UFO over the North Atlantic.

[Cavolo Nero]

Hi,

Ive returned to this forum after many years, and despite becoming a bit of an old sceptic, Il relate the one experience ive had that I can't explain.

In early 1996, during my RAF service I was detached aboard a Royal Navy destroyer on exercise in the North Atlantic. One night I happened to be on the bridge when a bright point of red light appeared high in the sky over the bow. It was quite small, yet clear and steady with no twinkle. The bridge officers call to the operations room revealed no aerial contacts on radar.

After a few minutes discussion (and use of the bridge infra red camera on the roof) it was decided to train the sea wolf launchers tracking radar at it (this would aim a "beam" of radar energy at it). This equipment alternately registered a range of either 5 or 50 ish miles, but nothing in between. This attempt was stopped as the unit was shaking in its attempt to track it. After a few more minutes the light disappeared abruptly. A signal was sent to Whitehall describing the unidentifed contact, and I never heard any more about it, although I still discuss it with my now wife how was there (thats another story!).

 

[GeorgeP]

Hi Cavolo Nero, thats a very interesting story. Thanks for sharing it and welcome back to the forum.

 

[Scribbles]

Hi Cavolo!

I love the UFO stories that come from crews and pilots best! I know it's an old chesnut now, but the Rendlesham Forest story is my ultimate.

 

[Mythopoeika]

This attempt was stopped as the unit was shaking in its attempt to track it.

The radar unit was shaking? Or was it the tracking on the screen that was shaking?

 

[ramonmercado]

Welcome back.

 

[rynner2]

One night I happened to be on the bridge when a bright point of red light appeared high in the sky over the bow. It was quite small, yet clear and steady with no twinkle. The bridge officers call to the operations room revealed no aerial contacts on radar.
...
After a few more minutes the light disappeared abruptly.

As described, the sighting resembles a red parachute distress flare. These burn 'clear and steady with no twinkle', and then disappear when the flare burns out. But I would expect military personnel to be familiar with such things! Was this possiblility discussed at the time?

What, if anything, did the 'the bridge infra red camera on the roof' reveal? Could it tell the temperature of the object?

And I'll echo Mytho's request for more info on the 'shaking' radar unit. Did that seem like auto-focus problems on modern cameras? What other possibilities were discussed?

Sorry about the cross-examination, but we don't often get our hands on UFO witnesses here, we mostly get second or third hand accounts which usually lead nowhere! (But I accept that you may be constrained by the Official Secrets Act.)

 

[Cavolo Nero]

Dont worry, Im not telling you anything sensitive!


The flare Idea was discussed, but it seemed too static, i.e. didnt move with the wind. Plus no reported launch from the other ships in the formation, or on the distress channels, and no aircraft on radar.

The bridge camera only told us that it was a bright source of infra red light.

I wasnt the Sea Wolf operator, but the general impression was that as that the tracking unit needed to point at the return of the object, it was moving violently in its attempts to do so. So the tracking unit itself was shaking, and it was shut down to avoid damage. Radar tracking is rather different to search radar - its meant to give a continuous return that a missile could home in on (although there was not intention of anything like that!).


As I say, its the only thing ive witnessed in my 44 years that i've no ready explanation for.

 

[Cavolo Nero]

Oh, thought I'd mention, the ship was doing about 15 knots at the time, but the object didnt seem to moving in relation to it - i.e. subjectively it seemed to stay in the same position in the sky.

 

[rynner2]

Did the other ships report seeing it?

Did outside look-outs see it?
(I'm wondering if it might have been a freak reflection in a bridge window. Once, in the Coastguard, we spotted a red flare to the NE - it turned out to be a reflection of Trevose head lighthouse to the SW! But that LH could only be seen in very good visibility.)

 

[Cavolo Nero]

Did the other ships report seeing it?

Can't remember/didnt know.

Did outside look-outs see it?

Yes, as I went outside onto the bridge wing for a clearer look at it.\/

(I'm wondering if it might have been a freak reflection in a bridge window. Once, in the Coastguard, we spotted a red flare to the NE - it turned out to be a reflection of Trevose head lighthouse to the SW! But that LH could only be seen in very good visibility.)

 

[LauraRoslin]

Oh, thought I'd mention, the ship was doing about 15 knots at the time, but the object didnt seem to moving in relation to it - i.e. subjectively it seemed to stay in the same position in the sky.

I'm certainly no expert but when I've been at sea (worked on a fishing boat and travelled around the coastline of New Zealand), flares don't appear to move. My experience is that they just hang in the sky, until they burn out. No fizzle, twinkle or obvious movement. Just my 2cents worth.

 

[Cavolo Nero]

I can't rule that out, but I'd expect a ship full of seasoned Royal Navy seamen and officers to be able to recognise a distress flare. We were far out at sea and I recall that there were efforts to find out if there were any other vessels or aircraft that it it could be, or could have come from. There wasn't.

 

[Old_Shoe]

I was in the US Coast Guard in the 70's and stationed for two years aboard a high endurance weather cutter. Our primary mission at that time was ocean station patrols. We were on a patrol in the North Atlantic and it was late at night when I was on watch on the bridge. We heard our lookout on the lookout deck above us suddenly shouting excitedly about a white light flying around in the sky to our port side. He was shouting rather hysterically, and then we heard him yell, "There it goes again"! We all ran out the port bridge door onto the bridge wing to see a bright white light streaking silently across the sky, from the horizon behind us to the horizon ahead of us in just a matter of seconds. It appeared to be very far away and it looked like you could see it following the curvature of the earth as it went. It disappeared over the horizon past our bow. We stood on the bridge wing discussing what we'd just seen and wondering what it could POSSIBLY be. I kept my eye in the area of sky where it had disappeared and I saw it again, streaking straight up into space and disappearing. We never saw it again. Still no idea what it might've been.