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- Date: Winter 1964-1965. Location: RAF
Saxa Vord, Shetland Isles, Scotland. Source: Retired RAF personnel. Name
witheld at Witnesses Request. Report and Witness Interview by: Dave Ledger
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- Before I proceed to report on this significant
case, I would personally like to thank the witness involved, for showing
his willingness and courage in coming forward after 35 years to discuss
and log this extraordinary case report with UFO Scotland. His willingness
to discuss the sighting and the relevant details associated, is to be commended
and we hope that it may set an example for other ex-servicemen to follow.
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- REPORT:
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- During the Month of May 1999, I was lucky
enough to have the opportunity of speaking with (for the record) an ex
RAF member who was once based at the Early Warning Radar tracking station
at RAF Saxa Vord in the extreme North of Scotland. This meeting had been
set up by my father who is also ex RAF (retired) and had happened to meet
my source via social circles who in turn, agreed to speak with me so that
I may document the event.
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- During the winter of 1964-1965 at the
location of Scotland's northern most Early Warning radar tracking station,
RAF Saxa Vord in the Shetland Isles, a serious and relatively unknown incident
took place which was witnessed by ground Radar personnel who were on duty
at the time. The case was also documented and recorded by the Royal Air
Force themselves.
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- My source reports: Radar Operators observed
a stationary return on the early warning radar which gained their interest
and curiosity. The object was observed sitting motionless at a height of
approximately 20,000 feet. (I asked him how the height of the return was
established and he informed me that it was obtained by using the radar's
height finder on the system.)
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- The return was a very strong signal which
showed up clearly on the radar as a "real structured object",
but what caused immediate concern was the fact that this particular object
could not be readily identified by the personnel on duty.
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- Seeing as this was during the "cold
war", the personnel had to assume that this anomalous radar return
was an incoming hostile as it was now slowly approaching toward the North
coast of Scotland from a North Easterly direction. There was no reply from
the IFF (which was to inform them if the incoming was friend or foe) so
the unknown was treated by the on duty personnel as if it were a hostile,
possibly Russian.
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- For an unspecified amount of time, the
unknown object slowly continued to approach toward the Scottish coast,
a few minutes followed then a QRA alert was sent to RAF Leuchars in Fife,
who in turn, scrambled 2 English Electric Lightnings (which were the interceptor
aircraft at that time) to intercept and identify the incoming threat. RAF
Leuchars was the nearest station at this time to deal with such a request.
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- NOTE: I did ask my source the initial
range and distance from the coast, that the radar detected the anomaly
from, but he could not answer me due to the fact that it may be giving
away confidential and secret information, which we do respect here at UFO
Scotland. Reporting is one thing but spilling official secrets is not our
aim. It has to be said that this range information will also be well outdated
by now anyway.
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- The two Lightnings were vectored, via
ground controllers, towards the incoming bogey but as they approached the
locale of the unknown object, my source hinted that the object seemed to
become aware of this fact and what happened next suprised them all. The
object just proceeded to go vertical,rapidly, directly up and up until
it was lost on the height finder on the radar system.
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- I then asked the witness "at what
height the Height finder could lose track" and he reported that it
was about 100,000 feet.
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- Significant point: It is a well known
fact that no aircraft on this planet at that time or during present day,
had or have the capabilities of performing these types of manouveres captured
on Radar or could even climb to that altitude period.
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- The witness then told me that he believed
that the anomaly was definately exhibiting intelligent control and was
in his honest opinion "Not one of ours!" At one point, when the
unknown was witnessed by the radar operators to go vertical instantaneously,
the two operators just looked at eachother, shook their heads and said
"NO".
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- It was further established during the
interview that Ground Radar returns were out of the question seeing as
this incident took place over the North Sea and not over land.
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- The case was apparently logged through
the official channels and apparently, the scrambled Lightnings got nowhere
near their targets.
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- The whole incident still remains unexplained
to date and the witness informed me that this particular incident was the
only unexplained event that he had ever witnessed during his career and
that he did feel that it should be logged as an important sighting pertaining
to ufo research and our search for the "REAL TRUTH"
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- Technical details:
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- The Radar equipment that the anomaly
was recorded and tracked on was known as a "Type 84" Radar System
and a "Type 13" height finder.
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- This particular case has never been heard
of publicly, at least to my knowledge, although I personally feel that
it should be logged as a very significant report, from a very credible
source, which supports the case that we do indeed have unidentified objects
penetrating our air defenses on a regular basis and more importantly: The
Authorities do know about it but they dont tell!
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- Report by Dave Ledger for UFO Scotland.
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