The National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (Nicap)

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

from the direction of the fleet. The UFO eluded their pursuit and disappeared. When returning to base, one of the pilots looked back and saw the UFO following him. He turned to chase it, but the UFO also turned and sped away. [24]

September 27/28 - Throughout western Germany, Denmark, and southern Sweden, there were widespread UFO reports. A brightly luminous object with a comet-like tail was visible for a long period of time moving irregularly near Hamburg and Kiel. Once, three satellite objects were reported moving around a larger object [cf., Section II; Satellite Object cases]. A cigar-shaped object moving silently eastward also was reported. [25]

## The November 1957 "Flap"

When the Soviet Union launched the first earth satellite, October 4, 1957, Americans suddenly became "space (and sky) conscious." Amateur astronomers and average citizens strained for a glimpse of the barely visible sphere. However, there was no particular increase of UFO reports. The whole month of October produced no more than 4-5 substantial UFO cases in the United States. One of the most intriguing accounts, never fully investigated, described a whitish oval-shaped object observed in the vicinity of Cape Canaveral on the nights of October 6 and 7. [26]

Immediately following the launching of the dog-carrying Sputnik II, late on the evening of November 2 (Eastern Standard Time), the country was suddenly inundated with UFO reports. The sightings actually began before word of the satellite launching was flashed to the western world. Most of the significant reports concerned very large, usually elliptical objects, observed on or near the ground (not merely fleeting lights in the sky). The possibility that hysteria played a part in the reports which followed cannot be ruled out entirely. But clearly it is not the whole answer. Reliable witnesses soberly described plainly observed UFOs, and the press gave their stories very full coverage.

Before the sightings began to taper off two weeks later, eager citizens began to introduce many erroneous reports. After elliptical UFOs were reported daily in the press for a week, people began to scan the sky hoping to see one for themselves. The planet Venus, glowing prominently in the early evening sky to the WSW, was often reported as a UFO by inexperienced sky observers. To complicate matters, there was a spectacular auroral display the evening of November 6, which was also visible unusually far south. The flashing red auroral lights, in some cases, were transformed into "UFOs." An occasional fireball (exceptionally bright and long-lasting meteor) flashed through the skies, adding to the confusion.

The features of the UFO reports which defied explanation were the consistent descriptions of red to reddish-orange, eggshaped (roughly elliptical) objects on or near the ground, and electrical failures experienced in their vicinity. For the month of November, NICAP has records of 118 apparently reliable

sightings. In approximately one of every three cases, electromagnetic (E-M) interference was reported. Subsequent research showed that E-M effects associated with UFOs were not uncommon, [Section VIII].

By November 3, newspapers were full of UFO reports; by November 5 the reports were given banner headlines. Also on the 5th, the Air Force issued a special press release to the effect that no evidence of UFOs had been found and all except 2% of the reports had been explained. The release did not even mention the sightings then in progress. A second press release November 15, after which the reports virtually died out, listed and debunked five specific cases which had been widely publicized. [Section IX].

An Air Force press release nearly a year later (No. 986- 58) listed 414 sightings for November 1957. About 64% (266) were explained as stars and planets, aircraft and balloons. Only four were listed as "unknown;" 70 as "insufficient data." The Air Force gave no weight to reports of electro-magnetic interference, later stating "the number of cases involving car stallings is negligible." (Air Force letter on file at NICAP)

Anything reported to the Air Force as a UFO is included in their statistics. This procedure makes it a foregone conclusion that only a comparatively small percentage of total reports might remain which would be difficult to fit into a known category. NICAP considers it a more meaningful approach to first weed out fairly obvious reports of meteors, etc., then to study the remainder of more substantial reports as a group. The percentage of mistaken observations is considered irrelevant.

	November 1957
	Sightings	Explained	Insufficient data	Unknown
Air Force:	414	340	70	4
NICAP: After weeding out process,118 cases not readily attributable to conventional objects or phenomena.

The following chronology lists the 118 cases which appear to be authentic and presently unexplainable, plus a few unverified or probably explainable incidents (in italics) to give a more complete picture of what was being reported at the time. The information is drawn from many sources, including signed or taped reports, investigation reports compiled by NICAP personnel, and newspaper and radio reports when cross-checks have given reasonable assurance the data is reliable.

Because of the flood of published information on UFOs at the time, it is likely that minor inaccuracies or inconsistencies will subsequently be discovered. On the whole, the picture given is believed to be essentially accurate. Collectively, the reports are too widespread and consistent to be ignored. They have not been adequately explained in conventional terms, and apparently cannot be so explained.

THE NOVEMBER 1957 "FLAP" Chronology

Date	Location	Time	Description
1	Nr Coleman, Texas(200 miles SE of Levelland)	2:00 a.m.	Oblong, reddish object hovered, maneuvered over area, seen by 4 members of oil drilling crew.
1	Sandia Mountains,New Mexico	6:20 a.m.	Secretary saw glowing oblong object which hovered, then rose out of sight.
1	Nr Campbellsville, Kentucky	4:30 p.m.	Boy Scout executive: elongated luminous white UFO, accelerated and sped away.
1	Johannesburg, South Africa	Day	Two UFOs, one a reflective disc; one flew S at high speed, 2nd hovered, then followed first.
2	Amarillo, Texas	8:30 p.m.	UFO reported on road south of city; car engines stalled.(Later, pilot reported UFO to control tower.)
2	Nr Seminole, New Mexico	About 8:30 p.m.	Motorist reported to sheriff he saw lights on road, car lights and engine failed; object on road suddenly rose and sped away.
2	Clemens, North Carolina	9:12 p.m.	Woman saw elliptical UFO, bright yellow, speed behind cloudbank.
2/3	Levelland, Texas	About 10:50 p.m.	Torpedo-shaped object,making loud explosive noise,rose from field and passed low over truck.Truck lights and engine failed.(Pedro Saucedo)