NZDF declassified RNZAF UFO files

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

## FLYING SAUCER PAGE 5.

that they would give the appearance of having disappeared and reappeared at a wide distance on the 'scope'. Cause for disappearance of an object from the screen , he said , could be that it hit certain blind spots in the radar beam in other words went below or outside the beam. Referring to the 'objects bewildering performance on the radar 'scope, Barnes declared:

I never saw it happen before. If the acceleration explanation is true, then the speeds involved would be much greater than we know of. "He said jets could not approach such speeds. There was simultaneous visual-radar sightings, Barnes said, and the objects were pinpointed by radar at the control centre, the control tower and at Andrews Field across the potomac. "There is no possibility of a mistake about this" he added. Barnes also said the targets he observed on the radar screen that night "made right angle turns and completely reversed their direction in speeds in excess of 100 miles an hour---something I never saw any plane do. Regarding the inversion theory, Barnes said: "inversion blips are always recognized by experts". We were familiar with inversions before this occurrence. We are familiar with what weather conditions, flying birds and such things can cause on radar. "No inversion caused anything like we observed that night". Referring to the other radar men who observed the strange blips--Edward Nugent, James Ritchey and James Copeland he continued: "We 'we talked about this often and we've all aggreed we never saw anything like it before. Inversion couldn't explain it. I had three qualified radar men with me. We know an inversion when we see it and think nothing of it. This was not an inversion." In addition, Barnes said, the unknown objects "had substance"--very definitely! At times, he said, they gave the impression of "hovering". They did this in the vicinity of the White House and Capitol, he added.

Asked for his opinion as to what caused the unusual sightings, Barnes hesitated, then said: "I do have an opinion on this of course, but so far I have never expressed it. I am willing to do so if ordered by my superiors: so far I have not been. I was told it would not be wise for me to offer any theory or opinion!" When CAA officials were asked to give Barnes the necessary permission, they refused. "We can't permit him to do that" a spokesman said. He said that this was for Barnes' own protection."People would say he was seeing things", he explained. An Air Force spokesman agreed that Barnes could not give an opinion," for his own protection". He said this was his statement would be regarded as the CAA's position. The strange aspect of the whole thing is this statement made by Barnes: "They do not know what my opinion is --- I have never expressed it!"

## Nation Took First Saucer Tales As Joke.

But the Air Force got busy as they continued. Since 1947 the Air Force and the American public in general ---- had been bewitched, bothered and bewildered by "flying Saucers". It all began when a private pilot named Kenneth Arnold reported on June 24th 1947, that he had sighted nine saucer-like things flying like geese in a diagonal chain-like line near VaRista, Wash. He estimated that they were going at least 1,200 miles an hour. The story swept the country and was followed by other saucer sightings. At first the nation regarded the reports as a joke. But as the reports kept coming in many of them from such reputable observers as veteran pilots people began to take a more serious view of the situation. The Air Force itself declared the saucers "are no joke". Subsequently, there have been hundreds of sightings of unknown flying objects reported to the Air Force. During the present year, for example the Air Force has received 366 reports