1967 · Bandırma, Turkey
Bandırma 1967: F-5s with orders to fire
Part ofOrdered to fire
From the accounts: two armed Turkish F-5s climbed until their engines flamed out at 55,000 ft and saw a large white domed object far above, November 1967. · Illustration for uaptrail.com
WhenNovember 1967
WhereBandırma, Turkey
In November 1967 two armed Turkish F-5s were scrambled from Bandırma with orders to shoot at an object a transport plane had reported. They climbed until their engines flamed out at 55,000 ft and saw a large white domed object far above them.
How plausible · Moderate
A named retired fighter pilot's firsthand account of an armed scramble to 55,000 ft; told decades later, with no second witness yet.
- ●●Access He was the 161st Squadron alert pilot.
- ●●No gain sought A newspaper interview; nothing sold.
- ●○Cost of speaking Spoke on record under his name.
- ●○Restraint Reports what he saw; a high-altitude balloon is still open.
- ●○Character record Retired lieutenant colonel.
- ●○Checkable details check out Squadron, base and F-5s check out.
Against
- −Lone source, no corroboration His wingman and the C-47 crew haven't been found.
Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.
Claims
A C-47 reported an object heading for İzmir; two armed F-5s were scrambled with orders to shoot, reached 55,300 ft with engine flame-outs, and saw a large white domed object with dark moving shadows above 70,000 ft. It was not on radar but was visible from the ground.firsthandSourced, unconfirmedRet. Lt. Col. Hami Yüksel, then an alert pilot of the 161st Squadron, to Habertürk
Where
Bandırma, Turkey
40.4°N 28.0°E