Sighting of 'Flying Saucer' — Delft, Netherlands, 2 September 1952

This Air Intelligence Information Report, dated September 24, 1952, details a UFO sighting in Delft, Netherlands, occurring on September 2, 1952. The witness, a radio engineer at the Netherlands Cable Factory, was conducting measurements on a V.H.F. antenna when he observed a bright, silver, plate-shaped object moving at high speed from the south. The witness, who was already operating a Zeiss Ikon camera, captured a photograph of the object. He reported that the object's appearance coincided with a significant dip in the deflection of his field strength measuring instruments. The duration of the sighting was estimated at 10 to 15 seconds. Following the event, the witness contacted a local newspaper and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (K.N.M.I.). Experts at the K.N.M.I. examined the photograph and suggested that the large size of the object on the film might be an optical illusion or the result of invisible ultra-violet rays affecting the photographic plate. They also hypothesized that the interference with the measuring instruments could have been caused by electro-magnetic disturbances or the influence of the object on the galvanometer. The report includes the witness's account, a translation of a newspaper article, and correspondence from the K.N.M.I. confirming the object's position at 20 degrees south of east and 20 degrees above the horizon. Despite the investigation, the phenomenon remained a 'great query mark' for the scientists involved, who noted that while they could offer technical hypotheses, they remained largely silent on the true nature of the event.