UFO's With Occupants: Pittsburgh, Kansas 1952

On 25, August of 1952 at 5:30 a.m. near Pittsburgh and Frontenac on eastern Kansas a low-hovering object was observed. This aluminum color object had a row of rectangular windows out of which a bluish light fluctuated and human forms could be detected.  Described as being shaped like two oval meat platters pressed edge to edge there were about six 12-inch fast revolving propellers.

The object was estimated to be 75 ft. long, 45 feet wide and 25 feet high. As it rose to leave, the grass of the field was blow around and moving off it gave a "whoosh" or something that sounded like a "covey of quail" taking flight.

A good overview of the details with images can be found here. Dr. J. Allen Hynek addresses it in his work from 1963. The online Project Blue Book does not contain a file for this case (the 1952 list contains one for Topeka, Wichita, and one for Meade). For some odd reason, this case was address in the famous "Report # 14." 

The reports of occupants from this time are often swept aside and filed with the "crazies" of the "Contactee" movement.  There are hints that there were more reports of alleged occupants than has previously been thought.

1951 - Albuquerque, New Mexico UFO

Was this object seen by witnesses in possible  two locations in 1951 an experimental craft with "invasion stripes"?  The stripes in WW2 and until June 1951 were markings so that ground forces and artillery could identify friend from foe.  Would this have been why - when queried - tower personnel could honestly say it was an aircraft even if they might be unable to tell more then that about the object?

Not all the files in Project Blue Book are mysterious in the sense of their place of origin being in question - sometimes it is merely trying to identify which super secret project they were protecting at the time people observed the experimental craft.

Trust me, there are still many, many high strange cases that suggest something out of the ordinary was happening. Separating the wheat from the chaff is the issue.

Objects reported in Vicinity of Levelland, Texas file 1957

On the Level About Levelland, TX

In a section titled "Story Weather in Texas" Dr. Donald H. Menzel in his work, The World of Flying Saucers (1963) examines the Levelland, Texas case of November 2, 1957 where autos reported losing power, an object was observed, and an incident for the books of UFO was born. Menzel comes down strongly on the side of those pushing the theory of ball lightening - a still rare phenomena today - and in 1957 one that some scientists did not even believe existed.

Menzell, like the Air Force Project Blue Book files and public responses, plays fast and loose with the totality of experiences, facts and conclusions.

The PBB file will state in its summary cover page that only six witnesses were involved and inside will point out that in contrast to accusations by Donald Keyhoe and others, there were not 14 witnesses! Yet in that file are a collection of witness statements that indicate many more people observed or experienced high strangeness in West Texas that night than could be accounted for by "ball lightening."

In addition, there is a document that appears to be a veritable "smoking gun" describing attitudes and methods. Transcribed it reads: "General comments regarding hypothesis advanced by Mr. [Blanked out name]. 

There is just enough truth in this hypothesis (the existence of charged clouds as cause lightening) to make it appear a reasonable explanation. [emphasis added by blog editor]

However, we have never heard of the "ducting" of ions, and certainly if a sizeable volume of air were to be burned the resulting influx of air, or efflux of gase would create quite a wind, which reports of the incident do not indicate."

Indeed, early reports of the event make no mention of any "wind" only of a loud clap of sound that one driver assumed might be thunder. Other articles, later dated articles, add this interesting feature into the testimony of a farm worker, Korean veteran, Pedro Saucedo (or Saucido).

The mist, rain and other general weather conditions were heralded as a sure sign of the conditions necessary for ball lightening. It was a the equivilent to a bright shiny object to distract the public from the fact that other elements of the story and other stories from the surrounding areas could not be so easily dismissed.

Headlines about the story shot out and made the story national, much to the distress of the Air Force. The summary card of the file reads, with a touch of ire almost, that the UFO incident "triggered" more than 300 similarly described cases because of national publicity and sensationalism caused by the media.  (One wonders if the translation of this was  that more people noticed than we are used to?)

"Weird 'Thing' To Be Probed by Air Force." Boston Daily Record, Nov. 5, 1957, pg. 5.
"Sun-Like Mystery Object Hovers Near Atomic Bunkers". No sources listed but location was White Sands Proving Grounds, Nov. 4, 1957. Military patrols had seen vivid bright light, object 200-300 feet long, blinking on and off, disappeared into the sky and had been seen hovering over site of an old A-Bomb bunker.
"Inquiry in Air Object." NY Times, Nov. 5, 1957.
"Fiery Object Stops Texas Trucks." Tucson Daily Citizen. Nov. 5, 1957.  In this version, Saucido mentions the sound of wind rushing by.
"Blinding Flying Saucer 'Stops' Texas Motorcars." Indionapoils Star. Nov. 4, 1957. Edd-shaped object, red as a setting sun 'streaked' over West, Texas, Clovis, Nm...


The object seen was described as Oval-Round (this is also the egg-shape classification), cover sheet says bluish-white to greenish-white but most newspaper stories will describe the object as a vivid, sunset, red.  The sizes varied from a basketball (held at arm's length) to an object 800 feet in length and several measurements in  between. All but one, it was noted, mentioned lighting flashes along the rim. The conclusion was: "After extensive checks and detailed observations the Air Force and non-governmental scientists...concluded sighting was a very rare phenomena, ball lightening."

One witness who sighted the object at 0100 saw it from 200 yards away. He described it as being an  oval, 200 feet long, and 43 feet wide. The night was cloudy and there was drizzle yet at that distance features would have been discernable.

A message in "8 parts" to ACS/I, Washington att Major Byrne from AFCIN-4E4 dated Nov. 8. 1957 concerned the UFO incidents throughout the US that had been given wide publicity, and the communication was a request for report on immediate conclusions or findings. At the bottom of the form was the name Capt. Gregory. Several specific cases or events were itemized.

1) Kearney, Nebraska "space ship" incident where a "wholly unreliable source" had refused to take a lie detector test.
2) Gulf of Mexico and the Coast Guard Cutter "SABGO", 200 miles south of New Orleans. There had been four separate targets observed ( and not the one erroneously reported) - 3 on radar and 1 sighted visually. Each time target picked up - there was a direct opposite appearance from proceeding target and some distane away. Speeds 250 and 660 mph - suggest propeller aircraft...


Other elements of the Levelland Case:
1. It was not the only similar event reported for the days prior to, same day and day after in distantly related geographic locations. In other words, it happened in many places. See especially the Nov.4, 1957 Elmwood Park, Illinois mentioned by Dr. Hyneck in his work on the Project Blue Book (pg. 166).
2. Drivers miles apart experienced a similar event: a very strange flash of light that stretched across the sky and a loss of radio and electrical current for a brief few seconds in their cars at approximately the same moment. These included Nov. 2 at about 2310-2330, Anton, Texas were driver reported lightening and static on the radio, an intense bolt of lightening to his SW and radio and car lights going out for a few seconds. Nov. 2 south of Shallow  Water, Texas at about 2335 were witnesses reported an intense flash of light in the SW that had a white-white-orange color. Lights and radio went out for abour three seconds. . Others saw strange objects:Nov. 3 about 1:15 a.m. on an area called Oklahoma Flats near Levelland an east to west flash, close to the ground that was red to orange-red. Nov. 4 at 2045 near Sunday, Texas a vivid red object the size of a basket at arm's length was seen traveling SE. It appeared to be swinging and was attached by a cable to a larger object that looked like a balloon.  
3. The SW direction reported in the two cases from Anton and Shallowater would point back toward the Levelland, Texas site. This creates a witness triangulation of something that happened in the area of Levelland.
3. The AF file and newspaper accounts indicate more than 6 people witnessed events in that time frame. Patrolman A.J. Fowler was quoted saying that "Saucedo" and 14 others had called in reports of the object.

Lacking A Common Language : The UFO Investigation Process

The files of UFO investigations are filled with attempts of people to explain in normal language something that was out of the ordinary.

Kenneth Arnold's famous attempt to describe how the objects he had seen MOVED " like a saucer skipping across water" turned into , "flyer sees flying saucer."!  It stuck and the long years of confused and confusing descriptions began.

I have, in examining many records, observed a fluidity between what the witness (A) said and the investigator (B) wrote down.  (B) was attempting to make what (A) reported fit neatly into a set of presumed explanations: Aircraft, weather balloon, astronomical objects, natural phenomena, miss identifications of common and normal objects, mass hysteria, war nerves, and hoaxes.

Much was made of the fact that often witnesses of the same event saw different shapes. For the AF and debunkers this was proof of their suspicious  natures.  Yet, little attention was paid in all the fact gathering to issues of perspective and  viewpoint differences to the same basic shape.  The common terms were less uniformly understood as well creating another issue. The same basic shape could be called by several different names: good for muddying the waters of investigations.

The Shapes
The DISC - a flat, circular, thin object
The HEMISPHERE - a half s sphere. Associated terms include "The HALF-MOON" or "MUSHROOM"
The SPHERE -a round, solid figure
The FLATTENED SPHERE -  a round shape squashed down. Associated terms include "The FOOTBALL"
The ELLIPTICAL -an oval shape. Associated terms include "The FOOTBALL" or "The EGG SHAPE"
The TRIANGLE - a three sided form of three angles. Associated terms include 'The DELTA'.
The CYLINDRICAL - a form of two straight parallel lines and a circular or oval cross-section. Associated terms include 'The Cigar Shape'.
The RECTANGLE - a shape of four sides, two longer than the other two.
The SQUARE - a shape of four equal sides
The CHEVRON -  a "V" or an upside down "V"; although it might be assumed to be a form of a triangle, witnesses sometimes noted an opened ended aspect and the Chevron term applied.
The DOMED DISC - as opposed to a flat or normal disc shape; most often associated with sightings of a dome, protrusion, "hat" or similar features on the top of an object. Associated terms include "The Saucer with a HAT" or the "WW1 HELMET"
The SATURN DISC - an apparent ring around the object. Sub-categories were the elliptical or winged oval and the fat diamond.
The LIGHT SOURCE ONLY - star like or planet like. Associated terms include "STREETLIGHT" or "HEADLIGHT" look.

The Size
A given in the data of the UFO files is a common parlance measurement tool. "XXX held at arm's length."  Even when the rest of the phrase is not included it is assumed. All the early forms and reports include the verbiage of object was like {what thing} held at arm's length? Mid-way through the project an attempt was made to switch to using the head of wooden match as the sizing tool. it clarified some measurement issues but made vague many others.  Here are the common reference items used and understood:

PEA held at arm's length
DIME held at arm's length
NICKEL held at arm's length
QUARTER held at arm's length
HALF-DOLLAR held at arm's length
GOLF BALL held at arm's length
TENNIS BALL held at arm's length
ORANGE held at arm's length
BASEBALL held at arm's length
GRAPEFRUIT held at arm's length
BASKETBALL held at arm's length

The problem with these was they address perspective related to distance.  The same object seen at many miles may, if it is closer, may require a different object to describe its size related to nearness to witness. Thus the importance of recording stationary landmarks in relation to a sighting to bring greater clarity to the description of size versus distance. If the object was seen by the water tower and both of those things were the size of a pea held at arm's length the answer was more precise.

The do, however, provide good "apparent" size values to take into consideration. It should be more difficult to assign an object the apparent size of a a BASEBALL as an aircraft that made no noise and sharp 90 degree angle turns. Such a mundane craft seen that size would have made noise and been unable to perform that maneuver.

Close Encounters of the Up-Close and Painful Kind

Several reports of encounters with unidentified flying objects or unknown incidences involve after effects of burns to skin, clothing, area or both.  First diagnosis was often radiation burns.

1957:
Nov. 2, the Atlantic Coast of Brazil
Nov. 2, Orangrande, NM, observed an egg shaped object
Nov.6, Meron, Indiana area
Nov. 10, Madison, Ohio, an "acorn" (egg shape?) object

1964:
April 27, Albuquerque, New Mexico, egg shaped object sited; 10 year old burned

1965:
July 1, France, Valensole Encounter

1967:
May 20, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Falcon Lake Incident

1980:
Texas, Cash-Lundum Encounter

Growth Spurst After Seeing Egg Shaped Object? High Strangeness from 1964.

A woman from Albuquerque, Bernalillo County,  New Mexico - one Mrs. Max Stull - claimed that her ten year-old daughter, Sharon, had grown 5 1/2 inches and gained 25 lbs. since seeing an "egg shaped" object in April of 1964.  The wire story was dated June of 1964. No follows up stories have been found.

This family had previously been in the news following the Socorro case. The daughter, Sharon, had been returning to the school grounds after going home for lunch when she saw an odd egg shaped object according to an article in the local paper, "Girl Says She Was Burned While Watching UFO Here." (Albuquerque Journal, April 28, 1964). The date was April 27, 1964 just days after the Socorro event.

She observed object - that seemed to bounce up and down about three times in the sky, for an estimated 5-10 minutes. Later, back in class, she suddenly began complaining of burning sensations about her eyes, nose and face. The doctor diagnosed her with conjunctivitis of both eyes (membrane inflammation) and first degree burns under the eyes and on the nose. He noted that an exposure such as was reported would d not be considered sufficient to produce such burns or inflammation.

Sharon stated she was watching the object in the NE and the sun was behind her; apparently ruling out negative impact from staring at the sun or sunburn per se.  In fact, the temperature between Noon and 1:00 p.m., on that date in that place, was listed as 64 degrees at noon and 66 degrees by 1:00 p.m. The high was 70 reached at 3: 00 p.m.

One newspaper article, "'Infra-Red' Burns Suffered by Girl who 'Saw' Object " (copy in the PBB file but without citation) said she saw it hovering near her Lowell Elementary School grounds. She termed the egg shaped object "queer looking" to police Lt. C.K. Jolly. She watched it cross the sky and disappear into the distance.

She described the object as a little smaller than an airplane. It had no windows. Her younger sister, age 8, also saw it but was not as interested so did not watch it as long. She, according to one newspaper account, was able to draw an image of the object and may have described in a picture she drew as silver in appearance.

Both Sharon and her mother felt the burns were the result of watching the object cross the sky. Mrs. Stull kept her daughter home the next day and admitted to newspapers, she was "scared to death."

The story was also carried in APRO Bulletin and a less than complimentary account that accused the mother of soliciting support, sympathy and cast the entire family in less than fond terms. The APRO Bulletin (May 1964) was posted into the "Edgewood New Mexico Case File" for April 27, 1964 where a man alleged to have been drunk, fired some 14 rounds into a "flying saucer" and heard them hit the object. He was charged by police for disorderly conduct and discharging a firearm and the Air Force filed is as a probable attempt at a hoax.Not much is there about the event. Yet, inside the 13 pages of report were numerous clippings concerning the same day events of Sharon Stull. Some sources allude to there being an PBB file on the Stull case, that they investigated it but dismissed it as a hoax. The online files do not reflect any coverage of that case but do have clippings as part of other cases.

Taken in a broad historic context, the case, despite what some may have attempted to make of it, has at its heart something unusual occurring that left evidence in the forms of burns. If that was a singular occurrence it might be easier to sweep it aside and agree with it being a bid for attention or sympathy. 

This would be classed as one of several where reports of radiation readings, burns, and other side effects were alleged in UFO sightings reported to Project Blue Book or Mufon (NICAP or other early groups).  It is also apparent from the undated article that there was an attempt made to bring the event into question. Note the use of the marks around the word 'Saw'.    Children, youth and women were often immediately cast into the unreliable classification in UFO research - due both to the subject matter and to the prejudices/biases of the era. Women were hysterical, flighty, emotionally unstable by nature. About their children they could 'overprotective'.  Many of these cases involving women happened when a woman was unable to do many things taken for granted:  open a bank account, get a credit card, etc. They made an excellent scapegoat for shifting a report into the unreliable category.

It should be recalled that on April 24, 1964 in Socorro, Socorro County, New Mexico, (central New Mexico) a patrolman observed  an egg shaped object on "feet" or "landing gears."

Attempts to tie the object the officer saw with moon landing module vehicles being tested in the southwest proved unsuccessful.  Some creative illustrations of the object seen have the egg shape upright. The sketch of Officer Zamora, however, shows it on its side, with a strange red marking on it. Two small sized occupants were reported at the time as well.

The sketches made by witness Zamora in Socorro, New Mexico:

The symbol itself has become a point of controversy with claims of false symbols to throw off the millions of hoaxers waiting to jump on the band wagon and weed them out of any future investigations. Problem was - no more such symbols were seen (apparently) and the point became moot.

That egg shape? It was not as unique as might be supposed. Close examination of other witness sketches finds the same "oval" or elliptical shape a most common one in sightings. I will address the lack of a common language in investigations in an upcoming entry.

Indeed, fear of hoaxers and confabulations seems to have always been the monster in the closet of the Air Force and government types. The number of genuinely authentic hoaxes and hallucinations is minuscule in the 10 k + files of Project Blue Book. Is the story of strange influence on a ten year old child just one of those "hoaxes" or was it something more?

For more on the symbols see Kevin Randle's blog.