The Awful Truth About UFOs (long) -- not for believers!

Originally posted by longhaircowboy
Also see the Texas 'Roswell'.

Thanks, links are always appreciated. Aurora is fairly close to my Grandfather's old farm in Arlington (close in Texas terms, at least ) and I pass by there several times a year coming up Highway 114 to 287; got relatives all over the DFW area, in fact. There are sections just north of there where the wind can blow a truck right off the asphalt, and I've idly wondered if maybe that 'airship' was really somebody's silo (we've had to retrieve our own storage shed from the neighbor's yard this year -- twice!).

lost_shaman: You're interested in Brazil? Are you from there?

I've been looking at all the blimp movements from the 40's, and, lo and behold, there were a large numbeer of US Navy blimp bases or fields in Brazil:

Fortaleza, Sao Luiz, lgarape Assu, Amapa, Maceio, Ipitanga, Fernando do Noronha, Caravellas, Santa Cruz, Victoria, and Recife. Macelo is, I believe, just up-river from Colares.

Here's a list of the units and assignments:

Fleet Airship Wing 4
Aug 1943 - Jul 1945
Recife, Brazil
Headquarters Squadron 4

HEDRON Det 41

Sao Luiz, Brazil
Sub-det Amapa, Brazil
Sub-det Fortaleza, Brazil
Sub-det lgarape Assu, Brazil

ZP-41 Lakehurst

Fortaleza
Sao Luiz
Det lgarape Assu
Det Amapa
Det Fortaleza
Det British Guiana
Det Edinburgh Field, BWI
Det San Juan
Det Cuba

HEDRON Det 42

Maceio, Brazil
Sub-det Fernando do Noronha, Brazil
Sub-det Recife
Sub-det Ipitanga, Brazil
Sub-det Caravellas, Brazil
Sub-det Santa Cruz, Brazil
Sub-det Victoria, Brazil
Sub-det Richmond, Fla.

ZP-42 Lakehurst

Richmond (Fla.)
Maceio
Det lpitanga
Det Fortaleza
Det Fernando do Noronha
Det Caravellas
Det Santa Cruz
Det Victoria

As far as I know, they all shipped out in 1945 on their own power, but I'm still trying to find where they all went. Richmond, I think, had 16 assigned airships, but supposedly lost 25 to the 1945 fire, so I'm guessing that maybe 9 went there for storage.

I've got a link dealing with WWII Brazilian blimp activities, but I can't locate it at the moment; it's an article in Portugese, let me know and I can post it when I find it if it sounds interesting.

If your from the D/FW Area then I live just Northwest of you here in Texas myself.

I'm only interested in some of the UFO sightings and events from Brazil. But I can translate Portuguese on com. So be sure and post the link when you find it.

Originally posted by lost_shaman
I have one for you as well.
www.project1947.com... - USAF Air Intelligence Report 1948

This is what gets to me: a top-secret paper, supposedly written in an office less than 150 miles from the largest remaining blimp base in the US, the oldest blimp base in the US, the home of the Navy's first helicopter squadron activated the same month this report was released, a report written about silvery cigar-shaped objects, and somehow the word 'blimp' doesn't come up at all.

Please don't try to tell me that the Directorate of Intelligence didn't realize there were blimps running around. It's what, three miles from the Pentagon to Fort Myers, where the Army flight-tested their first airship? They even mention Ohio: can anyone use 'Ohio' and 'aircraft' on the same page and not think about Akron or Goodyear?

The really scary part is wondering if the Air Force really had officers that were that stupid and clueless.

DESCRIPTIONS OF the flying objects fall into three configuration categories: (1) disk-shaped (2) rough cigar-shaped (3) balls of fire. Varying conditions of visibility and differences in angles at which the objects may have been viewed introduces a possibility that a single type object may have been observed rather than three different types. This possibility is further substantiated by the fact that in the areas where such objects have been observed the ratio of the three general configurations is approximately the same.

I feel vindicated, at least. That's exactly what I've been saying.

The above tends to indicate that some type object has been seen and the possibility exists that the object or objects seen are conventional domestic devices, such as weather balloons, test rockets, or jet-equipped aircraft with pancake or flying wing configurations.

Something missing from that list, perhaps?

THE PATTERN of sightings is definable. Sightings have been most intense throughout the states bordering the Atlantic and Pacific coast lines, and the central states of Ohio and Kentucky.

Gee, maybe Headquarters United States Air Force Directorate of Intelligence forgot THAT'S WHERE THE BLIMP BASES ARE!

BTW, maybe it's just me, but I don't ever recall ever seeing any USAF (or other military) report which did not go out over someone's signature. This one smells funny to me.

(EDIT: Panhandle, actually. I can't stand the Dallas area, although I mananged to live through 4 years of torment there )



[edit on 6-4-2006 by rand]

Originally posted by rand

Please don't try to tell me that the Directorate of Intelligence didn't realize there were blimps running around.

While its not explicitly said here I think this would apply to blimps.

The objects are domestic devices, and if so, their identification or origin can be established by a survey of all launchings of airborne objects.

Overlooking that momentarily.


Does that report vindicate your hypothesis? I guess it depends which report you read, as many are similar and yet different.

Also remember in the early days many in the Military thought the phenomena was something new from the USSR.

This report wasn't the most accurate however. Notice that the Kenneth Arnold sighting is said to have happened July 29th 1947. Or is that another sighting by Ken Arnold?

Note that there are also UFOs similar to the one I witnessed here in North Texas in 2002 in this report.

On 1 October 1948 at approximately 2030 hours the pilot of a F-51
aircraft, 2nd Lt. George F. Gorman (North Dakota Air National Guard),
flying near Fargo, North Dakota, sighted an intermittent white light
about 3,000 feet below his 4,500 feet cruising altitude. The pilot pursued
the light which appeared to then take evasive tactics. The object or light
out-turned, out-speeded, and out-climbed the F-51 in every instance
during the attempt to intercept. The pilot lost contact 27 minutes after
the initial sighting. The same light was observed by three other witnesses
from the ground: Mr. L. D. Jensen, Air Traffic Controller, Mr. Manuel E.
Johnson, Assistant Traffic Controller, and Dr. L. N. Cannon, Occulist. A
comparison of all testimony revealed that one object was sighted and
that it consisted only of a small round ball of clear white light with no
apparent shape attached. It was about 6 to 8 inches in diameter. At times
it traveled faster than the F-51 and performed maneuvers in an evasive
manner. When first sighted the ball of light was traveling at an estimated
250 miles per hour. Under this condition, the light was not continuous
but blinked off and on. At high performance the white light was
continuous. Subsequent investigation eliminated the possibility that this incident may have been another aircraft or a meteorological balloon.

www.project1947.com...

Here is a report from Col. H. M. McCoy who was a leader in ATI and involved with early UFO phenomena and also helped create Project Blue Book.

www.project1947.com...

2. The objects described fall into the following general classifica-
tion groups, according to shape or physical configuration:


a. Flat disc of circular or approximately circular shape.


b. Torpedo or cigar shaped aircraft, with no wings or fins visible
in flight.

c. Spherical or balloon shaped objects.


d. Balls of light with no apparent form attached.

BTW, You probably pass through or by my Town on your way to see your relatives lol. Highway 287 runs right through here that's were your seeing those overturned Trucks.

There have been several other UFO reports from near here and Wichita Falls and North of Dallas over the Years.

I REALLY have a good one for you then Rand.

One " large white cylinder shaped " UFO was reported about 25 miles away from my sighting of a small Ball of Light the same week in 2002 right from Highway 287 near Chilicothe ,Tx.

www.nuforc.org...

Sighting Report
Occurred : 11/3/2002 17:40 (Entered as : 11/03/02 17:40)
Reported: 11/3/2002 9:13:40 PM 21:13
Posted: 2/25/2003
Location: Chillicothe, TX
Shape: Cylinder
Duration:four minutes
Large white cylinder shaped object - stationary then accerated out of sight

While driving East bound on Hwy 287 five miles west of Chillicothe, TX, I noticed what looked like bright airplane landing lights. The light went out and a large white cylinder shaped object was visable. Estimate its altitude=6000ft, length=200ft and diameter=40ft. It was stationary. I pointed out to my wife and pulled to the side of he road to look at it. 15 seconds after we stopped it slowly accelerated toward the east. We followed it for 30 seconds maintining the same speed as the object until we reached 75mph. It continued to accelerate until out of site 30 seconds later.

This is our first observation of a UFO. We are both Christians, enjoy Star Trek, and do not beleive that non-human aviation exist. I served in the Air Force at NORAD.

Maybe that was a CIA Blimp looking around for that UFO I saw! lol

Now that's a real possibility!



[edit on 6-4-2006 by lost_shaman]

Originally posted by lost_shaman

Originally posted by rand

The objects are domestic devices, and if so, their identification or origin can be established by a survey of all launchings of airborne objects.

Overlooking that momentarily.

Think that would have applied to the U-2/SR-71/F-177 or any other classified aircraft project? We found out it certainly didn't apply to Project Mogol.

Does that report vindicate your hypothesis? Also remember in the early days many in the Military thought the phenomena was something new from the USSR.

If it's genuine, yes, and if it's fake, then, absolutely.

Only a handfull of "the military" ever knows about most classified projects.

What's interesting to me is how the Chief of Staff's office quickly and quietly shot down proposals to chase the UFOs and instead put a smart-arse junior officer to work making paperwork.

There is wisdom in the Bible. Look into the Book of Ezekiel: God kept Zeke out of trouble in Heaven by giving him a stick and sending him off to measure the courtyard. Mlitary commanders and corporate CEOs have been using the same tactic ever since.

Arnold had another sighting in July; I think it was the "they looked like ducks, sorta" event.

There have been several other UFO reports from near here and Wichita Falls and North of Dallas over the Years. I REALLY have a good one for you then Rand.

Yeah, but what ELSE was happening? Take a good look at the area and the events.

I've seen very much the same thing, driving north from Lubbock on I-27 in late afternoon: a silver cylinder, bright light like a landing light, stationary in the air, suddenly and quickly moves to the west, etc. Three things make it not-a-ufo: there were storms in the area so planes would be diverting; at least 3 airfields, including Cannon AFB, within 60 miles or so (less than 15 minutes away by aircraft); an aircraft approaching or moving away the observer will look like it's not moving at all.

In the case of the couple you mentioned, there is a major Air Force Base as well as a large civilian airport just over the hill, so to speak, to the east-south-east, at Witchia Falls. There's also Fredrick, almost dead east of Chilicothe, and Altus, a bit farther to the east-nort-east.

I've seen a cargo ship, C-17 I think, flying north of 287 in that same general area. That's the route they'd be traveling from Denver or Amarillo.

And working underground at NORAD is not really great training for plane-spotting, IMHO.

And it may be true about the blimps looking for UFOs: many times a major physical encounter is accompanied and /or followed by streams of reports of silver objects hovering over fields and woodlands. I have info on that aspect I need to put together.

Im sorry but saying MOST is a bit presumptuous. In fact many UFO sightings are not reported.. if you listen to my podcast you will see that what I saw could not possibly have been a blimp.. nothing can move like the object I saw moved.
SOME would have been a more appropriate if not less dramatic word to use.. I am sure that some sightings were blimps.. but I have seen and heard enough various descriptions to know that you really cant say MOST of them are,... only the silver disc ones maybe.

[edit on 6-4-2006 by NephraTari]

Rand "A" for effort!

but you have not convinced me of your statement.

Your statement that most of the ufo sightings were blimps.

All the pics and graphics you have posted only goes to prove what a blimp looks like and does not support your statement.

To say that most of the sightings were of blimps you must of contacted a percentage of the thousands of ufo sightings and found that most of them had been proven to be blimps. Did you do this? If so please list them for us to read.

Mabe you should change the title of this post to "A Blimp can look like a UFO" I don't think any of us will argue with you on that one.

Originally posted by rand
Think that would have applied to the U-2/SR-71/F-177 or any other classified aircraft project? We found out it certainly didn't apply to Project Mogol.

Yeah I think it would. Just because you and I don't know about classified projects doesn't mean the military is clueless about them.

Col. Duffy knew about MOGUL and others did as well. In fact the MOGUL project I believe was run in part from Wright Field.

What's interesting to me is how the Chief of Staff's office quickly and quietly shot down proposals to chase the UFOs and instead put a smart-arse junior officer to work making paperwork.

I know at least some fighters were outfitted with Cameras just to get pictures of UFOs. There was also a group out at White Sands attempting to track UFOs from the Ground.

Captain Thomas Mantell died chasing a UFO. There are other reports of intercepts being attempted off the Coast of Japan.

And for years Fighters would be sent up to intercept potential UFOs. A report from Oklahoma last year reported a Fighter chasing a UFO.

Yeah, but what ELSE was happening? Take a good look at the area and the events.

I live here and have my entire life.

My town is only 17 miles down the road from Chillicothe. Altus AFB is home to those C-17's that almost constantly circle around North of Highway 287 and Shepard AFB trains Fighter Pilots. All that means , however, is that you occasionally get to see C-17's and F-16's flying around. I have no Idea what Large civilian Airport over the hill your talking about , unless you mean Wilbarger Co. Airport. That's located here in Vernon and is little more than a runway and gas tank with a few small Hangers for a couple of Prop Planes. Nothing that's out of the norm or that would generate UFO reports.

Originally posted by lost_shaman
[Just because you and I don't know about classified projects doesn't mean the military is clueless about them.

There is no "the military", there are countless separate departments and commands and projects, and a 2nd Louie writing a lame flying-saucer report with pictures cut out of magazines is not going to know all about every classified aircraft being flown.

Col. Duffy knew about MOGUL and others did as well.

Well, Duffy didn't write this report. The writer of this report didn't mention Mogol, probably because either (a) the writer thought he was doing something good and noble but really didn't know what was going on (he didn't really know about any classified projects underway and wasn't supposed to know about Mogol), or (b) the report is a fluff piece designed to shut up internal questioning and so didn't need to mention any real classified projects, or (c) the report is a sham, generated for "accidental" release or "eventual" declassification or allowed to be "stolen" by spies.

I know at least some fighters were outfitted with Cameras just to get pictures of UFOs. There was also a group out at White Sands attempting to track UFOs from the Ground.

Which is a far cry from setting up systems to scramble fighters to chase UFOs, as McCoy wanted to do. McCoy strikes me as a bit of an 'empire-builder' who wanted to go all-out on a problem which his bosses didn't think important.

Captain Thomas Mantell died chasing a UFO. There are other reports of intercepts being attempted off the Coast of Japan.

Those planes were already in the air and apparently directed/requested to investigate by air trafic control, not part of a concerted efort to chase extraterrestrials.

However, correlated visual/radar tracks, identified as aircraft but of unknown nationality, those are what the armed forces are in business to protect us against. I never meant to imply the AF didn't go looking for unidentified aircraft, just that McCoy's plan for a nation-wide flying-saucer hunt was kibboshed pretty quickly and thoroughly.

I meant that "Sheppard Air Force Base/Wichita Falls Municipal Airport" is both a military base and a major civilian airport.

However, Witchia Falls also has/had Witchita Valley (3300',3000', & 2000' runways) and Kickapoo (4400' runway -- not DFW, but not too shabby and still able to handle small private jets).

It's probably most surprising when someone drives down 287 without seeing an aircraft of some kind

Originally posted by rand

There is no "the military", there are countless separate departments and commands and projects, and a 2nd Louie writing a lame flying-saucer report with pictures cut out of magazines is not going to know all about every classified aircraft being flown.

I know that. That is why I pointed out that the report recommended all Airborne Projects and Aircraft should be evaluated to determine if these are causing UFO reports.

Originally posted by rand

Well, Duffy didn't write this report. The writer of this report didn't mention Mogol, probably because either (a) the writer thought he was doing something good and noble but really didn't know what was going on (he didn't really know about any classified projects underway and wasn't supposed to know about Mogol), or (b) the report is a fluff piece designed to shut up internal questioning and so didn't need to mention any real classified projects, or (c) the report is a sham, generated for "accidental" release or "eventual" declassification or allowed to be "stolen" by spies.

I know Duffy didn't write this report that is why I addressed this to you ...

"I guess it depends which report you read, as many are similar and yet different. " - lost_shaman

I then pointed out the McCoy Memo here at this point. As an example of other reports.

Originally posted by rand

McCoy strikes me as a bit of an 'empire-builder' who wanted to go all-out on a problem which his bosses didn't think important.

Do you consider BLUE BOOK to be an "Empire" ?

McCoy is considered and even publicly recognized as one of the "Grandfathers" of ATI.

Your hypothesis here is beginning to cross into my own personal research into the events.

Originally posted by rand

Those planes were already in the air and apparently directed/requested to investigate by air trafic control, not part of a concerted effort to chase extraterrestrials.

E.T.? When did we talk about E.T.?

I thought we are talking about the subject of UFOs?

Originally posted by rand

However, correlated visual/radar tracks, identified as aircraft but of unknown nationality, those are what the armed forces are in business to protect us against. I never meant to imply the AF didn't go looking for unidentified aircraft, just that McCoy's plan for a nation-wide flying-saucer hunt was kibboshed pretty quickly and thoroughly.

I wouldn't call a 20 year Public information gathering project like BLUE BOOK ,that McCoy played a major role in , being referred to as "kiboshed " " quickly and thoroughly".

Originally posted by rand

I meant that "Sheppard Air Force Base/Wichita Falls Municipal Airport" is both a military base and a major civilian airport.

I guess the " just over the hill" reference threw me off a bit.

Still there is hardly anything there and no major Airlines operate from that "Dead" Airport .

Originally posted by rand

However, Witchia Falls also has/had Witchita Valley (3300',3000', & 2000' runways) and Kickapoo (4400' runway -- not DFW, but not too shabby and still able to handle small private jets).

Small Jets ... That's correct.

Originally posted by rand

It's probably most surprising when someone drives down 287 without seeing an aircraft of some kind

Yep... Again that's true. Obviously ,you'll usually see Aircraft.




[edit on 7-4-2006 by lost_shaman]

lost_shaman:

My viewpoint:

McCoy, among others, wanted squadrons of planes poised for take-off, all under the thumb of Air Material Command and/or ATI. Lots of people, lots of toys, lots of money. That's empire-building.

Instead they handed him 20 years of paperwork in understaffed, underfunded projects which produced no real results. He kept pushing to get to the truth until his superiors gave him a make-work assignment to keep him out of trouble. Whatever his other acccomplishments with intelligence and technology, he was basically cut off at the knees as regards UFO research. Sounds like a good premis for a TV series; maybe if could be called "The X-Fliers" or something...

ET's? Aren't we discussing the reasons McCoy and others wanted to go all-out to chase the UFOs? It probably wasn't to chase weather balloons and mis-identified planets. Those things aren't exciting enough. There were folks in the Air Force who thought there was something mysterious out there and wanted to run it to ground. Ok, maybe some of them thought it was highly advanced space-age Soviet technology (but I'd bet they secretly wanted it to be spacemen!).

...no major Airlines operate from that "Dead" Airport .

I didn't realize that. It's a shame to see that much good concrete go unused. I was stationed at Norton and nearly cried when they closed her down. I haven't been there in years, but I can imagine them using the runway for go-cart races and flea-markets.

If you come across anything that indicates that the big boys didn't want any real research into UFOs and didn't want it early on, let me know. And if you come across any intel staff with blimps in their background, I'd be very interested.


[edit on 6-4-2006 by rand]

Originally posted by rand

ET's? Aren't we discussing the reasons McCoy and others wanted to go all-out to chase the UFOs? It probably wasn't to chase weather balloons and mis-identified planets. Those things aren't exciting enough. There were folks in the Air Force who thought there was something mysterious out there and wanted to run it to ground. Ok, maybe some of them thought it was highly advanced space-age Soviet technology (but I'd bet they secretly wanted it to be spacemen!).

Hmm... What are you saying Rand?

Got a problem with the E. T. Hypothesis?

Although we have yet to discuss this , it never the less remains one of the logical hypothesis that explains all the evidence I've seen. Not to be simply discarded because someone does not BELIEVE its true.

If you come across anything that indicates that the big boys didn't want any real research into UFOs and didn't want it early on, let me know. And if you come across any intel staff with blimps in their background, I'd be very interested.

How about Ramey's Press conference? The next days Balloon launch demo for the Press at Alamogordo ,NM.

Maybe the fact that July 5th , RAWIN Target's began to be turned into the Local newspaper offices as " Downed Disks" by FARMERS and RANCHERS to make Front Page news just downwind from Wright Field , Ohio.

You know that NONE of them were harassed at all , its THEM or their DAUGHTERS in the Paper holding RAWIN Targets on the front page...

Me paraphrasing ...

" (Duffy speaking )... Hey Trakowski,... Ahem ... Don't you think that tinfoil and Balsa Wood stuff sounds like your balloon test or what ? ... "

"(Duffy again) Yeah ... Some guy just found tinfoil in New Mexico and woke me up in the middle of the night here in Ohio and I need to ID this right now!!! So that sounds like your guy's Balloons right? "

( Duffy forgetting that Tinfoil and Balsa Wood was JUST in the Front Page of the LOCAL OHIO Papers! And Duffy himself was JUST Head of the MOGUL Project a few months earlier.)

Of course that paraphrased conversation took place well after " GENERAL RAMEY EMPTIES ROSWELL SAUCER" on the afternoon of July 8th ' 47 as per the Headlines of the Day.


Here I authored a thread about some of this here...

Roswell Counter-Intelligence Operation?

Oh... And did I mention that Gen. Ramey was featured on National T.V. in '52 dismissing the UFOs that were frightening the Nation at the time?

Well he Obviously had what it took the first time around...





[edit on 7-4-2006 by lost_shaman]

Here we go ...

One of the things the Boy's at AMC did was to get the "Schedules of activities" of advertising Blimps for cross-reference.

www.blackvault.com...

See paragraph 3.

Originally posted by lost_shaman
Here we go ...

One of the things the Boy's at AMC did was to get the "Schedules of activities" of advertising Blimps for cross-reference.
www.blackvault.com...
See paragraph 3.

Nice find

Hmmm..."Advertising blimps"...interesting.

I wonder if they forgot that
-- almost all advertising blimps in 1948 belonged to Goodyear;
-- that most of those had recently been repurchased from the Navy;
-- that all those had been flown cross-country from various Naval Air Stations to Ohio;
-- Goodyear now (1948) had around 8 blimps in the air, while the US Navy still (officiially) had around sixty. Perhaps half of those had been flown across country from the West Coast and the Carribean to bases on the East Coast.
-- Military blimps flew VFR (Visual Fight Rules) and their flightplans were routinely destroyed after 90 days.
-- Another 80 or so Navy blimps seemingly dissappeared between 1945 and 1948.

They may have been looking for the schedules of 8-10 Goodyear blimps.
It's those other 140+ airships that concern me.

Originally posted by rand

I wonder if they forgot that
-- almost all advertising blimps in 1948 belonged to Goodyear;

Even I could have told you that when I was a kid if you'd asked me then!

Originally posted by rand

-- that all those had been flown cross-country from various Naval Air Stations to Ohio;

All the more reason to think the Guy's at AMC in Ohio would have been aware of Navy "Blimps".

Originally posted by rand

-- Military blimps flew VFR (Visual Fight Rules) and their flightplans were routinely destroyed after 90 days.

So I'll have to remember that no-one knows what the flight plans were for these "blimps" next time you draw a line from point a to point b and try to make a case that its one of these Navy "Blimps".

But of course if you can do that , I'm sure the guy's at Naval Intel could have figured it out as well.

Originally posted by rand

-- Another 80 or so Navy blimps seemingly dissappeared between 1945 and 1948.

Seems like surplus scrap metal from the War was badly needed during these years.

Originally posted by lost_shaman
-- almost all advertising blimps in 1948 belonged to Goodyear;
Even I could have told you that when I was a kid if you'd asked me then!

Why then the specific reference to "advertising blimps"?

All the more reason to think the Guy's at AMC in Ohio would have been aware of Navy "Blimps".

Hence, the curious fact that they would have not have said something like "..and we've ruled out military blimps...".

...next time you draw a line from point a to point b and try to make a case that its one of these Navy "Blimps".

Make that "the first time"; I've never had to draw a line from A to B*, the evidence speaks for itself.

...I'm sure the guy's at Naval Intel could have figured it out..

I'm sure they did. I'm also fairly convinced they did a serious tapdance around the subject, never mentioning the merest possibility that UFO sightings could be related to military airships, even so far as avoiding any further mention that those sightings WERE NOT blimps.

You could as easily interpret the paragraph you pointed out to mean "We got the civilian blimp schedules, just in case we want to use them as a possible excuse." I didn't notice, in this or any other report, anyone actually referring to that schedule, almost like it was held in reserve. And, again, I don't recall anyone actually using such data to exclude blimps form the sightings, almost like they didn't want to call attention to them at all.

Seems like surplus scrap metal from the War was badly needed during these years.

There were "only" 80-some blimps lost to attrition or whatever; that's not a lot of scrap metal** compared to, say, the 1500-odd C-54's that were available -- and those winged aircraft in working order were almost all sold to civilians or transferred to allies.

In any case, try to find the final history of those blimps sometime. You may think "Blimp: cute, slow, simple, sell 'em for scrap!", but the military models were big, expensive, and had crews and equipment worthy of any sailing vessel. A working airship would have been as valuable as any ship-of-the-line, and would have been quite a prize if they'd been put on the open surplus market.

The Navy only had around 200 during the war, and 150+ at war's end; it's not like there was much to keep track of. Even so, though it's possible to track the complete history of just about every fixed-wind Naval aircraft and ship online, many blimps just quietly vanished.

*Except for the analysis of the Arnold sighting, of course.
**But it would have been an awful lot of rubberized fabric

Originally posted by rand

Why then the specific reference to "advertising blimps"?

I can only imagine that Military records for Military vehicles such as Navy Blimps could have easily been procured by "Outfits" such as the Navy. As such there would be no reason to mention the procurement of such records.

You have to realize who these letters are written by and who they are written for to understand them.

They most certainly are not written to inform us of everything going on 65 years ago, but to inform other contemporary Military agencies of what was being done.

Notice that there are no other specific Military Air craft specifically targeted or cited either?

Hence, the curious fact that they would have not have said something like "..and we've ruled out military blimps...".

Refer to the above.

I'm sure they did. I'm also fairly convinced they did a serious tapdance around the subject, never mentioning the merest possibility that UFO sightings could be related to military airships, even so far as avoiding any further mention that those sightings WERE NOT blimps.

Unless you consider that the "Blimp" sightings were screened out before hand.

Maybe ATI personnel didn't want to chase "Blimps" around the country and instead focused on REAL UFO sightings.

Thanks for reiterating what I had said earlier l_s
Also they didn't report blimps because they didn't see blimps.
Heres something rand may find of interest
www.virtuallystrange.net...
and if you go to UFO Updates and search Iowa 1920 there's another post with multiple sightings in the same area and year.
I can't help but ask again.......you work for Goodyear?

Originally posted by longhaircowboy
...they didn't report blimps because they didn't see blimps.

They should have looked up more often

www.virtuallystrange.net...

Yeah, it's hard to belive, but until 1920-or-30-something the #1 cause of aircraft accidents was the pilot falling out of the plane. Then they finally started using seatbelts. So, maybe the pilot was thrown out when the engine fell off (that happens more than most people realize)
www.google.com...

Airline Disasters

What caused the crash of an American Airlines DC-10 in Chicago on May 25, 1979?
An engine fell off. Often called the worst airline disaster in Chicago's history, 273 lives were lost when an engine mount failed and the engine fell off of the aircraft, causing a complete loss of control.

or maybe the engine came loose due to some wild gyrations after the pilot fell out. I don't have a link handy, but I read somewhere about an early European aircraft builder (Sikorskii?) -- NEVER MIND I found the link it was Sikorskii -- the Muromets apparently regularly lost engines during landings.

I can't help but ask again.......you work for Goodyear?

Hmmm...no, I wouldn't want to leave my current position. I read that Money Magazine had pronounced Software Engineer to be the 2006 Best Job In America, so I asked the boss "Can I be a Software Engineer?" and he asked how much extra it would cost and I said "Nothing" and he asked what Softwar Engineers do, and I told him "Design, create, and deploy software systems, you know, the same thing I do" and he said "Sure, you can be our Software Engineer", so now I'm not the Computer Guy anymore and I have the Best Job In America -- 'till next year anyway

[edit on 29-4-2006 by rand]

Bravo on the career.
You really should consider a marketing position with a blimp manufacturer.
I keeping getting these thoughts of a blimp society. you know personal blimps and blimp buses and such. It would be economically and ecologically sound.
What's the top end on say a blimp big enough to carry 2 dozen people? And how big would it have to be?

Oh btw he found that by actually going to a library and browsing old newspapers.