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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.
# NOT A SECRET WEAPON. Do you believe that the Flying Saucers are a secret weapon owned by some great power on this earth. Many sincere investigators strongly suspected th is at first, but once they learned of the amazing capabilities of the saucer craft and there apparent limitless range in height and distance, pure common sense reasoning established these points. (I) What nation on earth has ever before openly advertized to all and sundry that they have a secret weapon of unquestionable superiority and apparently limitless potential. None unless already common knowledge. (2) Would any nation possessing such a secret weapon, test fly it over unfriendly territory thousands of miles from its home base, wouldn't the risk of mechanical failure make this a most stupid,hazardous mission to say the least. (3) Couldn't any nation possessing such a weapon, be they peaceful or aggressive, confidently name their terms to the rest of the World demanding immediate capitulation and compliance to their wishes. (4) Do you think any great power could withhold the secret of this new formulae, when atomic and other great secrets are lost to other unfriendly powers, no sooner are they written down. (5) Do you think some recluse scientist or group of scientists, having secreted themselves away in some remote wilderness, could build vast aircraft. some 1000 ft across, in vast numbers, capable of appearing over numerous areas of the planets surface simultaneously. Let us view some of the Flying Saucer capabilities:- (I) Radar has many times checked them singularly or in neat formations moving from from a mere hundred to 20.000 m.p.h. (2) Then incredibly quickly they can change direction, greatly quicken or lessen their pace or stop with no apparent slowing down. (3) Vertical.flight,be it ascent or decent is just as rapid and easy. This is rather excellent performance for a balloon.? (4) Hovering stationery to one spot as if riveted to the ceiling, only to take off like a Comet if investigated by our aircraft. Is there any need for Venus to run for cover. (5) These strange objects have investigated our aircraft many times, by flying circles around us or standing off at a safe distance with blinking lights or glowing portholes, be it night or day. Mirge, Temper ture Inversion some top scientists say, where educated we would like to know?
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.