1944—Bomber Encounters Giant Disk, page 1


Pages: <<  1    2    3  >>
ATS Members have flagged this thread 33 times
Topic started on 31-3-2012 @ 05:28 PM by thesearchfortruth
This is one of the earliest "flying saucer" sightings, predating Kenneth Arnold's encounter by more than three years.
I tried a couple searches and nothing came up, so I apologize if I have re-posted this.


Our story starts on August 11, 1944. The witness, Ronald Claridge, was a crew member on a RAF Lancaster bomber returning to its base in England. Ron and his fellow officers were returning from a raid in France, when suddenly Ron's radar screen went blank.

I was the radio and radar operator and as such was concentrating on my 'Fishpond' screen looking for the blips of German fighters... suddenly my screen went blank—I thought it was an electrical failure. I was reporting this to the skipper when he shouted over the intercom, 'What the hell is that?'


I moved into the astrodome, which gave 360-degree vision. I stood looking into the night. On our starboard side was a sight I have never forgotten. By this time our Lancaster was flying straight and level. There was a string of lights shich streched ahead and behind us for what seemed miles.


As my night vision improved I saw a grey saucer-like object emarge as part of the lights. It is still difficult to describe its size... Our Lancaster was a large aeroplane but the only comparison I can make is that we were but a dot on a sheet of foolscap paper. We all watched this object for about three minutes. We watched it shoot away—it was just a flash of light and the vast size was gone in less than a second, without any noise...


The crew was left speechless for some time. Ronald had the feeling that he was being watched, but he and the rest of the crew (strangely) felt very calm and relaxed. The entire sighting had lasted about three minutes.

Upon landing the men were debriefed by RAF intellegence, who warned them not to discuss the incident or make any entry about it in their logbooks.

Ronald was an artist and he made a painting of what he saw that day. I have not been able to locate the picture online, so I took a picture myself of the painting as found in a book. (the book is 'The UFO Files', it is listed in my sources). The picture didn't turn out very well, but you can still see how big this saucer was...





I am surprised this encounter is so little-known, it seems amazing and it occurred some time before Kenneth Arnold had his sighting.

For me, the report seems very interesting. The craft was described as huge, but able to shoot away at incredible speed in an instant. It would also appear that the saucer affected Ronalds radar screen, as it went black only moments before he saw the UFO.

Any thoughts guys?

Sources:

www.ufodigest.com...

The UFO Files: The Inside Story of Real-Life Sightings, by David Clarke

Need to Know: UFOs the Military, and Intellegence, by Timothy Good (look at pages 22 and 23 for information about this particular sighting)
edit on 31-3-2012 by thesearchfortruth because: added picture



reply posted on 31-3-2012 @ 05:34 PM by gortex
reply to post by thesearchfortruth


Excellent S+f for you .
This is unknown to me to , it sounds like an interesting report so I will delve into your link ,



reply posted on 31-3-2012 @ 05:43 PM by thesearchfortruth
Originally posted by dayve
reply to post by thesearchfortruth


is that horizon lookin thing suppose to be the ufo?


Yes, sorry about the quality. That is a painting made by the witness of what he saw.


reply posted on 31-3-2012 @ 05:45 PM by thesearchfortruth
Originally posted by gortex
reply to post by thesearchfortruth


Excellent S+f for you .
This is unknown to me to , it sounds like an interesting report so I will delve into your link ,


thanks gortex
The more interesting link is the ebook, it has the quotes from Ronald Claridge. (the end of page 22 and all of page 23)


reply posted on 31-3-2012 @ 06:26 PM by nineix
reply to post by thesearchfortruth


aha. Please then, for future reference, when posting photos, ensure things are oriented properly, and not reversed. As you can see from this inconsistency, such things are important.




reply posted on 31-3-2012 @ 06:30 PM by thesearchfortruth
Originally posted by nineix
reply to post by thesearchfortruth


aha. Please then, for future reference, when posting photos, ensure things are oriented properly, and not reversed. As you can see from this inconsistency, such things are important.



Yes I apologize

I have fixed the picture now...You can see by the words in the book above the photo that now it is correctly flipped
edit on 31-3-2012 by thesearchfortruth because: (no reason given)



reply posted on 1-4-2012 @ 02:40 AM by Kandinsky
reply to post by thesearchfortruth
I enjoyed reading the part where he recalled feeling changed. Whatever he saw, or thought he saw, it must have been quite an experience to be looking out from the astrodome, at several thousand feet, and wondering what had just happened.



The painting does suggest a lenticular cloud, but the multiple witnesses, blank fishpond and particularly the flash and swift departure are at odds with the misperception of a cloud formation.

David Clarke mentions it in his book, The UFO Files, so I'll have to go and dig it out.


reply posted on 1-4-2012 @ 06:15 AM by Atzil321
reply to post by dayve
This has to be the dumbest comment i have ever seen
Nice thread op S&F....


reply posted on 1-4-2012 @ 10:26 AM by thesearchfortruth
reply to post by Kandinsky




The painting does suggest a lenticular cloud, but the multiple witnesses, blank fishpond and particularly the flash and swift departure are at odds with the misperception of a cloud formation.


Thanks for the reply, and I understand how the object could look like a lenticular cloud...

However in the original painting there are little 'portholes' of some sort, and certainly a lenticular cloud would not have those. Another factor that isn't getting much attention is all the lights lining the craft, I don't really remember lenticular clouds celebrating Christmas.

I have located the second chapter only of 'The UFO Files', but it does not have the section on this incident. However, if you scroll all the way down here on the back cover of the book you should be able to see a miniature sized painting. It's still not very good quality, but you can make out the little lights or portholes on the craft better.
edit on 1-4-2012 by thesearchfortruth because: changed something



reply posted on 1-4-2012 @ 11:05 AM by Zcustosmorum
First heard about this case from Tim Goode, he also mentions it in this lecture:



Personally I don't see how any flight crew can mistake a cloud for something else, sure some clouds look strange but to not see how it is a cloud is crazy. Certainly interesting

A cloud with lights? No. A cloud that moves fast? No.



As my night vision improved I saw a grey saucer-like object emarge as part of the lights. It is still difficult to describe its size... Our Lancaster was a large aeroplane but the only comparison I can make is that we were but a dot on a sheet of foolscap paper. We all watched this object for about three minutes. We watched it shoot away—it was just a flash of light and the vast size was gone in less than a second, without any noise...
edit on 1-4-2012 by Zcustosmorum because: (no reason given)

Pages: <<  1    2    3  >>    ^^TOP^^



UFO Filmed From Avebury Crop Circle, UK With Multiple Witnesses
  Posted 19 days ago with 89 member flags
The Men In Black(OPs) The Aviary & UFOs
  Posted 12 days ago with 83 member flags
Did a RAF Tornado crash during a UFO intercept mission in 1997?
  Posted 14 days ago with 39 member flags
What is this comming out of our star?
  Posted 9 days ago with 33 member flags
Huge Unknown Objects orbiting the Sun for months...?
  Posted 8 days ago with 29 member flags
The CIA and the UFO Mythos
  Posted 16 days ago with 26 member flags
UFO Reporting for the 21st Century!
  Posted 12 days ago with 26 member flags