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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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# EVALUATION IN BRIEF Our country may be small and somewhat remote from the thickly populated large land-masses and fields of endeavour that encircle this Planet. But, regardless of these major considerations, Kiwi-land has not been overlooked or classified "of minor importance" by whosoever controls the many mysterious aerial craft that have visited our skies in the past, present, and almost for certain the near future????? What particular significance warranted the numerous visitations during October, November, December 1952 to January 1953. Someday, perhaps soon, we will know, I feel sure. The following facts, however, we have learned after careful analysis of the flight characteristics and advent of flying saucers over New Zealand. Firstly... Far too many reliable people experienced in many fields have seen the strange... objects for the natural phenomena explanation to hold water, certainly, to, there are instances of mistaken identity, hoax, etc. However, most of these reports expose themselves in initial examination. Secondly...Modern practice, methods, gadgets, are all examples of pure fantasy to the minds of our Forefathers, the great majority of their ranks never dreamed of or envisaged that which is ordinary and commonplace to-day. What have we learned of the Saucers. The following Graph and map of N.Z. detail the more important factors. C.S.I. has noted that there is a variety of shapes that basically fit one of the five listed, that most objects when seen to hover or flying at slow speeds appear (to our standards of flight) unstable, this instability is suggested by the rising or falling, zig-zag, or hurtling movement noted in forward flight. Perhaps it is due (most likely) to the means or form of power used to propel them. In many instances the craft have appeared to be spinning at varying speeds, when this variety were witnessed to hover or move slowly the characteristic wobble of the Top loosing spin was noted. The spinning type are the true Saucer or circular shaped and when seen more clearly appeared to have a protrudence, or small dome-shaped canopy on the top centre surface. (refer Mr. Burkes sighting) It is considered most probable that colour variation is due to varying speeds in varying atmospheric conditions, altitudes etc. The surrounding air may be heated to incandescence, due to surface frictional factors at high speeds or purely the resultant glare of the means of motivity. Deliberate heating of the air to incandescence in close proximity of the craft's outer surface may well be the secret of their ability to fly at tremendous speeds in an atmosphere.
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.