YouTube video · UAP Gerb · 26 April 2024
USO Case Book: Unidentified Submerged Objects Throughout History
A case list of unidentified submerged objects from Blue Book (258 ship cases, 13 rated "good"), Soviet files, Australian RAAF files and 19th-century admiralty reports. The strongest are MV Marcala in 1950, which Blue Book left Unidentified, and the 1960 Ascension Island missile-cassette recovery, where boat crew, divers, a photographer and a plane crew saw a light rise from under the sea. Blue Book's meteor, flare and satellite explanations are treated as commentary, and the light-wheel explanation (bioluminescence) as proposed, not demonstrated.
On the record
- Blue Book files for Marcala (Unidentified), Ascension and Morgantown Victory.
- RAAF UAS report of 23 Jan 1964 (Groote Eylandt).
Open questions
- Natural cause proposed, not demonstrated: the flare, meteor and Cosmos 33 labels, and bioluminescence for the light wheels.
Leads to follow
- Lead, not a record yet: case/morgantown-victory-1966.
- Lead, not a record yet: case/volga-1977 (with the Soviet reporting directive).
- Lead, not a record yet: case/fraser-island-1966.
- Possible document/raaf-uas-files if the db has no Australian file record.
Timeline
On the recordWitness testimonyAlleged / one person's word
12 Nov 1887
SS Siberian off Cape RaceA fireball rises from the sea (US Hydrographic Bureau).
15 May 1879
HMS Vulture light wheelOne of the "maritime light wheels".
25 Jun 1960
Ascension Island cassette recoveryA light rises from under the surface; Blue Book: flare, though none was released.
23 Jan 1964
RAAF's first UAS reportGroote Eylandt: lights in the water, compass haywire.
11 Jan 1966
SS Morgantown VictoryA glowing cigar enters the sea; Blue Book: Cosmos 33 decay.
1966-67
Fraser Island cigarsTwo dark cigars submerge without disturbing the surface.
Aug 1970
Kamchatka lakeA grey oval rises from a dome of water.
7 Oct 1977
Soviet ship VolgaNine discs circle for 18 min; mandatory Navy reporting follows.
The claims, checked
On the record (10)
Blue Book holds 258 ship cases out of about 13,000, of which 13 were rated "good".Count from the Blue Book files.analysisProject Blue Book
On 4 Aug 1950 the master and two mates of MV Marcala saw an elliptical "half egg" object pass within 1,000 ft, under 100 ft above the sea, wobbling, for about a minute. Blue Book: Unidentified.firsthandBlue Book file (Marcala officers)MV Marcala, North Atlantic (4 August 1950)
On 25 Jun 1960, during recovery of a missile data cassette (test 1802) off Ascension Island, the boat crew, divers, an RCA photographer and the recovery plane crew saw a steady light appear from under the surface for 10 s.firsthandBlue Book fileAscension Island missile-cassette recovery light (25 June 1960)
Blue Book called the Ascension light a flare, though none of the planes or vessels released one.Natural cause proposed, not demonstrated.analysisAscension Island missile-cassette recovery light (25 June 1960)
North of Hawaii on 7 Nov 1959 a light streaked across the water, flashed three times and went under. Blue Book: meteor.Ship name uncertain in the captions; meteor proposed, not demonstrated.firsthandBlue Book fileProject Blue Book
On 11 Jan 1966, 1,000 mi southeast of Tokyo, SS Morgantown Victory saw a 200-250 ft glowing cigar approach, hover 30 s and enter the sea; the master ordered a search. Blue Book: Cosmos 33 decay.Natural cause proposed, not demonstrated.firsthandBlue Book file
A STATR report on Blue Book maritime cases counts 104 in the Atlantic and 155 in the Pacific.analysisSTATR reportProject Blue Book
RAAF's first UAS report (Groote Eylandt, 23 Jan 1964) records lights in the water that sent a compass haywire.firsthandRAAF UAS files
On 12 Nov 1887 off Cape Race a fireball rose from the sea near SS Siberian; in 1902 a 200-m lit object sank in the Gulf of Guinea.firsthandUS Hydrographic Bureau and ship reports
Ships from HMS Vulture (1879) to SS Bintang (1909) reported rotating "light wheels" in the sea.Bioluminescence and pressure waves proposed, not demonstrated.firsthandAdmiralty and hydrographic reports
Witness testimony (2)
On 7 Oct 1977 nine discs circled the Soviet repair ship Volga in the Barents Sea for 18 minutes and its radios failed; Adm. Smirnov then ordered Navy research ships to report UFOs.secondhandVallee and Stonehill and MantleVolga crew → Soviet files → Vallee, Stonehill and Mantle → told it
Off Fraser Island in 1966-67 a pilot, C. Adams, and a cameraman, Les Hendy, saw two dark 100-ft cigars submerge without disturbing the surface.firsthandC. Adams and Les Hendy (Flying Saucer Review)
Alleged / one person's word (2)
In August 1970 a 40-60 m grey oval rose from a dome of water on a Kamchatka lake and stalled a motorboat.secondhandFelix Ziegelwitnesses → Felix Ziegel → told it
Blue Book's meteor, flare and satellite labels for ship cases were rushed.Commentary on commentary; the labels themselves are not deducted.analysisProject Blue Book