Date:  July 1953

Time:  Unknown

Location:  Near Guam

Aircraft:  RNZAF Sunderland Flying Boat

Witness:  Confidential at the time; Official Secrets Act

Details:

(Excerpt – see source at bottom of article)

‘In July, 1953, an RNZAF Sunderland Flying Boat had an encounter with an object that the crew knew was neither St Elmo’s Fire nor a known aircraft.  An officer who asked for his name to be kept confidential – “I am still covered by the Official Secrets Act, you know” – explained the incident of this way.

“We were flying at about 12,000 feet near Guam when this object formatted on us about 100 yards away.  It didn’t look like a flying saucer.  It was more like a jet fighter except that it had no wings, no openings and no markings.”

“I saw it for about 10 to 12 seconds until it put its nose up and moved off about 4000 mph.  It was out of sight in a few seconds.”

He said the object was about 15 metres long and about 4 metres in diameter.  When it first appeared he thought it might be an American fighter, “coming up to have a look at us,” which often happened when they flew near US bases.  However, his second look, which revealed that the craft had no wings, caused a rapid double-think.

“There was no sign of windows or markings; no flashing lights; no nothing”, he said.  “It was gun-metal coloured but not polished.  The sun rose shortly after the object went into its climb and vanished.”

Source:  Excerpt from ‘Strangers In Our Skies – UFOs Over New Zealand’, by Mervyn Dykes, Chap. 9, p169.