Fl'!lo llo. INSTRUCTIOHS I TCL.EPHOHIE TE.LCGRAPHIC AODRCSS I "'AIRFORCE MU.80URNE'" COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA DEPARTMENT OF AIR MELBOURNE. S.C. I . I N Ml'1.. Y CIUOT Mr. H.J. Brown, Controller, Weapons Research Establishment, SALISBURY. S.A. INVESTIGATIONS OF REPORTS OF UNIDENTIFIED FLYING The President of the "Australian Flying Saucer Research Society" visited this Department recently and requested, inter alia, that his Society be given the name ot some person at Woomera, or in the Salisbury or Adelaide area, with whom they could discuss their investi~tions. 2 . The Society is apparently very concerned that none of their investigations into reported sightings ot unidentified :flying objects should clash with the security of official projects emanating from the Weapons Research Establishment. 3. Since this matter is primarily the concern of your Department, I would be grateful it you would arrange to contact Mr. Stone and make whatever arrangements you may: consider desirable to cover his and your requirements. The name and address of the Mr. Fred Stone, 22 Northcote Street, KILBURN. S .A. President is:- (E. W. Hioke) E C"tf E T A R Y National Archives of Australia Plefe L.G.lhalJt fh7aio Gohool, llnlnrr:i t7 or Mela1de ADEI.J\IDE Nr I I, :ii '' t IVE ot )\l ctr ahu. toth Deabert t 954 A/8 CHill' 61JPlmJll'EIDJ:Tl' DEPARTMENT OF SUPPLY LONG RANGE WEAPONS ESTABLISHMENT MINUTE PAPER (This side only to be written on) Re our conversation on the ''Dancing Light" seen at Woanera recently herewith two copies of Jey" report. l 7th November, l954o National Archives of Australia (P .G. Ncnxaan) MISSIIE PROJECTS GROUP 1. N!I -'S 1? J Dft Ost-.t -n15 t. EJ\ 'an De -P.G. -~.JZlmss:l. La.Le UI ft.) --VII W 20 Yi JIM sou 111 asao -b'f tv '-1 SL . a d l:J J8 ill .. ) IOIM fl' PL&ml ,,_ -IJl"f d 1 2r .1 tt .. SiMVUI' Cl.I k f .. ~ UQDO' at .JO.OOO. National Archives of Australia National Archives of Australia All corr. to bo oddre~d to IM Superint endent COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Telegn:ims: - "Roc:ron" Woo.. ;ro Telephone: Woomero Wost 5 LONG RANGE WEAPONS ESTABLISHMENT RANGE, WOOMERA Postal Addraa: BOX 1391K, G.P.O 1209/19/Seourity ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA Ohiet Superintendent Forwarded herewith tor your intonution,. are two report a ot an unidAntitied ob jeot eig~d at Woomra on the 6 May 6.fu 2. the pereon reporting wero eeparated by a di1tanoe of approximately three hundred yarda and gi'Te oorroboratiTe aooounte of what eaoh obeeryed. S It baa been noted that a aiailar ob jeot ,,., obaernd on about the S May 64,. by two ladie at Henley Bea~ South Australia. and reported in 9Tba AchertiMr ot 4: Kay 64:. hv(A.G. PITBBR) / Group Captain Superintendent LRlfB Range National Archives of Australia .REPOR? 0111 A FLillG OBJECT SIGHrED OB 6th MAY, l9M I -.as at Range Rl (Post Rl), the Radar Poat. etDiling by the Security Officer' Hut. and looking toward the Radar Poat at approximately 1615 houra. observing one ot our trials through binooulara. Thi object appeared to be traelling toward me or directly acro11 a path ot the approaching Canberra. 'llhen it got to the path of the CaJ:lberra it turned to my right and was going in the direction trom Whioh the Canberra had juat Comte When it got directly over the Canberra it slowed d01'J1. During th11 time I found it Tery hard to believe what I waa Neing. 10 I lhut my ey.1 and then j,cSoked again through the binooulara and the object was etill stationary over the flight path ot the C&llberra. Sinoe it appeared tO be the same relative eise as tb.e Canberra through the binocular I thought it would be poesible to eee it with the naked ey.. However. when I looked oV"er the top ot the binocular the object had either gone or I could not aee it with tbl naked eye. and when I looked again through the binoculars I could not pick it up. The object appeared to be traTelling about three timea aa faat aa the Canberra. but ot course it ia iapoeaible to eatillllte. since I did not know what height it -. It waa perteotly oiroular all the time and a dark grey colour, and gaT8 the appearance of being translucent. It did not glisten at all when it turned or waa it shi!JiY (Signed) Sydmy BAKER Viclcera...Armatrong 6th llay. 1954 RE UHIDENTIFIED TARGET OBSERVED OH RADAR 6TH MAY. 1954 At about 1600 on 6th llay:. an unidentitied Target 'Waa obaer.ed OD Radar AA Number 4 Ille. 6. The target appeared on High Beam at a range ot about eo.ooo yard Brg S65 approaohing a. deaoribed a lqperbola over "R" aud went out at a bearing ot approx. i()O. On ita way out it paeaed behind Spotting Tower. "s2. I timed it over 15.,000 yard 10 aeoonda whioh would make ita apeed approximately S600 .P.H. ctn. IEAHE obaerved thie ooourrenoe with Sinoe the target wa1 followed to 10. OOO :yarde on High Bean the hll ight would be greater than eo.ooo teet. See Diagr .. OD nert page. (SGD) George A. TRO'l'tER Alt corr. to be oddress&d to the ~uperlntendent Security Clossl ficotlon ~J!;S TRI CTED COMMONWEALTH O F AUSTRALIA Telegrams- " Rocron" Woomera Telephone: Woomero Wf!St S Chief Superintendent LONG RANGE WEAPONS ESTABLISHMENT RANGE, WOOMERA Posta l Addre55: ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA UNIDENTIFIED AIRCRAFT A verbal report received from F/Lt. Starkie on Saturday, 14th November, 1953, regarding sighting of glare believed to be exhaust of Aircraft at 0145 hours on 14th November, 1953, was passed to Principal Officer Flying. 2 . Principal Officer Flying received two confirmatory reports from Sqn. Ldr. and Mrs. Anderson who stated they saw navigation lights of aircraft flying North to South at 0150 hours the same day. 3 . Action taken to identify aircraft by Principal Officer Flying was unsuccessul. National Archives o-Australia MA. G. PITHER) / - . Group Captain Superintendent LRWE Range. NM [)1 fJ 8A AU ~rr to be ocldrctSWd ro the Superint endent Security Cloulf1cotlon 6 E C R E T / p COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Telegroms: "Rocron" Woomero Telephone: Woomoro West 5 LONG RANGE WEAPONS ESTABLISHMENT RANGE, WOOMERA Postal Address: BOX I 391 K, G.P.O, ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA Chier Suoerintendent Enoloeed herGl'l:l..th is various oorre&pondonoe concerning several strange ooourr encee which havo happened at Yloomora The originals are being forwarded by the Security organisation to Melbourne, where it is understood the Director of Air Foroo Intelligence haa been appointed Central Authority tor Australia for enquiry into these occurrences National Archives of Australia The Security Officer, L . R . U .l:i .Range, WOOJ1ERA S A Security Branch, L . R .l .E . Range, 2?th October, 1952. FLYING SAUCER PHENOMENON OVER RANGE In further inqui r ies made regarding the above subject Mr. G.Trefry, Meteorological Officer, has been inter- viewed. He states that such phenomenon has occurred be.fore and has been known to affect radar. It is believed to be caused by ice packs at certain altitudes,. 2 . A swnma~ of tho weather for 8th October is given as follows Fine, 5/8 high cloud 25',000 ft . , warm te!!lperature, 84F., strong northerly wind 25-30 .m. p . h . u 3. In view of the foregoing and in tho absence of anything visible to the reporting /arrant Officer it is p robably that the signals came f'rom a cloud as described by ~r.Trefry. (Sgd . ) J . A .licCAH.EY Security Officer. The Security Officer, L.R.W.E.Range, \'lOOMERA S A. Security Branch, .L .R. Vi .E .Range, 24th October, 1952. "FLYING SAUCER" PHENOMENON OVER RANGE "G1 Resultant from a report submitted by \Y.O.II MILLWARD G.E. regarding an invisible phenomenon which registered on his radar station at Range on Bth October, 1952, this officer has conducted inquiries among other Radar Operators with a view to gaining .further information. To date, howevera nothing useful can be added to ~n.o. s version {Appendix "A). 2 . It will be observed from the time/height log in w.o. s report that the phenomenon was locked to his radar beam for a period of at least tVTentyfour minutes which can in no way be compared wit h the alleged "tlying saucer" phenomenon of previous reports. The height ranged from 1500 to 5600 feet during the time J . Inquiries made among other Radar Operators, particularly F/Sgt BIRKETT D., attached to Range revealed that it is most probable that the snow cloud had some connection. However, the possibility of a neutron cloua is not ruled out and the fact that small portions were breaking away tend to show that whatever it was the radar was registering the target very efficiently on something other than ordinary snow. 4 . As it is definite no object was visible there is nothing of security interest. The plan and report are submitted for record (Sgd.) J.A.McCAHEY Security Officer. Report Submitted by W .O .II MILL,'IARD 8th October, 1952. Red Line shows the course of the target. Scale of map :-10,000 ~ -l inch. At 1345 hours whilst searching for a Mustang on G1 a target was locked on to the above, the Shell Logoon area. On looking through the telescope on radar dish (also visual tracker) no target could be seen (Radar Range 3000 yards). The signal to noise ratio was at least 5 to 1 which is similar to that obtained from a large aircraft. At one time between 1345 hours and 1400 hours the target came within l mile distant and still no target was to be seen. At 1405 hours I decided to plot the course of the target, this can be seen on the attached map. At times during the movement of the target smaller targets seemed to detach themselves from the main target and drift away. At 0900 hours on 9th October, light snow fell at R2/Red Lake or a short period. (Sgd. ) G.E.MILLi'IARD V/OII Nr I ir c I r THIS ITEM HAS BEEN DIGITISED IN SECTIONS THIS ITEM HAS BEEN DIGITISED IN SECTIONS UNCLASSIFIED INVESTIGATIONS GENERAL -FLYING SAUCERS The State Security Officer, 3rd October, 1952. Attached hereto is a report submitted by Mr.J.A. McCahey who investigated reports thata strange object was seen at Woomera at about 2100 hours on 27th Septe~ber, 1952. 2. The persons whose state~ents are attached are all reliable witnesses and it would appear that an object ot cigar shape, whether ~an ~ade or not, was observed. Forwarded for information. Security Officer, Security Branch, WOOMERA. Copy : Deputy Chief Security Officer, Melbourne. Nation ii Af(, The Range Security Officer, L.R.W.E.Range, Security Branch L .R .W .E .Range, 2nd October, 1952. "FLYING SAUCER" OBSERVED OVER WOOMERA . This officer reports investigation or information of an object alleged to be a "Flying Saucer" seen in the aky at about 2100 hours on Saturday, 27th Septe~ber, 1952. 2. State~ents have been taken f r"1! the following persons as a cross section of a reported number ot people at Woo~era who also observed the objects 2/45663 W/02 HANLEY, E.J.V. new arrival to relieve 2/46902 W/O WAI.KBR, A.F. who has been posted out rro~ Details Issue Depot, Woo~era, and due to depart on 29th Septe~ber, 1952 Mr.Joseph AGER, Head Baker employed by Dept. of Supply and attached to D.I.D. 1/9043 Sgt.PHILLIPS, A. attached to D.I.D. Wooera. Mrs.Lila Joy DEAN, Home Duties, 557 Wooera. 3. The firs+ tour na~ed above were at the Wooera West Theatre when Sgt.Phillips sighted the bright object in the sky. He drew the attention ot W/O Hanley to it and he in turn nudged W/O Walker. In the roeant ime Phillips had info!'nled Ager and all four were able to see the pheno~enon before it was obscured by the projector tower after it had traversed the ak7 fro~ a line to the right or the screen. This shows that the object was visible tor several seconds as it traversed the sky on an even keel parallel with the earth. 4. Mrs.Dean was standing with her five-year-old son at the corner or the Junlor Ranks Club on Central Avenue when the chtld drew her attention to a light. She thought he pointed to a motorcar light on the road near Woo~era West in the distance but the boy corrected her and she saw the bright object as it travelled well above the horizon until it lert her view over the horizon past the Phillips Ponds. Mrs.Dean stated that the time was about 2100 hours. ;. In each of these cases the persons concerned were quite sober and of responsible type therefore, no doubt exists regarding what they saw. This is further borne out by reports !rOffl other parts or South Australia exa~ples or which are attached rro~ "The Advertiser" Adel:aide, under dates 29th, 30th Sept. and lst October, ( Sgd.) J.A.KcCAHBY Assistant Security Officer. National Archives of Australia Statement ot W/02 2/45663, HANLEY E.J.V., D.I.D., Wo01"era, taken at 1850 hours 28th Septe~ber, 1952, by J.A.McCahey, Assistant Security Officer. I w~s one of a party of four D.l.D. personnel who attended the Woomera West Open Air Theatre on Saturday, 27th Septe~ber. The others were Sgt/Maj.Walker and two others. I have just arrived 'O.p here myself.. Sgt/lr!aj .Walker will give the other names. So~e time arter the-show started Sgt.Philli~s, that's his name, nudged 111e on the arm and said "Look at this I looked rrom ~Y position on the left of the Projector towards the right of the screen and in the sky well above the level of the fence round the theatre, I saw an l11uminated object shaped like a cigar with a spurting light at the rear travelling fro~ West to East in a horizontal way. It was travelling in an even keel and was observed until it was out of sight. As I saw the thing I then nudged W/O Walker and re..,arked "Look at this" at the sa111e til"!le pointing in the direction of the object. I would say that the object was visible to me for about five seconds. I d!d not hear any noise as the picture show ~ay have drowned any. Co~paring the object with a shooting star l would say that it was definitely so~ething other than a shooting star or anything fro,,, the heavens. (Sgd.) E.J.V.HANLEY W02 St atement of W/O 2/46902 WALKER A.F. D.I.D., Woomera, ~ade at 1910 hours, 28th Septe~ber, 1952, and taken by J.A.McCahey, Assistant Security Officer, Woomera. I was with W/O Hanley, Sgt.Phillips and Mr.Ager at the Woomera West Open Air Theatre on Saturday, 28th September . At between 2045 and 2100 hours W/O Hanley nudged f'llY arm and said "Look at the rocket". I looked directly right fro"' .,,.y seat on the left front of the projector and saw the object and said "That is no:t a rocket". It was cigar shaped tapering off towards the back. It was lit up like a neon light with a haze around it. The colouring was whitish end the exhausts or flames at the back were-yellowish or cream. 1 have no idea of the height but its size to '"e looked eighteen inches to two feet but comparing it with an aeroplane the size and height would be about the same as aircrart I have seen. Fro,., "'Y position I would sat the angle was 40 to 45 degrees. From the time I first saw the object until it went out of my sight I would say the ti~e elapsed would be three I have observed fast aircraft, mebeorites and shooting stars. This object was travelling on an even steady keel faster than any aircraft I've seen but not as fer as the falling star besides this object was travelling horizontally south-west. A. F. \9ALKER W/O National Archives o~ Au trcilla fl1 4. SAl=l~8 State!!'ent of Mr.Joseph AGER, baker, employed by the Department or Supply and attached to D.I.D. Woomera, ~ade at 1940 hours, 28th Septe~ber, 1952, to J.A.McCahey, Assistant Security Officer. I was with W/O's Walker Hanley and Sgt.Arthur Phillips at the Woomera West Open Air Theatre. We four were seated on seats back from the Exit Door on the le.ft of the Projector. At about-2050 hours, the time was checked by Sgt.Phillips. Sgt.Phillips said to me "Look around to your right Joe, what do you think that is?" I looked und saw a peculiar object which I thought shouldn't be up here, it was travelling at such speed -taster than any of the jets up here. It was of a dark greyish colour and of airship shape. I thought that the lights being e~itted from the stern were ~ore yellow than the remainder. The object was travelling on an even-keel at between tour to five thousand feet. I guage this height fro~ experience of flying. The direction of travel was s/south-west. It was in view to me'for only two to three seconds and during that ti~e it kept its definite course. From ~Y experience of aircraft of different types, meteorites and stars I have no hesitation in saying that this object was man made. (Sgd.) Joseph AGER National Archive~ a~ Australia State~ent of 1/9043 Sgt.PHILLIPS, A. a~tache