New UFO secrets are revealed in Ministry of Defence
files. Release of classified documents sheds light on
infamous 'alien' encounters.
Mark Townsend, defence correspondent
The Observer, Sunday 22 March 2009
As close encounters go, the claim by a woman that an alien
attempted to seduce her on a country road sounds far-fetched, but
files released today reveal that it was considered serious enough for
the Ministry of Defence to investigate.
The Norfolk woman who claimed she was approached by a man who
said he came from another planet similar to Earth was questioned by
the MoD intelligence branch DI55, whose brief was to investigate
credible UFO reports.
She told them that, during their 10-minute chat, the man said his race
was responsible for creating crop circles and explained the
importance of contact between humans and his own people.
The woman, whose identity is not revealed in the government's
"X-Files", was described by officials as "agitated" following the
incident in which she "heard a loud buzzing noise behind her, then
turned to witness a large, glowing spherical object rise steadily until it
disappeared".
The claims were examined by DI55 (whose very existence was
denied by the government until recently) and described by an
intelligence official as "one of our most unusual UFO reports".
Other cases include the description of a black inverted
boomerang-shaped UFO by two experienced air traffic controllers at
Heathrow. The sighting, from the airport's control tower on the
morning of 17 December 1992, came a week after numerous
witnesses in Louth, Lincolnshire, reported seeing three lights
attached to a large, triangular craft.
Today's release of the MoD documents also sheds light on one of
Britain's most infamous UFO episodes, namely the death of an
American air force pilot, Captain William Schaffner, whom conspiracy
theorists believe was killed during a high-speed duel with aliens
above the North Sea.
On the evening of 8 September 1970, Schaffner's RAF Lightning
crashed into the sea during a low-level exercise following take-off
from RAF Binbrook, Lincolnshire. Schaffner's body was never found,
which became significant after claims that Schaffner's plane was
scrambled to intercept UFOs.
Although the 28-year-old's death continues to be attributed by some
internet sites to a secret war between aliens and earthlings, the MoD
files contain a previously unreleased summary of the original RAF
Board of Inquiry report into the crash, which makes no mention of
UFOs. It concluded that the pilot's death was a tragic accident.
Dr David Clarke, a lecturer in journalism at Sheffield Hallam University
and author of Flying Saucerers: A Social History of UFOlogy, said:
"From suspected US Air Force spy planes to Russian rockets burning
up in the atmosphere, these new files show the many and varied
explanations for UFO reports submitted to the MoD. Making the
material available allows us all to make an informed decision on the
mystery of UFOs."
One of the themes to emerge from these papers is the Aurora spy
plane saga, with the files containing a little-known set of colour
photographs, apparently taken in the Scottish Highlands, which
appear to show a large diamond-shaped UFO shadowed by military
jets.
During the 1980s, rumours abounded about a spy plane codenamed
Aurora, said to be capable of hypersonic speed. Although the US
authorities denied its existence, alleged sightings frequently made
headlines in UFO magazines. The DI55 papers confirm that officials
also believed it was possible that someone was flying an advanced
aircraft within UK air space.
The most intriguing incident involving such a craft occurred at 9pm on
4 August 1990, at Calvine, a remote hamlet near Pitlochry in
Scotland. According to the brief details released by the MoD,
witnesses saw a diamond-shaped UFO hovering for about 10 minutes
before it disappeared upwards at high speed. During the incident,
Harrier jump jets were seen making a number of low-level passes.
Colour photographs reveal both the UFO and at least one of the jets.
Former MoD official Nick Pope described the photographs as "one of
the most intriguing [UFO] cases in the MoD's files".
However, Clarke said the papers failed to address long-standing
questions over the incident. He said: "Many questions remain. Who
was the photographer and how can we be sure his story was
genuine? Why did the Daily Record decide not to publish the
photographs in 1990? If they really were taken on the date stated,
then why was the MoD unable to trace the origin of the Harriers
clearly shown in the print?
"All we have is the usual rather bland statement that the MoD decided
the incident was unexplained, but of no defence significance: case
closed."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/mar/22/ufos-aliens-di55-mod
files. Release of classified documents sheds light on
infamous 'alien' encounters.
Mark Townsend, defence correspondent
The Observer, Sunday 22 March 2009
As close encounters go, the claim by a woman that an alien
attempted to seduce her on a country road sounds far-fetched, but
files released today reveal that it was considered serious enough for
the Ministry of Defence to investigate.
The Norfolk woman who claimed she was approached by a man who
said he came from another planet similar to Earth was questioned by
the MoD intelligence branch DI55, whose brief was to investigate
credible UFO reports.
She told them that, during their 10-minute chat, the man said his race
was responsible for creating crop circles and explained the
importance of contact between humans and his own people.
The woman, whose identity is not revealed in the government's
"X-Files", was described by officials as "agitated" following the
incident in which she "heard a loud buzzing noise behind her, then
turned to witness a large, glowing spherical object rise steadily until it
disappeared".
The claims were examined by DI55 (whose very existence was
denied by the government until recently) and described by an
intelligence official as "one of our most unusual UFO reports".
Other cases include the description of a black inverted
boomerang-shaped UFO by two experienced air traffic controllers at
Heathrow. The sighting, from the airport's control tower on the
morning of 17 December 1992, came a week after numerous
witnesses in Louth, Lincolnshire, reported seeing three lights
attached to a large, triangular craft.
Today's release of the MoD documents also sheds light on one of
Britain's most infamous UFO episodes, namely the death of an
American air force pilot, Captain William Schaffner, whom conspiracy
theorists believe was killed during a high-speed duel with aliens
above the North Sea.
On the evening of 8 September 1970, Schaffner's RAF Lightning
crashed into the sea during a low-level exercise following take-off
from RAF Binbrook, Lincolnshire. Schaffner's body was never found,
which became significant after claims that Schaffner's plane was
scrambled to intercept UFOs.
Although the 28-year-old's death continues to be attributed by some
internet sites to a secret war between aliens and earthlings, the MoD
files contain a previously unreleased summary of the original RAF
Board of Inquiry report into the crash, which makes no mention of
UFOs. It concluded that the pilot's death was a tragic accident.
Dr David Clarke, a lecturer in journalism at Sheffield Hallam University
and author of Flying Saucerers: A Social History of UFOlogy, said:
"From suspected US Air Force spy planes to Russian rockets burning
up in the atmosphere, these new files show the many and varied
explanations for UFO reports submitted to the MoD. Making the
material available allows us all to make an informed decision on the
mystery of UFOs."
One of the themes to emerge from these papers is the Aurora spy
plane saga, with the files containing a little-known set of colour
photographs, apparently taken in the Scottish Highlands, which
appear to show a large diamond-shaped UFO shadowed by military
jets.
During the 1980s, rumours abounded about a spy plane codenamed
Aurora, said to be capable of hypersonic speed. Although the US
authorities denied its existence, alleged sightings frequently made
headlines in UFO magazines. The DI55 papers confirm that officials
also believed it was possible that someone was flying an advanced
aircraft within UK air space.
The most intriguing incident involving such a craft occurred at 9pm on
4 August 1990, at Calvine, a remote hamlet near Pitlochry in
Scotland. According to the brief details released by the MoD,
witnesses saw a diamond-shaped UFO hovering for about 10 minutes
before it disappeared upwards at high speed. During the incident,
Harrier jump jets were seen making a number of low-level passes.
Colour photographs reveal both the UFO and at least one of the jets.
Former MoD official Nick Pope described the photographs as "one of
the most intriguing [UFO] cases in the MoD's files".
However, Clarke said the papers failed to address long-standing
questions over the incident. He said: "Many questions remain. Who
was the photographer and how can we be sure his story was
genuine? Why did the Daily Record decide not to publish the
photographs in 1990? If they really were taken on the date stated,
then why was the MoD unable to trace the origin of the Harriers
clearly shown in the print?
"All we have is the usual rather bland statement that the MoD decided
the incident was unexplained, but of no defence significance: case
closed."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/mar/22/ufos-aliens-di55-mod
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