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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.
“Headquarters”37 pages
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Mrs J.A. Wallace and her daughter, reported seeing a strange oval-shaped disc, orange red in colour, performing the following amazing flight pattern. The object, was first seen at 9.30 p.m. hovering, shortly, it darted off at high speed out to sea and then as suddenly returned to its original position. The object repeated this movement a number of times during a period of 45 minutes, finally it climbed steeply upwards and disappeared. A share-milker Mr Dougall, when questioned by Mrs Wallace, confirmed her report. He said that he had seen the same thing for three nights running. "Dunedin Star" at approx 9.45 p.m. Mr ? who declined to give his name stated that he had seen a weird oval-shaped disc, reddish in colour flying at high speed and great height down the coast. The object was moving too fast for an aircraft and left a shortish white trail, it was in sight for a minute."D.Star" Anderson Bay 28th May. Dunedin Mr B. Jones reported seeing at 10 a.m. this morning an oval-shaped disc; red dish in colour, moving at high speed in a southerly direction. He said it appeared to be lit from the interior and was climbing slightly as it moved across the sky. He kept it in sight for approx one minute. "DunedinStar" From 7- to 10 p.m. this night hundreds of Dunedin people reported seeing orange-red discs performing in the night sky. The offices of the Otago Daily Times and Dunedin Star" were swamped with phone and personal callers. People saw the orange-red strangers moving at high speeds, hovering, rising up and down out to sea and climbing steeply away to disappear with amazing rapidity. Now, it was later discovered that a medical student at Gaversham had made a paper balloon "Montgolfier Special" and had test flown it that same evening. The "special" consists of a 4 foot high tissue paper bag with a small can of meths suspended on wires, underneath the bag opening. The builder claims, that he first flew it that Sunday night, and that, the can of meths contained only a few teaspoons of fuel. When this came to the notice of the Otago Daily Times, they gave it much space and claimed that it solved the riddle. C.S.I. has studied the facts and evidences and finds that it is most questionable as to whether the Montgolfier Special caused the many reports. The paper balloon was some flyer to have stayed airborn in the locality for three hours, in widely separated parts of Dunedin. Also, we have the sightings of orange-red discs reported at Warrington, Fort Chambers and Anderson Bay, up to three days previous, at night and day. Perhaps it can now be explained that a fleet of Montgolfier Specials flying in line formation were seen by the Taranaki pilots at 7 a.m. 24th May, these objects too were described as orange-red discs, trailing flames. Anyway Mr X, the builder of the paper balloon was severely scolded by the Dunedin fire-chief, who considered the balloon and meths a serious fire hazard. C.S.I. feels that Mr X's foolish hoax attempt did not fool many, and in the end booneranged. Mr Metcalf C.S.I. Group Leader, Dunedin, also witnessed the flight of a similarly described orange-red disc that night, and has since interviewed many of those people who reported the phenomena. He is satisfied that the balloon just wasn't in the picture; or the cause of the many sincere reports. Invercargill 31 May Oreti River Four people claimed to have watched a flying saucer for ten minutes Monday night. First sighted at 7 p.m. out to sea, the light, approx size of a tennis ball at first, was moving against a 23 mile-an-hour wind.
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