CONE SHAPED UFOS WERE EJECTED REACTORS FROM FLYING NUCLEAR TEST BEDS

The reports of cone shaped UFOs go back to the late 1940's. These UFO's are associated with radioactive soil samples and EMP effects. The speed of the object in the 07 January 1948 sighting is in line with the cruising speed of the B-36. Much of the UFO sighting data is in line with experiments that would have been needed to build an nuclear powered airplane. The emergency plan for the NB-36 was to eject the reactor core by parachute, if there were any problems with the reactor. Paratroopers in a chase plane would then deploy with help from the local police in order to secure the reactor (Wolverton 55). The cone shaped UFO's can be explained as being ejected cores from experimental planes. Some of these parachutes had streamers on them in order determine their direction.

In 1953 Secretary of Defense Charles E Wilson described the nuclear plane "The atomic powered aircraft reminds me of a shitepoke, a great big bird that flies over marshes, the doesn't have too much body or speed to it or anything but can fly." What is interesting about this quote is that it presupposes that a flying nuclear plane is already flying. It is also notable that shitepokes are known for shitting while in flight. Wilson was making a simile between NB-36 that had been in the air since the mid-1940's to the shitepoke. The shit in this case is the nuclear reactor being ejected from the NB-36. 

Bibliography - Sources 

Wolverton, Mark. "Winged Atom". American History, February 2003, pp. 50-56. 

http://cufos.org/pdfs/BB_Unknowns-1.26.pdf

7 January 1948

Central and south-central Kentucky, near Ft. Knox and other sites. About 1-3:50 and 4:45-7:06 p.m.(CST). Mantell case. At about 1:00 p.m., Kentucky State Police phoned USAF Godman Field Commanding Officer Col. Guy F. Hix’s office reporting an unidentified object near Elizabethtown, Ky., (15 mi S of Godman). Another call to Godman’s CO came from State Police at about 1:10 p.m. of observation by civilian in Madisonville (90 mi WSW of Godman) through Finch telescope of coneshaped object, estimated 100 ft high by 43 ft wide, height 4 miles, speed 10 mph.

This was apparently the Skyhook balloon Flight B, 70 x 30 ft, height 15 miles, speed 27 mph, heading 150° about SE, which passed about 40 miles to SW-SSW of Madisonville at 12-1 p.m. thus was within visibility range. Then still another call came from Lexington (80 mi E of Godman and far beyond visibility of the Skyhook balloon), the first of about 35 calls received by Hix’s office.

At 1:20 p.m. another report of [another UFO] a 250-300 ft unidentified “circular” object over Mansville [Maysville? 120 mi ENE of Godman?], Ky., moving W at “a pretty good clip” [300 mph??],sighted by State Police first radioed then phoned (at 1:30?) to Ft Knox Military Police and Godman Field CO Col. Hix.

Between 1:20 and 2 p.m., Army Flight Service reported to Godman Army Air Field Control Tower, Ft. Knox, Ky., (37°54’23” N, 85°58’00” W, about 725 ft elevation) that the object was over Irvington (15 mi W of Godman) then Owensboro (60 mi W of Godman), Ky. [possibly 130 mi from Maysville to Irvington in 20-30 mins = 260-390 mph or roughly 300 mph].

Godman Tower operator Tech/Sgt Quentin A. Blackwell, Capt James F. Duesler, Jr., base air inspector Lt Col. E. Garrison Wood, and other USAF personnel sighted round white or silver or ice-cream cone-shaped UFO with revolving red streamer, to the S from base [apparently the same object hovering near Elizabethtown 15 mi S of Godman] beginning at 1:50 p.m., including many others such as Ops Ofcr Capt Cary W. Carter at 2:07 p.m.. onward and Col. Hix beginning about 2:10 p.m.

Approaching flight of 4 F-51D fighters came from the SSE, led by Kentucky ANG pilot Capt Thomas F. Mantell, Jr., who was overheard by Godman Tower giving radio position report to their home base Standiford Field, Louisville, Ky., at 2:50 p.m. Godman broke in over the radio to request Mantell intercept and identify UFO at about 210° azimuth from Godman Tower (soon corrected to 205°), “slightly lower” than the sun [at about 14°] as reported by Mantell’s wingman [thus about 10-12° elevation, altitude about 15,000 ft].

UFO maintained constant angular position including elevation angle as seen from Godman Tower as it apparently receded on azimuth heading 205°, during most of Mantell’s pursuit, which required altitude of 50,000 to 60,000 ft to be reached at 60-70 miles distance at a recession velocity of about 240 mph, increasing to 300 mph when Mantell approached, but otherwise still maintaining constant position in the sky to Godman observers.

Flying at 300 mph and gradually climbing to about 22,000 to 23,000 ft, Mantell overtook the UFO from below, past Bowling Green about 70-75 miles from Godman, at about 3:10 p.m. when in one of Mantell’s last radio reports to Godman Tower he described UFO as “metallic and tremendous in size.” Mantell went into war emergency (combat) maximum climb rate [2,000ft/min at altitude] to reach UFO nearly overhead, but lost

27 April 1949

SE of Killeen Base/Site B [Nuclear Weapons National Stockpile], Camp Hood, Texas (31°3’53” N, 97°49’40” W). 9:35 [9:25?] p.m. (CST).

Army security patrol, Lt. Howard Kitterman, PFC Leslie Lockhart, Pvt. Clement DeAmicis, Pvt. Joseph P. Landry, 6th Tank Battalion, sighted a 4-inch bright light with no glare, with a 3-4-inch metallic cone trailing in the back, 600 ft away 6-7 ft above ground silently approaching from azimuth 40° (about NE) in level flight at 60-70 mph heading directly towards them on heading 220°, starting curving path, disappearing suddenly in the SW at 150 ft away.

At 9:37 p.m. the same witnesses saw a 2-inch white light appear 100 ft away to the NNE flying in a zigzag in level flight about 6 ft above ground, disappearing suddenly.

At 9:39 p.m. the same witnesses saw a 3rd light in the WSW. (Sparks; BB Maxwell Microfilm Roll 5, p. 628; FOIA; Saunders/FUFOR Index; Jan Aldrich)

28 April 1949

SE of Killeen Base/Site B [Nuclear Weapons National Stockpile], Camp Hood, Texas (31° 3’53” N, 97°49’40” W). 8:30, 8:37, 8:40, 9:00, 9:10, 9:30 p.m. Several Army security patrols sighted a variety of strange lights, mostly slow-moving changing color from white to red to green, one with a red blinking light, one with a "cone-shaped affair" trailing in the rear similar toone seen the day before. (Sparks; FOIA)

20 June 1952

Near Paulette, Mississippi (at 33° 2' N, 88°26' W). 8:26 p.m. USAF pilot Lt. Milo Roberts and bombardier Lt. Julius Prottengeier with 308th Bomb Sq, 310th Bomb Wing, Forbes AFB, Kansas, flying a B-29 bomber (s/n 44-62204) at 190 mph at 17,000 ft saw a cone-shaped object approach on collision course from the 2 o'clock position, before evasive action object made sharp left left and disappeared, followed by a 2nd object [?]. Object's length/width ratio 3:1, about 8-10 ft long at 1,200- 1,500 ft away or 100 ft if at 15 miles away. (Sparks; NARCAP; BB files??)

26 August 1952

Lathrop Wells, Nevada. 12:10 a.m. USAF Capt. D. A. Woods saw a large spherical very bright object with a V-shaped contrail, a dark cone in the center, approach at 1,000 mph, hover briefly, make an instant 90°-180° turn, then a gentle climb and final sudden acceleration leaving blue-white contrail which evaporated immediately. No sound. (Sparks; Berliner; cf. Hynek-CUFOS re-eval; Jan Aldrich)

02 August 1953

Saraland, Alabama (at 30°48' N, 88°4' W). Between 4:30 and 5:30 [6?] p.m. Woman named Hughes in her backyard looking to the NE saw a highly polished spinning top or cone-shaped object reflecting the sun at low altitude traveling from NW to SE. (Sparks; Hynek- CUFOS-Willy Smith files; Saunders/FUFOR Index)

June 25, 1954.

Indian Lake, Ohio. 5:05 p.m. Experienced private pilot John Mark, flying Navion lightplane, saw a 60 ft silver or aluminum round object with a flat bottom, raised front edge, inverted cone on top, fly horizontally, hover, make a high-g pull up and then a steep climb into an overcast. Radar at Dayton, Ohio, airport, tracked very fast target at same location. (Sparks; Berliner)

29 July 1954.

About 3 miles SSE of Carysfort Reef Lighthouse, Key Largo, Florida (at about 25°10' N, 80°12'W). 3:40 a.m. Key West Naval Base USN Chief Quartermaster Milbert James Brown and Helmsman Seaman Sydney J. Martin aboard USS YTB-543 sailing S on 205° true course at 6.5 knots saw a huge, bright pale blue or whitish-blue egg or blimp-shaped 300-500 ft object with 4 pointed cones of light, major/minor axis about 3:1 oriented horizontally, angular size 3x sun, traveling at tremendous speed estimated at about 7,200 mph (better estimate about 5,000 mph) in level horizontal flight from the W through S then E then NE, at 10°-12° above the horizon passing in front of mostly cumulus clouds covering 30% up to 15° elevation. Brown first saw the object at about 243° azimuth 10° elevation about 4 miles away moving to the left heading E viewed across the bow of the ship to the SSW at which point he began stopwatch timing (6.3 secs at disappearance, azimuths measured immediately after sighting by reference to 5 ships and a landmark used as sighting fix points). Object passed through point of closest approach at about 160° azimuth12° elevation 1-1/2 miles away, moving to the left through a gradual-arc flight path of about 8 miles radius of curvature (about 40 g's centripetal acceleration), passed through E along a now straightened path headed to the NE, reaching maximum N position at 70° azimuth about 8 miles away when it curved slightly back as if veering off sharply to the right to head E, disappearing at about 68° azimuth 10° elevation 9 miles away behind a cloud bank. No sound or trail. (Sparks; Jan Aldrich)

06 November 1957

Montville, Ohio (41.62° N, 81.06° W). 11:30 [11:20] p.m. (EST). Olden J. Moore, 28, a plasterer, while driving home suddenly saw an object like a bright meteor split into two pieces, one going straight up, the other getting larger while color changing from bright white to blue-green. Object hovered 200 ft above a field close to ground, 500 ft away, with a soft whirring sound. After 15 mins, Moore walked to the object, which was shaped like "a covered dish" 50 ft in diameter, 15 ft high, with a cone on top about 10 ft high, surrounded by haze or fog, pulsating slowly. Holes, footprints and decaying radioactivity found at the site by Civil Defense Director Kenneth Locke about 12 (?) hours later, a maximum of 150 microoentgens/hour at the center of a 100-foot UFO hovering/landing site area, decaying to 20 microR/hr 3 hours later, suggestive of an approximately 1-hour radionuclide half-life. (Sparks; Vallée Magonia 433; Michel-Mebane 1958; BB files)

09 July 1959.

Jamaica & Bahamas. 8:06-8:15 p.m. (EST). Trans Canada pilot Capt F. F. Beckett and First Officer J. Bosma at Ocho Rios, Jamaica (at 18.4° N, 77.1° W), hotel manager (?) W. B. Street, and others at Falconbridge Hotel, Ocho Rios, Jamaica, first spotted by Bosma and Street at 8:06 then called to Beckett’s attention at 8:07, when it was at about 5° azimuth and 25°-30° elevation. Beckett’s drawing shows object’s flight path dipping down to about 20° then rising up to disappear at about azimuth 30°-40° elevation 25°-30°. 

Oval translucent haze or shape appeared around central object. Possibly object was Jupiter IRBM launched from Cape Canaveral at 8:01 p.m. EST. Beckett’s and other witnesses’ timing put sighting after Jupiter IRBM rocket engines and nose cone separation would have shut down or ended at about 8:04 p.m. Jupiter missile would not have been visible through the vented propellant cloud given the already extreme dimness. 

Jupiter rocket body 45 ft long would have barely been visible at ~620 to 700+ miles slant range distance (when first seen mag. +3 to +5 depending on calculation but if obscured by the vent cloud then totally invisible) and the separated 15 ft nose cone not at all (mag. +5 or dimmer if not seen through vent cloud). Beckett estimated stellar magnitude of object as “much brighter” than +2^nd magnitude, comparable to a planet, or to aircraft landing light at 20 miles (about mag. –1). (Sparks; BB files; McDonald list; Ted Molczan; Printy)

28 July 1964.

Lake Chelan, Wash. 10:30 p.m. Former Navy pilot and another man, at work in a field saw an intense light, cone-shaped, emitted from the ground and a similar light in the sky, alternating which was on and off. A round, aluminum-looking object, about 30 ft in diameter, with one red and one white light, then appeared and descended to ground with a strong whistling sound similar to a small jet, piercing and high-pitched voices similar to those of children playing were heard. Before this object took off a low-flying jet circled its position. The densely wooded area was explored by helicopter and on foot 3-4 days later by Sheriff Nickell and a USAF officer, but nothing was found. (Sparks; Vallée Magonia 619)

07 January 1966.

[Holloway’s note] This is a likely sign of EMP.

3 miles SW of Georgetown (5 miles NE of Wilmer), Alabama. 3:17 p.m. Civilian had to stop his car when he found object landed on the road blocking his way. Round silver color object 10-12 [25?] ft diameter with 8- 10-inch ring or hoop at equator, 5 ft hatch on bottom, [and a cone with a flashing green light?] hovered about 5 ft above ground at 20 ft away, gradually climbed to NE, engine [whirring?] noise increasing, then rapid acceleration to disappearance in a few secs. Watch stopped [engine had died and now could be restarted?].

[Sulfur or rotten-egg smell noted?] (Sparks; Hynek UFO

Rpt p. 42; Vallée Magonia 721)

20 March 1966.

Dexter, Mich. 8-8:30 p.m. Frank Mannor and his son, Ronald [plus 40-60 others including 12 policemen ?] saw hovering over a swamp about 1,500 ft away a brown luminous car-sized object, with a "scaly" or "waffled" [or “quilted”] surface, cone-shaped on top, flat on bottom, or football-shaped, and 2 bluish-green lights on right and left edges that turned bright red and helped illuminate object in between. Lights blinked out and object reappeared instantly across the swamp 1,500 ft away. The whole object lit up with a yellowish glow at one point and also rose up 500 ft then descended again. After 2-3 mins of viewing, when 2 flashlights appeared in the distance the object seemed to respond by flying away at high speed directly over the witnesses with a whistling sound like a rifle bullet ricocheting. Object remained in the swamp area for 1/2 hr. [Various other sightings in the area by police shortly afterward.] (Sparks; Vallée Magonia 731; Todd Lemire; etc.)

05 April 1966.

Alto, Tenn. 11:55 p.m. W. Smith and another stopped to watch an object hovering about 15 ft above a swamp, tried to follow it but it flew away. Object 100 ft long oval with a dark top, appearing cone-shaped when moving, making a high-frequency noise, and flying between a high-tension power line and a row of trees. Animal reactions wherever the object flew over. (Sparks; Berliner; cf. Vallée Magonia 753)

17 April 1966.

Portage County, Ohio, bet. Atwater and Randolph, Ohio, to Pittsburgh, Penna. 5-6:10 a.m. (EST). E of Akron Deputy Sheriff Dale F. Spaur and associate Wilbur Neff saw a 30-45 ft metallic object approach over the treetops from the woods, bathing the witnesses and the whole area in light while making a transformer-like hum, then headed E and they gave chase in the patrol car at speeds up to 105 mph for 85 miles. Officer Wayne Huston about 35 miles to the ESE saw the object he described as ice cream cone-shaped, point downwards, approach from the W and pass overhead at about 800-900 ft height with Spaur and Neff in pursuit to the SE and he joined them near Unity, Ohio, with the object about 1/2 to 3/4 mile ahead of them, reaching the Penna. state line at 5:35. They lost sight of object at Brady Run Park regained it in Bridgeport, Penna. At about this time officers Lonnie Johnson and Ray Esterly in Salem, Ohio, saw 3 jet fighters [two F-102’s] attempting to intercept a bright object at about 10,000-20,000 ft about 25° elevation to the E for about 2 mins. In Conway, Penna., at 6 a.m. they met with officer Frank Panzarella who had been watching the object for 10 mins to the E or SE which he described as 25-35 ft half-football-shaped object at about 1,000 ft height (or 1,500-2,000 ft according to the others), when it stopped in the NE towards Harmony, Penna, then rose. They watched as the object climbed to about 3,500 ft to the left of andlevel with the quarter moon in the ESE (which was at about azimuth 116° elevation 14° aand 11% illuminated at 6:00 a.m.) and Venus (at 122° azimuth 22° elevation) and it passed near a 707 airliner taking off from Pittsburgh Airport and disappeared shooting up vertically at about 6:10. (Sparks; Hynek UFO Exp ch. 8; NICAP)

27 April 1967

Green Lake, Wisc. 10 p.m. 4 boys with binoculars saw a cone-shaped object with a blue underside, and a top that changed from red to orange to white, come lower with oscillating motions, illuminating the woods 1/2 mile away. (Sparks; Vallée Magonia 838)