Rare Australian Department of the Navy UAP file digitised

Hi all,

The Disclosure Australia Project (2003-2008) located a few UAP files which were generated by the Australian Department of the Navy. These were:

File title	Series number	Control symbol	Date range	Access status	Location	Barcode	Notes
Earth satellites, space vehicles, Unidentified Flying Objects-general	A6826	1361/1/1-3	1959-1968	Open	Canberra	8220768	3pp Department of Navy. Summary. Digital copy available.

Unidentified Objects {Flying Saucers sighted by Navy Pilot over Goulburn}

MP926/1

3079/101/1

1954-1954

Open

Victoria

3173603

20pp  Department of Navy. Digital copy available. Summary.

Unidentified objects [flying-report of]

SP338/3

13/4/10

1954-1954

Open

Sydney

938582

10pp Department of Navy. Summary.

NAA file series E499 control symbol C21/4/4 titled "Unidentified Flying Objects Sightings," barcode 4081230 held in the Darwin office of the National Archives of Australia (NAA) , has a date range 1959 to 1965. Courtesy of Melbourne researcher Paul Dean, who requested and paid for the NAA to digitise the file, we can now all go on the NAA website and read the file for ourselves.

What's on it?

The file cover shows that the original security classification was "Confidential." The file is 53 pages long and the cover is marked "Reference Papers Material Only." Beginning in 1959 someone in the Darwin area of the Navy decided, for whatever reason, to start keeping a file on UAP. The material on the file includes:

* A newspaper clipping about the formation of  a Darwin branch of the Australian Flying Saucer Society by Darwin resident, Mr Duke Alley. (Uncited clip dated 25 Aug 1959.)

* A newsclip stating that RAAF Chief Group Captain Bolitho had considered sending a RAAF aircraft to investigate a reported sighting that a meteorite or possibly  the nose-cone of a rocket had crashed near Howard Springs on Sunday. (Uncited clip dated 1 Sep 1959.)

* A copy of a telex dated 25 Sep 1959 from NOICNA to BASQNDAR which read "The following report was received via OTC from Mr Carter Mandorah. 'A large object 80-100 feet was seen last night at 6.30pm between Mandorah and Doctors Gully - it was a large black shallow object just above or close to the surface travelling at an approximate speed of 80-90mph. The object shot up towards Delissaville Creek. A green verey light shot off from the waters in the direction of north from Mandorah after the object was seen.

At 0715hrs on 25 Sep 1959 the same object was seen off Mandorah and shot up Middle Arm.

There was debate at that time, and with later sightings of what the papers named the "Mandorah Monster" in January 1960 as to whether or not the object was a fish! Marlin were aid to have weighed up to 1500lbs and to travel at speeds of up to 68mph. Another suggestion was that it was a large stingray.

* A 4 Nov 1963 newsclip reported a mystery orange coloured light 10 feet above the water at Racecourse Creek. Ted Moloney and Kevin Young saw it "...rise straight out of the water about 200 yards away...went straight up then travelled in a straight line for about 60 feet before disappearing." There was no sound.

* On 26 Oct 19666 at 1155z observers on the Motor Vessel Kabbarli in King Sound, sighted a conical shaped glow, some half a degree across angular size, bearing 242 degrees at 18 degrees elevation, moving fast to the north-east. The object was lost from view when it was overhead.

* An uncited newsclip dated 4 May 1967 about the USAF funded University of Colorado report.

* A RAN memo dated 13 Dec 1967 addressed to RAAF Darwin; NT Army; ASIO Darwin; Special Branch NT Police about a UAP sighted on 29 Jul 1967 at  Munmalary Station, NT. Observers at 2015hrs reported seeing a bright light at 60 degrees elevation west of them, for 15 minutes.

* On 14 Mar 1968 RAAF Darwin sent the Darwin Navy Staff Office a summary of Unidentified Flying Object sightings which had been made to the RAAF Darwin "for your information" with a copy to Special Branch, NT Police; the Army and ASIO Darwin.

* An uncited newsclip dated 28 Feb 1974 where a newspaper photographer snapped a UAP. The UAP had been seen over Darwin over a few nights beginning 20 Feb 1974 at 0330hrs. It appeared as  a cross shaped light and a half-moon shaped object, near the south-east corner of the RAAF base. The photograph is of a bright white light at 0530hrs and taken by a Beat Erismann.

Comments:

This is a rare file, where someone in the Department of the Navy at Darwin was collecting UAP reports. To my knowledge, although there are a scattering of reports from Navy ships on the RAAF's main UAP file series A703 control symbol 580/1/1, this is one of the few Navy files with reports on.