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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.
“Sea”47 pages
29. Several conflicting reports came from Nelson. and her two daughters, at Mapua, reported a strange, lighted object in the sky at 10 p.m. They described it as a white cigar shaped object, flat along the bottom and curved at the top. At 10.15 p.m. saw an object with revolving lights. There were four or five red lights revolving from left to right. The whole thing was covered with a yellow glow and was circular in shape. There was no none. about 10.25 p.m. saw a yellowish white light in the sky. It grew bright then almost faded away. It seemed to be moving slowly, almost hovering. 30. In the meantime the blue disc appears to have gone directly south. was travelling with his son from Christchurch to Wellington on the Saturday night when they saw, at a late hour, a "wee green light" underneath a "blue-looking round object" which moved too fast to be an aeroplane. As the ferry leaves Christchurch about 8 p.m. this would have been about 50 miles to the north of Christchurch. 31. A blue disc was also sighted at Christchurch, Kysburn (near Patearoa) Palmerston, and Waipahi. These reports all said that it was a blue disc, that if flew south at a high speed and that it hissed. 32. The report from Kyeburn told of a disc-like object travelling very fast, much faster than an aeroplane. It was travelling south in the sky, over towards Palmerston, a few minutes after 11 p.m. It was a long way away and seemed only a little larger than a large star. A resident of Palmerston saw a blue disc travelling very fast in a southerly direction about 11.8 p.m. It took only a few seconds to pass over and was followed by a bissing sound. It apparently then passed inland to the west of Dunedin. 33. Four people living at Waipahi were returning from Gore at 11.16 p.m. when the driver of the car noticed a blue light, low down in the sky, climbing towards him. He stopped the car and all four alighted to watch. The light appeared to be a blue disc about the size of an orange held at arm's length. It was travelling at a high speed in a southerly direction and passed directly overhead. About three seconds later a faint hissing sound was heard. It remained in sight for a little over three minutes. It seems then to have returned to the north as a brilliant blue object was seen over the Port Hills at Christchurch at 11.45 p.m. A sighting was then made at Palmerston North at 12.45 a.m., but it is not clear whether this was the green or the blue object, or both. 35. A final sighting took place immediately to the north of Wellington. About 1 a.m. on 8th December Nasnae, their daughter and her friend, all saw a bright circular object describing a slow circular route about 2,000 feet above Woburn. It was travelling very slowly, and made only two or three circuits during the hour that the matched it. At the bottom of its more or less circular route slowly, and made only two or three circuits during the hour time the watched it. At the bottom of its more or less circular route the object had an array of sparks round its edges. As it travelled around clockwise, the sparks disappeared and a small red tail light appeared instead. As it began its downward journey the tail disappeared gradually and the object itself diminished in size until it was hardly visible. When it reached the lowest part of the circular route the sparks appeared again and the process was repeated. After seeing the object making its leisurely couple of circles they all went indoors. Checks failed to produce any logical explanation for these phenomena. A meteorological balloon was released at 10.45 p.m. but it would have burst long before 1 a.m. The Carter Observatory, Wellington, did not know of any meteorites, fireballs or other curiosities in the area at that time.
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