Sept 2, 1965, Exeter NH

To: NCP Director, Francis Ridge <nicap@insightbb.com>

September 2-3, 1965, Exeter, New Hampshire

Pease AFB and the 509th Bomb Wing

At Pease AFB, New Hampshire:

In June 1965, the 509th ARS was inactivated and by October, the 509th BMW had been relieved of its alert commitment. The 509th's last B-47 departed Pease AFB on November 23, 1965. Then came a last-minute reversal when in January 1966, the Air Force decided to retain the 509th at Pease and inactivate the 100th. The 509th would receive B-52 and KC-135 aircraft, tools, maintenance equipment, people and records of the 494th BMW at Sheppard AFB, Texas. On March 1, 1966, the 509th became the host wing at Pease AFB and assumed control of the 817th Combat Support Group, and the 817th Medical Group. On March 23, 1966, Col. Frankosky piloted the wing's first B-52 to Pease. Moments later, the first KC-135 touched down. The aircraft were not fresh off the assembly line and came from other units. The wing's 15 bombers came from the 494th BMW at Sheppard AFB, Tx. while the initial complement of 10 KC-135s came from Sheppard's 900th AREFS. Ten more tankers came from the 910th AREFS at Bergstrom AFB, Tx. The 900th remained at Pease for three months before being inactivated. Concurrently, the command moved the 34th AFRES from Offut to Pease. On its arrival, the 34th took over the ressources and personnel of the 900th as well as its own aircraft. Finally, SAC created plans to return the 509th AREFS to active status with the arrival of aircraft formerly assigned to the 910th. The reunion of the 509th AREFS and the 509th BMW officially took place on October 2, 1966 when SAC activated the squadron. By that time, the 509th had one squadron of B-52s and two squadrons of KC-135s.

===============================================================

It is interesting to note that the Strategic Air Command (SAC) was performing a training mission over southern New Hampshire on the night of Spetember 2-3 1965. This was the same night as the famous UFO Incident at Exeter, New Hampshire. The SAC Exercise was named Operation Big Blast Coco, involving B-47 bombers. The exercise ended at around 2:00 A.M. These aircraft were in the traffic pattern over Exeter between 0044 and 0135 on September 3, 1965.

Earlier on that night Exeter Patrolman Gene Bertrand had stopped by a woman out on the bypass, and she told him that this big thing had been following her in the air, over her car, all the way from Epping. Epping being approximately 6 miles WNW of Exeter.

The point being made here is that UFOs were being reported in an area where a Strategic Air Command Exercise was being conducted.

The first sighting by Norman Muscarello was after 2:00 A.M. The second sighting by Muscarello and Exeter Patrolman Eugene Bertrand was around 3:00 A.M.

1-3 a.m. (EDT). Exeter Patrolmen Eugene Bertrand, Jr. and David Hunt, and Norman Muscarello saw a large silent, dark, elliptical object with a row of 5 bright red lights oriented about 60° to horizontal, move slowly and erratically around houses and trees at 100 ft height to SE [or 60-70 ft height 100 ft away], lighting up the ground and houses in red light, while lights blinked in sequence; falling leaf motion. Farm animals very noisy. Disappeared at 160° magnetic after covering about 135° arc [from NNE?]. (Berliner; cf. Hynek UFO Rpt pp. 154-166; UFOE II, Section V)

================================================

Pease AFB and the 509th BMW / UFOs 1965-1966

During the latter part of 1965, the 509th Bomb Wing at Pease AFB, was giving up their B-47 bombers and was being deactivated. A change was made and the 509th BW was saved and was being retooled with B-52 jet bombers in March of 1966. This was about the same time that the New England UFO wave began--one sighting occurred at Exeter, NH, just two days before the first B-52 arrived at Pease AFB on March 23, 1966.

New England UFO Wave

See: Raymond Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, pages 323-328.

I surmise that some of that UFO activity in New England may have some sort of connection to the arrival of the B-52 bombers at Pease--that is I think that the UFOs were keeping watch on our nuclear activities---since Pease was a SAC base--just a guess although the circumstances do fit.

Pease AFB and the 509th BMW

http://www.philippecolin.net/509thBW.html

At Pease AFB:

On March 23, 1966, Col. Frankosky piloted the wing's first B-52 to Pease. Moments later, the first KC-135 touched down. The aircraft were not fresh off the assembly line and came from other units. The wing's 15 bombers came from the 494th BMW at Sheppard AFB, Tx. while the initial complement of 10 KC-135s came from Sheppard's 900th AREFS. Ten more tankers came from the 910th AREFS at Bergstrom AFB, Tx. The 900th remained at Pease for three months before being inactivated. Concurrently, the command moved the 34th AFRES from Offut to Pease. On its arrival, the 34th took over the ressources and personnel of the 900th as well as its own aircraft. Finally, SAC created plans to return the 509th AREFS to active status with the arrival of aircraft formerly assigned to the 910th. The reunion of the 509th AREFS and the 509th BMW officially took place on October 2, 1966 when SAC activated the squadron. By that time, the 509th had one squadron of B-52s and two squadrons of KC-135s.

Note:

March 21, 1965, Exeter, New Hampshire, a policeman investigated a vertically descending glowing object and came upon it moving up and down and back and forth over power lines. Other police arrived. It looked like a glowing egg with a dome, and red and white, blue and green lights flashed around its circumference.

(Reference: Raymand Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, page 323. )

Map showing the location of Exeter, NH. approximately 8 mile SW of Pease AFB, NH.

Map showing the location of Pease AFB at Portsmouth, NH., now Pease International Airport.

What's the scuttlebut around the Portsmouth Air Base?

(Pease AFB)

Newsreel cameraman and stringer Bob Kimbal told author John G. Fuller:

"There's a lot. Constant reports of jet fighters being scrambled after UFOs all the time. They don't regularly base any fighters there--the whole Pease operation is a SAC base, with just B-52's and B-47's and tankers for refueling. The fighters would have to be brought in from Westover or some other base, if there is any truth to the rumor. Then there is all kinds of stories that a couple of UFOs have landed right by the runways of the base. But there's no way of checking these out, because anybody with any real authority isn't going to say anything anyway."

(Reference: John G. Fuller, Incident at Exeter, page 68.)

John G. Fuller writes more about alleged incidents at Pease AFB:

A brilliant orange object landed directly off the edge of one of the runways at Pease AFB,

illuminating a wide area where many of the Air Force officers and their families lived.

One highly qualified officer at the Pease Air Force Base told me he had been skeptical about UFOs before he had been assigned to the command at Portsmouth. He was no lomger skeptical at all. At least 15 pilots at the base felt the same way.

An Air Force refueling officer told me that a refueling operation was broken off abruptly when an enormous UFO appeared off the wing of a KC-97 tanker, confirmed visually by the crew and by instrument by a radar tower.

(Reference: John G. Fuller, Incident at Exeter, page 182)

PEASE AIR FORCE BASE

The Stratojet Years

by
Tom Hildreth

http://www.vermontel.net/~tomh/peasa.html

Pease AFB and the 509th Bomb Wing