Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Roswell UFO Incident

Kenneth Arnold's report to Army Air Forces (AAF) intelligence dated July 12 1947 which includes annotated sketches of the typical craft in the chain of nine objects
The imagination of UFO's gained shape and recognition when an Idaho pilot named Kenneth Arnold saw supersonic objects on June 25, 1947, that flew like geese and moved just like a saucer would do on water. This report started the era of Flying Saucers and UFO's. In the summers of July 1947, the US Military got an opportunity to closely observe a mysterious spacecraft near the top secret air base of Roswell, New Mexico. The incident is intensely reported both officially and unofficially. The most famous narrative of the incident is that the Roswell debris was of a spacecraft containing extraterrestrial (ET) life. Since late 1970, the Roswell incident has been surrounded by massive controversies. The rumours regarding flying discs came to a reality when the intelligence officers of Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) gained possession of a disc through the assistance of a local rancher and the Sheriff's office of Chaves County.

William Ware Mack Brazel and his wife Margaret

UFO crash site at Roswell in 1947

William Ware Mack Brazel was a 48 year rancher (foreman) who earned his living on J. B Foster sheep ranch located 30 miles South East of Corona in Lincon County, New Mexico. Brazel used to live on the ranch in a farm house while his wife Margaret (Maggie, 45 year old) and children (daughter Bessie Brazel Schreiber nicknamed Betty, 14 years old and son Vernon, 8 years old) lived in Tularosa. They often visited him during holidays. On Saturday, 14 June, 1947, Brazel and his son Vernon, were on their round, about 7 to 8 miles away from the J. B. Foster ranch house when they noticed clusters of dazzling unidentifiable debris scattered over a large area. The debris was possibly made of rubber strips, tinfoil, hard paper and metallic sticks. However, he was in an urgency to complete his round and did not take note of it. The debris which was scattered over an area of about 200 yards in diameter was interfering with day to day ranch operations as the sheep did not cross the debris to go to their usual water place. So, Brazel and his family went back to the spot to clear the debris on Friday, July 4, 1947. They collected some of the remains in sacks which looked to have been scattered in such a vast area possibly due to an aerial explosion.

Major Jesse A. Marcel - head intelligence officer of 509th Bombing Group

Major Jesse A. Marcel and Captain Sheridan Cavitt investigating the debris

There were several UFO sightings reported in the summer of 1947 in United States. On Saturday, when Brazel came to know about flying discs, he was bewildered and wondered if the weird waste with bizarre characteristics might be the remnants of one of those disks. He came to the Chaves County on Monday, July 7, 1947, to sell wool where he met Sherrif George Wilcox. He not only reported the incident but also handed over a small amount of debris in a box. The Sherrif contacted the Roswell Army Air Field. Colonel Willam Blanchard, the commanding officer at RAAF was so intrigued by the sample that he immediately ordered two intelligence officers Major Jesse A. Marcel (head intelligence officer of 509th Bombing Group) and Captain Sheridan Cavitt (officer in charge of the Counterintelligence Corps) to investigate. They drove out to the ranch with Brazel to examine the debris where they tried to reconstruct the remains in which they unsuccessful. The debris consisted of tinfoil, paper, tape, metallic sticks (about 3 feet in length and 7-8 inches thick) and rubber like material which was smoke grey in colour and made a bundle of about 1.5 feet long and 8 inches thick. The whole wreckage was very strong and exceptionally light (about 5 pounds only). No proof of common metal (which could have been used in the engine or propeller) was found in the area. No strings or wire were found. Only a paper-fin was found glued in the tinfoil. There was nothing written in the instruments except some outlandish unreadable markings which resembled ancient Indian petroglyphs or rock figures in some of the parts. The investigators spend the night with Brazel, collected the debris and left for the base early in the morning.

Roswell Incident IBeam & its symbols of unknown origin

Announcement was made by the public information office at Roswell Army Air Field on Tuesday, July 8, 1947

Colonel Blanchard's announcement was retracted by Brigadier General Roger Ramey

On the basis of the report submitted by the investigators, Colonel Blanchard got the area cordoned off and soldiers then searched the field and brought the remaining debris in armoured trucks to Army headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. On Tuesday, July 8, 1947, Colonel Blanchard issued a press release around noon to Walter Haut (Public Information Officer, 509 Bombing Group), following which a shocking announcement was made by the public information office at Roswell Army Air Field. They stated that that they had recovered remains of a flying disk from a ranch near Roswell which had crashed during a storm. However, almost immediately, around afternoon, Colonel Blanchard's announcement was retracted by Brigadier General Roger Ramey, who was his superior in chain of commands. The Brigadier held a press conference in Fort Worth in which he stated that the mysterious debris recovered by Major Marcel was not of a flying disc, but of a weather balloon attached with a metallic radar reflector which crashed in a storm. Reporters were shown some of the wreckage said to be collected from the crash site which consisted of foil, rubber and wood. Further press coverage was restricted and soon public interest faded and the incident was forgotten for about 31 years.

Former entrance gate to Roswell Army Air Field

UFO crash site at Roswell

In an interview in 1978, Major Jesse A. Marcel, who was the first officer to investigate the debris said to Stanton Friedman (a reputed nuclear-physicist and UFO researcher) that the debris he recovered was "not from Earth". The material was quite different from the materials found on earth because it cannot be engraved, dented or whittled by knife. The foil rubber material could neither be torn like ordinary aluminium foil nor be burnt. The piece of metal was just like tinfoil used in a pack of cigarette paper but it was so strong that it neither bent nor got a dent. The metal foil could be wrapped in a ball, and then when you unfold it, there was no sign of any wrinkle (folding marks). He claimed that the top officials were involved in covering up the incident. His claims were published in National Enquirer which led to publication of the book named The Roswell Incident in 1980.

UFO crash site at Roswell

Body of one of the ET taken to maximum security installations, at the Wright Patterson Air Base, in Ohio
The authors claimed that they had interviewed over 75 witnesses. The book documented extracts from government's secret documents of the alleged cover-up. It also contained a document in which Majestic 12 (which later became known as Men In Black) was officially authorized by President Truman to cover up UFO incidents. According to the claims of the book, the mysterious debris in Roswell consisted of fragments of exotic, flexible material which could not tear burn or break. It had unfamiliar markings on the wreckage, perhaps writing or hieroglyphics. The book also claimed that some alien bodies were also recovered from the crash.

Rear entrance of the hospital of Roswell Army Air Field

This photo from the Air Force's The Roswell Report shows one of test dummies in its insulation bag

Glenn Dennis
Glenn Dennis was a young mortician who worked at Ballard Funeral Home which incorporated ambulance and mortuary services for the nearby RAAF. One afternoon he received some calls from the RAAF mortuary officer who wanted to confirm if he had some small coffins and if they could be hermetically sealed. The RAAF mortuary officer also inquired about how to preserve bodies which had been exposed for a few days. Dennis drove to the base hospital in the evening where he saw large pieces of wreckage with strange engravings on one of the pieces sticking out of the back of a military ambulance. The hospital was unusually busy. He wanted to inquire about this with a friend nurse but she advised him to leave immediately. Before he could react, a military officer accompanied by a black NCO threatened him and forced to leave. Mystified by the unusual activity and hiked security, Denis left the base hospital. Next day or so, he met the nurse in officers club where she told him that she was involved in preliminary autopsy of three strange little creatures recovered from the wreckage. She drew sketches of them after he promised to keep the episode secret. Within few days she was transferred from the RAAF base to England. She sent a note to Dennis giving him her address in England but when he wrote a letter to her, it was returned marked "Deceased". Other nurses on the base told him that she died in a plane crash.

A screen grab from an alleged autopsy video examining the body of an alien found at Roswell UFO crash 1947. The video surfaced in 1990's but but it was later found to be a staged reconstruction of what Ray Santilli, a London-based entrepreneur, claimed was a re-enactment of a older video he had witnessed

The sketches Dennis made based on his memory of what the nurse drew

Official teletype send by FBI Dallas Field Office on July 8, 1947


Testimony of Dying CIA Official 2013

Famous UFO author and historian Richard Dolan
In 2013, a dying CIA Official confessed about UFO’s and The Extraterrestrial reality AIRL UFO 1947 Roswell Crash Vehicle. The video testimony was shown at the Citizen Hearing on Disclosure at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on Friday, May 3, 2013. The former CIA official was interviewed by UFO author and historian Richard Dolan.

The anonymous official claimed that he had served the U.S. Army, CIA as well as the U.S. Air Force’s Project Blue Book (one of the USAF’s official studies of UFOs). He alleged that after an invasion threat from President Dwight Eisenhower, he and his superior at the CIA were allowed inside the secretive Area 51 in Nevada to gather intelligence and report back to the president. He described seeing several alien spacecraft, including the craft that crashed in Roswell, New Mexico. He and his superior were then taken to the S-4 facility southwest of Area 51 where they observed live extraterrestrials.

EBE-1 was apparently captured alive from one of the saucer crashes of 1947 and was confined in an underground area at Los Alamos Laboratory, New Mexico. EBE-1 died of unknown causes on June 18, 1952.


Roswell UFO incident: 64 years and a single FBI document

The FBI posted a document in April 2011 in the FBI vault which is believed to be the only official FBI document related to the Roswell UFO Incident. It is a memo written by Mr. Guy Hottel, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office to the FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover on March 22, 1950 concerning flying saucers. It is the most popular file in the FBI vault, which relays an unconfirmed report which was never pursued by the FBI. Like all memos at that time, it was addressed to the Director and recorded and indexed in FBI records.

Memo send by Guy Hottel to the FBI Director

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Apollo XI – Secrets of UFOs & The Extraterrestrials on Moon

Launch of Apollo XI from the Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969 at 9:32 AM EDT
Apollo XI was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969 at 9:32 AM EDT with astronauts Neil Alden Armstrong (Commander of the mission), Edwin Eugene “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. (Lunar Module Pilot) and Michael Collins (Pilot of the Command Module Columbia) aboard. The launch of Apollo XI on July 16, 1969 was one of the greatest scientific achievements of mankind. On July 19, the spacecraft entered the lunar orbit after traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours. The lunar module (Eagle) separated from the command module at 1:46 PM on July 20. Colins who was the pilot of Columbia remained in the command module, while Armstrong and Aldrin proceeded towards the Moon in the lunar module. The lunar module landed on the Moon at the Sea of Tranquility (a lunar mare situated within the Tranquillitatis basin on the Moon) at 4:17 PM on July 20. Armstrong immediately radioded the Mission Control in Houston, Texas - “The Eagle has landed”. At 10:39 PM Armstrong opened the hatch of the Eagle and stepped on Moon at 10:56 PM saying “One small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind.

Apollo XI on its way to launch pad

Sea of Tranquility on Moon where the Eagle had landed

Golden replica of an olive branch which was left of Moon by the astronauts
Armstrong was joined by Aldrin 19 minutes later, and they took pictures of the geographical area, deployed the Solar Wind Collector (SWC), a foil sheet and implanted a US flag, conducted few scientific tests and communicated to President Richard Nixon via Houston. They went back to the Eagle and closed the hatch at 01:11 AM on July 21 and slept on the surface of the Moon. The Eagle began its ascent to re-unite with Columbia at 01:54 PM on July 21. They left a plague on the surface of the Moon which read “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon–July 1969 A.D–We came in peace for all mankind and an golden olive branch which is a sign of peace.

The Lunar Module Eagle ascending from the surface of the Moon to re-unite with the Command Module Columbia

However it has also aggravated controversies which is still debatable even after 45 years. The Apollo XI mission was broadcast on live TV and radio to worldwide audience. Not only NASA but many private radio channels were also broadcasting the events live. It was an unforgettable experience to see Armstrong walk on the Moon. However two minutes of radio silence amazed millions of audience all over the world. What really happened over the “blackout” period is quite unclear but many experts believe that NASA has not disclosed all the facts of the historical mission.

Buzz Aldrin deploying Solar Wind Collector - Two UFOs in constant surveillance

Lunar footprint of Buzz Aldrin in a photo taken by him on July 20 1969

It is a mystery why the United States eventually abandoned manned lunar missions. All the manned lunar missions after Apollo XI was preplanned, but not a single manned lunar mission has been scheduled after Apollo XI. Many officials at NASA believe that Armstrong has witnessed something so strange, weird and extraterrestrial that it changed his as well as NASA's perception and finally led to abandonment of manned lunar missions. Evidences from government's leaked documents and photographs reveal that Armstrong had witnessed much more than desolate, dusty and dangerous landscape on Moon which was televised to millions of spectators. According to the leaked documents two huge alien spacecrafts watched the landing of the Eagle very carefully and observed the moonwalk of Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

Buzz Aldrin and Armstrong deploying EASEP

A UFO observing the Apollo XI mission

NASA officially said that the radio signal was interrupted due to overheating of one of the cameras. However the scientific community was not able to digest this statement and believed that Armstrong and Aldrin were being watched by some unknown entity. In his book Above Top Secret (1988), Timothy Good states that HAM radio operators were receiving VHF signals transmitted from Apollo XI to Houston (headquarters of NASA). They intercepted the following message which was censored by NASA during the two minutes of blackout (both image and sound was interrupted) when Armstrong and Aldrin were exploring the surface of the Moon around the Lunar Module. Armstrong got excited, clutched Aldrin's arm and exclaimed:

Apollo 11:
What was it? What the hell was it? That's all I want to know!

Houston:
What's there ? ... malfunction (garble) ... Mission Control calling Apollo 11...

Apollo 11:
These "Babies" are huge, Sir! Enormous!
OH MY GOD! You wouldn't believe it!
I'm telling you there are other spacecraft out there, lined up on the far side of the crater edge!
They're on the Moon watching us!

NASA says that it was not a blackout and clarifies that one of the TV cameras overheated, malfunctioned and interrupted the reception. However, this surprised almost every well-educated man on the planet who could not accept the excuse of how such an indispensable equipment (in fact one of the most indispensable equipment) could malfunction in such an important and expensive project.

Astronaut Edwin Aldrin walks on the surface of the moon July 20, 1969

Dr. Vladimir Azhazha, a physicist and Professor of Mathematics at Moscow University was the first to corroborate the UFO encounter which actually happened immediately after the lunar module (Eagle) landed on the surface of the Moon. According to Soviet scientists, Armstrong relayed a message that two large mysterious UFO's landed in vicinity to the lunar module and kept a watch on them. But NASA censored this message during the alleged blackout and the general public never heard it. Buzz Aldrin filmed the UFO's first from inside the lunar module and then continued to film them after he went outside the module. The UFO's departed minutes after the astronauts came out on the lunar surface.

Apollo XI mission under constant surveillance by UFOs

Maurice Chatelain, former chief of NASA Communications Systems confirmed in 1979 that Armstrong had actually reported sighting of two UFO's on the edge of the crater. The radio transmissions were interrupted on several occasions to hide the incredible and explosive news from the public. According to Chatelain, all Apollo and Gemini missions were followed by spacecrafts of extraterrestrial origin (UFO's). The astronauts were ordered absolute silence every time they informed the Mission Control because NASA did not wanted to create panic. Astronauts often used code names for UFO's and extraterrestrial entities so that it sounded as a normal conversation to the general public. Several code names such as FIRE, BOGEY, SANTA CLAUS was used. It is believed that the first astronaut to use the code name was Walter Schirra aboard Mercury 8.

A cigar shaped unidentified object in cater taken by Neil Armstrong

As per the report from experts, the alien spaceships were huge and dangerous and technically much more superior to ours. The astronauts and their spacecraft were being observed continuously by the UFO's at all the space missions which ended the possibility of initiation of a space station on Moon and Moon city.

Newspaper reports of the encounter of UFOs with Apollo XI

In fact, The UFO sightings began much early in the mission when the spacecraft en-route to Moon was halfway in its journey on July 17, 1969. The trio Neil Alden Armstrong, Edwin Eugene “Buzz” Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins spotted an UFO pursuing and actually pacing the spacecraft alongside. It seemed to be a mass of intelligent energy. Buzz Aldrin had noticed an unidentified lighted object out of the window of Apollo capsule that appeared to be moving alongside the spacecraft as they were closing the Moon. He felt that it was sun reflected either from the rocket they had separated from, or the four panels that moved away when they extracted the lander from the rocket. They verified and concluded that it was one of the four panels which was moving alongside the spacecraft floating in free fall.

Panels moving alongside the spacecraft floating in free fall

Couple of days later on July 19, 1969, Aldrin went to the Lunar Module (Eagle) for final inspection of the devices and instruments. He saw the UFO's while checking the close-up camera at about 1800 hours which was recorded on film. The objects were in close constitution and discharging some kind of liquid. They conjoined for some time, then separated and went off their own ways. It seemed that they were intelligently controlled.

A UFO captured in a photograph on Moon

Lunar soil samples collected by austronauts of Apollo XI

Michael Collins in Columbia (the Command Module) was busy communicating to Houston when Armstrong and Aldrin were gathering rock samples on July 21, 1969 at 00.26 hours just one and half hours after the astronauts had stepped on the Moon.

Columbia:
Calling Houston. This is Columbia.

Houston:
Go ahead, Columbia.

Columbia:
I couldn't find the L. M. But I saw some weird small white objects. Co-ordinates are 0.3, 7.6 on the south west edge of the crater. If they're there they should have seen them too.

UFO in photographs taken by Apollo XI

It seemed that the mission was under constant surveillance by the unknown space vehicles and entities. These white objects (seen by Collins earlier) made another appearance when Eagle ascended from the surface of the Moon at 13:55 PM on July 21, 1969 and proceeded to re-unite with Columbia. The fixed camera of Eagle was photographing the receding surface of the Moon. Suddenly a white, shining object (UFO) passed directly under the Eagle, diagonally from the lower left to the upper right of the frames.

Apollo 11 UFO images from the Op video

They had also sighted a strange weird object which seemed to modify its shape with changes in telescope's magnification. It was one of the most impressive sightings. Neil Armstrong spotted a strange cylindrical object billowing between the spacecraft and the Moon which disappeared when he went to take photos. The astronauts had earlier agreed to designate the UFO's as Saint Nicholas but they were so amazed and bedazzled with what they already witnessed on the surface of the Moon that they radioed Houston (Mission Control) without the code.

An alien power plant was located in one of the photos of Moon taken by the Apollo 16 lunar mission on 21 April,1972

The austronauts Edwin Eugene “Buzz” Aldrin Jr., Neil Alden Armstrong and Michael Collins from left to right

Apollo XI has taken almost 1500 still photographs and dozens of magazines of film. Transcripts of Apollo XI run to the thousands of pages. However, has all of the material ever been examined by researchers? Is there an Alien Base on the Moon? Had Armstrong really seen the aliens and their extraterrestrial vehicles on the Moon, who eventually advised NASA not to return? NASA has carefully kept its secrets and CIA is the main agency which is primarily involved in the coverups of the extra-terrestrial and UFO existence and its sightings both in space and on Earth.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

The Mantell Incident – First Military Confrontation of an UFO

Aliens have been visiting our planet for more than thousands of years. However the first incident of a military confrontation with the extraterrestrials was recorded in 1948 by the United States. The US military lost its military pilot in the incident and the government did not know how to react to this unforeseen event. This was one of the most publicized, controversial and significant incidents of early UFO sightings, which changed the perception of the people towards the UFOs.

The F 51 Mustang was the one of the best fighters in US Army during the World War II

On January 7, 1948, at 1:15 PM, the control towers at the Godman Air Force Base located near Louisville, Kentucky received a call from Kentucky State Highway Patrol which had reports from residents of Maysville of sightings of an strange, unusual aircraft hovering in the sky. The Godman Tower got it confirmed from Flight Service at Wright-Patterson AFB and found that there was no experimental flights in the region. They only had a B-29 and an A-26 on photo missions in that area. The Kentuky state police called again 20 minutes later saying that residents of Owensboro and Irvington, Kentucky, were reporting a strange craft. They described that the object was circular 250 to 300 feet in diameter due West at a good pace. The Godman Tower checked the Flight Service again but found nothing. The tower operators who were looking for the reported object finally saw it at 1:45 PM. They called Flight Operations as soon as they assured themselves that the unidentified flying object was neither an airplane nor a weather balloon.

Flight of three North American Aviation F-51D Mustangs, 165th Fighter Squadron, Kentucky Air National Guard. (U.S. Air Force)

Cartoon representation of the Captain Mantell's confrontation with the UFO
At 2:30 PM four F 51 Mustang fighters were approaching the Air Force Base enroute from Marietta, Georgia to Standiford Field, Louisville, Kentucky. The tower called the flight leader, Captain Thomas F. Mantell (in NG 3869 lead ship) and requested to try to identify the object. One of the four planes was low on fuel and asked for a permission to go to his base, while Mantell and his remaining wingmen (Lt. Buford A. Hammond and Lt. Albert W. Clements) headed towards the object. Clements recalls that Mantell was way ahead and by the time the they reached 10,000 feet, he was barely visible. Mantell called the tower at 2:45 PM and said "I see something above and ahead of me and I'm still climbing." Clements then called back and asked "What the hell are we looking for?" Mantel replied that the object was directly ahead and above of him, moving about half of his speed. Clements was able to see a small bright appearing object, very distant to be unable to identify its size, shape and color. The tower immediately asked Mantell to describe the object. Mantell replied but nobody remembers exactly what he answered. Saucer historians believe he said "I've sighted the thing. It looks metallic and it's tremendous in size.... Now it's starting to climb." Few seconds later he called "It's above me and I'm gaining on it. I'm going to 20,000 feet." Mantell mentioned going to 20,000 ft and if they could not go closer to the object would abandon the chase. Mantell was climbing at combat max rate/speed. Clements was close to Mantell but Hammond did not had oxygen and had leveled off to 15,000 feet. He was felling difficulties of hypoxia and by the time Clements reached 22,000 feet, Hammond was feeling dizzy. He contacted Clements by radio and considering the perils of anoxia, they turned back to their base at Standiford Field. They were worried and trying frantically to call Mantell who went out of their sight. Their calls went unanswered and Mantell never talked to anyone again. Lt. Clements then got his plane refueled, and serviced with oxygen and took off to investigate again. However, he saw nothing.

F51 Mustang of Captian Mantell spining during the decent

The tower lost the sight of the UFO at 3:50 PM, while they got the news that Mantell had crashed a few minutes later. Several hours later at 7:20 PM, about a dozen of airfield towers reported sightings of UFO low on the Southwestern horizon and disappearing after about twenty minutes, however the Air Force said that it was planet Venus. Project Sign was the first Air Force research group assigned to investigate UFO reports. It investigated the Mantell Crash and in order to provide a quick answer to the incident, the officials in Project Sign reported that Mantell had unfortunately been killed trying to reach the planet Venus. The Air Force reported that once Mantell reached 25,000 feet, he passed out due to lack of oxygen (hypoxia or anoxia) and lost control of his aircraft. The Mustang began decending in a spiral picking up speed and completed two spirals. At 10,000 feet Mantell regained consciousness and tried to throttle back but the plane broke down at Mach limit, the engine overheated and the plane dived vertically. It crashed in a farm after a flat spin 4 miles South of Franklin, Kentuky landing on its belly. The firemen later pulled Mantell's body from the wreckage. His seat belt was shredded, and his wristwatch had stopped at 3:18 PM, the time of his crash. A police officer Joe Walker who took charge at the scene of the accident learned that the aircraft had exploded in the mid air before it hit the ground, but, the aircraft did not burn upon contact with the ground. The wreckage was scattered over an area of one mile. The mystery UFO chase died with him.

Wreckage of Captain Mantell’s F-51D Mustang, 43-63869.

A collection of rare photographs of Captain Mantell's crashed F51 Mustang

The Air Force released an official report on the incident one year later. It reported that the UFO might have been Venus of even a balloon. Venus was a strong suspect because it was in almost the same spot in the sky as the UFO. At 3:00 PM, Venus had been Southwest of Godman and 33 degrees above the southern horizon while at 3:00 PM the tower operators estimated the UFO to be Southwest of Godman and at an elevation of about 45 degrees. Allowing for human error in estimating directions and angles, this was pretty close. However, there was a big flaw in the theory. On January 7, 1948, the brilliance of planet Venus was six times that of the surrounding sky. Venus wasn't bright enough to be seen because it's practically impossible to find a light only six time as bright as the surrounding sky even in a clear day. It was clear the Air Force was unsuccessfully trying to cover up something important, using Venus as a shield.

Lt. Buford A. Hammond and Lt. Albert W. Clements - wingmen of Captian Mantell

All other theories including the Venus theory was rejected. The only possibility was that either the object was a real UFO or US Navy Skyhook weather balloon. The Skyhook balloon project was highly classified at that time and neither Mantell nor the other observers in the air control tower would have been able to identify the UFO as a Skyhook balloon because they did not had the information. The Skyhook balloons were made of reflective aluminum, and were about 100 feet (30 m) in diameter. This is consistent with Mantell's description of a large metallic object. A large balloon could be visible for 50 to 60 miles and a Skyhook balloon was visible even at an altitude of 60,000 feet. Located at Wright Field, the group who supervise the contracts for all the Skyhook research flights for the Air Force had no records on flights in 1948 but they did think that the big balloons were being launched from Clinton County Air Force Base in southern Ohio at that time. The military have pretty good records on all the launches but they never could establish a launch date for that day.

There were several reported sightings of UFO on the fateful day in the region including Madisonville and Owensboro when Captian Mantell died. All the possible theories of US Skyhook balloon was eventually rejected. The most recent launch of US Skyhook balloon Flight B launched by General Mills in Minnesota happened to be at 8:00 AM on January 6, 1948, and it was too far away on the next day to be noticed by Mantell and his wingmen. The Skyhook balloon was in Tennessee near Nashville at the time of the UFO sightings on January 7. Mantells case was covered up and declared as unsolved, and is still unsolved till today.

Captian Thomas Francis Mantell Jr. (30 June 1922 – 7 January 1948)

Captain Thomas F. Mantell
Captian Thomas Francis Mantell Jr. was born in Franklin, Kentucky. After graduating from Male High School, in Louisville, he joined the Army Air Corps on June 16, 1942 and graduated from the Flight School on 30 June 1943. He was assigned to 440th Troop Carrier Group, 96th Troop Carrier Squadron, 9th Air Force during World War II. He was a distinguished pilot and was awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for courageous action during the Normandy landings, and an Air Medal with three Oak leaf clusters for heroism. After the war, Mantell returned to Louisville and joined the newly organized Kentucky Air National Guard as Flight Leader, “C” Flight, 165th Fighter Squadron on 16 February 1947.

Mantell had been flying F 51 Mustangs since past seven months. He had about 3,000 flying hours, of which 1,608 hours were pilot-flight time, out of which 67 hours was in F 51 Mustang. The F 51 Mustang was the one of the best fighters in US Army during the World War II. With an excellent range and maneuverability the Mustangs could climb up to 42,000 feet.

Newspaper reports full of Captain Mantell incident and UFO tales

Newspaper report of death of Captain Mantell

Newspapers reported that Mantell was shot down by a magnetic ray from a flying saucer. He was the first person ever to die while pursuing an unidentified flying object. The resulted in major shift towards the perception to extraterrestrials and UFOs. They started to be considered as hostile and were no longer perceived harmless.

Flight Profile of Captian Mantell

Time CST
Miles From Godman
Altitude (Feet)
Climb Rate (Feet/Min)
Ground Speed MPH
Landmark
01:42 PM
289
0
0
0 - 300
First two F51's take off from Marietta AAF, Georgia.
01:43 PM
289
0
0
0 - 300
Last two F51's take off from Marietta AAF, Georgia.
02:50 PM
10
5000
0
300
Position report, ~30 mi SW (~SSW) of Standiford AAF, Louisville, KY (~10 mi S of Godman).
02:52 PM
0
5000
3000
180
Mantell and his men enter max climb spiral directly over Godman Tower.
02:53 PM
0
8000
3000
180
Still in climb over Godman.
02:55 PM
0
14000
3000
180
Leveled out from spiral climb vectored straight SSW to 210.
03:00 PM
25
17000
600
300
Max range F51 visible from Godman with unaided eye.
03:08 PM
65
21800
600
300
Near Bowling Green airport.
03:09 PM
70
22400
600
300
Clements abandons Mantell, who now climbs at combat max rate/speed.
03:11 PM
79
25000
2000
240
Mantell passes out, loses control of the plane which begins descending in a spiral.
03:12 PM
83
23000
-2000
240
Picks up speed.
03:13 PM
87
21000
-2000
300
1st spiral complete.
03:15 PM
-92
17000
-3000
350
2nd spiral complete.
03:17 PM
-92
10000
-10000
500 to 200
Mantell regains consciousness, tries to throttle back.
Plane breaks up at Mach limit, engine overheats, vertical dive then flat spin.
03:18 PM
92
0
0
0
Impact 4 miles South of Franklin, KY. Plane hard lands on belly.