RAAF Base Darwin's UAP files

Hi all,

National Archives of Australia (NAA) file series E1327 consists of dozens of files on various aspects of the operations of the RAAF Base in Darwin, Northern Territory, here in Australia.

Three files relevant to UAP have been known to exist, for some time. These are:

1. 5/4/Air Part 1. "Unusual Sightings and Incidents" with a date range of 1966-1968. Its NAA status is "Open."

2. 5/4/Air Part 6. "Unusual Sightings and Incidents" with a date range of 1976-1993. Its NAA status is "Open with Exception."

3. 5/4/Air Part 6/7. "Unusual Sightings and Incidents" with a date range of 1974-1990. Its NAA status is "Open with Exception."

To read my earlier post on the contents of these files, please click here.

File series E1327, control symbols 5/4/Air Parts 2-5 were not shown in the NAA's electronic database RecordSearch. A check with the NAA's Darwin office failed to locate any trace of parts 2-5.

Another series:

Melbourne researcher, Paul Dean, has recently located another file in the E1327 file series, and had it digitised. This file has a control symbol of 5/3/Air Part 1. It is titled "Maritime and Air Incidents/Contacts" with a barcode of 7061045, with a date range of 1966-1992 and has been partly digitised. It is a 31 page file, which has documents on it from as early as 1963. From its title it would be reasonable to assume that like the 5/4/Air series it might contain some reports of UAP.

However, an inspection of the file reveals that instead, it covers such things as alleged Indonesian aircraft intrusions into Australian air space; aerial sightings of what appear to be inhabited campsites; and unidentified aircraft sightings. There is one odd teletype on the file, marked "Secret" and dated 13 Aug 1963. Included in its text is "All detail required including elevation of object." The teletype is from RAAF Headquarters Operations Command to RAAF Base Darwin. "Elevation" is not usually a term associated with the observation of an unidentified aircraft. The term usually used there is "altitude." There are no other papers on the file which refer to this August 1963 incident.

No other files in the sequence 5/3/Air have been located in RecordSearch.