Woomera and Maralinga UFO sightings (1952-1960)
Submitted: Tuesday, Mar 16, 2021 at 16:27
ThreadID:
141257
Views:
9231
Replies:
2
FollowUps:
7
This Thread has been Archived
Candace S.
At times,
Woomera seems to have intrigued outside visitors who disregarded its status as a prohibited area. :)
I can't help but notice these reports come from the years when the atomic tests (bombs or "minor trials") were occurring in Australia.
First, on several dates between 1952 and 1954, there were sightings or radar detections of unidentified flying objects. A few sample pages:
Sample sighting (1/3)
Sample sighting 2/3
Sample sighting 3/3
Documention of those 1952-1954 "UFO" sightings in
Woomera (pages in reverse chronological order):
Document link
Then, on 15 July 1960, there were several reports of an "unidentified light" in the Wewak area
of the
Maralinga atomic
test site.
Wewak sighting 1/3
Wewak sighting 2/3
Wewak sighting 3/3
Document including the 1960 sightings at Wewak, plus sightings at Giles and elsewhere (pages are in reverse chronological order):
Document link
Reply By: Phil B (WA) - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2021 at 10:07
Wednesday, Mar 17, 2021 at 10:07
Thanks very much Candace S,
Lots of info to chew over in this lot.
Thanks also for the file link.
cheers
AnswerID:
635631
Reply By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2021 at 11:28
Wednesday, Mar 17, 2021 at 11:28
.
Hi Candace,
This sort of thing has been reported in Australia from time to time, more-so in the 1950's & 60's but not as
well documented as you have presented.
I worked at
Woomera from 1954 to 1958 and there was "talk" but I am bound by the "Official Secrets Act" thus limited in what I may say. lol
At that time of the "Cold War" there was frequent gossip about U.F.O's, Flying Saucers, and Russian spies.
Most was unsupported, but when you get Servicemen putting their names to observations on official reports then I am more persuaded. Radar readings can be more convincing than eye perceptions.
Although, even radar can be fooled. There was more than one occasion at
Woomera where a radar has locked on to a flying hawk instead of the missile. True, I witnessed it. The call "round down" was announced and this radar operator retorted "It can't be, I'm still tracking"!
AnswerID:
635636
Follow Up By: Candace S. - Friday, Mar 19, 2021 at 05:58
Friday, Mar 19, 2021 at 05:58
Yes, quite a few people on record who saw something, but apparently no resolution as to what they actually saw. Unless that is buried in other documents, lol.
The calculated speed of the radar-tracked object caught my eye. I'm referring to the 1954 incident described in one of the images I posted. 3600
Miles per hour (5794 kph) is quite speedy, far faster than any aircraft of the day. Also much faster than a hawk. ;) A technical glitch in the radar system, perhaps?
FollowupID:
913304
Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Friday, Mar 19, 2021 at 11:18
Friday, Mar 19, 2021 at 11:18
.
That speed also astonished me Candace. I cannot dispute it but I do wonder if it was correct.
The No.4 Mk6 radar had CRT readout screens which needed to be operator-observed and interpreted. At
Woomera at that time, data recording was achieved by aiming a cine camera on the screens and dials, The developed film could then be examined and the data recorded and calculated. It would be most unlikely if the camera would have been armed at the time of this event unless they were about to conduct a missile trial which is also unlikely at this time of 1600 hours. So no recording of the event was likely nor referred to..... just the operator's observations. If so then the observations could not be verified and may not be accurate.
FollowupID:
913312
Follow Up By: Candace S. - Sunday, Mar 21, 2021 at 15:21
Sunday, Mar 21, 2021 at 15:21
"...Data recording was achieved by aiming a cine camera on the screens and dials..."
Now THAT'S old school! ;)
FollowupID:
913367
Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Sunday, Mar 21, 2021 at 15:24
Sunday, Mar 21, 2021 at 15:24
.
So are the people who were there in the 50's. lol
FollowupID:
913368
Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Sunday, Mar 21, 2021 at 15:41
Sunday, Mar 21, 2021 at 15:41
.
Candace, most of the data was captured on film in those days. The developed film was then scrutinised by female operators known as "Computers" and recorded by hand or entered onto punchcards for evaluation on an electronic computer that filled a building the size of a basketball auditorium.
Real-time electronic data was generally confined to instantaneous time, bearing and elevation data from radars and theodolite cameras and utilised for operational purposes.
Those were the days when men were men and computers were girls. lol
FollowupID:
913370
Follow Up By: Candace S. - Monday, Mar 22, 2021 at 14:25
Monday, Mar 22, 2021 at 14:25
:) There was some material about the "computers" in
Woomera's
Heritage and Visitor Center museum. The big kinetheodolites used for tracking were also usually operated by women.
FollowupID:
913385
Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Monday, Mar 22, 2021 at 16:31
Monday, Mar 22, 2021 at 16:31
.
Yep, most of the cameras were operated by women. Generally, I think they were better at it than the blokes.
In the upper photo below, the camera is a Askania Theodolite with a single operator. The camera was on a gimbal mount and moved solely by the operator with "bicycle" handles.
The lower photo is a Contrave Kine-theodolite which is motor powered and two operators, one positioning azimuth and the other elevation. A bloke managed to get into that photo.
The
young lady in the upper photo is Laurine (Floss) Hall. Very vivacious and athletic, Floss was an absolute tomboy and rode a motorcycle with dashing style. She became a legend on the Range.
These photos are from the book "Woomera" by Ivan Southall. No private cameras were allowed on the Range and not even in the Village for some time.
Askania
Contraves
FollowupID:
913388