(AIR FORCE OFFICE) MINUTE PAPER .tEaLASSIFICATION OF FILES Reference: DEFAIR 580/1/1 In accordance '"ith Reference A, all folios, in all parts of Department of Air File series 580/1/1 are reclassified 'UNCLASSIFIED' with effect 7 I-iay 82. . A. PERSK:E) lOVE THIS SHEET FROM FILE TELEPHONE DepartQent of Air nussell Offices CANBERRA ACT ROYAL AUSTRAliAN Alll FORCE Headquarters Support Command Victoria Barracks St Kilda Road ~LBOURNE SC1 SIGHTING OF UNUSUAL AERIAL PHENOMENA Forwarded herewith are two reports of sighting of aerial objects at Cressy and Trevallyn, on the 27th and 29th of November 1960. i ng Commander ~or Air Officer Commanding Roy Stearnes 9 Fullord Street , Tr e va l lyn. ... . ~ Ca r penter Date anJ Ti 1 vl Ob ion (T.!..Ll"' g.1.Ven in ~4 our .: Period or Obs rv tl_. 1:mner of Obs rvat1on: (G~ve ~------s -- own :-o>s if possiDle, .Jr by mown lo.nJmarks, .:nd de.;c~t'J in the observation) ~ miles = 1 inch) Visual observation Where was object first observed, e .g. overhaad, comin a hill, over the horizon etc \~hat first attracted observer s atteotaor. a.g. light o Lieht changing i n c olou r from blue to green ana red Did object ::1ppear as o. light or as a definite object. I f there was more t i'lan O!le object, i1o1r many were tnnr , was othei:r:"lrorruation . ne ou.;.y. 1 1 . Wh.J.t v1as the co1oul' of the l ight or Ct>j cct. ft.s a.b,oy,e,. 13. ~l::ts any detail of structure obscrvabl~ Pf . , . , 14. \las any method of p ropulsion obvious . N!>......... 16 H 1 ht 1 f 1 - Just above ijorizon. 17. S peed, or angular velocit y ~isi~ ~lp~l7. 18. S t a t e any experlence Hhich enables obser 'T.Jr to be r o .. o 1 a b out the answers gi,ren t o 16 a n d 17. Since it is normally impossibl e to e.;t1mate the he stranbe object, it will usu a l l y be be Jter to en e:wo the angle of elev ation of the obJect, the o.ngl~ thro moved, and the time take n toJo this, R.eport on A. uirection o1' fligat vith reference to lo.ndtur .s or ttl"' co:npo.sr. id the obJect ~e ~a on a straight path,devi ' or .~as n.ny trail of exhaust, vapour or light seen 22. \.here did ooject disappea.L', e.g. i'l mid-air, bah n over the horizon. Behind cloud periodically (2/8 3500 only cloud still in view . . . ;.,ha~ o'b's'erv'er terminated call~ t:-r:istence of nny physica:. cv:..derce Sllch as frag.ncnt' photographs, Ol.' other supporting cv idence. Weather con,litioJlS e:xperi_en_ced at: tinle (s) or obs l'\ ~ion s. Fine Vis. 35 mile s 21~ 3500 Location of :my air traffic in the vicinity at tile s ighting. 26. Loca tion of ~ny meteorological stations in the gene LT Aerodrome 27. Any ~d.litional inforC~ation . T.o.w_e.r. ~-~- e.~ .i.f. ,h e could see the light. He reported he could not. The observer reported the nearby stars, but was of a different colour l.luestions 25,26 and 27 to be ans\,tere.l by interro tr J . ,t . Hahn. A/ATC. Or. V. of oJO. rv ": 'll.tln:ss of observOJ ~-cupatlon of bs lv~ E . D.Mil.ls Pans~ang!lr., Date and T.ir ., J .... gi.ren in """--~ Period of oL (s Approx. 3 minu tes, blipki ng M~er of ObservJ.iOn: ( ----~ _s - if poss lP-, or b ~t'1C" "! 1~11 a-''s, and out at periods. F_rom .C.res.sy visual si_gb,tiDft of }-ig_ht over Poatina situated on Yestern Tiers -to west of observers position WV.ere .s cbje,.. ... fi"s':; olserved e.g ov .1 ... ~ '~ a hill o_v r t'"l~.:o hori o.ls.. etc Ove~ Poatina approx. ~ooo feet above lights of town. What first attracted observeJ:' s ;:u;ten1:.~o e.g. J.~g1-.; orr 9 . Did object appear as a ligh t or ~s a definite object 1 0 . If there was mo.:.e t 1an one ob ject , ho r m:a.ny \>Tere ther was ~heir formation \ih'lt was its apparent shape Q What was the colour of the light or cbjc c t ~miJa~ aircraft landing 13. .la s a ny detail of structure obs~r-vabl~::.. ~Q vias a ny method of propuls !.on obvio._: ~las tner e any sound . .F~1;. .aj,rCXA,f.t sound .\lfAich Qbserver stated could have been tractor or truck at distance. ght, o r a ngle of elevatior . Speed, or angular velocity State any experience Hhich enables obserYe r to oe r e about the a n S\'Iers given to 16 and 17. Since it is normally impossiole t o '3:>tir:nte cne he strange object~ it will usually b e be ter to enjeav the angle of lllevation of the obJt!Ct. the angle mov ed, and the time taker. todo t his. (Cor.tr , ) .a ,.ec tion o~ fli~ht ~i th referenc~ to lnndmarlts or point::: .Jid tile ooJect .1.emain on a straibht path, dev L ta or 21. as ..YlY .. ral.l of ex . t::;t, vapCT.lr or li ~ht e'3 \!here d i d oojcct disappear, e . g . mi~-aic, Jenind 6xistenc e ot: any physical ovi-d.encc s:.1ch as frlgmett~:, photo~raphs, or other supporting evidence 2~. liea~he;-cort.J.iCi o ~s e.perienc~;;d a .. ti .!le (.;) or ooserv tion .; Locat~on of ~Y air traff~c i n the vicinity at the Sigl T.&11: 26. Loc ~J.o . 01 1 l' ... t ... orolo~ical s t .tion s in the gene l ~ 1.. Launceston Airpor t ~uestions 25,26 and 27 to oe ans Ier e d by i u t errogJ.t c s .o.os note: Star Venus sho~Ting in position indicated. Cloud movement w ould account for blinking and fade out l"ElPHONE REPLY PLEASE QUOTE Secreta.r:r Department of Air Russell Offices CANllE:'JiA ACT SIGHTIHG OF IDWSUAL Ai:RU.L PI:IENOMEliA The attached reports (2) of unusual aerial phenomena seen at Campbell Town Tasmania have been received from the ~apartment of Civil Aviation ~elbourne, and are forwarded for information. ~ r Air Officer Commanding The Cocl:anding Officer, Tasmania Squadron, .Ur Training Corps, 8 Fi. t::.roy Place, 1 St. Canic:e Avenue, SAN>Y BAY. 11th Jamuzy 1961. As requested by Flt./Lt. &lith I fonta.rd. herewith a report of a aighting of a bright light in the slcy'. A bright light was observed in the sl<;y by 11\YSelf and my wife whilst driving on the Midlands Highivay near Oatlands on Approximately 9 .36 a.~ on Thursday, 5 .1.61. Conditions: excellent. Cloudless slcy' and very bright sunlight. Visibility lbsi tion of Sighting: Light was seen straight ahead of the car 'l"'hen driving up the hill on the Launoeston side of Oatlands, about 1 mile fran ths.t town. Bearing would therefore have been approx. zero. Elevation estimated at 20. Nature or Light: The light was ohsened..a.&.a..i'Qint of light sor:-ewhat larger than Venus (say twice the diameter) and had a duration of about three seconds. It seemed substantially stationary during the period. It aPf.eared suddenly and faded suddenly. No object could be seen in the sk;y v.hen the light disappeared. The JD&.i.n feature of the light was its startling brightness. The daylight was very strong and both my wife and Jcysel.f were wearing dark glasses. Even so the intensity of light appeal:'ed to be of the same order as that of the sun. Conclusion: tre light v.as reflected light fran a aircraft, then the aircraft was at such a distance as to be invisible in silhouette, and it must have been a remarkably strong reflection fran a large surface. it was from a light source of its own then the source wa::s very strong to show so brilliantly in ccndi tions of such bright sunlight. Yours faithfully, (H. L . Paxton) Senior Engineer, TEE ~LLl!Cl'RIC COl!!aSSI01f. Mrs.H.P . Hall s Street ,Campbell Town. Housewife. ampbell Town. s .w. Quadrant 4~ from vert~cal. Brightness White light. CO vU 0 v .t. (Appeared like large thistledown ball) Faster than Viscount Experienced observer of Satellite transits -ex Nurse and WAAF. Straight line, no waveing. To W.beh1nd bank of cloud. small, amount clou~ weste.r.n . . horizon. n ~.ne vtcin "None seen. ObstU"ver was su.n bathing at the time. Phoned in by G.Park. Department of Air Russell Offices C.VffiERLA T .eadquarters lfJ Tasmanian Souadron ~ Air !raining Corps 8 Fitzroy Pl ace 3rd De cember 1960 REPORT ON BELIEVED SIGHTHG OF A UJI."'DE!i"'IFI !ID FLYING OB.JJ:;CT 8Y MRS ':' . A . .fr.'BSTER AND i-f!SS S . \oiEBSTER 1 For.farded herewith, t\0 copies of a report by the Officer Co~anding, Headquarters Northern Flights, Tasmanian Squadron Air Training Corps, Launceston Tasmania, on a believed sighting of an unidentified flying object by Mrs D. A. \o/ebster and her daughter Miss s . Webster, near Delmont Tasmania at appr o>..'i.mately 1630 hours on the I~"" October 1960. 2 . From the contents of the report and a telephone con1ersa tion with Mrs Webster, the .rri tar has formed the opinion that: a) Mrs and Miss Hebster are reliable witnesses. b) Neither witness has previously made a sighting of a n unidentified or similar flying object. (c) reither Witness has had any association with any unidentified flying objects society or simila r organization. d) The believed sighting was made against a background of a cloudless sky. e) There were no other witnesses to the believed s ighting. 3. There are interesting points of s~ilarity in thiS believed sighting and that of the Brownings -so far as it rela tes to the l a rge object seen by them -at Cressy Tasmania on the 4th October 1960. The points a r e : Each of the objects were of dull metallic colour and did not seem to reflect the sunlight. An upward and out\'lard "socnething" the end of eac. of the objects. projected from !he objects were cigar shaped. Each of the propulsion . objects had no apparent Each of the objects moved slowly. of the objects nove red. 4. In view o the Similar description given by both the l:ebsters and the Brownings o:t the object they believe they saw~the act that both pairs o:t witnesses can be conside~ed to be reliable, it is suggested that it would be unwise to dismiss the sightings as igments of imagination or optical illusions L . ITALL~R) g Commander anding Officer Co~anding Officer Tasmanian Squadron Air Training Corps FQ ..-i.,ASSQ Qrl; s/ ... _,eadquarters Northern Flights Tasmanian Squadron Air Training Corps 3 High Street LATTNCESTON 25th November 1960 1 An UFO was sighted by both Mrs 't.e bster and her daughter as Odtober 1960 . they were returning from school on ~ The time was a pproximately 1630 hours. period of from 2 to 3 minutes. The object was sen for 2. At the time of sighting both people were travelling in the front seat of a 1958 Holden Sedan. Mrs Webster was driving. 3 . The weather was fine and there was not a cloud to be seen. 4 . The object is reported to have been sighted moving from the left to the right of the observers, ie, from the NNE to the SSW ~ver the house. ~ean position of sighting approximately ~147 S 5. Yrs W8oster first thought that it was an aircr~rt aPout to crash as it vas much lower than aircraft usually seen around that area, and it SPemed to be moving very slowly. Altit11de of the object vas estimated to be below 1 000 f Pet. The speed of the object was estimated to be a bout 50 mph and it then stopped moving and hovered-still 800 to 1 6. When the object hovered Mrs Webster, still thinking it '.:laS an aircraft, thought it was going to "fall out of the sky" and intended to ring the police and report the accident and s~on help. 7. The car was stopped and Miss Webster got out to seP better. She coT.mented that the object had no wings, Mrs Webster agreed tit~ ~er but she said she had not noticed it until mentioned to her by her daughter. 8 . Mrs Webster asked her daughter could she hear any motors Miss Webster said she could hear a noise like a car engine. Mrs Webster heard nothing as she wears a hearing aid. The car was restarted and they were driving to another position for a better view when their view was interupted bJ a hedge (pine trees approximately 35' high). 10. When the view was again clear (about 15 seconds later) the object had disappeared. 11. The country in that area is very f l at and open vith tvo small hills aoproxi~ately five miles avay towards the South West. CLASS!~n~. 12. Description of Ob1ect The object was about 30 feet long and about as high as a car (Rolden). It was cigar shaped with a round nose and a sloping tail (see diagram). two objects protruded from the rear sides at an No markings ( bands or windows) were noticed by either The colour vas dull grey with the rear portion orange the orange vas not as bright as anti-collision paint The sun vas shining on the object at all times. But it was definately not silver or shining. It remained a dull grey colour. only disagreement between the two observers is with regard to the position where the orange colouring commenced. Miss Webster thimks i t started aft of the two protruding objects, while Mrs Webster thinks it started some distance ahead of these objects. 13. Opinion as to the reliability of these witnesses (a) Mrs w~bster's attitude to the report 1n the Examiner of the UFO sighting by Reverend Browning of Cressy vas one of disbelief. However, she is firmly convinced that she sighted add watched an object as described in the text above. She seems a sensibl e and most reliable type of woman -not given to hysterics or the like. Also I would suggest that it was difficult for her to admit having sighted and object after having discussed her disbelief of previous sightings so frPely with her friends. (b) Miss s. Webster (11 years) is particularly mature for her age and I believe that both witnesses are reliable 1n the main with the exception being the judgement of distances and ~ize. (B.P.MULLOCK) Flying Officer Commanding I.E Yh'1JC'N TElEPHONE: IN REPLY i'UASE QUOTE ROYA~ AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE Resident RAAF Officer Tasmania 8 Fitzroy Place HOBART TAS,lAtHA 19th November 1960 Department of Air Russell Offices ~ANBERRA ACT EUQUIRY INTO BELI l!:VED SIGHTING OF UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS BY THE REVEREND AND MRS LIONEL BRO~ffliNG NEAR CRESSY, TAS.1ANIA ON rHE 4TH OCTOBER 1960 Your Signal A1331-19th November 1960 1 . On the 11th November 1960 the writer discussed with the Reveren4 and Mrs Lionel Bro\nLlng at their home at Cressy, Tasmania their believed sighting of unidentified flying objects near Cressy on the 4th October 1960. 2. As a result of the discussion with Mr and Mrs Browning and subsequent discussions with various other people the writer formed the follo\nng opinions on the believed sightings and associated matters. (a) Hr and r1rs Browning are stable, r