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NZDF declassified RNZAF UFO files

NZDF / RNZAF via Internet Archive · 2010-12 · 445 pages · text by GLM-OCR

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.

  • p. 235 …Many astronomers, like Dr Menzel and Sir Harold Spencer-Jones, on the basis of this knowledge…
  • p. 330 …The object, said Mrs Spencer appeared to be hovering in the sky at no great distance…

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

Jan 3rd. Mr A Heinricks and his wife reported sighting a spherical-shaped object, trailing vapor, flashing across the sky over Box Hill at 2.30p.m. I saw what appeared to be a balloon or large box turning slowly over and over high in the sky, while we were watching, a second object like a ball of white vapor with a jet trail shot down at 45 $ at the other object. After 4-5 seconds they both vanished.

Jan 8-9th Two flying saucer reports which could have been of the same object were reported of the weekend. Late on Friday night Robert Cobain saw a strange object low on the horizon NNE of Sale. Cobain said the object appeared to be corrugated across the top and flashed crimson lights. He called some neighbours and while watched the lights appeared to change from crimson to misty green and back to crimson and disappeared shortly after. In Adelaide M.D.W.Scherek, a former airman reported having seen a yellowish white object shading to deep orange between 2.30- & 3.15am on Saturday. It hovered and then swiftly moved vertically and sideways Mr Scherek said he rang Professor Huxley, head of the Adelaide Univ-physics dept. Mrs Huxley saw the object but did not wake her husband. Pro.Huxley was disappointed that he had not been woken and viewed the object. It was he said about the position of Jupiter, but the movement was difficult to explain with this solut ion in mind. There would have to be extraordinary light refractions to

SAUCERS PAGE 11

SOMETHING IN THE AIR SAYS EXPERT Source. Sydney Daily Telegraph Jan 9th. An R.A.A.F. officer in Melbourne today revealed that the R.A.A.F. had been investigating flying saucers since 1947. The officer said that an intelligence officer usually interviewed people who reported flying objects. The R.A.A.F. are keeping an open mind on the source of the objects. I believe, he said, from the information we have recieved could have an interplanetary source. People on earth should be able to fly into outer space within 40 years, why shouldn't people on other planets already have reached this stage. This report followed one from the CAA discrediting an interplanetary answer. (the objects)

Jan. 12th Sydney Daily Mirror.

MARS LINKED WITH SAUCERS. The president of the Australian Flying Saucer Bureau. (Mr. E.R. Jarrold) believes Mars is in some way connected with the appearances of Flying Saucers. He said today that this conclusion was based on extensive data compiled over a con-siderate period. Mr. Jarrold said he did not share the view of the Dept of Civil Aviation, that these objects did not originate from another planet.

He said: Because of the unprecedented wave of sightings of "unidentified" aerial objects all over the world in 1950 & 1952 --when Mars was at its closest point in space to the Earth-record number of reports can be expected this year. This view has already been confirmed by several researchers in the United States. It is the only theory advanced to date which has been found to conform acceptably with recorded visual, radar and photographic evidence accumulated by researchers here and abroad.

FLYING SAUCER REPORTS TOTAL 50 IN A WEEK Melborne Argus 13th Jan . Reports from 13 people who claim to have seen "flying saucers" and other objects over Melbourne in the past few weeks were received by the Civil Aviation Dept this week. (CAD had previous press statement inviting people to send in their reports without fear of ridicle)

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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.