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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
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In the midst of this confusion all the investigators expressed complete satisfaction with their own findings. The tests were discontinued. Was it powdered milk? If so, why the variance of radioactivity compared with that usually found locally? If it was powdered milk where did the metal elements, the aluminium and iron come from? What about the vast quantity of powdered milk needed to make enough casein fibers, to cover a half-mile area? On the other hand, if the material was cotton fibers why did it settle only in one solid area and not in scattered areas? Why the high radioactivity? Where was the explosion that "heavily damaged" the fibers? Can either of the two theories explain the "webs" found in London, Philadelphia, and other parts of the world? Perhaps some time during the night of February 20th, 1955, a strange aerial object hovered over the village of Horseheads. Reports from other "web" sites say this was true before the appearance of other materials in their localities. As things now stand the mystery "cobwebs" have disappeared and the explanation of the phenomenon of Horseheads, N.Y., may never be known. ## ******* ## THE SWEDISH GHOST ROCKETS by S.H. JONES This extremely interesting feature article is reproduced from the Spring 1955 issue of "FLYING SAUCER NEWS". FSN is produced quarterly for the B.F.S.B. & F.S.C., Bristol, England. IN THE RAPIDLY GROWING LITERATURE ON "SAUCERS", no analysis has yet been made in the light of recent knowledge and events, of the many UFO's seen over Scandinavia in the summer of 1946. This article is an attempt to remedy the deficiency. At the time, the name "Flying Saucer" had not been coined and for want of a better explanation, they were then generally assumed to be Russian guided missiles launched from Peenemuende and other Baltic bases. Following is a summary of Press reports (1-11), with reference numbers in PERIOD OF SIGHTINGS: Official total given as over 1,000 in Defence Staff report with unefficial estim ranging up to 2,000. No fixed courses were followed and locations of sightings were censored by three Scandinavian Governments. The first sightings in May were in the far north of Sweden. The majority seem to have flown from the Baltic North and northwest over Sweden and sometimes Finland, leaving in an easterly direction. They were also reported flying east and west over Norway, southwest over Denmark, and south over Greece. AVERAGE DESCRIPTION: Rocket or cigar-shaped; no estimates of size reported; no wings; orange or green flame and/or smoke at rear; flame or light in the nose; the only available photo is said to show the object inside the flame track instead of in front of it. SOUND: Generally soundless, or having a whistling, swishing noise when low. TRAJECTORY: Horizontal; one unconfirmed report mentions complex aerobatic motions.
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.