The National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (Nicap)

# Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81R00560R000100010001-0

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 undertake 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 professional 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 manufactured by any nation on earth. I can therefore see no alternative to accepting the theory that they come from some extraterrestrial 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 official...At airfields all over Britain, fighter planes are kept ready to intercept, and if necessary engage, any unidentified flying 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 authorities: 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 appeared five miles behind a Meteor jet fighter [piloted by Lt. John W. Kilburn], maintained a slow forward speed before descending 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 before 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 London 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 advanced by 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 Viscount 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.

May 15, 1954, Vienna (Reuters) -- Three discs in wedge formation reported by five persons.

Other small countries, such as Austria, also have experienced UFO activity:

December 19, 1954, Vienna (INS) -- Several witnesses reported 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 active 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. Arming 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]

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 investigated 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]

Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81R00560R000100010001-0