I
know the Secret of the Flying Saucers
by Maj. Donald E.
Keyhoe, USMC (Ret.)
Editor's Note:
Major Keyhoe has been writing about Unidentified Flying
Objects (UFO's) in this magazine and elsewhere for over
15 years. From the outset he has insisted that flying
saucers are real and interplanetary, and many authorities
have come to agree with him. Now he claims that control
over gravity itself is the only explanation for the
astounding maneuvers which saucers are said to make. Some
physicists dismiss this theory as fundamentally erroneous.
But, as you will read, there are others who find Major
Keyhoe's latest chapter in "The Great Flying Saucer
Story" important and plausible.
One night last
February, over the North Pacific, a Flying Tiger Airlines
crew had a startling aerial encounter. What they saw is a
clue to a fantastic technical mystery. In its solution
lies a prize so great that six government agencies are
searching for it right now. The answer may not be far off.
What they are searching for is the secret of gravity
control.
About midnight on
February 15, the Flying Tiger plane, carrying a military group from the U.S.
to Japan, was four hours out of Anchorage. Suddenly the
cockpit radar picked up three fast-moving objects. The
plane captain and his crew looked out at the side and saw
three huge oval-shaped ships, glowing red in the night.
An Air Force
captain who was a passenger on the plane was called
forward to confirm the sighting. His signed report is in
the files of the National Investigations Committee on
Aerial Phenomena.
According to the
captain's report, the unknown machines slowed down to the
airliner's speed and flew in close formation. Five miles
away, by radar range, they leveled off to pace the plane.
The Air Force captain computed their length as much more
than 700 feet. It was plain that the giant Unidentified
Flying Objects had an unknown type of propulsion. No
jets, no exhausts were visible. For 30 minutes, still in
formation, they continued to pace the plane. Then,
swiftly accelerating to 1,200 knots, they climbed out of
sight in seconds.
This startlingly
swift acceleration is a maneuver that could not be
duplicated by any ship now made on Earth. What makes it
possible for UFO's? According to many scientists and
engineers, there is only one possible answer. The answer
is antigravity: artificial gravity fields and control of
gravity power.
Control of gravity
is something that men have been dreaming about for
centuries. Now it appears that we are on the threshhold
of achieving it. Its value, to the country that first
attains it, is incalculable. Our government, hoping for a
technical breakthrough, has set up 46 different research
projects on various aspects of gravity control. The Air
Force is running 33 of these projects and the others are
divided among five other agencies.
Included in the 46
government projects are experiments and research at two
Air Force Laboratories (Flight Dynamics and General
Physics Research), Radio Corporation of America,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Israel Institute
of Technology, Haifa; Stevens Institute of Technology;
the universities of California, Denver, Harvard, Indiana,
Manchester (England), Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota,
Ohio, Purdue, Stockholm (Sweden), Syracuse, Texas, and
two New York schools - Queens College and Yeshiva
Graduate School of Science.
And, of course,
some government agencies have projects so secret that
they are not publicly registered and cannot be revealed
without permission.
Private industry is
also looking at the question of gravity control with new
seriousness. A large number of giant corporations,
including Bell Aerospace, General Electric, Hughes
Aircraft, Boeing, Douglas and many others, have set up
gravity projects.
If you add up all
the known gravity programs being run by the government
and private industry, you get somewhere between 65 and 70
projects. This means there is a heavy concentration of
scientific and engineering brains working on the problem.
One leading
scientist who is convinced that UFO's are spaceships
using gravity control is Dr. Hermann Oberth. Doctor
Oberth, a recognized authority, was co-designer of the V-2
rocket and later a U.S. special consultant at Huntsville,
Alabama, one of the installations where important
antigravity research is now under way.
"With ordinary
propulsion," Doctor Oberth told me in 1961, "such
violent accelerations and maneuvers would endanger the
ship. Also, the force would crush any creatures aboard
against the rear or sides of the machine. But with an
artificial gravity field the force applies simultaneously
to the passengers and the spaceship. Even in swift
changes of speed and direction, the ship is not strained
and the passengers feel nothing."
Today, doctor
Oberth is willing to go further. He is now of the opinion
"that energy, inertia and gravitational fields are
only aspects of one and the same thing" and that it
will prove impossible to separate them from each other.
What he has in mind, he says, is "not yet known
fields of force" which can be used to accelerate
material objects in a way similar to the force of gravity.
Another noted
authority who agrees that UFO's are using artificial G
fields is William P. Lear, Sr., [see "Hard-nosed
Gambler in the Plane Game" in this issue]
multimillionaire inventor, pilot, designer of air and
space equipment and builder of jet aircraft. Lear, who
once sighted a UFO from his executive plane, predicts
that future U.S. vehicles will also use artificial
gravity. "The people on board would probably not
feel any more effect," Lear says, "than they do
from the tremendous speed of the Earth as it rotates and
orbits and orbits the sun."
Several years ago,
Glenn Martin's vice-president for advanced design, G. S.
Trimble, predicted that by 1985 practically all airliners
would be using artificial gravity, flying at almost
unbelievable speeds. At about the same time, future
airliner speeds of 10,000 mph. or more were pictured by
Dr. Walter Dornberger, then Bell Aircraft's chief guided-missile
scientist and now president of Bell Aerospace.
Grover Loening,
pioneer aircraft builder and consultant to the Air Force,
said it even more strongly, "I firmly believe that
before long man will acquire the ability to build an
electromagnetic contragravity mechanism that works,"
he stated.
A top official of
Bethlehem Steel, Jesse V. Honeycutt, has indicated some
of the results we can expect if Loening is right.
""serious research is being concentrated in an
attempt to solve the mystery of gravity and bring about a
control of its power.
It would bring
about a greater revolution in power, transportation and
many other fields than the discovery of atomic power,""he
stated.
Antigravity? It
seems inconceivable. Yet, the search goes on and many
responsible men believe the answer will be found. And, to
my mind, it is the only possible explanation for the
performance of the UFO's.
The stakes are so
high that no clue can be overlooked. The Air Force
Technical Intelligence, hunting for overlooked leads, is
carefully checking hundreds of verified UFO reports.
Hopefully, some of them will help us find out how these
strange vehicles operate.
Four days before
Christmas, 1964, a round, metallic craft about 125 feet
in diameter was observed to make a brief landing in a
field near Staunton, Virginia. Two Du Pont scientists
later took Geiger counters to the site.
"It was 'hot'-highly
radioactive," Du Pont engineer Lawrence Cook
reported. "We checked for 45 minutes - it was
definitely 'hot'."
In Puerto Rico,
near dusk on December 26, 1964, Ramey Air Force Base
radar spotted two large discs. As A4D jets streaked up to
pursue them, the discs accelerated to terrific speed.
Making instant right-angle turns-impossible for any known
aircraft-they vanished over the Atlantic.
On March 21, 1965,
Capt. Yoshiaki Inada, piloting a Toa Airlines Convair on
a domestic Japanese flight, was chased by a "mysterious,
elliptical luminous object." Flying close to the
plane, the UFO blanked out his radio and "violently
interfered" with his automatic direction finding
equipment.
Puzzling earlier
cases also are being rechecked. On July 1, 1954, an AF F-94
- a two-man jet - was scrambled to chase a UFO near
Walesville, New York. When the pilot tried to close in, a
sudden, unbearable heat filled the cockpit. Half-dazed,
the pilot and radar officer bailed out. The jet crashed
in the street, killing two children and their parents.
These odd
phenomena, high radiation, mysterious heat and electrical
interference may be side effects of gravity control
devices.
Like most people,
you probably took gravity for granted before space
flights began. Now you know, for example, that one "G"
is the Earth's normal gravitational pull. This is what
holds you to the seat of your chair - and more important,
keeps you from being tossed into the air by the Earth''
rotation. You feel two or three G'' in a roller coaster
or a stunting plane --a mere hint of what our astronauts
have to endure during blast-off and acceleration. But
gravity causes a lot of trouble and expense we seldom
think about. Aircraft and rocket builders have to provide
heavy engines, huge weight of fuel, just to offset
gravity. In construction of buildings, bridges, and in a
hundred other ways, G affects our lives and adds billions
to the cost of work.
Gravity control
could reduce or end many of these problems.
How soon can we
expect antigravity?
Some researchers
say it may take a long time. Others believe there may be
a sudden breakthrough. If that happens, there will be
some fantastic results.
First, obviously,
our space program would take a big leap forward. Instead
of our present wasteful rockets, we could build
spaceships matching the UFO's high speeds and maneuvers.
With such advanced ships, we could make swift flights to
the moon and the planets.
Recently, Alexander
de Seversky stated that "with abundant energy
available, we will move in space with constant
acceleration or deceleration. Accelerating half-way to
our goal and decelerating the rest of the way at one G or
32.2 feet per second, the moon will be reached in three
and a half hours, Venus in 36 hours, Mars in two days,
Jupiter in six."
According to
Oberth, German physicist Burkhard Heim and other
scientists, gravity control will enable spaceships to
reach even greater speeds than these. With such advanced
machines, we could explore the nearest star systems a
century or more ahead of our present timetable.
Using carrier or
"parent" ships with short-range probes, we
could fully explore a planet - either by remote control
or direct observation - before attempting to land. Many
cases are on record in which large UFO's have launched
small units, apparently for close observation of the
Earth, then retrieved them in swift, precise operations.
In one such case (an
official AF Intelligence report), groups of small UFO's
flying at 5240 mph. were seen and tracked by the crew of
an AF B-29. One group, after abruptly slowing to pace the
bomber, resumed its speed within seconds. The small UFO's
were then seen to merge with or go aboard a huge carrier
which accelerated to more than 9,000 mph. before it
disappeared.
Because of G-crafts'
tremendous speeds, the picture of possible military
operations becomes hair-raising. Let's take as a basis
the figure in a documented case at White Sands Proving
Ground, where Navy scientists saw and tracked a UFO
flying at 18,000 mph.
Such terrific speed
could put bombers back into the picture in place of
missiles. Attacks by G-bombers from bases near major
targets would take less than five minutes. If a "rush-fire"
war broke out halfway around the world, a huge G-transport
carrying a fully armed division - or even an army - could
be on the scene in 40 minutes, or less.
Another effect of
gravity control will be a big change in air travel.
Here's what a G-liner trip would be like, according to
several researchers. Let's say you are making a flight
from New York to London. You go aboard a large ship -
probably disc-shaped, from present indications. Your seat
has no safety belts - none are needed. The ship takes off
vertically, accelerating at incredible speed. You feel
weightless but you feel no motion.
The airliner arcs
up into a great circle course, silently, with no "bumps"
- no rough air. In 10 to 15 minutes, London suddenly
takes shape below. There is no long approach, skimming
over rooftops. You descend vertically and land. If
traffic is heavy, your pilot would stop the ship in
midair and hover until cleared.
In spite of the
speed, you'd be safer - especially in regard to many of
the strange eddies which have thrown jet airliners into
uncontrollable dives.
In probing the
riddle of gravity, project scientists try widely
different approaches - some even contrary to accepted
natural laws.
Under an Army
contract, a University of Detroit team has built a 4,000-pound,
specially wired rotor which spins at 100,000 rpm. With
this unique device, scientists are testing gravitational
radiation theories searching for a possible key to G
control.
Using gravity
meters based on new principles of physics, Air Force
teams make frequent flights around the equator and over
the poles, to speed up worldwide measurement of the
Earth's gravitational pull. Tied in with this is a
network of gravity stations and special projects all over
the world.
Though no
breakthrough has occurred (unless in highly secret
projects) two significant facts have been established.
The Earth's G field
is relatively weak, compared with the pull of gravity
between planets and the sun. There is a connection
between gravity and electromagnetic fields. Igo Sikorsky,
discussing the colossal force of spatial G, says a steel
cable about 8,000 miles thick would be needed to hold the
Earth in its orbit --if it were not for gravity.
But, fortunately
for our anti-G search, the Earth's gravity pull, for
objects on the ground or at average flight altitudes, is
fairly small. Likewise, the force required to cancel its
pull would be relatively small - if a method can be found.
Using various
barriers we can shield ourselves from the heat, light and
sound waves. But, so far, no way has been found to create
a gravity shield. Some scientists still call the gravity
shield idea a "lunatic fringe" notion. But many
now refuse to say that such a thing is completely
impossible.
Are UFO's using a
gravity shield? In an effort to find out, the Air Force
is renewing its attempts to capture a UFO. If we could
get one on the ground, undamaged, it might make possible
a big shortcut in our gravity research and save us years
of slow, tedious scientific work.
In the past, many
Air Force pilots have tried to down UFO's, without
success. But the Air Force has new reason for hope now,
based on the recent increase in low-altitude UFO
approaches and "touch landings."
On the night of
January 12, 1965, an officer of a federal law enforcement
agency had a close encounter. As he was driving his
official car toward Blaine Air Force Station, in
Washington, a flying disc 30 feet in diameter hurtled
down at his automobile. At the last moment the disc arced
up steeply, avoiding collision. When the officer jumped
out, he saw the UFO hovering overhead. After a minute, it
shot up into clouds at high speed. A short time
afterward, the UFO - or a similar one - was seen landing
in a field near Blaine, melting the snow and scorching
the ground before it took off. When the AF questioned the
federal officer, they said they had tracked the UFO by
radar as it raced down toward his car. This officer, like
many other UFO witnesses, was warned by his superiors not
to let his name be used in connection with the sighting.
On January 25, 1965,
two NASA engineers sighted a UFO which touch landed near
Hampton, Virginia. One witness was Maj. John Nayadley, a
retired AF jet pilot. The other was A. G. Crimmins, who
saw the strange machine maneuvering toward the ground.
"It was
zigzagging as if searching for a landing spot," said
Crimmins. "I watched it through 20 x 50 binoculars
and I could see flashing lights. They appeared to be on
the rim of a rapidly rotating disc."
Before anyone could
reach the spot, the flying disc took off and rapidly
climbed out of sight.
The step-up in UFO
chases was demonstrated at Washington, D.C., on January
11, 1965, when AF jets pursued several flying objects
over the city. The chase was confirmed by an Army
lieutenant-colonel and a group of Army communications
specialists.
If jets had been
near any of the "touch" sites, they might have
swarmed down and kept the UFO from getting away. But
records of previous attempts to capture UFOs indicate it
will be a tough job.
Whether we capture
a UFO or not, the search for the elusive secret will go
on. The connection between gravity and electromagnetic
fields may provide the key to the mystery.
For several years,
Burkhard Heim, director of the German Research Institute
of Field Physics at Goettingen, Germany, has been
searching for the answer to the gravity riddle. Finally,
Heim revealed that by direct experimentation he had
discovered a positive lead to antigravity. The discovery
involved an intermediate field, neither electromagnetic
nor gravitational.
The results, Heim
stated, if applied to space flight, would be direct
levitation, conversion of electricity into kinetic energy
without any waste, and "immunizing the occupants and
the structures of such vehicles against any effects from
acceleration of the vehicle, however great and violent."
After the first
shock, several scientists examined Heim's claims.
"His approach
is not in conflict with known laws of nature, and it
agrees with the quantum theory," A.R. Weyl said in
an analysis for the British magazine, Aeronautics. "If
Heim were right, the amazing properties commonly ascribed
to the mysterious flying saucers' would be, in fact,
sound physics and proper engineering."
Heim's work toward
the goal of an actual antigravity device using "field
inducers" has evidently been put under official
German security. He has refused to divulge the key to his
formula.
Heim's findings
would indicate that antigravity researchers may discover
new scientific laws and that their work may invalidate
old theories. Some scientists are already saying
privately that Einstein's famous "general theory of
relativity" may turn out to be totally fallacious.
Newton's law has also come in for attacks. However,
Robert Forward, G expert of Hughes Aircraft Company, uses
the Einstein theory to show that it is possible to
partially nullify the Earth's gravitational field. The
amount of nullification obtainable with present-day
technology is extremely small, however. Forward predicts
that some day, when our technology is greatly advanced,
we will be able to "create artificial gravity fields
at will."
With a real all-out
effort this could happen a lot sooner than the 10 or 20
years many scientists have in mind.
But getting enough
top men to work in the field is a problem. One scientist
says, "Scientists are sensitive about their
reputations and many of them still think antigravity is a
joke. If they knew the facts, they'd be eager to get into
it."
Fear among
scientists is partially due to the Air force censorship
of UFO reports. Air force censors not only hide the facts
but also belittle those who publicly report UFO sightings.
One recent victim
was Dempsey Bruton, chief of satellite tracking at NASA's
Wallops Island station in Virginia. On January 5, 1965,
Bruton saw a strange round object flying at terrific
speed toward the station. After it passed overhead, the
UFO shot straight up out of sight. Using the elapsed time
- six to nine seconds - and angles and times reported by
other witnesses, Bruton said the speed was definitely
"several thousand miles per hour, possibly 8,000 mph.
or even higher." The AF, implying he was
incompetent, rejected the report and said it was not
evidence of any technically superior machine.
But AF policy
notwithstanding, the drive to get the secret of
antigravity is well underway. It can't be stopped now.
But it can be speeded up. We are already spending
billions on the space program - on the race to the moon,
to Mars. Harnessing gravity could put us years ahead and
save us enormous sums of money.
With control of the
universe at stake, a crash program is imperative. We
produced the A-bomb, under the huge Manhattan Project, in
an amazingly short time. The needs, the urgency today are
even greater. The Air Force should end UFO secrecy, give
the facts to scientists, the public, to Congress. Once
the people realize the truth, they would back - even
demand - a crash G program.
For this is one
race we dare not lose. - Maj. Donald E. Keyhoe
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