UFO UpDates Mailing List
From: KENNY <task@fuse.net>
Date: Sun, 07 Sep 1997 15:50:10 -0700
Fwd Date: Sun, 07 Sep 1997 16:20:17 -0400
Subject: UFO REPORT, November, 1960
Could anyone assist by finding newspaper articles of this event
from other hometown newspapers where sighted? Additional details
may better help to triangulate altitude of object and direction
of travel... thanks
=========================================================================
Report on 1960 UFO SIGHTING, November 23
Item #1:
Re-typed Newspaper article:
Widespread Reports- UFO FLAMES ACROSS NATION
By Joe Eble, Enquirer Science Reporter
The Cinciannati Enquirer, November 24, 1960
A huge, luminous flame-tailed something flashed across the pre-dawn
sky yesterday, stirring a storm of UFO (unidentified flying object)
reports throughout the Midwest, including Cincinnati. The final
explanation was still 'up in the air' last night.
The sighting was noted by residents of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana,
Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin and New York.
Most of the reports agreed that whatever was seen was in the eastern
sky between 6:15 and 6:30 a.m. about 25 to 30 degrees above the
horizon.
They described it as a bright light veiled in a sort of mist and
having a fan-shaped tail or "headlight."
Ideas, official and unofficial, on what it was varied.
* Tiros II, the man-made weather satellite launched from Cape
Canaveral at 6:13 a.m. yesterday.
* One of two giant weather balloons launched early yesterday,
one at Sioux Falls, S.D. the other at Wayne, Mich.
* A shower of Tinfoil dropped over Carleton, Mich. by an
Air Force jet in a radar obstruction test.
* Two B-52 bombers flying at 40,000 feet.
* A meteor.
* An experimental aircraft.
The last suggestion was advanced by B.J. Sharrock, 266 Oakmont
Ave., Hartwell, apparently the only one of hundreds of observers
of the strange object who looked at it through binoculars.
Among the Cincinnati observers was Escal Bennett, head of the
Weather Bureau office here. He watched it briefly from 6:22 a.m.
from Abbe Observatory in Clifton.
"I have no idea what it was," he stated, but he discounted
meteorological phenomena and weather balloons. It looked like a
"hard core of light" on the edge of a cumulous cloud, with another
light 'flaring out about five degrees' at its bottom.
It was veiled in a "faint curious white stuff like smoke or vapor,"
he said.
Bennett said observers at both Lunken and Greater Cincinnati Airport
towers saw it, and William Howe, in charge of the Miami Conservancy
District's observation program at Dayton, Ohio, confirmed the
description and added that he saw two smaller lights near it.
Raymond Spitznagel, 544 Burr Oak St., Winton Pl. and his son, Richard,
13, watched it for 10 minutes as they were going to church.
His description matched the general reports. "It was too bright to be
a star," he said. He stated that it was motionless at first, then
moved to his left, made a half-circle, stopped, went back to its
starting place and disappeared.
Mrs. Bailey Dickerson, 1734 Tuxworth Ave., Price Hill, said her
husband called her attention to it as he left for work. "It looked to
me like a star, but with a streamer on the bottom of it."
Sharrock had just arrived at work in Sharonville when he noticed it.
He snatched a pair of 10-power binoculars from his car and watched it
for six minutes before it disappeared.
>From what I could see it was a definite solid man-made object." He
said it looked 'cigar-shaped,' like two saucers upside down, rim to
rim.
At one end was a 'searchlight or floodlight, shining down on a cloud.'
This light was at one end and then at the other, suggesting to
Sharrock that the object was revolving.
"On the side appeared to be a row of lights - where the rims would
meet. The top and bottom were real black... real shiny jet black."
He said he couldn't see the ends clearly because of 'gaseous vapors'
which surrounded it.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration in Washington said
Tiros II could not have been the mysterious object since it went the
other direction and was too high to be seen by the eye.
University of Michigan officials, who put the Sioux Falls balloon (a
16 story camera observer) aloft, also discounted it.
They pointed out that the balloon was seen west of Michigan at the
same time of the sightings, while the object was reported to the east.
End of article
===================================================================
Item #2:
Re-Typed Newspaper article:
What-Is-It Sweeps Across City's Sky
The Cincinnati Post and Times Star,
Wednesday, November 23, 1960 Page 1:A
A bright moving object like a star with a V-saped tail was seen this
morning by hundreds of Greater Cincinnatians and early risers in many
other cities as far away as Detroit and Chicago.
There were several theories about what the bright object might have
been, including a balloon launched in connection with a new Tiros II
weather satellite, rockets on the satellite, reflections of the rising
sun on a high-flying jet plane, or metal foil dropped from a jet in a
test of radar jamming equipment.
The balloon was released from Sioux Falls, S.D. at 4:50 a.m. Cincinnati
time. The Tiros satellite was fired from Cape Canaveral at 6:13 a.m.
Most of the sightings throughout the Midwest were reported within 12
minutes after the Tiros was fired.
Air Force authorities in Washington at the North American Air Defense
Command at Colorado Springs, Col. at Traus Air Force Base, Madison
Wisc. conferred by telephone, and then concluded it was a reflection
from the balloon. However, the balloon was reported over Mason City,
Iowa three hours after the sightings.
A spokesman at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge,
Mass. said the object sighted over the Midwest could not have been
the Tiros satellite.
A member of the moonwatch team in Cincinnati said it was possible that
persons in this area could have seen the rockets from Tiros as it went
up.
He said the time and direction of persons who reported seeing the
object in this area coincided with the firing of Tiros. He said a
rocket lauched from Florida was seen a year ago as it exploded.
Everyone here agreed on what it looked like, but not on which direction
it was traveling.
Mrs. Gloria Gayhart of Middletown told The Post and Times-Star she and
her husband, James, saw the object shortly after 6 a.m. "I thought it
was a star at first," Mrs. Gayhart said.
"Then we noticed it had a V-shaped tail, something like a jet-stream."
She said the tail stretched out at a great length from the main object.
She said it appeared to be traveling from the southwest to the
northeast.
Escal Bennet, in charge of the Weather Bureau office in Cincinnati, saw
the object at 6:22 a.m. while he was making observations at the Abbe
Observatory in Clifton.
"There was a hard core of light with a trailing light behind it," Mr.
Bennet said. Mr. Bennet described it as being shaped like a flashlight
with a V-shaped beam.
"I know it was not a meteorological phenomenon," Mr. Bennet said. "I
had the definite feeling that it was lifting or going up. I have no
idea what it might have been."
Mr. Bennet said the object appeared to be 25 to 30 degrees high. He
was looking east at the time and noticed it several times while making
weather observations.
Richard Guinn and Clarence Berry, trouble shooters for the Cincinnati
Gas and Electric Co. were on North Bend Road near the new St. Xavier
High School when they saw the object. They said they watched it from
6:21 until it disappeared at 6:25 a.m.
Carl Haefner of Hillside Terrace, Milford, said he saw what appeared
to be two objects. He said the second light with a fan-shaped tail
was not as large as the other.
Mr. Haefner, an amateur astronomer, went into the house to get his
wife. He said one object was gone when he got outside again. He said
the remaining object moved south, then wound up clockwise and
disappeared like a fading light.
"Just at that moment, something like a huge meteor came down," Mr.
Haefner said.
End of Article
__________________________________________________________________
Analysis of Reported UFO Sighting- November 23, 1960
Time of Event: 6:15 a.m. until 6:30 a.m.
Duration of Event: Some reported constant observations for 4-minute
periods, others reported 6 & 10-minute durations.
Locations of where sighted from: Ohio (Dayton, Middletown, Cincinnati,
Toledo), Illinois (Chicago), Michigan (Detroit), Wisconsin, New York,
Indiana and Missouri.
Descriptions given of object:
-Bright light veiled in a sort of mist and having a fan-shaped
tail or 'headlight.'
-Big light too bright for a star
-Star with a streamer on bottom
-Cigar-shape resembling two saucers upside-down, rim to rim with
a floodlight shining down on a cloud. This light was at one end
and then appeared at the other, suggestive of a 'revolving'
motion. A row of lights where rims would meet were described.
The top and bottom were "shiny, jet black." The ends couldn't
be seen clearly because of 'gaseous vapors' surrounding it
-"Hard core of light" on the edge of a cumulous cloud, with
another light 'flaring out about 5-degrees' at its bottom.
-Star with "V-shape" tail like a jet stream which stretched out
at a great length from main object.
-25 to 30-degrees above horizon
-Generally reported in the eastern sky
-East of the Abbe Observatory, Clifton (suburb of Cincinnati, OH)
-Two lights, 2nd light w/fan-shaped tail not as large as other
-Veiled in a "faint curious white stuff like smoke or vapor."
Ballistic Characteristics:
-Motionless at first, then moved to left (from observer vantage
point), made a half-circle, stopped, went back to its starting
place and disappeared." (Raymond Spitznagel)
-Traveling from southwest to northeast (Mrs. Gloria Gayhart)
-Lifting or going up (Escal Bennet, Cincinnati Weather Bureau)
-Object moved south from original position then 'wound-up'
clockwise and disappeared like a fading light. At that moment,
something like a huge meteor "came down." (Carl Haefner, amateur
astronomer)
Witnesses:
CARL HAEFNER - Amateur astronomer
ESCAL BENNETT - Supervisor of The Cincinnati Weather Bureau
RICHARD GUINN - Cincinnati Gas & Electric Trouble-Shooter
CLARENCE BERRY - Cincinnati Gas & Electric Trouble-Shooter
JAMES GAYHART - Middletown resident
GLORIA GAYHART - Middletown resident
B.J. SHARROCK - Hartwell (Cinti suburb) resident
WILLIAM HOWE - Miami Conservancy District's Observation Program
RAYMOND SPITZNAGEL & Son - Winton Place, Cincinnati, OH
Mr. and Mrs. BAILEY DICKERSON - Price Hill (Cinti suburb) residents
GREATER CINCINNATI & LUNKEN AIRPORT AIR TOWER CONTROLLERS
Reportage: The news articles sought to apply various prosaic
explanations to the event, all of which were listed as being
incompatible to the fully deal with the reported incident.
1. TIROS II weather satellite launched from CAPE CANAVERAL
at 6:13 a.m.
2. "One of two" giant weather balloons launched from two
locations: Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Wayne, Michigan.
3. Shower of tinfoil dropped over Carleton, Michigan by an
Air Force jet in a radar obstruction test.
4. Two B-52 bombers flying at 40,000 feet
5. A meteor
6. Experimental aircraft
7. Reflections of the rising sun from a high-flying jet plane
The following conclusions were drawn (regarding the above explanation
attempts):
- Meteorological phenomena and weather balloons discounted
(Bennet, Cinti Weather Bureau)
- NASA said TIROS II went the other direction and too high to
be seen by the eye. NASA said TIROS II "could not have been
the mysterious object." The NASA contention was also
bolstered by a spokesman at the Smithsonian Astrophysical
Observatory in Cambridge. In disagreement with the above
is a member of "the moonwatch team" in Cincinnati, who said
persons in this area could have seen the rockets from TIROS
II as it went up.
- University of Michigan discounted that the Sioux Falls
balloon was the object, because it was seen west of Michigan
at the time of the sightings while the object was reported
to the east. However, AF persons in Washington at the North
American Air Defense Command at Colorado Springs, Col. at
Traus AFB, Madison, Wisc said it was a reflection from the
balloon. Again, however, this balloon was reported over
Madison City, Iowa, three hours after the sighting.
ADDITIONAL NOTE:
Two days earlier during the evening of Nov. 21, 1960,
mysterious lights were reported by many people in Cincinnati,
reference the following article:
Re-typed Newspaper Article:
No UFO!
The Cincinnati Enquirer
November 22, 1960
Lunken Airport control tower operators last night
quickly solved the "mysterious lights" reported seen
by many in the sky over Cincinnati. Merely the navi-
gational lights on three tanker planes flying formation
from Clinton County Air Force Base at Wilmington,
Ohio, the tower said.
End of article
Other Mention:
Entry for November 24, 1960 from NICAP's THE UFO EVIDENCE:
OHIO- White elliptical UFO observed by scientist.
Although the date in NICAP files is one day after the mass-
sighting, this could, nonetheless, be the same event.
Comment:
As stated above within the text of the reportage, most basic explan-
ations have been ruled out. Exploring variations of these theories
could lead us to ask the following questions:
SUNLIGHT REFLECTING OFF OF JETS (B-52's flying at 40,000
feet spotted at the same moment in the eastern sky and
over 7-states doesn't seem likely.
The position of the available sunlight is also a factor.
At which time would the breaking sunlight be striking any
such hypothetical planes from whatever altitude necessary
to produce this effect over 7-states? The actual sunrise
in Cincinnati on November 23, 1960, was 7:30 a.m., well
over an hour after the time of the sighting. Sunlight
peeking around the curvature of the earth would not be
visible to jets over Cincinnati while flying at a 40,000
ft. elevation at the 6:15 a.m. time frame, so no glare
or reflection would be possible at that moment. Even so,
no such illumination from one aircraft would be seen
simultaneously over 7-states across a range of well over
1,174-miles from New York to Wisconsin, Chicago and
Cincinnati.
Furthermore, what is the possibilities that a sunlight
reflection from the surface of a plane would produce the
same result, as seen from the ground, from Wisconsin to New
York? Wouldn't the angle and intensity of the reflection vary
from one location to another, and also at differing times?
Also, the descriptive characteristics such as 'veiled in a mist
w/fan-shaped tail,' sounds meteoric or rocket-like as opposed
to a localized, specific object such as a jet aircraft.
Reference is also made to vapors and clouds surrounding or
partly concealing the object, again, further indications that
would lead us away from the balloon or jet theory.
The rocket launch, Tiros II, headed the opposite direction,
according to NASA, and shouldn't be visible to people in the
midwestern and eastern U.S.
The meteor aspect, when considered, is not plausible if the
accounts of apparent course deviation beyond natural
possibilites are to be considered. The course-change
descriptions are provided by two independent witnesses
(Spitznagel & Haefner) who described its motion as moving in
a 'half-circle' and that it 'wound up clockwise.' Bennet (from
the Cinti Weather Bureau) thought it was 'moving up.'
The scrutiny through binoculars by Mr. Sharrock revealed a
'revolving, cigar-shaped object like two saucers upside-down,
rim to rim' with a searchlight or floodlight on one end. Where
the rims met, he described a 'row of lights.' The ends weren't
visible because of 'gaseous vapors.' These details are shaky
when one considers what light source he was viewing the object
from (existing pre-dawn daylight or darkness). If daylight was
insufficient, his qualification of a solid, cigar-shaped
structure with lights may be made under an assumption which
could be subject to many mis-interpretational factors, including
hand-held instability of binoculars.
An object, visible for 10 to 15-minutes over 7-states, would also
complicate most conventional explanations such as meteoric
phenomenon, rocket launch, and/or balloons or jet aircraft
reflecting sunlight.
The 1969 media reportage acquired from the Cincinnati
publications are far more objective, descriptive and
comprehensive than news media accounts afforded by major
news establishments in the 1990s. A comparable event
sighted over the a broad area of the southwestern United
States in October of 1996 did not engender the professional
analysis and scrutiny given to the 1960 event.
From the existing information available acquired through media
reportage of the event, this 1960 happening could qualify as one
of the better cases to substantiate the reality of unidentified
flying objects when all facts are considered.
Kenny Young
T.A.S.K.
Special thanks:
DALE FARMER
TERRY ENDRES
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