By Jack Brummet, Alien Lore Ed.
By the 1970’s researchers knew that the CIA had a large body of UFO/alien research material. In 1978, the group Ground Saucer Watch forced the CIA to release 900 pages of UFO records under Freedom of Information Act requests. A researcher, Brad Sparks, believes that 200 more documents were directly referenced in those 900 pages, but were not included in the release.
A recently found CIA record seems to be a copy of information from US Air Force Intelligence. The subject is “Unidentified Airborne Object”. “At Sea – North Atlantic” is the location. As usual, there are extensive redactions of names and other details. See the transcription below...
1.On 4 Aug 50 at 10 am my ship, while on a heading of 2450 true, with a smooth sea and clear weather, visibility 14 miles, barometer reading 30.03, was underway from Walton, Nova Scotia, to an East Coast US port. I was in the chart room just aft the bridge when Third Mate, who was at mid-bridge checking the compass, shouted that there was a flying object off the starboard bow. I immediately ascended the conning tower and by this time the object was on our starboard beam. It was travelling on a reciprocal course to ours about 50 or 100 feet above the water at an estimated speed of over 25 mph. From the conning tower i observed it with my binoculars for a period of approximately a minute and a half when it disappeared into the horizon in a north-easterly direction. I would estimate that the closest it approached my ship was one thousand feet and it was an ovular cylindrical shaped object the like of which i have never seen before. The object was quite small and I would judge that its diameter was approximately 10 feet. It had a depth but to what extent I was unable to observe. The object made no noise and as it passed abeam our ship it appeared to pick up considerable speed. It was not flying smoothly but impressed me as having a churning or rotary motion. It had a shiny aluminium colour and sparkled in the sunlight.
XXXXX Chief Mat XXXXX
2. I was on the main deck, port side, just forward of the bridge when the Third Mate shouted there was an object on our starboard bow. I looked off to the starboard and saw an object elliptic shape looking like half an egg cut lengthwise travelling at a great rate of speed on a course reciprocal to our own. I immediately ran out to the stern, port side, and with my glasses was able to observe the object disappearing into the horizon. From the time I was first alerted to its presence until it disappeared for site, 15 seconds elapsed. I believe that it was travelling at a tremendous rate of speed, probably faster than 500 mph. During the time I saw it, it was approximately 70 feet off the water and i judge it was approximately 10 miles away. I clearly saw its shadow on the water. I last observed it off the starboard quarter and it seemed to be increasing its speed and ascending. It had an elliptic shape and I could clearly see that it had three dimensions. It wobbled in the air, made no noise, and was a metallic white in colour. The length was approximately six times the breadth and its belly had a depth of possibly 5’.
XXXXX Third Mate, XXXXX
3. At 10:00 am on 4 Aug 50 as I was checking the compass at mid-bridge through a bridge port hole, I observed a flying object off the starboard bow. I immediately shouted to the Captain, who was in the chart room, and the Chief Mate, who was below on the port deck, of my observation and went out onto the flying bridge myself. The object was approximately 70’ above the horizon at a distance of 12 miles. It came toward us, then ran on a course reciprocal to our and turned off into the horizon in the northeast. I clearly saw its shadow on the water. Its impression of the object was that it was elliptical, not unlike a Japanese diamond box kite in shape. I have no idea of its size but length was ix times the breadth and it had a depth of from two to five feet. It made no noise and was travelling at a tremendous rate of speed. As it traveled through the air it made a spinning or wobbly motion. After it disappeared in the horizon, I saw it reappeared several seconds later, ascending at even faster speed than when I first observed it. I have no idea what this object was, I never saw anything comparable to it before, and it was one of the most frightening experiences I have ever had. I roughly estimate that the object travelled 28 miles during the 15 seconds I had it under observation.
Collector’s Note: The Chief and Third Mates were interviewed on 8 August by two Intelligence Officers. The Captain who was absent at that time, was interviewed on 9 August by only one of the two Intelligence Officers. In describing the occurrences, the Chief and Third Mate reenacted their behaviour at the time of sighting, and the period from the time the Chief Mate saw the object abeam until he reached the after deck and saw it disappear off the starboard quarter was timed at 15 seconds. In laying the angles of observation out on a chart and assuming the object was ten miles distant and taking the time into account, it is evident it was certainly travelling at a very high rate of speed, which approximated 400 to 500 miles per hour. It will be noted that there is a tremendous discrepancy between the Captains estimate of speed and the estimate of the two officers which could not be explained as they were very careful in making their statements and asserted that their observations had been correct. All three men were quite evidently very much upset by the sighting. Aside from the discrepancies, it was quite evident to the Intelligence Officers who interviewed these men that they had certainly seen some conventional type of aircraft. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
