June 1985

In This Issue

“Ike and Aliens: A Few Facts About a Persistent Rumour” (Bill Moore)
Pages 2-3

From FOCUS newsletter (Fair-Witness Project, Burbank, California). Moore, co-author of The Roswell Incident, investigates the rumour that President Eisenhower visited Edwards AFB (then Muroc) in February 1954 to view crashed alien craft or meet live aliens.

“Sky Crash: A Cosmic Conspiracy” (Book Review / Extended Excerpt, John Auchettl)
Pages 5-12

“On the UFO Trail” (Paul Norman)
Pages 4-5

“Natural Terrestrial Phenomena Likely to be Reported as UFOs” (E.W. Crew)
Pages 14-16

A rigorous scientific paper from BUFORA (29 Lethbridge Road, Swindon, Wilts), complete with atomic calculations, on “Meteorological Flying Objects” (MFOs) and ball lightning. Crew proposes that lightning discharges can produce jets of charged particles (nitrogen ions) that form visible streaks of mist in parabolic trajectories, explaining some UFO reports.

USAF Official UFO Sighting Graph (1947-1969)

A full-page reproduction of the official USAF graph showing UFO sightings reported year by year from 1947 to 1969, including monthly breakdowns and the proportion of “identified” versus “unidentified” cases.

Earth’s Magnetic Field Reversal

From the Australian (21 July 1984). Geologist Subir Bannerjee (University of Minnesota) reported evidence from lake sediments that Earth’s magnetic field, unchanged for 700,000 years but halved in strength over the past 4,000, may be about to flip direction, potentially disrupting compasses and climate for up to 2,000 years.

Press Clips

Chinese airliner UFO (Peking, People’s Daily): Crew of a Chinese airliner on a Peking-to-Paris night flight (11 June) spotted a “huge unidentified flying object travelling at high speed,” blue and white, divided into three levels with a bright spot at its centre.

Editorial (Judy Magee)

Magee notes the increasing reports of “mystery craft manned by midget size occupants,” citing the Rendlesham Forest encounter’s influence on the British Defence Ministry’s admission that UFOs are real. She traces the US Air Force’s recognition of UFO reality: July 1947 (serious investigation began), September 1947 (ATIC concluded UFOs were real), September 1948 (ATIC concluded objects were under intelligent control and “most likely of an extraterrestrial source” but General Vandenberg suppressed the conclusion).

Notable Quotes

“Clearly something occurred involving President Eisenhower on the evening of February 20th.” Bill Moore (on Eisenhower, 20 February 1954)

“It was like something out of Star Wars!” Art Wallace (Rendlesham)

“The objects were under intelligent control and most likely of an extraterrestrial source.” ATIC conclusion (September 1948)

“My claim to explain many UFOs as natural phenomena does not imply that I consider there are no UFOs whatever.” E.W. Crew

“False traces were laid in the forest and clues given… the hope was that these would make the whole thing seem so fantastic that nobody would bother believing it.” Rendlesham investigation