 Case Directory Category 1, Distant Encounters Preliminary Rating: 0 |
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| A Hynek
Classification of Distant Encounter is usually
an incident involving an object more than 500
feet from the witness. At night it is
classified as a "nocturnal light" (NL) and
during the day as a "daylight disc" (DD). The
size of the object or the viewing conditions
may render the object in greater detail but
yet not qualify the sighting as a Close
Encounter which is an object within
500'. |
Strange
Object Over Sydney Sparks Official Interest
May 3, 1952
Sydney, Australia
May 3, 1952
Sydney, Australia
| Fran Ridge: May 3, 1952; Sydney, Australia.
Morning. Two airline
pilots and a Royal Australian Air Force officer
watched a spectacular object that sped through the
skies on a course between Parks and Sydney. Another
version was related by a Mr. William Anderson who
asserted he viewed the UFO from a location on the
outskirts of Sydney with two companions. He described
an "airship or flying submarine carrying winking
colored lights" that exceeded an airliner in size by
three to four times. (UP dispatch, Loren Gross, UFOs A
History, pgs. 69 & 70/ ref 247 Holledge, Stephen,
Flying Saucers Over Australia, Melbourne, Horwitz,
1965, pp. 31-32) Australian Air Force Intelligence m
the person of Wing Commander I. L. Campbell directed
that newspaper stories of UFO manifestations on May
3rd be collected and studied, meteorologists
consulted, and interrogations conducted if it was
considered advisable When Lt. Colonel George A.
Uhrich, the United States Air Force's Air Attache
assigned to the American Embassy learned of the
Australian Air Force UFO file being compiled he
requested access to the material and forwarded
selected ' excerpts to Project BLUE BOOK. The
possibility the object had been a brilliant bolide was
immediately apparent, yet the duration of the thing's
passage was seven minutes, an incredible period of
time for a meteor. The Australian military took the
case seriously enough to thoroughly interrogate
Anderson.248. "
Brad Sparks: Meteor. I can't see where Loren Gross got
7 minutes' duration -- I don't see that anywhere.
Witnesses said "a few seconds" 4-5 secs, 10
secs, etc. up to 60 secs. Ex-RAAF Capt and
friend said it was a "meteorite" that broke
up. RAAF analysis noted that everyone saw it
to the S but impressions that it was a few miles
away were obviously wrong as the southernmost
witness 50 miles to the S of the northernmost
witness still saw it to the S too so it had to be
at least 50+ miles away. Time was 6:10 AM not 5:45
which must be one poor-quality witness's erroneous
time.
Detailed reports and documents reports/520503australia_report2.htm (Rich Vitello & Fran Ridge) docs/MAXW-PBB10-403-411.pdf (Fran Ridge) docs/NARA-PBB1-51-52.pdf (Meteor explanation, BB docs) |