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Jeff Knox

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Today in UFO History - Bright Disc
March 9, 1950 — Orangeburg, SC
A publisher and others see a bright disc hover over Orangeburg, South Carolina, for 15 minutes. It speeds away, leaving a trail. [Eberhart]

Source:
The UFO Evidence, p. 149;
"Flying Saucer Seen Here; Witnesses Say Real McCoy", The Times and Democrat (Orangeburg, SC), 10 Mar 1950, Pg 10;
"Flying Objects Seen Again", Florence Morning News (Florence, SC), March 10, 1950, pg.1;

I spent several hours (Midnight to 5am🤦‍♂️) digging thru newspapers and working on this case for tomorrow, and then realized that The UFO Evidence , NICAP, etc.. got the date wrong and the actually sighting was today, the 9th. Here is the Blue Book Files:

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Jeff Knox

@mrjeffknox

#ufotwitter #ufohistory
On March 9, 1950 the Los Angeles Mirror publishes a hoax about a flying saucer crash in Mexico City. The following day the witness retracts his statement, and states it was just a story he was told. Ted Bloecher looked at this and concluded he was a liar.

Ted Bloecher's transcript of the above article with notes:

His transcript of the retraction w/notes from the next day's Los Angeles Examiner. I could not find a copy of that paper to clip the original.

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Jeff Knox

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#ufotwitter #ufohistory
Today in UFO History - DC6-A Crew Take Evasive Action / Fireball
March 9, 1957 — Atlantic Ocean, 350mi NE of Jacksonville, Fl
1/4:33 a.m. Capt. Matthew A. Van Winkle, piloting a Pan American World Airways DC-6A airliner at a point over the Atlantic Ocean

2/approximately 350 miles northeast of Jacksonville, Florida, observes a “burning greenish white round object” to the right of the aircraft that appears to be on a collision course. Van Winkle pulls the plane upward in a climb to avoid the object. This sudden maneuver causes four

3/ of the passengers to be thrown out of their seats, resulting in injuries. Copilot Dion W. Taylor and Flight Engineer John Washuta also observe the object. Washuta says the UFO is a high-intensity light that appears to stand still for approximately four seconds until it is lost

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Jeff Knox

@mrjeffknox

#ufotwitter #ufohistory
Today in UFO History - The Selfridge AFB Incident
March 9, 1950 — Selfridge AFB, Michigan
1/7:45 p.m. A crew of three radar controllers at Selfridge Air Force Base [now Selfridge Air National Guard Base] near Mount Clemens, Michigan, is busy monitoring the

2/ night flying units of the 56th Fighter-Interceptor Group. 1st Lt. Francis E. Parker, 1st Lt. Frank K. Mattson, Sgt. McCarthy, and Cpl. Melton observe an intermittent target on the height range indicator (HRI) scope of the CPS-4 radar at 47,000 feet altitude and higher. Further

3/ indications of what Parker describes as a well-defined, clear target like an aircraft are picked up with increasing regularity over the next 45–60 minutes. During this time, the target seems to stay in the area where the F-80s are flying, but 20,000 feet above them. The radar

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Jeff Knox

@mrjeffknox

#ufotwitter #ufohistory
Today in UFO History - 11 Witnesses see Red Ball Of Fire That Leaves Burned Grass Patch
March 8, 1977 — Gatchellville, PA
1/7:30 p.m. Eleven witnesses in six groups (including Thelma Lowe, Harold Wilson, Sara Green, Mrs. Everett Miller,

2/Mrs. W. E. Runge II, and Robert Smyth) watch a red ball of fire the size of the full moon drift over their houses and alight on the ground south of Gatchellville, Pennsylvania. It leaves a large patch of burning grass (100 feet long by 30 feet wide), with a mysteriously

3/unscathed area delineated by three holes at the vertices. [Eberhart]

Sources:
Mike Swords Files, 100T;
Ted Philips, "QUARTERLY REPORT - PHYSICAL TRACE CASES ~ 1977", MUFON Journal (Sept. 1977), pg.8;
John Harney, "in search of the REAL UFOs", Magonia No. 49 (06-1994), pg.11;

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Jeff Knox

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#ufotwitter #ufohistory
Today in Intelligence History - Nixon signs EO legitimizing Special Access Programs (SAPs)
March 8, 1972 —
1/President Nixon legitimizes the use of special access controls and the “special access program” is finally made official. These are security

2/protocols that provide highly classified information with safeguards and access restrictions that exceed those for regular (collateral) classified information. SAPs can range from black projects to routine but especially sensitive operations, such as COMSEC maintenance or

3/Presidential transportation support. In addition to collateral controls, an SAP may impose more stringent investigative or adjudicative requirements, specialized nondisclosure agreements, special terminology or markings, exclusion from standard contract investigations

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Jeff Knox

@mrjeffknox

#ufotwitter #ufohistory
Today in UFO History - UFO Hovering Over Field Stalls Cars
January 23,1965 — Lightfoot, N. of Williamsburg, VA
1/8:40 a.m. Two separate cars driving in different direction stall out near the intersection of US Hwy 60 and State Route 614 in

2/Lightfoot, Virginia. One of the drivers, Thomas F. Mains, sees a lightbulb- or mushroom-shaped object 75–80 feet tall and 10–25 feet wide, hovering over nearby field about 4 feet off the ground. It is metallic gray, with red-orange and blue lights and is making a vacuum cleaner

3/ noise. It suddenly accelerates horizontally to the west against the wind and disappears. [Eberhart]

Sources:
Richmond Times Dispatch (Richmond, VA), January 24, 1965, pg. 1;
Daily Press (Newport News, VA), January 26, 1965, pg. 3;

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Jeff Knox

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Today in UFO History - First Unknown in RAAF's UFO Files
January 23, 1964 — nr. Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory, AUS
1/The landing craft Loellen M. is in the Gulf of Carpentaria between Cape Grey and Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory, Australia, when

2/a crew member notices the compass is malfunctioning (“haywire”) and the vessel is off course, He notices an odd phosphorescence in the water on the starboard side about 6 feet away from the ship. It is a ghostly, pulsating white light that is rotating in a clockwise direction.

3/ It seems to be “miles across.” As the light wheel moves to the ship’s port side, another rotating light approaches the ship’s starboard side. This undoubtedly involves some unusual bioluminescence,

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Jeff Knox

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Today in UFO History - Donald Keyhoe Cut-off on Armstrong Circle Theater
January 22, 1958 —
1/The “UFO: The Enigma of the Skies” segment of Armstrong Circle Theater airs on CBS.

2/USAF Reserve Lt. Col. Spencer Whedon from ATIC says all UFOs are explainable. Keyhoe comes on and starts reading his script for a few minutes, then shocks everyone by deviating from it, saying “And now, Mr. Edwards, I would like to make a disclosure, something which has never

3/ been revealed to the public. For the last six months our committee has been working with a Senate committee which is investigating official secrecy on UFOs. If the hearings are held, open hearings, I feel it would prove beyond doubt that flying saucers are real—”. Then his

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Jeff Knox

@mrjeffknox

#ufotwitter #ufohistory
Today In UFO History - TBM Chases UFO / 'Maybe it was a spaceship'
January 21, 1952 — Long Island, NY
1/9:50 a.m. A Navy pilot lieutenant commander in a TBM Avenger chases a white, dome-shaped object over Mitchel AFB [now closed] on Long Island, New York.

2/ It accelerates rapidly, makes a 180° turn, and heads out to sea. He estimates it is traveling at least at 300 mph. It looks like a parachute canopy and has a dark undersurface. Although there is a balloon in the area, but its flight path is completely different. [Eberhart]

Sources:

Brad Sparks, Blue Book Unknowns, Case 502, p. 118;
Project GRUDGE Rpts. No. 3, p. 8, No. 4, pp. 9-12ff.;

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Jeff Knox

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Today in UFO History - F-82 Attempts Intercept of UFO Over AEC Plant / Radar
January 21, 1951 — Oak Ridge, Tenn.
1/4:20 p.m. A UFO that appears to be over the restricted area at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, is sighted on the radarscope of an

2/F-82 fighter. The GCI gives the go-ahead to intercept the target. The radar set on the F-82 is locked on and the run begins. The interception is unsuccessful, and the fighter returns to base. In all, three passes are made at targets, all with radar indications, but they cannot

3/be completed since the target is over the restricted area that includes the X-10 plant. [Eberhart]

Note the X-10 "plant" was the world's 2nd nuclear reactor, the graphite reactor for producing plutonium. [Brad Sparks]
Sources:
Brad Sparks, Blue Book Unknowns, Case 436, p. 104;

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Jeff Knox

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#ufotwitter #ufohistory
Today in UFO History - Close Encounter / Loss of Consciousness
January 14, 1980 — Burnley to Todmorden, West Yorkshire, England
1/6:05 a.m. Truck driver William Barrett is on an early delivery run from Burnley to Todmorden, West Yorkshire, England, when

2/he hears a deep humming sound. Looking ahead, he sees a machine with flames underneath hovering at a lay-by off the roadside. He slows his truck to a near crawl and moves past the object, which looks like a “toast rack” with curved sides and three red glows emerging from the

3/edge to create a misty fuzziness obscuring the base. Now only 25 feet away, he sees that it has a bell- or tortoiseshell shape with a metallic sheen and a tube sticking up from the top. The red glows emerge from under a rim that runs around the lower part of the object. He can

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Jeff Knox

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Today in UFO History - Missing Time Abduction
January 14, 1976 - East Bethel, MN
1/Mrs. J. Stewart was driving on a highway in East Bethel, Minnesota and when she arrived home she could not account for at least one hour of her time. Under hypnosis she

2/recounted being abducted from her car by a tall figure dressed in white. There were two more such beings in the door of a translucent UFO. bottom bubble of UFO. She recalled at one point that the face of the being was very close to her own face,

3/and it had big slanted eyes. [Donald A. Johnson]
Note: Case listed incorrectly as Jan 6th in some publications.
Sources:
Richard Swanson, CUFOS case investigation files, report dated January 22, 1976;

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Jeff Knox

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#ufotwitter #ufohistory
Today in UFO History - Vehicle Interference / E-M Effects
January 13, 1959 — Pymatuning Lake, Pennsylvania
1/7:00 a.m. Robert Collins is driving a pickup truck south on Hartstown Road across Pymatuning Lake, Pennsylvania, when he sees a bright light

2/approaching from the east and illuminating the ground. It stops above his truck, hovering 200 feet above it for several minutes. The truck’s electrical system fails, the engine dies, and the headlights and radio go out. The object’s light illuminates an area about 300 feet in

3/front of him. It takes off and disappears in seconds, and the truck begins working again. [Eberhart]
Sources:
“Area Man’s Encounter with Unidentified Flying Object Called Weirdest Experience,” Greenville (Pa.) Record-Argus, January 31, 1959, pp. 1–2;

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Jeff Knox

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Today in UFO History - Car Chase and Radio Interference in NSW
January 13, 1958 — Casino, New South Wales, Australia
1/11:45 p.m. Brian Crittenden sees a dome-shaped light with a long narrow light underneath coming directly towards him as he is leaving a

2/friend’s house southwest of Casino, New South Wales, Australia. He jumps into his car and heads home. The UFO chases his car along Benns Road, practically touching the telephone poles. His car radio develops interference when the UFO approaches him. It follows him all the way

3/to town, 7 miles away. [Eberhart]

Sources:
Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, case 457;
Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, case 89, pg.14;

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Jeff Knox

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Today in UFO History - Blaine AFB Cont. / Landing On Farm Near By
January 12, 1965 — Custer, Washington
1/8:20 p.m. A Mrs. Jubert in Custer, Washington, sees through her window what seems to be the landing lights of an airplane apparently coming into her

2/yard. She herds her three teenage girls outside in the opposite direction. The four lights merge into one intense white light, which moves in a straight line toward the house, lifts several hundred feet and clears a clump of evergreens, then dips down on the far side and

3/touches the ground. A border patrol officer also sees the object after he is alerted by radio. He is buzzed by the UFO, which is low enough that he stops his car, gets out, and watches it move out of sight. Where the object lands in 16 inches of snow, they find a large circular

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Jeff Knox

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Today in UFO History - Driver Avoids Collision With 30' Object / Blaine AFB
January 12, 1965 — Lynden, Washington
1/1:00 a.m. Department of Justice Inspector Robert E. Kerringer [or is it Donald E. Flickinger, an agent of the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco

2/, and Firearms?] is driving near Lynden, Washington, when he sees a low-flying object, 30 feet in diameter, that avoids collision with his car at the last moment. He gets out and sees it hovering for one minute, then it flies off at high speed with a sound of rushing air. He

3/learns that nearby Blaine Air Force Station [now closed] is tracking the UFO. [Eberhart]
Sources:
Brad Sparks, BB Unknowns File, Case #1596, p. 303;
Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p.304, case #630;

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Jeff Knox

@mrjeffknox

#ufotwitter #ufohistory #aviationhistory #nerva
Today In Aviation/Nuclear Test History - Project NERVA / KIWI Test
January 12,1965 — Area 25, Nevada Test Site
1/10:58 a.m. The Kiwi Transient Nuclear Test is conducted at Area 25 of the Nevada Test Site as part of Project NERVA.

2/The nuclear rocket engine code-named Kiwi is allowed to overheat until it bursts, sending fuel hurtling skyward. Deadly radioactive fuel chunks as large as 148 pounds shoot up into the sky and last as far away as a quarter mile. A radioactive cloud rises up to 2,600 feet, then

3/drifts out over Los Angeles, California, and out to sea. The AEC calls it a “safety test,” but the USSR says it violates the test ban. [Eberhart]

Sources:
Anne Jacobsen, Area 51, pp. 309–310;

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Jeff Knox

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Today in UFO History - Cigar-Shaped UFO Approaches Morgantown Victory
January 11, 1966 - Pacific Ocean, north of Marcus Island
1/10:00 PM. (22:00 local ship time), three witnesses (the Third Mate, the Helmsman, and the Bow Lookout) of the S. S. Morgantown

2/Victory saw a cigar shaped object approach their ship. The object approached the starboard beam of the ship from the horizon and then turned almost 180° to avoid going over the ship. It approached the ship within 1 mile at an elevation of 400 ft. It hovered for 30 seconds, then

3/ crossed in front of the ship and made another directional change. The object was described as being cigar shaped, glowing with an orange-yellow color, with a bright glow on its front, a body with a duller glow, and a long fiery tail. The body appeared to have two lights on

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Jeff Knox

@mrjeffknox

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Today in UFO History - Domed Disc Landing In Italy
January 11, 1963 — San Pietro Vernotico, Italy
1/At 11:00 p.m., at San Pietro Vernotico, Italy, farmer Antonio de Luca is awakened by restless animals and goes out to calm them. Fifteen minutes later he

2/sees a domed disc some 132 feet long land in the village square. Dark figures are moving inside the transparent dome. He tries to approach but is paralyzed at 30 feet away. It ascends in the direction of Brindisi to the north, emitting a vertical beam of green light. [Eberhart]

Sources:
INTCAT, Magonia 9, 1982, pg. 11-12;
Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 290, case #558;
Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1963, p. 3, #63-02;

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Jeff Knox

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Today in UFO History - Washington National Redux, Again
January 11, 1965 — Washington DC
1/4:20 p.m. At least 12 persons, including six Army Signal Corps communications system specialists, at the Munitions Building at Nineteenth Street and Constitution

2/Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., observe 12–15 white oval objects maneuvering erratically at 12,000–15,000 feet altitude above the US Capitol Building. Two delta-wing jets, apparently from Andrews AFB in Maryland, are seen in pursuit, but the objects easily outmaneuver them.

3/Among the witnesses are Paul M. Dickey Jr., Edward Shad, Sam Webb, Jack McBride, and Sam Marrone. The objects are also tracked on radar. The Defense Department denies the incident, but the witnesses publicly maintain their story. The Pentagon forces a TV crew about to interview

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