| ID | #1636056043 |
| Added | Thu, 04/11/2021 |
| Author | July N. |
| Sources | |
| Phenomena | |
| Status | Research
|
Initial data
Half of the population of this city is still sure that they saw spaceships or some strange planes - hundreds of them flew in the sky yesterday. It is estimated that their number was more than 500. Objects seemed to be playing high in the air. Sometimes they were carried away with almost incredible speed.
For the third day in a row, flying saucers are reported over Farmington. And each of the three days it was reported about their arrival here from 11 to 12 o'clock.
Three people called the Daily Times office and reported seeing strange objects in the air shortly before noon.
Once again, you could see people on Main Street looking up at the sky and pointing their fingers. Strong wind and dust storm prevented a clear view.
Almost half of the population of this city is still sure that they saw spaceships or some strange planes - hundreds of them flew in the sky yesterday. Estimates of their number ranged from a few to more than 500. Whatever they were, they caused a big sensation in this community, which is only 110 air miles northwest of the huge Los Alamos nuclear plant.
The objects seemed to be playing tag high in the air. Sometimes they were carried away with almost incredible speed. One of the witnesses made a triangulation observation of one of the objects and estimated its speed at about 1,000 mph, and also estimated its size to be about twice as large as that of the B-29.
Yesterday, Farmington residents stood in the streets watching the first ever detected mass flight of a "flying saucer". The movement was slowed down so as not to get into the eyes of the observers. The Farmington Daily Times office was inundated with calls from people who had seen the objects.
The objects were described as silver disks. Some agreed that they saw one red color - bigger and faster, and, obviously, the leader.
Clayton J. Boddy, 32, commercial director of the Farmington Times and a former captain of engineers in Italy, was one of those who saw the striking objects.
Boddy was on the roadway when suddenly "I noticed several moving objects high in the sky."
"A few moments later, about 500 people showed up there," Boddy continued.
He couldn't estimate their size or speed, but said they were about 15,000 feet high.
Boddy's account was corroborated by Joseph K. and Francis K. Kelloff, grocers from Antonito, Colorado, who were in Farmington to inspect the site of the proposed new store, as well as Bob Fautz and John Burrell from Farmington. The Kelloffs said that the objects were flying in formation.
One of the most impressive stories came from Harold F. Thatcher, head of the Farmington division of the Soil Conservation Service. Thatcher performed a triangulation on one of several aircraft. He said if it was a B-29, it would be 2,000 feet tall and travel at over 1,000 mph.
"I'm not a professional engineer," Thatcher said, "but I have engineers working under my supervision, and I know how to perform a rough triangulation of an object."
Thatcher categorically denied the previous report that the objects could be small pieces of cotton fluff floating in the atmosphere.
"It wasn't cotton," he said, "at that time I saw a few pieces of cotton fluff floating in the air, but I didn't see any cotton."
The "cotton" report was started by Patrolman Andy Andrews, who quoted several Farmington residents claiming they had seen cotton. Residents denied Andrey's message.
The first reports of flying saucers were spotted a few minutes before 11 a.m. yesterday. For a whole hour after that, people flooded the Times with messages about these objects.
The second large-scale observation occurred at 15:00. At the time, 27-year-old Mrs. Wilson Jones and 33-year-old Roy Hicks, housewives, reported seeing objects north of Farmington flying in perfect formation. Others reported the same sight.
Johnny Eaton, 29, a real estate and insurance salesman, and Edward Brooks, 24, an employee of the Perry Smoak garage, were the first to report the red celestial object.
Not planes
Brooks, a B-29 tail gunner during the war, said he was confident the objects detected were not planes.
"The maneuvering itself cannot be the maneuver of modern aircraft," he said.
John Bloomfield, another employee of Smoke's garage, said that the objects he saw were moving at a speed that he thought was about 10 times faster than jet planes. In addition, he said that objects are often rotated at right angles.
"It looks like they are going at each other face to face," he said. "At the last second, one will turn at a right angle up, the other at a right angle down. One saucer will pass by the other, and immediately what is behind will approach the lead."
Marlowe Webb, another garage employee, said the objects, to the naked eye, appeared to be about eight inches in diameter when viewed from the ground. He described them as "the size of a dinner plate."
"They were flying sideways, along the edge and at every conceivable angle," he said. "This is what made it easy to determine that they had the shape of a saucer."
None of the many reports reported any trace of fumes or engine noise. Also, no one reported any windows or other markings on the ship.
In general, Farmington took this phenomenon calmly, although it was reported that some women working in the laundry panicked.
Original news
Date: March 17, 1950
Location: Farmington, New Mexico, United States
"Fully half of this town's population still is certain today that it saw space ships or some strange aircraft -- hundreds of them zooming through the skies yesterday. Estimates of the number ranged from & quotes several to more that 500. The objects appeared to play tag high in the air. At times they streaked away at almost unbelievable speeds."
Artistic depiction of the Farmington UFO sightings by James Neff.
(copyright James Neff)
Source: Farmington Daily Times, March 18, 1950
HUGE 'SAUCER' ARMADA JOLTS FARMINGTON
Crafts Seen By Hundreds - Speed Estimated at 1000 MPH, Altitude 20,000 feet
For the third consecutive day, flying saucers have been reported over Farmington. And on each of the three days, their arrival here was reported between 11 and noon.
Three persons called the Daily Times office to report seeing strange objects in the air just before noon.
Persons along Main Street once again could be seen looking skyward and pointing.
High winds and a dust storm prevented clear vision.
Fully half of this town's population still is certain today that it saw space ships or some strange aircraft -- hundreds of them zooming through the skies yesterday. Estimates of the number ranged from & quotes several to more that 500. Whatever they were, they caused a major sensation in this community, which lies only 110 air miles northwest of the huge Los Alamos Atomic installation.
The objects appeared to play tag high in the air. At times, they streaked away at almost unbelievable speeds. One witness did a triangulation sighting on one of the objects and estimated its speed at about 1,000 miles an hour, and estimated its size as approximately twice that of a B-29.
Farmington citizens stood in the streets yesterday, watching the first reported mass "flying saucer" flight ever sighted. Traffic was slowed to avoid hitting sky gazers. The office of the Farmington Daily Times was deluged with calls from persons who saw the objects.
A Red Leader
Scores described the objects as silvery discs. A number agreed they saw one that was red in color -- bigger and faster, and apparently the leader.
Clayton J. Boddy, 32, business manager of Farmington Times and a former Army Engineers captain in Italy, was one of those who saw the startling objects.
Boddy was on the roadway when all of a sudden, "I noticed a few moving objects high in the sky."
"Moments later, there appeared what seemed to be about 500 of them," Boddy continued. He could not estimate their size or speed, but said they appeared to be about 15,000 feet high.
Boddy's account was confirmed by Joseph C. and Francis C. Kelloff, retail grocers from Antonito, Colo., who were in Farmington to inspect the site of a proposed new store, and by Bob Foutz and John Burrell of Farmington. The Kelloffs said the objects appeared to be flying in formation.
One of the most impressive accounts came from Harold F. Thatcher, head of the Farmington unit of the Soil Conservation service. Thatcher made a triangulation on one of a number of flying craft. He said if it had been a B-29, it would have been 2,000 feet high and traveling more than 1000 miles per hour.
Knows Engineering
"I'm not a professional engineer," Thatcher said, "but I have engineers working under me and I know how to work out rough triangulation on an object."
Thatcher emphatically denied an earlier report that the objects could have been small pieces of cotton fuzz floating in the atmosphere.
"It was not cotton," he said, "I saw several pieces of cotton fuzz floating around in the air at the time, but I was not sighting any cotton."
The "cotton" report was started by State Patrolman Andy Andrews, who quoted several Farmington Residents as asserting it was cotton they saw. The residents denied Andrew's report.
The first reports of flying saucers were noted a few minutes before 11 a.m. yesterday. For a full hour thereafter, people deluged the Times with reports of the objects.
A second large scale sighting occurred at 3 p.m. At that time, Mrs. Wilson Jones, 27, and Mr. Roy Hicks, 33, housewives reported seeing objects to the north of Farmington, flying in perfect formation. Others reported the same sight.
Johnny Eaton, 29, a real estate and insurance salesman, and Edward Brooks, 24, an employee of the Perry Smoak garage, were the first to report the red-colored sky object.
Not Airplanes
Brooks, a B-29 tail gunner during the war, said he was positive the objects sighted were not airplanes. "The very maneuvering of the things couldn't be that of modern aircraft," he said.
John Bloomfield, another employee of Smoak's garage, said the objects he saw traveled at a speed that appeared to him to be about 10 times faster than that of jet planes. In addition, he said the objects frequently made right-angle turns.
"They appeared to be coming at each other head-on," he related. "At the last second, one would veer at right angles upward, the other at right angles downward. One saucer would pass another and immediately the one to the rear would zoom into the lead."
Marlow Webb, another garage employee, said the objects to the naked eye appeared to be about eight inches in diameter as seen from the ground. He described them as about the "size of a dinner plate." "They flew sideways, on edge and at every conceivable angle," he said. "This is what made it easy to determine that they were saucer-shaped." None of the scores of reports told of any vapor trail or engine noise. Nor did anyone report any windows or other markings on the craft.
In general, Farmington accepted the phenomenon calmly, although it was reported some women employees of a laundry became somewhat panicky.
Artistic depiction of Farmington UFO sightings by James Neff.
(copyright by James Neff)
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