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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
Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.
# Flying Saucers Evoke Keen Interest ## Inquirers Hold Public Meeting People who believe that flying saucers from outer space exist are sceptical folk. Their organisation, entitled Civilian Saucer Investigation (N.Z.), takes a lot of convincing that objects sighted are really flying saucers. Many people ring the organisation to report having seen mysterious balls of fire and cigar-shaped phenomena leaving trails of fire, but the C.S.I. (N.Z.) can usually put these down to natural phenomena or hallucination. On Monday evening the organisation held its first public meeting in the Sunday School Union Hall in Upper Queen Street. This hall, capable of holding 300 comfortably, was packed and extra seating had to be obtained. The occupations of members have no apparent affinity. They include accountants, a perfumer who was a squadron leader, a retired jeweller, a "scientologist," a newsagent, radio technicians and engineers. There are 150 financial members. Recently a branch was formed on the North Shore. Throughout New Zealand enthusiasts are in contact with C.S.I. (N.Z.) gathering what material they can. Interest is strong in the South Island. ## Occupations Various Many of the audience claimed to have seen "extra-terrestrial matter" and were interested to hear more of the topic. Others had a "wait-and-see" attitude. One man mentioned the fact that veterans of the First World War still talked about celestial lights seen above the battlefields of France. "We are not going to try to convince you," Mr David Forman told the audience on Monday night. "We shall merely present facts as we know them and leave it to you." Enthusiasts said the name "flying saucer" was a misnomer. Photographs had proved them to be bell-shaped. Photographs could be seen in the window of the Manukau Road receiving agency of the Bank of New Zealand, opposite the Epsom tram sheds. ## Arizona Incident ## Saucers or Bells? The most noted flying saucer enthusiast, George Adamski, has stated in his book "Flying Saucers Have Landed" that he saw a space-ship land in the Arizona Desert. He claims that he approached it, and a figure alighted from it and spoke to him. Adamski published alleged photographs of the flying saucer. On February 15 this year two schoolboys were reported to have climbed a hill in Lancashire to photograph birds. They set their camera to infinity and directed it at a lake two miles distant. They apparently saw a flying saucer land, and their subsequent photographs and sketches are claimed to have matched the photographs Adamski published. ## Sceptical Orthodoxy Many incidents are said to have convinced witnesses that "Unexplained Flying Objects" (U.F.O.) are intelligently guided. But the New Zealand organisation and other such organisations all over the world have their biggest fight against scientists and astronomers. Many reports of unusual matter are dismissed as blood corpuscles, or spots before the eyes, or mass hysteria, university hoaxes mirages, temperature inversions, and meteorological and observation balloons. The president of the North. Shore branch of the C.S.I. (N.Z.). Mr D. W. G. Saunders, said the saucers were probably keeping an eye on the earth to see that its people did not go too far with nuclear explosions and annihilate society. They would probably step in and put a stop to the experiments before anything disastrous happened. Mr H. H. Fulton, founder and president of the C.S.I. (N.Z.), said there were 1000 leading American scientists pondering on atmospheric phenomena. But, he said, some astronomers had, like ostriches, buried their heads in the sand and refused to consider the possibility of visitors from space. "However," he added, "as the strange objects. show no hostile intent, we should not show animosity if we ever come across any strange visitors." # STRANGE OBJECT IN SKY OVER DUNEDIN If all the objects seen in the sky over Dunedin are from space, then the city must rank as the number one celestial tourist resort. The latest object appeared over Ocean Grove last night about 7.30 and startled a young woman who was bringing in her mother's washing. She described the sight as "a sting-ray" shaped object white in colour, and moving in quick darting motions. As soon as she realised that the object was something out of the ordinary, she rushed into the house and brought out her father and her younger sister both of whom were also in time to have a good view of the object. The object made its farewell with a darting swoop across the sky, this time showing a reddish-brown light, and, according to the father, "moving faster than any jet-plane possibly could." After the second look, all three were agreed that the "thing" was in the form of a kite, and had a slatted underside.
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