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Raw Blame History

- **January:** The [Highjump](Highjump.html) operation is organized in Antarctica (South Pole) by the [US Navy](USNavy.html). In total 4700 men, 13 ships and 23 planes are involved. A base is set up at *Little America*. An exhaustive mapping of the coast and inland areas is developed. Over 70000 aerial photographs are taken. Perhaps the goal is also to ferret out Nazi bases, and Nazi resistance is suspected to have been encountered.
- **February 12**
- **10:38:** A monstrous bolide strikes the USSR near the city of Sikhote-Alin, in the Soviet Far East north of Vladivostok. It is first spotted as a bright light in the daytime sky, bright enough to burn eyes as it hurtles towards the ground at a sharp angle. Followed by a huge smoky trail, the [meteor](1947.html) streaks towards the Earth, filling the sky with deep reverberating thunderclaps and shaking the ground. The meteorite, estimated to weigh more than 100 tons, explodes into fragments that impact a large area, digging more than 120 craters, the largest of which is 20 feet deep and 90 feet in diameter. Blocks of iron weighing up to 2 tons are scattered across the landscape. It is unclear what details [LaPaz](LaPazLincoln.html) will have of this incident by the end of [1948](1948.html). As unlikely as it may seem today, judging by the comments he will make in his papers, he will clearly suspect at the time that this event, like other unusual meteors in [1946](1946.html) and 1947, could have been caused by a man-made object. Although it is now known that the meteor traveled from the North-Northeast to the South-Southwest, the Soviet investigator initially dispatched to the scene, Krinov, will indicate a trajectory from the North-Northwest to the South-Southeast. The erroneous estimation of the trajectory could have led [LaPaz](LaPazLincoln.html) to believe that the object was a missile from the western part of the USSR.
- The governments of the United States and Canada agree on a Joint Declaration on Defense Collaboration emphasizing the continued importance of defense planning and efforts in this regard. Among those proposed are the exchange of military personnel, the adoption of common weapon, equipment and organization designs and standards, and the cooperation and exchange of observers in exercises.
- [James Forrestal](ForrestalJamesVincent.html) is promoted to United States Secretary of Defense.
- **April**
- **April 15th:** Engineers from the Richmond Weather Bureau, including Walter A. Minczewski, launch a balloon they track with a theodolite. They observe, just below the craft, a silver object in the shape of an ellipse. It appears larger than the balloon and they can make out, through the theodolite, that it is flat on the bottom and has a dome on the upper side. They observe it for about 15 seconds, then the object disappears to the West at the altitude of commercial airplanes.
- Observation at Col de Serres (Dordogne). [[Vallée 1966]]{.source}
- **May**
- **May 7**: Sighting over Belgrade (Yugoslavia). [[Ted Bloecher, *Report on the UFO Wave of 1947*, AAF Archives]]{.source}
- English scientists and aviators examine the debris of a flying object in Spitzberg (Norway). They are convinced, according to the dispatch, that the device comes from another planet and that these saucers were piloted by small men (less than 1.20 m). 17 bodies were reportedly found. The story comes from a dispatch that appeared only one day in the U.S. news before being silenced by the military. [[Several sources including Dorothy Kilgallen]]{.source}
- The American monthly magazine *Mechanix Illustrated* features its cover with the Flying Saucer, a circular-winged aircraft of the Navy, which will be suspected to be the origin of some UFO sightings.
- [Hoyt Vandenberg](VandenbergHoytSanford.html) is replaced in his position as [DCI](glossair.html#DCI) and Director of the [CIG](CIG.html) by [Roscoe Hillenkoeter](HillenkoetterRoscoeHenry.html).
- **May 19:** The staff of the Del Salto Observatory (Chile),
observe and photograph a strange meteorite above
Santiago. The object moves slowly, sometimes emitting
white smoke plumes. The report indicates an increase in
speed at the end of the observation. The information will not be
made public until the observation of
[Arnold](ArnoldKenneth.html).
- **June 10** : Sighting over Budapest (Hungary). [[Ted Bloecher, *Report on the UFO Wave of 1947*, Archives de l'AAF]]{.source}
- **June 12:** Observation of 2 discs with central hole on their underside.
- **June 14:** Observation of [Richard Rankin](temoins.html#RankinRichard) in Bakersfield (California).
- **Saturday, June 21, 2 PM:** Start of [the Maury Island affair](MauryIsland.html). An American Coast Guard vessel (2 fishermen?), with the captain's son (15 years old), his dog, and another crew member, is patrolling in Puget Sound. The boat stops in a bay of Maury Island, about 5 km from Tacoma. People on board the vessel then see 6 very large, doughnut-shaped objects just above their heads. None of these objects make any noise. 5 of the UFOs start to circle the 6th, which loses altitude until it stops, hovering. Afraid that the object might fall into the sea, Dahl moves the boat onto the beach. That's where he takes 4 photographs of the objects. The central UFO then vomits out pieces of molten metal that fall into the water and onto the shore. One of them kills the dog, another severely burns Dahl's son, and a seagull is also killed. The boat is damaged. Then the UFO rises, joins the others, and all 6 of them speed off over the Pacific. The men collect samples of the still-hot metal. Back at the port, [Dahl](DahlHaroldA.html) reports the events to his superior officer, [Fred Crisman](CrismanFredLee.html).
- **Sunday, June 22nd:** In the morning, a man dressed in black arrives at Dahl's in a black Buick and invites him to lunch. During the meal, he indicates to Dahl that he is aware of everything that happened in Maury and tells him: Silence is the best thing for you and your family. You have seen what you should never have seen. Dahl later establishes that no one has spoken to anyone about their strange experience.
- **Monday, June 23:** [Fred Crisman](CrismanFredLee.html) goes to Maury to see the metal debris for himself. While he is there, a saucer-shaped flying object appears, flies over the bay and then disappears into a thundercloud. He then develops the photographs: they are covered with white spots, as if they had been exposed to some kind of radiation.
- **Tuesday 24 June**
- **15 h :** As he flies over the Cascade Mountains (Washington) in search of the wreckage of an airplane that crashed the day before, [Kenneth Arnold](ArnoldKenneth.html), a businessman from Idaho and a civilian pilot, observes 9 disk-shaped objects moving in formation at a high speed.
- An unexplained Blue Book case in Portland (Oregon). [[case [Blue Book](BlueBook.html) #12 unexplained]]{.source}
- **Wednesday 25th June:** Arnold's observation makes headlines in all newspapers. Fred Crisman decides to talk to a local reporter about what Dahl and his crew have seen.
- **Friday, June 27th:** A housewife sees discs resembling silver plates flying at high speed above the Cascade Mountains. During their flight, they waver from side to side, and change their formation.
- **Saturday 28 June**
- **14 h :** An USAF jet pilot, Lieutenant Armstrong,
flying 48 km north of Lake Meade (Nevada), observed a
formation of 5 or 6 flying discs at an estimated altitude of 1800 m.
- **15 h 45 :** Mr. Beusher sees more than 7 blue and silent disks flying over his Rockfield (Wisconsin) farm, heading south.
- Similar UFOs are later seen in Illinois
(reported by evening radio news).
- **9:30 PM:** At the Maxwell Air Force Base near Montgomery (Alabama), 2 pilots, 2 intelligence officers and 4 other witnesses saw a light shining intensely which zigzagged, whirled around quickly, and made a sharp 90° turn before disappearing.
- Above Lake Mead (Nevada), an F-51 hunter crosses a formation of disks.
- **Sunday 29th June**
- In the rocket testing zone of [White Sands](WhiteSands.html) (New Mexico), the American Naval Laboratories rocket expert, Dr. C. John, along with 2 (3?) other scientists (Dr. Zohn and Curtiss Rockwood, rocket experts) see a silver disc that appears to be moving in the sky at a speed they estimate to be faster than the speed of sound.
- **4:45 PM:** The driver of a vehicle traveling from Des Moines to Mason City is about 10 km from Clarion (Iowa) when a group of 5 UFOs passes in his field of vision. They are followed by 13 more, whiter and more oval, coming from the opposite direction, making a sound similar to that of a dynamo, and flying northwest.
- **1 h 30 :** Observation of [J. E.
Johnson](temoins.html#JohnsonJE).
- **Monday 30 June**
- [Kenneth Arnold](ArnoldKenneth.html), who heard of the affair from a journalist friend, went to Tacoma and spoke with [Fred Crisman](CrismanFredLee.html).
- **9:10:** An American [Navy](USNavy.html) pilot flying South sees near Williams Field (Arizona) 2 gray spheres about 3 m in diameter, diving at an inconceivable speed and seeming to land about 40 km South of the Grand Canyon.
- Police officers in Portland (Oregon) saw 5 discs resembling bright hubs, of chrome structure appear, disappear and then reappear, flying as if they were spinning wrong. Agent K. Mc Dowell, on patrol duty, will affirm: "I saw 5 large objects in the sky, they were shaped like discs and had no special color. They lowered and then rose in a very fast oscillating movement, and disappeared very quickly."
- 2 other police officers and 1 private pilot see 3 discs at the same moment, flying at a terrifying speed, grouped in a straight line. The last disc was moving laterally, inside a lateral arc, very quickly. They were silent and left no condensation trails behind them.
- On the Kenyan coast, 12 members of the crew of the steamer *Landovery Castle*, including the captain, observe a huge dark object approaching. It stops 800 m away and 30 m high, then turns on a blinding white spotlight that illuminates the sea and reveals a 300 m long cigar. It moves in formation with the boat for a few minutes, then turns off its spotlight and disappears into the night. [[Pottier 1974]]{.source}
- General [Ramey](RameyRogerM.html) and his intelligence director give press interviews debunking the phenomenon of flying saucers.
- **July**
- **9-10 h**: 50 miles northeast of St. Louis (Missouri), on a clear, cloudless day, a 14-year-old boy was nailing corrugated panels to the roof of a barn. He then saw an object in the shape of a disc, non-luminous and smaller than the Moon, pass over him from east to west, slightly to the south, at an estimated altitude between 10,000 and 20,000 feet. Becoming a scientist, he would not report his observation until much later in [1973](1973.html), during an internal survey of the [AIAA](AIAA.html).
- Observation at Montusson. [[Vallée 1966]]{.source}
- **Tuesday 1st July**
- [Arnold](ArnoldKenneth.html) sees the fragments compared to
slag, cinder, but not the negatives of the lost photos. He calls Lieutenant Frank Brown, an intelligence officer from the Hamilton Air Force Base (California), to ask him to join the investigation. Brown and a certain Captain Davidson take the road that same hour, aboard a B-25 bomber. They talk that afternoon with [Crisman](CrismanFredLee.html) in [Arnold](ArnoldKenneth.html)'s hotel room. Brown says he has to return to California that night and can therefore not visit the island. But he fills a large box with kilos of metal fragments before leaving.
- The radars located at [Roswell](Roswell.html), [White Sands](WhiteSands.html) and [Alamogordo](lieux.html#Alamogordo) detect an unidentified flying object moving at incredible speeds.
- **Wednesday 2 July**
- Early in the morning, [Crisman](CrismanFredLee.html) is on the phone with [Arnold](ArnoldKenneth.html). The B-25 where Brown and Davidson were has crashed near Kelso. Both are dead. One of the plane's engines mysteriously caught fire 20 minutes after takeoff. The fragments are not found. [Arnold](ArnoldKenneth.html) organizes an expedition to Maury Island with [Crisman](CrismanFredLee.html) and Dahl, but it turns out that the engine of their boat dies. [Crisman](CrismanFredLee.html) promises to call Arnold as soon as the problem is solved. He never does. And he does not return the photographs either. He has become untraceable --- according to Dahl, he left town on business; according to other sources, he was last seen boarding a military plane bound for Alaska. Then Dahl's son disappears in turn. Moreover, it seems that someone has filled Arnold's hotel room with microphones, transmitting to local newspapers the details of his conversations, even those he had alone with Brown and Davidson. He contacts another intelligence officer, a certain Major Sanders, who obstructs him. Arnold, now deeply shaken, leaves town. Official explanation: hoax set up by the coast guard to get publicity. However, they are not prosecuted.
- A violent storm in the Corona region, northwest of Roswell. [[Bourdais 2000-05]]{.source}
- **21 h 50 :** [Dan Wilmot](WilmotDan.html) and his wife spot an oval-shaped craft flying in the sky towards the North-West. [[Lagrange 1996]]{.source} [[Bourdais 2000-05]]{.source}
- William Woody (witness) and his father see a [meteor](Meteore.html) bright, white with a red tail, crossing the sky. [[Bourdais 2000-05]]{.source}
- In the night, [Mac Brazel](BrazelWilliamW.html), a farmer living near [Corona](lieux.html#Corona), heard a loud explosion during the storm. [[Bourdais 2000-05]]{.source}
- **Thursday 3 July**
- [Mac Brazel](temoins.html#BrazelWilliamW) arrives in the morning to the crash site, accompanied by a neighbor. The debris is scattered over an area of more than 1 km long and about 100 m wide, oriented Northwest/Southeast. Mac Brazel collects some debris and returns to his farm.
- David N. Johnson, a specialized journalist in aeronautical matters at the *Idaho Daily Statesman* of [Boise](lieux.html#Boise), where [Kenneth Arnold](ArnoldKenneth.html) resides, cites 2 new observations that confirm the description given by Arnold of one of the devices: in the shape of a flying wing. The article also cites Lieutenant General [Nathan F. Twinning](TwiningNathanFarragut.html), reached by phone, who declares that the army is investigating these affairs. He even asks witnesses to send a description of what they saw to the "commanding general" of [Wright Field](WrightPatterson.html). When Johnson wants to know if these objects could come from a foreign country, the general answers that they should then fly over great distances. Twinning doubts that they are guided missiles: the remote control technique is not advanced enough when the distance is too great.
- Article from the Las Vegas Review Journal, titled [The Army Experts Embarrassed](Documents/Articles/1947-07-03_LasVegasReviewJournal.html).
- **2:30 PM:** Astronomer John F. Cole of South Brooksville, Maine, observed for 10-15 seconds 10 very bright objects, with 2 dark shapes to their left, moving like a swarm of bees in a northwest direction. A loud rumble was heard. On his way back from lunch, Cole observed the flight of some strange and noisy objects rushing towards the northwest (in the opposite direction?). Their diameter was estimated at 100 feet. [[case [Blue Book](BlueBook.html) #27 unsolved]]{.source}
- In the evening, [Mack Brazel](BrazelWilliamW.html) showed a small piece of debris to his neighbors, [Floyd](ProctorFloyd.html) and [Loretta Proctor](ProctorLoretta.html): it could neither be cut nor burned. [Brazel](BrazelWilliamW.html) offered to come and see the site with them, but they declined the invitation, arguing that it was far away and it was late. [[Bourdais 2000-05]]{.source}
- **Friday 4th July**
- In Seattle, a young man photographs a strange light.
- In the afternoon, in Twin Falls, Smoke River Canyon (Idaho)
saw at least 35 discs demonstrating strength on
Independance Day.
- Peak of the wave of observations with 88 observations made by over 400 witnesses in 24 states and one Canadian province. In half of the cases, they were single objects; in the others, there were two or more, some flying in formation. Two-thirds of these observations were made in broad daylight and concerned round, spherical, or disc-shaped UFOs.
- The *East Oregonian*, the first newspaper to publish Arnold's account, reports that a spokesperson from the [USAF](USAF.html) in Washington has stated that the saucers are not an American weapon and that there is not enough data to justify an investigation.
- A first investigation by the [USAF](USAF.html) concluded that the wave of observation was due to hallucinations. (Same as before?) [[Vallée 1966]]{.source}
- In Boise, a half-circle shaped disk was seen hanging from a cloud, as bright and silver as a mirror reflecting the sun's rays.
- **20 h 17 :** Observation of Captain [E. J. Smith](SmithEmilJ.html), his co-pilot and a stewardess above Emmet (Idaho).
- **2 h :** Near Portland (Oregon), nearly 300 witnesses including police officers see 9 discs described as shiny chrome hubcaps. (June 24?) [[[GEPAN](GEPAN.html), Information Note No. 3, 1981]]{.source}
- 85 stories of observations published in the press.
- **Sunday 6th July**
- [Brazel](BrazelWilliamW.html) responds to a call from [Frank Joyce](JoyceFrank.html), of the local radio, asking to gather any local information, and tells him what he has found.
- [Brazel](BrazelWilliamW.html) goes to [Roswell](Roswell.html) to report what he saw and show a sample of the debris to Sheriff [Wilcox](officiels.html#WilcoxGeorge), who decides to notify the local air base.
- Several officers arrive a few minutes after the sheriff's call, examine the debris, then return to the base.
- Colonel [Blanchard](BlanchardWilliamHugh.html) orders Major [Marcel](MarcelJesseA.html), responsible for base security, to immediately inspect the debris field, led by [Brazel](BrazelWilliamW.html), and to take someone with him. Marcel leaves with Captain [Cavitt](CavittSheridan.html). [[Bourdais 2000-05]]{.source}
- At the Fairfield-Suisan (California) USAF base during the day, Air Force Captain James Burniston and his fiancée observed for 1 minute an object without wings or tail swaying 3 times on each side and then quickly flying off to the southeast. [[unresolved Blue Book case #36]]{.source}
- **17 h 30 :** 3 women are walking in a field and see
a circular, luminous object, appearing to float near the ground, as a dirigible would. Coming from the south, it heads towards them before slowly turning towards the south-west and disappearing over a hill.
- **Monday 7 July**
- William A. Rhodes takes 2 photographs
- Maximum of the wave of observations (160 reports).
- A conference is being held at the [Pentagon](Pentagon.html) in the office of General [Schulgen](SchulgenGeorgeF.html). It is decided to make a selection of "flying saucer" reports from more qualified observers in order to continue the investigation. [[[Project 1947 - UFO Reports, 1947](http://www.project1947.com/fig/1947a.htm)]]{.source}
- According to the [MJ documents](MJDocs.html), a secret operation is launched to recover the Roswell wreckage for scientific study. 4 small beings with a human appearance are found, dead and in a state of decomposition, 3 km east of the wreckage, probably ejected at some point before the explosion of the device. A scientific team takes care of removing the bodies for study and the device is also removed. The witnesses are "debriefed" and the official explanation given to the journalists speaks of a lost weather balloon.
- At Brighton Beach (Sussex, England), a couple on the beach saw a white sphere flying near the sea. [[Mysterious Britain]]{.source}
- **Tuesday 8 July**
- **9:30:** At the secret base of [Muroc](ZonesMilitaires.html#Muroc), 1st Lieutenant Joseph McHenry, Sergeant/T Ruvolo, Sergeant/S Nauman and Janette Scotte, all from the [USAF](USAF.html), observed 2 (6?) apparently metallic, silver-looking objects moving in a large circular curve. Later, one of the objects moved in a smaller circle. The base officers observed the flight of some luminous disk-shaped objects. The craft, flying against the wind, crossed at about 300 miles/h at about 8000 feet. Before this day, engineers were called away from their aircraft maintenance tasks to observe a metallic saucer hovering above the base. [[Case [Blue Book](BlueBook.html) #50, unsolved]{.source} [[[GEPAN](GEPAN.html), Information Note #3, 1981]{.source}
- Military personnel establish a security perimeter around the crash site, and put [Brazel](BrazelWilliamW.html) under guard. They discover a second crash site 4 km southeast of the first.
- [Barney Barnett](temoins.html#BarnettBarney) and 4 other archaeologists stumble upon the new site just minutes before the military arrives. They claim to have discovered a large gray metallic object and 4 other extraterrestrial bodies, about 1.15 m in size. They are excluded from the area upon the military's arrival.
- The Lieutenant [Haut](militaires.html#HautWalter), press officer of the Roswell base, announces to the press agencies, on the orders of Colonel [Blanchard](militaires.html#BlanchardWilliam), the recovery of a disk wreckage by Major [Jesse Marcel](MarcelJesseA.html).
- In New Mexico, C. T. Zohm, a Navy engineer,
along with 3 technicians observed several discs.
- In the evening, General [Ramey](RameyRogerM.html) tells the press that his specialists made a mistake, and that it was a weather balloon.
- **Wednesday 9 July**
- The military escort [Brazel](BrazelWilliamW.html) to the radio station, where he tells [Frank Joyce](JoyceFrank.html) that he saw a weather balloon. He leaves with the military.
- General [Schulgen](militaires.html#SchulgenGeorgeF) officially requests the [FBI](FBI.html)'s assistance in the investigation, and simultaneously affirms to the FBI that neither the [U.S. Army](USArmy.html) nor the [U.S. Navy](USNavy.html) have any research projects related to aircraft construction that could be linked to flying saucers.
- **0 h 17 :** In Idaho, former AAF B-29 pilot and "statesman aviation editor" Dave Johnson observed for over 10 seconds from an Idaho Air National Guard AT-6 a black disc staying outside the clouds, doing a half roll and then climbing in altitude. [[unresolved Blue Book case]]{.source}
- **Thursday 10 July**
- **Between 3pm and 5pm:** At Harmon Field (Newfoundland, Canada) 3 ground personnel, including Mr. Leidy, for *Pan American Airways*, briefly observed a translucent disc or wheel-shaped object flying at very high speed, leaving a dark blue trail behind it before climbing into the clouds. A UFO was photographed by one L. [[unresolved Blue Book case]]{.source}
- **16 h :** At Clovis, Clines Cornes (New Mexico), one of the
greatest American astronomers (wishing to remain anonymous) who
was driving with his family saw an elliptical object maneuvering
in an enigmatic way near a cloud region. During the 2 minutes and
30 seconds of the observation, the whole family had time to
meticulously observe the object. The astronomer guarantees his own
calculations: rigid, elliptical object, with a size of 50 to 80 m
and moving at a speed of 190 to 290 km/h. Oscillation and silent
movement: We had before our eyes a flying machine of an unknown
type. (...) Against a background of dark clouds, the object gave
a strong impression of self-luminosity. (...) The appearance and
behavior of the object do not correspond to any known optical or
celestial phenomenon. No plane, no rocket, no guided missile can
make such a rapid ascent (from 966 to 1450 km/h) without leaving
vapor trails.
- **Saturday, July 12:** Letter from [Ken Arnold](ArnoldKenneth.html) to the commander of [Wright Field](WrightPatterson.html). Start of the official file.
- **Tuesday 15 July:** [Mac Brazel](BrazelWilliamW.html) is released by the military and returns to his farm.
- **Wednesday 23 July**
- John Jenssen is piloting a private plane over New Jersey when he sees a lightning flash high up in the sky. The engine stalls, but the plane continues its horizontal flight. Jenssen then sees on his left a strange craft, like a specter with portholes around its rim. A second UFO stands motionless in the sky 400 m from the first. Jenssen then restarts and escapes the UFOs.
- Near Pitanga (Brazil), a group of men sees a disk-shaped craft land near them. One of them, José G. Higgins, sees 3 beings wearing shiny clothes and transparent suits come out of the saucer. They are 2 m tall, have bald heads larger than average, huge round eyes, no eyelashes or eyebrows, and carry a metal box on their backs. They draw a picture of the solar system for the witness and show him Uranus as if to indicate where they come from.
- **Saturday, July 26:** On board the presidential C-54 *Sacred Crow*, Truman signs the *National Security Act*, founding the [NSC](NSC.html), the [CIA](CIA.html) (replacing the [CIG](CIG.html)) and the [USAF](USAF.html) as an independent entity from the *National Military Establishment* (which would become the [DoD](DoD.html) in [1949](1949.html)).
- Stalin summons nuclear physicist S. Korolyev (father of Soviet
missiles and space program); he entrusts him with a series of
foreign reports concerning UFOs and including the Roswell crash
case. Korolyev, who has a team of translators and 3 days to give
his opinion on the potential threat posed by UFOs, assures the
master of the USSR that the saucers are not American weapons;
although real, the phenomenon does not seem dangerous to him.
Stalin approves this conclusion shared by all the scientists he
consulted.
- **Tuesday, July 29th, 2:50 PM:** At Hamilton Field (California), the base operations assistant officer Captain William Rhyerd and former AAF B-29 pilot Ward Stewart observed 2 round, bright white objects with a diameter between 15 and 25 feet, flying 3 to 4 times at a speed comparable to a P-80 also visible. One object flew in a straight and horizontal line, the other one swirled around it like an escort. [[case [Blue Book](BlueBook.html) #69 unsolved]]{.source}
- **August**
- **August 2, 17:41:** The *Lancastrian Star Dust* of the British
company *South American Airways* is flying over the Andes. Despite
the snowfall, a few minutes before landing in Santiago, Chile, the
plane's radio operator Dennis Harmer sends a Morse message to
announce a good arrival: ETA [*Estimated Time of Arrival*] Santiago
17.45 hrs STENDEC. The official report on this will be as follows:
The signal of 17.41 was received by Santiago only 4 minutes before
the ETA. The Chilean radio operator in Santiago indicates that the
signal was received loud and clear but that it was given very
quickly. Not understanding the word "STENDEC" he asked and received
the same word repeated twice in succession. No explanation for the
word "STENDEC" was found. From that moment nothing more was heard
from the plane and no contact was established with the control tower
in Santiago. All subsequent calls were unanswered. This last word
will therefore remain incomprehensible, like the disappearance of
the plane. The plane will not be found until January [2000](2000.html).
- **August 8:** Federal Agent Coyne writes in a memo addressed to one of his sub-directors: we have no reason to consider these discs as anything other than a military weapon, and, in the impossibility of attributing the paternity of these discs to the navy, the army, or the Soviets, suggests that the file be entirely handed over to the army.
- Observation at Moutiers. [[Vallée 1966]]{.source}
- At Bethel (Alabama), two pilots saw an immense black object, larger than a C-54 without engines, wings or any external sign of propulsion, smooth and streamlined, silhouetted against a bright evening sky. The pilots then increased their plane's altitude to 400 m and the object crossed their trajectory at 90. They followed the object at a distance for 4 minutes. [[[GEPAN](GEPAN.html), Information Note No. 3, 1981]]{.source}
- In the Cascade Mountains, F. M. Johnson, a Portland prospector,
observed for 50 seconds and with a telescope 5 discs of 10 m in
diameter. These turned towards the Sun without any noise.
During the observation the needle of his compass watch oscillated
intensely from right to left.
- At Fort Richardson (Alaska), 2 officers observed the supersonic progression of a 3 m diameter sphere, without a trail. [[[GEPAN](GEPAN.html), Information Note No. 3, 1981]]{.source}
- In Oklahoma City, a ground pilot saw something the size of 6 B-29s, white, circular, smooth, moving at an estimated speed of 2400 km/h. [[[GEPAN](GEPAN.html), Information Note No. 3, 1981]]{.source}
- **August 12:** In Las Vegas (Nevada), a round orange object descended twice to the tops of trees. [[[Hynek](HynekJosephAllen.html), 1979]]{.source}
- **August 13**
- **9:30:** L. W. Hawkins observed 2 discs reflecting light and moving at very high altitude over Salmon Dam, Twin Falls (Idaho). [[[Hynek](HynekJosephAllen.html) 1979]]{.source}
- **1 pm:** In the Snake (Smoke?) River canyon, Twin Falls (Idaho), A. C. Urie and his two sons observed at a distance of 90 m a saucer-shaped object overturned at 25 m altitude moving at about 1600 km/h. The object was pale blue, had a flattened red rim at the top of the dome, measured 6 m in diameter and 3.5 m in thickness. It followed a trajectory that followed the terrain, shaking the tops of the trees strongly. [[[Hynek](HynekJosephAllen.html) 1979]]{.source}
- **August 14:** p.126.
- **August 19, 9:30 PM:** In Twin Falls (Idaho), for 50 minutes,
multiple sightings of UFO's in triangular formations of 3 to 12
crafts were observed by 5 witnesses, including 2 police officers. [[Hynek 1979]]{.source}
- **Late August:** In the evening, 12 ovoid objects the size of a B-29 without wings were observed in a tight diamond formation. They made a descent, stopped at a level, then made a wide turn and finally a rapid ascent at 40°, at a speed of 600 km/h. [[Hynek, 1979]]{.source}
- **September 3, 12:15 PM:** In Oswego (Oregon) Mrs. Raymond Dupui, a stay-at-home mother, sees between 12 and 15 round and silver objects. [[case [Blue Book](BlueBook.html) #69 unexplained]]{.source}
- **September 5:** General [Schulgen](SchulgenGeorgeF.html) of the [USAF](USAF.html) confirms once again to the [FBI](FBI.html) that neither the [U.S. Army](USArmy.html) nor the [U.S. Navy](USNavy.html) have any research projects related to aircraft construction that could be related to flying saucers.
- **September 15:** The head of the [FBI](FBI.html) in San Francisco intercepts a confidential message from the Air Force indicating that the army should take care of credible witnesses and leave the dubious cases and toilet seat affairs to the FBI's buddies. [Hoover](officiels.html#HooverJohnEdgar), head of the [FBI](FBI.html), chokes with rage and sends an angry letter to General [George C. McDonald](MacDonaldGeorgeClement.html) at the Pentagon, in which he announces to cease any investigation on the subject. From this day on, the [FBI](FBI.html) will officially deny any involvement in UFO investigations.
- **September 18:** Official establishment of the [USAF](USAF.html).
Its first Secretary, W. Stuart Symington, takes the oath.
- **September 19:** General [Twining](TwiningNathanFarragut.html)
reports to President [Truman](TrumanHarryS.html). General
[Marshall](MarshallGeorgeCattlet.html) insists that its contents
remain secret. According to the [MJ documents](MJDocs.html),
[Twining](TwiningNathanFarragut.html) and [Dr.
Bush](BushVannevar.html) conclude that the disc must be a low-range
reconnaissance device, due to its size as well as the apparent
lack of any fuel provision.
- **September 23:** The number of testimonies and the quality of the
observers, often very credible, lead General [Twining](TwiningNathanFarragut.html) to suggest the creation of a study commission, which will later become the [Sign](Sign.html) project. He writes on this date that the observations are of reality and not visions or inventions (...) resembling probably the shape of a disk, hypothesizing that these objects could be American devices developed as part of some highly confidential unknown project or of foreign origin (and therefore probably Soviet).
- **September 24:** According to the [MJ documents](MJDocs.html), the creation of the [MJ-12](MJ-12.html) group on the special executive secret order of President [Truman](TrumanHarryS.html), on the recommendation of Doctor [Vannevar Bush](BushVannevar.html) and Secretary [James Forrestal](ForrestalJamesVincent.html), who will be among the first members alongside Vice Admiral [Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter](HillenkoetterRoscoeHenry.html), General [Nathan F. Twining](TwiningNathanFarragut.html), General [Hoyt Vandenberg](VandenbergHoytSanford.html), Doctor [Detlev Bronk](BronkDetlevWulf.html), Doctor [Jerome Hunsaker](HunsakerJeromeClarke.html), [Sidney W. Souers](SouersSidneyW.html), [Gordon Gray](GrayGordonL.html), Doctor [Donald Menzel](MenzelDonaldHoward.html), General [Robert M. Montague](MontagueRobertM.html) and Doctor [Lloyd V. Berkner](BerknerLloydViel.html).
- **October**
- **October 1:** Bulletin No. 59 from the [FBI](FBI.html): All information related to UFOs must now be addressed to the [USAF](USAF.html).
- **October 8:** In Las Vegas (Nevada), a speeding object moving at 600 to 1600 km/h and leaving a trail behind it makes a 180° turn over 8-15 km and disappears in its region of origin. [[[Hynek](HynekJosephAllen.html) 1979]]{.source}
- **October 14**
- First human supersonic flight: Captain Charles "Chuck" Yeager reached 670 mph in his Bell X-1.
- 11 miles from Cave Creek, near Phoenix (Arizona), the former AAF pilot J. L. Clark, the civilian pilot Anderson and a third man observed for 45 to 60 seconds a kind of winged object of 3 feet seeming dark (black) in front of the clouds and red in front of the blue sky, flying straight at about 380 miles/h and an altitude of about 8000 to 10000 feet, from the northwest to the southeast. [[case [Blue Book](BlueBook.html) #95 unexplained]]{.source}
- 11 anonymous civilians in Dodgeville, Wisconsin observed for 1 hour an object performing circles in the sky counterclockwise. [[case [Blue Book](BlueBook.html) #91 unexplained]]{.source}
- **October 30:** President [Truman](TrumanHarryS.html) jots down on a calendar-like personal journal various questions he wants to ask the Secretary of State. He particularly wants to know if an action plan is necessary to counter an attack from a satellite. However, at the time, there were no satellites in the sky, neither in the US, nor in Russia or Europe. Sputnik, the first one launched into space, would only be launched 10 years later.
- **November 30:** According to the [MJ documents](MJDocs.html), the [MJ-12](MJ-12.html) group concluded that, although the beings recovered from the [Roswell](1947-07-02_Roswell.html) wreckage had a human appearance, their biological and evolutionary processes differed significantly from those observed or postulated for homo-sapiens.
- **December**
- Englishman Hogdson observed luminous points on the dark side of the [Moon](Moon.html).
- Following [Highjump](Highjump.html), Operation Windmill begins.
- Finne Ronne, leader of a private American expedition to Antarctica, is based on Stonington Island. He flies over the southern shores, and is the first to see the mountains on the west side of the Filchner Ice Shelf.
- **30 December**: [James Forrestal](ForrestalJamesVincent.html)
creates by decree an inquiry commission on UFO sightings, the
project [Sign](Sign.html), charged with collecting the maximum
amount of information possible on these devices, their
characteristics and motivations. [[Vallée 1966]]{.source}
- Creation of the [UKUSA](UKUSA.html) Agreement.
- Near Oradea (Romania), Andreas Schulhof (Romanian speaking German) saw through the window of the train he was travelling in 6 unusual objects flying in formation. He estimated their speed to be 20000 miles/h. [[Magazine Volk und Kultur 1969]]{.source}
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