65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_SUB_A

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•
•
•
f
hen a
orilliant, fast-mov·1
bject suddenly appeared ahea
His last report $
f them.
"We saw It at the same time,
h1les
told investigators
late
F OR 25 minutes Mante' I
• Whatever it was flashed down
­
t
and the two other pllo
tried vainly to close in. Manf I
reported the object was climbing
and moving i;it a speed equal to
his own. which he gave as 360
m.p.h.
In broken cloud at 18,000ft the
other two pilots lost sight of him,
later broke off and landed.
Mantell called once more to say
that if he were no closer at
20,000ft. he'd abandon the chase
as he hadn't the oxygen.
That was the last beard from
him.
His body was later founct near
Fort Knox and the wreckagef
is machine scattered over hal a
ile around. Obviously his pla e
ad disintegrated in mid-air.
Official Air Force version w
at
Mantell
had
probab
~
\
blacked out "
from
lack of
oxygen a.nd had not regained con­
sciousness before he crashed. out
of control.
Still a mystery
BUT one of his fellow-pilots
later
commented:
"I
think that was a cover-up. Man­
tell was too experienced a J?ilot
for that
He was quite familiar
with signs of approaching anoxia_
flack of oxygenl. and would have
taken steps to prevent It.
· " Some of us think he may have
collided with whatever he saw and
that It knocked him out In the
air."
Enginee1·s later added that t~
t
pe of machine Mantell was fl
g starting a dive at 20.000f
uld not have disintegrated s
oroup;hly.
During the past two and thre
wards us and -we veered to th'e
left
It veered sharply too and
passed about 700 feet to our right
and above us."
quarter years a multitude I
eople on the ground claim
ave seen these "flying saucers :•
or have they always been se
ith the naked tye ; many sa
hem through binoculars.
lBut the fa.ct that first started
the U.S. Air Force to sit up, take
notice, and then institute "Pro­
ject Saucer "
was
the
large
number of apparently responsible
pilots and aircrew members who
sem in startling reports of what
they claimed'to have seen.
•
One of the theories along which
" P.S " investigators worked was
evident from the fact that every
plane whose pilot reported close
encounters with "flyir.g saucers"
was
checked
with Ge I e g e r
counters
for
possible
radio­
activity . .
Head-on meeting
T
AKE the case, for in•
stance. of c~ptain Clar­
ence Ohiles, fonner Air Tran.sport
Command pilot. and John B.
Wl1itted. who flew B.29 Super·
forts during the war. Both are
appily married men with fa;
!es good Jobs and no need.
I
pparent desire for publicitv.
They wei-e flying a schedule
irline service near Montgomer
Jabama, one night last summe ,
l
"The thing was about 100 feet
Jong cigar--shaped and wingless,
about twice the diameter of a
B.29 wtthout protruding fins,"
said Whitted.
" There was a tremendous burst
of orange flame from the rear.
It zoomed int.o clouds, Its Jet or
prop wash rocking our DC3."
Seeing's believing~
MORE recently, two wee
ago. two other alrli
pilots, Captain J~ck. Ada~. wit •
some 8,000 hou_rs flying time, and
co-pilot G. W. Anderson reported
a "flying saucer " ;with windows
cm the bott.om and a. blinking
light near the top as they passed
over Arkansas.
" It was flying almost due north
and we crossed its path at about
a 45 degree angle,' said Adams.
"It was about 1,000ft. above us
and travelling at a tremendous
rate. It had a peculiarly coloured
and very intense light. near the
top which blinked very rapldtv.
"We kept the object In sight
for about 45 seconds.
~~
"I've been a sceptic all my
e
about such things, but wl~at c. n
you do when you see a thmg h e
that ? " he concluded. "We we
both flabbergasted."