Goose Bay and UFOs.

'Goose Bay' in Labrador, Canada does seem to pop up quite a bit in UFO research and there's some background info at this site about the US Air Force SAC base there (turned over to Canada in 1967) which has experienced quite a lot of unexplained UFO activity over the years.

Amongst others, Chris Rutkowsk and Brad Sparks have conducted some great work collating radar information and military UFO testimony from the base and Easynow has also made an excellent post HERE about a very strange object said to have been tracked on their DEW Line Ground Radar system in 1951.

Duck Duck

..Given this mandate, when the flying saucer phenomenon began spreading in the 1940s and unidentified aircraft were being reported, Goose bay seemed to be a major hotspot. It was not surprising that an American airbase on Canadian soil might be the site of many saucer sightings, just like so many other bases worldwide.

What is perhaps a bit surprising, however, is that there were so many saucer sightings at Goose Bay. In the 1940s and 1950s, there were 20 known reports, a considerable number for such a remote base. Most people were unaware of what was being seen and reported by pilots and other military personnel, although rumours of events persisted over the years.

Through the rest of the decade, there were four more known sightings at Goose bay. Three of these were October 27th and 31st and November 1st 1948 with little information available on the first two other than they were noted in Project Bluebook.

Donald Keyhoe, a noted journalist and author of several UFO books, describes the cases, citing the third case as well:

Following this, I asked the airforce for typical reports and conclusions, from 1948 up to date. One of the first cases, involving three separate incidents took place in Labrador, at Goose Bay Air Force Base. At about 3 AM on October 29th, 1948. An unidentified object in slow level flight was tracked by tower radar men.Two days later, the same thing happened again. But the following night on November 1st, radar men got a jolt. Some strange object making 600mph was tracked for four minutes before it raced off on a southwest course. At the time weather conditions were considered a possible answer. But in the light of the new temperature inversion revelations, this obviously must be ruled out.

The fourth sighting took place on September 9th, 1949 at 9:56 pm AST. It was noted by Project 1947 that a military aircraft pilot saw an egg shaped object disappear into a cloud at high speed.

The Canadian UFO Report - Page 51

There are also quite a few other UFO incidents from the base described in the E-book including one object being witnessed by the Base Commander and control tower personnel making a right angle turn (link) and other cases involving visual / radar confirmation with military aircraft being sent to intercept UFOs - Robert Jones who was the radar maintenance technician on duty during one of the incidents also had this to say about it:

"There was definitely something in the sky that night under intelligent control"

There's also this incident recounted by Major Edwin A. Jerome from over Goose Bay in 1948 where a the object was confirmed on two different radar screens maintaning an altitude of 60,000 feet and travelling at a speed of approximately 9000 mph so that sounds pretty unusual.

There's also the inevitable and very silly 'official' UFO explanation.

Summer 1948; Goose Bay, Labrador

Major Edwin A. Jerome, USAF (Ret.) reported the following information to NICAP in 1961. Major Jerome was a Command Pilot, Air Provost Marshal for about 8 years, and also served as an Intelligence Officer and CID Investigator.

"My only real contact with the UFO problem was way back in the summer of 1948 while stationed at Goose Bay, Labrador. There an incident happened which is worthy of note. It seems that a high-ranking inspection team was visiting the radar facilities of this base whose mission at the time was to serve as a prime refueling and servicing air base for all military and civilian aircraft plying the north Atlantic air routes. GCA [Ground Control Approach radar] was a critical part of this picture, thus these high-ranking officers RCAF & USAF up to the rank of General as I recall.

"While inspecting the USAF radar shack, the operator noted a high-speed target on his scope going from NE to SW. Upon computation of the speed it was found to be about 9000 mph. This incident caused much consternation in the shack since obviously this was no time for levity or miscalculations in the presence of an inspecting party. The poor airman technician was brought to task for his apparent miscalculation. Again the target appeared and this time the inspectors were actually shown the apparition on the radar screen. The only reaction to this was that obviously the American equipment was way off calibration.

"The party then proceeded to the Canadian side to inspect the RCA"' GCA facility Upon their arrival the OIC related his most unbelievable target they had just seen. The inspecting officers were appalled that such a coincidence should happen. I was part of the meager intelligence reporting machinery at the base and I was called in to make an immediate urgent intelligence report on the incident. The prevailing theory at the time was that it was a meteor. I personally discounted this since upon interviewing the radar observers on both sides of the base they stated that it maintained an altitude of 60,000 feet and a speed of approximately 9000 mph.

To make this story more incredible the very next day both radars again reported an object hovering over the base at about 10 mph, at 45,000 feet.

The "official" story on this was that they were probably some type of "high-flying sea gulls".

NICAP Link

More from Don Ledger:

Maritime UFO files

You must remember all these incidents happened before the days of high flying fast jets and missiles and the now common altitude record-breaking helicopters."

Major Jerome indicated as well that during the early 1960s that he had a tour in Alaska and became very familiar with the early warning and defence systems on the DEW Line and the Alaska Air Defence Sectors. On many occassions high speed, unknown objects were tracked which could not be explained as normal airbreathing vehicles penetrating those sectors.

Jerome stated that, "Many of the citizens of Alaska along the Bering Sea coast have reported seeing missile-like aircraft flying at very low altitudes at very high speeds. The AF [USAF] denied the presence of Russian aircraft vehemently. When it was suggested that they might be extra-terrestrial everyone clammed up."

link

Other Reports:


Chop Clearance List

Huge UFO Sighted 1959 USAF SAC Base Goose Bay Labrador

reply to post by karl 12


Fantastic!

The UFO cases that had radar evidence always interested me.

It's amazing to know that there's craft out there that's way faster than what is publicly shown.

Get ready.

ATS Debunkers will debunk this is in minutes with the usual 'if it wasn't captured on camera then it didn't happen'.

Lets just ignore the fact that many sane guys in the millitary have been saying for decades that U.F.O's really exist.

If the aliens do land and sit on the denialists' heads, they might for once be telling the truth when they say they cannot see anything unusual.

reply to post by karl 12


Another interesting report Karl
Major Jerome refers to the UFO problem as with other reports of the time , its clear to me that through the 40s and 50s there was indeed a problem with unidentified aircraft doing speeds and maneuvers that just weren't possible for us back then , confirmation of the object from more than one radar site makes this report even more interesting and warrants further investigation .... looks like I got some reading to do

an object hovering over the base at about 10 mph, at 45,000 feet.
The "official" story on this was that they were probably some type of "high-flying sea gulls".

Picture of a high-flying sea gull

Originally posted by galactictuan

Fantastic!

The UFO cases that had radar evidence always interested me.

It's amazing to know that there's craft out there that's way faster than what is publicly shown.

Galactictuan, thanks for the reply and I certainly agree that some of these radar/visual UFO cases are quite fascinating, I don't know if you've read through Thesearchfortruth's thread below but he's compiled some very interesting reports:


UFOs—the fastest sightings


Also, they're not from Goose Bay specifically but here's some more strange pilot UFO testimony from the North Atlantic and Arctic regions:

"We had many adventures flying under primitive conditions in the frozen north, but none compared with this." "I looked back and saw something that didn't make sense," "It was nothing like flying machines of that period," "It was hexagonal, flat, and seemingly made of aluminum or some other metal, with no breaks in the surface and no rivets." "At the time, I had a spooky feeling. I can't explain it. It was as if I 'felt' the presence of whoever was inside that craft--and the feeling was hostile."
Lieutenant Colonel Peter Grunnet-Royal Danish Air force, describing incident in H. E. 8 seaplane over Greenland,1932.




"Suddenly, the lights went out. There appeared a yellow halo on the water. It turned to an orange, to a fiery red, and then started movement toward us at a fantastic speed, turning to a bluish red around the perimeter. Due to its high speed, its direction of travel, and its size, it looked as though we were going to be engulfed.
It stopped its movement toward us and began moving along with us about 45 degrees off the bow to the right, about 100 feet or so below us and about 200 to 300 feet in front of us. It was not in a level position; it was tilted about 25 degrees.
It stayed in this position for a minute or so. It appeared to be from 200 to 300 feet in diameter, translucent or metallic, shaped like a saucer, a purple-red fiery ring around the perimeter and a frosted white glow around the entire object. The purple-red glow around the perimeter was the same type of glow you get around the commutator of an auto generator when you observe it at night.
Captain of Navy R5D aircraft,February 8,1951.
Captain,crew members and passengers on a Navy R5D aircraft witness UFO whilst flying over the North Atlantic ocean,February 8, 1951.




"I saw three bright glowing objects flying in a triangular formation. Our mission aircraft at the time was doing approximately four hundred fifty or five hundred knots, and these appeared to be closing extremely rapidly on a parallel course to the aircraft.
They appeared as round, glowing red fireballs. The nearest thing I can describe to it is an old fashioned cook stove lid that's been overheated and is just glowing red, or like something you'd see on an anvil in a blacksmith's shop, the glowing red of metal.
The one thing that astounded me was the colossal speed. Even after compensating for our forward direction and they were moving in the opposite direction paralleling the aircraft, they would appear on the horizon and had swept across my complete range of vision from the front of the aircraft to the rear and going over the horizon towards the Arctic regions, it was just a matter of two or three seconds.
And just as I was sitting there open-mouthed astonished watching this phenomenon flash by, there on the horizon appeared three more identical objects, and I watched no less than five or six groups of these things appear suddenly on the horizon at great speed, pass the aircraft and disappear in the Arctic regions to the rear of the aircraft.
It was just incredible. I have never seen anything move like that in my life".
George Lynn Guthrie -Master Sergeant/Crew chief of Airbourne Intelligence Crew/Russian Voice Intercept Processing Supervisor for the Air Force Security Service Command

Cheers.

I'm form Labrador City which is 8 hours away from Goose Bay, everyone I know, myself included have seen strange

things in the sky at some point in their life that are definitely not an airplane!

reply to post by gortex


Hey Gortex, got to love those high flying seagulls mate, that's got to be the best one yet.

Some of the links (particularly the Chop clearance list) contain some very interesting info and you're certainly right about the cases from the 40s and 50s - there's another account below from the base which states an unknown object caused an electrical blackout there in 1977 but unfortunately the witness states all the air force personnel were ordered never to speak of the incident again so it's unlkely we'll get to hear more.

Location: Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada

Date: nighttime, late fall 1977

Approach Direction: straight down, then straight up

Departure Direction: straight up

Witness Direction: 360 degrees

Description: while stationed with an air force unit of the Strategic Air Command at Goose Bay AFB, I and the men who were there at the time, took part in an actual alert based on the sighting of a UFO. This occurred sometime in the late fall or early winter of 1977..

I first saw the lights as they descended straight down over the British side of the installation. The Brits maintained Vulcan bombers on their side of the base, and these Vulcans were sometimes carrying nuclear weapons. The Brit side of the base fell dark as the lights cam close to the ground. I later found out that there was a serious disruption of the electrical grid on their side of the base..

We (the air force personnel) were assembled in the bases theater the next morning and were ordered to not speak of the incident. A Full bird colonel flew in from Offutt AFB, the headquarters of the Strategic Air Command, and he ranted and raved about the command to not inform anyone.

link

Cheers.

Originally posted by blackmore23

I'm form Labrador City which is 8 hours away from Goose Bay, everyone I know, myself included have seen strange things in the sky at some point in their life that are definitely not an airplane!

Thanks for the reply Blackmore23 and it does look like your home town is a bit of a hotspot -don't know if you've visited it but UFOBC is a good site for Canadian reports and it also looks like the area of Saskatchewan in the Western province has also had more than its fair share of reports.
Cheers.

Goose Bay UFO reports missing?

UFO CANADA

Department of National Defence

Defence Research Board

On Thursday, April 17, 1952, Canadians were stunned by the front-page Ottawa Journal revelation that the Department of National Defence (DND) had been investigating UFOs from as early as 1947. The majority of sightings left top military and scientific officials, as they frankly admitted, totally "baffled". This disclosure came in the wake of the furour and consternation caused by the reappearance five days earlier of UFOs over North Bay Air Force Base in Ontario.

Predictably, the documents that covered the period between July 3, 1947 and March 8, 1961 proved to be of little value. For one thing, the files have been 'sanitised', meaning the names and addresses of UFO witnesses and investigating authorities have been deleted. For another, documents on UFO sightings sent to DND through RCMP channels were withheld at the request of the RCMP.

Furthermore, records of numerous major sightings were missing, while those that had been released were, at best, fragmentary. Among the cases omitted was the first incident ever to be investigated by government officials: the June 26, 1947, sighting over Ottawa. Also visibly absent were the recurring UFO incidents over Goose Bay (Labrador) Air Force Base between 1948 and 1952.

link

BOAC sighting comes to mind when i read this thread...

also the Bethune Gander incident (a bit south) also comes to mind..

somehow UFO activities seems to be most active in desolate / low populated areas..

Maritime UFO files

Originally posted by milomilo

BOAC sighting comes to mind when i read this thread...

also the Bethune Gander incident (a bit south) also comes to mind..

Hola Milo, those two cases certainly have attracted a bit of attention over the years mate and there's a relevant thread here by Jkrog about the BOAC sighting, I don't know if you've seen it but there's also this report from NARCAP's Martin Shough suggesting the sighting may have been caused by a rare form of atmospherical mirage -have got quite a lot of respect for him as he's not your typical kneejerk debunker and he also conducted a lot of great research on the radar aspects of the 1968 Minot AFB UFO (but was at a loss to explain what the object involved actually was -link).

As for the Bethune case that really is a fascinating one and the video testimony in this post from Easynow really does make for interesting viewing -I also thought it revealing that all 31 crew and passengers on the plane witnessed the object but the psychiatrist on board kept his eyes shut because he didn't want to lose his job.

Cheers.

Originally posted by karl 12

Originally posted by milomilo

BOAC sighting comes to mind when i read this thread...

also the Bethune Gander incident (a bit south) also comes to mind..

Hola Milo, those two cases certainly have attracted a bit of attention over the years mate and there's a relevant thread here by Jkrog about the BOAC sighting, I don't know if you've seen it but there's also this report from NARCAP's Martin Shough suggesting the sighting may have been caused by a rare form of atmospherical mirage -have got quite a lot of respect for him as he's not your typical kneejerk debunker and he also conducted a lot of great research on the radar aspects of the 1968 Minot AFB UFO (but was at a loss to explain what the object involved actually was -link).

As for the Bethune case that really is a fascinating one and the video testimony in this post from Easynow really does make for interesting viewing -I also thought it revealing that all 31 crew and passengers on the plane witnessed the object but the psychiatrist on board kept his eyes shut because he didn't want to lose his job.

Cheers.

thanks for the links , Karl12.. i read Martin Shough's report and while i applaud his level header approach to this case, the report's conclusion are a bit stranger than the case itself. its like its trying to fit square pin in round holes.. personally i think the BOAC case are a bit different compared to other high altitude pilot sightings. I mean the morphing main body is kinda strange.. i want to believe its a mirage but at high altitude its kinda stretching it a bit.

I dont know, i find it easier to believe if its just a plain black cigar shaped ufo or silver disc pacing the BOAC, than this morphing thing =D

As for the bethune case, my opinion are they stumbled into some kind of phenomena and got 'flashed' by the 'guardian', not necessarily ET.. Do you remember cases of UFO encounters where the UFO (usually noctural lights) was 1st sighted at long range and when the witness(s) show interest suddenly the UFO closing on them ? Back here in asia we got a saying that if something unnatural was seen at night (eg apparation etc) then feign disinterest because if you look at it then it will come to you. Kinda strange how the old-saying about apparations mesh well with the modern UFO phenomena especially Noctural Lights.. maybe they are one and the same ? shades of Magonia

i find the Bethune case maybe one of the top 10 most important ufo cases. Its sad that we have so many good ufo cases and the cover-up ufo agencies still are secret- i hate it...actually. The most important thing about the Bethunes Case (BC) is that it was a military flight-- it was at night-- the observers were highly trained- alert- and they reported what they saw--although they did keep it a secret as ordered to do so for many years. The reason the case is important is that for any one who is mature, serious about finding the facts, this BC situation is it.
No one can ever imagine anything other than a significant alien presence on planet Earth once you observe this case findings...I myself was in the USAF. I did work on ufos after leaving the US Military & fortunately while in the service i had the chance to share an office with just one guy.He didnt talk to me much but Like myself he was just a lower-ranking airman --this was when i first got in-- he eventually told me--when everyone he knew was gone on vacation or out to Lunch that he was a special comm systems operator & that his only job was to receive the telex (?) cabled secret messages from a northern US base above USA 48 state border...He had a worried Look on his face as he told me- "they make me read messages & make sure they were sent right - than i transfer them to the next secure comm Link-- in other states etc heading towards wash dc etc..."
He told me that he was angry that he was "cooped up" in this office and was ordered to never discuss what he does... with any one...SO in a way he was breaking his command orders by telling me stuff, but he thought since i was working at the time with a local town newsletter i might tell the truth about "the aliens they have on ice at the north pole...4 of them...the roswell crash situation"...
At the time i was just a regular guy stuck in a remote base--just got there-- i didnt understand any thing of his comments or the significance but i did pay attention. I told him if you cant tell any one dont tell me about it...
He had a worried Look on his face. He said :" I am just a young guy -i grew up on a farm- they think since i am a country boy i am not educated or smart so they pick me to read & check these messages-- they read like this-- at a certain time every day maybe 5 times a day it says base secure- secured aliens in freezers okay or like that & when i call them to complain that they are mis-using the secure Lines an officer comes on & yells at me to shut up & hang up & ignore everything i read....just send the communications-- thats your job! "
Sure at the time i did Look around to make sure the guy didnt get himself in to more trouble-- i would say :
"okay no one is coming in the office-- i dont hear any one walking up the halll...just shutup and its okay- i a m not
supposed to hear this either since i am in a different job completely...i am not authorized man ! "
So he would just sit back & relax and say softly :" at least i was able to tell someone-- the hard part is knowing about it -- that aliens are real-- and i cant do anything after work-- i have to sleep with this knowledge"...
Then he would smile at me say : "so you dont think its real eh ? ok...(then later he would protect himself on a different day and say : "Just forget what i told you okay?"
I would look up from my work and say-- i dont even remember what it was--( I was Lying of course )....
He would smile then-- relieved -- and say good okay....he wasnt there a few months later-- just no longer
in that office...the equipment was gone-- other stuff came in that performed our own office's functions...but i never forgot his facial expressions when he told me stuff...i never forgot any thing he said...mainly :
He said : " they think i am stupid. I think thats why they picked me to do this...its limited equipment and range so someone has to do this ....i hate it...i wish i was in any other job..."
Any way that story is real. I recalled it many years Later when i got involved in ufo research after i Left the US Air Force. I knew i could get in trouble if i did any work in this area while in uniform...when you leave the service you sign an oath to never discuss what you knew or worked with in the military....so i knew i was protected from arrest since i began ufo research only after i left the military. I had several military people discuss ufos with me over my over 15 year time in service...i never let on to them about the other incidentsi had heard of. i acted like the innocent fellow buddy at the bar etc.
The GB case is so important because it was a large oceanic expedition of alien craft.It was secretive. It is amazing the plane wasnt destroyed. I believe the ufo ship sent up was hoping its collision course attempt would send the plane into a fatal dive...now you have it...The GB case is very important and you were with me as i sat at a desk in a desert long ago & I was told 1 of the greatest secrets of the USAF.

originally posted by: DERRUFO

i find the Bethune case maybe one of the top 10 most important ufo cases. Its sad that we have so many good ufo cases and the cover-up ufo agencies still are secret- i hate it...actually. The most important thing about the Bethunes Case (BC) is that it was a military flight-- it was at night-- the observers were highly trained- alert- and they reported what they saw--although they did keep it a secret as ordered to do so for many years. The reason the case is important is that for any one who is mature, serious about finding the facts, this BC situation is it.

Always been fascinated with that case mate and thanks for sharing your account

Observer1 once made a great post with some additional testimonies on this case and below, just for posterity, are some of the video clips featuring Commander Bethune describing the encounter (as they do have a habit of disappearing from Youtube).

Links

Testimony of Lt. Fred W. Kingdon, Jr., U.S. Navy:

Re-opening the Bethune Case from Feb. 10, 1951

Vids:








Cheers!

Newspaper article (1954) mentioning UFO encounters over Goose bay and Thule - also brought up is the claim that 'Air Force Officers are well aware of the unidentifiable objects being sighted frequently by radar and have compiled a bulky record of them'.

link

David Marler discussing the 1954 UFO airliner sighting over Labrador - one witness described the size of the object 'as big as the Queen Mary'.


See 56:20

Incident involving two F-89 jet fighters 40 miles southeast of Goose Bay (February 13th, 1956).

It stands to reason that a report of a UFO that flies circles around a jet fighter doesn’t seem logical. In fact, it’s absurd. Nothing like that could possibly be real.

Except when it’s actually reported by not one but two different pilots.

In the files of Project Blue Book is such an incident that the USAF admitted defied logic.

On February 13, 1956, at 0255Z (or before midnight on February 12, 1956), two F-89 jet fighters were 40 miles southeast of Goose Bay, Labrador, on a routine training mission..

A UFO report that wasn’t “logical”

a reply to: Rapha

ATS Debunkers will debunk this is in minutes with the usual 'if it wasn't captured on camera then it didn't happen'.

Not necessarily. We can do it even when cameras are available. Actually, it is easier to debunk these sightings if they are videotaped and photographed. But let's talk about the Bethune Case,

The Bethune case happened on Febryary, 10th, 1951. As it happens, context is key to understand events. See, the year 1951 saw extensive exploration of space by both US and USSR, and it was the year of key developments in suborbital rocketry. The Soviets launched their first series of biomedical tests to the 100-kilometer boundary of space, and several American agencies launched more than a dozen scientific sounding rocket flights between them.

Those biomedical missions included sounded rockets flights carrying mice and monkeys. You will find nice pics of poor monkeys with all kind of electrodes in their heads that were launched into the skies. You won't get after-flight pics of the terrified monkeys, though, except for the September, 20th, 1951 flights when the Air Force made the first successful recovery of animals from rocket flight when a monkey and 11 mice survived an Aerobee flight to 236,000 feet. I wonder if Mr. Bethune was capable of identifying a free-falling Aerobee.

Anyway, the R-1, the Soviet Union's first domestically built long-range ballistic missile, was accepted into service in November 1950. In January 1951, cold-weather testing of the R-1 for quality assurance purposes was conducted. The R-51 carried dogs instead of monkeys.

More interesting, during February that year Hiller Helicopters produced two-place helicopter powered by ramjet engines, and NACA Langley Research Center conducted first flights of man-carrying, jet-supported platform at Wallops Island in exploratory investigations. In these tests, a person was supported by a jet-thrust device attached to his feet. Though my favourite are the Navy D-558-I, II, and IV Douglas sky-rockets, one of which on June, 11th flown by test pilot William Bridgeman, set a new unofficial airplane speed and altitude record at Edwards AFB, Muroc Dry Lake, Calif.; speed estimated at more than 1,200 mph; altitude estimated 70,000 feet. We shouldn't forget in those days there was a war ongoing in Korea, with all kind of beasts flying in the skies.

Now, was Mr. Bethune knowledgeable of those developments? In case he accidentally saw one of those rockets, was he in a position to understand what he was witnessing?

However, the key event is the 02 Feb 1951 nuclear test at Nevada Test Site by the US. It populated the night skies with all sort of glints and glares courtesy of radioactive isotopes interacting with the high atmosphere, no matter if some of those tests were underground: neutrinos cannot be stopped.

Now, given the context, let's re-examine the Bethune Case.