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THE UFO EVIDENCE, published by the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena, Copyright 1964 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 observations. 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 definitely 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 scientific 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)Chart: UFO Sightings by Scientists Source: "Mars, The New Frontier", by Wells Alan Webb (Fearon Publishers, Calif., 1956) p.124. Witnesses: John Zimmerman, Geologist; Charles Fisher, civil engineer.
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 upward 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 Lecturer 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 reflecting 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 explain.
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, Washtenaw 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 50 Ann Arbor quadrangle, topographical map, U.S. Geological Survey), 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. Photographically 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 settee, 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 traveling 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):
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":
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 reporting?" Wells Alan Webb 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 and the stars and ground lights 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. 51 Gelber and Kihorney had also seen the light, their observation of the details had been the same as the author's, so the next morning the writer prevailed upon them to investigate the mysterious 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 airplane 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 bulb without reflector. It did not flicker, it burned steadily the weatherman said, but its light could never appear to be 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 neighborhood 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: "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 attention 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 The late Dr. H. Percy Wilkins, British lunar astronomer, relates several UFO reports including one of his own in his book "Mysteries of Space and Time", (F. Muller Ltd., London, 1955). Attributing most UFO reports to conventional objects, Dr. Wilkins states: ". . . a residuum remains which cannot be thus explained." [p.4] 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.41]. 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 arc 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.
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. 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 happened. My wife Ann was sitting next to the window and she called my attention to an object which she saw - something moving just above the mountain range. Our train was running parallel to this range of mountains and this object was moving in the same direction as the train, just above the mountains. I first thought the thing was a blimp. . . But as I watched it I 52 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 that because it was so close to the mountain ridge where trees and clumps of trees were visible for comparison. 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. My wife and I watched them for another two or three minutes. 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 experiences similar
to mine. Holding these people up to ridicule does not alter the existing
facts. The time is long overdue for accepting the presence of these things,
whatever they are and dealing with them and the public on a basis of realism."
Antarctic Sighting
March 16, 1961; Antarctica. A Brazilian Meteorologist, recently 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 phenomenon resembles a meteor, in other respects it does not. At any rate, it is worth recording as an unexplained aerial phenomenon, possibly related to UFO activity. Rubens S. 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 from NW to SE. It was "multi- 53 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 traveled 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 ann 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. Accompanying 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. 54 About 8:00 p.m., Don Reimund noticed a distinctly round unidentified 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. As they discussed the sighting, the same or a similar object appeared in the southwest, moving north, at an elevation of about 20 degrees. Prof. Maney and the others present viewed the object 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, seemed to dip or back up then start forward fast," Mr. Dray 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 performance of aerial phenomena in comparison to known devices or atmospheric effects. (All reports on file at NICAP). 55 VERTICAL ASCENT, OTHER MANEUVERS Summer 1958; Erie, Penna. Victor G. Didelot, B.S. Physics, research engineer in aircraft instrumentation and magnetics; "The object appeared to be elliptic or oval shaped, approximately twice as long about its longest axis as it was thick. The object maintained a course parallel to the ground for a visible arc of close to 120 degrees, and roughly parallel to the shore line of Lake Erie. The object moved at a very rapid pace from west to east. When it had reached what appeared to be a position directly over the city of Erie, it abruptly and at a speed at least three times its horizontal speed ascended vertically until it passed from my sight." Mr. Didelot adds that the time was early afternoon, and the UFO was a silvery-white color. "I was also able to see that the object did wobble slightly, but when it changed course to the 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 10:30a.m., Alford Roos, 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, traveling 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 neglected 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 entering the cloud, and neither appeared beyond, and no trace after entering the cloud. "Their track was as straight as a ruled line, no zigzagging. 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." From: J. J. Kaliszewski Subject: UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT OBSERVATION
Time: 1010, 10 October 1951 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 2300. At 5,000 feet I noticed a strange object crossing the skies from East to West, a great deal higher and behind our balloon. I estimate that our balloon was at approximately 20,000 feet at the time. Using our balloon for comparison, this object appeared to be about 1/4 the size of the balloon. We were climbing and about six miles northeast of the balloon. The object had a peculiar glow to it, crossing behind and above our balloon from East to West very rapidly, first coming in at a slight dive, leveling off for about a minute and slowing down, then into a sharp left turn and climb at an angle of 50 to 60 degrees the southeast with a terrific acceleration, and disappeared. Jack Donaghue and I observed this object for approximately two minutes and it crossed through an arc of approximately 40 to 50 degrees. We saw no vapor trail and from past experience I know that this object was not a balloon, jet, conventional aircraft, or celestial star. JJK:rj
/s/ J. J. Kaliszewski 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 degrees 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 tracking 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 /s/ J. J. Kaliszewski
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 would be a better description of their flight - diagonally away from me gradually picking up speed. One followed a direct or regular course while the 56 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."
"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 decelerate 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." 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 to be 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 distance, was compared to "an amber traffic light about 3 or 4 blocks away." The elevation angle of the UFOs covered a range of 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.
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 to be flying around. Then he noticed another. I thought he was joking and didn't pay much attention. Then Gene Piehler, 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 57 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 tn 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 pm. (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 (elliptical) rather than this (circular) as a ball would appear from any angle. "They held the formation illustrated while in view and maintained 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 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 reflecting sunlight. The two smaller UFOs were solid silver colored. 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. Dr. Fair, a retired professor of Engineering, New York University, 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 observers 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, becoming 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 telescope, 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 arc 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. 58 (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. No vapor trail was observed behind any of the sighted objects. September 4, 1960; Lexington, Kentucky. John R. Cooke, currently owner of an automobile company, was a radar technician 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 |
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Section VII, Officials & Citizens (pages 61-72) NICAP Home Page |
