Documents / Document
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.
“Christchurch”32 pages
Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.
Case 98, Northern Cincinnati, 1.00 a.m., August 6th, 1955 The witness, E.F., prefers anonymity for good reason (public ridicule) and, according to CRIFO policy, we shall protect his name. E.F. was first awakened by his dog barking outside; investigating, he was greeted by a blinding white ovoidal object, about 15 ft. wide; resting on the ground at the end of his driveway. About 90 ft. away E.F. could determine its size by comparing it with the known width of the drive which was 20 ft. He watched the object for about five seconds in this position, noting a distinct pulsating which, according to E.F., severely irritated his eyes. Suddenly, like a flash, the object ascended soundlessly and streaked away with incredible speed toward the Fernald atomic plant in the northwest. E.F. added that during the excitement, he noticed a car had stopped just ahead of the idling object on the road which crossed in front of the driveway. The next day, E.F. said his eyes were extremely sore and he had to consult a doctor. A little more than a week had passed before the next incident an incident which seemed to be the spark to the powder keg, Not having space to cover each incident fully, we will attempt to brief them chronologically. Case 99, Cincinnati, Columbus, Ohio, August 14th, 1955 - A bright kelly green fireball, streaking silently north to south lighted Cincinnati skied about 9.40 p.m., surprising residents in several sections of the city. Walter Todd, and assistant, C.A.A. officials on duty at Lunken Airport, saw the fireball. Todd said, "It appeared about 15 degrees above the horizon, was shaped like a drop of water, and was flying through the air horizontally." Over Columbus, residents watched a "ball of fire" with a greenish tinge shoot swiftly from east to west about the same time. Sighters agreed, the object had a long tail and made no sound. Spokesmen for Lockhourne Air Force Base said they knew of no planes that would cause such a phenomenon. (3) The appearance of kelly green fireballs over Cincinnati is extremely rare. Until we know more about these phenomena, we shall withhold comment. ******* ## OHIO'S AERIAL TEMPEST. Following the appearance of the green fireball, Cincinnati's night skies virtually became a "battlefield". Strange lighted objects swarmed in, playing fitfully over a wide area. Alerts were sounded, jet interceptors took chase, and in the confusion we hardly could determine who had become the hunter and the hunted. On Aug. 17th; strange orange coloured globes were witnessed over Reading and later, the same even over Mt. Washington. The Forestville GOC post, later, reported to the Filter Centre, an object moving in pendulum fashion before finally disappearing in horizontal flight. (4) On August 18th, the writers wife, Dell, while adjusting the venetian blinds in the children's room, was amazed to see through the window a large, brilliant ball of light hovering in the sky. In that the writer was away at the time, she awoke Mrs. Mildred Stringfield, (the writer's mother) who agreed that each had seen their first "Saucer". The writer, checking all details of the incident can vouch for the authenticity of the UFO. On Aug. 21st (same date as Hopkinsville landing and little green men) the writer received an excited 'phone call from Anderson's Ferry, the voice breathlessly describing a brilliant object "landing in the back yard". Another voice with urgency cut in, shouting - "something's coming out of the bottom - hurry!"
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.