Documents / FOIA release
This Central Intelligence Agency information report, numbered 00-W-23602 and distributed 16 August 1952, translates a 29 March 1952 article by Fritz Sitte from the German-language newspaper Die Presse. The article says two fiery disks were seen over uranium mines in the Elisabethville district of the southern Belgian Congo. It also says Commander Pierre pursued them in a fighter for 15 minutes and estimated their speed at about 1,500 kilometers per hour. A speculative sketch of the saucers' construction is appended.
Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.
DATE 'UBLISHED 29 Mar 1952 ANGUAGE German SUPPLEMENT TO REPORT NO. THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION FLYING SAUCERS OVER BELGIAN CONGO URANIUM MINES Fritz Sitte Recently, two fiery disks were sighted over the uranium mines located in the southern part of the Belgian Congo in the Elisabethville district, east of the Luapula River which connects the Meru and Bangweolo lakes. The disks glided in elegant curves and changed their position many times, so that from below they sometimes appeared as plates, ovals, and simply lines. Suddenly, both disks hovered in one spot and then took off in a unique zigzag flight to the northeast. A penetrating hissing and buzzing sound was audible to the onlookers below. The whole performance lasted from 10 to 12 minutes. Commander Pierre of the small Elisabethville airfield immediately set out in pursuit with a fighter plane. On his first approach he came within about 120 meters of one of the disks. According to his estimates, the "saucer" had a diameter of from 12 to 15 meters and was discus-shaped. The inner core remained absolutely still, and a knob coming out from the center and several small openings could plainly be seen. The outer rim was completely veiled in fire and must have had an enormous speed of rotation. The color of the metal was similar to that of aluminum. The disks traveled in a precise and light manner, both vertically and horizontally. Changes in elevation from 800 to 1,000 meters could be accomplished in a few seconds; the disks often shot down to within 20 meters of the tree tops. Pierre did not regard it possible that the disk could be manned, since the irregular speed as well as the heat would make it impossible for a person to stay inside the stable core. Pierre had to give up pursuit after 15 minutes since both disks, with a loud whistling sound which he heard despite the noise of his own plane, disappeared in a straight line toward Lake Tanganyika. He estimated their speed at about 1,500 kilometers per hour. Pierre is regarded as a dependable officer and a zealous flyer. He gave a detailed report to his superiors which, strangely enough, in many respects agreed with various results of research. ARCHIVAL RECORD PLPASSE RETURN APPROVER FOR RELEASE DATE ... 6.24.75
FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 4 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.