1957 - A YEAR OF FASCINATING EVENTS

It will be marked as the year of Sputnik, as the year of great change, but it was also a year of some intriguing cases in the studies of UFO's (what is now called UAP's).  It was also a unique period where over 60 counties worked together to collect scientific data. It was the Interenational Geophysical Year
(1957- 1958).

Wikipedia, described it this way:

"The International Geophysical Year (IGY; French: Année géophysique internationale) was an international scientific project that lasted from 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific interchange between East and West had been seriously interrupted. Sixty-seven countries participated in IGY projects, although one notable exception was the mainland People's Republic of China, ....[1][2]  The IGY encompassed eleven Earth sciences: aurora and airglow, cosmic rays, geomagnetism, gravity, ionospheric physics, longitude and latitude determinations (precision mapping), meteorology, oceanography, seismology, and solar activity.[2] The timing of the IGY was particularly suited for studying some of these phenomena, since it covered the peak of solar cycle 19. Both the Soviet Union and the U.S. launched artificial satellites for this event; the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1, launched on October 4, 1957, was the first successful artificial satellite.[3] Other significant achievements of the IGY included the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts by Explorer 1 and the defining of mid-ocean submarine ridges, an important confirmation of plate-tectonic theory.[4][5][6]" 

Meanwhile, in other sources.....sometimes only the name and date remain.

Feb. 14, Stead AFB. Reno, NV

May 3, Goodland, KS

May 7, Randall, Iowa. 1 round object, size of a dime held at arm's length, blue color, observed with binoculars for half an hour. The file contains mostly information on a comet that had peaked in April. It was still visible but only with binoculars or a telescope by the time of this sighting (its brightness had reduced to a 7 mag.).  Thus, the apparent size, color, and other actions do not conform to a sighting of the Comet Arend Roland.  Since more than 5 comets had been discovered in 1956 it is possible it was another one but with some important details missing it is hard to say for sure. There were eleven other cases in Iowa alone in the 1957: Glenwood, Ottumwa, Randall, Waterloo, and Thompson. Later in the year Odebolt, Des Moines, Council Bluffs, Waverly and Clarksville followed by Argle.

May 26, Ft. Meyers, FL Described as a stationary object the shape of a three fingered hand, brilliant white in color , but one said it was dark with bright white infused light behind it and was the apparent size of a silver dollar held had arm's length, and more a baseball when seen through the binoculars. It was labeled a balloon based on description, time in place, and stationary aspect of the object.

July 13, Iran - With the Russians making noises about a satellite, there were no doubt spy planes aloft but some of the sightings are interesting.

July 16, Las Vegas, NV

July 17, Forbes AFB, Kansas - to Dallas - to LA and the Gulf and back. *** One of the most important cases. Hynek, Condon, and Macdonald all explored the case - often with surprising results. McDonalds team is the most valuable study of events. 

July 19, Dayton, OH

July 22, Ohio, A Bright triangle

Aug 13 or 14, Knoxville, TN.  The shape was called reddish-orange and like two "V"'s pointing toward each other with their open ends out (tip to tip shape?). Looked the size of a human fist and moved SE to SW at dusk (two dates in the file). Someone suggested it was a "jet with its afterburners on,"  An object the size of a fist at arm's length would have been clearly recognizable as an aircraft; there would have been noise at the distance as well. None reported. The time was "dusk" and the time was listed as "14/0113z". 

Aug29, Wichita, Kansas

Oct. 6, Des Moines, Iowa

Oct. 13, Odebolt, Iowa

Oct. 14 - Sewart AFB, TN. A thirty-minute sighting of a round blueish white object that was stationary until it faded. It was observed from the ground and via air.  A one page report deemed insufficient data.

Oct. 14, IRAN, - Comet or Sputnik? Several objects reported between May and Oct and by "Americans". Usually seen half hour after sunset, appeared like a large red light moving rapidly across the sky over Tabriz going E-W. No sound, binocular sightings inconclusive. last sighting was a bright white light. A comet had been reported May 21 over Rezaieh. Around July 13, three sightings and then on Oct. 14 - possible sighting of Sputnik.

Oct. 22, Haviland, KS. Using binoculars the witness observed three objects moving north over 30 minutes. Another said it was more oblong and the size of a half dollar at arms length. It was sunset so the objects were clearly illuminated from the side. They looked like three objects "one on top the other" with a third one trailing with no sound or exhaust. Further details were it was a half moon shape with a dome on top. Attention drawn by the strong light associated with the objects. Another witness said it was the size of a B-25. It was practically still, very little movement, halfmoon in shape and again white to red on the top.  An answer was suggested that it was a "possible balloon" or an "astro" EXCEPT for the motion reported as north..."Insufficient Data."  A note in the file reads "See attached sketch" but there is no sketch attached to prove the assertion the case was one" representing hundreds of similar reports..."

Oct. 31, Kannapolis, KS. An obviously fast-moving balloon confused the pilots of two F-80C's west of Salina near Kannapolis, Kansas.  It was day and they had no radar contact but did see something. They assumed some type of balloon. It was round, silver, silver doll sized at arm's length, no tail, lights or sound. It moved very low and slow at a 45 degree angle at 090 degrees moving slowly SE (note direction marching report from Bartlesville). Finally faded in the distance. It was observed for 1 hour and 35 minutes. There is a note that the time period listed longer than later in the report "see report attached" yet the file is only 3 pages long and lacks report or weather information. 

Oct. 31, Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The object was round, baseball size when held at arm's length, silver and the single object was seen to be climbing while observed over a one and one half hour period. Binoculars (7x50) were used as well. Daytime sighting by tower operatives: S/Sgt Lloyd Stevens, A/1c Melvin Coradin, Bernard Stodolski. Two "salvos" scrambled from Tulsa but "no tally ho!"  Classed as a "balloon."

Nov. 2-3, Levelland, TX. Famous for the appearance of egg-shaped objects, cars stopped on the road and many other elements that provide an incredible amount of intriguing data and provide some evidence for electro-magnetic interference from UFO's to ground based machines.  Reports of such interference were later tracked to include a nearly 300 mile radius of the events in Texas.

Nov. 4, Elmwood Park, ILL

Nov. 5, Kearny, NE

Nov. 5, Alamogordo, NM. "Research engineer sights" a UFO as ten autos were stopped on US Hwy 54 near White Sands and the AF Missile Development Center. Additionally, two Army patrols saw similar objects at White Sands Proving Grounds on the previous Sunday - the dates of the Levelland, Texas area sightings.

Nov. 5, New Orleans, LA. Coast Guard spots brilliant flying object some 200 miles south of mouth of the Mississippi River. It was as bright as a planet, traveled in concentric circles around the Coast Guard ship Sebago. Sighted two times and both visible to the naked eye. Additionally, northern Louisiana police spotted a bright object half a car size rising from the ground near Monroe. 

Nov. 5-6, Albuquerque, NM. A 142 pg report resolved down to a one word explanation: "Venus." 

Nov. 5, Lake Baskatong, Ottawa, Canada was where a Mr. Jacques N. Jacobson of Staten Island, NY was visiting a hunting lodge. About 9 pm he and friends observed in the SE a "huge, brilliantly illuminated sphere" that appeared 1/8 the size of the moon's diameter. It was hanging a few feet above the summit of a hill 2-3 miles away. It was yellowish white in color and did not twinkle or bling at all.

Nov. 5, Paris, IL

Nov. 5, Kearney, NE - This is a case involving a man who was a clear huckster and probable con man. He is arrested and placed in a facility for testing. He and the case are, I suspect, a massive coverup to conceal and minimize the events being made prominent in the press related to events in Texas and other locations that hint at something abnormal happening. The AF will use this case to minimize witnesses/cases and minimize all sightings as "hoaxes." 

Nov. 6, Delmar and Santa Monica, CA. Early in the morning a motor stalled and a witness observed an egg shaped object "in a blue haze on the beach". The object was a solid metallic tan or cream color with two metal rings on which it rested. There were two men about 5ft in height dressed somewhat like motorcycle riders who spoke in broken English and asked questions. Then this yellowish-green color changed the objects color in the early light.  A similar sighting occurred in the foothills nearby of sighting an object similar in shape. 

Nov. 6, Montville, OH. A sharply outlined object with a sombrero appearance (28 feet across by 9 feet tall) was observed for some 5 minutes. There was a slight hum and a phosphorescent glow. 

Nov. 6, Cleaveland, OH. A blue or greenish-white beam like searchlights was seen and a blue-green globular object. "Reporting observers cannot be very reliable as to estimated size ..." because their description was that the object was the size of a basketball at arms length and that would make "the object almost three miles in diameter at given altitude." 

Nov. 13, Las Vegas, NV

Nov. 14, Hill City, KS. An object observed by a witness in the air was seen to be on a "rising course" for 8-9 minutes, shaped like a football with rounded ends the size of a pea (unclear if the ends or the object were the size of a pea). Appeared to be silver, metallic, had a bright ring around the oval of the object - horizontally - but not extending beyond the edges of the oval. The ring was similar to that seen on Saturn. The object was stationary for about 4 minutes THEN it appeared to follow a B-47 for another minute. THEN it rose vertically until it disappeared. It was noted the object was brighter when in motion. The conclusion was the old favorite - "Venus." 

Nov. 23 , Tonopah and Las Vegas area of NV. One labeled "psychological"  and this Hynek questioned and with good cause. The report was four objects seen for 20 minutes moving north. The "discs" were 50 feet away, they rose and slowly disappeared, a loud humming noise was heard, small landing impressions reported. This case was evaluated as an optical illusion or mistaken identity of conventional aircraft or due to road fatigue, road hypnosis and existing conditions (half lift of dawn, flat country with good reflective surfaces and qualities. It was labeled a case with "psychological implications" and a "possible hoax."  The report is some 53 pages in length and some pages are missing.  Several complaints about messages with questions not being answered, etc. Often these were labeled with "messages or actions taken to contact Dr. Fitts for analysis or reports on incident..."Capt Gregory and S. Simpson on 24 March 1958 exchanged a communication "Ref your informal notes on Dr. Fitts...he failed to show up. In view of already sticky situation on this matter plus....I think it best for BMI to not intercede anymore.""  Then , "no matter now xxx xxxx reached interest of high level Washington groups..." Dr. Paul H. Fits, was with the Department of Psychology at Ohio State University and, for a time, was an Air Force Project Blue Book (and maybe other intelligence groups?) consultant for special cases.  The sighting had been made by Lt. Joseph F. Long, 23 Nov. 1957 west of Tenapah, Nevada.  Some labeled this as unique as no military pilot prior to this had a "close encounter. Made contact...or near contact."  What makes this file also unique is that large segments of the file contain photocopies from a book, Aboard the Flying Saucers, by Truman Bethemin who in 1952 had an "encounter "not far from the same location. The statement by the witness in the 1957 case provided a lot of detail as distance, descriptions, etc. Oddly, the report included a statement by the psychologist who cited a "lack of details" as a nail in the coffin of the hallucination! 

Nov. 25, Scott AFB, ILL

Dec. Duncanville, Texas. An object described as three-cornered star with the number of points of light changing as viewed. It was the size of a grapefruit seen through binoculars. Colors were white, green, blue and with the binoculars that only changed to blue, green and white. Object had points like antenna and moved only 45 degrees in two hours. 

ARKANSAS - 1956

Arkansas has some fascinating communities - London, Scotland, and even England dot its forest covered landscape.  An oval shaped object, that appeared flat at times, was seen near England, Arkansas on 23 July 1956 at 1851 hours and was observed for an hour and thirty minutes.

It was described as diamond shaped, looked like a larger star, had no color and no sound. There was a ring around it, and it was bright red underneath.  When it moved it left a trail of white smoke that fell away behind it about 5 times its length.

Mostly it appeared stationary but when it did move it moved to the south (70 kph to 100 kph), as noted by those who observed it over that hour and a half.  They used both naked eye and binoculars. They noted that it was not a balloon and there was no wind at the time.   The case was classed as a sighting of "SPICA."

The next month - on August 28 - at Adona, Arkansas there was a ground visual sighting of an object moving slightly to the SE for an hour.  The file was classed as a sighting of "VENUS."

In October, near Hensely, Arkansas several lights were reported that JOINED - emitted ORANGE sparks and moved in several different directions. They joined together, they rotated positions, they moved apart, and they lined up moving N, then South, and then NW. They were observed to make a 90 degree turn at flank speed.  The file was classed as a "METEOR."

Chicago O'Hare Airport UFO - 2006

2006, November 7, Chicago, Illinois; O’Hara Airport, pilots. crew and passengers of United Airlines witnessed a large metallic craft at 4:15 p.m. near gate C-17.  

Although reported by pilots and crew, photographed by one person at least (based on recording between FAA and United) and at about 1000 ft. over C17 gate when reported to the FAA the response was jokes and ribbing about getting the holiday party started early. 

[See the alleged photo at Chicago O’Hare Airport UFO Sighting 2006 | UfoSightingsToday]

Despite the laughter, the report was repeated, as more witnesses stepped forward. The object reportedly disappeared by going straight up.  

Very quickly the authorities explained away the sighting as a weather phenomenon; a rare hole punched cloud or fallstreak  cloud. 

This explanation would have produced numerous witnesses. This is due to the observed fact, found in several articles on the phenomena, that hole punch clouds (and similar sub-varieties) generally persist for as long as four hours. 

Investigators gained access to the actual recording of the phone calls between United and the FAA office and it reveals some interesting things.  It emphasizes the ready ridicule reporting anything out of the ordinary garners. 

The taped conversation between FAA and United seems, however, also appear to contradict that hole punch theory on several points. In that conversation, the report of the object by the United desk had others (FAA and others) looking for it above Gate 17 but they reported they could not see anything.

An article in Popular Mechanics (How Airplanes Punch Holes in Clouds - How Airplanes Increase Snowfall Around Airports (popularmechanics.com)) from 2011 indicates they dissipate after about 4 hours. If that is correct, then right after the report others should have still be able to see the hole punch cloud and verify what it was. Instead, witnesses reported the object seen left by rising straight up and disappearing from view. 

See a photo of hole punch cloud at NOAA - NOAA Photo Library > Collections > National Weather Service > Other or on Flicker (Hole punch cloud | _ Nemo _ | Flickr)

Oddly, although these rare clouds come in many shapes and sizes, few of the photos can really be mistaken for anything but a cloud or weather formation object. 

At the time witnesses were upset and worried that there was not more interest in the matter. It was only a few years post 9-11 after all and the idea of strange craft might have hovered over a major aviation center undetected was worrisome. 

All early interviews with witnesses by the Chicago papers indicated the object had been seen for only a short time before it disappeared upwards. The local astronomer who suggested conditions were right for a hole punch to appear near the airport only suggested it but authorities ran with the idea desporte evidence to the contrary. 

Chicago newspaper, January 2007 - In the sky! A bird? A plane? A ... UFO? -- chicagotribune.com (archive.org)

Revisiting 1957

As mentioned in the previous post, 1957 - October and November - were very busy. A good overview of the entire year can be found on the NICAP Chronology page at 1957 Chronology (nicap.org).

A couple of online sources indicate the photo of the "glowing object" shown in newspapers and books (and dated October 16, 1957) add an uncredited tag line that the USAF sent aloft two (2) aluminum bullets on that date. Verifying that is ongoing. The general story is the photo was taken by Nurse Ella Louise Fortune, working at the Mescalero Indian Reservation near Three Rivers, NM while driving along HWY 54. Some label it as hovering but the "trail" infers movement.  The incident is often cited as related to events at Holloman AFB as well. 

"The photo in the PBB files is stamped by the Lorenzen's of A.P.R.O. fame. Evidently the original witness submitted the photo to several news sources and the Lorensen's acquired a copy as well. Interestingly, the printed photo appears to be a reversed image of the Lorenzon photo. The newspaper image as cropped an apparent cloud in the top half of the image - which appears strangely and uniformly white despite the darked contrast employed in the image." The Paranormal Borderline: UFO photographs - Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, October 16, 1957

The image from Project Blue Book (4 photos and one is an image of a comet).

The image of the Norton County Meteor of Feb 1948 , below, that fell in northern Kansas and southern Nebraska. Taken at night and supported by witness testimony of its glowing (self luminescent) and bright appearance. 

The general story is the photo was taken during the day but most images are such sharp contrast it is difficult to say what time of day it was taken. The shadows on the hills appear inconclusive.  The vantage point of the photographs also appear slightly different in the PBB image and the one in the newspaper at the bottom. The newspaper seems to infer the photographer was facing the west (note the shade of the hill and how full light of day should not have produced a shadowy peak). Contrast to the PBB/Lorenzen photo at top and the way the object seems to be moving eastward - because the bright source of light appears to the left hand corner and the hills on the right side are shaded on the right side. Of course, it is possible the photo in the newspapers was also tampered with.

Exploring UFO's Along Route 66 in Oklahoma: Submit Your Story

 This photograph was taken on October 16, 1957 near Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. It showed  up in many newspapers of the time and in countless books since. In fact, on a wall with newspaper clippings from along the length of Route 66 at the museum in Clinton, Oklahoma there is a newspaper clipping showing this same image.  I ran across this a few years ago doing research on the Mother Road - it will come in handy - since I am planning to co-write a book on UFOS on Route 66.

I have seen on online reference of a person claiming to have taken this same phot in the 1990's in western Oklahoma. But as the images below show, it was in the newspapers decades before. Was it a secret US project? Not likely, since that profile did not match anything then and it still does not.  Just what was happening in 1957?  

Russia sent up the first satellite that month. And reports were coming into Project Blue Book from San Diego, Iowa, Alabama, Florida and New Mexico. Infact there is a file labeled "File 5031" and contains 4 photographs for October 16, 1957 near Alamogordo, New Mexico.  There is little information. For the color and shape it would seem to have been very hot and self-illuminated. Missiles did, despite claims to the contrary, did go awry but there is something odd in the Project Blue Book photos setting them aside from the one caught and sent to the newspapers. 

Clearly the lower image, and the hills behind, match the newspaper image. Just what the odd white trail like thing above the object is unclear. It is clear, from other reports, and the comet photo in the file, that an attempt was made to claim the object was a sighting of the Comet Encke, then visible in some skies. See this page for more details on the sighting and the photo (1957: Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico Sighting - Think AboutIts (thinkaboutitdocs.com)

October had many sightings but the standout events occur in November when the first truly widespread and major interferences with cars, electronics, and radios/radars were reported from all over. The presence of electromagnetic fields stopping cars in their tracks, people seeing egg shaped objects hovering, speeding and landing are truly fascinating. 

The images in PBB look like the one show here: the upper "object" is strange. If a cloud it is very bright given the level of contrast used in this image. Just what is the whole image showing? 

Have a story of things seen in the skies over Route 66 in Oklahoma? Send to me for the new book using the contact form here. 

Menzel Through Contemporary Eyes

As we go into a week where once more Congress will hear about UFO's, this time termed UAP's, It might be good to review one of the foremost debunkers of the subject. While much has been written about the scientist Dr. Donald H. Menzel - there has always been a bit of mystery about what role he actually played, who he worked for, and what the end game was to debunk. Later claims of spy planes and covert operations explain some but there is a time line that reveals involvement long before and after those days. So who was he? Through the pages of two major early UFO publications a different view of the noted astronomer, Dr. Donald Menzel, Harvard, emerges.

In 1954, the same year Menzel will publish his first UFO book, The newsletter of the Civilian Research, Interplanetary Flying Objects (CRIFO), written by Leonard H. Stringfield, will have this to say about the esteemed scientist:

Under the heading "Ellipsoids...Their Evidence and the Experts"  (C.R.I.F.O. :Newsletter. April 7, 1954, Vol. No. 1 pg.3):  "Another expert , Dr. Menzel, famous for his "temperature inversion" theory, called the object an illusion." 

This is also the year that several covert agencies are restructured and an emphasis to place a satellite into orbit emerge. 

In 1963, about the same year Menzel's second book, as an esteemed Harvard astronomer, with Mrs. Lyle G. Boyd (parttime science and science-fiction writer), appeared, a review appeared in the UFO Investigator, the NICAP newsletter (June-September 1963, pg. 6) had something to say. The work purported to be a scientific exploration of the topic and provide explanations. "...we regret that Dr. Menzel's hatred of NICAP and its director have led him into this attack on ALL UFO witnesses and those who believe the evidence. It should be noted that Doubleday had to delay publication while Dr. Menzel deleted numerous erroneous quotations attributed to NICAP's Director . (Galley showing the misstatements available for inspection at NICAP office). In attempting to show that ALL UFO witnesses are incompetent, misled, or are frauds, and all who believe the evidence  are mentally deranged, cultists, or childishly gullible, Dr. Menzel has staked his professional reputation. It is an incredible gamble and his ego is bound to suffer severe damage when the truth comes out." 

The article concluded with a quote attributed to Gen. L.M. Chassin, then General Air Defense Coordinator, NATO. A skeptic, said the General, was:

"Obsessed with the notion of his own omniscience, it enrages him go be confronted by phenomena that do not agree with his conviction. Finding in his limited armory of no explanation that satisfies him, he chooses to doubt anyone rather than himself, and rejects the most obvious facts in order to avoid putting his faith to the test. The mistaken pride and anthropocentrism that supposedly went out with Copernicus and Galileo make him a peril to science, as history abundantly proves." 

This statement, to the editors of the newsletter cited, "seems to describe accurately Dr. Menzel's unfortunate thinking." 

Add to this a striking, intelligent and well written review of his book by Coral Lorenzen in the APRO Newsletter and the comments, letters, and notes found in the pages of Project Blue Book files, and critical reading of his works indicate that there was an agenda at work in Menzel's corpus. Revelations of his involved with  the intelligence community also make clear that what he did he did with clear purpose and perhaps under higher orders. 

The goal was to discredit - by any means possible - the subject, leaders, and evidence of the UFO community.

Galesburg, Illinois 1967

A young witness drew a picture of what he saw and described the actions of the object seen in March 1967 in Illinois.  The round object, with lights around the bottom edge, was a common one seen in many reports of the time and in many locations.  The witness who drew this image was Jimmie Scott, 12 years old and son of Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Scott. He had awakened and gone to the kitchen to get a drink of water when he observed the object.   In the accompanying article, other witnesses reported seeing a diamond shaped object.  Of course, authorities suggest a sighting of the planet Venus, "because it can appear to move in the night sky."