Jean Vincent de Beyssac, flying
a Varig Airlines C-46 near Ararangua at 1:20 a.m., noticed a
red light to the left. The plane was at 7,000 feet above a layer of
stratus clouds. Both Capt. de Beyssac and his co-pilot watched
curiously as the light increased in size. When the pilot decided
to investigate and started to press his rudder, the UFO suddenly
leaped through an are of about 45 degrees and appeared much
larger in size. Capt. de Beyssac went into an 80 degree left turn
for a closer look. About midway of the turn, the object began
glowing more brilliantly and the pilot smelled smoke in the cabin.
While the crew hastily looked for fire, the UFO vanished. It was
then discovered that the ADF (direction finder), right generator
and transmitter-receiver had burned out simultaneously. [20]
May 27, 1958. Near the Bahia State coast, a Varig airliner
piloted by Cmdr. Bittar, was approached by a brightly luminous
UFO with ball-like projections on the underside. The object
maneuvered under the plane, hovered, then dove toward the sea.
[21]
July 14, 1959. A Brazilian Air Force pilot checked on a
hovering light observed from the control tower at Pampulha,
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State at the request of the tower
operator. After landing, the pilot reported that the unidentified
light had followed him for about an hour while he was enroute
from Pico do Couto. The control tower operator then fired some
flares in the direction of the UFO, and it changed color from white
to amber to intense green. Then it turned white again, and darted
upwards, disappearing in the darkness. [22]
July 24, 1961. At night in the vicinity of Ilha Grande, Cmdr.
Jose Guilherme Saez, pilot of a VASP Airlines "Scandia" flying
at 7,000 feet, saw a luminous object which he first believed was
a meteor. "I radioed the Santa Cruz Air Force Base and Sao
Paulo airport," Cmdr. Saez stated. "Suddenly the object changed
direction, from the left to our right. Then I saw it quite near our
Scandia." The object remained visible several minutes. During
this time, Cmdr. Saez said, "The UFO did not describe curves,
but made angular turns. It moved up and down, back and forth, in
all directions." [23] (cf., sighting by Capt. Hull, Capital Airlines,
November 14, 1956; Section I).
At times, Brazil has been one of the least secretive govern-
ments in regard to release of UFO information. High officials
have often openly admitted their serious concern with UFOs.
As in the case of several countries, there is evidence that
the Embassies in Washington, either yielding to the wishes of
the U.S. Government or for political reasons of their own, some-
times debunk the subject in spite of serious official concern of
their governments at home. In 1959, Maj. Gen. Antonio Barcellos,
Air Attache of the Brazilian Embassy, wrote a NICAP member:
"The Brazilian Government does not accredit or acknowledge
any reports of unidentified flying objects ... it considers the
question of UFO to be in the same category as that of Santa Claus.
Therefore, if anyone in Brazil has ever cited what they consider
to be a UFO, they would probably not report to any official agency,
but if they did try to make such a report, they would find that it
would not be accepted." [24]
Other South American Countries
The history of UFO reports in the other South American
countries is very similar to that of Argentina and Brazil.
In Valparaiso, Chile, October 28, 1959, Juan Fruto (Director
of a local Astronomical Association), C. Ventura (civil aviator),
and others about 9:15 p.m. sighted a luminous orange concave
disc performing evolutions in the sky. [25]
Cases of electro-magnetic effects [See Section VIII] have
been noted in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Venezuela. On
January 30, 1958, a lawyer and his wife, near Lima, Peru, saw
a circular UFO hovering an estimated 500 meters above the
highway. As their automobile passed beneath the object, the car
lights went out. Truck drivers and others on the same highway
also witnessed the UFO. Passengers on a bus felt an electric
shock, and the bus motor failed as the UFO was seen. [26]
A NICAP Subcommittee (investigative unit) is operative in
Santiago, Chile, headed by Prof. Juan E. Gatica Salinas, astro-
physicist. Other members of the unit are professors of mathe-
matics and physics, and students. The Subcommittee is divided
into three groups which make scheduled observations of the sky
from different observatories, increasing the chances of obtaining
triangulations of a UFO.
In Montevideo, Uruguay, Milton W. Hourcade is one of the
directors of the "Centro de Investigacion de Objetos Voladores
Inidentificados (C.I.O.V.I.)." The group has investigated and
compiled reports in Uruguay for many years, periodically ex-
changing data with NICAP.
One of the cases investigated by C.I.O.V.I. occurred May 5,
1958, near San Carlos. About 3:40 p.m., Carlos A. Rodriguez,
an experienced and reputable pilot, was flying his piper aircraft
in the vicinity of Capitan Curbelo Naval Air Base when he noticed
a brilliant glowing object approaching his plane. The UFO stopped
an estimated 2000 meters away and, according to the report,
"it rocked twice in a balancing motion." [cf., Oct. 2, 1961, Salt
Lake City, Utah, pilot sighting; Section I]. The object was shaped
like a child's top, symmetrical above and below. As he closed to
about 700 meters, Rodriguez felt intense heat in the cockpit and
was forced to open the windows and door of the plane and remove
his jacket. The UFO then took off, accelerating rapidly eastward
toward the sea, leaving a thin vapor trail. [27]
Venezuela has been the scene of so much UFO activity that
as of 1963, according to a NICAP member who visited Caracas,
the sight of huge glowing objects lighting up mountain tops around
the city was no longer considered noteworthy. Active in UFO in-
vestigation around Caracas are Dr. Askold Ladonko (NICAP Ad-
viser) and Horacio Gonzalez Ganteaume (NICAP member). In
December 1962 over an unexplored jungle area near famous
Angel Falls, a UFO was photographed on 8 mm movie film by
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Mr. Ali Diaz. Diaz was aboard a DC-3 plane carrying vacation-
ists on a tour to view the beautiful scenery. Dr. Ladonko and
Gonzalez Ganteaume notified NICAP, interviewed Diaz, and en-
couraged analysis of the film.
During June 1963 a Spanish speaking NICAP member from
New York City, Mr. Jose A. Cecin, flew to Caracas and borrowed
the original film. Analysis of it currently is being arranged by
NICAP. [See Section VIII]. Viewed at the NICAP office by the staff
and several members, the movie shows an eerie, brilliant yellow,
tear-drop shaped light rising from the base of Auyantepuy Moun-
tain, oscillating back and forth as it accelerates across the
mountain, blue sky and clouds.
(During his visit to Caracas, Mr. Cecin was told of an in-
cident in which a prominent citizen was driving through a rural
area when he saw a large disc hovering over a field where
several peasants were working. He excitedly called their at-
tention to it. "We know about it," they replied casually. "It
comes here every day. It doesn't bother anyone.")
Venezuela also has a history of sightings by airline pilots
and other experienced observers. An orange light closed in on
a Venezuelan airliner at 6:45 p.m., January 2, 1955, in the
vicinity of Punta San Juan. When the UFO was at close range,
a bright light from it shone into the cockpit of the plane inter-
mittently. [28]
A month later, February 2, an Aeropost Airlines plane was
bound for Merida from Maiquetia. At the controls was Capt.
Dario Celis; co-pilot was B.J. Cortes. About 11:15 a.m., a
round, glowing green "apparatus" approached the plane, rotating
counter-clockwise. Around its center was a reddish ring which
emitted flashes of brilliant light. Above andbelowthe ring, mark-
ings like portholes were visible. Capt. Celis banked his plane
toward the UFO. Instantly, the object whirled downward, levelled
off, and sped away. During the sighting, Capt. Celis attempted to
report the object by radio, but his communication was cut off.
[29]
July 2, 1960, near Maiquetia, a Venezuelan Airlines Super-
Constellation was arriving from Spain about 3:00 a.m. Flying at
10,000 feet about 20 degrees N, 68 degrees W (near Puerto Rico),
the pilot and crew noticed a bright luminous object angling toward
the plane at about their altitude. After paralleling the plane for
several minutes, the object suddenly shot away at terrific speed.
The pilot reported the sighting to the press upon landing. [30]
A Professor of Engineering, Central University, reported a
UFO September 15, 1960. Prof. German Alvarez, in Carrizales,
Miranda State, watched a luminous object sweep across the sky
for about three minutes, after 7:30 p.m. The UFO accelerated
in a curved course. Before disappearing behind mountains, it
appeared as two objects. [31]
Formations of UFOs, about 16 objects in all, passing from
east to west between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. were witnessed by many
people in the Parque del Este, Caracas, February 11, 1962. One
witness, Sr. Emiro Ayesta, ran to the Humboldt Planetarium in
the park where Sr. Carlos Pineda of the Planetarium staff
witnessed one of the UFOs. Sr. Pineda described it as "a body
giving off a brilliant light, moving at great altitude as if towards
the moon." [32]
B. EASTERN HEMISPHERE
Scandinavia
The earliest well-publicized UFO reports from Scandinavia
were the so-called "ghost rockets" observed in Sweden during
the summer and fall of 1946. Military authorities adopted secrecy
reminiscent of wartime in dealing with reports of the objects,
banning publication of the location of sightings, and requiring
newspapers to use the dateline "somewhere in Sweden." [33]
Mysterious fireballs and cigar-shaped UFOs were observed
all summer. [34] Finally, in October the defense ministry an-
nounced that it had been unable to discover the origin or nature of
the "ghost rockets." Of 1000 reports studied, about 80% were
attributed to "celestial phenomena." But, the report continued,
radar detected some "which cannot be the phenomena of nature
or products of imagination, nor be referred to as Swedish
planes..." [35]
In may 1954, Mutual news commentator Frank Edwards (now
a NICAP Board Member) reported an item from Stockholm:
"Swedish military authorities sent special crews into north
Sweden where scores of residents have reported strange glowing
objects maneuvering over forests at low altitude during the week
of May 10 ... Military men who have seen the things say they
were not planes of any type."
After the crew of a Swedish airliner reported a wingless
circular UFO over southern Sweden December 17, 1953, the
defense department ordered a full scale investigation. Capt. Ulf
Christiernsson, former RAF pilot, said: "It was an entirely
unorthodox, metallic, symmetrical and circular object." The
UFO was seen speeding over the town of Haessleholm in the main
commercial airlane between Stockholm and Copenhagen. [36]
In 1961 Mr. Sven Schalin, aeronautical engineer in Linkoping,
became NICAP Adviser for Sweden. In his acceptance letter, Mr.
Schalin stated: ''UFOs very definitely have been sighted also in
this country. A `flap' seemed to occur around January 1959,
the whole period starting perhaps in July 1958 and ending about
June 1959. Obviously the Swedish Intelligence Center in Stock-
holm knows what is going on but the usual debunking policy is
strictly followed."
During Operation Mainbrace, extensive naval maneuvers in
the North Sea on and about September 20, 1952, UFOs were
sighted in the vicinity on several occasions. [See Section XII;
Operation Mainbrace Chronology] On the 20th, a silvery disc of
metallic appearance was observed passing swiftly over the Allied
fleet. Wallace Litwin, an American newsman on board the air-
craft carrier "Franklin Roosevelt," took, three color photo-
graphs of the UFO. As far as is known, the pictures have never
been published and no explanation of the incident was offered.
Norway, Finland and Denmark also have had their share of
UFO sightings. During an aerial expedition to take photographs
of a solar eclipse, June 30, 1954, Norwegian scientists and others
on board three planes observed and photographed two I enormous'
silvery discs which gave a metallic glint. [Section I]
In 1958, replying to a NICAP query, the Norwegian Embassy
stated: "Our Air Force's UFO material is mainly of security
graded nature and cannot be put to the disposal of NICAP." [37]
During the winter of 1958, observers on the Finnish-Soviet
border reported circular and cigar-shaped luminous objects
maneuvering over Soviet territory near the Arctic Circle. Bril-
liantly glowing spherical "missiles," some of which moved ver-
tically up and down, also were reported. [38]
While "Operation Mainbrace" was in full swing nearby in
the North Sea during September 1952, a shining apparently metal-
lic disc was seen on the 20th by three Danish Air Force officers.
About 7:30 p.m., the UFO sped over Karup Airfield, Denmark,
disappearing in clouds to the east.
On November 20, 1957, during the rash of UFO sightings in
the Western hemisphere [see Section XI] Air Force officers and
many civilians near Bernholm, Denmark, saw a UFO flashing red
and green lights as it swooped low above the water and over the
island. At times the object hovered motionless. No sound could
be heard. The Danish newspaper "Familie-blad" reported the
sightings.
September 11, 1956: Allied intelligence experts were re-
ported to be investigating radar sightings of "mysterious ob-
jects" which had been tracked for three weeks over the Baltic
Sea by a NATO radar station on Bernholm Island, Denmark.
The UFOs followed a curved course traveling about 2000-2500
m.p.h. [See Section VIII; Radar]
England
The policy of the British Air Ministry has been identical to
that of the U.S. Although claiming their investigations have
proved that almost all UFO sightings have mundane explanations,
the Air Ministry firmly refuses to release the case histories.
When NICAP requested information about specific cases in 1957,
the Air Ministry replied: "We regret that we are unable to re-
lease any information on the radar sighting at West Freugh in
Scotland on 4th April ... We cannot release any information on
the B.O.A.C. or the Flt. Lt. Salandin sightings. Air Ministry
policy has not changed since those sightings were made." [39]
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In a 1963 letter to a NICAP member, the Air Ministry stated:
"Because of our defense responsibilities we investigate reports
of UFOs as they come in whenever there is sufficient information
for this to be done. I am afraid, however, that we cannot under-
take to provide details of any particular reports which have been
received." [40]
Unofficially, a totally different picture of British opinion is
available. Dozens of very active UFO organizations exist in
England, many publishing bulletins. The largest and most pro-
fessional magazine is the "Flying Saucer Review," published in
London. The groups exist because of a long history of good UFO
sightings in the British Isles, many involving trained observers.
The Royal Air Force, one of the most highly respected air
forces in the world, has contributed a number of sightings. One
of the most prominent proponents of UFOs in England is Air
Chief Marshal Lord Dowding, head of the RAF fighter command
during the Battle of Britain. In a by-line article for the London
Sunday Dispatch (July 11, 1954), Lord Dowding stated: "I am
convinced that these objects do exist and that they are not manu-
factured by any nation on earth. I can therefore see no alterna-
tive to accepting the theory that they come from some extra-
terrestrial source."
"RAF Flying Review," unofficial but authoritative and highly
regarded aviation publication in London, has treated the UFO
subject seriously and urged a more thorough investigation.
The fact that UFOs were being taken seriously in England
was first widely known in 1957. The London Reynolds News
reported June 16:
"In room 801 of what was once the Hotel Metropole, Britain's
Air Ministry is investigating Flying Saucers--and that's of-
ficial ... At airfields all over Britain, fighter planes are kept
ready to intercept, and if necessary engage, any unidentified fly-
ing object within combat range ... [the room's] existence was
admitted last night by an Air Ministry spokesman. He disclosed
that it has been investigating Flying Saucer reports since 1947.
`We have something like 10,000 on our files,' he said."
A few of the reports which have concerned British authori-
ties: Topcliffe, September 20, 1952 (Reuters) -- "A flying saucer
entered the eight-nation Baltic area maneuvers ["Operation
Mainbrace"] here today. The RAF base here reported to maneuver
headquarters that an unidentifiable silver circular object had
been sighted 15,000 feet above the airfield. The object, which ap-
peared five miles behind a Meteor jet fighter [piloted by Lt.
John W. Kilburn], maintained a slow forward speed before de-
scending in a swinging pendulum motion. Then it began a rotary
motion about its own axis and accelerated at an incredible speed
in a westerly direction but later turned southeast. It was seen
by RAF officers and men on the airfield."
Another RAF pilot encountered a UFO October 4, 1954.
Flight Lt. J.R. Salandin of the 604th Fighter Squadron, flying a
Meteor jet out of North Weald, Essex, nearly collided head-on
with a huge, metallic appearing object. The UFO was shaped
like two saucers pressed together, one inverted on top of the
other. At the last second, it flipped to one side and streaked
past at tremendous speed. Two round UFOs had been sighted
speeding between two other Meteor jets in the vicinity just be-
fore Lt. Salandin's sighting. [41]
An object described as a "bright yellow light varying in intensity
some 200 feet from the ground" was reported hovering over Lon-
don Airport February 26, 1959. (Some accounts called it a "yellow
disc.") Control tower operators and other airport personnel saw
the object, studying it through binoculars. The official report to
the Air Ministry concluded, the object "then climbed away at
high speed."
(On March 6, conflicting theories were advancedby Air Ministry
and Airport officials. Some believed the UFO was the planet
Venus distorted by clouds; others that it was the "nose cone
light" of a civilian aircraft).
An Aer Lingus (Irish International Airlines) pilot reported
a globe-shaped unidentified object which flew beneath his Vis-
count May 21, 1962, above southern England. While flying from
Cork to Brussels at about 17,000 feet, Capt. Gordon Pendleton
and First Officer J.P. Murphy saw the UFO approaching head-on.
They estimated the rate of closure at about 1200 m.p.h. The UFO
sped past about 3,000 feet below the airliner at close to 700
m.p.h. "I could see it quite clearly," Capt. Pendleton said.
"It definitely had no wings. It was brown, appeared to be round
and had a number of projections, looking rather like some kind
of radio antennae, on its surface. I have never seen anything like
it before." [42]
The European Continent
On the Continent, UFOs have been sighted in virtually every
country. In Switzerland, businessman J.H. Ragaz, publisher of
"Weltraumbote," has supported NICAP's investigation as well
as publicizing European UFO activity. Many sightings of typical
UFOs have taken place in Switzerland.
Other small countries, such as Austria, also have experienced
UFO activity:
May 15, 1954, Vienna (Reuters) --Three discs in wedge
formation reported by five persons.
December 19, 1954, Vienna (INS) --Several witnesses re-
ported UFOs moving at great speed above the capital. "Austrian
authorities are reportedly taking these observations seriously.
Police received orders to report any strange flying objects."
The "Nederlandse Studiekring Voor Ufologie" has been ac-
tive for several years in Amsterdam, Holland. Mr. A.F. van
Wieringen, a member of its board, is also a NICAP member and
correspondent. A recent report investigated by his group involved
a Royal Dutch Air Force pilot who chased a UFO January 29,
1962, over eastern Holland. After sighting the object and seeing
it on the radar set of the F-86, the pilot radioed his base. He
was informed that the UFO was also being tracked by ground
radar. Following instructions, he tried to make radio contact
with the unidentified object, but there was no response. Arm-
ing his "Sidewinder" rocket, the pilot tried to close in, but the
UFO swiftly pulled away before he could fire, and disappeared
within seconds.
On the night of August 6-7, 1952, Will Jansen, a marine
engineer and designer, was visiting in Kerkrade, Holland. Just
after midnight a disc-shaped craft with visible superstructure
swooped down to low altitude, hovered, zig-zagged and sped away.
A second disc-shaped UFO, similar in outline, was then seen
hovering farther away. Finally it tilted up vertically and shot up
out of sight. [43]
AUGUST 6/7, 1952
KERKRADE, HOLLAND
FIRST OF TWO DISCS OBSERVED BY WILL JANSEN, MARINE
ENGINEER. "CABIN" PROTRUDED FROM UNDERSIDE TOO ON
SECOND UFO.
Numerous UFO sightings in France have been thoroughly in-
vestigated and documented by Aime Michel, mathematician and
engineer. (Author of "The Truth About Flying Saucers," Criterion
Books, N.Y., 1956; and "Flying Saucers and the Straight Line
Mystery," Criterion, 1958). Since 1958, M. Michel has joined
forces with Rene Hardy, engineer at Drivomatic Laboratories
in Paris, and other scientists to form a scientific commission
to study UFO reports. Both Michel and Hardy also serve as
NICAP Advisers.
On June 13, 1952, a very prominent bright orange-red light
hovered in the sky, visible from Le Bourget airport. About
1:00 a.m., after hovering for an hour, the UFO began moving and
crossed the sky southwest of the field, accelerating rapidly.
Witnesses included M. Navarri, pilot of an approaching plane;
M. Veillot and M. Damiens, control tower operators. [44]
At a military meteorological station in Villacoublay, August
29, 1952, a UFO was tracked by theodolite and the observation
carefully logged. The object alternately hovered, and moved
erratically. [45]
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New Yorker magazine, in a "Letter From Paris" column,
October 23, 1954 recounts many UFO sightings during the sum-
mer and fall of that year. Witnesses included the Mayor of
Briancon, gendarmes, sailors, taxi-drivers and other citizens.
The European "flap" of fall 1954 is one of the most intense
concentrations of UFO activity on record. [See Aime Michel's
books, cited above, for details]
At Orly Field, Paris, February 17, 1956, a UFO was tracked
on radar and seen by an Air France pilot. "They [radarmen at
Orly] said the object showed up on radar screens at an estimated
speed of about 1700 mph., then hovered at various points over the
capital." [46]
Also in Paris, September 26, 1957, an American Embassy
officer and his wife watched a reddish-orange elliptical UFO for
twenty minutes around 7:00 p.m. The sighting was later reported
to NICAP in confidence. [47]
Germany: In 1963, Major Artur W. Heyer, air attache at the
German Embassy, answered a NICAP member's query: "I have
been informed that no information with regard to your questions
is available and that there is no official West German Govern-
ment policy or agency concerning unidentified flying objects
(UFOs)." "However," he concluded: "I am sorry to give you
this reply and I think your request deals with a matter which has
not yet been exploited sufficiently." [48]
Over Fursten-Feldbruck November 23, 1948, a bright red
UFO was seen by a USAF pilot and tracked by ground and air
radar. The UFO was clocked at 900 mph., and climbed 23,000
feet in a matter of minutes, far exceeding the performance of
any known aircraft. [See Section VIII; Radar]
London Daily Mail, July 5, 1954: "Berlin is seeing saucers
regularly. Allied officials there are investigating the appearance
of mysterious objects over the city. German eyewitnesses claim
that a formation of three fast-moving objects can regularly be
seen whenever the sky over Berlin is clear. The objects, de-
scribed as "small and disclike," are said to appear between
10 and 11 p.m., at extremely high altitudes."
In recent years, German NICAP members have contributed
UFO information to NICAP regularly. Martin Bruckmann, engi-
neering student, at about midnight November 19, 1956 observed
seven bright, blue-white elliptical objects in V-formation moving
rapidly east to west over Frankfurt. [491
In Kirchberg, Hunsruck, at 3:30 p.m., May 25, 1958, Gunter
Henn (Master of Business Administration) with another person
watched a glistening silver object, circular with spoke-like
markings. The UFO descended on a slant, them moved hori-
zontally into clouds. [50]
The NICAP Adviser for West Germany, at Wolfsburg, is Dr.
Helmut H. Damm, a German-born American citizen currently
employed in Germany as a management consultant in engineer-
ing. He holds the degree of Doctor of Mechanical Engineering.
During World War II he served as a systems and field instruc-
tor, and design engineer, in the Rocket Division of the German
Army.
Dr. Damm took a survey of UFO interest in West Germany
during 1962. Results:
* Air Force headquarters at Bonn stated they had no person-
nel or funds to devote to UFO investigation.
* The German Research Institute for Aeronautics also stated
they were doing no work on UFOs, but appeared interested and
openminded in discussing the subject.
* The daily newspaper "Bild" stated it was greatly interested
in obtaining more facts and new evidential reports for publica-
tion.
* On the whole, Dr. Damm found individuals and agencies
poorly informed on the subject.
At least two eminent German scientists who have been em-
ployed in the U.S. since World War II are outspoken believers
that UFOs are space ships from another planet. Prof. Hermann
Oberth in 1954 began an American Weekly article (October 24)
in these words: "It is my thesis that flying saucers are real and
that they are space ships from another planet." Upon his return
to Germany in November 1958, after being employed by the U.S.
at Huntsville, Alabama, Prof. Oberth repeated his belief that
"very intelligent beings" have been observing the earth for a long
time. [51]
Dr. Walther Riedel, former chief designer and research
director of Peenemunde rocket center in Germany, directed the
Civilian Saucer Investigation of Los Angeles. CSI was the first
prominent UFO investigation group in the U.S., publicized by
Life and Time early in 1952. Dr. Riedel stated: "I'm convinced
saucers have an out-of-world basis." (Another prominent member
of CSI was philosopher Gerald Heard, author of Is Another
World Watching? Harpers, 1950).
Reports in southern Europe and over the Mediterranean Sea
have been as frequent as in any other area of the world. (For
example, see New York Times; March 30, 1950, "More Flying
Saucers in Mediterranean, Orient.") The sightings which re-
ceived the most attention in the press and were best documented,
however, were those during the fall 1954 European "flap".
Around 7:00 p.m., September 17, 1954, a large circular
object, (shaped like a truncated cone) trailing smoke and making
a series of explosive sounds, was observed along a 15-mile
stretch above the Mediterranean coast west of Rome. Interna-
tional News Service (INS) reported that an Italian Air Force
radar station at Practica Dimare, 40 miles southwest of Rome,
tracked the UFO for 39 minutes at an altitude of 3600 feet. The
UFO flew slowly at first, then accelerated rapidly and disap-
peared straight up at great speed.
Mrs. Clare Booth Luce, then U.S. Ambassador to Italy, was
among dozens of witnesses to a UFO phenomenon over Rome,
October 28, 1954. A luminous round object sped across the sky,
followed by a fall of fine cotton-like particles from the sky.
Mrs. Luce said: "I saw something, but I don't know what it was."
An Associated Press reporter, Maurizio Andreolo, described the
UFO as being "like a moon dashing across the sky at fantastic
speed ... silently." [52]
Several UFOs, some described as spear-shaped and some
egg-shaped, sped over Belgrade, Yugoslavia shortly after 6:15
a.m., October 25, 1954. (The same or similar objects were also
seen in Austria and Italy that day.) Witnesses included Vladimir
Ajvas, aeronautical engineer; Stjepan Djitkol, Air Force Captain;
and members of the staff at Zemun Airport.
United Press reported from Belgrade, October 27: "Author-
ities announced today they were making a `serious investigation'
of the flight over Yugoslavia Monday of objects which looked and
acted like nothing described in the standard aviation reference
books. . . . The reports under investigation were that shiny
'ellipsoidal' objects zipped through the Yugoslav skies trailing
bluish tails for about an hour after sunrise Monday. Scientists
in astronomical observatories who witnessed the flights con-
cluded that the objects could not have been meteors, and probably
were not any form of 'heavenly body' . . ."
Barcelona, Spain, November 12, 1958 (AP): "A group of
scientists here has founded the interplanetary studies center to
investigate 'unexplained phenomena in space and unidentified
objects in the skies' . . ." The President of the "Centro do
Estudios Interplanetarios," Mr. Eduardo Buelta, establishedcon-
tact with NICAP late in 1958 offering collaboration and setting
up an exchange of information.
Palma Observatory on the Spanish Island of Majorca (or
Mallorca), in the Balearic islands (off the east coast of Spain in
the Mediterranean Sea) sighted a UFO at 9:33 a.m., May 22, 1960.
The report, cabled to NASA in Washington, described a white
triangular object about 1/4 the size of the moon spinning on its
own axis as it flew on a steady course. NICAP efforts to obtain
more information from the Observatory went unanswered.
Africa
The vast African continent has been visited repeatedly
by unidentified flying objects showing characteristics
similar to those seen all over the world. One of the
earliest and most spectacular reports on record con-
cerns the sighting of a huge cigar-shaped UFO which
hovered over famous Mt. Kilimanjaro February 19, 1951.
The UFO was photographed from an East African Air-
ways plane flying in the vicinity. After remaining mo-
tionless for a considerable period of time, the object
suddenly climbed steeply and disappeared. The movie
film was developed and reportedly showed a clear and
sizeable image of the object, according to the Natal
Mercury.
123
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The sigi tifig was detailed in the Nairobi Sunday Post,
February 25, 1951, by Capt. Jack Bicknell, pilot of the East
African Airways plane. Extracts from Capt. Bicknell's report:
"The Lodestar plane left Nairobi West at 7:00a.m. At 7:20 a.m.,
the radio officer (D. W. Merrifield) drew my attention to a bright
object like a white star hanging motionless about 10,000 feet above
Kilimanjaro. My first reaction was to say nothing. We watched
it for three minutes. Then we told the passengers about it. One
of them had a very powerful pair of binoculars with him and he
began to study it. In the meantime, we put a radio message
through to Eastleigh describing it. Eastleigh asked us to check
whether it was a meteorological balloon. I then examined it for
several minutes through the binoculars. . . [At this point the
plane had approached to within about 50 miles of the mountain]...
`Through the glasses I saw a metallic, bullet shaped object
which must have been over 200 feet long. At one end was a square-
cut vertical fin. Its colour was a dull silver, and at regular
intervals along the fuselage were vertical dark bands. Its whole
outline was clear and sharp and there was no haziness about it
at all. . . It was absolutely stationary, and remained that way
for 17 minutes. . . [Capt. Bicknell states that two passengers
were taking photographs at this time] . . .
"Then it began to move eastwards, rising as it did so. It
disappeared at about 40,000 feet. . . The machine left no vapour
trail, and it had no visible means of propulsion. . . My impres-
sion was that it was definitely a flying machine of some kind."
FEBRUARY 19, 1951
KENYA, AFRICA
UFO OBSERVED HOVERING ABOVE MT. KILIMANJARO BY
EAST AFRICAN AIRWAYS PILOT
New Yorker magazine, October 23, 1954 reported a UFO
sighting by the Administrator of Danane, French West Africa on
September 19th of that year. He, his wife, a doctor, and others
saw an object described as an "oval flying machine" with a dome,
and lights like searchlights.
In populous South Africa, scientists, aviation personnel,
police and many others have reported UFO sightings. At the
Upington Meteorological Station, Cape Province, December 7,
1954 the Officer-in-Charge, Mr. R. H. Kleyweg, tracked a white
semi-circular UFO through a theodolite for about a minute.
Then the object began moving too fast to track. "I have followed
thousands of Meteorological balloons," Mr. Kleyweg said. "This
object was no balloon." [53.]
During the North and South American "flap" in November
1957 [See Section XII], hundreds of people in the Southern
Transvaal area witnessed an "enormous" cylindrical UFO. On
the night of November 5, the object was observed hovering in
the sky. South African Air Force searchlights in Dunnotar pin-
pointed the UFO, which then "withdrew" behind clouds, according
to witnesses. [54.]
At Johannesburg, April 11, 1958, H. F. Daniels (airport
instrument inspector) and others watched a reddish-white UFO
above the north horizon at night, moving back and forth east and
west. "I have worked with aircraft for 18 years," Mr. Daniels
said, "and the thing I saw was certainly no conventional plane.
The speed was phenomenal and it sometimes became completely
stationary, changing color from white to blood red." [55.]
Many other African UFO sightings, some from French air
bases and scientific stations, are recorded by Aime Michel.
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Far East
Because of language difficulties, NICAP has not been able
to compile as many reports from the Far East (except in the
Australia-New Zealand area), but it is known that UFOs are often
seen and that UFO groups exist in most countries. A query to
the Nationalist Chinese Government, referred to the Taiwan
Weather Bureau, brought the following reply in 1963:
"The Mission for the observation on unidentified flying ob-
jects should be assigned to a Military Agency such as National
Civil Defense Organization in order to meet the emergencies.
The Government will inform the public on the sightings of UFOs
when the situation is necessary. . . At present no conclusion
on the observation of UFOs has been reached or an official
report. . . announced to the public." [56.]
An unclassified Air Force intelligence report in NICAP
possession describes a U.S. Air Force sighting of a "large
round object" somewhere in the Far East in December 1956.
A jet pilot experienced radar jamming as he closed on the UFO,
and saw it flash away easily outdistancing his jet. [Section I.]
On September 15, 1954, in Manbhum, Bihar, India, Mr.
Ijapada Chatterjee (manager of a mica mine) and hundreds of
others watched a saucer-shaped object descend to an altitude of
about 500 feet. The UFO hovered, then soared upwards at terrific
speed causing a tremendous gust of wind. The object was seen
over a mine which has supplied beryllium for the U.S. Atomic
Energy Commission. [57.]
A book entitled "The Mystery of the Flying Saucers Re-
vealed," published in Indonesia in 1961, contains a foreword by
the Air Force Chief of Staff, Air Chief Marshal S. Suryadarma,
which discloses that UFOs have often been reportedby Indonesian
Air Force personnel. The author is Col. J. Salatun, Secretary
of the Indonesian Joint Chiefs of Staff and member of the Supreme
People's Congress. NICAP checked with the Indonesian Embassy
and verified the positions of both men.
In Japan and Korea, notably during the Korean War, UFOs
have often been sighted by U.S. Air Force and other military
personnel.
October 15, 1948: The crew of an F-61 night fighter over
Japan tracked on radar and saw the silhouette of a UFO shaped
"like a rifle bullet" (cf., Mt. Kilimanjaro sighting, above) which
repeatedly accelerated out of reach of the fighter. [Section VIII;
Radar. ]
January 29, 1952: Bright, rotating, disc-shaped UFOs seen
by B-29 crews near Wonsan and Sunchon, Korea. [58.]
March 29, 1952: Small shiny disc maneuvered around USAF
F-86 in flight north of Misawa, Japan. [Section I.]
August 5, 1952: Dark circular UFO with bright body light
hovered near control tower at Oneida AFB, Japan, sped away,
dividing into three sections. [Section VIII; Radar.]
October 13, 1952: Elliptical UFO hovering in clouds near
Oshima, Japan, sighted by Major William D. Leet, USAF, and
his engineer; object sped away after 7 minutes. [Section III.]
December 12, 1962: Five school girls in Amagaski City, at
4:30 p.m., saw a brightly glowing UFO. Asked to draw in-
dependently what they had seen, all five sketched a Saturn-shaped
disc. [59.]
AUSTRALIA--NEW ZEALAND
Another hotspot of UFO activity has been the Australia--
New Zealand area. The great number of UFO sightings in this
region (about the same southern latitudes as Brazil - Uruguay -
Argentina) and the amount of public interest in them can only be
suggested in this limited survey of foreign reports. [60.]
As in many other countries, UFOs are "officially" non-
existent. A 1963 letter to a NICAP member from A. B. McFarlane,
Secretary, Department of Air, Commonwealth of Australia states:
"From time to time reports of unidentified flying objects are
received and investigated by the Royal Australian Air Force, but
details of individual investigations have not been made public.".. .
The letter goes on to quote a 1960 speech in Parliament by Min-
ister for Air, Hon. F. M. Osborne: "Nearly all [UFO reports] are
explainable on a perfectly normal basis. . . only three or four
per cent cannot be explained on the basis of some natural
phenomenon, and nothing that has arisen from that three or four
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percent. . . gives any firm support for the belief that interlopers
from other places in this world or outside it have been visiting
us." [61.]
The New Zealand Embassy in 1963 said their government had
never stated any policy on UFOs and that "a policy on this sub-
ject has never been warranted."
In mid-December 1954 a Royal Australian Navy pilot was
flying back to Nowra air base after dark when "two strange air-
craft resembling flying saucers" took up formation with him.
The pilot called Nowra air control, whose radar showed three
objects flying together. The pilot identified himself by moving
according to pattern. Upon landing, the pilot said the two UFOs
were much faster than his Seafury fighter. [62.]
As a result of hundreds of similar UFO reports, there are a
number of UFO groups in Australia. NICAP member Peter E.
Norris, an attorney in Melbourne, heads the Victorian Flying
Saucer Research Society, which publishes "Flying Saucer Re-
view" (not to be confused with a publication of the same name in
London).
On October 16, 1957 Air Marshal Sir George Jones sighted a
UFO resembling a balloon with a white light on the bottom, except
that it sped past silently at an altitude of about 500 feet. "Nothing
can shake me from my belief in what I saw," he said. Interviewed
by Mr. Norris, he admitted he had no explanation for the sight-
ing. Sir George Jones is the former Commander-in-Chief of the
RAAF.
During the November 1957 "flap" in the western hemisphere,
Australia also was flooded with sightings. Mr. Norris reported
that "during early November UFO reports came from all Aus-
tralian states except Tasmania."
The most prominent UFO organization in New Zealand is
Civilian Saucer Investigation headed by Harold H. Fulton, a
Sergeant in the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Mr. Fulton is
now a NICAP Adviser. C.S.I. publishes a bulletin named "Space
Probe," however, it has recently been suspended while Mr.
Fulton has been on a tour of active duty with the RNZAF. Over
the years, Mr. Fulton has contributed dozens of good cases to
NICAP and actively publicized serious UFO evidence in his country.
A National New Zealand Airlines plane was enroute to Auck-
land, N.Z., from Wellington on the night of October 31, 1955. At
the controls was Capt. W. T. Rainbow. The co-pilot was S. G.
Trounce. A bright object, changing color repeatedly, came from
behind the plane on a parallel course, flew alongside, passed the
plane and disappeared in the distance. Capt. Rainbow estimated
the UFOs' speed at about 850 mph. The strange object, unlike
any aircraft, pulsated in colors of red, yellow, orange, and blue.
One of the potentially most important pieces of evidence for
UFOs is a secret motion picture film purporting to show a
saucerlike UFO climbing steeply over Port Moresby, New
Guinea. The film was taken August 31, 1953 by Mr. T. C. Drury,
Deputy Regional Director of Civil Aviation. According to
Reuters news agency, the film was sent to Air Technical Intelli-
gence Center in Dayton, Ohio, for analysis. The USAF analysis
report has never been released.
C. OCEAN & ANTARCTIA
UFOs have been sighted at sea, in the islands of the major
oceans, and in Antarctica. Reports from ships' officers are of
unusual interest because they are experienced sky observers,
familiar with the stars and planets and other astronomical and
atmospheric phenomena.
A well-qualified scientific observer aboard an ice-breaker
in Admiralty Bay, Antartica, sighted a luminous object which
divided into two parts while flying on a level course below an
overcast. This phenomenon was observed by Rubens J. Villela,
Brazilian meteorologist, March 16, 1961. [Section VI.]
Pacific Ocean
Two objects "like small moons" were observed June 18,
1957 about 150 miles off San Francisco. Capt. C. O. Wertz,
Roy Melton, electrician, and other crew members of the freighter
"Hawaiian Fisherman" at 8:00 p.m., watched the objects
pacing the freighter. Then 15 minutes later a third UFO joined
the first two, making a V, and followed the ship. [63.]
A missionary, and four natives in a separate location, in the
and hovered about 20 feet above the sea during the night of
October 8, 1957. The UFO was revolving and gave off a blinding
beam of light as the natives approached it in their boat. The
natives reported seeing a man-like figure on top of the object.
[64.]
Trans-Oceanic pilots have often sighted strange aerial pheno-
mena, but are reluctant to talk about their experiences. Capt.
Willis T. Sperry, American Airlines pilot whose plane was
circled by an elliptical UFO May 29, 1950 [Section V.] stated in
1951:
"I have talked to just as many pilots who have seen strange
occurrences while flying and have not reported it, as have re-
ported the incident. The ones who did not report it feared adverse
publicity. . . Several P.A.A. [Pan American Airways] pilots have
seen unexplained objects far from land - one near Australia,
several between the mainland of California and Hawaii, and two
that I talked to out there [in the Far East] said they saw an ob-
ject close enough so they could describe it in some detail. . ."
[65.]
The sighting of a formation of UFOs east of Hawaii by the
crews of several aircraft July 11, 1959 was reported widely by
Associated Press, United Press International and Hawaiian news-
papers. NICAP interviewed several of the civilian witnesses;
the crews of Air Force planes were not available.
Capt. George Wilson, Pan American Airways, gave the fol-
lowing account: "While flying a Boeing Stratocruiser at 20,000
feet on a 224 degree heading [about 900 nautical miles northeast
of Honolulu] a large and bright light appeared on the horizon
at 11 o'clock position [SSW]. The large bright light was flanked
by 3 or 4 smaller lower magnitude lights in a line below, behind
and to the left of the main vehicle. The lights passed from 11
o'clock to 10 o'clock position, the formation made an abrupt
right turn and disappeared to the south."
The co-pilot, Richard Lorenzen, and Flight Engineer Bob
Scott, also saw the UFOs. Lorenzen commented that "the rate
of closure with us was much greater than any I had ever ex-
perienced before. It was not until the object turned that I was
able to distinguish the smaller lights associated with it."
First Officer D. W. Frost, on another Pan American flight
in the vicinity, reported essentially the same phenomenon. The
UFOs were also observed by Air Force bomber crews, a Slick
Airways plane, and a Canadian Pacific airliner. Capt. Lloyd
Moffatt, pilot of the Canadian airliner, told the press: "You
can take it from me they were there. I never saw anything like
it in my life and there are four of us who saw the same thing at
the same time."
For about 10 minutes at 7:00 a.m. (Honolulutime), September
21, 1961, two airliners and a U.S. ship at sea observed a UFO
simultaneously. The object passed overhead, apparently at ex-
tremely high altitude, angling southeasterly above the North
Pacific. (See map.)
Reports from the Federal Aviation Agency, and the U.S.
Navy Oceanographic Office publication "Notice to Mariners,"
establish the following facts.
At 1700 Greenwich Mean Time, the S. S. Iberville, north and
east of Midway Island, noticed a white object about 20 degrees
above the NW horizon. Its apparent angular size was about 1
degree (twice the apparent size of the full moon). For about 10
minutes, the UFO was observed passing over the ship headed
southeast. As it neared the ship's meridian, it resembled a huge
halo with a bright object in the center. The apparent size in-
creased to over four times the size of the full moon. [See Notice
to Mariners report, reproduced below.]
At the same time, a British Overseas Airways Corporation
(BOAC) airliner about 800 miles northeast of the ship saw the
object overtake the plane. From a steep angle above the plane,
the UFO continued southeasterly and disappeared over the hori-
zon. Capt. R. F. Griffin described the UFO as "like a large
smoke ring about 2 degrees in diameter [about 4 times the size
of the full moon]." He said the center of the ring was clear sky,
and once a star was visible through it. A ray of light seemed to
project downward from the object.
A Pan American Airways plane, about 400 miles southeast
of Capt. Griffin's position, confirmed the report. The pilot re-
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ported a doug n t-shaped object moving easterly about 10 degrees
above the horizon. [66.]
The Soviet Union announced a few days later that they had
successfully test fired a multi-stage carrier rocket over the
pacific (exact date not on record). However, the reported size
of the UFO was far too large to be explained as a rocket payload.
Second Officer William C. Ash of the American S.S. Iberville, Capt. M. O.
Vinson, Master, reported the following:
"At 1700 G.M.T. on September 21, 1961, while in lat. 31?30' N., long. 175?30' E.,
a few minutes before morning twilight, a white opaque mass about twice the
size of a full moon appeared in the northwest at an elevation of about 20?. It
continued to climb toward the zenith and at about an elevation of 40? the mass
opened gradually to appear as a huge halo with a satellite in the center having
very nearly the brightness of a first magnitude star. By the time it reached the
zenith it had more than doubled in size reaching its maximum at the zenith and
then diminishing as it proceeded to the southeast. As it diminished it continued
to decrease in size but did not appear to shrink into a corona as it had appeared
but rather faded out completely at an elevation of approximately 20?. The
entire mass was in view for approximately 8 to 10 minutes."
Weather partly cloudy, wind NW force 2, slight sea and small NW swell,
temperatures: dry 74? F., wet 67? F., sea 79? F.
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plane. The smaller objects were stretched out in a line, in front
of and behind the larger object.
Anticipating the questions that would come when he reported
this, Capt. Howard counted the smaller objects several times.
"Six. Always six. Sometimes there were three stretched out in
front and three behind. Sometimes five stretched out in line
ahead and only one behind."
To rule out a flight of normal aircraft, Capt. Howard radioed
Goose Bay. A minute later they replied: "No other traffic in
your area." When he described the UFOs, Goose Bay said they
would send a fighter to investigate.
As the pilots continued to watch, the large UFO appeared to
change shape. "It turned into what looked like a flying arrow -
an enormous delta-winged plane turning in to close with us." The
object appeared to grow larger, as if coming closer, but then
changed shape again and seemed to hold its distance. Now it
appeared more flattened and elongated, as the smaller objects
continued to maneuver around.
The other members of the crew crowded forward to watch:
George Allen, navigator; Doug Cox, radio officer; Dan Godfrey,
engineer; and Bill Stewart, engineer. They all saw it, as did the
stewardess Daphne Webster and many of the passengers.
180, 1500
B
3$o
*
CA
30?
?
MIDWA
25?
20?
Distance Midway to Hawaii:
1312 Statute Miles
A. Position of S.S. Iberville
B. Position of BOAC Airliner
C. Position of PAA Airliner
(Lines of sight indicated by
Arrows)
Atlantic Ocean
About 150 miles south of Goose Bay, Labrador, above the
North Atlantic, another BOAC pilot observed UFO activity June
30, 1954. Capt. James Howard described the sighting to the London
Sunday Chronicle:
"I had taken off from Idlewild airfield New York at 5 o'clock...
headed northeast across the St. Lawrence River. . . It was 9:05
p.m. Labrador time and we were about twenty minutes' flying
time northeast of Seven Islands when I first sighted the thing."
The UFO first appeared as a "dark blob" in the distance,
similar to a flak burst, with smaller objects around it. "As near
as I can describe it," Capt. Howard said, "it was something
like an inverted pear suspended in the sky." The object was to
the port side of the Stratocruiser, in a westerly direction.
Capt. Howard pointed out the UFO to his co-pilot, Lee Boyd,
and they noticed that it was moving on a course parallel to the
reported that they pulled ahead of the plane once, then dropped
back. This reduced the possibility that the "objects" actually
were some kind of illusion.
In a short time, the fighter pilot called in and said he was
about 20 miles off at higher altitude. Capt. Howard confirmed that
the UFOs were still pacing his plane. When the fighter pilot asked
how they looked, Capt. Howard turned to look again. The small
satellite objects had suddenly vanished. He asked the navigator
what had happened. Allen replied: "It looked to me as though
they went inside the big one."
At that moment, the remaining UFO began to diminish rapidly
in size, apparently moving away at terrific speed. In a matter of
seconds, the UFO diminished to a pinpoint, then disappeared.
Eighteen minutes had elapsed since the first sighting.
Capt. Howard called it "the strangest eighty-mile journey of
my life."
When they landed at Goose Bay, the crew was interrogated by
a U.S. Air Force intelligence officer.
"It was a solid thing," Capt. Howard concluded. "I'm sure of
that. Maneuverable and controlled intelligently - a sort of base
ship linked somehow with those smaller attendant satellites. . .
It must have been some weird form of space ship from another
world."
NOTES
1. Ottawa Journal
2. Copy of statement on file at NICAP
3. Report on file at NICAP
4. Windsor Daily Star; December 13, 1957
5. United Press International; April 13, 1959
6. Letter on file at NICAP
7. Letter on file at NICAP
8. Statements by Wing Commander William M. Lee, Director of
Public Relations, RCAF, on file at NICAP
9. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner; February 16, 1960. Anchorage
Daily News; February 16, 1960. Anchorage Daily Times;
February 15, 1960
10. Letter on file at NICAP
11. Letter, signed by Lt. Col. Arnoldo C. Tesselhoff, Assistant
Air Attache, on file at NICAP
12. Stringfield, Leonard H., Inside Saucer Post. . .3-0 Blue.
(Privately published: 4412 Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio,
1957), p. 83
CRIFO Newsletter, June 1955, L. H. Stringfield, Ed.
13. Official report from Argentine Embassy, on file at NICAP
14. C.I.F.E. has twenty counselor members, among them Army,
Navy and Naval Air Force officers on active duty. Colla-
borating members include directors of astronomical and
astronautical centers.
15. Keyhoe, Donald E., Flying Saucer Conspiracy. (Henry Holt,
1955), p. 212
16. Ibid., p. 26. London Daily Sketch, November 22, 1954
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17. Diairo de Sao Paulo; February 22, 1958
18. Diairo Popular; July 7, 1957
19. APRO Bulletin; September 1959. Brazilian newspapers;
August 20, 1957
20. Pilot interviewed by Cmdr. A. B. Simoes, Sao Paulo, Brazil
21. 0 Estado de Sao Paulo; May 28, 1958
22. Report officially logged at airport and relayed to Brazilian
Air Force. Obtained for NICAP by J. Escobar Faria, Ad-
viser in Sao Paulo
23. Report obtained by J. Escobar Faria, Sao Paulo
24. Letter on file at NICAP
25. El Mercurio; October 28, 1959
26. El Universal; January 31, 1958
27. Report on file at NICAP
28. APRO Bulletin; April 1955
29. Keyhoe, Donald E., op. cit., p. 249
30. Ultimas Noticias; July 3, 1960
31. Report on file at NICAP
32. El Universal; February 13, 1962
33. New York Times; July 28, 1946
34. See New York Times; August 11, 1946; Associated Press;
August 11, 1946; Stockholm Aftenbladet; August 13, 1946
35. New York Times; October 11, 1946
36. United Press; December 18, 1953
37. Letter, signed by Col. O. B. Engvik, Air Attache, on file at
NICAP
38. Christian Science Monitor; January 29, 1959
39. Letter on file at NICAP
40. Letter on file at NICAP
41. RAF Flying Review; July 1957. London Illustrated News;
December 2, 1954
42. Irish Times; May 22, 1962. Reuters News Agency; May 22,
1962
43. Letter to CSI of Los Angeles, on file at NICAP
44. Michel, Aime, The Truth About Flying Saucers. (Criterion,
1956), ppg. 165-166
45. Ibid., p. 169ff
46. Los Angeles Times; February 19, 1956
47. Report on file at NICAP, available to Congressional investiga-
tors
48. Letter on file at NICAP
49. Report on file at NICAP
50. Report on file at NICAP
51. United Press International; November 7, 1958
52. Associated Press; October 28, 1954
53. Natal Mercury (Durban); January 28, 1955
54. New Zealand Herald; November 7, 1957 (Datelined Johannes-
burg)
55. Johannesburg Sunday Times; April 13, 1958
56. Letter, signed by Kenneth T. C. Cheng, Director of Taiwan
Weather Bureau, on file at NICAP
57. Information obtained by Rev. Albert H. Baller, NICAP Board
Member, from Indian newspaper
58. Life; April 7, 1952. Newsweek; March 3, 1952
59. Report and sketches published in Japan International UFO In-
vestigation, J. I. Takanashi, Editor; Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan.
(8-9-2, Sakurazuka-Higashi)
60. For additional data on UFO sightings in Australia, New Guinea
and New Zealand, see: Maney, Charles A. & Hall, Richard,
Challenge of Unidentified Flying Objects (Willard Courts
#504, Washington, D.C. 20009); Chapter 3, "Recent Sightings
in the Pacific."
61. Letter on file at NICAP
62. Auckland Star; December 16, 1954 (N.Z.P.A., Reuters)
63. San Francisco newspapers; June 19, 1957
64. Manila Bulletin; November 6, 1957
65. Popular Science; August 1951
66. Reports on file at NICAP
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SECTION XI
THE UFO CHRONOLOGY
19th Century
Roman numerals in brackets indicate numbers of other Sections
which contain information about a given case in this Chronology.
August 6, 1860--Norfolk, Va. Two objects, one red and one
green, flew overhead together, moving with an undulating motion.
1877--England. Three meteor-like objects moving together
with "remarkable slowness" flew across the sky, visible about
three minutes, "moving with the same velocity and grade of
regularity. . [as] a flock of wild geese." [Credit: Charles Fort,
from Report of the British Association, 1877-152]
July 3, 1884--Norwood, N.Y. Saturn-shaped UFO (globe with
central ring) flew slowly overhead. [Credit: Charles Fort, from
Science Monthly, 2-136]
1896-1897--Mysterious "Airship" reported all across United
States.
Early 20th Century
February 28, 1904--Formation of three maneuvering objects
sighted by U.S.S. Supply in North Pacific off San Francisco. [II]
December 22, 1909--Worcester, Mass. "Mysterious Airship"
emitting a bright beam of light appeared moving SE to NW, hovered
over city, moved away. Seen again two hours later; hovered,
moved away to south and turned east. Observed over Boston and
Lynn, Mass. next night. [N.Y. Tribune, 12-23-09; N.Y. Sun,
12-24-09]
July 19, 1916--Unidentified luminous object shaped like a
dirigible observed over Huntington, W. Va. [Credit: Charles
Fort, from Scientific American, 115-241]
Early 1918--Near Waco, Texas. Reddish cigar-shaped object,
with no motor or rigging, passed silently from SW to NE.
1923--Greencastle, Indiana. Revolving red object passedover-
head from NE to SW. Two witnesses currently are college pro-
fessors.
January 1924--Oklahoma. White oval-shaped object lit up
ground, moved out of sight over horizon.
August 5, 1926--Himalayan Mountains. Explorer Nicholas
Roerich and others in his caravan observed a shiny oval-shaped
object move overhead, changing course. [I]
November 1928--Milton, N.D. A UFO, round "like an inverted
soup plate," sped overhead emitting rays of light which illuminated
the ground and startled cattle.
January 1, 1931--Cobden, Ont., Canada. UFO sighted in early
morning, had bright light on front which lit up tree-tops, flashing
lights on rear. Object made sweeping curve, sped up and climbed
out of sight.
April or May 1932--Durham, N.Y. Aluminum-like disc with
periphery of yellowish lights or "portholes" on underside.
1932 or 1933--Oakland, California. About seven brilliant ob-
jects in a group flew from 30 degrees elevation in the east to
45 degrees elevation in the west, in an are. Witness now college
graduate, former USAF pilot.
World War II "Foo-Fighter" Era
August 29, 1942--Columbus, Miss. Control tower operator at
Army Air Base saw two round reddish objects hover over field.
[III]
Approx. 1943--Washington, D.C. Sighting of UFO formation by
Metropolitan policeman. [VII]
March 1944--Carlsbad, N.M. Air Force pilot saw fast-moving
UFO speed out of sight over horizon. [III]
Summer 1944--Normandy, France. Los Angeles columnist
George Todt, in a party of four Army officers including a Lt.
Col., watched a pulsating red fireball sail up to the front lines,
hover for 15 minutes, then move away. [IV]
July 1944- -Brest, France. Two men of the 175th Infantry Regi-
ment, 29th Infantry Division, saw a large rectangular object with
no apparent source of propulsion move steadily over the front
lines and out to sea. The UFO at one point passed in front of
the moon, briefly obscuring it from view. [IV]
August 10, 1944--Sumatra. Sighting of maneuvering UFO which
paced'B-29 during mission. [III]
October 1944--Southeast Holland. Field Artillery officer and
men saw a brilliant object moving from NW to SW, crossing an
arc of about 90 degrees in about 45 minutes. [IV]
November 1944--France. 415th Night Fighter Squadron pilot
saw formation of round objects. [III]
December 1944--Austria. B-17 pilot and crew, on a lone wolf
mission, were followed by an amber-colored disc. [III]
January 1945--Germany. Another 415th Night FighterSquadron
pilot was followed by three red and white lighted objects over
Germany. [III]
January 2, 1945--The New York Times carried an AP dispatch
from France about several recent "foo-fighter" sightings. Lt.
Donald Meiers said he had twice been followed by UFOs. [III]
March 1945--Aleutian Islands. Fourteen men on the U.S.A.T.
Delarof (an attack transport) saw a dark spherical object which
rose out of the water, circled the ship and flew away. An official
report on the incident was sent to Washington. [IV]
May 1946--LaGrange, Florida. A Navy gunnery and radar
officer observed a dark elliptical object which moved slowly over-
head, disappearing in a cloud bank. [I]
July-August 1946--Swedish "Ghost rocket" sightings. [XI
August 1, 1946--Florida. Observation of cigar-shaped UFO by
Air Corps transport pilot. [III]
1947
[See Section XII, June-July 1947 "Flap," for additional details]
June 23, 1947--Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Railroad engineer saw 10
shiny disc-shaped objects, very high, fluttering along in a string
toward NW. [XII]
June 24, 1947--Mt. Ranier, Wash. Kenneth Arnold sighting. [V]
Term "Flying saucer" coined.
June 28, 1947--Nr Lake Mead, Nevada. USAF F-51 pilot re-
ported a formation of 5-6 circular objects. [III]
June 28, 1947--Maxwell AFB, Ala. Zig-zagging light seen by
pilots, intelligence officers. [III]
June 29, 1947--White Sands, N.M. Naval rocket expert, at
test grounds observed a silvery disc. [IV]
July 4, 1947--Portland, Oregon. Police and many others saw
many UFOs in formations and singly beginning about 1:05 p.m.
[II, XII]
July 4, 1947--Nr. Boise, Idaho. United Airlines pilot and crew,
enroute to Portland, Ore., saw 9 disc-like UFOs. [V]
July 4, 1947--Seattle, Wash. Coast Guard yeoman took first
known photograph of UFO, a circular object which moved across
the wind. Photo shows round dot of light. [VIII, XII]
July 4, 1947--Redmond, Oregon. Car full of people saw four
disc-shaped UFOs streak past Mt. Jefferson. [XII]
July 6, 1947--Fairfield-Suisun AFB, Calif. Pilot reported
"oscillating" UFO which shot across sky. [III]
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July 6, 1947--S. Central Wyoming. Aviation engineer saw oval
UFO. [VI]
July 8, 1947--Series of sightings over Muroc AFB and Rogers
Dry Lake, secret test base, California:
Morning: Two spherical or disc-like UFOs joined by a third
object. [XII]
Crew of technicians saw white-aluminum UFO with
distinct oval outline descending, moving against wind.
[II]
Afternoon: Thin "metallic" UFO climbed, dove, oscillated over
field, also seen by test pilot in vicinity. [XII]
F-51 pilot watched a flat object "of light-reflecting
nature" pass above his plane. No known aircraft
were in area. [XII]
July 9, 1947--Nr. Boise, Idaho. Newspaper aviation editor
saw flat circular UFO maneuver in front of clouds. [VII]
July 10, 1947--S. New Mexico. A "top astronomer" of the U.S.
observed a bright white elliptical UFO. [II, VI]
Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt, head of Air Force UFO investigation
from 1951-53; "By the end of July (1947) The UFO security lid
was down tight. The few members of the press who did inquire
about what the Air Force was doing got the same treatment that
you would get today if you inquired about the number of thermo-
nuclear weapons stock-piled in the U.S. atomic arsenal. . . (At
ATIC there was) confusion almost to the point of panic." (Report
on Unidentified Flying Objects, p. 39)
Summer 1947--Pittsburg, Kansas. Navy Commander observed
a disc-shaped UFO. [IV]
August, 1947--Media, Pa. Air Force pilot watched a disc
hover, speed away. [V]
September 23, 1947--Air Technical Intelligence Center letter
stating UFOs are real sent to Commanding General of Air Force.
(IX)
October 14, 1947--Muroc AFB, California. First piloted super-
sonic flight in plane, Capt. Yeager flying X-1 rocket-powered air-
craft.
December 8, 1947--Las Vegas, Nevada. Moving reddish UFO
emitted flash of light, shot upwards out of sight. [XII]
1948
January 7, 1948--Fort Knox, Ky., Mantell case. Air National
Guard pilot killed in crash of F-51 during UFO pursuit. Also
sighting at Lockburne AFB, Ohio, later same afternoon, UFO
maneuvering erratically up and down. [V]
January 22, 1948-Project Sign (or "Saucer") established by
Air Force. UFO reports sent to Air Materiel Command, Ohio,
for investigation.
April 5, 1948-- White Sands, N.M. Scientists watched disc -shaped
UFO, one fifth the size of the full moon, streak across sky in
series of violent maneuvers. (No details reported).
May 28, 1948--Air Force transport reported being buzzed by
3 UFOs. [III]
July 1948--Pasco, Wash. Private pilot saw disc diving and
climbing away at high speed. [V]
July 4, 1948--Nr. Longmont, Colorado. Revolving silver cir-
cular object soared upward at "terrific speed." [XII]
Summer 1948--Erie, Pa. Engineer saw elliptical UFO which
flew horizontally, then ascended rapidly. [VI]
Summer 1948--Easton, Pa. Physicist watched 3 luminescent
greenish discs cross sky. [VII
Summer 1948--Labrador. UFO tracked on radar at 9000
m.p.h. [VIII]
July 23, 1948--Nr. Montgomery, Ala. Chiles-Whitted, Eastern
Airlines sighting of rocket-like UFO with exhaust, square ports
along side. [V]
August 1948--Air Technical Intelligence Center Top Secret "Esti-
mate of the Situation, "concluding UFOs were interplanetary space
ships, sent to Air Force Chief of Staff. (IX)
October 1, 1948--Fargo, N.D. Air National Guard F-51 pilot
had "dogfight" with a small flat, circular UFO. [V]
October 15, 1948--Japan. Crew of F-61 night-fighter tracked
on radar and saw silhouette of UFO shaped "like a rifle bullet"
which repeatedly accelerated out of reach of the fighter. [VIII]
November 1, 1948--Goose Bay, Labrador. UFO tracked by
radar at 600 mph [VIII]
November 6, 1948--Japan. Two UFOs, like planes in "dogfight"
tracked on radar. [VIII]
November 18, 1948--Nr. Washington, D.C. Air Force pilot
flying out of Andrews AFB, chased oval-shaped UFO for 10
minutes. [III]
November 23, 1948--Fursten-Feldbruck, Germany. Bright
red UFO tracked by ground and air radar, seen visually by
U.S. AF pilot. [VIII]
December 3, 1948--Fairfield-Suisun AFB, Calif. Ball of light
ascending, seen by pilot. [III]
1949
January 1, 1949--Jackson, Miss., Cigar-shaped UFO crossed
path of private plane, accelerated rapidly and sped away. [V]
April 24, 1949--White Sands, N.M. General Mills balloon
personnel tracked elliptical UFO with theodolite. [I]
April27, 1949--Project "Saucer" Report released by AirForce:
Space visitors considered "improbable," but many unexplained
cases. 30% probably conventional objects.
April 30, 1949--First installment of Saturday Evening Post ar-
ticle by Sidney Shallett. "What You Can Believe About Flying
Saucers."
May 9, 1949--Time article called UFO witnesses "spinners of
yarns."
June 5, 1949--Walter Winchell column: "The New York World-
Telegram has confirmed this reporter's exclusive report of sev-
eral weeks before -- which newspapermen have denied -- about the
flying saucers. Said the front page in the World-Telegram: 'Air
Force people are convinced the flying disk is real. The clincher
came when the Air Force got a picture recently of three disks fly-
ing in formation over Stephensville, Newfoundland. They out-
distanced our fastest ships. . . .
June 10, 1949--White Sands, N.M. Two round white UFOs
maneuvered around a missile in flight. (Confirmed by Capt.
R. B. McLaughlin, USN) [II]
July 3, 1949--Longview, Wash. Navy Commander, others,
watched disc pass above air show. [IV]
August 1949--N.M. Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, discoverer
of the planet Pluto, observed elliptical pattern of 6-8 rectangles
cross the sky. [VI]
Fall 1949--At a key atomic base, a high AF officer was in-
volved in the radar tracking of 5 apparently metallic UFOs which
flew S over the base at tremendous speed and great height. [II]
October 23, 1949--Nr. Baja, Calif. Air Force pilot saw four
discs in formation. [III]
December 27, 1949--Air Force issued Project "Grudge" Report
(Technical Report No. 102-AC-49/15-100) explaining away all UFO
reports to date as delusions, hysteria, hoaxes, and crackpot re-
Ports. Announcement that project had disbanded. (IX)
1950
January 1950-- True magazine article "Flying Saucers Are Real,"
by Maj. Donald E. Keyhoe, suggested UFOs are of extraterres-
trial origin.
February 2, 1950--Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. Bomber
pilot chased UFO which left smoke trail. [III]
February 22, 1950--Key West, Fla. Navy pilots, others, saw
glowing UFO, confirmed by radar. [IV]
March 1950--True article "How Scientists Tracked a Flying
Saucer," by Cmdr. R. B. McLaughlin, USN, reported April 24,
1949 White Sands sighting. (I)
March 8, 1950--Dayton, Ohio. A round UFO seen by the crew
of a TWA airliner, was tracked on radar, and chased by two
F-51s. [VIII]
March 10, 1950--Orangeburg, S.C. Disc hovered over city,
sped away. [XII]
March 13, 1950- -Clarksburg, Calif. Saucer-shaped object
descended, hovered with swaying motion, moved away. [IV]
March 13, 1950--Mexico City, Mexico. Airport observers saw
4 UFOs, one through theodolite. [V, X]
March 16, 1950--Dallas, Texas. Navy Chief Petty Officer at
Naval Air Station saw a flat oval UFO pass under a B-36 bomber.
[IV]
March 17,1950--Farmington, N. Mex. Retired Army Captain,
others, saw dozens of discs gyrating in sky. [IV]
March 18, 1950--Nr. Bradford, Ill. Private pilot watched il-
luminated oval pass his plane. [V]
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March 20, 1950--Nr. Little Rock, Ark. Chicago & Southern
Airlines pilots watched a circular UFO with "portholes" are
above their plane. [II]
March 26, 1950--Reno, Nevada. CAA control tower operator
saw maneuvering light source. [V]
March 26, 1950--Nr. Washington, D.C. Former Air Force
aircraft inspector dove his plane at disc which zoomed up into
overcast. [V]
April 9, 1950--Shelby, N.C. RoundUFOinlevel flight, suddenly
climbed away. [XII]
April 24, 1950--Balearic Islands. Photograph of alleged UFO.
[VIII]
April 27, 1950- -White Sands, N. Mex. UFO spotted by ground
observers just after a test missile had fallen back to earth,
photographed by Askania Cinetheodolite. [VIII]
April 27, 1950--Goshen, Ind. TWA airliner paced by disc-
like reddish UFO. [V]
May 11, 1950- -McMinnville, Oregon. Shiny silver disc hovered,
two photographs taken. [VIII]
May 20, 1950--Flagstaff, Ariz. Astronomer/meteorologist
observed a "powered" disc-like object from the grounds of
Lowell Observatory. [I]
May 29, 1950--Nr. Washington, D.C. American Airlines pilots
saw dark elliptical UFO circle airliner. [V]
May 29, 1950--White Sands, N. Mex. UFO spotted by two theod-
olite stations just before firing of a missile. Object tracked
and photographed by both stations. [VIII]
June 12, 1950--California. Geologist saw disc-shaped object
loop around plane. [VI]
June 21, 1950--Hamilton AFB, Calif. UFO buzzed control
tower several times. [III]
June 24, 1950--California desert. Cigar-shaped UFO paced
United Airlines plane for 20 minutes. [V] Navy pilot reported
cigar-shaped UFO. [IV]
June 30, 1950--Nr. Kingman, Kansas. Rotating disc hovered,
sped away when car approached [XII]
July 1950--F1 n magazine article, "Flying Saucers =- Fact or
Fiction?" summarized recent UFO sightings by pilots.
July 1950--Cincinnati, Ohio. CAA flight engineer observed a
"wingless, fuselage-shaped" UFO. [V]
July 11, 1950--Osceola, Ark. Two Navy aircraft watched
domed disc pass in front, confirmed by radar. [IV]
August 15, 1950--Great Falls, Mont. Nick Marianatook motion
pictures of 2 UFOs (The "Montana film," later shown in the
documentary movie "UFO"). [VIII]
October 3, 1950--Pomona, Calif. Disc-shaped UFO reported
by scientist. [VI]
October 5, 1950--San Fernando, Calif. California Central
Airlines plane buzzed by wing-like UFO. [V]
November 27, 1950--Huron, S.D. CAA personnel saw hovering
maneuvering UFO. [V]
November 27, 1950--Evansville, Wise. Flying instructor re-
ported six elliptical objects in loose echelon formation. [V]
December 1950--Nr. Cheyenne, Wyo. USAF officer saw
aluminum-like oval UFO. [III]
December 27, 1950--Bradford, Ill. Trans-World Airways pilot
watched light source perform violent and erratic maneuvers.
[V]
1951
January 16, 1951--Nr. Artesia, N. Mex. General Mills per-
sonnel tracking a Skyhook balloon saw two disc-shaped objects
approach rapidly, tip on edge, circle the balloon, and speed off
over the NW horizon. [I]
January 20, 1951--Nr. Sioux City, Iowa. A dark cigar-shaped
UFO with white and red body lights buzzed a Mid-Continent
Airlines plane. [V]
February 14, 1951--Alamogordo, N. Mex. Two Air Force
pilots, while watching a large balloon, saw a flat, round white
object hovering at high altitude. [III]
February 19, 1951--Kenya, Africa. A large cigar-shaped UFO
hovering over Mt. Kilimanjaro was observed and photographed
from an aircraft. [X]
February--Look magazine article: Dr. Urner Liddel, Office of
Naval Research, stated "There is not a single reliable report of
an observation which is not attributable to the cosmic balloons
(plastic "Skyhook" research balloons). "
May 22, 1951--Nr. Dodge City, Kansas. American Airlines
pilot observed maneuvering star-like object. [V]
June 1, 1951--Dayton, Ohio.. Wright-Patterson AFB official
watched disc make sharp turn. [III]
July 14, 1951--Nr. White Sands, N. Mex. A UFO which sped
near a B-29 was tracked on radar, observed visually and photo-
graphed. [VIII]
July 23, 1951--March Field, Calif. Radar-visual sighting of
silvery object circling high above aircraft. [VIII]
Summer 1951--Augusta, Ga. Air Force pilot flying F-51
"attacked repeatedly" by flying disc. [III]
August 1951--Central, N. Mex. Mining engineer sighted two
discs with "portholes." [VI]
August 3, 1951--Nr. Pinckney, Mich. NICAP Adviser saw a
glowing, yellowish UFO which moved on an undulating course.
[ August 11, 1951--Portland, Ore. Former Air Force fighter
pilot observed formation of three discs. [V]
August 25, 1951--Lubbock, Texas. Formations of luminous
objects passed overhead several consecutive nights; V-formation
photographed. [VIII]
August 26, 1951--Washington State. Air Force radar station
tracked UFO at 900 m.p.h. on two different radar sets. [VIII]
August 1951--Popular Science. Editors surveyed witnesses to
choose most plausible explanations for UFOs; 70% believed they
were intelligently controlled devices, either man-made or extra-
terrestrial.
September 1951--Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt, new chief of Project
Blue Book, the Air Force UFO investigation.
September 10, 1951--Nr. Sandy Hook, N.J. Two AF pilots
in a T-33 jet trainer chased a "perfectly round and flat" silvery
UFO traveling at an estimated 900 mph [III]
September 23, 1951--Nr. March AFB, Calif. F-86 jets circled
below an unidentified object, unable to reach its altitude. [III]
Fall 1951--Korea. UFO circled fleet, tracked on 14 ships'
radars, departing at over 1000 mph. [VIII]
October 9, 1951--Terre Haute, Indiana; Nr. Paris, Illinois. A
fast-moving UFO shaped like a flattened sphere was sighted two
minutes apart by a C.A.A. employee and a private pilot. Project
Blue Book plotted the sighting and concluded both had been the
same object which was an "unknown." [V]
October 10-11, 1951--Nr. Minneapolis, Minn. Two sightings of
UFOs by General Mills, Inc., supervisor of balloon manufacture,
and other balloon personnel, from an aircraft. [VI]
November 7, 1951--Lake Superior. Steamship Captain and crew
watched elongated orange object with six glowing "portholes"
speed towards Ontario. [XII]
November 9, 1951--After 7 sightings of green fireballs in 11
days Dr. Lincoln LaPaz, Institute of Meteoritics, said: "There
has never been a rate of meteorite fall in history that has been
one fifth as high as the present fall. If that rate should continue,
I would suspect the phenomenon is not natural. (they) don't
behave like ordinary meteorites at all." (Associated Press)
November 10, 1951--Albuquerque, N.M. The eighth fireball in
13 days was seen here and as far away as Wyoming. (United Press)
1952
1952--London, Ont., Canada. Astronomer observed elliptical
UFO with 2 bright body lights. [VI]
January 20, 1952--Fairchild AFB, Wash. Two master ser-
geants (intelligence specialists), reported a large, bluish-white
spherical object with a long blue tail which flew below a solid
overcast. [III]
January 21, 1952--Mitchel AFB, N. Y. Navy TBM pilot chased
a dome-shaped, white circular object which accelerated and pulled
away [IV].
January 22, 1952--North Alaska Radar outpost. Ground radar
and three F-94 interceptors' radar tracked a distinct target.
[VIII]
January 29, 1952--Wonsan, Korea. B-29 paced by a bright
disc-shaped orange object. (Similar sighting by another B-29
crew same night 80 miles away over Sunchon.) [III, X]
February 20, 1952--Greenfield, Mass. Congregational Minister
saw three very bright silver objects, apparently spherical,
traveling in a perfect V. [VII]
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March 3, 1952--Dr. Walter Riedel, former German Rocket
Scientist at Peenemunde: 'I'm convinced saucers have an out-of-
world basis." (Life; April 7, 1952.)
March 10, 1952--Oakland, Calif. Inspector of Engineering
Metals watched two dark, wing (or hemisphere) shaped objects
pass overhead, one swaying back and forth like pendulum. [VI]
March 29, 1952--Nr. Misawa, Japan. Small shiny disc made
pass at an F-84, observed by second Air Force pilot. [I]
March 29, 1952--Butler, Missouri. Chairman of Industrial
Commission of Missouri saw cylinder-shaped, silver UFO. [VII]
April 7, 1952--Life article. "Have We Visitors From Space?"
(cleared by Air Force Commanding General.) strongly suggested
UFOs are interplanetary.
April 8, 1952--Nr. Big Pines, Calif. Disc-like UFO observed
by TV network engineer. [VI]
April 17, 1952--Nellis AFB, Nevada.
UFOs. [III]
April 23, 1952--Watertown, Mass.
maneuvering UFO. [VI]
May 7, 1952--Barra da Tijuca, Brazil. Photographs of alleged
UFO. [VIII]
May 8, 1952--Atlantic Ocean off Jacksonville, Fla. Pan-
American Airways pilot and copilot saw light, 10 times the size
of a landing light, come head-on, streak past left wing. [V]
May 8, 1952--Project Blue Book Chief and two Colonels briefed
Air Force Secretary Finletter on UFOs for one hour. (Report on
Unidentified Flying Objects, Ruppelt, p. 185.)
May 13, 1952--National City, Calif. Convair design engineers,
ex-Navy pilot, and amateur astronomer observed luminescent
white circular object descend rapidly, circle area. [I]
June, 1952--Tombstone, Ariz. Navy pilot watched a disc
hover, speed away. [IV]
June 1952--Air Force reported to be taking the UFO problem
seriously partly because a lot of good UFO reports were coming
in from Korea. Pilots were seeing silver spheres or disks, and
radar in Japan, Okinawa, and Korea had tracked unidentified tar-
gets. (Report on Undientified Flying Objects, Ruppelt, p. 192.)
June 1, 1952--Los Angeles, Calif. Crew of Hughes Aircraft
Co., radar test section tracked unidentified target at 11,000 ft.;
UFO suddenly tripled its speed. [VIII]
June 9, 1952--Time article by Dr. Donald H. Menzel, "Those
Flying Saucers," "Light reflections " given as explanation.
June 13, 1952--Le Bourget, France (airport). Control tower
operators and pilot watched brilliant light source cross sky SW
of field after hovering for about an hour. [X]
June 18, 1952--California. UFO paced B-25 for
[II, III]
June 19, 1952--Goose Bay,
reddish object. [VIII]
July 1952 "Flap"
[See Section XII for more detailed chronology]
Summer 1952--MacDill AFB, Florida. USAF Colonel, B-29
pilot investigated radar target, saw glowing ellipse which reversed
direction and sped away. [HI]
July 1, 1952--Boston, Mass.
reported moving SW. [XII]
July 1, 1952--Fort Monmouth, N. J. Radar-visual sighting of
two UFOs; objects hovered, sped away SW. [VIII]
July 2, 1952--Tremonton, Utah. Navy Warrant Officer D. C.
Newhouse photographed group of 12 to 14 objects maneuvering in
formation at high speed. [VIII]
July 10, 1952--Nr. Korea. Crew of Canadian destroyer "Cru-
sader", saw and tracked on radar two shiny discs. [VIII, X]
July 12, 1952--Chicago, Ill. Air Force weather officer, many
others at Montrose Beach saw large red object with small
white lights on side reverse course directly overhead. [III]
July 13, 1952--Nr. Washington, D. C. National Airlines pilot
radioed CAA that he was being approached by a blue-white light.
Object came to within 2 miles, hovered at same altitude. Pilot
switched on all lights; UFO took off, upwards. [V]
July 14, 1952--Newport News, Virginia. Pan-American Airways
pilots watched formation of 6 discs make sharp turn below airliner
joined by 2 more discs. [V]
July 16, 1952--Hampton, Va. Aeronautical research engineer
watched rendezvous of four amber colored objects. [VI]
July 16, 1952--Salem, Mass. Seaman at Coast Guard Air Station
photographed four brilliant white lights. [VIII]
July 18, 1952--Nr. Denver, Colo. American Airlines pilot
watched unidentified lights speed back and forth. [V]
July 18, 1952--Patrick AFB, Florida. Two officers, weather-
men, several others saw four amber-colored lights circling near
the field. [III]
July 19, 1952--Porto Maldo, Peru. Photograph of oval UFO
taken by customs official. [VII]
July 19/20, 1952--Washington, D. C., CAA radar sightings;
visual confirmation by airline pilots. [XII]
July 23, 1952--Braintree, Mass. Bluish-green UFO circling at
high speed observed by radar, ground observers, F-94 pilot.
[VIII]
July 23, 1952--Culver City, Calif. Aircraft-plant employees
reported a silvery elliptical UFO accompanied by two small
discs. [II]
July 24, 1952--Nr. Carson Sink, Nevada. Two Air Force
colonels in B-25 saw formation of three delta wing silver objects
July 26, 1952--California. Radar-visual sighting. Jet chased
large, yellow-orange light. [VHI]
July 26/27, 1952--Washington, D.C. Radar and visual sightings.
[XH ]
July 27, 1952--Ann Arbor, Mich. Biologist reported "flotilla"
of rocket-like UFOs. [VI]
July 27, 1952--Manhattan Beach, Calif. Aeronautical engineer,
others, observed group of UFOs changing position in formation.
[VI]
July 28, 1952--Wisconsin-Minnesota. Ground Control Intercept
radar, Air Force pilot, plane spotter of G.O.C., tracked several
UFOs. [VIII]
July 29,1952- -Air Force press conference in Washington, D.C.,
headed by Major General John A. Samford, UFOs explained away
as weather phenomena. (Transcript on file at NICAP.)
July 29, 1952--Miami, Florida. Movies taken of high-speed
UFO; film submitted to Air Force, never released. [VIII]
August 1, 1952--Nr. Yaak, Montana. Air Defense Command
radar tracked UFO; sighted visually a dark, cigar-shaped object.
[VIII]
August 1, 1952--Sharonville, Ohio. Brilliant white disc ob-
served at low altitude. Others reported oval object. [XII]
August 1, 1952--Albuquerque, N. M. Scripps-Howard Staff
Writer watched UFOs change position in formation. [VII]
August 3, 1952--Hamilton AFB, California. Pilots on ground,
radar, plane spotters tracked two silvery discs "dogfighting".
[III, VIII]
August 5, 1952--Haneda AFB, Japan. Circular UFO tracked on
radar, chased by jets. [III, VIII]
August 5, 1952--Baltimore, Md. Experienced amateur astron-
omer observed two copper-like discs. [VI]
August 6/7, 1952--Kerkrade, Holland. Marine engineer and
designer saw two disc-shaped objects with superstructures. [X]
August 13, 1952--Tucson, Ariz. Air Force officer reported
formation of bright UFOs. [In]
August 13, 1952--Dallas, Texas. Airlines Chief Pilot chased
maneuvering light. [V]
August 20, 1952--Congaree AFB, S.C. Air Defense Command
radar tracked UFO at 4,000 mph. [VII]
August 22, 1952--Elgin, Illinois. USAF jets, guided by Ground
Observer Corps, chased a pulsating yellowish light. [VII]
August 24, 1952--Nr. Hermanas, New Mexico. Air Force
Colonel piloting F-84 saw two round silvery objects; one climbed
straight up 2,000-3,000 feet. [III]
August 28, 1952--Le Roy, N. Y.
tically. [II]
August 28,
UFO. [VII]
blue light observed through theodolite; once appeared as luminous
white bar edged with black. [X]
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September 9, 1952--Portland, Oregon. Two oval objects ob-
served in searchlight beam. [XII]
September 16, 1952--Belle Glade, Florida. Circular object
with row of lights on underside passed low overhead; cattle
bolted. [XII]
September 19, 1952--North Sea. Spherical UFO photographed
from U. S. Navy aircraft carrier participating in "Operation
Mainbrace," NATO maneuvers. [XII]
September 20, 1952--Topcliffe, Yorkshire, England. Silvery
disc followed Meteor jet, descended with pendulum motion.
[See "Operation Mainbrace" chronology, Section XII.]
September 22, 1952--Fairfax County, Va. Police observed 3-4
UFOs maneuvering erratically. [VII]
September 30, 1952--Edwards AFB, California. Aviation
photographer, others, observed two discs alternately hovering and
darting around. [VI]
October 11, 1952--Newport News, Va. Ground Observer Corps
spotter saw disc-shaped UFO with "dome". [XII]
October 12, 1952--Palo Alto, Calif. V-formation of six appar-
ent discs. [V]
October 13, 1952--Oshima, Japan. Air Force pilot and engineer
saw round object in cloud formation; object became elliptical in
appearance, sped away disappearing in seconds. [III]
October 27, 1952--Gaillac, France. Hundreds of citizens saw
16 UFOs information surrounding a cigar-shaped object. "Angel's
hair" fell. [VIII]
October 29, 1952--Richmond, Va. Venezuelan Airlines pilot
watched luminous UFO speed past plane. [V]
October 29, 1952--Hempstead, L. I., N. Y. Two F-94 pilots
saw object which maneuvered at high speed. [III]
Fall 1952--N. Y. to Puerto Rico. Three Pan American Air-
ways pilots watched UFO hover, speed away. [V]
November 16, 1952--Nr. Landrum, S. C. Hundreds of people
saw a huge disc, watched through binoculars by air-traffic
controller.
November 25/26, 1952--Panama Canal Zone. Two UFOs
tracked by defense radar. [VHI]
December 4, 1952--Laredo, Texas. USAF F-51 pilot chased
glowing white object which made tight turns, head-on passes at
plane. [III]
December 6, 1952--Nr. Galveston, Texas. Air Force B-29
tracked UFOs at speeds up to 9000 mph, saw speeding blue-white
lights. [VIII]
December 8, 1952--Chicago, Ill. Aircraft paced by row of
unidentified lights. [V]
December 10, 1952--Nr. Hanford, Washington, Radar-visual
sighting of round, white UFO with "windows." [VIII]
December 15, 1952--Goose Bay AFB, Labrador. Radar-visual
sighting of reddish UFO which changed to white as it maneuvered.
[VIII]
December 29, 1952--Northern Japan. Colonel, other USAF
pilots, radar detected rotating UFO. [III]
1953
1953--Anaco, Venezuela. Avensa Airlines pilot reported round
gray object paced plane. [X]
1953--Navy Carrier-based Squadron of attack planes approached
by rocket-shaped UFO. [IV]
January 9, 1953--Northern Japan. Pilot and radar observer of
an F-94 jet interceptor saw and trackeda rotating UFO. Air base
Commander, Col. George W. Perdy, statedthere was "remarkable
corroboration as to description of the cluster of lights by people
widely separated who hadn't so much as talked to one another."
[III]
January 9, 1953--Santa Ana, Calif. V -formation of blue-white
lights banked near USAF bomber. (III)
January 22, 1953--Santa Fe New Mexican: "A fireball expert
said today Russia may be scouting the United States and other parts
of the world with strange new guided missiles. Dr. Lincoln LaPaz
said a good many shreds of evidence point to green fireballs sighted
throughout the world being a type of missile - possibly of Soviet
make." (Associated Press)
January 26, 1953--New Mexico radar site. Verybright reddish-
white UFO observed and tracked on radar. [VIII]
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January 27, 1953- -Livermore, Calif. Pilot watched shiny
circular object in high speed climb. [V]
January 28, 1953--Albany, Ga. Air Force F-86 pilot saw a
definite circular UFO pass below his plane, confirmed by radar.
[VIII]
January 29, 1953--Presque Isle, Me. Gray oval UFO seen by
USAF pilots. [III]
January 30, 1953- -Yuma, Ariz. Gyrating light ascending steeply,
observed by scientist. [VI]
February 1, 1953--Terre Haute, Indiana.
pilot (no details released). [III]
February 6, 1953--Rosalia, Wash. USAF bomber reported a
circling UFO. [HI]
February 7, 1953--Korean area. Radar-visual sighting by USAF
pilot, maneuverable bright orange light. [III, VIII]
February 9, 1953--Virginia-N. C. border. Marine Corps pilot
chased rocket-like object. [IV]
February 11, 1953--Tunis-Tripoli.
UFO. [In]
February 13, 1953--Fort Worth, Texas.
by B-36 crew. [VIII]
February 16, 1953--Nr. Anchorage, Alaska.
proached, paced USAF transport. [III]
jet, accelerated away. [III]
March 7, 1953--Yuma, Arizona.
officers at gunnery meet. [III]
Spring 1953--Laredo, Texas. Air Force instructor flying T-33
watched circling cigar-shaped object make right-angle turn.
[III]
May 5, 1953--Yuma, Ariz.
concentric rings visible through Polaroid glasses. [VI]
May 21, 1953--Prescott, Ariz. Veteran private pilot saw 8
discs. [V]
May 23, 1953- -Union of S. Africa. South African headquarters
announced in November that on May 23, radar had tracked an
unidentified object near the Cape at over 1000 mph. [VIII]
July 9, 1953--Columbus, Ohio. Circular, silver UFO seen at
North American Aviation plant. [VII]
July 24, 1953--Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Large silver object circled
over town. [VII]
July 31, 1953--Port Clinton, Ohio. Unidentified white light
viewed through field glasses. [VII]
Summer 1953--Yaak, Montana. Radar-visual sighting of six
UFOs in formation. [VIII]
August 1, 1953--Toledo, Ohio. UFO, changing color, flickered
and jumped in sky. [VII]
August 9, 1953--Moscow, Idaho. Three F-86 fighters pursued
a large glowing disc reported by Ground Observer Corps. [VII]
August 12, 1953--Rapid City, S. D. Simultaneous sighting of
UFO by ground and airborne radar, visual. [I]
August 14, 1953--Columbus, Ohio. Lighted object came
straight down out of sky, stopped, then sped out of view. [VII]
August 15, 1953--Crestline, Ohio. Circling light changed
color, white, red, green. [VII]
August 21, 1953--Maumee, Ohio.
red lights around perimeter. [VII]
August 23, 1953--Columbus, Ohio. Red andwhite object moving
very slowly upward, observed by Ground Observer Corps.
August26, 1953--Air Force Regulation 200-2 issued by Secretary
of AF Harold E. Talbott: procedures for reporting UFOs, restric-
tions on public discussion by Air Force personnel. (IX)
August 31, 1953--Port Moresby, New Guinea. Motion picture
film purporting to show saucer-like object climbing steeply,
taken by aviation official. [VIII]
September 7, 1953--Cleveland, Ohio.
rotating triangle pass overhead (cf.,
sighting). [VII]
Technical writer watched
May 22, 1960, Majorca
September 7, 1953--Vandalia, Ohio. Two Navy fighter pilots
saw a brilliant white object speed below their planes, then climb
rapidly out of sight. [IV]
September 11-13, 1953--Chiloquin, Ore. Police Chief, others,
watched top-like UFOs three consecutive nights. [VII]
September 24, 1953--Bexley (Columbus), Ohio. Ground Ob-
server Corps report: silvery disk followed plane. [VII]
October 18, 1953--English Channel. Airline pilots saw a UFO
"like two shallow saucers with their rims together." [V]
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October 29, 1953--Lt. Col. F. K. Everest in F-100 Super-Sabre
set speed record, 755.149 mph.
October 30, 1953--Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Round, silver object
circled at low altitude. [VII]
November 3, 1953--London, England. A huge apparently metallic
UFO, "completely circular" and white, was tracked on radar and
observed visually through a telescope by the 256th Heavy Anti-
Aircraft Regiment. [VIII]
November 12,1953- -Canadian Government announcement of fly-
ing saucer observatory (Project Magnet) near Ottawa.
November 14, 1953--Nr. Toledo, Ohio. UFO flashing various
colors observed climbing. [VII]
November 23, 1953--Kinross AFB, Michigan. Air Force F-89
vanished while pursuing UFO over Lake Superior. [VIII, IX]
December 1, 1953--Air Force announced in Washington it had
set up "flying saucer" cameras around the country equipped with
diffraction gratings to analyze nature of UFO light sources.
December 13, 1953--Central Ohio. Rocket-like UFO with white
lights at both ends observed by Ground Observer Corps. [VII]
December 16, 1953--Toledo, Ohio. Group of lights changing
from red to white, each appearing to revolve. [VII]
December 17, 1953--Sweden. Defense high command ordereda
full scale investigation of sightings of a wingless circular object
which sped over southern Sweden. [X]
1954
1954--Dayton, Ohio. Air Force Lt. Colonel sawtwo maneuver-
ing UFOs. [III]
January 1, 1954--Australian Airline pilot saw huge, apparently
metallic, elliptical UFO. [V]
January 4, 1954--Quantico, Va. Red revolving orblinking lights,
hovering and moving soundlessly at tree-top height reportedly
seen for six nights above Marine Corps base. [IV]
January 6, 1954--Cleveland Press headline: "Brass Curtain
Hides Flying Saucers." Reporters seeking information were
banned from Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
February 13, 1954--Jim G. Lucas of Scripps-Howard, reported
that representatives of major airlines would meet in Los Angeles
with Military Air Transport Service Intelligence officers to dis-
cuss speeding up UFO reporting procedures. "Airline pilots are
asked not to discuss their sightings publicly or give them to news-
papers," Lucas said.
(In a follow-up report, Feb. 23, Scripps-Howard papers said
that "the nation's 8500 commercial airline pilots have been seeing
a lot of unusual objects while flying at night, here and overseas."
Plans for a detailed reporting system were agreed upon so Air
Force jets could quickly investigate. Each airline was to have an
"internal security specialist" for liaison between civilian and
military organizations.)
February 15,1954--Dorothy Kilgallen column: "Flying saucers
are regarded as of such vital importance that they will be the sub-
ject of a special hush-hush meeting of world military heads next
summer. "
March 1954--Rouen, France. Disc-shaped UFO photographed.
March 24, 1954--Baltimore, Md. Maneuvering formation of
UFOs observed by Civil Defense official. [VII]
March 24, 1954--Florida. Marine Corps jet pilot saw round
object streak downward, stop, speed away when pursued. [IV]
April 16, 1954--Grand Canyon, Ariz. School superintendent,
explorer, watched elongated UFO with "portholes" pass overhead.
[VII]
April 26, 1954--Newburyport, Mass. Round UFO making sharp
turn observed by architect. [VII]
May 1954--True article, "What Our Air Force Found Out About
Flying Saucers"; by Edward J. Ruppelt,former UFO Project Chief.
May 10, 1954--Northern Sweden. Week of UFO sightings in-
vestigated by military authorities. Scores of residents reported
strange glowing objects maneuvering low over forests.
May 13, 1954--Washington, D. C. Several large glowing ob-
jects maneuvered over National Airport for three hours; observed
visually and on radar. [VIII]
May 14, 1954--Nr. Dallas, Texas. Marine Corps pilots chased
formations of 16 UFOs. [IV]
May 15, 1954--Vienna, Austria. Three discs in formation.
[X]
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May 24, 1954--Dayton, Ohio. Photo officer and scanner on
RB-29 saw and photographed circular UFO below plane. [III]
May 30, 1954- -Bainbridge, N. Y. Silvery elliptical UFO with
four "portholes" accelerated and shot away. [XII]
June 1, 1954--Nr. Boston, Mass. TWA pilot en route from
Paris, control tower operators, saw large white disc. [V]
June 11, 1954--Nr. Baltimore, Md. Huge glowing object seen
by GOC observers; alternately hovered, moved rapidly. [VII]
June 23, 1954--Columbus-Vandalia, Ohio. Round white light
followed Air National Guard F-51. [V]
June 26, 1954--Idaho Falls, Idaho. Brilliant light source flared
up over AEC station, climbed out of sight. [XH]
June 30, 1954--Mobile, Alabama. UFO observed from tower
of Brookley AFB, tracked on radar. [VIII]
June 30, 1954--Nr. Oslo, Norway. Two silvery disks observed
and photographed from eclipse expedition planes. [VIII]
June 30, 1954--Nr. Goose Bay, Labrador. Airliner crew saw
large UFO with smaller satellite objects. [X]
July 3, 1954--Albuquerque, N. M. Nine green spheres sighted
visually, tracked on radar. [VIH]
July 8, 1954--Lancashire, England. British astronomer saw a
silvery object with 15-20 smaller satellite objects. [H]
July 11, 1954--Hunterdon, Pa. USAF bombers reported a
disc. [III]
July 28, 1954--North Atlantic. Dutch ship observed disc with
apparent portholes. [XII]
August 28, 1954--Oklahoma City, Okla. FifteenUFOsin precise
triangular formation observed by hundreds of citizens, Tinker
AFB radar. [VIII]
August or September, 1954--New York State. Round UFO
tracked on radar, plotted across state by Ground Observer
Corps. [VII]
September 7, 1954--Origny, France. Hovering luminous disc
fled when lights were shone at it. [II]
September 9, 1954--Nelson, N.Z. Hovering disc photographed.
[VIII]
September 15, 1954--Bihar, India. Gray disc hovered, emitted
smoke and climbed away at high speed. [X]
September 16, 1954--Nr. Roanoke, Va. Shiny, round object
buzzed radio tower; transmitter failed to operate properly.
[VHI]
September 17, 1954--Rome, Italy. Thousands of citizens, Italian
Air Force radar watched disc-like object which departed upwards.
[VIII]
September 19, 1954--Danane, French West Africa. Officials
watched oval UFO with dome and "searchlights". [X]
September 20, 1954- -Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Dark saucer-shaped
UFO arced overhead, levelled off and moved into distance. [XII]
October 1954--Cherry Valley, N. Y. Engineer sighted man-
euvering disc. [I]
October 3, 1954--Nr. Waben, France. UFO paced car. [II]
October 4, 1954--North Weald, Essex, England. Saturn-
shaped disc buzzed RAF Meteor jet. [X]
October 7, 1954--Isles-sur-Suippes, France. UFO shaped like
"giant artillery shell" with "portholes"; landing or near-landing
case. [XII]
October 22, 1954- -Marysville, Ohio. School principal, teacher,
60 students saw silver cigar-shaped UFO with "portholes" hover
over school, then speed away; "angel's hair" fell. [VHI]
October 23,1954- -New Yorker magazine. "Letter From Paris"
column detailed recent French sightings.
October 24, 1954--Prof. Herman Oberth's American Weekly ar-
ticle, "Flying Saucers Come From A Distant World."
October 24, 1954--Porto Alegre, Brazil. Formation of silver,
circular objects sped over Air Force base. [X]
October 25, 1954--Belgrade, Yugoslavia. High speed objects
some egg-shaped seen by hundreds. [X]
October 28, 1954--Rome, Italy. Mrs. Clare Booth Luce, Ameri-
can Ambassador, others sighted luminous, round UFO. [X]
Fall 1954--Korea. Marine Corps weather observer saw 7
discs oscillating in formation. [XII]
November 5, 1954--Lookout Point, N.Z. Orange elliptical ob-
ject with blue "portholes" observed. [XII]
November 12, 1954- -Louisville, Ky. Spherical object moved
quickly south, hovered for long period. [VIII]
November 21, 1954--Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Crew, passengers
of Brazilian airliner saw 19 glowing UFOs. [X]
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November 25, 1954--Cordoba, Argentina. Meteorologist, control
tower operator at airport watched two hovering luminous objects
(official report from Argentine Embassy). [X]
November 26, 1954--Matasquan, N. J. Formation of round
objects. (Confidential report from college professor.) [VII]
Millville, N. J. Disc with four body lights. [II]
December 3, 1954--Wilmington, N. C. Civil Aeronautics Ad-
ministration personnel watched round, yellowish UFO through
binoculars. [V]
December 5, 1954--North East, Pa. Domed object with double
row of square "ports" hovered low over Lake Erie. [XII]
December 7, 1954--Upington, Cape Province, So. Africa.
Meteorologist tracked white hemispherical object with theodolite.
IXI
December 15, 1954--Nr. Nowra, Australia. Royal Australian
Navy pilot paced by two UFOs, confirmed on radar. [VIII]
December 19, 1954--Vienna, Austria. High-speed UFOs re-
ported. [X]
December 20, 1954--Pontiac, Mich. Red-orange circularUFO,
with white glow from "portholes" at front, sped overhead. [XII]
1954 or 1955--Coos Bay, Oregon. District Judge observed
maneuvering disc. [VII]
1955
1955--Virginia, nr. Washington, D. C. Navy pilot observed
domed disc. [IV]
January 2, 1955--Nr. Punta San Juan, Venezuela. Airliner en
route to Maracaibo approached by luminous UFO. [X]
February 2, 1955--Nr. Merida, Venezuela. Aeropost Airlines
pilot reported a top-shaped object with "portholes" and central
ring paced airliner. [X]
February 11, 1955--Miami to New York. Pan American Air-
ways flight saw two reddish-green objects speed past under wing.
IV]
pril 22, 1955--Tintinara, Australia. Saturn-shaped UFO
made sharp turn, ascended. [XII]
April 24,1955--Albuquerque, N. Mex. April 23 (AP) Dr. Lincoln
LaPaz: "I'm sure the yellow-green fireballs aren't ordinary me-
teorite falls. I've been observing the skies since 1914, and I've
never seen any meteoric fireballs like them."
During the week of April 3-9,five greenfireballs were reported
in New Mexico and two in northern California. After a number of
sightings reported about mid-morning April 5, LaPaz said: "This
is a record. We believe we have it narrowed from the many re-
ports to three. But they were seen within a very few minutes of
each other. . . "
May 25, 1955--Alexandra Park, London, England. Circular,
luminous object approached B-47, quickly reversed direction and
shot away. [II]
June 16, 1955--Eastern U. S. UFOs observed over wide area,
jets scrambled. [III]
June 17, 1955--Nr. Adelaide, Australia. Silver oblong UFO
viewed through binoculars; hovered; moved away behind clouds
as an aircraft neared. [XII]
July 9, 1955--Santa Catalina Channel, Calif. Family aboard
boat saw a round cylinder, greyish and white, surrounded by a
"haze of fumes." UFO zig-zagged upward, then sped away. [XII]
July 17, 1955--Canton, Ohio. Disc hovered, climbed away as
airliner approached. [XII]
July 26, 1955--Lasham, Hants, England. Members of British
Gliding Association watched boomerang-shaped object (or flattened
triangle) hover above glider then speed away. [XII]
July 26, 1955--Washington, D. C. A brilliant round object
with trail 4 or 5 times its own length approached National Airport,
stopped, oscillated, and moved off at high speed. Ceiling lights
at airport went out when object approached; returned to operation
when UFO left. [VIII, XII]
July 29, 1955--Cincinnati, Ohio. Zigzagging UFO made shrill
sound. [VII]
August 6, 1955--Cincinnati, Ohio. Oval-shaped UFO observed
ascending at high speed. [XII]
August 21, 1955--Chalmette, La. Glowing-white Saturn-shaped
object hovered, rotating; turned sideways and shot away. [XII]
August 23, 1955--Cincinnati, Ohio. SAC jets "dogfight" with
UFOs first detected by radar. White spheres and discs observed
by Ground Observer Corps. [VIII]
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August 28, 1955--Yonkers, N. Y. Board of Education official
and others saw a white Saturn-shaped object through a telescope.
[XII]
October 2, 1955--Akron and Alliance, Ohio. Hovering disc-
like UFO observed over wide area. [VII]
October 28, 1955--Galloway, England. Disc with row of blue
lights on rim, maneuvered slowly over car on lonely road. [XII]
October 31, 1955--Nr. Auckland, N. Z. Bright object passed
National Airlines DC-3. [X]
November 1, 1955--Mojave Desert, Calif. Astronomer observed
cigar-shaped UFO and smaller disc. [VI]
November 2, 1955--Williston, Fla. Police, others sawas many
as six oval-shaped objects in formation. [VII]
November 5, 1955--Cleveland, Ohio. Minister observed ellip-
tical UFO with square "windows". [VII]
November 9, 1955--Philadelphia, Pa. Newspaper photographers
and others saw 12 silvery-white round objects in formation.
[VII]
November 14, 1955--San Bernardino Mts., Calif. Pilot saw a
globe of white light approach plane, blinked landing lights; object
blinked in seeming response, reversed course. [V]
November 20, 1955--Oak Ridge, Tenn. Two shiny, elliptical
UFOs "like two dirigibles" traveled over restricted area. [IX]
November 23, 1955--Spirit Lake, Iowa. Ground Observer Corps
spotters reported a brilliant object which changed color, moved
erratically. [VII]
December 6, 1955--Ashfield & Greenfield, Mass. Several
people watched a cigar-shaped object with long rows of brilliant,
reddish body lights, moving slowly south. [XII]
December 11, 1955--Nr. Jacksonville, Fla. Navy jets in dog-
fight with round, reddish UFO. [IV]
December 29, 1955--New Britain, Conn. Shiny object hovered,
sped away. [XII]
1956
1956--North Atlantic. Large disc paced Navy transport. [IV]
January 17, 1956--Orangeville, Canada. Disc-shaped UFO seen
at close range; rings of light visible on bottom. [XII]
January 22, 1956--Gulf of Mexico, nr. New Orleans. Pan Amer-
ican Airways flight engineer saw a large elongated object, emit-
ting yellow flame or light, pass aircraft from horizon to behind a
weather front. [V]
February 17, 1956--Paris, France. Large UFO tracked on radar
at Orly Airport, observed by airline pilot as red light source.
[VIII]
March 5, 1956--Honolulu, Hawaii. UFO formation photographed.
[VIII]
April 8, 1956--Nr. Schenectady, N. Y. American Airlines pilot
followed UFO across state. [V, IX]
June 27, 1956--Trieste, Italy. Luminous object hovered, sped
away. [XII]
July 19, 1956- -Hutchinson, Kansas. Naval Air Station reported
tracking "a moving unidentified object" on radar, observed vis-
ually by state police as "teardrop shaped" light source. [VIII]
Noticeable maneuvers of UFO "vertically and horizontally over
a wide area of the sky" mapped by Wichita Eagle.
July 19, 1956--Phoenix, Ariz. Luminous round object hovered,
sped away. [XII]
July 29, 1956--Pasadena, Calif. Hovering/speeding light seen
by Ground Observer Corps, tracked on radar. [VII]
August 1956--Boulder City, Nevada. Research technician
observed formation of five flat, circular UFOs. [VI]
August 8-19, 1956--Connecticut. Concentration of sightings
over 12-day period. Retired fire department engineer in Hart-
ford saw an oblong UFO with halo (August 8); an egg-shaped UFO
was seen over West Redding (August 11); unidentified white lights
reported over West Hartford by Ground Observer Corps (August
14);
August 19, 1956--Newington, Conn. Fiery object made turn,
dimmed, window-like markings became visible. [XII]
August 20, 1956--Citrus Heights, Calif. Man & wife saw 25
or more bright, Saturn-like UFOs in a rough semi-circle forma-
tion. [XII]
August 21, 1956--Wyoming-Montana. Dumbbell-shaped UFOs
approached plane. [VII]
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September 4, 956--Copenhagen, Denmark. Radar tracking of August 1, 1 oo and i.s, Ca i ornia. Retired Navy
several UFOs at about 1800 mph. [VIII] pilot watched disc wobble, climb away. [IV]
September 6, 1956--Pasadena, California. Western Airlines August 20, 1957--Fujisawa City, Japan. Cylindrical UFO
pilot reported erratically moving white lights to Air Defense observed above beach, photographed. [VIII]
Command; visual confirmation from ground. [V] September 17, 1957--Ft. Devens, Mass. Army report on eight
round, orange UFOs which flew over base, one oscillating up and
September 11, 1956--Baltic Sea. Radar sightings of "mysterious down. [IV]
objects": flying at speeds of 2,000 to2,500mph.,ina curved course,
during previous three weeks. (Altus (Okla.) Times-Democrat; September 26, 1957--Paris, France. Confidential report, from
7-11-56.) U.S. Embassy officer and wife, of bright elliptical UFO. [X]
October 7, 1957--Cape Canaveral, Fla. White oval object seen
Early November 1956--Malibu, Calif. Flat oval object with near Cape for second consecutive night. [XH]
three window-like markings on underside flew low, through October 8, 1957--Bua Province, Fiji Islands. Natives in small
searchlight beam. [XII] boat saw UFO descend vertically, hover about 20 feet above sea.
November 8, 1956--Miami, Florida. Pan American Airways October 8, 1957--Nr. Boston, Mass. Pan American Airways
radar tracked a UFO at 4000 mph. [VIII] pilot saw a brilliant object flying at high speed in daylight. [V]
November 14, 1956--Nr. Mobile, Alabama. Capital Airlines October 15, 1957--Fountain County, Indiana. Farmer reported
pilot sighting of maneuvering light. [I] silver disc which hovered over his combine as he worked in
November 19, 1956--Frankfurt, Germany. V-formation of field; combine engine failed when UFO rose. [VIII]
blue-white, elliptical UFOs. [X] October 16, 1957--Australia. Round UFO sighted by former
November 24/25, 1956--Nr. Pierre, South Dakota. (Wide- Commander-in-Chief of Royal Australian Air Force. [X]
spread UFO sightings for several days.) State police chased October 21 (or 29), 1957--Nr. London, England. RAF pilot
UFO, Air Force jets scrambled. [VII] sighted UFO near atomic base, confirmed by radar. [VIII]
December 1956--Far East. Air Force jet pilot tracked UFO October 22, 1957--Pittsburgh, Pa. Family saw six UFOs in
on radar; observed visually as "large round object." [I] two separate groups, changing position in formation. [II]
December 27, 1956--Los Angeles, Calif. Real estate investor October 23, 1957--Kent, England. Disc travelling on edge.
saw three spherical UFOs reflecting sunlight. [VII] [XH]
1957
January 21, 1957--Army Intelligence report on "large shiny
metal ball," disc, other UFOs over APO Army base. [IV]
January 24, 1957--Indiana. Commercial pilot and many others
saw four brilliant white lights, in-line formation; trailing object
larger, egg-shaped and pulsating. [V]
February 13, 1957--Burbank, California. Police received many
calls about oval-shaped objects over city. Officer Robert Wells,
who went to investigate, confirmed sighting. [XII]
March 8, 1957--Nr. Houston, Texas. UFO paced plane, moved
up and down at high speed. [V]
March 9, 1957--Nr. San Juan, Puerto Rico. Pan American
Airways pilot took evasive action as fiery round, greenish-white
object passed plane. [V]
March 23, 1957--Long Beach, California. Four UFOs tracked
on CAA radar, widespread visual sightings. [VIII]
March 29, 1957--Off East Coast, Florida. Pan American
Airways pilot observed brilliant pulsating light, confirmed by
radar. [V]
April 4, 1957--Wigtownshire, Scotland. Three radar posts
tracked a UFO which flashed across the sky at 60,000 feet, dove
to 14,000 feet, circled and sped away. [VHI]
May 12, 1957--Moab, Utah. Round, blue-green UFO sped past
below observer's altitude. [IV]
June 15, 1957--Lancashire, England. Saturn-like UFO with
'portholes' observed through telescope in bright daylight. [XII]
June 18, 1957--Jackson, Mississippi. Physics professor
sighted UFO with `?a halo of light around it and what appeared to
be three portholes." [VI]
June 18, 1957--Pacific Ocean, 150 miles off San Francisco.
Captain and crew of freighter Hawaiian Fisherman saw three
brightly lighted objects "like small moons." [II]
June 30, 1957--Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Disc-like object
paced, maneuvered around airliner. [X]
July 1957--Azusa, California. "Disc with amber lights around
edge made wobbling vertical descent. [XII]
July 1, 1957--Avon, Mass. Cigar-shaped UFO with green
lights like windows. [XII]
July 4, 1957--Nr. Campos, Brazil. Disc with dome and port-
holes paced airliner. [X]
July 9, 1957--Hamilton, Ont., Canada. Attorney saw speeding,
white elliptical UFO. [X]
July 31, 1957--Calistoga, California. Businessman watched two
erratically maneuvering brilliant white objects. [VII]
August 1, 1957--Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Large glowing object
hovered 20 minutes, sped away. [VII]
August 14, 1957--Nr. Joinville, Brazil. Varig Airlines pilot
observed domed disc, which affected aircraft engines. [X]
November 1957 "Flap"
[See Section XII for detailed November 1957 Chronology]
November 2, 1957--Levelland, Texas. Elliptical UFOs sighted
repeatedly on or near roads, many cars stalled.
November 3, 1957--White Sands, N.M. ArmyJeeppatrol sight-
ings; UFO observed twice near old atomic bunker.
November 4, 1957--Alamogordo, N.M. James Stokes, White
Sands engineer, watched elliptical UFO swoop over mountains,
car stalled.
November 4, 1957--Elmwood Park, Illinois. Reddish elongated
object at low level pursued by police in squad car.
November 5, 1957--Gulf of Mexico, off New Orleans. Coast
Guard cutter Sebago repeatedly tracked UFO on radar, once
saw planet-like speeding light. About same time, airman at
Keesler AFB, Miss., saw elliptical UFO accelerate rapidly and
disappear in clouds. [VIII]
November 5, 1957--East St. Louis, Illinois. Three Alton &
Southern Railroad employees saw two silvery, egg-shaped UFOs.
November 5, 1957--Haverhill, Mass. Ground Observer Corps
reported a circular or spherical glowing object which appeared
to vibrate up and down and from side to side while hovering.
[VII]
November 5, 1957--Long Beach, California. Air Force Major,
others at Municipal Airport saw 6 shiny circular UFOs "changing
course instantaneously without loss of speed like planes in a
dogfight."
November 6, 1957--Nr. Danville, Illinois. State Police chased
UFO for 15 miles, experienced radio failure.
November 6, 1957--Nr. Atlanta, Ga. Three truckers inde-
pendently reported seeing reddish elliptical objects on the road.
November 6, 1957--Montville, Ohio. Olden Moore case; low,
hovering Saturn-like disc, abnormal radioactivity later detected
in area. [IX, XII]
November 7, 1957--Lake Charles, Louisiana. Silvery disc
hovered, car motor failed.
November 7, 1957--El Paso, Texas, Times: "Some of the na-
tion's top scientists are 'pretty shook up' about the mysterious
flying objects sighted in New Mexico and West Texas skies this
week, said Charles Capen (a scientist at White Sands). 'This is
something that hasn't happened before,' (he said)."
November 10, 1957--Hammond, Indiana. Police chased an
elongated UFO; electromagnetic interference reported.
November 11, 1957--Nr. Los Angeles, California. Airline
passenger saw elliptical UFO flying low over ground below plane.
[VII]
November 11, 1957--San Fernando Valley, Calif. Rocketdyne
engineers observed three UFOs climbing at high speed. [VI]
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November 15, 1957--Carthage, Tenn. Highway patrolman, Augus~ll, 158--Cautauqual~lc~'1C `Y.ig profes-
if on oval object
d
sheriff, others saw many flashing revolving red lights which
moved around slowly, hovered. [VII]
November 22, 1957--Canutillo, Texas. Silvery
back and forth, ascended. [VII]
December 12, 1957--Chatham, Windsor area, Canada. Trans-
Canada Airlines pilot, many police, saw orange oval UFO
curving rapidly at low altitude. [X]
December 1957--Pacific Ocean. Photograph of alleged disc-
shaped UFO. [VIII]
December 1, 1957--Los Angeles, California. Formation of
oval UFOs photographed. [VIII]
December 12, 1957--Tokyo, Japan. Radar-visual sighting of
vari-colored UFO, jets scrambled. [VIII]
December 16, 1957--Old Saybrook, Conn. Elliptical UFO with
"portholes." [XII]
1958
January 3, 1958--Hawaii. Group of round UFOs reportedly
photographed. [VIII]
January 9, 1958--Marion, Illinois. Three reports of seven red
lighted objects in straight line formation. [II]
January 16, 1958--Trindade Isle, Brazil. Saturn-shaped UFO
observed and photographed from on board IGY ship Almirante
Saldanha. [VHI]
January 30, 1958--Lima, Peru. Lawyer and family saw a
circular UFO hover; car headlights went out. [VIII, X]
February 2, 1958--N.S.W., Australia. Elliptical UFO with two
"porthole" like markings. [XII]
February 9, 1958--Troy, Michigan. Oval UFO photographed.
[VIII]
March 3, 1958--Nr. Marshall, Texas. Family saw two bright,
planet-like objects with 6 or 7 smaller lights moving around
them. [II]
March 8, 1958--Korea. Air Force radar tracked slowly de-
scending UFO. [VIII]
March 20, 1958--Henrietta, Missouri. Saturn-like disc de-
scended, hovered, moved away. [XII]
April 2, 1958--Columbus, Ohio. Cigar-shaped UFO with long
row of "portholes or windows." [XII]
April 4, 1958--Santa Monica, Calif. Cigar-shaped UFO with
"windows" observed in rapid vertical climb. [XII]
April 7, 1958--Newport Beach, California. Police watched two
UFOs with flashing body lights, maneuver near coastline. [VII]
Similar sightings for two nights in El Toro and Santa Ana.
April 9, 1958--Cleveland, Ohio. Nine yellow UFOs in V-
formation; split into two groups (5 and 4). [II]
April 11, 1958--Johannesburg, S. Africa. Airport instrument
inspector, others watched reddish-white UFO are back and forth.
[X April 14, 1958--Albuquerque, N. Mex. Air Force Staff Sergeant
saw large formation of unidentified lights. [III]
May 5, 1958--San Carlos, Uruguay. Well-known pilot watched
a brilliant object come near his plane, felt intense heat. [X]
May 17, 1958--Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. UFO sped away when
light was shone at it. [II]
May 25, 1958--Kirchberg, Hunsruck, Germany. Circular silvery
UFO observed moving through clouds. [X]
May 27, 1958--Bahia State Coast, Brazil. Varig Airlines
pilot watched a brightly luminous circular object maneuver under
his plane. [X]
June 4, 1958--Sarasota, Florida. White oval-shaped object
zig-zagged overhead. [XII]
June 23, 1958--Nr. England AFB, Louisiana. State policeman
photographed two round UFOs. [VIII]
July 17, 1958--Chitose AFB, Japan. Radar-visual sighting of
circling reddish light. [III]
July 26, 1958--Durango, Colorado. Ground Observer Corps
Supervisor spotted a round silvery object moving "at tremendous
speed." [VII]
Summer 1958--Air Force Base. Southwest United States.
Two maneuvering UFOs evaded jet interceptors. [VIII]
.
as
sor observed unidentified lights arrange
[VI]
August 17, 1958--Kansas City, Kansas. Dome-shaped disc with
`portholes" followed jets, hovered. [XII]
August 24, 1958--Westwood, N. J. Police reported a circular,
orange UFO which hovered, sped away. [VH]
September 7, 1958--Mission, Kansas. Publisher saw white
disc speed overhead. [VII]
September 8, 1958--Offutt AFB, Omaha, Nebraska. Air Force
Major, other officers, observed rocket-like UFO with satellite
objects. [III]
September 21, 1958--Sheffield Lake, Ohio. Disc hovered near
ground. [IX]
October 2, 1958--Nr. Blairstown, New Jersey. Zoologist watched
disc circling and maneuvering. [VI]
October 3, 1958--Nr. Rossville, Ind. Crew of freight train
reported four disc-like objects followed train for over an hour,
reacted to light. [II]
October 7, 1958--Nantucket, Mass. Ship's Master, others
watched a grayish oval object hover for several minutes, then
climb away at high speed. [VII]
October 12, 1958--Aurora, Illinois. Police reported several
yellowish UFOs moving in all directions. [VII]
October 26, 1958- -Baltimore, Maryland. Hovering elliptical
UFO flashed, shot up out of sight. [XII]
October 26, 1958--Lafayette, Indiana. Research chemist saw
2-3 bright objects pass through field of telescope. [VI]
November 1958--Dewline radar tracked UFO which descended,
moved horizontally, climbed out of radar beam. [VIII]
November 5, 1958--Conway, N. H. Hovering light suddenly
sped away. [XII]
December 20, 1958--Dunellen, New Jersey. Police patrol
observed a bright red, pulsating elliptical object which ap-
proached, hovered, then "went straight up like a shot." [I]
1959
January 1, 1959--Newport Beach, California. County Harbor
Department guards watched UFO split in four parts; two rose
vertically at high speed, one headed SE, one remained stationary.
[XII]
January 8, 1959--Nr. Walworth, Wisconsin. Former control
tower operator and flight controller saw UFO descend slowly,
then speed away like meteor. [V]
January 13, 1959--Pymatuning Lake, Penna. UFO hovered
over truck causing electrical failure. [II, VIII]
January 23, 1959--Panama. Bright silver object arced across
sky, tracked by U.S. radar. [VIII]
February 4, 1959--Gulf of Mexico. Reddish light sped back and
forth across course of Pan American Airways plane, then dis-
appeared at high speed in vertical climb. [V]
February 9, 1959--Imperial Beach, California. Bright UFO with
halo filmed. [VHI]
February 24, 1959- -Pennsylvania. American and United
Airlines planes paced by three glowing objects. [V, IX]
February 26, 1959--London, England. Air Traffic Controllers,
others saw a bright yellow disc which hovered for 20 minutes
above airport, then climbed away at high speed. [X]
April 3, 1959--Ocoee, Florida. Treasury enforcement officer
saw UFO ascending and descending. [VII]
April 12, 1959--Montreal, Canada. St. Hubert Air Base
Control Tower Operators, others saw red light which hovered
over base, then darted away. [X]
May 14, 1959--Des Moines, Iowa. UFO hovered, sped away.
[XII]
June 3, 1959--Nr. Bloomington, Indiana. Torpedo-shaped UFO
hovered, dove out of sight. [XII]
June 11, 1959--Henderson, Nevada. Security officers observed
a formation of four disc-like objects. [VII]
June 27, 1959--New Guinea. Anglican priest and natives reported
seeing figures on top of hovering disc. (XIV)
July 8, 1959--Columbus, Indiana. Family in car chased three
pulsating object seen moving slowly at low altitude in V-formation.
(Two WTTV employees saw similar formation few minutes earlier,
25-30 miles away.) [II]
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American Airways crews, other pilots, watched UFO with satellite
objects make sharp turn. [X]
July 12, 1959--Nr. Ridgecrest, California. Electronics mechanic
at China Lake U. S. Naval Ordnance Test Station saw three
disc-like UFOs which alternately hovered and moved at high
speeds over desert to the Southwest. [IV]
July 13,1959- -Blenheim, N. Z. Domed disc descended, hovered.
(XIV)
July 14, 1959--Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State.
Luminous object followed FAB (Brazilian Air Force) B-26,
hovered near airport. [X]
August 24, 1959--Nr. Emmitsburg, Maryland. Planet-like UFO
hovered, took off straight up. [XII]
September 7, 1959--Wallingford, Kentucky. Bluish disc-like
UFO low over ground, observed by mail carrier, rose suddenly
and sped away; left stained ring on ground. [XIII
September 24, 1959--Redmond, Oregon. Federal Aviation
Agency personnel watched disc hover near airport, ascend into
clouds as interceptors approached. [V]
October 7, 1959--Nr. Forrest City, Arkansas. Kentucky Air
National Guard pilot chased glowing object. [V]
October 20, 1959--Key West, Florida. Navy enlisted men
watched two UFOs rendezvous, speed away. [IV]
October 28, 1959--Valparaiso, Chile. Astronomer, others,
observed maneuvering orange disc. [X]
December 24, 1959--Air Force Inspector General's Brief issued
to Operations and Training Commands: "UFOs SERIOUS BUSI-
NESS"; UFO investigating officers to be equipped with geiger
counters, camera, binoculars, other equipment.
1960
1960--Cincinnati, Ohio. Kentucky Air National Guard pilot
chased round UFO. [V]
February 1960--Dr. S. Fred Singer (Special space adviser to
President Eisenhower) supported the view that the Martian moon
Phobos might be artificial; added: "I would be very disappointed
if it turns out to be solid." (ASTRONAUTICS Magazine)
February 3, 1960--Intervale, New Haven. Former Air Force
PT Boat Commander watched UFOs rendezvous, travel in forma-
tion. [VII]
February 5/6, 1960--Hollywood, California. Several witnesses
(about 11:15 p.m. each night) saw a distinct round UFO hover and
maneuver slowly. [Los Angeles NICAP Subcommittee investi-
gation report on file.]
February 14, 1960--Nome, Alaska. Airline employee, others,
saw a silvery rocket-like object with orange flame trail curving
up and away "as if it were manned and controlled." A similar
second UFO was sighted at Unalakleet moving rapidly NW leaving
contrails. [X]
February 16, 1960--Laguna Beach, California. Retired chemical
manufacturing company executive observed rendezvous of two
oval UFOs. [VII]
March 4, 1960--Dubuque, Iowa. Flying instructor saw three
glowing blue-white elliptical objects, in-line formation. [V]
April 25, 1960--Plymouth, N.H. Former Town Selectman saw
bright red cigar-shaped UFO hover, speed away. [VII]
May 4, 1960--Sarasota, Florida. Cigar-shaped UFO with four
window-like markings sighted by architect. [XII]
May 18, 1960--Wellington, N.Z. Cigar-shaped UFO with
"portholes." [XII]
May 22, 1960--Majorca Isle, Mediterranean Sea. Palma
Observatory reported morning observation of a white triangular
UFO, about one-fourth the size of the moon, spinning on its axis.
[VI]
May 24, 1960--Ocumare del Tuy, Venezuela. Several doctors,
a topographer and policemen saw three UFOs, in-line formation,
which landed in a heavily wooded area on a hilltop; diamond-
shaped scorched marking found at landing site. [VIII]
June 8, 1960--New York City. Elliptical UFO sighted by
biochemist. [VI]
July 1, 1960--Nr. Leefe, Wyoming. Hovering disc like "two
dinner plates face to face," ascended and sped away. [XII]
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July 2, 1960--Nr. Maiquetia, Venezuela. Pilot and crew of
Venezuelan Airlines Super-Constellation arriving from Spain,
reported plane was followed by a luminous UFO. [X]
July 24, 1960--Portville, N. Y. State policeman reported two
dumbbell-like UFOs. [VH]
August 13, 1960--Red Bluff, California. State Police reported
highly maneuverable elliptical UFO. [VII]
August13-18,1960-- California. Concentration of UFO sightings,
mostly in north, including many police witnesses. (See SectionXll)
August 15, 1960--Policy letter to Commanders, from office of
Secretary of Air Force: The USAF maintains a "continuous sur-
veillance of the atmosphere near Earth for unidentified flying ob-
jects -- UFOs."
August 16, 1960--Oak Forest, Illinois. Former Air Force
pilot saw disc-like UFO which hovered, bobbed around. [V]
August 25, 1960--Mystery satellite seenfor several days, photo-
graphed by Grumman Aircraft Corporation.
August 26, 1960--Mesa, Arizona. UFO observed by chemistry
teacher, pilot. [VII]
September 4, 1960- -Lexington, Kentucky. Former Strategic
Air Command radar technician saw a glowing sphere traveling
from horizon to horizon. [VI]
September 5, 1960--Sonoma County, California. Sheriffs ob-
served six vari-colored UFOs flying in V-formation. [VII]
September 15, 1960--Carrizales, Venezuela. Professor of
engineering observed accelerating luminous object. [X]
September 28, 1960--Arlington, Texas. Aeronautical engineer
observed erratically maneuvering UFO. [V]
About October 3, 1960--Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
newscast (October 10): "The sighting of six flying saucers and a
'mother ship' has been reported from the Australian island state
of Tasmania. A Church of England minister says he saw the
mysterious craft nearly one week ago, but was reluctant to report
them. The clergyman finally did report the matter when other
people in the area said today, they too had seen strange objects in
the sky."
October 9, 1960--Longpoint, Illinois. Minister and others saw
a golden, elliptical UFO hover, move away. [VII]
October 27, 1960--Lexington, Kentucky. Attorney saw disc
hover, move away. [VII]
November 24, 1960--Ohio. White elliptical UFO observed by
scientist. [VI]
December 5,1960- -Major Donald E. Keyhoe, USMC, ret., (NI CAP
Director) debated Lt. Colonel Lawrence J. Tacker (Air Force UFO
spokesman) on Dave Garroway's "Today" program.
December 14, 1960--Brookings Institution report discussed ef-
fects of meeting extraterrestrial life: "It is possible that if the
intelligence of these creatures were sufficiently superior to ours,
they would choose to have little if any contact with us. . . " (New
York Times, Dec. 15, 1960)
January 1961--Missile Base. Hovering, maneuvering UFO
tracked on radar during missile test. [VIII]
January 10, 1961--Benjamin, Texas. Glowing red, zig-zagging
UFO observed from air by pilot (also from ground by others);
maneuvered and landed on large overgrown field. [V]
January 22, 1961--Eglin AFB, Florida. An elliptical UFO,
metallic looking, approached from over the Gulf, made a U-turn
and sped back over the Gulf. Photographed on 8 mm movie film
by a businessman. [VIII]
February 5-7, 1961--Maine. Many reports of strange lights
flashing around in sky. Some blinked and moved up and down.
Portland Press Herald editorial, Feb. 9: "Mysterious objects 'lit
up like a ball of fire and going fast' zoom over Portland. Uniden-
tified shapes with green, yellow and red lights hover over Bruns-
wick then dart away with 'unbelievable quickness.' Strange things
are happening... The military had us just about convinced that no
such objects existed. The only trouble was that many people -
good, reliable observers - continued to see these things. "
February 7, 1961--Kennebunkport, Maine. The president of
an advertising agency saw a bright red hemispherical UFO
which hovered, then suddenly sped away. [VII]
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February 28, 1961--Nr. Lakeville, Mass. A bright yellow
elongated UFO with dark red edge, surrounded by black "smoke",
was seen after witnesses heard a roaring noise. House
lights failed as UFO made two passes over area. [VIII]
March 16, 1961--Antarctica. Meteorologist observed a fire-
ball-like object, multi-colored, below overcast. [VI]
April 9, 1961--Kingsville, Texas. Round red UFO descended,
hovered, sped away. [XII]
May 1961--Joint statement by 21 American Scientists released
by NICAP. Calls for open investigation of UFOs without secrecy,
the need for a more thorough investigation shown by circumstan-
tial evidence. States the Air Force should have more straight-
forward information policy, specifically to give out all facts on
major UFO sightings.
May (first week) 1961--Union Mills, Indiana. Hemispherical
UFO with "portholes", on road; took off as car approached.
[XII]
May 19, 1961--Long Beach, Calif. Twelve shiny UFOs man-
euvered erratically over the area at 3:50 p.m., with an odd flut-
tering motion; then two loud "skyquakes" were heard. [XII]
May 20, 1961--Tyndall AFB, Florida. Air Police observed
unidentified light diving and climbing. [III]
May 25, 1961--Shepperton, Middlesex, England. Domed UFO
with "portholes." [XII]
May 29, 1961--Newark, Ohio. Boy filmed unidentified light.
[VIII]
June 4, 1961--Blue Ridge Summit, Pa. A cigar-shaped or
long elliptical UFO with a cluster of smaller UFOs was observed
by a librarian. First motionless, the smaller objects then streaked
across the sky to the large UFO and all vanished behind trees.
[VIII]
June 19, 1961--Exeter, England. A "flying object" was re-
ported to have hovered for more than an hour above an airport.
Officials said: "We do not know what it is. It was seen on the
radar screen and we have had it under observation for some
time. We think it is pretty big. It appears to be shining brightly
and is about 50,000 feet up." [VIII]
July 4, 1961--Akron, Ohio. A glowing green and white object
dove at a plane, stopped suddenly and climbed away at tremendous
speed. (July 5, same pilot sighted similar object; also seen
visually and tracked on radar at Cleveland airport). [V]
July 24, 1961--Ilha Grande, Brazil. An intensely luminous
UFO maneuvered sharply around a VASP Airlines plane. [X]
August 4,1961--Letter to NICAP member from Rep. Thomas W.
Downing: "The Bureau manager (of Newsweek) informs me that
his information indicates that an investigation of the UFO pheno-
menon is being contemplated by the Science and Astronautics
Committee. The information that I was provided indicates that
Congressman Joseph E. Karth of Minnesota may serve as Chair-
man of the three-man Subcommittee." (See Section XIII)
August 17, 1961--Stillwater, Minn. A V-formation of yellowish
lights (or V-shaped UFO with body lights) passed behind trees
at low altitude. [II]
September 13, 1961- -Crawfordsville, Indiana. 4:00 a.m. Three
people reported a round, orange UFO which moved rapidly east
to west, stopped and hovered for 5 minutes, then accelerated
rapidly disappearing in the distance. [XII]
September 19/20, 1961--Nr. N. Woodstock, N.H. Disc-shaped
UFO seen at close range; "beings" reportedly visible through
windows. (XIV)
September 21, 1961--Pacific Ocean, nr. Wake Island. Airline
pilots, ship, reported a bright white circular UFO. [X]
October 2, 1961--Salt Lake City, Utah. Disc-shaped UFO
maneuvered away from investigating aircraft. [I]
October 12, 1961--Indianapolis, Indiana. Spherical UFO with a
row of pulsating lights viewed from many angles by different
observers. [XII]
October 21, 1961--Nr. Datil, N. Mex. Four lights paced car,
maneuvered, shot away upward. [II]
October 30, 1961--Ligonier, Penna. Engineer observed four
luminous blue discs with bands of lights or "portholes" on outer
periphery. [I]
November 1961--Green Bank, W. Va. Government (National
Academy of Sciences) sponsored secret discussions on space
life, possibility of communicating with other worlds. (New York
Times; February 4, 1962)
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November 22, 1961--Nr. Grafton, N.D. Metallurgist observed
a hovering, grayish cigar-shaped UFO with "portholes". [VI]
1962
January 29, 1962--Eastern Holland. Radar-visual sighting by
Dutch AF F-86 pilot. [X]
February 9, 1962--Ashton Clinton, Beds., England. Disc-like
UFO with apparent dome, "portholes", hovered low over road.
[VIII, XII]
February 11, 1962--Parque del Este, Caracas, Venezuela. For-
mations of UFOs, about 16 objects in all, were observed by
many people. Sr. Carlos Pineda, at nearby Humboldt Planetarium,
witnessed one of the UFOs, described as "a body giving off a
brilliant light. . . moving at great altitude as if towards the
moon." [X]
February 20,1962--Col. John Glenn orbital flight, Project Mer-
cury.
April 24 & 25, 1962--Philadelphia, Penna. Series of UFO
sightings over area. April 24: Circular UFO with body lights,
apparent dome on top, shafts of white light directed downward
from base. Center section had rotating row of square "windows."
[XII]
April 30, 1962--X-15 flight, piloted by Joe Walker; Photograph
(no visual sighting)'of 5 or 6 "disc-shaped or... cylindrical" ob-
jects. Slides later shown in Seattle conference. NICAP unable
to obtain prints.
May 1962--At least twelve UFOs sighted in Argentina in May.
Official reports and newspaper chronology given NICAP by Ar-
gentine Embassy include four sightings by Argentine Navy pilots,
two reported landing cases. (See Section XII; Argentine Chronol-
ogy.)
May 18, 1962--Pompano Beach, Florida. Cigar-shaped UFO,
brilliantly lighted below, dark on top. Hovered, sped away.
[VII]
May 20, 1962--Defiance, Ohio. Scientist, others, watched
maneuvering light source, brilliant blue changing to yellow. [VI]
May 21, 1962--England. Irish International Airlines pilot
watched spherical UFO pass below aircraft. [X]
May 24, 1962--Astronaut Scott Carpenter, Project Mercury
orbital flight.
May 26, 1962--Westfield, Mass. "Round, slightly oval, bright
red object, giving off sparks from top and bottom. Center. .
yellowish or white. . . case is listed as unidentified." (Air Force
Project Blue Book 1962 Summary.)
May 27, 1962--Palmer, Alaska. Two triangular UFOs, diving
and climbing. Unidentified. (Air Force Project Blue Book 1962
Summary.)
June 30, 1962--Richmond, Va. Circular red object with some
white observed 10 minutes. Went from 20 degree elevation, 169
degrees azimuth to 13-1/2 degree elevation, 132 degrees azimuth.
Unidentified. (Air Force Project Blue Book 1962 Summary )
July 10, 1962--New Iberia, Louisiana. Disc-shaped UFO with
rotating dome on top swept low over Naval Auxiliary Air Station,
slowed over area of runway and hangar, then climbed out of sight
at 20 to 30 degrees angle accelerating rapidly. [IV]
July 17, 1962--X-15 flight, Maj. Bob White pilot. Photographs
and visual sighting of unidentified object "like a piece of paper,"
gray-white. Observed to left of aircraft "going along with the
ship" for about 5 seconds, then "darted above and behind the
plane."
July 30, 1962--Ocean Springs, Miss. "Diamond-shaped object,
mostly round, sometimes rectangular. Color bright cherry red
varying in intensity as it maneuvered. Performed intricate man-
euvers. Moved slowly, sometimes stationary -- then darted up and
over, etc." Case listed as unidentified. (Air Force Project Blue
Book 1962 Summary.)
August 2, 1962--Liberal, Kansas. Series of brightly lighted
colored objects seen by airline pilot, airport personnel, and
passengers at airport. [V]
September 8, 1962--Floresta, Argentine. "Burnished metal"
lens-shaped UFO sighted by Argentine Navy pilot. [X, XII]
Northeast New Jersey Concentration
September 15-28, 1962--Northeast New Jersey,acrosstheHud-
son River from New York City, was the scene of a definite flurry
of sightings of UFOs, with the heaviest concentration in the
Oradell-Hawthorne area.
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At 6 p.m., ex-Navy electronics officer, J. J.
McVicker reported two "silver dollars" appar-
ently revolving as they passed over W. Nyack,
N.Y. At about 7:55 p.m., five boys reported a
disc which hovered over the Oradell reservoir,
touched down on it, then took off silently at high
speed. Later, two other boys said they had seen
a very bright light moving back and forth over
the edge of the reservoir, following which a
loud explosion was heard.
4 a.m.; Two Westwood, N. J., policemen reported
a 7-8 second observation of a huge object, round
at the top and tapering to a cone.
4:45 a.m.; Two Oradell policemen reported a
brilliant light in the sky.
7:55 p.m.; A family in Hawthorne watched a
greenish disc descend low over their house.
January 24, 1963- -Lexington, Ky. Post Office safety engineer
saw a round UFO traveling east to west, and a delta-wing air-
craft north to south.
path at right angles.
Lexington, Ky.]
UFO's line of flight intersected aircraft
[Report via Bluegrass NICAP Affiliate,
-- Early in the morning, a watchman, William
Stock, of Hawthorne, reported a saucer-shaped
object which hovered and moved from side to
side as it shone bright enough to illuminate a
huge area.
-- At 3:40 a.m., William Stock and four invited
policemen spent a half hour watching a round
object with two apparently revolving body lights.
At 4 a.m., two policemen, between Hawthorne and
North Haledon, watched a bright light revolving
and moving up and down and from side to side
for about 35 minutes.
That night, 4 young persons in Hawthorne re-
ported seeing a bright star-like object with
light beams coming from it.
-- In the middle of the day a Hawthorne woman
and her son saw an oblong, silvery object, for
about 10 seconds.
-- Early in the morning, a group consisting of the
head of an independent news agency, a photog-
rapher and numerous policemen watched, for 10
minutes, an object which changed from red to
silver to green and back to red. In the evening,
a Hawthorne patrolman watched a light ap-
proach, hover for 15 minutes and then move
away.
-- Police from seven counties reported seeing
UFOs between 2:30 and 3:30 a.m. Mostreported
three objects which changed color.
September 18, 1962--Northeast Ohio. Six policemen sighted
UFOs about the same time. One hovering object, two maneuver-
ing. [VII]
October 3, 1962--Chicago, Ill. City of Chicago official watched
circular UFO with dome move across lower half of moon. [VII]
October 25, 1962--Delta, Colorado. Police dispatcher saw round
glowing object from radio room window. State patrolman and
Cedaredge Marshal observed two UFOs "like an inverted um-
brella with a number of bright, tail-like appendages." [VII]
November 19, 1962--Tampa, Florida. Three star-like objects
approached horizontally, hovered. "Impression was that objects
were under intelligent control at all times." Unidentified. (Air
Force Project Blue Book 1962 Summary.)
December 12, 1962--Amagasaki City, Japan. Five students
saw, and independently sketched, Saturn-shaped UFO. [X]
December 21, 1962--Angel Falls, Venezuela. Bright teardrop-
shaped light apparently rising from jungle floor filmed from
aircraft. [VIII]
December 22, 1962--Buenos Aires, Argentina. At Ezeiza Air-
port, pilots and control tower operators saw circular UFO rise
from end of runway. [X]
1963
February 5, 1963--Nr. Washington, D. C. Private pilot,
newsman passenger, watched a pulsating yellow-white light
maneuver around their plane. [V]
February 15, 1963--SE of Melbourne, Australia. Farmer
watched disc-shaped object with dome descend through rain
clouds, hover, then climb away; cattle bolted. [Witness inter-
viewed by Attorney Peter Norris, NICAP member.]
March 11, 1963--Oahu, Hawaii. Brilliant light headed west
and leaving a trail observed by many people just after 8:00 p.m.
Two National Guard pilots flying jets about 40 miles west of
Honolulu reported UFO was "much higher" than their altitude
of 40,000 feet and moving "very fast." Possibly an observation
of the recently announced A-11. (At 7:28 p.m., Pacific Time, a
newsboy in El Sobrante, California, saw two oval-shaped yellow
lights pass over the San Francisco Bay area from north to
south, traveling at high speed.)
March 12, 1963--Paine, Chile. Members of the Santiago NICAP
Subcommittee observed a pulsating luminous white sphere about
7:50 p.m. The UFO moved from north to south, disappearing in
the distance after about a minute.
May 21, 1963--Nr. Mt. Gambier, Australia. Unconfirmed
report that a brilliant light followed a car. A youth stated the
object was at side of road, rose suddenly as he approached, hovered
overhead, then followed car. The Dominion, Adelaide, reported
May 22 this was "the second report of such an occurrence in a
week."
May 23, 1963--Sunnyvale, Calif. Bluish disc observed hovering
and circling slowly, apparently at tree-top height; rose vertically
and disappeared. [Report via Bay Area NICAP Subcommittee.]
June 16, 1963--Palmerston, North City, N.Z. A college student
observed two brilliant lights descending in zig-zag fashion. The
UFOs hovered stationary for about 5 seconds, then "suddenly
shot off at very great speed, at first in level flight across my
front, then climbed up into the sky at approximately 45 degrees
to disappear." [Witness interviewed by NICAP Adviser Harold
H. Fulton.]
June 18, 1963--Niagara Falls, N. Y. An unidentified object
flashing various colors moved around erratically for over two
hours. Witnesses in separate locations described the maneuvers
similarly. About 10:00 p.m., the UFO moved from west to east,
reversed direction and headed back west. Later, it headed south-
east rising higher in the sky. Local astronomers and airport
officials could not account for the object. [Report from NICAP
member.]
June 19, 1963--Burlington, Mass. An unidentified white light
was observed descending, changing color; finally appeared silvery.
The UFO then circled the area, disappearing behind objects on
the visible horizon. [Report via Walter N. Webb, Boston NICAP
Adviser.]
June 21, 1963--Chicago, Ill. A student saw a gray, apparently
spherical UFO with a central row of yellow lights. Apparently
at low altitude, the object made a "sizzling sound" as it moved
east, turned sharply and disappeared to the north. [Witness
filed NICAP report form.]
June 26, 1963--Pine Crest, Calif. Four glowing greenish
objects with halos were observed by a technician, many others.
Three objects moving westerly were approached by a similar
object from the west. The fourth object stopped and hovered as
the three approached, split formation, and continued west. Then
the fourth object continued east. [Report via Bay Area NICAP
Subcommittee.]
June 26, 1963--Rockland, Mass. About 1:00 a.m., witnesses
attracted by a loud roar observed a Saturn-shaped UFO. The
object hovered, then moved away horizontally. The shape was
observed in silhouette, partly illuminated by a white light on top
and orange light on bottom. [Witnesses interviewed by NICAP
member Raymond Fowler.]
July 1963--Boston, Mass. An advertising plane caused several
January 5, 1963--The National Academy of Sciences, Space erroneous UFO reports. (Aircraft identified by NICAP Adviser,
Science Board, released a report (Pub. No. 1079) urging that a Walter N. Webb.)
search for extraterrestrial life "be proclaimed the top-priority July 18, 1963--Sunnyvale, Calif. A technical writer for United
scientific goal of our space program." Technology Center saw a disc-shaped UFO hovering in the sky.
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He exposed 8 mm color film of the object using a 36 mm tele-
photo lens. (A few frames of the film were submitted to NICAP,
but the image is too small to show detail.) When four jet inter-
ceptors converged on the UFO (three from the west and one from
the east), it drifted westward tilting back and forth, "then pulled
up in a short arc and shot up out of sight in an estimated three
seconds." [Report via Bay Area NICAP Subcommittee.]
July 20, 1963--Springfield, Ill. About 7:50 p.m., a shiny silver
object was observed hovering at high altitude. The UFO moved
up and down, back and forth, but remained in the same area of
the sky. About dusk, the object (now resembling a bright star)
began moving across the sky, picking up speed, and disappeared
in the distance. [Witness filed NICAP report form.]
August 1, 1963--Garston, Herts., England. A former RAF
pilot, and flying instructor, observed a triangular UFO which
hovered for a -long period of time, then climbed out of sight.
An air traffic controller four miles away also observed the UFO.
[FLIGHT International, 15 August 1963.]
Illinois Sightings
From August 4 into mid-month, there was a flurry of UFO sight-
ings, mostly in southern Illinois. An advertising plane in the
Chicago area caused some erroneous reports about the same time.
Once the reports had been publicized, the planet Jupiter also was
reported as a UFO on a few occasions. The Vincennes, Indiana,
NICAP Subcommittee investigated several of the key cases, sub-
mitting taped interviews and investigation reports.
August 4, 1963--Wayne County, Illinois. Ronald Austin (18) and
his girl friend, returning home from a drive-in theater, noticed a
large white object at tree-top level pacing the car. At one point,
the UFO crossed the road ahead of the car. During the closest
pass, a whining noise drowned out the car radio. Ronald was ter-
rified by the experience, and needed medical attention. (Police
and others later saw a light in the sky, probably the planet Jupiter.)
August 7, 1963--Nr. Fairfield, Ill. Chauncey Uphoff and Mike
Hill had their attention attracted to a UFO when Uphoff's dogs
began barking. Looking up, they saw a yellow-orange diamond-
shaped object traveling west to east. The UFO made a sharp
turn, headed toward the observers, changing color from orange
to gray, and finally to blue-white. The object continued its U-
turn, tilting on edge, and turned southeast. After hovering
briefly, the UFO took off at a 45 degree angle toward Grayville.
August 9, 1963--Mount Vernon, Ill. Former Mayor Harry
Bishop watched a large, bright red light follow a car along
Centralia road. When the car stopped, the UFO stopped and
hovered, then moved away at right angles to its original course.
----------------------
August 6, 1963--Sanford, Florida. Orvil Hartle, Chairman of
the LaPorte, Indiana NICAP Subcommittee, on a brief visit to
Florida, observed a UFO. He obtained a full report with signa-
tures of 13 additional witnesses. The object appeared in the
northwest sky first as a red, then a white moving light. To the
west, the star-like light hovered, then moved south. To the
south, the object began a series of gyrations and pulsated on and
off, visible intermittently. It moved up and down, back and forth,
once emitting a flare of greenish-white light.
August 13, 1963--Honolulu, Hawaii. While vacationing in
Hawaii, a chemist observed a UFO and reported it to NICAP.
Dr. Richard Turse, Princeton, N.J., about 11:30 p.m., saw a
round reddish object pass overhead from southwest to northeast.
The UFO "traveled across the sky at great speed making two
sharp turns at the same speed."
August 13, 1963--Nr. Ellsworth, Maine. A family and their
housekeeper observed an elliptical object, apparently on the
ground adjoining Molasses Pond, for more than an hour. Body
lights were visible along its length, and rays of light shone upward
from each end of the object occasionally. [Witnesses interviewed
by Walter N. Webb, NICAP Adviser.]
August 18, 1963--Ft. Kent, Maine. A silvery disc-shaped UFO
was seen by two young boys, whose parents agreed they must have
seen something unusual. The disc passed from north to south,
emitting a hum intermittently.
September 14, 1963--Susanville, Calif. (Satellite object case;
see Section II.) Round UFO accelerated, joined a "long" object.
"An unusual report from a competent witness. Unidentified."
(Air Force Project Blue Book 1963 Summary.)
September 20, 1963- -Huntsville, Arkansas. A rancher reported
watching an egg-shaped UFO moving eastward about 10 degrees
above the southern horizon. Through binoculars, a dark spot
was visible near the top of the object. As it proceeded west, the
UFO dimmed, turning orange, and faded from view after 10-15
minutes. [Witness reported sighting to NICAP.]
September 26, 1963--Sunnyvale, Calif. Police officer, many
others, observed a gray disc with central bright spot, moving on
a westerly course at high speed. [VII]
October 4, 1963--East Hartland, Conn. State Representative
L. B. Martin, about 1:00 p.m., saw a silvery triangular object
with a row of black dots across the leading edge. The UFO
passed overhead, emitting a flame-like tail, at an estimated
speed of 2000 mph. [Report obtained by NICAP-CONN Affiliate.]
October 23, 1963--Meridian, Idaho. Shiny disc hovered, emit-
ting "loud pulsating sound," maneuvered across sky and disap-
peared. Unidentified. (Air Force Project Blue Book 1963 Sum-
mary.)
October 31, 1963--Daylston, Victoria, Australia. Adeliveryman
on his rounds at 4:15 a.m., was frightened by a UFO which
approached his van, turned and followed his course just ahead.
The object seemed to be 8-12 feet long, glowing orange and red.
It then darted to the side of the road, continuing to pace the van
for a while, finally zooming ahead over a hill and apparently de-
scending. It was not seen again. Other witnesses reported seeing
a maneuvering light at the time of the sighting.
November 3, 1963--Corona, N. Y. A Pan American Airways
mechanic, about 1:30 a.m., noticed a star-like object maneuvering
across the northern sky. The light moved rapidly, slowed and
seemed to "shudder," then changed course by about 45 degrees.
Finally it made a 90-degree turn, accelerated, turned again and
disappeared from view. [Report obtained by New York NICAP
Subcommittee.]
November 12, 1963--Port Huron, Michigan. Deputy Sheriffs
chased a low-flying UFO which first appeared as a white flashing
light. At times the object seemed to have a "big divided window"
on it. When the UFO hovered, the deputies approached and flashed
their squad car light. Then a flashing red light became visible on
the UFO. The object finally moved away to the northwest making
a motor-like sound. Other residents reported a flashing light
and "high-pitched" or "whining" noises at the same time.
November 14, 1963--Carson City Nevada. A huge bluish-
green disc was seen hovering in the northwest sky about 4:45
a.m. Mrs. Blanche Pritchett said she was listening to her radio
when a bright light shining through her drapes caused her to look
outdoors. As she watched the hovering object, her radio went
off. A brilliant shaft of light from the UFO illuminated a hill-
top. Suddenly the UFO blacked out and disappeared, after which
the radio resumed playing. Other residents reported odd glows
in the sky that morning. [VIII]
November 20, 1963--Neche, N.D. Two high school girls re-
ported that a bright orange, oval-shaped object circled their car
at night while they were en route home. They were on highway
55 east of town when they first saw the UFO. It appeared to be
surrounded by a light haze. The glowing object sped across in
front of the car and circled around the side before disappearing
to the southeast.
December 2, 1963--Grand Rapids, Michigan. A motorist stopped
at a traffic light about 9:30 a.m., noticed a strange object
"glittering in the sun." Then the object tipped on edge (revealing
a disc shape) and quickly sped away to the southeast. The shape
was "like a pancake."
December 5, 1963--Nr. Carrasco, Uruguay. An oval UFO,
metallic-looking like aluminum, was observed hovering in the
clear morning sky by hundreds at a resort. One description said
the object "balanced gently in the air."
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SECTION XII
PATTERNS
An attempt was made to find groups of Unknowns for which
the observed characteristics we re the same., No such groups
were found. .An intensive study, aimed at finding a verified
model or models of "flying saucers". . .led to the conclu-
sion that neither goal could be attained using the present
data. . .the data conclusively failed to reveal even a rough
model...the data as a whole failed to reveal any marked
patterns or trends. - Statement by U.S. Air Force (From
Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14, 1955, ppg. 91-94)
The many obvious patterns which appear in UFO sighting data
are summarized under the following general types:
A. Physical Appearance
B. Maneuvers
C. Flight Characteristics
D. Concentrations With Time
(See also patterns of formations, Section II).
A. PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
Shape
The Air Force Project Grudge Report of December 1949 (Tech-
nical Report No. 102-AC-49/15-100) concluded, on the basis of
intelligence reports of UFOs, that the objects were of three basic
types:
(1) "The most numerous reports indicate daytime observation
of metallic disc-like objects roughly in diameter ten times their
thickness."
(2) Rocket-like objects.
(3) "Sharply defined luminous objects" appearing as lights at
night.
Thirteen years of UFO sightings have been added to the record
since this evaluation was made. A statistical study of the cases
listed in the chronology of this report [Section XI], covering a
period of 22 years beginning with 1942, indicates that the above
pattern is well-established.
Number of Percentage of
cases Total
Geometrical (disc, ellipse, 333 58.0%
triangle...)
Rocket-like or Cigar-shaped 48 8.3%
Light Source 140 24.3%
Other/None 35 6.1%
Radar (No visual) 19 3.3%
Total Number of Cases: 575
[Between 1947 and 1952, the Air Force investigated 2199 cases;
46.9% were elliptical UFOs, 5.2% rocket-like. The study did not
have a separate category for discs. See Project Blue Book Special
Report No. 14, page 197, tables A140-A146].
The cases of geometrical objects breakdown as follows:
Number of Percentage of
Cases Total (575)
1. Disc 149 26%
2. Round (spheres or discs) 96 17%
3. Oval/elliptical 77 13%
4. Triangular 11 2%
If we make the reasonable assumption that some of the UFOs in
categories 2 and 3 were discs seen in perspective, the possible
range of generally flat circular objects observed becomes:
Minimum Maximum
Number of Cases 149 322
Percentage of Total 26% 56%
One particular type of disc, whose shape occasionally has been
compared to the planet Saturn, has been sighted periodically since
1947. It resembles a flattened sphere (sometimes with a centrally
located surrounding ring). The following list, including one 1884
sighting, shows that many independent witnesses have used very
similar terminology in describing the symmetry of the discus-
shaped UFO.
July 2, 1952
Nr Tremonton, Utah
Navy photographer
"Like two pie-pans, one inverted on
top of the other" Section VIII
Airline Pilots
"Like two saucers, with rims
together"
January 8, 1954
Hamilton, Victoria, Australia
"Like two saucers, the upper in-
verted"
RAF Flight Lieutenant
"Like two saucers pressed together"
[Section X]
Board of Education
official
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COMMONLY REPORTED UFO TYPES
Note: These drawings are hypothetical constructions, generalized from hundreds of
UFO reports. They are intended to indicate basic shapes which have been reported,
and are not necessarily completely accurate in every detail. Additional details
so:f;etimes reported, such as "portholes," projections, body lights, etc., are not
portrayed. The general types shown do represent ,with reasonable accuracy virtually
all UFOs which have been reliably described in any detail. Examples of each type
appear in the left-hand column.
UFO SHAPE
BOTTOM VIEW
BOTTOM ANGLE
SIDE VIEW
I.
FLAT DISC
A B
A B
A. 10-54 Cox
7-2-52 Newhouse
B
7-9-47 John
n
0
.
so
7-14-52 Nash
oval
''lens- 'coin-
____
_____________________
shaped' like"
2.
DOMED DISC
A 6
A
A. 9-21-58 Fitzgerald
4-24-62 Gasslein
0
B. 5-11-50 Trent
'W
orld War I
8-7-52 Jansen
v
she ed'
helmet'
3.
SATURN DISC (D0ubnej
A
0
A. 10-4-54 Salandin
1-16-58 Trindade
Saturn- shaped
10-2-61 Harris
B. 8-20-56 Moore
B
elliptical o9ed oval`
'diamond-shaped
4.
HEMISPHERICAL DISC
9-24-59 Redmond
1-21-61 Pulliam
0
2 7-61 Walley
"parachute'
"rnushroom*
`half moon'
5.
FLATTENED SPHERE
10-1-48 Gorman
0
4-27-50 CAA
10-9-51 C.A.A.
sometimes
with peak
6.
SPHERICAL (Circular angles) gles fi)ro
A
6: `i-~'?,
3-45 Delarof
0
ball of
1-20-52 Bailer
10-12-61 Edwards
slowing light
~
r?ietnllic_n pearin ball
?'~' ~? `
7.
ELLIPTICAL
12-20-58 an
11-2-57 7 Level Levelland
CD
8-13-60 Carson
'%football'
"e99-shaped'
8.
TRIANGULAR.
5-72% G.O.C.
572-60 Majorca
C
'tear-drop'
9.
CYLINDRICAL Rolkey -
10. LIGHT
SOURCE ONLY
8-1-46 Puckett
7-23-48 Chiles
~~- II I- I)
~1=
"cigar- shaped'
"star-like'
or *pIane;t- like*
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UFOs observed in daylight rarely have shown any particular
color. Common descriptions have been "silver" or "white".
Occasionally some "glow" or "shine" has been observed in day-
light or twilight, appearing to be self-illumination rather than re-
flection. At night, UFOs have most often appeared as bright light
sources, occasionally as silhouetted objects (sometimes with body
lights). The color of the light sources or body lights have ranged
across the spectrum, and sometimes UFOs have shown more than
one color or changed color during the observation. (See part C
of this section for color change study.)
Daylight or Twilight
NICAP
(575 Cases)
Air Force*
(2199 Cases)
Silver or Metallic
88
15.3%
389
17.7%
White
81
14.1%
517
23.5%
Reflective (shiny or
34
5.9%
bright)
"Like two saucers, the uppermost
inverted and resting on the edges of
the lower one"
[Section VII. ]
"Like two soup bowls, one inverted
on top of the other"
"Like two soup plates clamped to-
gether by their rims"
"Like a saucer with another inverted
one resting on top..
[Section XII]
"A flattened sphere encircled at the
equator by a large ring..."
[Section VIII]
"Shape of two dinner plates face to
face"
"Shaped like a pair of saucers, one
turned upside down on top of the other"
[Section I]
Silhouette (dark or
black)
Night or Twilight
Red
62
10.8%
179
8.1%
Orange
25
4.3%
221
10.1%
Yellow
28
4.9%
159
7.2%
Green
21
3.7%
144
6.5%
Blue
26
4.5%
93
4.2%
Purple
0
0.0%
5
.2%
[*Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14, page 143, table A65 ]
An often observed feature of UFOs seen at relatively close range
is markings, apertures, or lights on the body of the object. The
appearance is that of "portholes" or "windows", as many of the
witnesses have stated. In the sample of 50 "porthole" cases
charted here, the markings are of three general types:
(a) Circular; (b) Rectangular (or square); (c) Row of lights;
[(d) Not specified.]
April or May 1932 --- Silvery, saucer-shaped; passed slowly
Durham, N.H. overhead.
August 31, 1951 12:30 p.m.
Matador, Texas
(b) two rows
[Section V.]
(a) 8-10 in circular pattern on
underside
[Section V]
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Date & Location
Time
UFO & Maneuvers
November 7, 1951
Lake Superior
Evening
Bright orange, oval; high speed, hori-
zontal flight.
September 16, 1952
Belle Glade, Fla.
About 4:30 a.m.
Circular disc
October 27, 1952
2:05 a.m.
Elliptical, trailing sparks; landed at
deserted airport.
May 30, 1954
Bainbridge, N.Y.
4:50 p.m.
Elliptical, silvery.
July 28, 1954
Atlantic Ocean
8:15 p.m.
Luminous disc, top gray, underside
bright.
September 20, 1954
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
---
Circular, dark object; moderate speed,
curved, then followed straight path.
October 7, 1954
Isles- sur-Suippes,
France
Early a.m.
Elongated object
October 14, 1954
Hobbs, N.M.
8 p.m. to 9:20
p.m.
5 semicircles of "pearly" lights.
November 5, 1954
Lookout Point, N.Z.
---
Orange, elliptical.
December 5, 1954
Northeast, Penna.
1:40 to 1:50 a.m.
Domed object giving off brilliant orange
glow.
December 20, 1954
Pontiac, Mich.
Night
Circular object, bright orange/dull red;
fast.
February 2, 1955
Maiquetia- Merida,
Venezuela
11:15 a.m.
"Saturn" disc, rotating; near airliner.
June 17, 1955
Adelaide, Australia
2:15 to 2:45 p.m.
Silver, oblong; slight movement.
Octbber 28, 1955
Galloway, England
---
Disc with revolving rim; very slow.
November 5, 1955
Cleveland, Ohio
6 to 6:30 p.m.
Elliptical; hovered, cruised slowly.
December 6, 1955
Ashfield, Mass.
4:15 p.m.
Cigar, smoke trails; slow.
August 19, 1956
Newington, Conn.
11:20 p.m.
Fiery object; slow, reversed direc-
tion.
Early November,
1956
Malibu, Calif.
8:30 p.m.
Oval, brilliant white object. Approxi-
mately 5,000 ft. alt. Underside
clearly visible.
June 15, 1957
Lancashire, England
5:06 p.m. GMT
Saturn-like, silvery blue
June 18, 1957
Jackson, Miss.
---
Object with halo. of light.
July 1957
Azusa, Calif.
July 1, 1957
Avon, Mass.
November 5, 1957
New York, N.Y.
4:30 a.m.
Domed disc; hovered, sped away
November 6, 1957
Marion, Indiana
7:30 p.m.
Cigar; hovered, then outran jet.
December 16, 1957
Old Saybrook, Conn.
2:00-3:00 a.m.
Elliptical object; (Ports visible only
while UFO not glowing, during hover-
ing).
January 14, 1958
Sarasota, Fla.
7:30 p.m.
White glowing object
February 2, 1958
NSW, Australia
7:45 p.m.
Elliptical; flame trail.
Number & Pattern
(a) 6 spaced in two rows of three
each on underside.
(c) Red and amber lights alter-
nately spaced around outside rim,
on underside.
(b) 4 on top following curve of
surface.
(c) around edge.
(c) 6-8 lights
(d) dim light emanating from
"portholes" illuminated object.
(c) Semicircles bisected by row
of lights.
(d) blue portholes.
(b) double row below dome.
(b) semicircle of ports or slits.
(d) above, below ring. [Section X.]
(c) 2 bright spots along length.
(c) Bluish lights on rim.
(b) 8 "windows" clearly visible.
[Section VII. ]
(c) Long rows of brilliant red
lights.
(b) 4 "windows" in line.
(b) 3 evenly spaced on outer rim.
Three oblong outlined "windows"
on underside
(b) 4 visible below ring; rectangu-
lar with rounded ends.
(d) 3 "portholes".
(d) "Portholes" on dome; number
& type not specified.
(c) String of very bright lights.
(b) 4 spaced along horizontal axis.
(a) 2 portlike markings.
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April 2, 1958 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. Cigar-shaped.
Columbus, Ohio
(c) long row of "portholes or
windows".
April 4, 1958 7:15 p.m. Cigar-shaped; shot straight up. (d) "windows"
Santa Monica, Cal.
April 7, 1958
Santa Ana, Calif.
Large glowing object; slow. (c) string of lights.
April 9, 1958 9:30 P.M. 2 deltas; hovered, flew away. (c) row of 6 flashing red lights
Newport Beach, Cal. on edges. [Section VII.]
August 17, 1958 2:00 p.m. Dome-shaped disc; followed jets, (a) row of about 5 "portholes".
Kansas City, Kans. hovered.
May 4, 1960 9:15 a.m. Yellow elliptical object. (b) 4 evenly spaced "windows",
Sarasota, Fla. square, slightly rounded corners.
May 18, 1960 --- Cigar-shaped object. (d) "portholes".
Wellington, N.Z.
August 18, 1960
Redlands, Calif.
August 24, 1960 9:15 p.m. Cigar-shaped, self-luminous. (c) 4 blinking lights which changed
Rumney, N.H. from orange to yellow.
November 3, 1960 4:30 p.m. Aluminum like disc with dome on top. (b) several around circumference.
Price County, Wis. On ground; rose above trees, took off
at high speed, (humming noise).
December 25, 1960 11:45 p.m. Hemispherical disc (convex surface (b) row at base of dome.
Cottonwood, Minn. downward) with dome on top.
Between May 2 and 10:00 P.M. Object about 8' high, 10' to 15' di- (a) oblong "windows" around top
May 5, 1961 ameter, inverted bowl shape; took off with flashing red lights coming
Union Mills, Ind. from road. from them. Lights changed to
steady flourescent when object
rose.
May 25, 1961 Between 10:00 and Domed object first appearing as bril- (a) row of 3 "portholes".
Shepperton, 10:30 p.m. liant point of yellow light in West.
Middlesex, England
November 22, 1961 7:00 p.m. Cigar-shaped object, steady red light (b) even row with yellow light.
Near Grafton, N.D. at upper end and flashing white light [Section VI.]
at other end.
February 9, 1962 About 3:30 a.m. Disc-like reflective object with hazy (b) black markings "like port-
Ashton Clinton, dome; hovered low above road. White holes or air vents."
Beds., England halo appeared as object took off at
high speed.
April 24, 1962 7:45 p.m. Circular object, dome on top; moving (b) Center section was rotating
f " are windows"
u
o s
50
d
April 25, 1962
Philadelphia, Pa.
. row
q
e
slowly E to W, estimated altitu
(shafts of white light directed down-
ward from base).
Brilliantly lighted circular object low (c) Row of yellow "window-like
in southern sky moving slowly West. lights" disappeared and reap-
Green light on top. peared periodically.
147
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Aircraft designs show similarities and differences comparable to the variety of UFO types. Left (from bottom to top): DC-4,
DC-6, and DC-7. Right: Top, A-11. Second row, F4F "Phantom"; F-106 "Delta Dart"; F-105 "Thunderchief." Third row, F-104
"Star fighter"; F-101 "Voodoo." Fourth row, British T-188 (high speed research); X-3 "Stiletto." Fifth row, British VTOL; X-13;
French "Coleopter" VTOL; XF-85 "Goblin." Sixth row, F-94 "Starfire"; F-84F "Thunderstreak"; P-59.
Comparing the UFO shape to type of "porthole", to determine
whether a particular type of UFO tended to have a particular type
of "porthole", the findings were largely negative. The UFOs re-
ported as cigar-shaped (11 cases) did not have rectangular "port-
holes" - with one exception (November 22, 1961).
Circular or disc-shaped objects (19 cases) were
having circular "ports" in 4 cases, rectangular in 6
of lights in 7 cases.
reported as
cases, rows
Elliptical or oval UFOs (10 cases) were reported as having
rectangular "ports" in 5 cases, circular in 3 cases, rows of
lights in 1 case.
The most striking consistency or pattern to "porthole" re-
ports is the description of their arrangement on the body of the
UFO. In no case were the lights or markings arranged hap-
hazardly. On the contrary, in every case the "portholes" were
arranged either in straight lines, or circular patterns (most often
around the curved surface).
In many cases the "portholes" were arranged exactly along
the major axis of UFOs which presented elliptical outlines to the
observer.
The "row of lights" cases, alone, consist of two basic types:
(1) Lights on or adjacent to the edge of a disc. (In two cases,
witnesses reported the lights were just below the disc edge, on
the underside of the UFO.) (2) Lights along the length of cigar-
shaped UFOs.
The position and geometrical arrangement of the "portholes,"
and the light usually associated with these markings, strongly
suggest that they are indeed ports or vents. They could well be
actual windows, particularly those of distinctly square or round
construction. The "row of lights" cases are subject to several
different interpretations: (1) Lighted windows seen at greater dis-
tance; (2) Running lights, such as those on normal aircraft;
Exhaust or propulsion vents.
B. MANEUVERS
A study of hundreds of UFO reports has revealed several re-
curring maneuver patterns. These include:
* Hovering (or very slow motion) and sudden rapid acceleration.
* Circling and pacing of human vehicles. [Section II.]
* UFOs rendezvousing, then operating together [e.g., Aeronautical
Engineer report, July 16, 1952, Section VI; Airline Pilot report,
July 14, 1952, Section V]
* Satellite objects, associated with and maneuvering around larger
central parent objects. [Section II.]
Numerous examples of these features appear in previous sec-
tions, especially Section II which discusses the evidence that UFOs
are intelligently guided. A number of rendezvous cases is included
in the formation chart, Section H, and other examples may be found
throughout the report.
The remaining feature, hovering followed by rapid acceleration,
occurs so regularly that it can practically be considered a de-
fining characteristic of a "UFO." No man-made objects or known
natural objects can perform in the manner described. The objects
which were observed performing this maneuver were predomi-
nantly the typical discs and ellipses so often reported.
The following table lists one hundred sample cases between 1947
and 1962, illustrating this feature.
7-9-47 Nr Boise, Idaho Disc maneuvering slowly, turned
on edge, "shot straight up." [ Sec-
tion VII.]
148
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Date Location Description Date Location Description
7-10-47 Southern New Astronomer saw elliptical UFO 3-29-52 Nr Misawa, USAF pilot saw small disc maneu-
Mexico hovering and wobbling, reported a Japan ver close to plane, pass in front,
"remarkably sudden ascent"; es- shoot out of sight in near vertical
timated 600 to 900 mph. [Section climb. [Section 1.1
II.]
6-1-52 Los Angeles, Radar tracking of target at 11,000
8-47 Media, Pa. Hovered, flipped over showing it Calif. feet, which suddenly tripled speed
was disc; second later shot from and climbed rapidly about 35,000
mid-sky over the horizon in 3 to 4 feet per minute. Other maneuvers
seconds. [Section V.] followed. [Section VIII.]
12-8-47 Las Vegas, Pilots at night saw reddish light 6-13-52 Le Bourget, Pilot, control tower operator, saw
Nevada moving at moderate speed; flashed France bright orange-red object speed
bright green and "shot up at tre- away after hovering for about an
mendous speed." hour. [Section X.]
7-4-48 Nr Longmont, Round, silvery object, revolving; 7-1-52 Fort Monmouth, Radar-visual sighting of two shiny
Colo. hovered for several seconds, N.J. objects which approached slowly
soared upward at terrific speed. from NE, hovered for about 5 min-
utes, then sped off with a terrific
3-10-50 Orangeburg, Publisher and others saw bright burst of speed to the SW. [Section
S.C. disc hover over city for 15 min- VM.]
utes, speed away leaving trail.
7-5-52 Nr Richlands, Airline pilots saw "perfectly round
3-8-50 Dayton, Ohio Round UFO hovered at high alti- Washington disc" hover, accelerate and speed
tude; pursued by interceptors, away. [Section V.]
streaked vertically upward. [Sec-
tion VIII] 7-13-52 Washington, D.C. Airline pilot report from CAA
study: "The object came to within
3-26-50 Nr Washington, Private pilot saw metallic disc two miles of the aircraft and
D.C. below his plane, dove at it; UFO hovered at the same altitude.
zoomed up into broken clouds. Pilot switched on all lights, ball
[Section V.] of light took off, going up and
away." [Section XII; July 1952
3-26-50 Reno, Nevada CAA tower operator saw brilliant Chronology.]
UFO hover, move slowly, shoot
upward into clouds. [Section V.] 7-18-52 Patrick AFB, After 4 UFOs circled area and
Fla. flew away, two approached base,
4-9-50 Shelby, N.C. Round aluminum-like UFO moving hovered; circled, accelerated at
horizontally for two minutes, shot terrific speed and flashed away to
straight up. West. Section XII; July 1952
Chrono logy.]
5-29-50 Nr Washington, After circling airliner and hover-
D.C. ing, elliptical UFO sped east at 7-22-52 New Smyrna Metallic disc hovered about 10
"fantastic speed." [Section V.] Beach, Fla. seconds, shot away in abrupt fast
6-30-50 Nr Kingman, Rotating saucer-shaped UFO
Ka hovered took off with terrific
s
climb. [Section XII; July 1952
Chronology.]
n
. ,
acceleration as minister (former 7-23-52 Culver City, Elliptical UFO hovered (2 smaller
USAF pilot) started to drive his Calif. objects emerged, rejoined) and
car under it. climbed straight up at tremendous
speed. [Section II.]
1-20-51 Nr Sioux City, Rocket-like object flew alongside
Iowa DC-3, suddenly shot up out of 7-26-52 California USAF F-94C chased UFO, got radar
sight [Section V.] lock-on, saw large orange light;
each time jet tried to close, UFO
2-19-51 Mt. Kilimanjaro, Cigar-shaped UFO with vertical would suddenly pull away at terrific
Africa bands, hovering, sighted by air- speed, then slow down again until
line pilot and crew; after 15 to 20 jet began to gain. [Section VIII;
minutes suddenly shot straight up. Radar.]
[Section X.]
8-1-52 Bellefon- USAF jet pilots climbed toward
8-51 Nr Murray, Ky. Silver, roughly triangle-shaped taine, Ohio hovering UFO which accelerated
object hovered, then shot straight and disappeared at high speed.
UP. [Section VIII; Radar.]
10-9-51 Nr Paris, Ill. Disc-like UFO hovering, as pilot
turned toward it, UFO began to
pick up speed, shot off toward NE.
[Section V.]
Early Cleveland, Ohio Red light hovered; took off at high
1952 speed when chased by plane.
[Section V.]
1-21-52 Mitchel AFB, Disc circling and climbing slowly;
N.Y. pilot gave chase, UFO accelerated
rapidly and pulled away out to sea.
[Section IV.]
1-29-52 Wonsan, Korea Revolving disc paralleled B-29 for
five minutes, pulled ahead, shot
away at sharp angle. [Section X.]
2-20-52 Greenfield, Minister watched three round sil-
Mass. very UFOs hover, suddenly speed
away disappearing in seconds.
[Section VII.]
8-5-52 Haneda AFB, Dark circular object with bright
Japan lights hovered near control tower;
suddenly accelerated and sped
away dividing into three units.
[Section VIII; Radar.]
8-6/7-52 Kerkrade,
Holland
Disc hovered, accelerated rapidly
and climbed away at high speed.
Another disc hovered, zigzagged,
sped away. [Section X.]
8-29-52 Villacoublay, In two separate instances, observ-
France ers at a meteorological station,
using a theodolite, observed circu-
lar UFOs which first hovered, then
streaked away. [Section X.]
9-20-52 Topcliffe, Disc which had followed Meteor jet
England to field hovered rotating; then ac-
celerated and vanished to SE.
Section XII; "Operation Mainbrace"
Chronology]
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Date Location Description Date Location Description
10-11-52 Newport News, Disc-shaped object with "dome" 11-12-54 Oolitic, Ind. White ball-like object made ex-
Va. hovering for 20 minutes, reported plosive sound, moved South at
to Langley Field. As two jets rapid rate; stopped and hovered
neared on intercept, UFO tilted up, for about 1-1/2 hours.
10-13-52 Oshima, Japan USAF pilot observed disc hovering Australia' rounded by flange (Saturn-shaped)
in clouds for seven minutes; then moving very slowly over road;
saw it speed away to West, disap- turned about 900, accelerated, and
pearing in seconds. [Section III.] climbed rapidly.
2-16-53 Nr Anchorage, USAF C-47 pilot observed bright 5-25-55
Alaska red light (first below horizon, rul-
ing out stars and planets); object
approached, hovered for 5 minutes.
Plane gave chase, UFO accelerated
and shortly vanished. [Section III.]
London, Circular object rapidly approached
England B-47, stopped above it for about 5
seconds; pulled to one side, re-
versed direction, hovered for
about 8 second, shot away at high
speed.
11-10-53 Knutsford, UFO with ports or "windows" first 7-9-55 Santa Catalina Cylindrical UFO, turning rapidly
England hovered, then moved North at very Channel, Calif. on own axis, hovered for 16 min-
high speed. utes; then zigzagged upward at
high speed into clouds.
minutes; accelerated rapidly, dis- 7-17-55 Canton, Ohio
appearing in seconds in near ver-
tical climb.
3-24-54 Florida Marine Corps pilot banked toward
hovering round UFO to try for gun
camera pictures- object took off at
terrific speed. Section IV.]
Disc (domed on top and bottom)
hovered; airliner neared, UFO
went straight up and disappeared
into an overcast. [1]
airport, stopped; oscillated, and
moved off at high speed. [Section
VIII; E-M Effects.]
England - minutes, took off at high speed. 7-26-55 Hants, England Boomerang-shaped UFO "rather
like a flattened triangle" hovered above
5-30-54 Bainbridge, N.Y. Silver elliptical UFO with four a glider for about 30 seconds, then
"ports" moved slowly on horizon- sped away to NW "swooped down
tal course; accelerated rapidly and very fast, and disappeared behind
climbed out of sight in seconds. trees on the horizon." 12.]
6-26-54 Idaho Falls, Brilliant light flared up above AEC 8-6-55 Cincinnati, Blinding white ovoidal object sit-
Idaho station, hovered several seconds, Ohio ting on ground suddenly ascended
then zoomed up out of sight. and streaked away at incredible
speed to NW.
hovered, "then proceeded 340" at
approximately 2,600 mph." [Sec-
tion VIII; Radar.]
Atlantic Ocean Officers of Dutch liner observed
off New York disc with spots of light around
City edge hovering just over sea about
40 off port bow; UFO then shot up
into clouds.
9-9-54 Nelson, New Three discs hovered over mud
Zealand flats; two tipped on edge, streaked
up vertically; third followed
shortly afterward. [Section VIII;
photographs.]
9-15-54 Bihar, India Saucer-shaped UFO descended and
hovered at about 500 feet altitude;
emitted "smoke" and "soared up-
wards at an incredible speed."
[Section X.]
9-17-54 Nr Rome, Disc-like UFO flew along Italian
Italy coast, tracked by radar, hovered.
"Suddenly it shot upward.. .straight
up into the sky. . .What was strange
was the object's ability to 'park' in
midair for several minutes." (Eye-
witness account quoted by INS.)
10-3-54 Rue de Fleury, Dome-shaped UFO hovered motion-
France less for minutes; suddenly accel-
erated at tremendous speed and
disappeared to SSW.
10-22-54 Marysville, School principal and teacher
Ohio watched cigar-shaped UFO
hover over school, saw "angel's
hair" fall. UFO took off rapidly
disappearing horizontally.
[Section VIII.]
Disc with ring (Saturn-type)
hovered, rotating slowly; began
moving, tilted on edge, shot away.
tude for about 5 minutes, then
sped away.
1-17-56 Orangeville, Disc-shaped UFO (giving appear-
Canada ance of three concentric rings)
hovered; glowed more intensely,
began moving horizontally, shot
up in spiral motion, disappearing
in 5 to 6 seconds.
2-17-56 Orly Airport, UFO tracked on radar, and seen
France visually as a bright light, ap-
proached at high speed; bobbed
around area hovering at various
points for several hours, then de-
parted at high speed. [Section X.]
6-27-56 Trieste, Italy Numerous persons near the sea
coast reported a luminous UFO
which hovered about 10 seconds,
then shot away at high speed to
the NE.
7-19-56 Phoenix, Round object, apparently spheri-
Arizona cal, hovered; lower hemisphere
dimmed, object sped away.
1-21-57 Army base Captain and Master Sergeant
watched two UFOs maneuvering
close together at high altitude;
one shot away at very high rate of
speed in level flight. Disc-shaped.
[Section IV.]
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2-13-57 Burbank, Several oval UFOs observed ma- 4-12-59 Montreal, Reddish UFO hovered over air base
Calif. neuvering over city at various Canada for several minutes, darted away
times night of February 13/14. to North. [Section X.]
Police officer said UFOs would
dart across sky, hover briefly, 5-14-59 Des Moines, UFO hovered, later streaked away.
then speed away. Woman reported Iowa [3.]
oval object emitting light beams;
"then it went straight up and dis- 6-3-59 Nr Bloomington, Bright torpedo-shaped UFO hovered
appeared." Indiana at angle for 6 to 8 minutes; dove
b 1
10-8-57 Fiji Islands Circular UFO which descended and
hovered low over water seen from
Wallingford, Ky. Disc-like UFO hovered low over
ground; rose abruptly, sped away
horizontally.
separate locations by minister, 8-24-59 Nr Emmitsburg, Brilliant white planet-like UFO,
natives; natives reported seeing Maryland hovered over 2 minutes; took off
figure of man on object, blinding straight up at terrific speed.
light; then UFO shot straight up and
disappeared.
10-23-57 Kent, England White disc dropped through cloud
cover on edge, hovered just under
clouds; shot North still on edge, 9-24-59
then tilted (showing as a relatively
thin line) and climbed rapidly into
clouds.
11-2-57 Nr Seminole, Lights seen on road ahead of car;
N.M. motor stalled and headlights failed
as driver neared object; then lights 4-25-60
suddenly rose into sky and sped
away. [Other similar cases in No-
vember 1957; See Chronology this
Section.]
11-6-57 Marion, Indiana Cigar-shaped UFO with string of
bright lights; hovered, then moved
away at high speed.
Conn. "ports" hovered just above ground;
then began moving, accelerating 7-2-60 Nr Maiquetia,
rapidly to East. Witness reported Venezuela
seeing forms of two robot-like
figures through "ports").
Redmond, Disc observed by police officer
Oregon descended, hovered several min-
utes, shifted abruptly to new posi-
tion; spouted "flames" from under-
side and rose quickly into scat-
tered clouds. [Section V.]
Plymouth, Bright red cigar-shaped UFO
N.H. with vertical bands of light
hovered in eastern sky; suddenly
moved South at high speed, lighting
tree branches as it passed. [Sec-
tion VH.]
toward earth disappearing a ow
horizon.
5-5-58 San Carlos, Disc-like UFO approached plane, 9-28-60 Arlington, Star-like UFO, moved slowly rela-
Uruguay hovered; as pilot tried to close on Texas tive to stars; suddenly sped away
object, it darted away East toward horizontally. [Section V.]
UFO; first motionless, then moved
East rapidly, disap earing in sec-
onds. [Section VII.)
10-3-60 Cressy, Gray cigar-shaped UFO with ver-
Australia tical bands (5 to 6 satellite objects
associated) hovered just below
cloud cover, rose rapidly into
clouds. [Section H.]
Wyoming hovered over slag dump; as-
cended and took off to South at
"tremendous speed."
10-7-58 Nantucket, From ship's log: Unknown object 2-7-61 Kennebunkport, Bright red dome-shaped UFO
Mass. "remained stationary for a minute Maine hovered for two minutes; suddenly
or more, then shot up and away to accelerated, disappearing swiftly
the NE and disappeared out of sight in East. [Section VII]
at a rapid rate of speed." [Section
VII.] 4-9-61 Kingsville, Round bright red UFO descended
10-26-58 Baltimore,
Md.
Egg-shaped UFO hovered above
bridge; suddenly shot straight up
into sky making explosive sound.
11-5-58 Conway, N.H. Bright light like "red beacon"
hovered in sky for about 15 min-
utes; then accelerated and sped
away.
UFO approach from West, hover;
zoom "straight up like a shot."
[Section I.]
1-1-59 Newport Beach, Round rotating UFO (or four close
California together) hovered, then split into
four UFOs, two of which rose ver-
tically at extreme speed. Another
headed SE and fourth remained sta-
tionary.
1-8-59 Nr Walworth,
Wisc.
Round UFO descended slowly; sud-
denly sped off on horizontal path at
high speed, trailing sparks. [Sec-
tion V.]
Texas rapidly through overcast, hovered
for a few minutes; emitted black
"smoke" and sped off to SE dis-
appearing in overcast.
9-13-61 Crawfordsville,
Ind.
Luminous UFO paralleled Vene-
zuelan Airlines Super-Constella-
tion for 20 minutes, suddenly shot
away at terrific speed. [Section X.]
Round orange UFO approached
rapidly, stopped and hovered for
5 minutes; light intensity in-
creased, UFO accelerated rapidly
sped away.
10-2-61 Salt Lake City, Disc hovered; as plane approached,
Utah object rose quickly like elevator,
moved away, hovered again; finally
moved up and shot away to West at
"extremel accelerated speed."
[Section I.]
10-12-61 Indianapolis, Ind. Spherical UFO with row of lights
like ports, hovered; spiralled up-
ward, hovered, sped away to
South.
2-9-62 Bedfordshire, Disc with black markings like
England "portholes or air vents" hovered
above road, moved slowly ahead
of car; glow appeared around ob-
ject, it "veered" to right and took
off at high speed. [Section VIII.]
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5-18-62 Ft. Lauderdale,
Fla.
Cigar-shaped UFO hovered; began
moving slowly SW, changed direc-
tion and flashed away to West.
[Section VII.]
9-15-62 Oradell, N.J. Disc-shaped UFO darted back and
forth, touched down on reservoir;
moments later took off at high
speed.
9-21-62 Hawthorne, Circular UFO (apparently a disc)
N. J. hovered; began moving when spot-
light shone at it, sped away rapidly.
Over 60% of the UFOs which maneuvered in this manner, there-
fore, were the typical circular and oval objects so often described
in UFO reports.
A disc can present either a perfectly circular outline or, if
viewed from an angle, an oval or roughly elliptical outline. As-
suming that a certain percentage of the UFOs reported as round or
elliptical/oval actually were discs viewed from an angle, we have
from 35% minimum to 66% maximum disc-shaped objects.
At any rate, objects described as disc-shaped or round consti-
tute 55% of the cases.
C. FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS
(1) Study of Color Changes Related to Motion
A special study was made of cases in which UFOs reportedly
changed color during flight. A sample of 82 color change cases
was accumulated. In addition, 25 cases of change in luminosity
or brightness (some overlapping the color changes) were singled
out for examination. Could any pattern be discovered relating
these changes to the motion or maneuvers of UFOs?
No attempt was made to discover what relation might exist
between type or shape of UFO and color patterns. The large
majority of color change cases occurred at night, when the UFOs
mostly appeared as light sources only.
(*) The colors observed during acceleration were isolated. (*)
Shifts of color toward the red and violet ends of the spectrum were
studied in relation to hovering, acceleration, etc. (*) Cases in
which white, or dark (absence of color) constituted one predomi-
nating color were examined as a class. (*) Luminosity changes
were similarly analyzed.
Though it is admittedly a small sample and may not be signifi-
cant, the 25 cases of luminosity change yielded the most promising
pattern. In all except two cases, the luminosity change occurred
during acceleration or direction change. (The sequence of events
was not clear in one exception. The UFO flared up brilliantly
sometime during the observation, as it moved back and forth at
low altitude.)
In 18 cases the luminosity increased with acceleration. (In two
of these cases, the opposite was also observed: dimming during
deceleration.)
In 2 additional cases (for a total of 4) decrease of luminosity
was observed. (One occurred as the UFO made a turn; dimming
caused window-like lights to become visible on object. One oc-
curred just before hovering luminous sphere accelerated and sped
away; lower hemisphere dimmed.)
In 3 cases, pulsating or blinking lights were observed. (One,
.pursued by an aircraft, sped up and the light became steady. One
,pulsated from bright to dim twice while hovering. One pulsated
more brightly as it began a series of erratic maneuvers.)
A secondary pattern, more difficult to assess because of inexact
descriptions in many sightings, is suggested by the data. Careful
interrogation of witnesses on this point in future sightings (or
appropriate tracking instrumentation) would provide a test of it.
Hypothesis: That the colors of UFOs which undergo change dur-
ing acceleration shift toward the red end of the spectrum.
From the original sample of 82 cases, it could be determined that
in a minimum of 23 cases (28%), the color change occurred during -
and seemed tobeassociatedwith - acceleration. These cases were
broken down into three categories:
(a) Change from one specific color to another (10 cases). In 9
out of 10 cases the color shift was toward red, (7 shifting to red, 2
to amber). The remaining case was a red UFO which gave off a
green flash of light while changing direction, but not changing to
that color.
(b) Change, specific color to or from white (10 cases). In all
10 cases the color shifted white to or from red/orange (5 each
way).
(c) Change, specific color to or from dark (3 cases). In all 3
cases the color shifted dark to or from red/orange (2 from dark
to red/orange, 1 from orange to dark).
In 21 of the 23 color change cases related to acceleration, red/
orange was either the first or last color observed in the sequence.
In two cases, the color shifted to red, then back toward the violet
end of the spectrum, to blue or green.
The only other conclusion of possible significance is that the
data (primarily U. S. cases) failed to verify the prediction of Lt.
Plantier's theory reported by Aime Michel, that UFOs should give
off green luminescence during sharp turns. [4]
Only one confirming instance of this was found.
(2) Oscillation
A regular feature of UFOs, observed periodically since the
first U.S. reports, is the tendency of the objects to wobble much
as a spinning top does when it begins to slow down. The sample
of 35 cases in this chart is not the result of an exhaustive
search; no doubt, there are many more. However, it was im-
practical to search the thousands of UFO reports on record
for this one feature without use of an expensive punchcard sys-
tem. In the listed cases, the following points stand out:
* The UFOs which show this feature, with few execptions, are
disc-shaped.
*The wobble does not necessarily occur only during hovering
or slow flight.
* With few exceptions, the observations of this feature occurred
during relatively close-range sightings in daylight.
6-23-47 Cedar Rapids, 10 shiny discs "fluttering along in
Iowa a string."
7-6-47 Fairfield-Suisan USAF pilot saw UFO "oscillating
AFB, California on lateral axis."
7-8-47 Rogers Dry Lake, Round metallic UFO; "rotation or
California slow oscillation" while moving
slowly. [Section II.]
7-10-47 Southern New Elliptical UFO sighted by astrono-
Mexico mer, "wobbled" while hovering.
[Section II.]
7-12-47 Utah Lake, Group of discs fluttered and sta-
Utah bilized alternately.
Summer Erie, Penna. Disc wobbled while flying straight
1948 course; (accelerated and climbed
away). [Section VI.]
7-26-49 Mitchell, Saucer-shaped UFO whirling, "oc-
Nebraska casionally tipping."
4-9-50 Shelby, N.C. Round aluminum-like UFO wobbled
along on course for 2 minutes,
then shot straight up.
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10-51 Anderson, Large group of discs individually
Indiana tilted back and forth in unison.
3-29-52 Misawa, Japan USAF pilot observed small disc
near plane which fluttered,
"rocked back and forth in 40-degree
banks" while moving slowly. [Sec-
tion I. ]
4-5-52 Hensley AFB, Circular metallic object moving at
Texas high speed, "wobbled" in flight.
4-17-52 Cassopolis, Oval-shaped UFO moving at high
Mich. speed with "wobbling motion."
5-13-52 Greenville, Several oval-shaped UFOs in dia-
S. C. mond formation "wobbled in flight."
[5]
8-1-52 Sharonville, Brilliant milk-white disc flying
Ohio slowly, with "tendency to wobble."
8-14-52 Coral Gables, Bright white luminous object with
Fla. orange ring, hovered; wobbled back
and forth every few seconds.
9-9-52 Portland, Ore. Two oval or disc-shaped UFOs
hovering; one wobbled.
9-20-52 Topcliffe, Silver disc rotated and wobbled.
England [Operation Mainbrace Chronol-
ogy, this section]
9-9-54 Nelson, New Three discs hovered, wobbled,
Zealand rose at high speed. [Section VIH;
Photographs.]
3-2-55 Tucson, Arizona Elongated UFO passed overhead
with "loping or rocking motion."
3-28-55 Joseph City, Large group of UFOs maneuver-
Ariz. ing like jets in a dogfight, split up,
began moving with "strange flutter-
ing motion."
7-26-55 Washington, Round UFO approached airport,
D. C. hovered and oscillated before
speeding away.
3-20-56 Washington, Three discs, silvery-white; tilted
D. C. in "wobbling" motion, moved up and
down.
7-56 Washington, Three discs, one with "a pro-
D. C. nounced wobble," leaving visible
trails and flying "in definite for-
mation."
7-14-56 Arlington, Va. Amateur astronomers watched ob-
ject larger than stars or planets
for four minutes; object had "wob-
bling motion."
8-20-56 Citrus Heights, Large group of Saturn-shaped
Calif. UFOs in rough semi-circle for-
mation, individually wobbling.
12-18-56 Barberton, UFO arced across sky from E to
Ohio W; when it slowed and hovered,
"it wobbled and had erratic move-
ment."
7-57 Azusa, Calif. Disc-shaped UFO with row of
amber lights on rim descended
with wobbling motion.
8-15-57 Woodland Hills, Disc hovered 6 minutes, rocked
Calif. from side to side and rose straight
up out of sight. [Section IV.]
11-29-57 Sarasota, Round orange object "wobbled"
Florida and hovered for about 2 minutes,
moved away.
5-5-58 San Carlos, Brilliant top-shaped UFO ap-
Uruguay proached, stopped; "rocked
twice" before speeding away.
[Section X.]
i
Satellite Objects
_ _ - ' Pendulum
Motion
Wobble on Axis
i
Oscillatory Flight
Disc-like UFO; edges "flipped or
fluttered" as it flew steady course
(later spiraled, turned sharply.)
2-16-60 Laguna Beach, Oval UFO "wobbled. . .on an axis
Calif. through its center and at right
angles to its course" as it slowed
down approaching a second UFO.
[Section VII.]
5-19-61 Long Beach, Shiny UFOs maneuvered errati-
Calif. cally, with "odd fluttering motion."
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Sample Cases:
10-2-61 Salt Lake City, Disc-shaped UFO seen by pilot,
Utah hovered "with slight rocking
motion." [Section I.]
7-9-62 West New York, Disc with rotating central ring
N. J. "hovered with swaying motion."
A curious, but fairly common, flight characteristic of UFOs
is a pendulum-like motion (swaying back and forth) during
hovering, slow climb, or descent. Witnesses frequently have
compared this to the gyrations of a falling leaf.
Sample Cases:
October 11, 1951. J.J. Kaliszewski (then Supervisor of balloon
manufacture for General Mills, Inc.) and Dick Reilly were flying
near Minneapolis, Minnesota, observing a balloon at 6:30 a.m.
They noticed a bright glowing object overhead moving at high
speed from east to west. The UFO had a dark undersurface,
and a halo of light. Finally it slowed, and started climbing
"in lazy circles." Kaliszewski: "The pattern it made was
like a falling oak leaf inverted." [Section VI.]
February 9, 1957. At 1:00 a.m. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
Roger Standeven observed a white oval-shaped UFO with a red
light visible on top. The object would stop, "fall like a leaf,"
speed up again, and repeat the sequence, gaining altitude each
time it sped up.
[For other examples; See Section XI, Chronology: 9-20-52,
9-26-54, 11-25-56, 2-28-61.]
POHANG, KOREA; Fall 1954
U.S. Marine Corps Weather Observer John A. Potter
observed a formation of seven bright orange UFOs
moving north to south about 11:00 p.m. The objects,
travelling at "a very rapid pace," individually
fluttered from side to side as pictured.
(c) Side-to-Side Oscillation
A very similar pendulum-like motion, occurring as a UFO trav-
els in a horizontal plane (rather than ascending or descending)
has been noticed occasionally. It consists of a side-to-side
oscillation as the UFO proceeds in a constant direction.
3-29-50 Ironwood, Round UFO moving with "slipping
Mich. and sliding sideways" motion.
[Section V.]
10-9-50 Nr Williamstown, Two cylindrical UFOs swinging
Vermont back and forth like "flying pen-
dulums."
3-10-52 Oakland, Calif. Two dark hemispherical UFOs,
one following straight-line
course, second swaying back and
forth "like a pendulum" across the
path of the first. [Section VI.]
10-54 Pohang, Korea Formation of 7 discs; individually
"fluttered," swaying from side to
side.
9-22-56 Williston Plains, UFO (appearing alternately circu-
No. Dak. lar and delta-shaped) moved slowly
past, oscillating from side to side.
10-30-61 Derry, Penna. Four luminous blue discs "oscil-
lated" from side to side, on con-
stant course. [Section I.]
6-19-62 London, Disc "oscillated" from side to
England side, "hestitating sometimes and
practically stopping in midair," on
constant course.
6-24-47 Mt. Ranier, Nine flat shiny UFOs moved with
Wash, skipping motion.
7-7-47 Nr Medford, Disc on edge moved S to N along
Ore. eastern horizon, bouncing up and
down "as if following contour of
hills." [Section XII; July 1947
Chronology.]
1-7-48 Columbus, Round or oval UFO in level flight
Ohio estimated at over 500 mph., mak-
ing "elevator-like" motions.
5-29-51 Downey, Calif. Large formation of glowing UFOs,
maneuvered, moved with undula-
tory "skipping" motion.
8-3-51 Nr Pinckney, Yellow light "moving in an undulat-
Mich. ing path." [Section VI.]
(3) Violent & Erratic Maneuvers
In a sample of 40 cases in which erratic maneuvers were
reported, there is a noticeable repetition of certain motions
which appear to be characteristic of many UFOs. All of the
cases involve UFOs which abruptly altered direction and/or
speed, usually more than once during the observation. Of the
total, 63 percent occurred during night hours.
43 percent round or elliptical UFOs, 50 percent light souces
only (no shape discernible).
28 percent scientific or experienced; 33 percent good; 39
per cent average.
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Hovering and Bobbing UFOS "erratic," and "jerky" regularly appear in the reports. Some-
In 14 cases (35 per cent) the UFOs jumped or "bobbed" times the maneuvers are compared to the bouncing of a ping-
around while hovering in one general area of the sky, moving pong ball. At least one witness said the motion was like the
abruptly up and down, side to side. The words "bobbing," bobbing of a float on a fishline.
VIOLENT AND ERRATIC MANEUVERS
Observer Ratings: A = Scientific or experienced; B = Good; C = Average
Date & Location
Time
Number and Description
9-1897
Canada
---
(1) light source
4-5-48
White Sands, New
Mexico
---
(1) disc, 1/5 size of moon
4-8-49
Los Angeles,
Calif.
day
(1) silvery disc
4-9-49
Tucson, Arizona
4-5 p.m.
(1) bright orange light
source
7-50
Cincinnati, Ohio
1:45 p.m.
(1) cigar-shaped
10-10-51
Croix Falls,
Wisc.
10:00 a.m.
(1) glowing cigar-like
object
5-13-52
San Diego, Calif
8:55 p.m.
(1) luminous, circular
6-12-52
Le Bourget,
France
3:30 p.m.
(1) silver, egg-shaped
7-1-52
Washington, D. C.
noon
(1) gray, shape not speci-
fied
7-16-52
Hampton Roads,
Virginia
9:00 P.M.
(4) amber light sources
7-19-52
Quebec, Canada
2:30 to 3:00
p.m.
(2) blue-white light
sources
8-7-52
Kerkrade, Holland
Early a.m.
(2) disc-shaped with flat
dome
9-28-52
Scandinavia
---
(1) luminous, emitted
sparks
10-17-52
S. France
12:50 p.m.
(About 30), 1 large cylin-
der and many Saturn-
like discs
10-27-52
S. France
5:00 P.M.
(17) 1 cigar surrounded
by 16 discs with domes
8-22-54
Chicago, Ill.
---
(1) half-moon shaped
9-23-55
Mt. Washington,
Ohio
---
(2) red light sources
10-3-55
Denver, Colorado
8:00 p.m.
(1) yellow-orange light
source
11-7-55
Montrose, Calif.
6:30 p.m.
(1) elliptical, lights on
each end
11-23-55
Spirit Lake, Iowa
5:45 p.m.
(1) vari-colored light
source
12-12-55
Branford, Conn.
10:30 p.m.
(1) large light source,
flare-like flashes
2-17-56
Paris, France
night
(1) large red light source
Maneuvers Observer Rating
"tacking and veering"
"streaked... series of violent A
maneuvers."
high speed, "zig-zagged" C
hovered, bobbed around arcing B
back and forth, up and down
climbed rapidly, stopped 10 sec- A
onds, dived, levelled off, moved
away horizontally [Section V. ]
dove, levelled off, sharp left A
turn, climbed steeply and shot
away [Section VI.]
erratic darting side to side, un- A
dulatory course, circled. [Section
I.]
hovered, violent jerks up & down, B
rocked back & forth, darted away
hovered 8 minutes, arced back & A
forth about 15?, returning to orig-
inal position, slowly dropped out
of sight
Two spun around each other rap- A
idly, joined by two others, moved
jerkily when moving slowly [Section
VI.]
Bobbed up & down, back & forth, C
maintained 30 separation
One swooped down, hovered, zig-
zagged & shot away; second
hovered, tilted up & shot away.
[Section X.]
Moved with irregular jerks, vis- C
ible one hour, satellite objects
visible at one point.
Discs moved in pairs, zig-zagged B
("angel's hair" fell) [Section VIII.]
Discs moved in pairs zig-zagged B
("angel's hair" fell) [Section VHI.]
Hovered, darted erratically in C
various directions, up & down...
Stopped near hilltop, began inde- C
pendent motions, jumping up &
down; one moved back & forth
Rapid pulsation, square turns, C
sudden stops & spurts of speed
circled, hovered, ascended & B
descended...
Moved erratically up & down, A
hovered 10 minutes... [Section
VII.]
Bobbed around in various direc- C
tions
Sped into area, hovered, bobbed A
around sky for several hours;
tracked by radar, seen visually.
[Section X.]
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Date & Location Time Number and Description Maneuvers Observer Rating
(1) orange light source,
green flashes
11-5-57
Haverhill, Mass.
4:30 p.m.
(1) disc
(1) orange light source
(1) white light source,
bright red when hovering
4-14-58
Hot Springs, Ark
1:00 P.M.
(1) silver cigar, divided
into parts
4-16-58
Lincoln, Nebraska
4:00 to 6:30
a.m.
(9) round light sources,
1 large
6-4-58
Sarasota, Florida
8:50 p.m.
(1) white oval
8-3-58
Ontario, Canada
1:15 a.m.
(1) star-like light source
8-9-58
Detroit, Mich
8:15 to 12:00
(1) light source
8-10-59
Wayne, Penna.
7:30 p.m.
(1) disc with dome
11-8-59
Ellensburg, Wash.
12:30 to 1:45
(1) oval, pulsating,
8-13-60
Red Bluff, Calif.
11:45 p.m.
(2) red elliptical, emit-
ting red beam
1-10-61
Benjamin, Texas
night
(1) light source
2-28-61
Nr Lakeville, Mass.
3:20 a.m.
(1) yellow, elongated,
dark red edge, black
smoke
(1) star-like light source,
pulsating
7-24-61
Ilha Grande,
night
(1) brightly luminous ob-
ject
7-7-62
Dorchester, Mass.
10:30-11:00
(1) yellow ellipse
Another pattern is of UFOs zigzagging across the sky, us-
ually in constant motion rather than hovering in one general
area. Twelve cases (30 per cent).
Maneuvering UFOs
Most of the remaining cases involve motions which can only
be described as "maneuvering." These include UFOs which
circled, darted here and there, climbed, dove, and reversed
course.
D. Concentrations with Time
The word ''flap" has been applied to one feature of UFO
activity: periodical surges of sightings with attendant publicity.
"Flap" originally was a military slang word indicating a high
degree of excitement and confusion, such as might result from
Steady course, sudden reversal, B
violent zig-zagging...
Hovered, vibrated up & down, side A
to side [Section VII.]
Zig-zagged across lake at high C
speed.
Moved back & forth in steady 300 B
are, occasionally hovered. (cf.,
7-1-52; Wash., D.C.)
Hovered 2 minutes, split into 2 B
parts which moved jerkily in oppo-
site directions at high speed came
back together several times, then
3 parts...
Moved back & forth, up & down, as C
group moved E to W
High speed zig-zag path, S to N B
High speed W to E, zig-zagged C
several directions, then con-
tinued E.
bobbed and circled erratically, B
High speed with "quick & jerky" C
motions, generally moved in one
direction
Hovered, floated few lengths C
Hovered, sharp reversal of direc- B
tin erratic maneuvers [Section
VIII
Zig-zag flight, appeared to land B
(observed from airplane) [Sec-
tion V.]
"Rolled back & forth" bobbed
around, while moving in one
general direction
Spun, zig-zagged & stopped, moved C
back and forth
"...made angular turns. ..moved A
up & down, back & forth, in all
directions. ." [Section X.]
Dropped, hovered, moved, hovered, C
the unannounced visit of a V.I.P. to a military base. Its adap-
tation to similar reactions related to UFO sightings is very
appropriate.
The UFO "flaps" have involved elements of sudden news
media attention to UFO sightings concentrated in a short period
of time, or relatively small geographical area; resurgence of
public interest in UFOs (frequently introducing larger numbers
of erroneous reports from inexperienced observers); confusion
about the interpretation of these events. Analytically, it is not
clear whether so-called "flaps" result from and feed on pub-
licity, or vice versa. Does the occurrence of a "flap" really
indicate a sudden increase in UFO sightings? Or does it merely
represent occasional attention to something which is going on
virtually all the time?
Sometimes there have been concentrations of sightings which
were widely publicized. At other times there have been con-
centrations which received little or no publicity (these shall
be termed "concentrations" rather than "flaps" here). It
appears that "flaps" are the combined products of concentrated
UFO activity plus a sudden outbreak of publicity and more
156
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thorough news coverage. If so, this would tend to give a false
picture of total UFO activity.
News coverage and publicity have been spotty and erratic
over the years, largely reflecting the degree of official atten-
tion to UFOs. In this connection, it is interesting to note that
during the past six years the Air Force has constantly de-
bunked UFOs; during that period no real "flap" has occurred
in the United States. In the same period, concentrations have
occurred.
The following
of real increases
chart probably gives a more accurate
and decreases of UFO activity.
A
z
OR
U
s
A
z
c
a
X
1947
June-July
Western United States
X
1950
First Half
Midwest, West, & SW U.S.
X
1952
July-August
Eastern United States
X
1952
Sept.-October
Europe
X
1954
April-December
World-Wide
X
1954
October
France
X
1955
August
Midwest United States
X
1957
November
Midwest, Southwest U.S.,
South America
X
1959
June-August
Pacific Ocean, Australia,
New Guinea, New Zealand
X
1960
August
Northern California
X
1962
May, July-
Argentina
August
X
1962
September
New Jersey
June-July
1947
The first major wave of UFO sightings in the United States
began in June 1947. Kenneth Arnold, a private pilot flying near
Mt. Ranier, Washington, first reported a sighting to the press.
On June 24 he observed 9 flat, shiny objects which fluttered
and skipped along as if in a chain. In describing the sighting
to newsmen, he said the strange objects flew "like a saucer
skipped across water." Newsmen promptly dubbed the objects
"flying saucers," and the name stuck.
In the next three weeks, similar objects were spotted all
over the country, but reports were concentrated in the north-
west. Later research in library files, by a NICAP member
traveling around the country, uncovered 125 separate UFO re-
ports for June and July. These covered 25 states, with 30%
coming from Washington.
Washington
38
Colorado
16
Idaho
11
Utah
8
Oregon
6
California
5
New Mexico
3
Wyoming
2
Arizona
2
Ninety-one (72% of total) came from states west of the 100
degrees W longitude line. East of that line, Oklahoma had 9
reports, other states had only one or two.
The Air Force Project Blue Book Report, released in 1955,
lists for the same period:
June - 13 sightings, 4 unknown
July - 40 sightings, 8 unknown
53 Total
DATE LOCATION
TIME NUMBER
SHAPE
COLOR
OBSERVERS
ACTIONS
SECTION
1947
June 23 Iowa-Cedar Rapids
---
10
Discs
Shiny
Railroad Engineer
Fast, fluttered
"
24 Wash.-Mt. Ranier
1400
9
Flat
Bright
Pilot (private)
Fluttered, skipped
24 Ore.-Cascade Mtns.
---
5-6
Discs
r
Shiny
Prospector,
Contractor
Banked
25 N.Y.-Glens Falls
---
1
Disc
Red, blue
County Deputy
Treasurer
Unspecified
28 Nev.-Lake Meade
1515
5-6
Circular
Unspec.
Pilot (USAF)
Formation off wing
Ill.
28 Ala.-Montgomery
2120
1
Light
Bright
4 USAF Officers
Zig-zag, 90? turn
III.
"
29 N.Mex.-Rocket test site
---
1
Disc
Silver
Rocket expert
Flew straight
IV.
July
1 N.Mex.-Albuquerque
---
1
Disc
Bluish
Chamber of Com-
merce Executive
Zig-zag
4 Ore.-Redmond
1100
4
Discs
Unspec.
Car full
High speed
4 Ore.-Portland
1305
3-30
Discs
Shiny
Police, Pilots (private)
Oscillated
II.
4 Wash.-Seattle
1745
1
Circular
White
USCG Yeoman
Across wind
vine
4 Idaho-Hauser Lake
1900
1
Disc
Unspec.
Over 200 persons
Circled, shot up
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DATE LOCATION TIME NUMBER SHAPE COLOR OBSERVERS ACTIONS SECTION
6 Calif.-Long Beach
1315-
1330
1
Disc
6 S. Central
Wyoming
1445
1
Oval Unspec.
Aviation engineer
Steady flight
VI.
7 Wash.-Tacoma
1430-
1500
3
Unspec. Red-purple 2 policemen
blue-white
Spinning, threw
sparks
VII.
July
8 Calif.-Muroc
(Edwards) AFB
0930
3
Spheres or discs Silvery
Pilots
Est. 300 mph.
III.
White
AF technicians
Descending, oscillat-
ing
H.
Metallic
USAF Test Pilot,
others
Dove, climbed,
oscillated
III.
Dark
Pilot/aviation editor
Climbed, turned on
edge
VII.
Bright
Mfg. Pres./Am.
Astronomer
High speed
Silver
Interior decorator
Tilted, accelerated
rapidly
VII.
The 1952 "Flap"
The year of 1952 saw the greatest wave of UFO reports in
the United States; a wave which carried with it a major group
of simultaneous radar-visual sightings of objects displaying out-
standing speed, maneuverability and persistence.
By official Air Force figures (Project Blue Book, Special
Report No. 14), there were 1501 sightings during the year which
were reported through official channels. As an indication of a
much larger total number of sightings, one Ground Observer
Corps Filter Center (Columbus, Ohio), covering about 1% of
the continental U.S., reported 70 UFOs during six weeks at the
height of the activity in mid-summer (on-the-spot count by NI-
CAP member).
Project Blue Book Chief, Capt. E.J. Ruppelt stated that as of
July 21, when the tide approached flood stage, "We were getting
an average of 40 reports a day, 1/3 of which were unidentified."
[6]
The early part of the year was marked by a number of in-
teresting events:
January 29 - An Air Force pilot flying north of Misawa,
Japan, in a practice intercept mission, watched a small disc
pace one of the jet interceptors, then climb steeply away.
[Section I.]
May 13 - In National City, California, two aeronautical
engineers, an ex-Navy pilot and an amateur astronomer watched
a round, white UFO descend at meteor-like speed; the UFO
then levelled off and circled the area, darting erratically from
side to side. [Section I.]
The first of more than a dozen simultaneous radar-visual
observations occurred just after midnight, June 19, at Goose
Bay AFB, Labrador. A light-first, red, then changing to white-
hovered briefly. When it appeared to oscillate, its image on
the radar scope flared up. Then it returned to its original size
and disappeared. [Section VIII; Radar.]
On the first of July, the pace began to quicken. Capt. Ruppelt
later stated, "By July 1 were were completely snowed under with
reports." [7.]
At Fort Monmouth, N.J., three radar instructors and 12
trainees tracked two objects on an SCR 584 radar set as they
hovered at 50,000 feet for about five minutes. Viewers outside
saw two shiny objects at the same time. [Section VIII; Radar.]
Later that day, in Washington, D.C., hundreds of persons, includ-
ing a physics professor from George Washington University,
watched a dull grey object for about eight minutes, as it hovered,
with an occasional movement to the side and return.
The next day, July 2, Navy photographer W/O Delbert New-
house took color movies of 12 disc-shaped UFOs maneuvering
in a group at high speed near Tremonton, Utah. [Section VIII;
Photographs.]
After a week of nationwide activity, there began a period marked
by almost daily accounts of almost unprecendented reliability and
detail.
At 3:00 a.m., on the morning of July 13, Captain W. Bruen,
National Airlines, reported to Washington, D.C., ARTC Center
that a blue-white light was approaching his aircraft. He was 60
miles SW of National Airport. The UFO "came up to altitude
of aircraft, hovered two miles to left of northbound aircraft.
Pilot turned on all lights. Ball of light took off, going up and
away." [From Civil Aeronautics Administration Report. See
Section VIII; Radar.]
Group sightings played a significant part in the 1952 "flap",
with some patterns appearing. Near Newport News, Va., July 4,
the pilots of a Pan American Airways DC-4 watched a formation
of six red discs speed below their plane, turn sharply and speed
away, joined by two more discs. [Section V.]
Over a three-day period, July 16-18, there were three obser-
vations of groups of four UFOs. (See below).
An American Airlines pilot, Capt. Paul L. Carpenter, was
approaching Denver, Colorado enroute to Chicago on the night
of July 17/18. Capt. James Smay, on a flight ahead, radioed
back and reported some odd lights maneuvering in the area.
About 2:45 a.m., while at 17,000 feet over Denver, Capt. Car-
penter noticed a speeding yellowish light to the south. It darted
from a compass bearing of about 165 degrees (SSE) to about
180 degrees (S). About a minute later, a light sped back toward
the east from about 195 degrees (SSW) to about 180 degrees.
Simultaneously, two more lights sped from south to the south-
southwest. Moments later, two lights were observed headed from
south-southwest to south.
To Capt. Carpenter, it seemed that some unidentified objects
were speeding back and forth, reversing direction sharply. The
objects maneuvered over an arc of 30 degrees. Assuming they
were over Colorado Springs, Capt. Carpenter estimated the speed
at 3000 mph. If they were farther away, he pointed out, the speed
would be even more fantastic.
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Washington, D. C. "For the dates of interest to you, upper air observations were
1 b t M l d rather than at Wash-
an
H
l O
The first of several well-publicized nights of radar-visual
sightings in the Washington, D.C., area began about 11:40 p.m.,
July 19, at National Airport. Ground observers and military and
civilian pilots observed unidentified lights while as many as ten
strange blips were on radar scopes. Radar indicated hovering,
sudden accelerations and great speeds until near dawn. Objects
followed and passed incoming airliners, often seen by pilots and
crews. USAF F-94 interceptors arrived at 3 a.m., after reportedly
being delayed to check on UFOs over New Jersey, but the objects
had left the scene (confirmed by radar), returning when the jets
departed.
About 1:00 a.m., July 20, Capt. S.C. (Casey) Pierman, piloting
Capital Airlines Flight #807 had just taken off from Washington
National Airport and was swinging around to head south. At the
airport, radar controllers had been noticing unidentified targets
on the sets for some time. They had recalibrated the sets and
were now convinced the targets were legitimate. Chief Con-
troller Harry Barnes called Capt. Pierman and asked him to
check for objects. Pierman, in the vicinity of Martinsburg,
W. Va., agreed and quickly called back: "There's one, and there
it goes !"
In a detailed interview published later, Barnes stated: "His
[Pierman's] subsequent descriptions of the movements of the
objects coincided with the position of our pips [radar targets]
at all times while in our range."
In the next fourteen minutes, Capt. Pierman reported six
such lights, "like falling stars without tails" which "moved
rapidly up, down, and horizontally. Also hovered." [C.A.A.
Report. See Section VIII; Radar.]
Two hours later, Capt. Howard Dermott on incoming Capital
Flight #610 reported that a light followed his aircraft from the
vicinity of Herndon, Va., to 4 miles west of the airport. Radar
sets both in the control center and the tower at National Airport
showed the object.
Again the following weekend, radar targets and maneuvering
lights appeared. On the night of July 26/27, from 4 to 12 objects
were tracked at various times between 8:00 p.m. and 1:20 a.m.
on radar sets at the CAA control center, Washington National
Airport tower, and Andrews AFB, Md. Lights were seen indi-
vidually and in groups, both from the air and the ground.
Air Force interceptors were called in, and criss-crossed
the area from 10:25 p.m. to 1:20 a.m. The pilots observed
fast-moving lights where radar told them to look. One, Lt.
William Patterson, was badly frightened when a group of glowing
objects surrounded his interceptor. As the CAA radar operators
watched the blips on the scope cluster around his plane, the
pilot asked them in a scared voice what he should do. There was
a stunned silence; no one answered. After a tense moment, the
UFOs pulled away and left the scene. (Incident confirmed by
Al Chop, then Air Force spokesman on UFOs. Taped statement
on file at NICAP).
The dramatic visual sightings of unexplained lights in the same
places that radar showed unexplained objects were later attributed
to unusual weather conditions. Ground lights refracted by in-
verted layers of cool and heated air (temperature inversions) were
said to account for the visual sightings. The same conditions
were said to cause refraction of the radar beams causing simul-
taneous false radar targets. Unfortunately for this theory, the
stable air conditions required to produce persistent light (re-
fracted from a ground source) are inconsistent with the reported
rapid motions of the observed lights across the sky and large
angular displacements. [See Radar analyses, Section VIII.]
At the time of the Washington radar-visual sightings, the
NICAP Director consulted both a civilian scientist and an Air
Force radar expert about the degree of temperature inversion
necessary to produce false radar targets. The scientist stated
the inversion would have to be 10 degrees Fahrenheit (about
6 degrees Centigrade), and much larger to produce strong radar
effects. The Air Force expert, who had made a special study
of temperature inversions, stated it would take an inversion of
5-10 degrees Centigrade.
The following weather information was obtained from the Na-
tional Weather Records Center by the New York City NICAP Af-
filiate (photo-copy on file at NICAP).
serva ory, my
i
made at saver
ington National Airport, but these locations are sufficiently near
each other for Silver Hill to be representative of the general area
of interest.
"In the data which follow, local time is given, temperature
difference is given in degrees Centigrade and altitude is given as
altitude above mean sea level. To convert to altitude above
station level, 88 meters would be subtracted from the metric
altitudes given below.
"July 18, 1952, 10 P.M. observation: An inversion from
the surface to 210 meters. Temperature at top of inversion
was 1.7 degrees warmer than at base of inversion. No
other significant inversion below 20,000 feet..
"July 19, 1952, 10 A.M. observation: No significant inversion
below 20,000 feet.
"July 19, 1952, 10 P.M. observation: An inversion from the
surface to 340 meters. Temperature at top of inversion was
1.7 degrees warmer than at base of inversion. There was an
isothermal condition (no temperature change) between 2,780
and 3,100 meters.
surface to 320 meters. Temperature at top of inversion was
4 degrees warmer than at base of inversion. There was
another inversion between 1,700 and 1,940 meters and in this
case the temperature at top of inversion was 8 degrees warmer
than at base of inversion.
"July 26, 1952, 10 A.M. observation: Two minor inversions.
One between 1,060 and 1,230 meters, temperature at top
0.8 degree warmer than at base. One between 2,370 and 2,530
meters, temperature at top 0.9 degree warmer than at base.
`.`July 26, 1952, 10 P.M. observation: An inversion from the
surface to 360 meters. Temperature at top of inversion was
1.1 degrees warmer than at base of inversion. There was
another inversion between 1,310 and 1,370 meters where the
temperature at top was 0.7 degree warmer than at base of
inversion ... "
/s/ Roy L. Fox
Director "
The unusual concentration of UFO activity in the Washington,
D.C. area continued on July 29, as radar tracked unidentified
targets for almost six hours. Unlike the first two nights, there
were few visual sightings of these objects.
During the afternoon of July 29, the Air Force attempted to
quiet the national concern which by now had grown to unprece-
dented proportions. In the heaviest attended Washington press
conference since World War II, USAF Intelligence Chief Maj.
Gen. John A. Samford explained that the UFOs tracked and seen
in the Washington area were the result of the refraction of light
and radar waves by atmospheric temperature inversions. (Trans-
cript on file at NICAP.) Weeks later, after scientists had made
it clear that the inversions on the nights of the Washington sightings
had been grossly insufficient to cause highly qualified radar ob-
servers to err so drastically, the Air Force re-classified these
objects as "unknown."
Although they received less publicity after the Air Force press
conference, UFO sightings continued at a high rate throughout
August.
As the flood of reports was beginning to wane, late in the
month, an Air Force Colonel, flying an F-84 between Hermanas,
N. Mex., and El Paso, Tex., on the morning of August 24, saw
two round, silvery objects flying abreast. One made a right turn
in front of the jet, then both disappeared over Hermanas. They
reappeared over El Paso. One was seen to climb straight up
for several thousand feet.
The Colonel stated, "From their maneuvers and their ter-
rific speed, I am certain their flight performance was greater
than any aircraft known today." (Statement from Air Force In-
telligence Report.)
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July 1952 Chronology
Date
Time
Location
1
7:30 a.m.
Boston, Mass.
1
9:30 a.m.
Ft. Monmouth, N.J.
2
11:10 a.m.
Nr Tremonton, Utah
5
6:00 a.m.
Nr Richlands, Wash.
8
10:00 P.M.
Nr Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
10
---
Nr Korea
10
---
Nr Quantico, Va.
12/13
3:00 a.m.
Nr Washington, D. C.
Newport News, Va.
16
9:35 a.m.
Salem, Mass.
16
9:00 P.M.
Hampton Roads, Va.
17/18
2:00 a.m.
Washington, D. C.
17/18
2:45 a.m.
Nr Denver, Colo.
18/19
midnight
River Edge, N. J.
19/20
11:40 p.m.
Washington, D. C.
1:00 a.m.
Nr Washington, D. C.
3:00 a.m.
Nr Washington, D. C.
22
5:47 p.m.
New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
22/23
night and early morning
New England and New Jersey
Description
USAF Capt., others saw two silvery cigar-shaped UFOs
headed SW across city.
Visual & radar sighting of two shiny UFOs which hovered
at 50,000 ft. for 5 minutes, shot away SW.
Warrant Officer Newhouse filmed 12-14 disc-shaped UFOs.
[Section VIII; Photographs]
Airline pilots saw "perfectly round disc" hover, accelerate
and speed away. [Section V.]
CAA equipment man reported domed UFO. [Section V]
Canadian destroyer watched two shiny revolving discs
speed across sky, tracked by radar at distance of 7 miles.
National Airlines plane at 2000 feet reported slow moving
brilliantly lighted object.
USAF Captain (weather officer) and hundreds of others saw
large red light with smaller white body lights make 180
degree turn directly overhead, and move away over horizon.
[8]
Airline pilot watched UFO hover, take off upward.
Airline pilots watched six discs maneuver below airliner,
turn sharply, speed away joined by 2 more discs. [Section V.]
Coast Guard photographer filmed four brilliant round
lights arranged in rough V.
High-ranking government scientist observed four maneu-
vering yellowish lights. [Section VI.]
Chief Engineer, WRC Radio, saw 6-7 bright orange discs
which sped along in single file, then each in turn veered
sharply upward and disappeared.
Airline pilot watched 3-6 lights speed back and forth, mak-
ing apparent sharp reversals of flight.
USAF officers, weathermen, others, watched four amber-
colored lights maneuvering near the base.
Associated Press staff writer, saw reddish-orange ball of
light move steadily overhead NW to SE in direction of
Washington.
National Airport CAA radar began picking up unidentified
targets.
Outbound airline pilot checked radar targets for CAA, saw
maneuvering objects coinciding with radar.
Inbound airline pilot watched light follow plane to within 7
miles of airport; UFO confirmed by radar.
USAF radar operators at weather tower tracked ten UFOs
for 15-20 minutes; objects approached runway, scattered,
made sharp turns and reversals. [ Section VIII; Radar. ]
Colonel commanding Dobbins AFB announced detection of a
UFO by radar. The object passed over the area at about
50,000 feet traveling about 1200 mph. [9.]
Private pilot and his wife saw a metallic-appearing disc
which hovered about 10 seconds, then shot away in abrupt
fast climb.
Many reports of discs and maneuvering lights. Westfield,
Maine: Ground observer Corps reported three discs (dif-
ferent sizes) headed SW; Nahant, Mass: Coast Guardsman
saw two discs circle station, head out to sea.
160
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Location
23
---
Culver City, Calif.
11:35 p.m.
South Bend, Indiana
24
3:40 p.m.
Nr Carson Sink, Nev.
26/27
8:00 p.m.
after midnight
Washington, D. C.
8:15 p.m.-9:46 p.m.
10:25 p.m. Newcastle, Delaware Fighters appeared on CAA radarscopes, were vectored on
unknowns; one saw four lights ahead of him but could not
catch them.
Nr Andrews AFB, Md. National Airlines pilot,
Nr Herndon, Va. United Airlines pilot,
Beltsville, Md. CAA inspection aircraft pilot,
Nr Andrews AFB, Md. CAA inspection aircraft pilot. [12]
About 10 miles E of Mt. Same pilot saw "steady white light"; light disappeared in
Vernon, Va. about a minute.
Description
Unofficial report of elliptical silvery UFO seen by aircraft
workers; launched two small discs which maneuvered, re-
turned on board; parent object climbed straight up out of
sight.
UFO tracked on radar, seen by ground observers as blue-
green light. F-94 saw and chased UFO, locked on with
radar, UFO pulled away and disappeared. [10]
Capt. Harold Kloth, USAF, saw two blue-white objects are
over the city.
Two USAF Colonels (both Command Pilots) saw three
triangular objects in tight V formation; approached their
B-25 at one o'clock position, banked past less than 1000
yards away at estimated speed of over 1000 mph. Investi-
gation showed no aircraft, balloons or other devices in
area. "Unknown." [11]
UFOs tracked by CAA radar, chased by jet interceptors;
some visual sightings.
Civilian pilots saw glowing white lights moving at high
speed on four occasions:
In a special article for International News Service, July 29, CAA Radar Specialist James Ritchey (who tracked the unidentified targets
both weekends) said that one of the airline pilots mentioned above got close to a UFO. "He reported to us that he sighted a yellow light
that appeared to turn red and then back to yellow again," Ritchey said. "The object appeared to be about two miles away and to be flying
parallel with him. Radar confirmed that he was between two and three miles from the object. "
The Washington Post (July 28, 1952) reported that long-range radar at Andrews AFB registered the UFOs from about 7:30 p. m. (EST)
to about 11:00 p. m. (The CAA report on Washington radar sightings, although it has a column for that purpose, does not mention any
Air Force radar sightings on either July 19/20 or July 26/27).
Air Defense Command radar tracked a UFO, F-94C
scrambled, locked on with radar, crew saw large yellow-
orange light. Ground and airborne radar both showed that
when jet would get close, UFO would suddenly accelerate
and pull away, then slow down and let jet catch up again.
Object "Unknown" [13].
Scientist observed 15 glowing UFOs in formation. [ Sec-
tion VI.]
Eight people, including aviation engineer, watched maneu-
vers of seven discs in formations of two and three. [ Sec-
tion VI.]
Air Force Lt. Wales, Andrews AFB, saw dark disc moving
slowly NE with "oscillating rolling motion." Clouds were
moving SE. UFO entered base of clouds. [CAA Report.
See Section VIII; Radar.]
Air Force Major Turlin reported unidentified yellow light
which "moved slowly, stopped, flickered, moved in arc."
[CAA Report]
Round UFOs with visible "exhausts" were seen by
police, Civil Defense, military personnel and hundreds
of citizens in 20 or more counties.
State policemen at opposite ends of county watched a
maneuvering starlike object which alternately hovered,
moved up and down, back & forth.
Civil Defense and police saw one orange and one white
light chasing each other as if in a dogfight.
Air Force radar tracked UFOs, which appeared visually
to pilots as rapidly moving lights. [14]
Geneva, N. Y. Hovering elliptical UFO sighted. Vapor trails, apparently
from interceptors, converged on object, it rose straight
up and disappeared into cloud bank.
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Daily papers headlined story that Air Defense Command had ordered its jet pilots to pursue, and if necessary "shoot down, " UFOs
sighted anywhere in country (15).
28/29 1:30-5:00 a.m. Washington, D. C.
Many unidentified targets tracked by CAA radar in belt 15
miles wide, objects moving SE. Eight to twelve UFOs on
radar scopes at one time.
Eastern Airlines pilot was asked to check on radar tar-
gets, reported seeing nothing. CAA official said the tar-
gets disappeared from the radar screen when the plane
was in their area, "then came back in behind him." [16]
U. S. Rocket Society president wired Defense Department
and President Truman urging them to restrain pilots from
shooting at UFOs. "Should they be extraterrestrial, such
action might result in the gravest consequences..."
Rumors that many prominent scientists wired President
Truman expressing similar views.
attended by more than 40 reporters. Suggested UFOs were probably temperature inversions or unexplained natural phenomena
causing radar mirages, but announced USAF was calling in top scientists to evaluate sightings; setting up special grid cameras to
determine nature of light from UFOs. Stressed lack of any menace to country.
Shiny, apparently metallic UFO watched by ground ob-
servers through binoculars. Jet interceptors scrambled,
observers saw UFO turn and move behind the jets. [17]
About 10:45 p.m. Michigan
(EST)
Air Force Reserve Colonel, at Los Alamos Atomic Energy
Commission station, saw a yellowish elliptical object
speed overhead. [18]
Air Force pilot sighted three round white UFOs 10 miles
SE of Andrews AFB, Maryland. CAA Report. Other
UFOs tracked by CAA radar during afternoon.
Marine Corps photographer obtained 40 feet of movie film
showing a UFO; image described as "bowl-shaped with a
projection on top." [Section VIII; Photographs.]
Air Defense Command radar tracked a UFO, moving at
550 knots. Chased by F-94's; one got a radar lock-on;
bright flashing light seen at the same time, same position.
[19]
"Radar experts and weather scientists today declined to endorse the Air Force theory that flying saucers' are ground objects
reflected in the sky under freak atmospheric conditions. (CAA radar men) maintained that what they have seen were 'unknown
objects, ' twisting and swerving in an unexplainable pattern. . . A Weather Bureau official said that reflections due to such in-
version ordinarily would appear on a radar screen as a steady line, rather than as single objects such as were sighted on the
airport radarscope. "
The Operation Mainbrace Sightings
After UFO reports in the United States had begun to taper
off in August 1952, a wave of sightings began in Europe. All
over the continent, strangely maneuvering objects were seen in
the skies. A particularly interesting series of reports came from
the vicinity of the "Operation Mainbrace" NATO maneuvers then
in progress.
The maneuvers commenced September 13, and lasted 12 days.
"Units of 8 NATO governments and New Zealand participated,
including 80,000 men, 1,000 planes and 200 ships. . . in the vicinity
of Denmark and Norway ... " They were directed by British Ad-
miral Sir Patrick Brind. "It was the largest NATO maneuver
held up until that time." (Information from U.S. Navy).
September 13 - The Danish Destroyer "Willemoes," participating
in the maneuvers, was north of Bornholm Island. During the
night, Lt. Cmdr. Schmidt Jensen and several members of the crew
saw an unidentified object, triangular in shape, which moved at
high speed toward the southeast. The object emitted a bluish
glow. Cmdr. Jensen estimated the speed at over 900 mph [20]
Within the next week, there were four important sightings by
well-qualified observers. (Various sources differ by a day or
two on the exact dates, but agree on details. There is no question
about the authenticity of the sightings; the British cases were
officially reported by the Air Ministry, the others are confirmed
by reliable sources. All occurred on or about September 20).
About September 20 - A British Meteor jet was returning to the
airfield at Topcliffe, Yorks., England just before 11:00 a.m. As
he approached for landing, a silvery object was observed following
him, swaying back and forth like a pendulum. Lt. John W. Kilburn
and other observers on the ground said that when the Meteor
began circling, the UFO stopped. It was disc-shaped, and rotated
on its axis while hovering. Suddenly, the disc took off westward
at high speed, changed course, and disappeared to the southeast.
The Air Ministry announced it was investigating. [21]
About September 20 - Personnel of the U.S. Aircraft Carrier
Franklin D. Roosevelt, participating in the Mainbrace maneuvers,
observed a silvery, spherical object which was also photographed.
(The pictures have never been made public). The UFO was seen
moving across the sky behind the fleet. Reporter Wallace Litwin
took a series of color photographs, which were examined by Navy
Intelligence officers. The Air Force UFO project chief, Capt.
Ruppelt stated: "[The pictures] turned out to be excellent ...
judging by the size of the object in each successive photo, one
could see that it was moving rapidly." The possibility that a
balloon had been launched from one of the ships was immediately
checked out. No one had launched a balloon. [22]
September 20 - At Karup Field, Denmark, three Danish Air Force
officers sighted a UFO about 7:30 p.m. The object, a shiny disc
with metallic appearance, passed overhead from the direction of
the fleet and disappeared in clouds to the east. [23]
September 21 - Six Royal Air Force Pilots flying a formation of
jets above the North Sea observed a shiny sphere approaching
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from the direction of the fleet. The UFO eluded their pursuit
and disappeared. When returning to base, one of the pilots
looked back and saw the UFO following him. He turned to chase
it, but the UFO also turned and sped away. [24]
September 27/28 - Throughout western Germany, Denmark,
and southern Sweden, there were widespread UFO reports. A
brightly luminous object with a comet-like tail was visible for a
long period of time moving irregularly near Hamburg and Kiel.
Once, three satellite objects were reported moving around a larger
object [cf., Section II; Satellite Object cases]. A cigar-shaped
object moving silently eastward also was reported. [25]
The November 1957 "Flap"
When the Soviet Union launched the first earth satellite,
October 4, 1957, Americans suddenly became "space (and sky)
conscious." Amateur astronomers and average citizens strained
for a glimpse of the barely visible sphere. However, there was
no particular increase of UFO reports. The whole month of Oc-
tober produced no more than 4-5 substantial UFO cases in the
United States. One of the most intriguing accounts, never fully
investigated, described a whitish oval-shaped object observed in
the vicinity of Cape Canaveral on the nights of October 6 and 7.
[26]
Immediately following the launching of the dog-carrying
Sputnik II, late on the evening of November 2 (Eastern Standard
Time), the country was suddenly inundated with UFO reports.
The sightings actually began before word of the satellite launching
was flashed to the western world. Most of the significant reports
concerned very large, usually elliptical objects, observed on or
near the ground (not merely fleeting lights in the sky). The pos-
sibility that hysteria played a part in the reports which followed
cannot be ruled out entirely. But clearly it is not the whole
answer. Reliable witnesses soberly described plainly observed
UFOs, and the press gave their stories very full coverage.
Before the sightings began to taper off two weeks later, eager
citizens began to introduce many erroneous reports. After el-
liptical UFOs were reported daily in the press for a week,
people began to scan the sky hoping to see one for themselves.
The planet Venus, glowing prominently in the early evening sky
to the WSW, was often reported as a UFO by inexperienced sky
observers. To complicate matters, there was a spectacular
auroral display the evening of November 6, which was also visible
unusually far south. The flashing red auroral lights, in some
cases, were transformed into `UFOs." An occasional fireball
(exceptionally bright and long-lasting meteor) flashed through the
skies, adding to the confusion.
The features of the UFO reports which defied explanation
were the consistent descriptions of red to reddish-orange, egg-
shaped (roughly elliptical) objects on or near the ground, and
electrical failures experienced in their vicinity. For the month
of November, NICAP has records of 118 apparently reliable
sightings. In approximately one of every three cases, electro-
magnetic (E-M) interference was reported. Subsequent research
showed that E-M effects associated with UFOs were not un-
common, [Section VIII].
By November 3, newspapers were full of UFO reports; by
November 5 the reports were given banner headlines. Also on
the 5th, the Air Force issued a special press release to the effect
that no evidence of UFOs had been found and all except 2% of
the reports had been explained. The release did not even
mention the sightings then in progress. A second press release
November 15, after which the reports virtually died out, listed
and debunked five specific cases which had been widely publi-
cized. [Section IX].
An Air Force press release nearly a year later (No. 986-
58) listed 414 sightings for November 1957. About 64% (266)
were explained as stars and planets, aircraft and balloons.
Only four were listed as "unknown;" 70 as "insufficient data."
The Air Force gave no weight to reports of electro-magnetic
interference, later stating "the number of cases involving car
stallings is , negligible." (Air Force letter on file at NICAP)
Anything reported to the Air Force as a UFO is included in
their statistics. This procedure makes it a foregone conclusion
that only a comparatively small percentage of total reports might
remain which would be difficult to fit into a known category.
NICAP considers it a more meaningful approach to first weed
out fairly obvious reports of meteors, etc., then to study the
remainder of more substantial reports as a group. The per-
centage of mistaken observations is considered irrelevant.
Sightings Explained Insufficient data Unknown
Air Force: 414 340 70 4
NICAP: After weeding out process, 118 cases not readily attribu
table to conventional objects or phenomena.
The following chronology lists the 118 cases which appear to
be authentic and presently unexplainable, plus a few unverified
or probably explainable incidents (in italics) to give a more
complete picture of what was being reported at the time. The
information is drawn from many sources, including signed or taped
reports, investigation reports compiled by NICAP personnel,
and newspaper and radio reports when cross-checks have given
reasonable assurance the data is reliable.
Because of the flood of published information on UFOs at the
time, it is likely that minor inaccuracies or inconsistencies will
subsequently be discovered. On the whole, the picture given is
believed to be essentially accurate. Collectively, the reports
are too widespread and consistent to be ignored. They have not
been adequately explained in conventional terms, and apparently
cannot be so explained.
THE NOVEMBER 1957 "FLAP"
Chronology
1
Nr Coleman, Texas
(200 miles SE of Levelland)
2:00 a.m.
1
Sandia Mountains,
New Mexico
6:20 a.m.
1
Nr Campbellsville, Kentucky
4:30 p.m.
1
Johannesburg, South Africa
Day
2
Amarillo, Texas
8:30 p.m.
2
Nr Seminole, New Mexico
About 8:30 p.m.
2
Clemens, North Carolina
9:12 p.m.
2/3
Levelland, Texas
About 10:50 p.m.
Oblong, reddish object hovered, maneuvered over area, seen by 4 members
of oil drilling crew.
Secretary saw glowing oblong object which hovered, then rose out of sight.
Boy Scout executive: elongated luminous white UFO, accelerated and sped
away.
Two UFOs, one a reflective disc; one flew S at high speed, 2nd hovered,
then followed first.
UFO reported on road south of city; car engines stalled. (Later, pilot re-
ported UFO to control tower.)
Motorist reported to sheriff he saw lights on road, car lights and engine
failed; object on road suddenly rose and sped away.
Woman saw elliptical UFO, bright yellow, speed behind cloudbank.
Torpedo-shaped object, making loud explosive noise, rose from field and
passed low over truck. Truck lights and engine failed. (Pedro Saucedo)
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Date
Location
Time
Description
2/3
Pettit, Texas
(Near Levelland)
2/3
Nr Levelland, Texas
About midnight
Large elliptical object on road; car lights and engine failed; UFO rose; when
it blinked out, headlights came back on. (Jim Wheeler)
2/3
Nr Levelland, Texas
12:05 p.m.
Glowin blue-green object on road, car lights and engine failed. (Newell
Wright)
2/3
Nr Levelland, Texas
12:15 a.m.
Elliptical UFO on road; car lights and engine failed each time object pulsated
to bright phase; UFO rose straight up with explosive sound. (Frank Williams)
2/3
Nr Levelland, Texas
12:45 a.m.
Round, glowing orange UFO landed, changed to blue-green; truck lights and
engine failed; UFO took. off straight up. (Ronald Martin)
2/3
17 miles N of Levelland,
Texas
About 1:00 a.m.
Fire Marshal Ray Jones reported seeing a "streak of light," car lights dim-
med and engine "almost died."
2/3
Nr Levelland, Texas
1:15 a.m.
Elliptical UFO on road, truck lights and engine failed; UFO rose with a
"thunderclap." (James Long)
2/3
Levelland, Texas
1:30 a.m.
Sheriff Weir Clem and deputy saw oval red light while investigating reports
of same.
About 6:00 p.m.
Round white UFO leaving reddish trail, just above treetops; rose rapidly out
of sight.
3
Scotia, Nebraska
About 6:00 p.m.
Boy saw oblong object with apparent antenna, at low altitude as if about to
land; object circled (emitting hum) and moved away. (Boy felt numbness.)
[Section VIII].
3
Nr Calgary, Alberta, Canada
7:00 p.m.
Very large blinking light passed over car; motor coughed and headlights
flickered.
3
Nr Monroe, Louisiana
Night
Bright object hovering near ground reported to police; UFO "suddenly rose
rapidly straight up and vanished into the sky."
3
Barahona, Dominican
Republic
----
Numerous people observed disc-shaped UFOs from an estimated distance of
100 yards; objects hovered about 2 minutes, moved away rapidly.
3/4
Ararangua, Brazil
1:20 a.m.
Airline pilot saw red light describe arc near plane; aircraft electrical equip-
ment affected. [Section X]
3/4
Sao Vicente, Brazil
2:00 a.m.
Disc approached, hovered near Itaipu Fort; sentries severely burned.
[Section VIII]
3/4
N.M. desert
4:30 a.m.
Salesman saw round ball of red light size of moon, hovering, moving slowly
above desert.
4
Nr Orogrande, New Mexico
1:10 P.M.
James W. Stokes, high altitude research engineer at White Sands, saw el-
liptical UFO sweep across highway twice; car radio and engine failed.
4
Kodiak, Alaska
10:00 P.M.
Policeman saw fiery red object trailing greenish-yellow vapor pass low over
school; interference on cruiser radio.
November 5 (By time zones)
Eastern Standard Time
5 Norfolk, Virginia 4:00 p.m. White glaring object (no shape discernible) sped overhead at "a pretty good
clip;" observed by electric power company employees.
5 Aiken, Georgia Night Bright yellowish cigar-shaped object observed twice, finally disappeared
over horizon.
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Location
Time
Description
5
Port Arthur, Ontario,
Canada
7:30 p.m.
Brilliant elliptical object observed travelling at high speed, low on horizon.
5
Galesburg, Illinois
About 4:30 a.m.
Orange elliptical object hovered, then moved away slowly to the north.
5
Gulf of Mexico
5:10 a.m.
Coast Guard cutter Sebago began tracking UFO on radar; brilliant planet-
like UFO seen visually at 5:21 a.m. [Section VIII; Radar]
5
Keesler AFB, Mississippi
About 5:20 a.m.
Airman saw elliptical UFO travel S to N, accelerate rapidly and enter clouds.
5
Wichita Falls, Texas
10:00 a.m.
Oblong UFO observed moving back and forth, in and out of rain clouds.
5
E. St. Louis, Illinois
11:45 a.m.
Two silvery elliptical objects passing overhead at high speed, observed by
Southern Railroad employees.
TWA airline pilot reported seeing high-speed, brightly lighted object.
5
Hedley, Texas
Dusk
Pulsating bluish-green object seen low above ground, television affected.
5
Nr Wabash, Indiana
6:12 p.m.
UFO with lights in circular pattern made three passes low over barn, em-
itting humming sound.
5
Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada
6:20 p.m.
UFO variously described as round and silvery, orange and egg-shaped, re-
ported by about 20 people over wide area.
5
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
6:40 p.m.
Shiny silver UFO hovered, moved from side to side; left toward SW emitting
slight trail, as RCAF aircraft were seen approaching.
5
Nr Ringwood, Ill.
Evening
Luminous round object bobbing up and down, followed car for some time; one
witness reported "swishing" noise from object.
5
Red Bank, Tenn.
6:30 p.m.
Glowing, pulsating object at edge of overcast; finally ascended out of sight.
5
Houston, Texas
6:25 p.m.
Bright planet-like object moved overhead in zig-zag, irregular course.
5
Houston, Texas
7:00 p.m.
Round white object about 1/4 size of moon, passed overhead and over SE
horizon in 15 seconds, making roaring noise.
5
Nr San Antonio, Texas
Abt 9:30 p.m.
Car lights, engine and radio failed; driver then saw elliptical UFO hovering
above field; object ascended rapidly, levelled off and sped away.
5
Kansas City, Mo.
11:15 p.m.
Round, reddish-orange UFO passed from SE to SW.
5
Alamogordo, N.M.
4:34 p.m.
Civilian radar technician saw orange cigar-shaped object hovering in west.
5
Hobbs, N.M.
7:30 p.m.
Two separate reports of light which paralleled car, passed directly over
car; car lights and engines failed.
5
Nr Dixon, Calif.
2:30 a.m.
Trucker reported meteor-like object which descended rapidly, slowed and
hovered, pulsating.
5
Nr Sacramento, Calif.
3:00 a.m.
Bluish-green elliptical object moving vertically.
5
Long Beach, Calif.
Abt 3:50 a.m.
Six shiny circular objects maneuvering "like planes in a dogfight," reported
by AF Major.
5
Corona del Mar, California
6:04 p.m.
Bright circular orange object, like a "jack-o-lantern," hovered above ocean.
5
Dunnotar, Transvaal, and
vicinity
Night
Hundreds watched an "enormous" hovering cylindrical object; observers
said UFO "withdrew" behind clouds when searchlights pinpointed it.
Eastern Standard Time:
6
United States
Evening & night
6
Atlanta, Ga.
5:27 a.m.
6
Toronto, Ont., Canada
7:00 a.m.
6
Toronto, Ont., Canada
7:15 a.m.
6
100 mi. north of Ottawa,
Canada
9:00-9:30 p.m.
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Spectacular auroral display observed over wide area. Caused many erron-
eous UFO reports by citizens who had been reading about sightings for days.
Orange, oval-shaped object, darted behind cloud, reappeared, moved out of
sight behind buildings.
Cigar-shaped object with fins near front moved from E to W leaving trail;
turned N, then S. [Cf., January 20, 1951 pilot sighting, Section V.]
Shiny cigar-shaped object; alternately hovered, moved slowly.
A group of electronic technicians and ham radio operators saw a huge
brightly-lighted sphere projecting beams of light, hovering above hill; two
radios failed, except for rapidly modulated strong single tone picked up on
one frequency. UFO finally disappeared into clouds.
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 Date
Location
Time
Description
6
Nr Montville, Ohio
11:20 p.m.
Olden J. Moore saw flattened spherical object with conical projection on top
descend toward field; above-normal radiation later detected by Civil Defense.
6
Nr Pell City, Alabama
Abt 4:30 a.m.
Milkman saw glow in sky, car engine failed; left to obtain aid and saw oblong
object hovering low above ground.
6
Houston, Texas
4:30 a.m.
Reddish elliptical UFO moving at high speed observed as car engine failed.
6
Dante, Tenn.
6:30 a. m.
Reported landing of elliptical object, four human-like figures seen. (not veri-
fied by NICAP.)
6
Richmond, hid.
----
Reddish elliptical UFO, changing to green and blue, reported by employees
at police truck weighing station; UFO zig-zagged S in eastern sky.
6
Dugger, Ind.
Night
Iron worker reported brilliant round object hovered low overhead, moved up
and away to west; witness treated for eye inflammation. [Section VIII.]
6
Marion, Ind.
About 7:30 p.m.
Many residents saw cigar-shaped object with string of very bright lights
hovering; then moved away at high speed.
6
Nr Danville, Ill.
Night
State Troopers chased brilliant white UFO for 15 miles, experienced failure
of their short wave radio; during chase, object changed color to amber, then
bright orange. [Section VII.]
6
Western Springs, Illinois
8:04 p.m.
Brilliant orange light with corona effect moved S, accelerated (emitting
short trail), turned east and moved out of sight.
6
Chattanooga, Tenn.
8:05 p.m.
Large reddish-orange light leaving short trail observed moving S to N.
6
Santa Fe, N.M.
12:01 a.m.
Elliptical UFO passed low over car emitting a hum; car engine, clock, and
wristwatch stopped. (Joe Martinez)
6
Western U. S. & Alberta,
Canada
6:00 -9: 00 p. m.
Several observations of irregular lights; probably explainable as aurora.
6
Anaheim, Calif.
12:10 a. m.
Moving reddish light appearing and disappearing, photographed by Edwin G.
Leadford (See Section VIII) Description resembles aurora.
7
Thompson, Ohio
6:15 a.m.
7
Washington, D. C.
Abt 6:30 p.m.
7
Nr Erie, Pa.
9:45 p.m.
7
Nr Meridian, Miss.
7:25 a. m.
7
Lake Charles, La.
7:45 a.m.
7
Nr Orogrande, N.M.
9:30 p.m.
7
Palm Springs, California
5:40-6:25 a.m.
8
Au Sable Forks, N. Y.
2:55 p.m.
8
Orgueil, France
Abt 6:30 p.m.
9
Lafayette, La.
9:15 a.m.
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Orange UFO shaped like flattened sphere, glowing brilliantly; hovered,
moved away.
Magazine staff member watched hovering red light suddenly move east at
high speed, turn north, stop, then move on out of sight.
Seven people watched row of brilliant lights with bright green light at rear
sweep over the area twice in few minutes.
Large elliptical object reported on highway by trucker, who said three small
beings approached him. (Story not verified by NI CAP. )
Car engine failed; silvery disc seen hovering low overhead then sped away.
Family reported observing cylindrical UFO; car's speedometer apparently
affected as object passed overhead.
Two people watched first a cigar-shaped object, then a sphere, maneuver
over area.
Silvery reflective object, alternating from round to oval (like a disc oscil-
lating from side to side) pacing a bomber; observed from ground.
Disc-shaped UFO with dome, hovered, rotated, moved away and disappeared
with sudden burst of speed.
below cloud layer; object vanished suddenly after 3 minutes.
Eastern Airlines pilot, crew, watched round silvery object hovering just
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9
Sacramento, California
3:45 p.m.
Three disc-shaped objects observed bobbing up and down, circling, in eastern
sky.
9
Nr White Oaks, N.M.
7:30 p.m.
Car lights failed as bright light approached; object then changed course and
sped away.
9
Entre Rios Province,
Argentina
10:55 a.m.
Four luminous objects emitting brilliant trails moved rapidly overhead N to
S, crossing 40 degrees and disappearing in 10-12 minutes.
10
Madison, Ohio
Abt 1:25 a.m.
Mrs. Leita Kuhn watched brilliant UFO hovering low overhead; rash, eye
damage, other physiological effects reported to NICAP. [Section VIII.]
10
Hammond, Ind.
7:00 p.m.
Police chased elongated object; loud beeping sound interfered with cruiser
radios, television blackout reported. [Section VII.]
11
Nr Los Angeles, California
Day
Elliptical, silvery UFO observed movin low above desert, from airliner
approaching Los Angeles. [Section VII.]
11
San Fernando Valley,
California
4:20 p.m.
Three elliptical silvery objects climbing at high speed observed by aero-
nautical engineers. [Section VI.]
11
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
5:00 p.m.
Moonwatch observers saw two round shiny objects leaving long fire-like
trails, moving easterly.
12
Fitchburg, Mass.
12:35 a.m.
Many people watched two bright lights approach from opposite directions,
hover together, bobbing up and down.
12 or
13
Hazelton, Pa.
----
Television disrupted as UFO seen.
14
Sacramento, California
Abt 5:00 p.m.
Brilliant oval UFO moving across eastern sky and into heavy cloudbank, seen
by employees of Signal Depot.
14
Tamuroa, Ill.
----
Very bright circular object hovering, making sputtering or explosive sounds;
gave off three flashes, electric power failed in area.
14
San Bernardino Mts., Calif.
Night
"Globe of white light" observed by pilot; blinked in seeming response to
his signals. [Section V.]
15
Smith County, Tennessee
6:45-9:30 p.m.
State Police, sheriff, others repeatedly saw flashing, revolving red lights
which hovered, moved around slowly. [Section VII.]
15
Wheaton, Md.
8:00 P.M.
Two prominent, self-luminous objects in echelon passed from NE to SW at
high speed.
16
Lemmon, S.D.
Night
UFO followed train into railroad yard, hovered, then sped away; railroad
phones and automatic block system failed.
20
Nr McMinnville, Tennessee
Abt 10:00 p.m.
Flashing red light passed low over sheriff's car; calling in other police,
sheriff gave chase; unable to catch UFO.
21
Compton, N.H.
6:05 p.m.
Brilliant oblong object moved rapidly overhead to E, stopped and hovered,
pulsating; later sped west.
22
Canutillo, Texas
Abt 4:00 p.m.
Hovering silvery UFO sped up, moved back and forth, climbed out of sight.
[Section VII.]
23
Tiro, Ohio
6:30 p.m.
Disc-like object paced car, swung back and forth, up and down.
26
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
11:15 a.m.
Three flat silvery objects in V-formation, moving slowly W in the northern
sky.
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1
4
2*
7
3*
14
4
9
5
31
6
16
7
7
8
2
9
4
10
2
11
4
12**
3
13
0
14
4
15
3
---------------
Texas--New Mexico
Levelland, Texas
New Mexico, Brazil
California, Texas
Illinois--Indiana
Scattered
---------------
---------------
---------------
---------------
---------------
---------------
---------------
---------------
* Cases on night of November 2/3 whose times are given as "about midnight" are included in November 2.
**Case with uncertain date included under November 12.
Levelland, Texas
The first series of sightings to be widely publicized, and the
most intensive single concentration, occurred on the night of
November 2/3 in and around Levelland, Texas. The first re-
corded sighting was at about 10:50 p.m.; the last at 1:30 a.m.
In less than three hours, there were 10 very similar sightings
within a radius of 20 miles around Levelland. (see map).
Why should reddish elliptical UFOs which caused cars to stall
suddenly be reported from one small Texas town? No answer is
apparent. Within a few hours after the last Levelland sighting,
an Army jeep patrol at White Sands proving grounds, about 300
miles to the west, reported an elliptical UFO which descended
and hovered. (See below). The following account of the Levelland
reports was compiled by Walter N. Webb, NICAP Adviser.
Levelland is an oil and cotton town, population about 10,000,
located in northwest Texas 32 miles west of Lubbock, in plains
country. Early on November 3 its sheriff, Weir Clem, suddenly
found himself cast into national prominence following a rapid
series of nightmarish reports.
At 10:50 p.m. Officer A. J. Fowler received a phone call from
a "terrified" farmhand, Pedro Saucedo. He and a friend, Joe
Salaz, were driving on Route 116 about 4 miles west of Levelland
when they saw a flash of light in a field. "We didn't think much
about it," Saucedo said, ''but then it rose up out of the field and
started toward us, picking up speed. When it got nearer, the
lights of my truck went out and the motor died. I jumped out
and hit the deck as the thing passed directly over the truck with
a great sound and a rush of wind. It sounded like thunder, and
my truck rocked from the blast. I felt a lot of heat."
When the object had passed, Saucedo got up and watched it go
out of sight toward Levelland. It was "torpedo-shaped, like a
rocket," and about 200 feet long. As the UFO moved into the
distance, the truck lights came back on. Saucedo was able to
start the truck and drive to a telephone. Ptn. Fowler thought his
caller was drunk and shrugged off the report.
About an hour later, the phone rang again. Jim Wheeler, driving
on Route 116 about 4 miles east of town had come upon a 200-
foot egg-shaped thing sitting on the road. The brightly lit object
cast a glare over the area. As he approached the object, his
lights and motor died. When Wheeler started to get out of his
car, the UFO rose into the sky. As its light blinked out, the car
lights came back on.
Another call came from Jose Alvarez at Whitharral, 11 miles
north of town. Driving on Route 51, he had approached a similar
glowing object on the road and his motor and lights had failed.
At 12:05 a.m., Newell Wright (who did not report the experience
until the next day, and then only at his parents' urging) had
"motor trouble" while driving toward Levelland on Route 116
from the east. His ammeter began jumping, the motor gradually
died, then the lights went out. Puzzled, Wright got out and
lifted the hood to check his battery and wires. Finding nothing
wrong, he closed the hood and turned around. For the first
time, he noticed an oval object sitting on the road ahead of the
car. The object appeared to be over 100 feet long, and was
glowing a bluish-green. Frightened, Wright jumped in the car
and frantically tried to get it started, without success. Then he
sat helplessly watching the object, hoping someone would drive
up. After several minutes, the UFO rose "almost straight up,"
veered to the north, and disappeared almost instantly. The car
then started without difficulty.
Meanwhile, another telephone report was made at 12:15 a.m.
Frank Williams had encountered a similar object on the road
close to the position where Alvarez had seen it. He also ex-
perienced motor and headlight failure. The light from the UFO
was pulsating steadily on and off; each time it came on, Williams'
lights went out. Finally it rose swiftly with a noise like thunder,
and disappeared. Then the car functioned normally.
By this time, Sheriff Clem and other police officers had begun
searching the roads around Levelland, as reports continued to come
in. At 12:45 a.m., Ronald Martin saw a glowing reddish UFO
descend and land on Route 116 ahead of his truck, then turn to
bluish-green. The electrical system of the truck failed. When
the object took off, it turned reddish again.
About 1:15 a.m., James Long encountered a glowing egg-
shaped object on a farm-to-market highway just north of town.
His engines and lights failed. Then the object rose quickly and
sped away.
About 1:30 a.m., Sheriff Clem and his deputy were searching
on the same road. Near where Long had seen the UFO, Clem saw
an oval light "like a brilliant red sunset" streak across the road
about 300 yards ahead of his car, lighting up the pavement.
Fire Marshal Ray Jones, farther to the north, had a similar
experience sometime after 1:00 a.m.; his lights dimmed and
motor "almost died, then started up again."
The Pettit incident, same night, was uncovered during an in-
vestigation by NICAP member James Lee. Two grain combines,
each with two engines, failed as a UFO was observed passing.
An impressive feature of these reports is that the witnesses
(in most cases) were going about their business when the UFOs
intruded upon the scene. There is no evidence that the witnesses
were searching the sky or otherwise expecting to see anything
unusual. Their independent reports told a consistent story.
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9RPPOt1rg, OkRQR1nOexperiencing
Climbing out of his car, Stokes also looked up and saw a
large, whitish egg-shaped object moving in and out of clouds to
the northeast, in the direction of the Sacramento Mountains.
? N The UFO made a shallow dive, turned and crossed the highway
PETTIT F_Z7 a few miles ahead. As the UFO flashed by, Stokes felt a wave
of heat. (His face later appeared "sunburned.")
0
motor trouble. As the motor failed and he coasted to a stop, he
noticed other cars ahead of him stopped on the roadside with
Scale: 10riiles
1. Saucedo, 10:50 P.M. 6. Williams, 12:15 A.M.
2. Combines, 7. Martin, 12:45 A.M.
3. Alvarez, Abt. Midnight 8. Jones, Abt. 1:00 A.M.
4. Wheeler, Abt. Midnight 9. Long, 1:15 A.M.
5. Wright, 12:05 A.M. 10. Clem, 1:30 A.M.
White Sands Military Police Patrols
At 3:00 a.m. (MST) - 4:00 a.m. Levelland time - November 3,
two military policemen on routine patrol at the White Sands
missile range, reported an egg-shaped UFO which descended
over the base. A report on this case, and a similar sighting
next evening, was issued to the press November 4 by 1st Lt.
Miles F. Penney, Commanding Officer of the Stallion Site Camp
north of the base headquarters.
Cpl. Glenn H. Toy and Pfc. James Wilbanks, patrolling in a
jeep, noticed a "very bright object" high in the sky. The object
descended to a point about 50 yards above a bunker which was
used during the first atomic bomb explosion. Then its light
blinked out. A few minutes later the light flared up again, be-
coming bright "like the sun," dropped toward the ground on a
slant about 3 miles away and disappeared. According to Lt.
Penney, the M.P.'s described the UFO as egg-shaped, and about
75-100 yards in diameter. A search party later was unable to
find any trace of the object.
[On November 5, in an open session with Public Information
Officer William Haggard and newsmen (reported by International
News Service), Cpl. Toy stated: "It looked like a completely
controlled landing."]
That evening, about 8:00 p.m., Sp. 3/C Forest R. Oakes and
Sp. 3/C Barlow, on another two-man jeep patrol, reported seeing
an unidentified light hanging above the old A-bombbunker. Oakes
described it as 11200 or 300 feet long. . . very bright." The
patrol was about 2-3 miles west of the bunker. As the M.P.'s
watched, the UFO took off climbing at a 45 degree angle, its light
pulsating on and off. Moving slowly, sometimes stopping, the UFO
gradually diminished to a point of light "like a big star," and
finally disappeared.
White Sands Engineer
About 17 hours after the second jeep patrol sighting at White
Sands, James Stokes, a high altitude research engineer at the
base, watched an elliptical UFO maneuver over the area. While
driving toward El Paso, Texas, on Highway 54, near Orogrande,
N.M. (at the southeast corner of the Proving Grounds, about 15
L WHITHARRAL
Moving at fantastic speed, the featureless object turned sharply
and disappeared over the Organ Pass west of the base. In a taped
interview broadcast on station KALG, Stokes estimated the
speed at 2500 mph. It was "definitely a solid object," he said.
Declining to speculate on what the object was, Stokes said, "I
just hope we're ready for whatever it is." [27]
Next day sightings reached a peak with numerous reports
from all over the country. Included was the radar-visual sighting
by the Coast Guard Cutter Sebago, south of New Orleans. [Section
VIII; Radar.] Stories of alleged encounters with "spacemen"
began to be reported, including a claim by a grain salesman in
Nebraska who said he had met G erman- speaking beings in a landed
spaceship. The story was subsequently discredited when it was
learned that the "witness" had a prison record. (Later, he
was convicted of two counts of swindling elderly women out of
large sums of money in California).
On the 6th, a similar report came from Dante, Tennessee,
where a young boy reported a landed "spaceship" at 6:30 a.m.
Human-like figures were walking near the ship, he said, and their
voices sounded like German which he had heard on television.
(About the same time, a few reports of "little men" associated
with landed craft also began to circulate). NICAP was unable
to investigate the Tennessee report sufficiently to pass judgment
on it. Some of the story is plausible, but lacking concrete proof
and substantiation by other witnesses, we cannot accept it as
authentic. [See Section XIV.]
A more thoroughly investigated case (without the "spacemen"
aspect) occurred on the night of the 6th. The case also includes
the implication of high-level knowledge of UFOs, which is kept
secret from the public.
About 11:20 p.m., Olden Moore, a plasterer, was returning
to his home in Huntsburg, Ohio, from Painesville, driving on
Route 86. He noticed a bright star-like light approaching, ap-
parently following the course of the road. As the light got brighter
and brighter, Moore pulled to the side of the road to watch, and
switched off his ignition. (When his story was first publicized,
some erroneous news reports were circulated that his motor had
failed.) Moore was later interviewed by NICAP member C. W.
Fitch in Cleveland, and gave a detailed statement:
"In a matter of seconds from the time I first saw the object
it was over a large field at the intersection of Hart Road and Route
86. While it was still high inthe air, it [the light] seemed to split
apart and one section moved upward out of my range of vision.
The other descended slowly and silently into the field adjoining
the road, where it loomed big like a house in front of me. In
the darkness I could not discern whether it was actually resting on
the ground or hovering just above it.
"It appeared to be perhaps 50 feet across and 20 feet from the
top to the bottom. It was round and shaped like a saucer with
another inverted one resting on top of the lower saucer. It
had an inverted cone-shaped dome in the center of the top
part. It was mirror-like. . . surrounded by a bluish-green mist
or haze, through which it glowed like the dial of a luminous watch.
It began to pulsate, first glowing brightly and then dimming with
rythmic repetition.
"I sat in my car and watched the strange object for about
15 minutes, then got out and walked toward it to get a closer look.
My feelings at the time were more of curiosity than of anything
else, in fact, I do not recall having any feeling of fear. I was so
amazed at what I was seeing that I was filled with a sensation of
wonderment and curiosity which occupied my mind completely.
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 The skyAwl~srcleOVed theor Release i?~Q01404/02 : CIA-RDP81 ROO56OR000 000010001-0 moon y Corning. About p.m. Bomerang-shaped UFO
face of the object reflected the moonlight. It appeared to be of a
very shiny substance, though I cannot say whether it was metallic
or not. . . As I got closer I heard a humming or ticking sound
like that of an electric meter. About halfway up to it the thought
crossed my mind that no one would believe me if I told them what
I saw so I decided I would try to get someone else there as a
witness. I stopped, returned to my car and drove home to get
my wife. Though I made a hurried trip, when we got back to
the field about twenty minutes later the object was gone."
Next morning Mrs. Moore phoned the sheriff and reported the
incident, since Moore had been reluctant to report it. Moore
was subsequently interviewed by Sheriff Louis A. Robusky, Geauga
County; Civil Defense Officials; newsmen and others.
Kenneth Locke, Lake County Civil Defense Director, led an
investigating party to the site of the report next day. At the point
where the UFO was observed, Locke found small markings about
1-1/2 inches deep. Each marking consisted of three holes ar-
ranged in a triangular pattern with a fourth hole outside of the Aug. 17-18
lines of the triangle. NICAP Adviser Ralph C. Mayher (then
associated with the news department of station KYW) made a
plaster cast of one set of the holes. The cast was turned over to
Richard Gray, research physicist at Case Institute of Technology
for examination. It was reported that the markings could have
been made by some very heavy type of tripod.
Locke took a geiger counter reading at 2:00 p.m. (about 15
hours after the sighting). An area about 50 feet in diameter
showed a reading of 150 microroentgens per hour above normal
background radiation at the center of the area. At the perimeters,
the reading tapered off to about 20-30 microroentgens per hour
above normal. A second reading at 5:00 p.m. showed that the
radiation at the center of the area had dropped off to 20-25
microroentgens per hour above normal, and the count at the
passed from SW to NW, twice emitting bursts of
white light.
Mineral. About 11:00 p.m. Dozens of witnesses,
including Tehama County police officers, watched
six brightly lighted objects "dipping and diving
and moving at simply unbelievable speed" in the
southern sky. Objects alternately hovered, speedily
changed position.
Concord and Pleasant Hill. 11:40 p.m. to 12:15
a.m. Circular UFO flashing red and blue lights
maneuvered over area, hovering, moving up and down,
side to side.
Near Healdsburg and Santa Rosa. Early A.M.
Deputy Sheriff observed "flattened ball, dull red
and crimson on the edges," hovering and moving
slowly about 5 degrees above horizon.
Roseville. Night. Two oblong lighted objects
bobbed around in sky for an hour; witnesses included
police captain and sergeant.
Folsom. UFO with two bright white lights on front,
red lights at rear, maneuvered over area off and on
for two hours at night; whining noise "like spinning
top" heard.
Dunsmuir. 12:10 a.m. Oblong reddish UFO with
associated smaller yellow light descended, then rose
and sped away.
wind" heard.
High-pitched sound "like rushing
and row of red lights on edge, maneuvering slowly
in sky.
perimeter was now normal. The 2:00 p.m. reading was approxi- August 18 Honeydew (Humboldt Co.) 9:54 p.m. The postmaster
mately 10 times greater than the normal background radiation watched a delta-shaped object, clearly visible for
for the area, which is 15-20 microroentgens per hour. more than 2 minutes. UFO approached, made sharp
A few weeks later the news leaked out that Moore had been turn and moved away. Red glow visible on front,
taken to Washington, D.C., where "high officials in the Defense lights on inside of V.
Department" interrogated him. Later probing uncovered that
Moore alleged he had been sworn to secrecy after being shown
films and slides of UFOs, but felt that he had kept silent long LIST OF
enough. He described the experience in detail to a NICAP mem-
ber. [See Section IX.]
Other witnesses reported UFOs in the area the night of Moore's
sighting. Because of this, the physical evidence, and Moore's
sound reputation, his story would appear to warrant the attention
of Congressional investigators. If his story is accurate merely
in broad outline, the implication is obvious: Highly important
information about UFOs is being withheld from the public.
August 1960; Northern California
An intensive concentration of UFO sightings occurred over a
six day period in northern California. Dozens of witnesses, in-
cluding at least 14 police officers, reported typical disc, ellip-
tical and cigar-shaped UFOs. The state police sighting of a
highly maneuverable ellipse, which shone red beams of light
toward the ground the night of August 13, was reported on the
front page of state newspapers and on the newswires.
Chronology of Main Cases:
Plumas County Sheriff's Office:
Roseville, Placer County:
Stanley Scott
Charles A. Carson
Deputy Clarence Fry
Deputy Montgomery
Chief Criminal Investigator
A. D. Perry
Deputy Bill Gonzalez
Deputy William Baker
Deputy Lou Doolittle
Deputy Robert Smith
Captain Hugh McGuigan
Sergeant James Hall
Officers Pete Chinca,
Jack Brown,
George Kerr
Argentine Concentration, 1962
Aug. 13-14
Hollywood. 10:30 p.m. Red elliptical UFO passed
(Sources: Argentine Embassy, Washington, D. C. Also Argentine
overhead, hovering once.
newspapers: Buenos Aires Herald, La Razon, La Nacion and La
Willow Creek. After 11:00 p.m. Circular red UFO
Prensa).
approached, circled, dove, climbed away.
Red Bluff. 11:50 p.m.-2:05 a.m. State policemen
May 11 - Photograph of a UFO taken by a reporter of the
reported reddish elliptical UFO which made "un-
believable" maneuvers. [See Sectionl.] SecondUFO
reported during latter part of sighting.
"La Nueva Provincia." (Another photograph was taken by one
Miguel Thome at some unspecified time during this concentration).
May 11 - Rear Admiral Eladio M. Vazquezant and Captain A.
Aug. 16-17
Corning.
8:30 p.m. Two cigar- shaped objects flash-
Molinari, Navy officers at the U. S. Military Mission in Espora,
confirmed that they had seen a UFO about 7:40 p.m., possibly the
ing red and white lights passed from E to NE.
same one that was photographed.
Eureka.
9:30 p.m. Group of 6-8 white and red
May 12 - Truck drivers traveling toward La Pampa about
lights maneuvering in formation. Air Force ex-
planation: aircraft refueling mission.
4:10 a.m. reported seeing a UFO on the ground which looked like
"a brightly lighted railroad car." As the trucks neared, the UFO
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took off showing flickering body lights. It emitted a red flash,
rose quickly, and separated into two bodies which flew off in
different directions. Navy Capt. Luis Sanchez Moreno investigated
and interrogated witnesses. They said light seemed to come
through small windows in the UFO. Samples of a grayish sub-
stance found at the site were taken to Puerto Belgrano Naval
Base for analysis. (Capt. Sanchez Moreno told the press the
Navy hadbeen investigating UFOs since 1952, and he had personally
observed UFOs with other witnesses in Mar del Plata, "mobile
bodies with incredible speed and irregularity of movement.")
May 12 - The Navy Department received reports from four
people who sighted a UFO about 4:30 a.m., while traveling by
automobile. The UFO illuminated the car like daylight; one of
the passengers had to undergo treatment for eye damage.
May 13 - Many residents of Cordoba witnessed a bright
elongated UFO passing overhead at high speed about 4:30 a.m.
Two women in a car then saw a glowing object in woods near the
road.
May 14-16 - Several UFO reports from Bahia Blanca, La
Rioja, and La Barrera. In the latter location, 4-5 elliptical UFOs
in a line were sighted by Dr. Jorge M. Vallina and others.
May 18 - A highly luminous reddish UFO flew over an airport
early in the morning at such a low altitude that tongues of
"flame" were easily visible on the object.
May 22 - A formation of Navy planes near Espora Naval Air
Base had several UFO sightings over a 35 minute period. The
formation was headed by an instructor, Lt. Galdos.
7:10 p.m. Student pilot Eduardo Figueroa saw an orange
object moving on an oscillatory path below the visible horizon.
7:20 p.m. Student pilot Roberto Wilkinson, flying at 4000 feet,
reported that his cockpit was suddenly illuminated by an object
astern. A luminous UFO then passed below his plane and was
lost from sight in city lights. During the observation, his radio
transmitter failed to operate.
7:30 p.m. The flight instructor, Lt. Rodolfo Cesar Galdos,
was asked by the control tower whether he saw an object in the
sky. "At about 30 degrees above the horizon over Bahia Blanca
he saw a disc or luminous circular spot, orange colored and of
an apparent diameter of a. small moon. . . The object was
moving to the south, obscured at times by the lights of Punta
Alta."
7:45 p.m. Lt. Jose A. Ventureira and Ensign Eduardo Vigier,
in the control tower, watched a luminous object about 10 degrees
above the horizon. The UFO "moved vertically and horizontally
and 15 seconds later disappeared in the horizon."
About May 24 - La Pampa woman rancher reported landed
UFO and two robot-like beings.
May 24 - The astronomical observatory at Cordoba announced
that it was collecting reports on the UFOs to try to determine
what they are.
May 24 - Medical Capt. Constantino Nunez of the National Atomic
Energy Agency was reported to be in Bahia Blanca to take part in
the official investigation. La Nacion stated he flew to the landing
site by helicopter. (The Agency next day said they had sent no
one to investigate the UFO reports, and denied that Capt.
Constantino Nunez was one of their employees.)
May 25 - La Prensa reported that results of the Navy analysis
of samples taken from the May 12 landing site were released.
No radioactive elements were present. (No other details given).
The analysis report was said to confirm results already obtained
from scientists of the National University of the South.
July 17 - La Razon reported that five UFOs were sighted by
airport employees and farmers in the lake region of San Carlos
de Barilocha, maneuvering in the sky in broad daylight. Radio
messages were sent to all aircraft in the vicinity requesting
eye-witness reports. (Embassy report dates incident: July 7).
July 24 - La Razon reported that three mathematics and as-
tronomy students in Cordoba obtained 9 clear photographs of a
UFO. Photographic experts reportedly declared the pictures
authentic.
August 2 - Numerous witnesses at Camba Punta airport near
Corrientes, including the airport director Luis Harvey, sighted
an obviously controlled UFO. Advised by telephone that the
strange object was approaching, Harvey cleared the landing
strip. A "perfectly round" UFO approached the field at high
speed, stopped and hovered for about 3 minutes. Rays of blue,
green, and orange light were visible projecting from the UFO.
When the observers attempted to move closer, the UFO took off
at high speed.
August 2 - An engineer and his wife traveling from La Plata
to Chascomus about 1:40 a.m., noticed a reflection of light on
the hood of their truck. Then they saw a cylindrical UFO,
emitting red sparks, which flew parallel to them at low altitude
for about 15 kilometers. The engineer told reporters he believed
the UFO was "some space vehicle from another planet."
August 23 - A newsman of the "Saporiti" information agency
and his wife saw two luminous spheres approaching his house
on a zig-zag course. The movement of the UFOs, which were
close together, were "rhythmic and violent." They left an in-
tensely luminous trail and made no noise. After about 4 minutes,
the UFOs disappeared upwards at high speed.
September 8 - Navy Lt. (j.g.) Juan Jose Vico, in the Floresta
district, saw a "burnished metal" disc-shaped UFO maneuvering
so smoothly that he stated it must have been manned or "tele-
controlled."
(Embassy report lists additional sightings, with no detail, on
May 23, Bahia Blanca; May 25, General Pico, La Pampa; July
19, Parana, Entre Rios; July 31, Misiones (4 towns); July 9,
Mar del Plata; Sept. 9, Santa Lucia, San Juan).
NOTES
1. From Air Force Intelligence Report
2. London Daily Sketch; July 27, 1955
3. Associated Press; May 15, 1959
4. Michel, Aime, The Truth About Flying Saucers. (Criterion,
14.
15.
16.
17.
From Air Force Intelligence Report
United Press; Washington, July 28, 1952
United Press; July 29, 1952
From Air Force Intelligence Report
1956), ppg. 206-207
5. From Air Force Intelligence Report
6. Ruppelt, Edward J., Report on Unidentified Flying Objects.
18.
19.
20.
From Air Force Intelligence Report
From Air Force Intelligence Report
United Press, Associated Press; September 15, 1952
(Doubleday, 1956), p. 217
21. Reuters; September 20, 1952
7.
Ibid., p. 201
22.
Ruppelt, op. cit., p. 257
8.
Ibid., p. 204
23.
Michel, op. cit., p. 133
9.
International News Service; Atlanta, July 25, 1952
24.
Ruppelt, op. cit., p. 258
10.
From Air Force Intelligence Report
25.
United Press; Stockholm, September 29, 1952
11.
From Air Force Intelligence Report
26.
United Press; October 8, 1952
12.
United Press; July 27 & 28, 1952
27.
Writer's Digest; December 1957
13.
From Air Force Intelligence Report
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SECTION XIII
CONGRESS
Copies of this report have been sent to all Members of
Congress. If you agree that the UFO subject ought to be
probed by Congress, letters to your own Congressman or
Senators would help to bring about action. We also invite the
support and encouragement of individual Members of Congress,
and will cooperate fully in any reasonable investigation which
they deem appropriate.
It is our firm conviction that the Congress is the logical
place for the UFO problem to be ironed out. Our efforts
to deal directly with the Air Force, to resolve the issue without
sensational publicity, have been rebuffed. Still, we believe the
matter can be settled in an unsensational manner without making
the Air Force a scapegoat. Air Force errors and misinforma-
tion on the UFO subject should be corrected (as should any
NICAP errors), so that the public can be reliably informed.
Beyond that, the Air Force has a serious mission to perform
and NICAP has no desire to criticize.
UFOs, we believe, are a matter for scientific inquiry. The
Air Force, through intelligence procedures, has concluded UFOs
represent no danger or threat to the national security. There-
fore, there is no reason why the scientific community should
not have complete access to UFO data and be encouraged to
study the problem from the scientific standpoint. The fact that
NICAP (including a large number of scientists and engineers)
disagrees with the Air Force about the nature of UFOs should
not be construed as an "attack" on the Air Force. Only
dispassionate scientific investigation can settle the dispute about
the significance of UFOs.
NICAP's criticisms of the Air Force are directed only at
its specific policies on the UFO subject; particularly its dog-
matic and "authoritative" approach to the subject, and seeming
resentment of legitimate requests for more detailed data which
would allow independent study of the phenomenon.
Soon after NICAP was formed in late 1956, one of the main
goals established was to press for Congressional hearings as a
step toward bringing scientific attention to UFOs. Hearings, it
was felt, would clarify the problem and bring out information
about the scope and seriousness of the phenomenon. Hoaxters
would be exposed, and serious fact separated from misinformation.
Then it would be possible for scientists and others to lend their
skills to a thorough investigation, without fear of ridicule. An
equally important result would be a more regular flow of reliable
information to the public.
At first, there was only scattered interest in UFOs among Mem-
bers of Congress. As NICAP began to publish solid information,
sending occasional reports to Congress, interest picked up. NICAP
members also began to write their Senators and Congressmen
urging them to look into the subject. In June 1960, NICAP sent
a confidential report to Members of Congress outlining the ac-
cumulated evidence. Congressional interest reached a peak in
1961, when the House Committee on Science & Astronautics
began to look into the matter.
Serious discussion of UFO hearings continued until, late in the
year, Chairman Overton Brooks died. About the same time,
NICAP had nearly exhausted its financial resources (always
slim), and was forced to send an emergency appeal to its members.
The response was excellent, but it was too late to allow effective
use to continue the drive for hearings.
A misunderstanding with the Chairman of the UFO Subcommittee
about Congressional protocol, at the peak of interest, also was a
setback. However, the misunderstanding was cleared up and the
Subcommittee Chairman was willing to proceed with hearings,
if approved by the new parent committee Chairman. The new
Space Committee Chairman opposed UFO hearings.
& THE UFOs
Then, in answer to letters about UFOs, the House Science &
Astronautics Committee began stating that the subject was not in
their jurisdiction, referring inquiries to the House Armed
Services Committee. The Chairman of that Committee also
opposed UFO hearings.
Since early 1962, neither Committee has taken any action on
UFOs. However, interest has been shown by individual Members
of Congress, including an increasing number of Senators. The
problem has been to find an appropriate Committee Chairman who
is willing to undertake an investigation. At the present time, it
appears that the Senate Committees on Space and Armed Services
offer the best chance, although interest could also be revived in
the House Committee.
Chronological List of Statements
by Members of Congress
(From letters to NICAP members; copies on file at NICAP)
1957
Senator Barry Goldwater (R. Ariz.) - August 31, 1957
"I am an Air Force Reserve Officer and have been one for the
past 27 years and, consequently, I am, indeed, interested in un-
identified flying objects. I, frankly, feel thatthere is a great deal
to this and I have discussed it often with many Air Force Of-
ficers. . ."
1958
Congressman William H. Ayres (R. Ohio) - January 28, 1958
"Congressional investigations have been held and are still be-
ing held on the problem of unidentified flying objects and the
problem is one in which there is quite a bit of interest. . .Since
most of the material presented to the Committees is classified,
the hearings are never printed. When conclusions are reached
they will be released if possible. . ."
Congressman Ralph J. Scott (D. N.C.) - March 13, 1958
'I quite agree with you that the general public should be allowed
information thus far known about Flying Objects except, of course,
in the case where they might become unduly alarmed or panicked
by such a revelation. . .you can readily understand and appreciate
the seriousness of such a reaction. If this information could be
presented to the American public in such a way as to appeal to
reason and not to emotion, I think it would be a good thing. . ."
Senator George Smathers (D. Fla.) - June 26, 1958
"The subject of flying saucers is one in which we all share a
great interest. No legislation is pending in the Congress at the
present time to require that information on the subject be made
public, but you may be sure that your interest in the matter will
have my attention should it come before the Senate. . ."
Congressman Thomas Ludlow Ashley (D. Ohio) - July 14, 1958
"I have made a number of inquiries of the Air Force relative
to its activities in connection with these unidentified flying objects,
but have invariably received comment that evidence to date is too
inconclusive to sustain any theory but that these objects are
`hoaxes, hallucinations, or normal meteorological manifestations.'
I share your concern over the secrecy that continues to shroud
our intelligence activities on this subject, and I am in complete
agreement with you that our greatest national need at this time is
the dissemination of accurate information upon which responsible
public opinion can be formulated. . ."
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1959 1960
From "Senate Cloakroom" Newsletter of Senator J. Glenn
Beall (R. Md.) - March 23, 1959
"Hello, Outer Space! Who's There? -- Definite, serious steps
are being made by the Space agency leading to the sending of a
rocket to Venus, one of our close little family of planets, 'cluster-
ed' about our sun (which is but one of millions of such suns,
which we call `stars'). We'll get to Venus. Nevertheless, there
are those who dismiss the idea of 'flying saucers' from other
planets as preposterous. Isn't it stupid -- and conceited -- for
us human beings to think no one else in the universe is as intel-
ligent as we are?
"A famous physicist, when asked if it were possible for the
planet Earth to be destroyed by nuclear power, answered: 'Yes,
it theoretically could happen, but it isn't as if the Earth were one
of the major planets.' 11
Senator Stuart Symington (D. Mo.) - April 17, 1959
"There is little doubt that the American public has sound
reason for being confused about the existence and nature of these
phenomena. While I am not in a position to comment on any
particular report, I am certain it would be in the interest of
public understanding if a current and objective evaluation of this
situation were issued.
"There are undoubtedly some objects observed directly or on
radarscopes which are not subject to positive analysis. However,
the public should be given all information which would not ad-
versely affect our national security."
Congressman Dante B. Fascell (D. Fla.) - May 12, 1959
"There are many areas where unrealistic policy keeps vital
information from the American people. . .Certainly, accurate in-
formation concerning so-called unidentified flying objects, within
the proper bounds of National Security, should be made available
immediately to the American people. . . "
Congressman George P. Miller (D. Calif.) - May 15, 1959
"I am concerned, as are most Americans, with unidentified
flying objects. Surely the public should be kept informed about
them. On the other hand, nothing should be done to create fear
in the minds of the public if a reasonable explanation can be made.
There may be cases where so-called unidentified flying objects
are part of our scientific research in the problem of outer
space and missile development. This could not rightfully be dis-
closed to the public because it would immediately tip our hand
to our enemy. . ."
Congressman Walter H. Moeller (D. Ohio) - May 15, 1959
"I cannot help but feel that there may be some justification
behind some of the UFO reports. I also feel that if there is any
information available within the Government which has not been
released to the American public it should be made known. I have
every confidence that the American people would be able to
take such information without hysteria. The fear of the unknown
is always greater than fear of the known. . ."
Senator George Smathers (D. Fla.) - May 19, 1959
"I have noted your comments and the articles you marked with
specific reference to government 'secrecy' concerning UFOs. . .
I would not oppose open hearings on this subject for I believe
the public is entitled to know the facts that can be divulged without
violating our national security. . ."
Senator Thomas J. Dodd (D. Conn.) - February 27, 1960
"Thank you for your recent letter concerning unidentified flying
objects. This is a matter which has always aroused my interest
and curiosity."
In a telecast March 14, Senator Dodd enlarged on his statement
in answer to a newsman's question: `'UFOs have never been
accurately explained. I think there is as much reason to believe
that there is something to them as there is for believing that there
is not. There is certainly reason for thinking we don't have all
the facts and certainly the Senate committee dealing with space
should have all the facts."
Congresswoman Gracie Pfost (D. Idaho) - March 25, 1960
11 . . .regarding flying objects. I am interested in this subject
also, and you will want to know that after conversing with the Air
Force Department I am not completely satisfied with the infor-
mation they gave me. . ."
Congressman J. Carlton Loser (D. Tenn.) - April 8, 1960
11 . . .relative to the present policy of the Air Force in handling
the problem of unidentified flying objects. . .I am in full accord
with what you say about the necessity for full disclosure of per-
tinent information to be made our people on any subject of such
national importance. . "
Congresswoman Florence P. Dwyer (R. N.J.) - April 26, 1960
"I am not one of those who arbitrarily dismiss 'flying saucers'
as figments of the imagination. I take them seriously, and I
certainly would have no objections to a careful and reasonable
investigation of this phenomenon. Too many intelligent and thor-
oughly responsible people, who have been in positions to observe
such unidentified foreign objects, have testified to their conviction
that such objects exist for me or anyone else to deny the validity
of their observations. Under careful supervision, and with the
proper safeguards, I would think that a Congressional investigation
would be a worthwhile undertaking. . ."
June 1960: NICAP began sending a summary of its evidence to
Members of Congress.
Congressman Joseph E. Karth (D. Minn.) - August 24, 1960
"As a member of the House Committee on Science and Astro-
nautics, I, of course, have had contact with high Air Force of-
ficers and have had opportunity to hear their comments on and off
the record on the subject of unidentified flying objects. Despite
being confronted with seemingly unimpeachable evidence that such
phenomena exist, these officers give little credence to the many
reports on the matter. When pressed on specific details the
experts refuse to answer on grounds that they are involved in the
nation's security and cannot be discussed publicly. . .I will con-
tinue to seek a definite answer to this most important question."
Congressman Edgar W. Hiestand (R. Calif.) - September 19, 1960
(to Secretary of Air Force)
"I am wondering if we ought now reexamine our policy with
regard to Unidentified Flying Objects. Won't you kindly suggest
to your associates that the matter be considered? I am appre-
hensive that right now, in the middle of a campaign, some concrete
and well-documented incident may occur, and a sensational reve-
lation could really hurt. After all, although the UFOs are unknown
devices, there seems to be enough evidence available to convince
that they are real rather than imaginary. Therefore what harm
could complete frankness do?. . ."
Congressman William J. Randall (D. Mo.) - September 1, 1959
"Personally, I have always felt that maybe there was some
substance in what is described as 'UFO' or `Unidentified Flying
Objects.' I am not certain what Committee would have proper
jurisdiction, but I must stress what difficulty we have in getting
information even on foreign military aid, on the theory it is
strategic or constitutes classified or top secret information. . ."
Congressman John V. Lindsay (R. N.Y.) - October 25, 1960
. with regard to suppressing information covering sightings
of 'unidentified flying objects. . .such matters are of vital im-
portance. . .the security of the United States does not always
demand total secrecy in the gathering of information vital to our
needs. The American people are fully capable of understanding
the nature of these problems. . "
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Congressman John W. McCormack (D. Mass.) - November 4, Senator Harry F. Byrd D. a.) - ay , 1 1
1960 [See photostat] "As you know, I am a member of the Senate Armed Services
congrego of the aniteb 10tateli
jou%t of itepreomwt ea
?Uire of the 0ajoritp babes
aeoNb9aa~. fat. 6.
Novmber 4, 1960
Major Donald E. K.1oe
National Investigation. Committee on Aerial Phenomena
1536 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D. C.
RpM'il
I an in receipt of your letter of October 28,
with enclosure. I am glad you ,mote me on the subject matter
mentioned in your letter and the enclosure. Some three years
ago as Chairman of the House Select Committee on Outer Space
out of which case the recently established NASA, my Select
Committee held executive sessions on the matter of e0nidentifigd
plying Objects.- We could not get such information at that tine,
although it vas pretty well established by acme in our mind.
that there were some object. flying around in epace that were
unexplainable.
I aesome you have written a letter to the Members
of the House and Senate Committee on Science and Astronautics,
if not I suggest you do so.
)Sincerely
Senator Alan Bible (D. Nev.) - December 6, 1960
"Dear Major Keyhoe: Thank you for sending on to me the
Confidential Report on Unidentified Flying Objects.
"I found this Report to be very interesting and I certainly do
appreciate your thoughtfulness in making it available to me."
1961
Senator Wallace F. Bennett (R. Utah) - February 16, 1961
"Dear Major Keyhoe: Thank you for your letter of February
12, concerning unidentified flying objects.
"Certainly, this is an area which deserves our careful study
and I hope that the Air Force will not keep any essential facts
from the public."
The Late Senator Estes Kefauver (D. Tenn.) - March 30, 1961
"Uncertainty over UFOs certainly exists and I think it is wise
to keep an open mind about them. I occasionally hear from
Major Keyhoe who is with the National Investigations Committee
on Aerial Phenomena here in Washington, and while I am not
able to evaluate the Committee's work, I think it should be
continued. . ."
Congressman Daniel B. Brewster (D. Md.) - April 21, 1961
"The Air Force has consistently said, after extensive inves-
tigations, that it can find no information to support the contention
of some that Unidentified Flying Objects are under intelligent
control. . In this connection, the Air Force has also said that
it has no classified information which would show, or tend to show,
such intelligent control. In my judgment, this is the salient
point to be remembered in connection with any allegations that
classified information, which is pertinent to the point under
consideration, is being suppressed. Repeated inquiries and other
efforts by the Committee failed to disclose any derogatory in-
formation on this point. Under all prevailing circumstances, it
is my current judgment that the Committee should not undertake
a Congressional investigation of Unidentified Flying Objects. . .
Committee, and this Committee is frequently briefed on the
subject matter of your communication. Access to U.F.O. files
is necessarily restricted. . ."
Congressman Perkins Bass (R. N.H.) - May 17, 1961
"I have just been put on a small 3-man subcommittee of the
House Space Committee to investigate this UFO situation. We
will hear various witnesses from the Air Force, NASA, and other
Defense Department officials, but these will probably not be
public hearings. . .and would appreciate your sending me along
any particular points or questions I might ask of these Defense
Department officials which might throw more light on the matter
and answer some of the questions in your own mind. . ."
June: News stories began to appear stating that the House Com-
mittee on Science & Astronautics was considering holding hearings
on UFOs.
Waterbury (Conn.) Republican, June 20: Bulkley Griffin, re-
porting from Washington, said the House Space Committee would
conduct hearings, "according to present plans of Chairman
Overton Brooks. He is designating a subcommittee to hear wit-
nesses. Rep. Joseph E. Karth, (D.Minn.), will head the subcom-
mittee it is stated. . . The question whether all the subcommittee
sessions will be secret or whether some will be public, has not
been finally decided."
In their column June 26, Robert S. Allen and Paul Scott re-
ported: "The Unidentified Flying Objects, that have been mys-
teriously appearing over the U. S. for years, are going to be in-
vestigated by the House Space Committee."
July 3, Newsweek, in its "Periscope" column, reported that a
three-man House subcommittee would soon start a UFO probe,
beginning with Air Force reports.
(By August 6, Bulkley Griffin reported a hitch in the investi-
gation. In a story headlined "Flying Object Probe Out This Ses-
sion," the Waterbury Republican said no investigation would be
held. "The Air Force is understood to have succeeded in blocking
it. . .(Rep.) Karth has declared he won't serve unless some pub-
lic hearings are permitted and (Chairman) Brooks has always
been against public hearings. It is believed, however, that the
Air Force, as usual, has been urging against any UFO hearings
at all.')
Congressman Thomas N. Downing (D. Va.) - August 4, 1961
"The Bureau manager of Newsweek informs me that his infor-
mation indicates that an investigation of the UFO phenomenon is
being contemplated by the Science and Astronautics Committee.
The information that I was provided indicates that Congressman
Joseph E. Karth of Minnesota may serve as Chairman of the
three-man Subcommittee. . ."
Senator Leverett Saltonstall (R. Mass.) - August 18, 1961
"I can assure you that Congressional hearings have been held
on UFOs, and the responsible committees continue to receive
up-to-date reports."
Congressman Dominick V. Daniels (D. N.J.) - September 12, 1961
"I have discussed your letter with Congressman Karth and I
understand that attention will be focused on the UFO problem
during the next Congressional session. Presumably many of the
issues which you raise will be investigated at that time. . ."
Congressman Joseph E. Karth (D. Minn.) - September 19, 1961
(To Major Keyhoe, after misunderstanding about Congressional
protocol was cleared up.)
"Now that we better understand each other, I would hope we
could properly proceed with a hearing early next year - providing
the new chairman authorizes hearings."
Congressman Joseph E. Karth (D. Minn.) - October 3, 1961
"Chairman Brooks with whom I had the agreement to conduct
hearings, as you know, has passed away. What the new Chairman
will decide, I do not yet know. Sorry I cannot answer your ques-
tion, as to whether or not hearings relative to unidentified flying
objects will definitely be held, in a positive manner at this time..."
Congressman Horace R. Kornegay (D. N.C.) - May 3, 1961
"I had a very interesting conference with Major Keyhoe Congressman Bruce Alger (R. Tex.) - November 28, 1961
[NICAP Director], and I am continuing to urge the Majority "I have studied some of Major Keyhoe's works and have dis-
Leader, Mr. McCormack, and the Committee Chairman, Mr. cussed this matter with a number of people in my office in
Overton Brooks, to hold hearings to bring all data and new infor- Washington. Certainly, I will not dismiss the questions which
mation up toA pr rJ p o1 Re dAt6I2001'/041021: CMe RDIM 00'51"RE d1'080'1'0U0'1 lj tle success
 Approved For Release 2001/04/02 :
in getting more information from the military services. This
does not mean that I will stop trying. . ."
Congressman Charles A. Mosher (R. Ohio) - December 18, 1961
"We are advised by Mr. Karth's secretary that no action is
scheduled as yet concerning hearings by a UFO subcommittee.
Mr. Karth was named chairman to such a subcommittee by the
late Congressman Overton Brooks. . The decision to create such
a committee. . now rests with the new chairman. . .Congressman
George Miller."
1962
AUGUST 6, 1961 Wai-erbury (Conn.)Republ.icavl
Flying-Object
'Probe. Out
,This Session
By BULKLEY GRIFFIN
WASHINGTON, D. C. - No
House investigation of the Un-
identified Flying 0 b j e c t s
(UFOs) will be held this ses-
sion. The Air Force is under-
stood to have succeeded in
-blocking it.
U. S.. Rep. Joseph E. Karth,
D-Minn., chairman of the sub-
committee that was picked to
probe the UFO, situation, pre-
dicted that hearings. will be
held in the next session of Can-
gress, which starts next Janu-
ary. Karth may get the backing
of House Leader : John W. Mc-
Cormack, D-Mass., in this plan.
:Meantime, Sen. Henry- M.
irackson, D-Wash;, the former
chairman of the Democratic
National Committee, may call
:some witnesses 'before the Sen-
ate Preparedness Subcommittee
before the present session ends.
These would be Government of-
-ficials and such ? brief UFO
hearings,, if held, would be
.closed, said the senator.
Chairman Overton Brooks
D-La. of the House Space Com-
mittee, who selected the Karth
subcommsttee, , gives various
reasons for not wanting that
body to start action. Karth has
,declared' he. won't serve unless'
,some public hearings are per-
mitted and Brooks has always
been against public hearings.
It is believed however that
the Ait- Force, as usual, has
been urging against any UFO
hearings at all. The' Air Force
is the sole official investigator
and reporter.on UFO' sightings.
Its repeated story is that all
the sightings can be explained
away as familiar objects mis-
identified.
Despite the Air Force pres-
sure and. prestige, men like
House Leader McCormack,
Adm. R. H, Hollenkoetter, for-
mer head of the Central Intel-
ligence Agency, a considerable
number' of veteran pilots, a few
former Pentagon officials who
were close to the UFO situation
while in the Pentagon' and oth-
er experts in : the field ? of . the
atmosphere. and its sights, all
disagree. with the Air Force.
These persons hold that cer-
tain of the, sightings constitute
something real and unknown,
and demand 'investigation. Lead-
er McCormack, Adm. Hillen-
koetter and others believe the.
Air Force- has, been withhold-
ing some. information. Th e
move for congressional' hear.,
ings will continue,. it is indicat-
ed at the Capitol,.
Congressman Horace R. Kornegay (D. N.C.) - January 3, 1962
"I am returning to you Flying Saucers: Top Secret [by Maj.
Donald E. Keyhoe] along with my expression of gratitude for your
lending it to me. I found it very interesting.
"I shall return to Washington on January 8 and look forward
to conferring with Mr. Miller, Chairman of the Space Committee,
and others on that Committee in connection with the matter of
holding hearings on unidentified flying objects in accordance with
our earlier conversation here in Greensboro. . ."
Congressman W. M. Abbitt (D. Va.) - January 31, 1962
"I am very much in accord with your sentiments and am hopeful
that we can get the [UFO] hearings started in the not too distant
future. . ."
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Congressman W. Pat Jennings (D. Va.) - February 1, 1962
"The Air Force, it seems, is taking the whole subject seriously,
which is important at the moment because of the need to maintain
our Nation's defense in an ever-ready state. It would be helpful
to hear more of the background on these objects, and I shall
await the action of the Space Subcommittee with interest. . ."
Congressman Hugh J. Addonizio (D. N.J.) - February 1, 1962
. concerning the subject of UFOs. . .It is a pleasure to
cooperate in the matter. I have expressed my deep personal
interest in early and open hearings to the Committee and I shall
keep in touch with developments. . ."
Congressman George P. Miller (D. Calif.), Chairman, Committee
on Science and Astronautics - February 2, 1962
"I don't intend at this time to conduct any hearings on UFOs
since that subject really is not a scientific, research and develop-
ment, nor space related activity. I should think that the subject
matter of UFOs is really in the jurisdiction of the Armed Services
Committee since the Air Force has been given the responsibility
to investigate all such unusual aerial phenomena. . ."
Congressman Carl Vinson (D. Ga.), Chairman, Committee on
Armed Services - February 7, 1962
"While it remains true that some aerial phenomena remain
unexplained, the great majority of the reports which have been
investigated have been subject to a valid scientific explanation.
As I have previously said, we have found no evidence to substan-
tiate the allegation that such vehicles are under intelligent
control. . ."
Charles F. Ducander, Executive Director & Chief Counsel, Com-
mittee on Science and Astronautics, House of Representatives -
March 27, 1962
"At the present time, the Committee agenda does not include
any investigations of UFOs. In addition, I must be candid and tell
you that the Chairman has no plans for scheduling this type of
investigation in the foreseeable future."
Congressman Odin Langen (R. Minn.) - July 5, 1962
"It would be my hope and desire that facts in this instance
[UFOs] may be brought out at an early date so the controversy
may be cleared up. . . "
Congressman John B. Anderson (R. Ill.) - July 12, 1962
"I would certainly have no objection to an investigation of
AF-UFO policies. . ."
Senator Jacob K. Javits (R. N.Y.) - July 19, 1962
11. . regarding unidentified flying objects. Reports of investi-
gations made by the Department of the Air Force and National
Aeronautics and Space Administration indicate there is no foun-
dation to these allegations. . ."
Congressman Harlan Hagen (D. Calif.) - July 20, 1962
"I have read with interest your comments regarding uniden-
tified flying objects. This is a subject which has been of interest
to me for some time and I am asking the Air Force to furnish
me with its reaction to your remarks, and for a statement of its
position with respect to the subject. . ."
Senator Kenneth B. Keating (R. N.Y.) - July 23, 1962
"I do feel that more information should be available to the
general public on this matter, and would favor, of course, some
Senatorial hearings on UFO problems."
Congressman Emilio Q. Daddario (D. Conn.) -September 13, 1962
"I would certainly be interested in any information [on UFOs]
that can be developed by the Committee or by the scientific
investigators."
Senator Thomas J. Dodd (D. Conn.) - September 26, 1962
"I believe that hearings would be a good way to help clear up
the differences of opinion that exist with respect to UFOs. Perhaps
the Senate Aeronautical and Space Sciences Committee will be
able to conduct hearings, or another possibility is the Senate
Preparedness Subcommittee. . ."
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In September, NICAP published an issue of the UFO Investiga-
tor (membership publication) containing an outline and preview of
this report. Copies were sent to all Members of Congress.
Sample reactions:
Congressman W. R. Poage (D. Tex.) - September 22, 1962
"I have long been disturbed by these UFOs. I would be very
much interested in seeing the accumulation of facts which you
Congressman E. C. Gathings (D. Ark.) - September 24, 1962
"I shall be interested in seeing a copy of the report your
Committee is preparing for Congressional distribution. . ."
Congressman F. Edward Hebert (D. La.) - September 24, 1962
"I shall certainly appreciate receiving a copy of your report
when it becomes available. . ."
Congressman Thomas N. Downing (D. Va.) - September 24, 1962
"Thank you for writing to enclose a copy of the "UFO Inves-
tigator", and to also bring to my attention your plans to submit a
report on your Committee's five-year investigation of Unidentified
Flying Objects. I very much appreciate your thoughtfulness. . ."
Congressman Charles Raper Jonas (R. N.C.) - September 25, 1962
"If you care to send me the 128-page report on your five-year
investigation, I will be glad to have it. . ."
Senator Jacob K. Javits (R. N.Y.) - October 25, 1962
"I appreciate your views regarding the aerial phenomena.
As you know, the Department of Defense and NASA have repeatedly
denied the existence of such objects."
Congressman John E. Moss (D. Calif.) - Chairman, Government
Information Subcommittee - December 19, 1962
"The Subcommittee has no authority to go into the over-all
question of unidentified flying objects, but other Congressional
committees may well look into it."
Congressman Richard H. Poff (R. Va.) - December 31, 1962
"I am not satisfied that the Air Force has disclosed all the
information which it has assembled, and I am hopeful that the
Armed Forces Committee (of which I am not a member) will see
fit to conduct an appropriate investigation. . ."
1963
Senator Milward L. Simpson (R. Wyo.) - January 8, 1962
"I have not yet been able to determine that any Congressional
Committee plans to hold hearings on the UFO problem, but some-
thing may develop after the 88th Congress convenes. I do know
that the Senate Armed Services Committee plans early hearings
on the entire defense posture and it is possible that the question
of unidentified flying objects will be brought up during this inves-
tigation. . ."
Senator Gaylord Nelson (D. Wis.) - January 14, 1963
"I share your belief thatthere shouldbe no unnecessary secrecy
surrounding the matter [of UFOs] and will do what I can to see
to it that relevant facts are brought out and made available to
the public."
Congressman John F. Shelley (D. Calif.) - January 28, 1963
"I share the concern of my colleagues in Congress about the
gravity of the UFO problem. . .my genuine desire to see positive
action taken to lessen the danger caused by UFOs to air travel
and our national security."
Senator William Proxmire (D. Wis.) - January 31, 1963
"The NICAP report [outline] is a fine document which does
much to substantiate the allegation made. You probably noted
my remarks that 'The very fact that so many inexplicable inci-
dents have occurred is reason enough for a thorough investigation.'
I am going to contact the Department of Defense on this matter..."
Congressman Clark MacGregor (R. Minn.) - May 28, 1963
"I would certainly agree with Senator Keating that more infor-
mation should be available to the public. I would favor Congress-
ional hearings [on UFOs] which, of course, would require action
by the Congressional majority leadership. . ."
Senator Birch Bayh (D. Ind.) - May 29, 1963
"I too am interested in these aerial phenomena. Some people
tend to discount UFOs, but I feel that any such unknown objects
bear investigation. . ."
Senator Vance Hartke (D. Ind.) - June 5, 1963
"I agree. . .that a full explanation of the 'Flying Saucers'
seems due. . ."
Senator Kenneth B. Keating (R. N.Y.) - June 28, 1963
"I want to assure you that as a high officer in the military
myself, I am not overawed or overimpressed by some of the
conclusions reached by Air Force officers. As you know, I
have no hesitancy in taking issue with other government agencies
as to the dangers facing our country. . .I am sorry that there
seems to be nothing which I can add to the UFO situation at the
present time."
Congressman Glenn Cunningham (R. Nebr.) - August 8, 1963
"I think it quite possible that the Air Force is withholding
information about at least a certain number of these [sightings]
because I have found that the military services in the past have
sometimes acted in a secretive way in other matters when there
was really no justification for it. . ."
Senator Len B. Jordan (R. Idaho) - August 16, 1963
"Since you are a member of NICAP, I would welcome any in-
formation you might provide me which would improve my knowledge
of this very mysterious phenomenon. . ."
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SECTION XIV
THE PROBLEMS & THE DANGERS
The human reactions to UFO reports very nearly have pre-
vented a rational investigation of these phenomena. Neither the
rabid "believers" nor the dogmatic skeptics favor a scientific
review of the UFO problem. Both think they have the answer.
To the neo-religious cultists, largely centered in southern
California, UFOs are the vessels of saintly beings from space
(or another dimension) come to aid us through troubled times. To
the skeptics, UFOs are a figment of the imagination dreamed up by
unstable individuals unable to face up to the realities of the day.
Neither of these positions is tenable on the basis of the evidence
acquired to date.
On the basis of the evidence in this report, NICAP has con-
cluded that UFOs are real, and that they appear to be intelligently
controlled [Section II]. We believe it is a reasonable hypothesis
that UFOs (beyond those explainable as conventional objects or
phenomena) are manifestations of extraterrestrial life. The evi-
dence to date is too sketchy to allow any conclusions about what
the pilots of UFOs (if any) look like or what their purposes may
be in visiting the earth, if UFOs are in fact spaceships. Once
UFOs are accepted as a reality, perhaps it will be possible to
obtain some of the answers to these fascinating questions.
The problems of UFO investigation, and the inherent dangers,
are discussed below, followed by recommendations for solutions
to the problems. The basic problem of UFOs is the lack of at-
tention to something which, if true, could be of very great
significance indeed to the whole human race. Most skeptics, in
the final analysis, base their conclusions on a seemingly inadequate
and highly prejudiced investigation [Section IX]. Quite often,
skeptics point to the cultists as (allegedly) the source of the whole
UFO problem. Only a superficial analysis of the cultist claims
is necessary to make one a skeptic, because it is easy to see that
they present beliefs and faith rather than evidence. Ergo, there
are no UFOs. Thus the cultists (and opportunists, and con-men)
obscure the real issues, and mislead critical-minded people into
believing that there is no evidence for UFOs.
The basic danger associated with UFOs is a danger to the very
fabric of society if UFOs are in fact real unexplained objects
maneuvering in our atmosphere. There is a danger of a reverse
delusion - fooling ourselves into believing nothing of any signifi-
cance is being seen. There is a danger of an unprepared public,
and the possibility of widespread panic if an external danger or
threat to our way of life is suddenly imposed upon us without some
prior knowledge of what has been learned about UFOs. Without
psychological preparedness, a sudden confrontation with extra-
terrestrial beings (for example) could have disastrous results.
If there is deliberate secrecy being practiced by authorities
(rather than a semi-conscious failure to face up to facts), this
would appear to be inexcusable. Secrecy breeds fear and paves
the way for panic, by introducing false fears and causing people to
substitute imagination for reality. The danger of continuing such
a policy was pointed out by NICAP Adviser Morton Gerla, a pro-
fessional engineer: "This shortsighted policy results in delaying
the solution of the UFO mystery, leaving both military and civilian
populations unprepared for whatever steps may eventually have to
be taken, whether peaceful or hostile. In the event of action
being forced upon our government or people by UFO initiative,
public confidence in a government following a policy of secrecy
prior to being forced into action would be shattered, perhaps
with catastrophic results to morale."
in our skies would naturally be a matter of utmost concern to all
nations on earth.
In spite of the fact that UFOs are not "officially" recognized,
it is plain that they - and the general idea of some day encounter-
ing extraterrestrial beings - have inspired considerable scientific
thought and speculation. As a result of our entrance into the
Space Age, the idea of UFOs has rapidly become plausible.
The hypothesis that UFOs are space ships has important im-
plications for humanity. Many questions are raised - philo-
sophical, religious and technological. What effect would contact
with extraterrestrials have on our society? What relationship
would - or should - we have with such beings? What should
our behavior toward them be? What effects would their detection
have on our technology and industries?
Of all groups which would have an immediate concern about
UFOs, pilots obviously are one of the first whose careers and
interests would be affected. To obtain the reaction of this group,
we asked two NICAP Advisers their opinions on what pilots
would most want to know about UFOs if it was suspected that they
were space ships.
Mr. L. Dan Sheridan, Jr., former Marine Corps fighter
pilot, replied with these questions:
"What is their performance?"
"Are they controlled and who and what controls them?"
"Are they hostile?"
"Are they responsible for the many unexplained crashes
and/or loss of aircraft?"
"What is their mission?"
"Are they subject to destruction and/or death?"
"Is there any basis of contact?"
"Why has the fact of their existence been covered up for so
long?"
John F. McLeod (Major, USAFR, active in Civil Air Patrol
Search & Rescue Squadron, graduate of Harvard University in
the field of psychology) replied:
"Because of their special training and experience, pilots in
general are better able to report and evaluate aerial phenomena,
including possible UFO sightings, than most other groups. A
pilot would normally be more exposed to conditions in which such
phenomena might occur, he would be more likely to be able to
report the details of such phenomena accurately, and he would
be more likely to be able to judge the true nature of conditions
pertinent to such phenomena.
I believe that, in general, pilots would want to know the follow-
ing basic data about any report to the effect that UFOs were
actually spacecraft:
1. Their type and source of motive power
2. Their origin
3. Their speed and other performance characteristics
4. The nature of their occupants
In short, the average experienced pilot would, I believe, be
more interested in the technical facts of such a situation than in
any sensational effect it might have. . ." Commenting on pilots
as observers of UFOs, Mr. McLeod added, "An experienced
pilot's ability to adapt to an unusual situation in the air should
enable him to retain an objective attitude after his initial surprise,
and his interest should stimulate physical thresholds of awareness
regarding the data to be learned from the situation . . ."
THE IMPLICATIONS OF UFOs
Why are UFOs important? Because if they are real (not ex- From the viewpoint of religion, Rev. Albert Baller (German
plainable as a variety of conventional objects), it is generally Congregational Church, Clinton, Mass.), a NICAP Board Member,
conceded that they are most likely space ships. Their presence had this to say:
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 ?what Ap tre ovled F[Q wRelease 2contact with 001/04/02x_
terrestrial beings] will depend upon whether there will ever be
close enough contact with intelligences from extraterrestrial
realms to matter. The very possibility, however, is certainly
being envisaged by some scientific experiments now being made.
For example, various experiments being carried out atpublic ex-
pense to invent a means of communication between humans and
porpoises! The main purpose of these experiments is said to be
to prepare ourselves for the time when our interplanetary
vehicles shall take us to other worlds and other intelligent
beings. Not, of course, that we anticipate that such other beings
will confront us speaking the language of porpoises. But to have
broken the ''porpoise speech code" will give us some insights into
breaking other completely foreign speech codes.
"What will such contact mean, if it comes, to our thinking?
The question asserts itself especially if you are, as I am, a
minister of religion. What will such contact do to our theological
conceptions? What will it mean in terms of our beliefs about
God, Christ, Salvation, the unique nature of Man? Here, again,
one can only guess. But based on the record of man's reaction to
other such challenges over the centuries, we may expect this one
to be taken in stride too. For this will not have been the first
time, by any means, that humankind has had to stretch its thinking
and feeling to encompass the wider revelation. . ."
Mr. Robert Purdy, Metallurgical Engineer, through a NICAP
member suggested what a few of the effects on technology, in-
dustry and science would be if we establish contact with an ad-
vanced race of beings:
"In my certain field, metallurgy, of course the first problem
most likely to be solved would be a metal so strong, so light,
so heat resistant, it could only be dreamed of before this event.
The present space programs could be speeded up such that we
might be taking our first trip to Mars within several months.
Our present corrosion problem which costs this country over 8
billion dollars a year could be reduced to practically nothing.
Perhaps another method of obtaining pure metal other than from
its ore would be discovered. These suggestions are only a few
of the vast number of possibilities such an event would bring into
focus."
Dr. Fred C. Fair (professor emeritus of engineering, New
York University) a NICAP Adviser, commented on the technology
displayed by UFOs, deduced from reported observations:
"Astronomers and chemists agree that the only metallic ele-
ments found on stars and planets are the same as the ones that
occur on earth. No planet has a supply of a super metal foreign
to the earth. Consequently, if the metallic materials used in the
construction of the body of the UFO and of the machinery and
mechanisms within it are more durable than alloys produced on
earth, it would indicate that the art and science of Metallurgy at
the source of these UFOs is in advance of the corresponding
art and science on earth.
"Without the opportunity of inspecting a UFO, we can infer
that the metal parts are superior to any alloy now produced on
earth, as shown by the durability and superior performance of the
vehicle and the machinery within it. The mechanism of these
objects is so nearly perfect that all of them, or at least almost all
of them have functioned perfectly while in the area of visibility
from the surface of the earth, or while within the earth's gravi-
tational field. Malfunctions of a very few of these objects may
account for some of the green fireballs and space explosions
that have been reported from time to time. . .
"UFOs have been clocked by competent observers using ade-
quate equipment at speeds in excess of 17,000 miles per hour.
This is beyond the speed that an earth-made controllable and steer-
able vehicle can attain. Nor is it expected that such speeds may
be developed in the foreseeable future. Much has been written
concerning the type of organisms that must be within a UFO that
can withstand the huge G forces that occur when such objects
abruptly change their course through ninety or more degrees
while maintaining high velocity. The extreme maneuverability
of these huge craft operated at high velocity has been a source
of wonder from the time of the earliest observations. Why does
a UFO seem to be not subject to the law of inertia? How, without
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collision, can the forward motion of any object be stopped im-
mediately; and instantaneously assume a new and at times a di-
rectly opposite direction? The momentum of any solid body,
having mass, would seem to make such a tactic impossible. . .
"What little we know at present of the Unknown Flying Objects
indicates a technology in several fields which has reached a
state of development far beyond that attained on earth."
In 1963 a NICAP member posed a hypothetical question to the
U. S. Department of Justice: "If a human being killed a space
man, in a moment of panic and fear, would this be murder? Or
could the person defend his action on the legal ground that he had
not committed homicide since the being was not 'human'?'
On July 11, Assistant Attorney General Norbert A. Schlei
replied: ". . .as a matter of information, it does not seem likely
that present criminal laws against homicide would playa primary
role in restraining attacks by excited citizens if the situation you
describe were to arise. Since criminal laws are usually construed
strictly, it is doubtful that laws against homicide would apply to
the killing of intelligent, man-like creatures alien to this planet,
unless such creatures were members of the human species.
Whether killing these creatures would violate other criminal laws -
for instance, the laws against cruelty to animals or disorderly
conduct - would ordinarily depend on the law of the particular
state in which the killing occurred. . .until it is clearer what
problems of safety, health or commerce such creatures might
bring, there is little basis for describing the kinds of laws which
might prove appropriate."
Replying to the same question, Professor James P. Whyte,
School of Law, College of William and Mary, agreed with Mr.
Schlei. Assuming for discussion that UFOs are occupied, he said,
the question is whether they are occupied by human beings suf-
ficiently similar to homo sapiens.
"The intelligence of these occupants might or might not be a
factor," said Prof. Whyte. "It is just as much homicide to kill
an idiot as it is to kill a genius."
Another problem of making contact with, and attempting to
communicate with, extraterrestrial beings has been suggested by
NICAP Adviser, Dr. Robert L. Hall (social psychologist), and
others. That is the possibility of such beings not having a form
similar to ours. Our earth-bound analogies (and our egos) tend
to make us think in terms of the human form. Some anthropol-
ogists and biologists, in fact, have argued that extraterrestrials
would very likely have to resemble us in some ways, because of
certain physical structures of the human body which led to the
development of human intelligence. But, again, this development
could have been only one of many possible ways in which intel-
ligent life can develop.
It has been suggested that intelligent life forms might, for
example, be of microscopic size - or amorphous blobs. If extra-
terrestrials who traveled to earth were not humanoid in form, it
is conceivable that man could come "face to face" with a space
being and not recognize him as an intelligent creature. The ques-
tion is often asked, "If UFOs are real (i.e., space ships carrying
intelligent beings), why haven't they landed?" The answer is
that no one knows for sure whether any beings from other planets
have landed on earth and, if they did, whether they would be rec-
ognizable as such.
Commenting about space travel and extraterrestrial life, Dr.
Edward Teller in a lecture at the University of California said,
"Where is everybody? It is possible that it's a form of life that
we may not recognize as such, and isn't it even more possible
that we in our galaxy may just be suburbans living on a God-
forsaken outpost?" [1]
In a discussion of the necessary training, and expected be-
havior, of men who will travel through space, Dr. Harold D.
Lasswell (Yale social scientist) states in his concluding remarks:
"All the foregoing rests, of course, on the assumption that earth's
inhabitants will be able to execute programs of the kind under dis-
cussion, which is no foregone conclusion. The implications of
the unidentified flying objects (UFO) may be that we are already
viewed with suspicion by more advanced civilizations and that our
attempts to gain a foothold elsewhere may be rebuffed as a threat
to other systems of public order." [2]
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Problems of Scienti is Investigation
The atmosphere of ridicule surrounding the subject of UFOs,
largely due to the activities of the cultists, has prevented many of
the best qualified analysts from lending their talents to a meaning-
ful scientific investigation. Also, a myth has developed in some
scientific quarters that there is nothing in UFO evidence that
scientists can come to grips with; no quantitative data or concrete
evidence. This position is based on quicksand, since no real
scientific effort has been made to acquire such data. It is, in
fact, not a reasoned position at all, but a presumption. How can
these skeptics be so sure until someone tries to obtain better
data with instruments? The evidence presented in this report
strongly suggests that an organized and instrumented study of
UFOs would be very fruitful. If not, then these skeptics would
have a solid basis for their currently illogical position.
Some skeptics base their position on the alleged fact that modern
tracking instruments have not detected UFOs. On the contrary,
UFOs have been tracked with theodolites and filmed at White
Sands, N.M. [Section VIII; Photographs], tracked on radar at
Cape Kennedy, and by Air Force and civilian radar all over the
world. [Section VIII; Radar]. There has been a tendency to ra-
tionalize, or suppress, any puzzling data. Interpretation of un-
explained objects detected by instruments has been left to guess-
work.
In the summer of 1963, Richard Hall (NICAP Assistant Director)
and Walter N. Webb (NICAP astronomy Adviser) visited a mutual
friend in Columbus, Ohio. A. B. Ledwith, engineer and former
member of the Smithsonian Institution satellite tracking program,
provided some information which illustrates one of the problems
of UFO investigation.
While on the satellite project, Ledwith had made a particular
point of studying reports of unidentified flying objects which
came from the Nunn-Baker camera sites around the world. In
particular, he carefully checked each photograph showing an
unidentified light source to see if the "UFOs" could be explained
in conventional terms. Many, he found, could not. Several of.
the photographs showing unexplained objects tracked by the Smith-
sonian cameras were turned over to NICAP.
Ledwith emphasized that the photographs did not prove anything;
often it was impossible to completely rule out a stray aircraft,
which conceivably could have been captured on film. But the
images, nevertheless, were unexplained and no one had reported
aircraft in the area. Ledwith also ran into the common skeptical
tendency to assume the images must be aircraft, or something
conventional.
The Smithsonian teams were tracking satellites. If something
else which did not fit the satellite track showed up on the film,
it was ordinarily assumed to be a film defect, a meteor, or air-
craft. Very little careful checking was done to determine the
likelihood of these explanations.
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Japanese Site Photograph: O.
On April 14, 1959, the Nunn-Baker camera site at Tokyo
Mitaka, Japan, was attempting to track Vanguard 2 (launched
February 17, 1959). The developed film showed a bright un-
explained object, in the wrong position for the satellite. This
was Smithsonian observation number SC5-498 (data on file at
NICAP). Photograph reproduced here shows prominent trail left
by object.
Landings and Near-Landings
The most controversial aspect of the UFO subject is the ques-
tion of the validity of claims that UFOs have actually landed,
in some instances, and that occupants have been seen. On one
extreme are fantastic science-fiction sounding claims of sojourns
through space with noble beings who have come to aid earthmen
through fearsome times. (Such claimants have been labelled
"contactees.") Dr...Carl Jung [3] and other psychologists have
pointed out the cultist aspect of these claims, the apparent wish-
ful thinking, and formation of a neo-religion which espouses the
"New Age" philosophy. On the other extreme are reports from
seemingly reliable people, with no obvious axe to grind, who claim
to have witnessed the landing or near-landing of strange craft
(usually of general elliptical or circular shape).
Although there is a vast difference between the types of people
who have made the claims on either extreme, and in the types of
experience they depict, the confusion around the UFO subject
in general makes it nearly impossible to distinguish between the
types. If you seem to treat seriously any of these cases, you
seem to be accepting all of them. The most ardent believers
and the most severe skeptics both tend to assume that either all
such stories are true, or all who claim they are true are crack-
pots. Unfortunately, life is not that simple and it is not possible
at this stage of investigation to make any sweeping judgments.
As long as UFO reports are not investigated scientifically,
not quickly and thoroughly checked out, doubt will remain.
The confusion also leaves an open field for opportunists and char-
latans who, it should be noted, are very active in "contactee"
circles.
Since NICAP has concentrated on investigating factual reports
of straightforward UFO observations by reputable people, our
investigation of landing, near-landing, and "contactee" reports
has not been exhaustive. However, it has been more extensive
than many people realize. Our policy has been to quietly investi-
gate the controversial cases to the best of our ability without
engaging in polemics about them. When facts about these cases
have, in our estimation, been fairly conclusively established, we
have reported them. In so doing, we have not passed judgment
on the whole spectrum of landing claims. Some cases have proved
to be fairly obvious hoaxes, others have involved key "witnesses"
of dubious background and engaged in dubious activities.
One of the most famous "contactees" made a claim in 1958
which NICAP thoroughly investigated, and disproved. One of
this person's alleged "witnesses" masquerades as a Ph.D. and
a knowledgeable anthropologist. He is neither. One self-styled
evangelist "contactee" engaged in blatant misrepresentation of
himself while relating a wild tale of contact with spacemen. Later
he was convicted in Los Angeles of selling Doctor of Divinity
degrees, mainly to other "contactees." Another was convicted
in California of stock fraud. All four, perhaps significantly,
claimed meetings with the idealized human-type "spacemen."
Some landings and near-landing cases are more plausible than
others. Some may eventually prove tobe honest mistakes of some
kind. But as long as it is considered a reasonable hypothesis
that some UFOs are space ships, it is logical to suppose that
some form of contact with extraterrestrial beings is possible.
For the moment, we are ignoring other problems which might
prevent or delay contact, such as total dissimilarity between us
and extraterrestrials, different psychological make-up, etc.
If our hypothesis to explain UFOs is correct, then landing
and near-landing reports from seemingly reputable people become
the most important cases of all; and this extraterrestrial hypo-
thesis is based on a considerable accumulation of solid evidence
presented in this report. But lack of recognition even to solidly
established, straightforward UFO sighting reports of a less sen-
sational nature makes objective investigation of these potentially
sensational ones nearly impossible.
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Some U Opi vestigators, impatient with NICAP's "conserv-
ative" policy of starting from the beginning and building up a
solid case, have argued that investigation of the landing reports
may be the only way to conclusively prove the extraterrestrial
hypothesis. Perhaps they are right, but we believe that such an
investigation will not be possible until the UFO problem generally
attains scientific recognition.
Some borderline cases which have neither been proved nor
disproved, are worth mentioning as possibly authentic close-up
observations of seeming vehicles or craft. They are selected
solely as examples of cases in which preliminary investigation
turned up no derogatory information about the witnesses, and no
glaring errors in their stories. We readily concede that cases of
claimed contact with, or close-up observation of, beings in landed
vehicles demand the closest scrutiny and the most painstaking
investigation, which has seldom been possible to date.
These cases should not be taken out of context and used to imply
either that NICAP accepts them at face value, or that we are
gullible. On the contrary, we have been criticized by other UFO
groups for our often voiced skepticism and demand for strong
objective evidence in landing cases. It is a fact of human nature,
we believe, that the more sensational or unorthodox a claim is,
the stronger the evidence will have to be to convince people gen-
erally of its truth. We do not uncritically accept all reports
without careful investigation and meaningful evidence. Rather,
when the reports come from seemingly reputable people and are
made with reasonable objectivity, we believe only that they deserve
serious attention and far more thorough investigation.
June 27, 1959 New Guinea
Witnesses: Rev. William B. Gill and local
natives
Color: Brightly lit, shaft of blue light
shining upward from center.
Dimensions: About 35 feet diameter.
Distance: About 450 feet.
July 13, 1959 New Zealand
Witness: Mrs. Frederick Moreland
Color: Silhouetted, orange and green body
lights.
Dimensions: About 20 feet diameter, 4-5
feet high.
Distance: About 40-50 yards.
September 20, 1961 New Hampshire
Witnesses: Mr. & Mrs. Barney Hill
Color: Silhouetted, bluish-white fluores-
cent glow from windows, red light
on each side.
Dimensions: About as large as a 4-engine
airliner.
Distance: About 100 feet.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Summarizing the main problems and dangers associated with
the UFO phenomenon, these points stand out:
* Doubt about the scientific adequacy of the Air Force inves-
tigation; lack of access to the specific detailed cases in Air
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from reviewing the methods of investigation and reasoning
employed by Air Force investigators.
* The possibility of ignoring, or rationalizing away, facts which
may have important effects on the human race, for good or ill.
* As previously pointed out by NICAP, the danger of accidental
war resulting from misinterpretation of objects on radar scopes,
a possibility made more likely by the general confusion and
doubt surrounding the subject of UFOs.
* Continued exploitation of the public by con-men and oppor-
tunists who thrive because of the confusion and doubt.
* The threats to society posed by an unprepared and ill-
informed public; the psychological preparation, and general
planning for any eventuality needed if UFOs are in fact manifes-
tations of extraterrestrial life.
One solution to all these problems would be a scientific and
political review of the entire UFO situation. The main purposes
would be clarification of the facts, and evaluation of those
facts. This would require a program designed to (1) study the
accumulated facts to date (including the detailed reports in Air
Force files); (2) taking steps to insure that future reports
are quickly and scientifically evaluated (encouraging citizens, and
particularly scientists, engineers and pilots, to make immediate
and full reports without fear of ridicule or reprisal; frank and
full reporting of all data and evaluations to the public; open and
serious treatment of UFO reports generally, as phenomena
worthy of careful scientific attention).
The framework for a scientific review of UFOs could take many
forms, and would not necessarily require huge appropriations of
funds. (Some government grants to encourage specific evaluations
might prove to be desirable.) Judging by public interest in UFOs
displayed in letters to NICAP, there are hundreds of competent
personnel who would almost certainly contribute their talents
to a program of this nature.
J A simple directive to scientists and engineers at White
Sands, Cape Kennedy and other government establishments could
require personnel manning tracking equipment to attempt to track
and record on instruments any UFOs observed in the vicinity.
If something unexplained is tracked accidentally, this too should
be reported. (Reports could be sent to some central office, such
as the NASA Office of Life Sciences, or a university science
department, and made available to any interested scientists).
V Cooperation of existing astronomical societies, and such
instrument programs as Smithsonian Institution's meteorite cam-
era network in the western U. S., could be requested.
\ /All reports from military sources, particularly pilots, could
be sent to the central agency after deletion of legitimately
classified portions of the intelligence reports.
V Commercial airlines; General Mills, Inc., balloon trackers;
etc., all could be encouraged to report sightings.
The Air Force, of course, has a legitimate interest in anything
that flies or anything with a threat potential to the country.
Air Force liaison with this program would be desirable, and in
fact civilian scientists (perhaps a special panel for the particular
purpose) could assist the Air Force in an immediate evaluation
of threat potential - in secret if necessary.
However, once it is determined that a given UFO report is
not evidence of an attack on the country, all except legitimate
security data on the case should be made public immediately.
If the object or phenomenon is definitely explainable, the ex-
planation and all evidence and reasoning leading thereto, should
be reported. If the phenomenon is not immediately explainable,
the report should be released as unevaluated data which any and
all investigators could then evaluate independently.
Interpretation of the accumulating unexplained reports could
then be accomplished (without any 'aura of mystery") through the
normal channels of scientific endeavor: scientific journals and
papers. (A "special status" is given to UFO reports when they
are not evaluated through normal scientific channels). Perhaps
this program would cause a 24-hour sensation in the popular
press, but it would soon become a matter of routine. Any con-
clusions reported by an individual scientist, or scientific agency,
would then be the responsibility of that individual or agency and
subject to the review (for accuracy and sound logic) of the entire
scientific community.
Force files. If the evidence mounted, and a scientific consensus gained
* The dangers of having a basically military organization re- sway indicating UFOs might be space ships, initiation of a full
sponsible for overall evaluation of a scientific problem; the in- government program - indeed an international program - would
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In addition to putting existing tracking equipment to work to
help provide a final solution to the UFO problem, precedents exist
which would make civilian participation feasible (and desirable in
restoring confidence that the problem is receiving serious attention
and is being adequately investigated). A program, which NICAP
could organize to supplement the investigation, could be patterned
after the Ground Observer Corps aircraft spotting and Moonwatch
satellite tracking networks - manned by civilian volunteers.
Minimum standards of experience and/or training could be
established. A Moonwatch telescope grid, sound detection equip-
ment, field investigation units, etc., could be manned 24 hours a
day.
If existing government and military facilities, combined with
a civilian volunteer network, were coordinated in a positive
effort to gather and evaluate reliable data, this would be a
crucial scientific experiment. The data gathered very likely would
prove or disprove the reality of UFOs as a unique phenomenon.
Regardless of what the answer proved to be, the data no doubt
would be extremely useful to science (atmospheric physics,
meteorology, etc.) and national defense (a constant watch on the
sky, and no doubt - with experience - ability to more rapidly
identify and weed out reported phenomena which are not enemy
weapons).
Politically, it would be necessary to examine and review the
current UFO program and to take any action or pass any legisla-
tion necessary to give a legal foundation to this, or a similar
program designed to end the UFO controversy and establish the
facts.
As we come nearer to making manned space voyages, the ques-
tion of communicating with extraterrestrials takes on increasing
importance. NICAP therefore endorses such programs as an
enlarged Project Ozma (attempt to intercept intelligent communi-
cations from space), and studies of the language system of por-
poises as a model for efforts to translate the language of alien
beings.
In general, a great deal more thought should be given to such
questions as Space Law; moral questions such as raised in the
Justice Department letter involving behavior toward extra-
terrestrial beings; and problems raised by the increasing likeli-
hood of eventual contact with extraterrestrial societies.
By our standards, these societies might be "advanced" or
"backwards" technologically, politically, morally, or any com-
bination of these parameters. In some cases, physical and
intellectual contact might be disastrous, either to our society or
theirs. In other cases, contact might be unilaterally or mutually
beneficial. Some might lead to interplanetary war, others to asso-
ciation with extremely intelligent and wise beings who could help
us solve our problems of war, hunger and ignorance. In short,
the possibilities are endless. But they are well worth exploring
for many reasons -- including the possibility that the first such
contact may be imminent.
Dr. James C. Bartlett, Jr., (experienced amateur astronomer,
member of Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers) a
NICAP Adviser, was asked to suggest ways in which scientists
might be able to determine the extent and nature of UFO activity:
"It seems to me that an important first step would be a will-
ingness to recognize the UFO problem for what it really is, namely
a universally reported phenomenon for which an impartial scien-
tific investigation is required. . .
"Now the primary objection to UFO reports, as most scientists
think of such things, is that the raw data almost never permit of
measurement. It should be carefully noted, however, that this is
not the same as saying that the data are therefore worthless as
evidence; though such is the position commonly taken by those
scientists who reject them. Rather it is to be expected as the
necessary consequence of chance sightings which are completely
unpredictable as to time and place.
"Scientists could make a real contribution thereforeby working
in collaboration with a program designed to eliminate the element
of surprise, and at the same time provide means of measuring
apparent position, size, and velocity, and especially parallax.
Such a program is entirely feasible, though admittedly difficult.
"The suggested technique is the division of the celestial sphere
into sectors, each sector to be assigned to a team of qualified
observers who would keep watch over their sector for a specified
period of time each day or night. Instrumentation adequate to the
task might consist of high power prism binoculars, a theodolite,
a 3-inch refractor using a straight view with erecting eyepiece,
a camera, and a magnetic compass.
"The source of observing personnel, it is suggested, is to be
found in the more or less worldwide distribution of astronomical
societies and groups which are quite capable of furnishing both
the instrumentation and observers qualified to make the necessary
measurements. Moreover, memberships are sufficiently large to
make the personnel problem manageable.
`Ideally, a 24-hour patrol of all sectors covering 360 degrees
of the celestial sphere is indicated; but in practice this would
be impossible. Consequently, many UFOs could still go un-
detected; but in any sustained program of regular observation,
as outlined above, it is certain that some would be "caught" and
the required measurements obtained.
"The work of professional observatories then would be to
scientifically evaluate the measured data, which could hardly be
rejected on the commonly assigned ground of vagueness. Perhaps
a given professional group could act as evaluation center for the
entire project in any given country.
"Such a program is feasible, though it will require immense
labor to set up; but certainly the game is worth the candle. It
might or might not discover what UFOs really are; but at minimum
it could certainly determine what they are not. We could at least
hope to be relieved of the profoundly learned nonsense which
hitherto has characterized alleged "scientific" evlauations, and
which thinks it quite natural that experienced airline pilots should
mistake a mirage for a cigar-shaped craft with lighted cabins
and jet exhaust."
Discussing ways in which we might attempt to detect extra-
terrestrial life, Prof. Ronald Bracewell, Stanford University radio-
astronomer, "suggests that the nearest [intelligent] community
may well be over 100 light-years away. In this event, he feels
that advanced societies might send probes, instead of just signals,
to likely stars. These probes would presumably contain trans-
mitting and receiving apparatus, designed either to listen for us
or to make contact with us, and would go into orbit about target
stars. Upon some positive detection, a signal with information
would be transmitted back to the home star. We might, then,
look and listen for probes within our own solar system." [4.]
In any normal situation, no one would question the sanity and
reliability of the group of witnesses named in this report. But the
UFO problem because it is controversial, andbecause mystical or
crackpot UFO groups are publicized all out of proportion, appears
to be a special case. Unthinking skeptics often take the easy way
out by assuming that there must be "something wrong" with
people who report UFOs. (Another type of skeptic refuses to
'come to grips with the UFO problem because he unconsciously
fears his system of beliefs might be upset if UFOs are real).
The notion that UFO reports originate with a small group of
cultists, or crackpots, or any other small and uniform segment
of our society, is refuted by the reports in this document.
One skeptical school of thought holds that UFO witnesses do
not really see what they think they see. Through careless or
inexpert observation, they are fooled by conventional objects,
or phenomena. The observed performance of UFOs, obviously
beyond earthly capabilities if true, is illusory. But radar in
many cases has recorded unidentified objects exceeding the
performance of earthly devices. Photographs in some cases
have shown unidentifiable objects also observed visually. And,
perhaps more significant than may be realized at first, reputable
persons from all walks of life and all types of backgrounds (tech-
nical and non-technical, religious and non-religious, pilots, busi-
nessmen, police officers, celebrities, and the man on the street)
all have seen and reported very much the same thing consistently
for at least the past 17 years. If delusion is the answer to UFOs,
then our whole society is deluded.
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NOTES
1. New York World Telegram & Sun; June 23, 1960. 4. Seybold, Paul G., A Survey of Exobiology; Memorandum
2. Lasswell, Harold D., "Men In Space." Annals of the New York RM-3178-PR. (The Rand Corporation, March 1963), ppg
Academy of Sciences, Vol. 72, Article 4; April 10, 1958. 31-32.
3. Jung, Carl G., Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things
Seen In the Skies. (Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1959).
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INFORMATION INVITED
If you have personal knowledge of any of the cases reported in this document, and can add missing details, you are invited to submit
this information to NICAP.
We also welcome previously unreported UFO cases, regardless of date. Be sure to include the following basic information:
1. Name and address.
2. Date of Sighting; location.
3. Time at beginning and ending of observation.
4. Position of object(s) in sky (by compass direction and angle above horizon when first and last seen).
5. Sky conditions (day-night-twilight; clear-partly cloudy-overcast; raining-snowing; presence of searchlights, glow from city lights,
etc.)
6. Description of object (light source-visible shape; color or lack of it; size in comparison to the full moon, a star or planet; and de-
tail visible on surface of, or protruding from, object). A sketch would be helpful.
7. Description of maneuvers (speed; flight path; changes of direction; horizontal or vertical motion).
8. Ranging Information (did object pass high overhead, low above horizon? Did it pass in front of anything such as the moon or a
tree? Did it pass behind anything, such as a house or cloud? How did it disappear--behind something, explode, vanish in mid-
air ? )
9. Names and addresses of other witnesses, if any.
10. Your signature and some biographical information about yourself (schools attended; any special training, awards or diplomas;
special skills).
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Walter Harmon, Aviation Ed., The Springfield (Mass.) Republican:
"In our estimation, NICAP has proved its point. The Air Force should lift
its veil of secrecy, make public its investigations and stop trying to kid the
people."
Charles H. Ball, Aviation Ed., Boston Traveler:
". . . certainly must be the most comprehensive study yet on the subject .. .
a provocative presentation . . . an impressive selection [of cases] ..."
Harv Morgan, KYW Radio, Cleveland, Ohio:
"A monumental study . . . extremely well-documented."
Chicago Daily News service:
"The report is a rather remarkable document."
Senator Paul H. Douglas, Illinois:
"I am encouraged to see the concentrated efforts of NICAP to have all of
the facts about UFOs brought out to the public. I will certainly offer my
contribution of time and effort to get to the bottom of these reports."
Senator Harrison A. Williams, Jr., New Jersey:
"The 'UFO Evidence' Report is indeed an impressive document and should
be given the most careful consideration."
Congressman Louis C. Wyman, N. H.:
"I strongly favor a public hearing on UFOs and am most interested in the
booklet 'UFO Evidence."'
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