Was watching something a few days back re UFO's and am at least 90% sure 3 of them were Vulcan bombers.
Now this, I might know something about!
The following was the result of investigations into a sighting which the witness had reported to myself.
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Triangular 'UFO' Sighting Solved - The 'Silent Vulcan'.
In July, 1997, I published an intriguing 'UFO' account which I was researching:
"The following story is absolutely true and describes my only "close encounter".
As a Chartered Accountant, I often have to oversee audit assignments with a strict timetable. This leads to the need to work long hours. In March 1978, I was working on such an assignment in my home county of Lincolnshire, UK. One Thursday night, I finished work at about 10.30pm and drove a colleague home to the village of Alford. In general, the coastal areas of Lincolnshire are very flat. However, Alford lies on the edge of gently rolling countryside - the Lincolnshire Wolds.
My route home took me up a hill on the A1104 towards Ulceby Cross. Part way up the hill, at around 11:00 p.m., I was dazzled by what I took to be the undipped headlights of an oncoming car. I flashed my own headlights and slowed. To my astonishment, the oncoming lights slowly "took off" from the road and gracefully flew to my right. Excitedly, I stopped my car, wound down the driver's side window and peered out. The sight that greeted me will stay in my memory forever. I saw that the lights were coming from a massive, beautiful aircraft which had now turned, was flying at a height of about 50 feet and was now heading towards the coast directly over my car!
The craft was shaped like a delta, very similar to the Vulcan bombers based in Lincolnshire at the time. However, it was about four times the size of a Vulcan, flew extremely slowly and was absolutely silent! All leading edges of the delta were beautifully rounded - there were no sharp protuberances such as a tailplane. The underside of the craft was coloured sky blue. It just glided over me and headed towards the coast - no noise, no smoke, no vibrations, no smell - just an aircraft of sheer gargantuan beauty.
It was very real; from the A16 I was able to watch this craft making its slow, majestic way south towards Boston until I lost sight of it just past Spilsby. I'd love to know what it was. It seemed too real to be extraterrestrial. However, its immense size, its low speed and above all, the sheer silence made it unlike any aircraft known to me"!
Paul H Hanmer FCA
Although the most likely identification was a Vulcan bomber - its profile matched and they were stationed nearby - as anyone who knows these aircraft can testify, the last thing they could be described as is silent!
That possibility seemingly ruled out, the answer would doubtless have forever remained a mystery if it hadn't been for a UFORL subscriber's experienced knowledge of military aviation and a chance meeting he had with a Squadron Leader (Rtd.) who flew Vulcans for most of his RAF career.
I was duly informed:
"A favourite trick of the Vulcan pilots was to reduce power and use its massive wing area to glide for some miles before applying power again, to conserve fuel. It was not officially sanctioned and was never put on record as the public might have kicked up a fuss (would you want a several tons of bomber gliding over your town!!)".
So, incredibly, the 'Silent Vulcan' does exist!
Although Paul believed its size was much larger, that's understandable under the circumstances outlined and another corroborative factor is that Vulcans did employ a grey/light-blue camouflage which was sometimes, although not always, 'plain' underneath.
Once again, what appeared to be a 'UFO' case which defied explanation is found to have a probable, typically mundane solution and the witness was mistaken about some observational aspect, this time the object's size being perceived as four times larger than it was.
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Paul was perfectly satisfied his spectacular UFO sighting and mystery had been resolved.