ufo_data/bin/rr0/tran1968.md

- **January**

- The USSR announces the upcoming dissolution of the [Stolyarof Committee](projets.html#Stolyarof).

-   **January 22:** Launch of [Apollo 5](Apollo.html#Apollo5),
    first test of the lunar module in space.

-   **January 25**


-   In the Mediterranean, the Israeli submarine *Davar*, containing 69 sailors, and last seen north of Alexandria off the southwest coast of Cyprus, disappears.

- In the Mediterranean, the French submarine *Minerve* disappears with 52 men in the vicinity of Toulon. Searches are undertaken, and a metal mass is detected by sonar at a point however very far from the route that the *Minerve* should have followed. Only a sandy and hilly terrain is found, without any wreckage. A little later, an echo is detected more precisely south of Cape Cépet. It is again a metal mass, located at 134 m deep and measuring about 8 m wide and 60 m long. This could be a submarine. Moreover, the mass was on the route of the *Minerve*. But, despite the searches undertaken, including with Commander Cousteau's diving saucer, nothing more is found than the carcass of a cargo ship. A little later still, a new echo is received by sonar and located 1.8 km northwest of the first, without anything being discovered. The searches last in all 5 days and occupy half of the total means of the French Navy in the Mediterranean. Rear Admiral Storelli, commander of the submarine forces, confirms that the French Navy has no new element and that it is in absolute ignorance of what could have happened, given the quality of the men, beyond reproach, and of the material. On the other hand, the *Minerve* had been checked as is done at each change of commander and it was in perfect condition.

- **February**


-   **February 9:** Sighting in Groveton (Missouri) [[case [Blue Book](BlueBook.html) #12235 unsolved]]{.source}.


-   **February 24:** Resignation of [Mary Louise Armstrong](officiels.html#ArmstrongMaryLouise) from the [Blue Book](BlueBook.html) project.


-   **February 27:** Death of Gagarin during a training flight.


- In the USSR, the Academy of Sciences declared ufology research to be anti-scientific: no credible witness had ever observed these flying saucers in the sky, which were part of imperialist propaganda.


-   Statement from Professor [Ziegel](ZiegelFelixY.html).


-   **11-12 March:** Astronautics Symposium in Montreal: [Philip Klass](KlassPhilipJulian.html) presents _UFOs, an Atmospheric Electrical Phenomenon_.

- **April**


-   **April 3, 8:10 PM**: In Cochrane (Wisconsin), 2 witnesses (including an air hostess) observe a UFO for 5 to 10 minutes. Excerpt from the air hostess's account: \...This thing came up from the bottom of the hill, very, very fast, and in a very uniform way, as if it was sliding, but it was lower than an airplane, and it came gliding to stop above this car \[a car that had just passed the witness's\]. Then its lights went out \[those of the other car\] and I stopped, thinking there was a young person driving. Since it had turned everything off, I didn't want to hit it. And meanwhile my headlights were dimming a bit, but I didn't pay attention until everything went out in my car: the engine, the headlights and the radio. That happened when it \[the UFO\] released that car to go back up the road\... up above us. It had made a descent from the other car, and it was very low. When I wanted to look at it through the windshield I had to lean on the wheel and turn; I looked up and it was there, above us - and the car was completely stopped. I had opened the window of the door when the lights of the other car went out and it was still open, but I heard absolutely nothing. The object had a triangle shape, like those little triangles of dough that you roll to make croissants. It was orange-red, like the light on a beautiful St. Martin's summer, very colorful\... When it was just above us, I tried to restart the car, I tried, I tried, but as long as that thing stayed above us I couldn't make it go, it wouldn't even turn 1/4 of a turn. I turned the key, and it went "ouah" and then nothing at all, it was like the battery was dead\... When that thing was there, you heard absolutely nothing, not even the lively noise of nature, it was a strangely worrying calm. And then I remember that I had become light, airy, a bit like in an airplane when it goes down in an air pocket, I felt light as air, without gravity. Then it went down behind us, on my side, and it went to fly over a field near a farm that is there. It moved smoothly, without jerks. Finally, when it released the car, it left with a jolt. I turned the ignition key and the engine started, I was able to start the car, so I kept my foot on the accelerator and I arrived in Cochrane. I saw it passing over the railway and going away slowly. A good while after, my feet were still burning, when I got out of the car, it seemed to me that they were bathing in a source of dry heat [\[Poher 2003\]]{.source}.


-   **April 4:** Launch of the first automated mission [Apollo 6](Apollo.html#Apollo6).


-   **April 9:** 1st launch from the Kourou base (Guyana).
    A rocket *Véronique*.


-   US intelligence services note UFO incursions in the People's Republic of China.


-   **May 3rd:** Mr. and Mrs. Vidal are driving on the road connecting Chacomus to Matfu, in the province of Buenos Aires. They are about 20 km from the capital of Argentina when they enter a kind of thick cloud, and immediately lose consciousness.


-   **May 5th:** Mr. Vidal regains his senses. It is day and, as he does not know the region, he asks a peasant for the route to Buenos Aires. The peasant, taken aback, gently suggests to him that perhaps he is looking for Mexico? Mr. Vidal must come to terms with the fact that he and his wife are in Mexico, and 48 hours after their disappearance. That is to say, about 7500 km away from the place where their car entered the cloud, their last memory. Mr. Vidal then takes a closer look at the 403: the black paint of the bodywork has disappeared, as if it had been removed with a blowtorch. It must have been subjected to a very high temperature. Mrs. Vidal regains her senses a little later and almost has a nervous breakdown: But, then, what have they done to us during these two days? In whose hands were we? When the couple returns to Argentina, their friends sigh with relief, having thought it was an accident. It is materially impossible for the couple to have made the Buenos Aires-Mexico journey in 48 hours: they would have had to cross all of South America, Central America, on roads, paths and tracks barely paved and, at an average speed of 160 km/h.


-   **May 21:** The American nuclear submarine *Scorpion* disappears in the Atlantic with 89 men on board. The last message from the submarine was from the day before. Despite planes, 8 submarines, 5 destroyers and 4 ships specialized in rescue operations for submarines, the searches yielded no results. Only an oil slick was spotted, as there are increasingly more in the Atlantic. 1300 km from the Azores, a little north of the oil slick, a mysterious orange object was observed which, despite the searches, remained untraceable afterwards.


-   **April 8:** Creation of the [Club of Rome](ClubDeRome.html).

- **June**


"-   **June 13**"

-   **0 h 40:** Maria Eliada Pretzel (19 years old) wishes goodnight to her fiancé and some guests as they leave the family motel La Cuesta, in Villa Carlos La Paz, on Route 20, 800 km west of Buenos Aires (Argentina). Her father had gone out for the evening. She turns off the lights of the motel, then notices a glow in the hall. That's when she finds herself in the presence of a blond man, over 2 m tall, wearing a tight-fitting outfit made of shiny sky blue scales. He holds a sphere, also sky blue, in his left hand that keeps moving. Smiling continuously, he waves his right hand, adorned with a huge ring, in front of her. Light was coming out of the tips of his fingers and Maria feels lethargic, while feeling kindness and goodness emanating from the creature. At the same time, he mumbles in a language that makes her think of Chinese. Maria is petrified but, after a few minutes, the being slowly moves towards the side door and leaves. Maria faints [\[Factor X\]]{.source}.

-   **0 h 50:** Maria is discovered by her father. A few moments earlier, as he was returning home, he had seen an object, apparently 45 m further down the road, which was shooting 2 bright red beams of light towards the motel. The object and the lights disappeared a few minutes later. Señor Pretzel ran to the house where he just found Maria unconscious. It will take her a few days to recover from her heartbreaking experience. The police promised to investigate the event but never released their conclusions.


-   Assassination of [Robert Kennedy](officiels.html#KennedyRobert).


-   **June 21:** Last flight of an A-12, #131, from [Groom Lake](Area51.html) to Palmdale and the entire fleet is placed in a secret storage location [\[Peebles 1995\]]{.source}.

-   **August 13th, 4 PM:** Inacio de Souza and his wife Louisa return to Pilar de Goias (Brazil) to the ranch where Ignacio, a 41 year old illiterate, works as a laborer, 240 km from Brasilia. The place is important enough to have a landing strip, and that is where de Souza sees 3 people --- wearing tight yellow clothes, according to the woman --- apparently playing. The 3 beings notice de Souza at the same time and start to approach. Then he notices a strange device --- like an upside down sink --- on the landing strip. Frightened, he grabs the 44 caliber rifle he is carrying and fires at the closest creature. The reply is a green light beam coming from the machine. It hits de Souza in the head and shoulders. The 3 beings then run to the machine and get inside; it takes off vertically, buzzing. De Souza develops symptoms ranging from nausea to tremors, and is taken to see a doctor in Goiâna, 290 km away. Leukemia is diagnosed and the doctor examining him believes his UFO and extraterrestrial story is a hallucination. De Souza, who had the reputation, before his encounter, of being very robust, will die on October 11th.

- Photo taken by Emil Barnea. See images/cluj.jpg.


-   **August 21:** Soviet intervention in Prague.


- Near the Bahamas Islands, south of Florida, American scientists are installing a submarine television camera and a hydrophone system designed to detect underwater noises.


-   **August 28:** The US Geological Survey takes an aerial photo of the
    [Groom Lake](Area51.html) complex as part of a routine high altitude
    survey. This photo, published on multiple occasions, is publicly
    released until 1994, when it is banned from publication by the
    government.


-   **September 14:** A Soviet uncrewed probe, *Zand 5*, is placed in orbit around the [Moon](Moon.html).


-   **September 15:** Observation in Ocala (Florida) [[case [Blue Book](BlueBook.html) #12498 unsolved]]{.source}.

- **October 11**


-   Launch of the [Apollo 7](Apollo.html#Apollo7) mission, first manned Apollo flight, with Schirra, Cunningham and Eisele. The Swiss Telephone Agency announces that when the [Apollo 7](Apollo.html#Apollo7) capsule was flying over Australia, cosmonaut Cunningham reported that unidentified flying objects were passing close to the space capsule.


- Ignacio De Souza, who had a reputation for being very tough, dies.


-   **October 22:** Splashdown of the [Apollo 7](Apollo.html#Apollo7) capsule.


-   **October 25:** The *Zond 5* probe skims the Moon at 1960 km and
    returns to Earth.


-   **October 31:** The [Condon Report](BlueBook.html#Condon) is submitted to the Secretary of the [USAF](USAF.html).

- **November**


-   **November 2, 04:00:** The [Doctor X](temoins.html#X) observes two objects merging in front of his house. He will be physically affected by it.


-   Election of [Richard Nixon](dirigeants.html#NixonRichardMilhous)
    to the presidency of the United States.


-   **November 23:** Sighting in Newton (Georgia) [[case [Blue Book](BlueBook.html) #12567 unsolved]]{.source}.

-   **November 26:** 3 operators of a North Dakota control tower observe suspicious movements: The two objects were only two bright white lights and could have been taken for satellites if it weren't for their sudden maneuvers, changes of direction and dizzying disappearance... One following a north course at 45° above the horizon, the other a south course at around 30°. The light heading south suddenly executed a 180° turn, rose, joined the other object, remained in what seemed to be a formation in flight and then left towards the northeast [[Unidentified Flying Objects, Allen Hynek, Robert Laffont, 1978, p. 70]]{.source}.

-   **December 6:** Photo taken on December 6th in Sicuani (Peru). See images/1968-12-06_SicuaniPeru.jpe.
    

- **December 15**


-   **15 h :** At Hawk Inlet (Alaska), 2 sailors from the cargo ship *Teel*
    spotted a white and round light heading towards them.


-   **19 h :** The object, which seemed to be floating on the water until then, suddenly takes off and disappears behind a crest of the coast.


-   **December 16:** A light identical to the one from the previous night reappears in the evening. It moves towards the cargo ship and stops about 20 m above the vessel, without emitting any sound. The crew immediately contacts the Elmendorf Air Base, as well as the coast guard. In the following minutes, the current is cut and the radio fails. The diesel backup generator fails to start. When the object moves away, it starts working normally. The object will remain visible for another 15 minutes.


-   **December 17:** Hynek declares to the *Saturday Evening Post* that the [Blue Book](BlueBook.html) program has examined 10147 cases, the Condon Commission identified 9501, leaving 646 unidentified.


-   **December 21:** The American manned flight [Apollo 8](Apollo.html#Apollo8) is placed in lunar orbit.


-   **December 25th:** As [Apollo 8](Apollo.html#Apollo8) orbited around the lunar surface at a distance of 112 km, the capsule remained completely silent for 6 minutes, despite repeated calls from the Houston base. Then suddenly the voice of James Lovell was heard announcing: We have just been informed that Santa Claus does exist! The man had just experienced a violent surprise, as indicated by the telemetry controls. His pulse had reached 120 beats per minute, while during the previous 93 hours, his heart rate had been perfectly normal. Troubling coincidence, this silence, which Apollo 8 had inexplicably just shown, can be explained by the presence of an external magnetic field, disrupting the radio links with the ground.


-   **December 27:** Return to Earth of [Apollo 8](Apollo.html#Apollo8).


- Observation of [Jean-Gabriel Greslé](GresleJeanGabriel.html) at the controls of a Boeing 707, between Rio de Janeiro and Florianopolis.


- The [NSA](NSA.html) publishes internally a document titled [*The UFO Hypothesis and Survival Questions*](Documents/Officiels/NSA/1968_UFOHypothesisAndSurvivalQuestion_NSA.html).


-   (According to an extreme ufological thesis) A plan is put in place to reveal to the public the existence of extraterrestrials on Earth for the last 20 years, foreseeing the public availability of documents in the years 1985-1987.


- The [NASA](NASA.html) publishes a document detailing many curiosities observed since 1540 on the surface of the [Moon](Lune.html) by various astronomers, concentrated in the region of the Aristarchus crater and the Schoöter valley.


-   Release of *2001: A Space Odyssey* by Stanley Kubrick.


-   [Erik von Dakinen](VonDanikenErik.html) publishes his best-seller
    *Chariots of the Gods ?*