Donald E. Keyhoe, "THE FLYING SAUCERS ARE REAL" (1950)
前置き
Donald E. Keyhoe, "THE FLYING SAUCERS ARE REAL" (1950)
は最初期(75年前)の UFO 本。この mp3 と text を見かけた。貴重なデータなので、検索利便性を考慮して所在と和訳(冒頭部分)を記録しておく。
音声(7:25:33)
The early years of ufology: THE FLYING SAUCERS ARE REAL (1950) by Donald E. Keyhoe ~ FULL audiobook www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o7mIDVuGkM
出典
mp3: https://librivox.org/the-flying-saucers-are-real-by-donald-keyhoe/
text: gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5883/pg5883.txt https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5883/pg5883.txt
冒頭部分の原文+和訳
▼和訳 展開
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Flying Saucers are Real
本電子書籍は、米国内および世界の他のほとんどの地域で、誰でも無料で、ほとんど何の制限もなく利用することができます。この電子書籍に含まれているプロジェクト・グーテンベルグ・ライセンスの条件下で、またはオンライン(www.gutenberg.org)で、コピー、譲渡、再利用することができます。米国以外の国にお住まいの方は、本電子書籍を使用する前に、お住まいの国の法律を確認する必要があります。
タイトル 空飛ぶ円盤は実在する
著者 Donald E. Keyhoe
発売日:2004年6月1日 [eBook #5883] 最新の更新: 2022年2月5日
言語 英語
クレジット John B. Hare
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FLYING SAUCERS ARE REAL ***
The Flying Saucers are Real
by Donald E. Keyhoe
New York
Fawcett Publications, 1950
{scanned at sacred-texts.com, March 2002}.
本書はパブリックドメインである。なぜなら、当時の法律で義務づけられていた米国著作権局での更新が適時に行われなかったからである。
目次
第一章 第二章. 第三章 第四章 第V章 第VI章 第七章 第八章 第九章 第十章 第十一章 第十二章 第13章 第十四章 第十五章 第十六章 第17章 第18章 第十九章 第20章
ヘレンへ、 愛をこめて
ドナルド・E・キーホーは、空飛ぶ円盤の調査について述べている。
彼はアナポリスにあるアメリカ海軍士官学校の卒業生である。海兵隊の現役飛行士であり、ベネットとバードが北極点飛行を行った歴史的な飛行機のツアーを管理し、有名なパリ飛行の後はチャールズ・リンドバーグの補佐官を務め、商務省航空支局の情報主任を務めた。
筆者注:
1949年4月27日、アメリカ空軍はこう述べた:
まだ未確認の飛行物体が存在するというだけで、「円盤 」計画関係者、および民間人は常に警戒する必要がある」
「誘導ミサイルの研究活動、気球、天文現象などの要因から答えが導き出されてきたし、これからも導き出されるであろう。. . .
「円盤が外国の航空機である可能性も考慮されている。. . . しかし、この国の原子力発電所の研究に基づく観測では、円盤に動力を与えるのに十分な小型エンジンが地球上に存在することは「非常にあり得ない」とされている
_「火星に知的生命体が存在することは......不可能ではないが、まったく証明されていない。
「円盤はジョークではない。円盤は冗談ではない。警戒すべきものでもない」__[1]
[1] プロジェクト「円盤」空飛ぶ円盤の予備調査。
1949年12月27日、空軍は空飛ぶ円盤の存在を否定した[2]
[2] 2. 空軍プレスリリース629-49'。
1949年12月30日、空軍はプロジェクト「円盤」の秘密報告書の一部をワシントンで報道陣に公開した。公式報告書にはこう書かれていた:
「個人が宇宙船や敵のミサイル、その他の物体を見なかったと断言することは決して不可能である」。
宇宙からの訪問者の動機について、報告書はこうも述べている:
「そのような文明は、地球上に原子爆弾があり、ロケットが急速に開発されていることを観察するかもしれない。人類の過去の歴史に鑑みれば、彼らは警戒するはずである。従って、私たちは今、このような訪問を何よりも期待すべきなのです」。
(4月22日の報告書では、「円盤」プロジェクトは、太陽系外への宇宙旅行はほぼ確実であると述べている)
1950年2月22日、空軍は再び空飛ぶ円盤の存在を否定した。この同じ日、キーウェスト海軍航空基地上空で報告された2機の円盤がレーダーで追跡された。空軍はコメントを拒否した。
1950年3月9日、オハイオ州ライト飛行場で、大きな金属製の円盤がF-51とジェット戦闘機に追跡され、多数の空軍将校によって観測された。月18日、空軍のスポークスマンは再び円盤の存在を否定し、アメリカの誘導ミサイルや宇宙探査装置ではないと明言した。
私は、過去3年間に空軍が発表したすべての円盤報告を注意深く調査した。この1年間、私は空飛ぶ円盤の謎に関する特別調査に参加してきた。
私は、空軍の声明は矛盾しているように見えるが、円盤の秘密に対してアメリカと世界を準備させるための複雑なプログラムの一部であると信じている。
第一章
奇妙な任務だった。
私は机から電報を取り出し、三度目を読んだ。
ニューヨーク、1949年5月9日
空飛ぶ円盤の謎を調査している。空飛ぶ円盤の謎を調査している。本当の答えを隠すために仕組まれたものかもしれない。すごい話のようだ。ワシントン・エンドを引き継げるか?
KEN W. PURDY, EDITOR, TRUE MAGAZINE
私はポトマック河畔に目をやり、最初の円盤の話を思い出した。パイロットだった私は、空飛ぶ円盤には懐疑的だった。その後、空軍や航空会社のパイロットから報告が寄せられ始めた。どうやら警戒しているようで、空軍は高速で飛行する円盤を追跡するよう戦闘機に命じていた。ある謎めいた追跡では、パイロットが死亡し、その死は原因不明だった。それは17カ月前のことだった。それ以来、空飛ぶ円盤の謎は空軍の秘密のカーテンの後ろに隠されていた。
そして今、『True』誌から空飛ぶ円盤に関する仕事が舞い込んできた。
24時間後、私はケン・パーディのオフィスにいた。
「彼は私にこう言った。「警告しておくが、解読は難しいぞ」。
「ロシアのミサイルだと思うか?私は彼に尋ねた。「それとも空軍の秘密か?
「いくつかの答えがあった。どれも一致しない。しかし、私たちがチェックしているのを知って、意図的に仕掛けられたものだと確信している」。
彼はトゥルーのスタッフが行った作業と、有能なライターから送られてきた報告書の一部始終を話してくれた。謎を深く掘り下げれば掘り下げるほど、この任務は厳しくなっていった。空飛ぶ円盤について学べば学ぶほど、私の知っているこ とは少なくなっていった。
「パーディが言った。
「マンテル事件を知っているか?
私はうなずいた。
「ゴッドマン・タワーに無線で報告したマンテルの詳細を調べてみてくれ。 殺される前、彼は追いかけていたものについて説明していた。プロジェクト 「ソーサー 」はヒントを出したが、その記録は公表していない。もう一つの手がかりがある。ニューファンドランドのハーモン・フィールドで撮影された秘密の写真(1947年7月頃のもの)について何かないか調べてみてほしい。1947年7月頃のものだ。
私が去る前に、パーディは私に「ヒック」と挨拶し、私と最も緊密に協力し合うと告げた。
「しかし、偽のチップには気をつけろ。ペンタゴンで『オフレコ』で話してくれる人に出会うかもしれない。それはライターにとって手錠だ。彼らがあなたを盲路に導かないように注意してください。 空軍の声明と『ソーサー計画』の報告書でさえ、互いに矛盾している」。
私は6ヵ月間、円盤の謎を解くために他の調査員たちと働いた。円盤の謎を解き明かすため、私は他の調査員たちと6ヵ月間、円盤の目撃情報を100件も調べた。古い記録は素晴らしい手がかりを与えてくれた。空軍の宇宙探査計画も同様だった。ロケットの専門家、天文学者、空軍関係者、そしてパイロットが、驚くべき解決策を指し示す手がかりを与えてくれた。科学者を含む多くの知的な人々は、円盤には別の惑星からのスパイが乗っていると信じている。
この第一段階が終わったとき、私たちは難しい決断を迫られた。我々は重要な事実を発見し、円盤が本物であることを知っていた。慎重に扱えば、この記事は空軍の秘密方針に沿ったものになると私たちは信じていた。
最終的に、ある別の結論を公表することにした。空軍は『トゥルー』の意図を知らされ、出版を阻止しようとはしなかった。
True_』の1950年1月号で、私は次のような結論に達したと報告した:
1 地球は別の惑星からの訪問者によって定期的に観測されている。
- この観測は過去2年間に著しく増加した。
「他の唯一の可能な説明は、円盤が地球上で開発された非常に高速で長距離を飛ぶ装置であるということである。そのような進歩(空軍は否定している)は、アメリカの科学者や設計者にとってさえ、ほとんど信じられないほどの技術的飛躍を必要とする。
この記事が掲載されると、全国的な報道とラジオでのコメントが続いた。この宣伝は明らかに空軍の予想以上であった。24時間以内に国防総省には電報、手紙、長距離電話が殺到した。どうやらパニックを恐れていたようで、空軍は急遽、フライング・ソーサーの報告は、たとえ自軍のパイロットや高級将校によるものであっても、間違いであるか、ヒステリーによるものであると発表した[3]
[3] Air Force press release 629-49, December 27, 1949.
しかしその3日後、多くのアメリカ人がトゥルーの発表を冷静に受け入れていることが明らかになったとき、空軍はこの重要な声明を含む「円盤」プロジェクトの秘密ファイルを公開した:
「いかなる個人も宇宙船や敵のミサイルやその他の物体を見なかったと断言することは不可能である。
この同じ文書に、航空情報報告書の極秘分析が掲載されている[4]。宇宙からの訪問者の動機に関する公式の示 唆が含まれているのは、この要約である。そのような文明は明らかに我々の文明をはるかに凌駕しているだろうと述べた後、報告書は次のように付け加えている。
[4] 空軍プロジェクト「円盤」1949年12月30日。
「遠くから最も容易に観察される人類の行為は原爆の爆発であるので、原爆の爆発の時間、宇宙船が目撃される時間、そのような船がホームベースから到着し、ホームベースに戻るのに必要な時間の間に何らかの関係が得られると予想される。
(国民に警告と安心を交互に与えた以前の報告書で、空軍は太陽系外への宇宙旅行はほぼ確実であると述べている[5])
[5] 空軍報告書M-26-49、空飛ぶ円盤に関する予備的研究、1949年4月27日。
1949年以来、円盤の目撃情報は着実に増加している。そのほとんどは本物の報告であり、空軍の否定は反証できない。月には、謎の円盤がケンタッキー、
インディアナ、テキサス、ペンシルバニア、その他いくつかの州の上空で報告された。シアトル・アンカレッジ線では、航空貨物機が夜間飛行する円盤に5分間も追いかけられた。パイロットが接近しようとすると、奇妙な円盤はものすごいスピードで急上昇した。その後、航空会社のトップは、情報部員がパイロットに何時間も質問したと報告した。
「彼らの質問から、私は彼らが円盤が何であるかについて良い考えを持っていることがわかった」と彼は言った。彼らの質問から、私は彼らが円盤が何であるかをよく理解していることがわかった。
もう一つの奇妙な事件は2月1日にアリゾナ州ツーソンで起こった。 ちょうど夕暮れ時、奇妙な、燃えるような物体が市の上空を西に向かって走 り、 、下の通りで何百人もの人々を驚かせた。ツーソン紙『デイリー・シチズン』は翌日、二段見出しでこの記事を掲載した:
ツーソン上空に空飛ぶ円盤?
B-29 FAILS TO CATCH OBJECT
空飛ぶ円盤?秘密の実験機?それとも火星からの偵察機?確かに、昨夜の夕暮れ時、ツーソン上空に煙の跡を残した奇妙な航空機は、論理的な説明を覆すものだった。経験豊富なパイロットにとっても、従来の飛行機を識別するのが苦手な地上生活者にとっても、それは神秘的なものだった。
上空約30,000フィートをキャノンボールのように駆け抜けたのは、その形や大きさをはっきりと認識することができないほど速いスピードで西に向かって噴射する炎のような物体であった。. .
最高速度と思われるその物体は淡い色の煙を吐き出したが、ツーソンのほぼ真上で数秒間ホバリングしているように見えた。煙は怒ったように黒く噴き出し、奇妙なミサイルが速度を上げているように見えると、明るくなってきた」
デイビスモンサン空軍基地の管制塔の無線オペレーターは、B-29でクロスカントリー飛行に出るロイ・L・ジョーンズ一等陸尉に連絡し、調査を依頼した。ジョーンズは高速空中給油機の回転数を上げ、それでも未知の航空機は着実にカリフォルニアに向かって離れていった。
アリゾナ大学天文学部長のエドウィン・F・カーペンター博士は、この物体は流星やその他の自然現象ではないと確信していると語った。. . .
ピマ郡保安官事務所とツーソン警察署の配電盤は問い合わせでごった返していた。何百人もの人がその物体を見た。トム・ベイリー(1411 E. 10th Street)は、それが燃えている大きな飛行機だと思った。 [山の上を通過するとき、左から右に揺れたという。ベイリーもまた、その飛行機がツーソン上空で明らかに減速しているように見えた。ベイリーによると、煙はほとんど目に見えないような細い流れで出てきて、数秒のうちに実体を増していったという。
この事件には翌日、奇妙な続報があった。デイリー・シチズン』紙はその重要性を見逃さなかった。その見出しは次のようなものだった:
水蒸気だけとはどういうことだ?
何百人ものツーソンの頭を空に向かって傾けたことについて、自分たちに非がないことを証明するかのように、米空軍は昨日の午後、何時間もかけて市街地上空に蒸気跡を刻んだ。
このデモンストレーションは、水曜日の夕暮れ時に空を横切った黒煙の奇妙な道筋が、蒸気跡でもなく、通常の飛行機から発生したものでもないことを、大方の満足のいく形で証明した。
水曜日の夜の光景は、まったく似て非なるものだった。そして、重たい煙が沸騰し、少なくとも1マイルの幅で扇状に広がり、一直線に空を横切る広くて暗いリボンのように渦巻いていた。この奇妙な前兆現象を引き起こした原因について確証はなく、専門家の目撃者でさえこの現象を説明できなかったため、この件は興味深い憶測の対象として残されている。
この記事が意図的に報道陣の目に触れないようにされたという強い証拠がある。ワシントンのAP通信や他の通信社も報道していない。ミューチュアル・ニュースキャスターのフランク・エドワーズや他のラジオ・コメンテーターが詳細を求めたが、空白の壁に突き当たった。国防総省では、空軍は目撃情報も蒸気ト レイルも知らないと言われた。
2月22日、キーウェストのボカ・チカ海軍航空基地の上空で、2つの同じような光る物体が目撃された。調査のために派遣された飛行機は、絶望的に打ち負かされた。基地に戻ったレーダーマンは、キーウェスト上空で一瞬ホバリングした物体を追跡した。少なくとも50マイル上空にいることがわかった。数秒後、物体は猛スピードで加速し、視界から消えた。
翌日、チリの海軍将校アウグスト・オレゴ中佐は、彼の南極基地の上空を円盤が飛んだと報告した。
「明るい南極の夜の間に、私たちは空飛ぶ円盤を見ました。私たちが見たことを証明する写真があります」。
3月初め、ケン・パーディから捜査の進展について電話があった。彼は3月中に円盤の宣伝が殺到するとの情報を得たところだった。ワシントンの重要な情報源からであった。
「それが何を意味するかはわかるだろう。「先月話したのと同じことだ。しかし、なぜ事前に知らされたのか?
「と私は言った。「もしタレコミのレベルが高ければ、彼らはプログラムを強化していることになる」。
日以内に、ペルー、キューバ、メキシコ、トルコなど世界各地から報告が届き始めた。そして3月9日、オハイオ州デイトン上空で輝く金属製の円盤が目撃された。ヴァンデリア空港の観測隊がライト・パターソン飛行場に電話した。数多くの空軍パイロットと地上職員が円盤に注目し、戦闘機がそれを追って駆け上ってきた。謎の物体は空に向かって垂直に伸び、地球の上空数マイルでしばらくホバリングした後、姿を消した。ワシントンの民間航空局に秘密報告書が提出され、空軍情報部に引き渡された。
この直後、医療品供給会社のディレクターであるクレイグ・ハンター博士が、ペンシルベニア州で低空を飛ぶ巨大な楕円形の円盤を目撃したと報告した。彼はそれを金属製で、外縁に溝があり、すぐ内側に回転するリングがあると説明した。さらに、ニューメキシコ州ファーミントンでは、何千人もの人々が街の上空を円盤の大編隊が通過するのを目撃した。
これらすべての報告を通じて、空軍は空飛ぶ円盤の存在を認めようとしなかった。3月18日、空軍は円盤が空軍の秘密ミサイルや宇宙探査機であることを否定した。
その3日後、シカゴとサザンの旅客機の乗務員がアーカンソー州シュトゥットガルト付近で高速で飛行する円盤を目撃した。奇妙な青白い光を点滅させながら、円形の機体はものすごいスピードで弧を描いて近づいてきた。二人のパイロットは、円盤が上空をズームするとき、下側に光のポートがチラッと見えたと言った。その光は、見たこともないような柔らかい蛍光色だった。
アーカンソー州の事件には奇妙な点があった。以前の航空会社の事件のように、2人のパイロットに口封じの試みはなかった。その代わりに、ユナイテッド・プレスのインタビューがすぐに用意され、全米に公表された。ジャック・アダムス機長とG.W.アンダーソン副操縦士は、このワイヤー・ストーリーの中で2つの発言をしている:
「私たちがアーカンソー上空で見た空飛ぶ円盤は、宇宙からの訪問者ではなく、秘密の実験型航空機であったと固く信じています。. . .
「空軍がこの空飛ぶ円盤について否定していることは知っているが、私たちは経験豊富なパイロットであり、簡 単には騙されない。
この記事が掲載された翌日、私はワシントンの航空会社関係者とこの件について話していた。
「それは奇妙なことだ。「空軍はパイロットを説得できたはずだ。まるで、その話を放送してほしかったかのようだ」。
「全部仕組まれたことなのか?
「そうとは言いません。おそらく彼らは何かを見たのだろう。しかし、それについて何を言うべきか指示されていたかもしれない」。
「その理由は?
彼は私を鋭く見た。「あなたとパーディなら答えを知っているでしょう。推測だが、ホワイトサンズ事件に関する海軍司令官の報告書を相殺するために計画されたのかもしれない」。
ホワイトサンズ事件は多くの懐疑論者を困惑させていた。著者のR・B・マクラフリン中佐は正規の海軍将校であった。海軍のロケット専門家として、彼はニューメキシコ州のホワイトサンズ・ロケット実験場に駐留していた。発表された記事の中で、彼はホワイトサンズで目撃された3つの円盤について述べている。
円盤のひとつは巨大な楕円形のもので、科学者たちが精密機器を使って秒速5マイルで追跡した。時速18,000マイルである。これは時速18,000マイル。地球から56マイル上空を飛んでいた。他の2つの円盤、より小さいタイプは、試験場の丘にある5つの観測所から監視された。信じられないようなスピードで旋回しながら、2つの円盤は発射されたばかりの陸軍高高度ロケットを追いかけ、その後スピードを上げ、素早くロケットを追い越した。
マクラフリン中佐の報告書は、日付と事実の詳細を示し、国防総省の許可を得た。後に全国に放送された。
その後、空軍 はお決まりの否定をした。
海軍の正規将校であるマクラフリンが、なぜこのような話をすることが許されたのか。信じられないような不手際だったのか?それとも綿密に練られた計画の一部だったのか?私は、アメリカ国民に劇的な情報開示を準備させるための入念なプログラムの一部だったと考えている。
私はほぼ1年にわたり、このプログラムを指導する者たちの舞台裏の動きを見守ってきた。慎重に誤解を招くようなヒント、私たちが入り込んだ盲路、予期せぬ援助、秘密の手がかり、そして驚くべき矛盾。
それは複雑なジグソーパズルだった。この複雑な絵のすべての部分を見ることによってのみ、この頑なに隠された秘密の理由を垣間見ることができる。
公式発表は間近かもしれない。それが最終的に明らかにされるとき、入念な準備、さらには広範な欺瞞さえも、アメリカ国民の心の中で完全に正当化されると私は信じている。
▼原文 展開
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Flying Saucers are Real
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Title: The Flying Saucers are Real
Author: Donald E. Keyhoe
Release date: June 1, 2004 [eBook #5883] Most recently updated: February 5, 2022
Language: English
Credits: John B. Hare
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FLYING SAUCERS ARE REAL ***
The Flying Saucers are Real
by Donald E. Keyhoe
New York
Fawcett Publications, 1950
{scanned at sacred-texts.com, March 2002}
This book is in the public domain because it was not renewed in a timely fashion at the US Copyright Office, as required by law at the time.
Contents**
CHAPTER I. CHAPTER II. CHAPTER III. CHAPTER IV. CHAPTER V. CHAPTER VI. CHAPTER VII. CHAPTER VIII. CHAPTER IX. CHAPTER X. CHAPTER XI. CHAPTER XII. CHAPTER XIII. CHAPTER XIV. CHAPTER XV. CHAPTER XVI. CHAPTER XVII. CHAPTER XVIII. CHAPTER XIX. CHAPTER XX.
To Helen, with love
Donald E. Keyhoe, who relates here his investigation of the flying saucers, writes with twenty-five years of experience in observing aeronautical developments.
He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. He flew in active service with the Marine Corps, managed the tour of the historic plane in which Bennett and Byrd made their North Pole flight, was aide to Charles Lindbergh after the famous Paris flight, and was chief of information for the Aeronautics Branch, Department of Commerce.
Author’s Note
ON APRIL 27, 1949, the U.S. Air Force stated:
“The mere existence of some yet unidentified flying objects necessitates a constant vigilance on the part of Project ‘Saucer’ personnel, and on the part of the civilian population.
“Answers have been—and will be—drawn from such factors as guided missile research activity, balloons, astronomical phenomena. . . . But there are still question marks.
“Possibilities that the saucers are foreign aircraft have also been considered. . . . But observations based on nuclear power plant research in this country label as ‘highly improbable’ the existence on Earth of engines small enough to have Powered the saucers.
“Intelligent life on Mars . . . is not impossible but is completely unproven. The possibility of intelligent life on the Planet Venus is not considered completely unreasonable by astronomers.
“The saucers are not jokes. Neither are they cause for alarm.”[1]
[1] Project “Saucer” Preliminary Study of Flying Saucers.
On December 27, 1949, the Air Force denied the existence of flying saucers.[2]
[2] 2. Air Force Press Release 629-49.’
On December 30, 1949, the Air Force revealed part of a secret Project “Saucer” report to members of the press at Washington. The official report stated:
“It will never be possible to say with certainty that any individual did not see a space ship, an enemy missile, or some other object.”
Discussing the motives of possible visitors from space, the report also stated:
“Such a civilization might observe that on Earth we now have atomic bombs and are fast developing rockets. In view of the past history of mankind, they should be alarmed. We should therefore expect at this time above all to behold such visitations.”
(In its April 22 report, Project “Saucer” stated that space travel outside the solar system is almost a certainty.)
On February 22, 1950, the Air Force again denied the existence of flying saucers. On this same date, two saucers reported above Key West Naval Air Station were tracked by radar; they were described as maneuvering at high speed fifty miles above the earth. The Air Force refused to comment.
On March 9, 1950, a large metallic disk was pursued by F-51 and jet fighters and observed by scores of Air Force officers at Wright Field, Ohio. On March 18, an Air Force spokesman again denied that saucers exist and specifically stated that they were not American guided missiles or space-exploration devices.
I have carefully examined all Air Force saucer reports made in the last three years. For the past year, I have taken part in a special investigation of the flying-saucer riddle.
I believe that the Air Force statements, contradictory as they appear, are part of an intricate program to prepare America—and the world—for the secret of the disks.
CHAPTER I
It was a strange assignment.
I picked up the telegram from my desk and read it a third time.
NEW YORK, N. Y., MAY 9, 1949
HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATING FLYING SAUCER MYSTERY. FIRST TIP HINTED GIGANTIC HOAX TO COVER UP OFFICIAL SECRET. BELIEVE IT MAY HAVE BEEN PLANTED TO HIDE REAL ANSWER. LOOKS LIKE TERRIFIC STORY. CAN YOU TAKE OVER WASHINGTON END?
KEN W. PURDY, EDITOR, TRUE MAGAZINE
I glanced out at the Potomac, recalling the first saucer story. As a pilot, I’d been skeptical of flying disks. Then reports had begun to pour in from Air Force and airline pilots. Apparently alarmed, the Air Force had ordered fighters to pursue the fast-flying saucers. In one mysterious chase, a pilot had been killed, and his death was unexplained. That had been seventeen months ago. Since then, the whole flying-saucer riddle had been hidden behind a curtain of Air Force secrecy.
And now, an assignment from True magazine on flying saucers.
Twenty-four hours later, I was in Ken Purdy’s office.
“I’ve had men on this for two months,” he told me. “I might as well warn you, it’s a tough story to crack.”
“You think it’s a Russian missile?” I asked him. “Or an Air Force secret?”
“We’ve had several answers. None of them stacks up. But I’m positive one was deliberately planted when they found we were checking.”
He told me the whole story of the work that had been done by the staff of True and of the reports sent in by competent writers. The deeper he delved into the mystery, the tougher the assignment got. The more I learned about flying saucers, the less I knew.
“There’s one angle I want rechecked,” Purdy said.
“You’ve heard of the Mantell case?”
I nodded.
“O.K. Try to get the details of Mantell’s radio report to Godman Tower. Before he was killed, he described the thing he was chasing—we know that much. Project ‘Saucer’ gave out a hint, but they’ve never released the transcript. Here’s another lead. See if you can find anything about a secret picture, taken at Harmon Field, Newfoundland—it was around July 1947. I’ll send you other ideas as I get them.”
Before I left, Purdy wished me hick and told me that he would work in closest harmony with me.
“But watch out for fake tips,” he said. “You’ll probably run into some people at the Pentagon who’ll talk to you ‘off the record.’ That handcuffs a writer. Look out they don’t lead you into a blind alley. Even the Air Force statements and the Project ‘Saucer’ report contradict each other.”
For six months, I worked with other investigators to solve the mystery of the disks. We checked a hundred sighting reports, frequently crossing the trail of Project “Saucer” teams and F.B.I. agents. Old records gave fantastic leads. So did Air Force plans for exploring space. Rocket experts, astronomers, Air Force officials and pilot gave us clues pointing to a startling solution. Many intelligent persons—including scientists—believe that the saucers contain spies from another planet.
When this first phase was ended, we were faced with a hard decision. We had uncovered important facts, We knew the saucers were real. If it was handled carefully, we believed the story would be in line with a secret Air Force policy.
It was finally decided to publish certain alternate conclusions. The Air Force was informed of True’s intentions; no attempt was made to block publication.
In the January 1950 issue of True, I reported that we had reached the following conclusions:
1 The earth has been observed periodically by visitors from another planet.
- This observation has increased markedly in the past two years.
“The only other possible explanation,” I wrote, “is that, the saucers are extremely high-speed, long-range devices developed here on earth. Such an advance (which the Air Force has denied) would require an almost incredible leap in technical progress even for American scientists and designers.”
Nation-wide press and radio comment followed the appearance of the article. This publicity was obviously greater than the Air Force had expected. Within twenty-four hours the Pentagon was deluged with telegrams, letters, and long-distance calls. Apparently fearing a panic, the Air Force hastily stated that flying-saucer reports—even those made by its own pilots and high-ranking officers—were mistakes or were caused by hysteria.[3]
[3] Air Force press release 629-49, December 27, 1949.
But three days later, when it was plain that many Americans calmly accepted True’s disclosures, the Air Force released a secret project “Saucer” file containing this significant statement:
“It will never be possible to say with certainty that any individual did not see a space ship, an enemy missile or other object.”
In this same document there appears a confidential analysis of Air intelligence reports.[4] It is this summary that contains the official suggestion Of. space visitors’ motives. After stating that such a civilization would obviously be far ahead of our own, the report adds:
[4] Air Force Project “Saucer” December 30, 1949.
“Since the acts of mankind most easily observed from a distance are A-bomb explosions, we should expect some relation to obtain between the time of the A-bomb explosions, the time at which the space ships are seen, and the time required for such ships to arrive from and return to home base.”
(In a previous report, which alternately warned and reassured the public, the Air Force stated that space travel outside the solar system is almost a certainty.[5])
[5] Air Force report M-26-49, Preliminary Studies on Flying saucers, April 27, 1949.
Since 1949 there has been a steady increase in saucer sightings. Most of them have been authentic reports, which Air Force denials cannot disprove. In January, mystery disks were reported over Kentucky,
Indiana, Texas, Pennsylvania, and several other states. On the Seattle Anchorage route, an air freighter was paced for five minutes by a night-flying saucer. When the pilots tried to close in, the strange craft zoomed at terrific speed. Later, the airline head reported that Intelligence officers had quizzed the pilots for hours.
“From their questions,” he said, “I could tell they had a good idea of what the saucers are. One officer admitted they did, but he wouldn’t say any more.”
Another peculiar incident occurred at Tucson, Arizona, on February 1. Just at dusk, a weird, fiery object raced westward over the city, astonishing hundreds in the streets below. The Tucson Daily Citizen ran the story next day with a double-banner headline:
FLYING SAUCER OVER TUCSON?
B-29 FAILS TO CATCH OBJECT
Flying saucer? Secret experimental plane? Or perhaps a scout craft from Mars? Certainly the strange aircraft that blazed a smoke trail over Tucson at dusk last night defies logical explanation. It was as mystifying to experienced pilots as to groundlings who have trouble in identifying conventional planes.
Cannonballing through the sky, some 30,000 feet aloft, was a fiery object shooting westward so fast it was impossible to gain any clear impression of its shape or size. . . .
At what must have been top speed the object spewed out light colored smoke, but almost directly over Tucson it appeared to hover for a few seconds. The smoke puffed out an angry black and then be came lighter as the strange missile appeared to gain speed”
The radio operator in the Davis-Monthan air force base control tower contacted First Lt. Roy L. Jones, taking off for a cross-country flight in a B-29, and asked him to investigate. Jones revved up his swift aerial tanker and still the unknown aircraft steadily pulled away toward California.
Dr. Edwin F. Carpenter, head of the University of Arizona department of astronomy, said he was certain that the object was not a meteor or other natural phenomenon. . . .
Switchboards Swamped
Switchboards at the Pima county sheriff’s office and Tucson police station were jammed with inquiries. Hundreds saw the object. Tom Bailey, 1411 E. 10th Street, thought it was a large airplane on fire. [A later check showed no planes missing.] He said it wavered from left to right as it passed over the mountains. Bailey also noticed that the craft appeared to slow perceptibly over Tucson. He said the smoke apparently came out in a thin, almost invisible stream, gaining substance within a few seconds.
This incident had an odd sequel the following day. Its significance was not lost on the Daily Citizen. It ran another front-page story, headlined:
WHAT DO YOU MEAN ONLY VAPOR TRAIL?
As though to prove itself blameless for tilting hundreds of Tucson heads skyward, the U.S. Air Force yesterday afternoon spent hours etching vapor trails through the skies over the city.
The demonstration proved conclusively to the satisfaction of most that the strange path of dark smoke blazed across the evening sky at dusk Wednesday was no vapor trail and did not emanate from any conventional airplane.
The Wednesday night spectacle was entirely dissimilar. Then, heavy smoke boiled and swirled in a broad, dark ribbon fanning out at least a mile in width and stretching across the sky in a straight line. Since there was no proof as to what caused the strange predark manifestation, and because even expert witnesses were unable to explain the appearance, the matter remains a subject for interesting speculation.
There is strong evidence that this story was deliberately kept off the press wires. The Associated Press and other wire services in Washington had no report. Requests for details by Frank Edwards, Mutual newscaster, and other radio commentators ran into a blank wall. At the Pentagon I was told that the Air Force had no knowledge of the sighting or the vapor-trail maneuvers.
On February 22 two similar glowing objects were seen above Boca Chica Naval Air Station at Key West. A plane sent tip to investigate was hopelessly outdistanced; it was obvious the things were at a great height. Back at the station, radarmen tracked the objects as they hovered for a moment above Key West. They were found to be at least fifty miles above the earth. After a few seconds, they accelerated at high speed and streaked out of sight.
On the following day Commander Augusto Orrego, a Chilean naval officer, reported that saucers had flown above his antarctic base.
“During the bright antarctic night,” be said, “we saw flying saucers, one above the other, turning at tremendous speeds. We have photographs to prove what we saw.”
Early in March, Ken Purdy phoned the latest development in the investigation. He had just received a tip predicting a flurry of saucer publicity during March. It had come from an important source in Washington.
“You know what it probably means,” he said. “The same thing we talked about last month. But why were we tipped off in advance?”
“It’s one more piece in the pattern,” I said. “If the tip’s on the level, then they’re stepping up the program.”
Within three days, reports began to pour in—from Peru, Cuba, Mexico, Turkey, and other parts of the world. Then on March 9 a gleaming metallic disk was sighted over Dayton, Ohio. Observers at Vandalia Airport phoned Wright-Patterson Field. Scores of Air Force pilots and groundmen watched the disk, as fighters raced up in pursuit. The mysterious object streaked vertically skyward, hovered for a while miles above the earth, and then disappeared. A secret report was rushed to the Civil Aeronautics Authority in Washington, then turned over to Air Force Intelligence.
Soon after this Dr. Craig Hunter, director of a medical supply firm, reported a huge elliptical saucer flying at a low altitude in Pennsylvania. He described it as metallic, with a slotted outer rim and a rotating ring just inside. On top of this sighting, thousands of people at Farmington, New Mexico, watched a large formation of disks pass high above the city.
Throughout all these reports, the Air Force refused to admit the existence of flying saucers. On March 18 it flatly denied they were Air Force secret missiles or space-exploration devices.
Three days later, a Chicago and Southern airliner crew saw a fast-flying disk near Stuttgart, Arkansas. The circular craft, blinking a strange blue-white light, pulled up in an arc at terrific speed. The two pilots said they glimpsed lighted ports on the lower side as the saucer zoomed above them. The lights had a soft fluorescence, unlike anything they had seen.
There was one peculiar angle in the Arkansas incident. There was no apparent attempt to muzzle the two pilots, as in earlier airline cases. Instead, a United Press interview was quickly arranged, for nation-wide publication. In this wire story Captain Jack Adams and First Officer G. W. Anderson made two statements:
“We firmly believe that the flying saucer we saw over Arkansas was a secret experimental type aircraft—not a visitor from outer space. . . .
“We know the Air Force has denied there is anything to this flying-saucer business, but we’re both experienced pilots and we’re not easily fooled.”
The day after this story appeared, I was discussing it with an airline official in Washington.
“That’s an odd thing,” he said. “The Air Force could have persuaded those pilots—or the line president—to hush the thing up. It looks as if they wanted that story broadcast.”
“You mean the whole thing was planted?”
“I won’t say that, though it could have been. Probably they did see something. But they might have been told what to say about it.”
“Any idea why?”
He looked at me sharply. “You and Purdy probably know the answer. At a guess, I’d say it might have been planned to offset that Navy commander’s report—the one on the White Sands sightings.”
The White Sands case had puzzled many skeptics, because the Pentagon had cleared the published report. The author, Commander R. B. McLaughlin, was a regular Navy officer. As a Navy rocket expert, he had been stationed at the White Sands Rocket Proving Ground in New Mexico. In his published article he described three disk sightings at White Sands.
One of the disks, a huge elliptical craft, was tracked by scientists with precision instruments at five miles per second. That’s 18,000 miles per hour. It was found to be flying fifty-six miles above the earth. Two other disks, smaller types, were watched from five observation posts on hills at the proving ground. Circling at incredible speed, the two disks paced an Army high-altitude rocket that had just been launched, then speeded up and swiftly outclimbed the projectile.
Commander McLaughlin’s report, giving dates and factual details, was cleared by the Department of Defense. So was a later nation-wide broadcast.
Then the Air Force made its routine denial.
Why was McLaughlin, a regular Navy officer subject to security screening, permitted to give out this story? Was it an incredible slip-up? Or was it part of some carefully thought-out plan? I believe it was part of an elaborate program to prepare the American people for a dramatic disclosure.
For almost a year I have watched the behind-the-scenes maneuvers of those who guide this program. In the following chapters I have tried to show the strange developments in our search for the answer; the carefully misleading tips, the blind alleys we entered, the unexpected assistance, the confidential leads, and the stunning contradictions.
It has been a complicated jigsaw puzzle. Only by seeing all parts of this intricate picture can you begin to glimpse the reasons for this stubbornly hidden secret.
The official explanation may be imminent. When it is finally revealed, I believe the elaborate preparation—even the wide deceit involved—will be fully justified in the minds of the American people.
CHAPTER II
It has been over two years since the puzzling death of Captain Thomas Mantell.
Mantell died mysteriously in the skies south of Fort Knox. But before his radio went silent, he sent a strange message to Godman Air Force Base. The men who heard it will never forget it.
It was January 7, 1948.
Crowded into the Godman Field Tower, a group of Air Force officers stared up at the afternoon sky. For just an instant, something gleamed through the broken clouds south of the base.
High above the field, three P-51 fighters climbed with swift urgency. Heading south, they quickly vanished.
The clock in the tower read 2:45.
Colonel Guy Hix, the C.O., slowly put down his binoculars. If the thing was still there, the clouds now hid it. All they could do was wait.
The first alarm had come from Fort Knox, when Army M.P.’s had relayed a state police warning. A huge gleaming object had been seen in the sky, moving toward Godman Field. Hundreds of startled people had seen it at Madisonville, ninety miles away.
Thirty minutes later, it had zoomed up over the base.
Colonel Hix glanced around at the rest of the men in the tower. They all had a dazed look. Every man there had seen the thing, as it barreled south of the field. Even through the thin clouds, its intermittent red glow had hinted at some mysterious source of power. Something outside their understanding.
It was Woods, the exec, who had estimated its size. Hix shook his head. That was unbelievable. But something had hung over Godman Field for almost an hour. The C.O. turned quickly as the loud-speaker, tuned to the P-51’s, suddenly came to life.
“Captain Mantell to Godman . . . Tower Mantell to Godman Tower . . .” The flight leader’s voice had a strained tone.
“I’ve sighted the thing!” he said. “It looks metallic—and it’s tremendous in size!”
The C.O. and Woods stared at each other. No one spoke.
“The thing’s starting to climb,” Mantell said swiftly. “It’s at twelve o’clock high, making half my speed. I’ll try to close in.”
In five minutes, Mantell reported again. The strange metallic object had speeded up, was now making 360 or more.
At 3:08, Mantell’s wingman called in. Both he and the other pilot had seen the weird object. But Mantell had outclimbed them and was lost in the clouds.
Seven minutes dragged by. The men in the tower sweated out the silence. Then, at 3:15, Mantell made a hasty contact.
“It’s still above me, making my speed or better. I’m going up to twenty thousand feet. If I’m no closer, I’ll abandon chase.”
It was his last report.
Minutes later, his fighter disintegrated with terrific force. The falling wreckage was scattered for thousands of feet.
When Mantell failed to answer the tower, one of his pilots began a search. Climbing to 33,000 feet, he flew a hundred miles to the south.
But the thing that lured Mantell to his death had vanished from the sky.
Ten days after Mantell was killed, I learned of a curious sequel to the Godman affair.
An A.P. account in the New York Times had caught my attention. The story, released at Fort Knox, admitted Mantell had died while chasing a flying saucer. Colonel Hix was quoted as having watched the object, which was still unidentified. But there was no mention of Mantell’s radio messages—no hint of the thing’s tremendous size.
Though I knew the lid was probably on, I went to the Pentagon. When the scare had first broken, in the summer of ’47, I had talked with Captain Tom Brown, who was handling saucer inquiries. But by now Brown had been shifted, and no one in the Press Branch would admit knowing the details of the Mantell saucer chase.
“We just don’t know the answer,” a security officer told me.
“There’s a rumor,” I said, “it’s a secret Air Force missile that sometimes goes out of control.”
“Good God, man!” he exploded. “If it was, do you think we’d be ordering pilots to chase the damned things?”
“No—and I didn’t say I believed it.” I waited until he cooled down. “This order you mentioned—is it for all Air Force pilots, or special fighter units?”
“I didn’t say it was a special order,” he answered quickly. “All pilots have routine instructions to report unusual items.”
“They had fighters alerted on the Coast, when the scare first broke,” I reminded him. “Are those orders still in force?”
He shook his head. “No, not that I know of.” After a moment he added, “All I can tell you is that the Air Force is still investigating. We honestly don’t know the answer.”
As I went out the Mall entrance, I ran into Jack Daly, one of Washington’s veteran newsmen. Before the war, Jack and I had done magazine pieces together, usually on Axis espionage and communist activity. I told him I was trying to find the answer to Mantell’s death.
“You heard anything?” I asked him.
“Only what was in the A.P. story,” said Jack. “But an I.N.S. man told me they had a saucer story from Columbus, Ohio—and it might have been the same one they saw at Fort Knox.”
“I missed that. What was it?”
“They sighted the thing at the Air Force field outside of Columbus. It was around sundown, about two hours after that pilot was killed in Kentucky.”
“Anybody chase it?” I asked.
“No. They didn’t have time to take off, I guess. This I.N.S. guy said it was going like hell. Fast as a jet, anyway.”
“Did he say what it looked like?”
“The Air Force boys said it was as big as a C-47,” said Jack. “Maybe bigger. It had a reddish-orange exhaust streaming out behind. They could see it for miles.”
“If you hear any more, let me know,” I said. Jack promised he would.
“What do you think they are?” he asked me.
“It’s got me stumped. Russia wouldn’t be testing missiles over here. Anyway, I can’t believe they’ve got anything like that. And I can’t see the Air Force letting pilots get killed to hide something we’ve got.”
One week later, I heard that a top-secret unit had been set up at Wright Field to investigate all saucer reports. When I called the Pentagon, they admitted this much, and that was all.
In the next few months, other flying-disk stories hit the front pages. Two Eastern Airline pilots reported a double-decked mystery ship sighted near Montgomery, Alabama. I learned of two other sightings, one over the Pacific Ocean and one in California. The second one, seen through field glasses, was described as rocket-shaped, as large as a B-29. There were also rumors of disks being tracked by radar, but it was almost a year before I confirmed these reports.
When Purdy wired me, early in May of ’49, I had half forgotten the disks. It had been months since any important sightings had been reported. But his message quickly revived my curiosity. If he thought the subject was hot, I knew he must have reasons. When I walked into his office at 67 West 44th, Purdy stubbed out his cigarette and shook hands. He looked at me through his glasses for a moment. Then he said abruptly:
“You know anything about the disks?”
“If you mean what they are—no.”
He motioned for me to sit down. Then he swiveled his chair around, his shoulders hunched forward, and frowned out the window.
“Have you seen the Post this week?”
I told him no. “There’s something damned queer going on. For fifteen months, Project ‘Saucer’ is buttoned up tight. Top secret. Then suddenly, Forrestal gets the Saturday Evening Post to run two articles, brushing the whole thing off. The first piece hits the stands—and then what happens?”
Purdy swung around, jabbed his finger at a document on. his desk.
“That same day, the Air Force rushes out this Project ‘Saucer’ report. It admits they haven’t identified the disks in any important cases. They say it’s still serious enough—wait a minute—“he thumbed through the stapled papers—” ‘to require constant vigilance by Project “Saucer” personnel and the civilian population.’”
“You’d think the Post would make a public kick,” I said.
“I don’t mean it’s an out-and-out denial,” said Purdy. “It doesn’t mention the Post—just contradicts it. In fact, the report contradicts itself. It looks as if they’re trying to warn people and yet they’re scared to say too much.”
I looked at the title on the report: “A Digest of Preliminary Studies by the Air Materiel Command, Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, on ‘Flying Saucers.’”
“Have the papers caught it yet?” I asked Purdy.
“You mean its contradicting the Post?” He shook his head. “No, the Pentagon press release didn’t get much space. How many editors would wade through a six-thousand-word government report? Even if they did, they’d have to compare it, item for item, with the Post piece.”
“Who wrote the Post story?”
Purdy lit a cigarette and frowned out again at the skyscrapers.
“Sidney Shallett—and he’s careful. He had Forrestal’s backing. The Air Force flew him around, arranged interviews, supposedly gave him inside stuff. He spent two months on it. They O.K.’d his script, which practically says the saucers are bunk. Then they reneged on it.”
“Maybe some top brass suddenly decided it was the wrong policy to brush it off,” I suggested.
“Why the quick change?” demanded Purdy. “Let’s say they sold the Post on covering up the truth, in the interests of security. It’s possible, though I don’t believe it. Or they could simply have fed them a fake story. Either way, why did they rush this contradiction the minute the Post hit the stands?”
“Something serious happened,” I said, “after the Post went to press.”
“Yes, but what?” Purdy said impatiently. “That’s what we’ve got to find out.”
“Does Shallett’s first piece mention Mantell’s death?”
“Explains it perfectly. You know what Mantell was chasing? The planet Venus!”
“That’s the Post’s answer?” I said, incredulously.
“It’s what the Air Force contract astronomer told Shallett. I’ve checked with two astronomers here. They say that even when Venus is at full magnitude you can barely see it in the daytime even when you’re looking for it. It was only half magnitude that day, so it was practically invisible.”
“How’d the Air Force expect anybody to believe that answer?” I said.
Purdy shrugged. “They deny it was Venus in this report. But that’s what they told Shallett—that all those Air Force officers, the pilots, the Kentucky state police, and several hundred people at Madisonville mistook Venus for a metallic disk several hundred feet in diameter.”
“It’s a wonder Shallett believed it.”
“I don’t think he did. He says if it wasn’t Venus, it must have been a balloon.”