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NZDF declassified RNZAF UFO files

NZDF / RNZAF via Internet Archive · 2010-12 · 445 pages · text by GLM-OCR

This is a New Zealand Defence Force public release of RNZAF file AIR 39/3/3, "Flying Saucers," which covers 1952 to 1955 and was declassified in September 2010 under the Official Information Act. It collects sighting reports from the public and military personnel, press clippings, and a table of 1952 sightings. It also holds Carter Observatory opinions attributing some reports to meteors. A large part covers the inquiry into lights seen from National Airways Corporation Flight 108 on 31 October 1955, which the RNZAF could not fully explain as Venus.

  • p. 2 …copy from the Defence Library c/o Headquarters New Zealand Defence Force Aitken St Wellington. They…
  • p. 5 …31/8/2010 For Headquarters New Zealand Defence Force NB: Classified documents of other New Zealand…
  • p. 12 …THE best part of a day's discussion at Air Headquarters yesterday did not find the…
  • p. 21 …Currently many reports being received at our headquarters Expert reports to reach meek volume over Christmas…
  • p. 76 …The Director of Intelligence, Royal New Zealand Air Force, Headquarters, Wellington. From: The Director, Carter Observatory…
  • p. 96 …of Intelligence, R.N.Z.A.F. Headquarters, Departmental Buildings, Stout Street, WELLINGTON ## REPORT ON STRANGE…
  • p. 98 …of a day's discussion at Air Headquarters yesterday did not find the explanation of the…
  • p. 99 …The Director of Intelligence, Royal New Zealand Air Force, Headquarters, Wellington. From: The Director, Carter Observatory…
  • p. 106 …The Director of Intelligence, Royal New Zealand Air Force, Headquarters, Wellington. From: The Director, Carter Observatory…
  • p. 129 A NEW ZEALAND organisation with headquarters at Onehunga for nearly three years has been engaged on…
  • p. 144 …6th MAY, 1954, AT C.S.I. HEADQUARTERS, 1 NISSAN PLACE, ONEHUNGA, S.E.5, AUCKLAND…
  • p. 150 …of other "Flying Lights" which reached CSI Headquarters during November. An appreciable number reported that the…
  • p. 152 …down over a wide area around the headquarters of the U.S. delegation. He assures us…
  • p. 173 …H.FULTON AT C.S.I'S HEADQUARTERS I, NISSAN PLACE, ONEHUNGA.S.E.5. AUCKLAND…
  • p. 178 …CIVILIAN SAUCER INVESTIGATION(NZ) Page 34 22nd, November 1955 Headquarters I Nissan Place, Onehunga S.E…
  • p. 181 …FULTON Secretary XXXVIIIXX Headquarters I Nissan Place Onehunga S.E.5. P.O. BOX 1914, AUCKLAND…
  • p. 185 …BEHIND THE SCENES AT C.S.I. HEADQUARTERS: C.S.I. central Committee has big plans…
  • p. 187 …ARGENT CALL! Issued from C.S.I. Headquarters:- 1 Nissan Place, Onhunga, AUCKLAND. S.E.5…
  • p. 198 …Air Headquarters, Wellington. (Attention D of I). DATE : 13th April, 1955. REF : WH:C21/5/AIR…
  • p. 209 …copy from the Defence Library c/o Headquarters New Zealand Defence Force Aitken St Wellington. They…
  • p. 216 …P.O. BOX 1914. AUCKLAND NEW ZEALAND. Headquarters. I Nissan Place Onehunga S.E.5. Auckland…
  • p. 228 …The occurrences, to my knowledge, were confined to the headquarters of C.S.I. (N.Z…
  • p. 232 …H.H.Fulton Cover by D.Metcalf. HEADQUARTERS I NISSAN PLACE ONEHUNGA S.E.5. June…
  • p. 243 …informed headquarters that something very similar and strange badly scared two men at Titirangi the same…
  • p. 254 …money-order to A.F.S.B. Headquarters 3 Ferguson Avenue Fairfield Australia and obtain copies…
  • p. 255 …considerations; also his place of duty is 22 miles from his home and headquarters. However, enough…
  • p. 275 …ARMY In replying please quote ARMY 270/1/438/G ARMY HEADQUARTERS WELLINGTON C.1 NEW…
  • p. 286 …Magadan is the headquarters of a region that he
  • p. 293 …PLAN An aerial top-dressing firm with headquarters in New Plymouth, Rural Aviation Limited, hopes to…
  • p. 318 …H.H.Fulton at C.S.I. Headquarters I Nissan Place, Onehunga S.E.5. Luckland…
  • p. 329 …and has appealed to C.S.I. headquarters for the particulars of all sightings on our…
  • p. 346 …A senior Air Force officer said in Cape Town today that Air Force headquarters was investigating…
  • p. 353 …Armed Forces Intelligence Division or Government Security Headquarters, have or plan a similar parallel investigation, is…
  • p. 377 …The Marine Corps statement was issued at headquarters of the Second Marine Air Wing here. It…
  • p. 380 …Bender, International Flying Saucer Bureau, International Headquarters, P.O. Box 241, Bridgeport 2, Connecticut, U.S…
  • p. 410 …who is President of Civilian Saucer Investigation (N.Z.), a private group with headquarters in Auckland…
  • p. 437 …Bender, International Headquarters, Bridgeport, Connecticut. British Branch. Captain E.L. Plunkett, 71, Chedworth, Horfield, Bristol, 7…

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

which will make no difference in the final argument. The results are for the exact position as given in this Section.

G.M.T.	Zenith Distance	True Bearing
0805	90°26'.8	248°24'
0810	9121.0	24737
0815	9214.9	24648

From these results it can be seen by inspection that Saturn was lower in the sky than Venus, and since it was much fainter (Venus, magnitude -3.3; Saturn, magnitude +0.7), Venus would be more obvious and Saturn either invisible or automatically neglected.

## 6. ALTAZIMUTH COORDINATES OF ANTARES:

$$
\begin{array}{l} \mathrm {L a t i t u d e} 3 9 ^ {\circ} \mathrm {S} \\ \mathrm {L o n g i t u d e} 1 7 4 ^ {\circ} 1 0 ^ {\mathrm {E}} \\ \end{array}
$$

No allowance for dip or refraction

G.M.T.	Zenith Distance	True Bearing
0800	71°07'.2	250°57'
0805	7202.4	25016
0810	7257.3	24935
0815	7351.9	24854

Since Antares was so much higher in the sky it would seem unlikely that attention could have altered from Venus to this star. Also the still fainter brightness of this star compared with Saturn is an important factor tending to dismiss the star as a suspect.

## 7. COMMENTS:

7. 1 Astronomical phenomena which may immediately be dismissed from consideration are, meteors, novae, comets and the Moon.

7. 2 Meteorological observation balloons may be immediately dismissed, and this has been confirmed by enquiries from the Director of Meteorological Services.

There can be no question of other aircraft giving this effect, otherwise it would have been stated either by Civil Aviation or the R.N.Z.A.F. Further more it could only have been a craft on a similar course, when the green starboard light would have been an obvious identification.

7. 4 Vapour trails observed in Wellington on the same evening have been confirmed by the Deputy Chief of Air Staff as having been produced by jet aircrat at 30,000 feet, and therefore have no connection with the phenomena under consideration.

7. 5 The only astronomical objects which can be considered are Venus, Saturn and Antares. Of these, for the reasons noted in Sections 5 and 6, only Venus can be considered.

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Document, cited by the archive. 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. 445 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.