Spain: Sightings in the Sierra Norte of Seville (2000)

 

 New Sightings in the Sierra Norte of Seville
Encounters with mysterious objects at night
By José Manuel García Bautista

Due to its complexity and strangeness, the UFO phenomenon is far more than mere field research into specific encounters and sightings—where witnesses observe mysterious lights and shapes that shatter their established mental frameworks. The witness factor must be rigorously studied and analyzed, as the information obtained from it lays the groundwork for a more thorough and detailed investigation. For an investigation to be valid, witnesses must possess absolute credibility and an unparalleled level of truthfulness; otherwise, the inquiry would be flawed and lack believability. I emphasize the word "CREDIBILITY" because, without it, we risk encountering cases of fraud or people chasing fame, money, and—why not?—the status of being a researcher.
Many still argue that analyzing the witness factor is not particularly important, given its inherently subjective nature and susceptibility to various external and internal factors that can distort sensory perception. While this assertion is entirely true, it overlooks the fact that witnesses in a UFO case must still be "questioned" to rule out potential anomalies affecting their senses and altering their perception. No serious investigation can exist without a conscientious analysis of this aspect. After all, how could we possibly gauge the truthfulness and plausibility of a witness and their account without getting to know the individual? The witness factor is susceptible to various distortions that can alter the testimony, such as:
•    Consumption of alcohol, drugs, or medications with side effects that impair the subject's senses.
•    Severe emotional or physical stress.
•    Fatigue.
•    Physical or mental impairments.
•    Extreme subjectivity.
•    Excessive credulity.
•    A desire for profit or a craving for the spotlight. •    Unstable family situation.
•    Lack of knowledge regarding a specific subject, leading one to firmly believe in theories that lack any observational basis.
•    Exaggeration of events.
•    Visual or perceptual errors.
•    Strong motivation or a mindset predisposed to misinterpreting a specific event.
•    Speaking based on hearsay while inserting oneself into the story of a sighting as the actual protagonist.
•    Lack of adequate information regarding certain phenomena in the sky.
•    Lack of awareness—on the part of the witness and society at large—regarding secret tests involving military aerial prototypes, such as those frequently conducted at the U.S. bases in Rota (Cádiz) and Morón de la Frontera (Seville) and their surrounding areas.    .../...

These are some of the reasons why information received from a witness must be properly cross-checked, and why it is necessary to delve—as far as possible—into the witness's psychology to create a complete profile of the individual.
An investigation into a UFO or a specific paranormal phenomenon is not conducted in a few hours or days; a proper investigation can take weeks or months, involving the analysis of all factors and circumstances—however remote they may seem—that could affect the observer and their testimony. This entails cross-referencing star charts and meteorological, astronomical, aviation, and experimental data, and—if circumstances require—even examining the witness's medical records. Subsequently, possible similarities with other cases are analyzed; only at the very end, and after having thoroughly analyzed *everything*, can one speculate on a possible conclusion to the case. As we have seen, investigating the witness is a crucial component of any UFO or paranormal inquiry. Of course, the provision of documentation and photographic material greatly aids any researcher's work, but in this realm of evidentiary claims, we must not forget that fraud is present in a very high percentage of cases.
A proper investigation is one that perfectly balances—in the right proportions—fieldwork with documentary research. Any investigation that appears skewed toward one side or the other could—and indeed would—be labeled incomplete, biased, and incorrect.

In the early hours (2:20 a.m.) of Saturday, January 22, 2000, two military officers traveling toward Seville along the road connecting the Sevillian towns of Las Navas de la Concepción and La Puebla de los Infantes—heading toward Seville (93 km away) and just a few kilometers from the junction with Peñaflor on the C-431 highway—spotted an oval-shaped light, approximately 120 meters in size, off to their left (in the direction of travel) near the El Retortillo Reservoir.

 "The light was suspended in the void; it was simply floating in the air—static, motionless... I asked Miguel what that strange light might be, but he couldn't say; the presence of construction equipment or aircraft was out of the question—we would have been notified about such things... It was very odd. As we drove toward La Puebla (de los Infantes), the light remained static; there was no sign of movement... Miguel said he would pull over at the first opportunity, and a bit further on, he stopped the car on a shoulder where we wouldn't block traffic (though at that hour, there is almost no traffic anyway, and the road itself is quite dangerous and unpleasant to drive on). We got out, took Miguel's binoculars from the trunk, and began observing the mysterious light. I have to say, it was one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen; the craft lacked any visible propulsion nozzles or thrusters, there was no exhaust plume, and the surroundings were completely silent. The lights seemed arranged in a network across the fuselage of the ship—which was shaped like a sort of flattened egg—and they all appeared to blink in unison, shifting in hue. I can tell you with absolute certainty that it wasn't one of our aircraft, a weather balloon, or anything of that sort. José Manuel, I’m not saying it was an alien spaceship—God forbid—with little green men inside; that would be ridiculous. I’m just saying it wasn't anything identifiable as the equipment we usually work with, and you know we understand what’s in our skies better than anyone... Man, you can label it a UFO if you want—but a UFO in the sense you’ve drilled into us all along—meaning an *Unidentified Flying Object* taken literally: *anything* we see that we can't identify. Gone are the days of explanations..." ...extraterrestrials, non-extraterrestrials, and the like—claims that currently lack a solid basis or foundation—neither Paco nor I would be the ones to tell you that the object was an intelligent craft crewed by stellar civilizations. If our opinion counts for anything, we can only say that in over 25 years of service in the Air Force, we had never seen or directly witnessed anything like it; we had heard many stories, but we had never experienced anything of the sort ourselves."
That concludes the account of one of our two witnesses; his testimony is corroborated by his colleague. What is there to say in the face of this? The witnesses' reliability and truthfulness are absolute. Their willingness to cooperate with this researcher of UFO and paranormal phenomena was—and remains—total. Several interviews were conducted, and they were remarkably consistent throughout... Their testimony was—quite simply—flawless, and to me, it is entirely truthful. Why would a military man—operating at their level of responsibility—invent, alter, distort, or exaggerate a story like this? Our witnesses possess a level of physical and mental stability that is simply enviable. There were no factors present that might have impaired their perception, such as the consumption of alcohol or medication. Despite the late hour, both were sufficiently well-rested to rule out fatigue as a possible explanation for the sighting. Free from emotional tension or pressure, intimately familiar with the skies, seeking neither money nor publicity, and with no likelihood of perceptual error... they were simply two professionals with extensive knowledge of the skies who had the opportunity to calmly and closely observe a mysterious oval shape—approximately 120 meters in size—encased in a "skin" of small, reddish-orange points of light. It bore no external propulsion markings or features and appeared suspended in mid-air, hovering about 150 meters above the waters of the El Retortillo Reservoir, deep within the Sierra Norte of Seville—well over 90 kilometers from the provincial capital. The National Meteorological Institute provided us with the weather report for the day and the area: a cold (6ºC to 2ºC) and clear night, with no precipitation, moderate wind gusts, and generally stable conditions—though precipitation was possible at higher altitudes. Visibility was good. No significant or unusual meteorological phenomena were reported.
The National Institute for Aerospace Technology conducted no experiments in the area, and well-informed sources confirmed this same information through a separate channel.
Seville Air Traffic Control confirmed the absence of air traffic in the area, particularly at that altitude and time. Seville Airport closes at midnight, and very few flights are recorded after that hour.
Nearby heliports also confirmed the absence of aircraft in the area.
According to NASA data, there was no visible re-entry of space debris at our latitudes...
The Army did not conduct any night-time or "blind" flight exercises in the area.
The Seville Astronomical Observatory reported nothing of particular significance in the night sky that matched the characteristics described by our witnesses.
What, then, did our two witnesses see on the night of Saturday, January 22, 2000—around 2:20 a.m.—near the El Retortillo Reservoir? Based on their own definition: a UFO.
In recent years, the Sierra Norte region of Seville has gained attention for the high frequency of mysterious lights and luminous objects appearing in its skies and around the vast expanse of water at El Retortillo, situated between the towns of Las Navas de la Concepción, Peñaflor, and San Calixto. Numerous sightings have been reported from the roads near El Cerro del Hierro, Constantina, and Lora del Río, as well as from the aforementioned towns. Recently, another sighting occurred in the same area with the following characteristics:
On February 12, 2000, a peculiar rhomboid-shaped craft was observed in the Sierra Norte of Seville; four intense orange lights were visible at what would be its four vertices. It was flying silently at a very low altitude—estimated at around 300 meters. The craft or object was approximately 30 meters long and was observed between 11:40 p.m. and 11:55 p.m. ...at the location known as Cerro del Hierro, which connects the Sevillian town of Constantina with Las Navas de la Concepción (also in Seville). Our witness was driving along the poor-quality road connecting these two towns; after traveling about 6 kilometers, he was startled by an airborne shape whose powerful headlights left Pepe Álvarez—the witness, who was driving his Renault 4L (the famous "Cuatro Latas")—dumbfounded. Preliminary, rapid inquiries revealed that no flights had taken place in the area—let alone at such a low altitude—given the extremely rugged terrain, which would make attempting flight at that height reckless. The weather was clear and quite cold (between 3°C and 5°C), with excellent visibility. The craft or object was heading northeast toward the Retortillo Reservoir—a site famous in ufological circles. Other witnesses in the town reported seeing lights at that time of night; these reports likely refer to the same sighting. As a personal note, I (the investigator) happened to be in the town of Constantina at the time due to family matters, but I only saw a distant light, as I was alerted to the event while the phenomenon was already passing by. There were no significant celestial phenomena or other events that could have caused confusion.
Numerous sightings had also been recorded previously, such as the following (presented in a brief chronology):
1.    August 1998. San Nicolás del Puerto, in the famous Sierra Norte region. Time: around 2:15 AM. Four witnesses: friends and final-year university students studying Physics (two of them), Law, and Engineering. Object observed: a luminous sphere tracing strange angles across the Sevillian night sky.
2.    June 12, 1999. Joaquín Díaz was driving along the local road connecting the Sevillian towns of Las Navas de la Concepción and La Puebla de los Infantes; it was already night—around 10:40 PM. – and he was on his way home after visiting relatives in the first of those towns. The road is very winding and difficult, and with night having fallen, Don Joaquín decided to slow down and drive at a moderate speed. After driving for about fifteen minutes, our witness was startled by something that left him dumbfounded: “I had been driving for quite a while as I headed down toward La Puebla. I could see the Retortillo reservoir, which I was passing on my left as I drove around it along the road... At one point, I saw a large object emerge from the water. It was huge—I don’t know, it must have been about 30 meters across. It shot out suddenly, with great force. It was very bright—a brilliant white, like the reflective uniforms firefighters wear; it was a very luminous color. It rose up, forming an immense circle (or sphere), and then folded over until it looked flattened; it was like a large five-peseta coin...” When asked if the object had any depth or volume, he told us, “No, no, it was a flat, round thing; it was like a coin. It came out and folded over until it was hovering above the water...” Joaquín illustrated his words by mimicking the object's movement with a beer bottle cap. We can describe the event this way: the object emerged from the water, rising up and forming a perfect 180-degree arc; once it had surfaced, it stabilized its position by tilting onto one side (presumably) and hovering over the lake's surface, eventually appearing from the road as nothing more than a thin line of light. The spherical part of the object’s body would have been “facing” both the lake’s surface and the sky... That is how the object remained for a mere few seconds (perhaps 5 or 10, no more), and after a slight flicker accompanied by a color change (from white to orange), it rose slightly before accelerating and vanishing into the sky in a beam of light. Joaquín was left stunned by what he had seen and began to feel great fear. What had seemed like a simple return trip to La Puebla turned into a frantic race to get home...

Luminous spheres, rhomboid, oval, and even "dimensionless" craft... all observed near the reservoir or in its vicinity—close to, or hovering over, the water...

The UFO phenomenon enters the 21st century shrouded in mystery and enigma. Through the views of both detractors and proponents, it has established itself as *the* phenomenon of our century.
Public perception of the UFO phenomenon remains incomplete and ill-informed; many still believe that a ufologist chases after "little green men"—if I may use the term—and their ships, hoping to snap a photo or conduct an interview... The reality of the UFO phenomenon is far more complex and challenging than this "out-of-focus" notion suggests. The phenomenon encompasses too many facets to be easily generalized; the social, psychological, contextual, and physical dimensions—along with the various working hypotheses and theories—make this a vast and fascinating subject. It is a field where one cannot afford to take a casual approach or neglect the study of even the most seemingly insignificant details...

Report on the "New Sightings at El Retortillo Reservoir" case by independent researcher José Manuel García Bautista (Seville).

José Manuel García Bautista
Seville, February 26, 2000.

•    A personal note:

One cannot make a living from ufological and paranormal research; quite the opposite—it costs the researcher money. Yet, without a doubt, it is money well spent. There are still many who insist on dividing our field of Ufology into two camps—the pro-HET (Extraterrestrial Hypothesis) proponents and the skeptics—yet an increasing number of researchers are opting for a third path. This independent approach requires neither reconciling extremes nor aligning with either side; while perhaps the most challenging route, it is ultimately the most rewarding. You investigate what you believe in, establishing your own working methods, documentation standards, and theories. You analyze the phenomenon as comprehensively as possible, utilizing every available resource—the Internet, literature, case files, archives, and insights from fellow researchers and professionals in fields such as aeronautics, meteorology, physics, engineering, astronomy, and psychology (relying on an extensive network of contacts who often evolve from mere acquaintances into close friends)—alongside a wide array of witness testimonies. The final result is the case report: the fruit of your labor—hours, days, weeks, or even months of investigation—shared with other researchers, the media, various channels, and friends. After all, not everything in life is about money or material gain; research is also driven by passion and a genuine love for the act of investigating itself. That report contains our conclusion—often the closest approximation to the truth—because this alternative third path requires no allegiance to any specific school of thought; the investigation aligns solely with the truth, regardless of whose feelings might be hurt. There is no need to defend a specific stance: if a hoax is uncovered, it is reported as such (we have experience both in identifying and exposing them); if a case remains inconclusive, it is labeled as such; and if the object turns out to be a weather balloon or the planet Venus, that is exactly what is reported. I believe this investigative approach brings us closer to the truth than many realize. Ultimately, this long journey through Ufology or paranormal research is driven by a single, fundamental belief: the value of the investigation itself.

Manuel Carballal: Other Earthly Saucers

 

 

Manuel Carballal : Other Earthly Saucers 

    Aside from turbine-driven, prop-driven, and saucers motivated by other means of propulsion, terrestrial aeronautics have given rise to other kinds of disc-shaped aircraft. 
    As early as 1925, according to Revista de Aeronautica y Astronáutica (Number 413, April 1975), Soviet designers had developed a glider with a semicircular wing (more practical than a circular wing) resembling a giant letter "D" with an enormous rudder in the aft section, which also doubled as an elevating plane throughout the rear perimeter.  This device is known as Tscharanowsky's "Parabola" glider, which can be seen at the Leningrad (St. Petersburg) Aviation Museum, and is one of the first designs of this type, a spectacular example of Russian enthusiasm for gliding. 
    The Parabola was nothing more than the forerunner for other flying saucers built by the Soviets throughout history. 
    Many years later, in December 1992, the "Rossiya" was unrolled before the public.  The "Rossiya" is the first in a series of colossal, oval-shaped dirigibles developed through Project Thermoplane, a scientific endeavor sponsored by the Moscow Aeronautical Institute, which hopes to build a fleet of more than a hundred such dirigibles before 1995, all in the shape of a flying saucer. 
    The "Russian UFO," as the scientific press immediately dubbed the object, is an enormous flying saucer two hundred meters in diameter and seventy meters high.  Its skeleton resembles that of the old German Zeppelins, but it incorporates the latest technological advances, which have enabled complete control of the dirigible in the face of meteorological uncertainty.  Thanks to two low-speed embedded propellers connected to motors, the "UFO" is never out of control. 
    The Rossiya, like subsequent saucers belonging to Project Thermoplane, can cover a distance of 5000 kilometers without any need for refueling.  According to Commander Ishkov, director of Project Thermoplane: "... thanks to its enormous cargo capacity, these dirigibles constitute the most efficient and economical means of transportation for conveying large loads to inhospitable and remote regions.  With projects such as this, we are hoping to turn the old Soviet war machine into a new field for civilian and social applications. "
    According to calculations made by aeronautical engineers in Moscow, the kerosene-powered "flying saucer" is 20 to 24 times more efficient and economical than modern helicopters, five or seven times better than airplanes, and two or three times better than any surface transportation. 
    With a 600-ton cargo capacity, the Rossiya's kerosene-fueled engines can reach speeds of 220 KMH, although its mean cruising speed is 150 KMH.  Border surveillance figures prominently among its applications, since radar contained in the "Russian UFO" guarantees coverage six times greater than that of a conventional coast guard vessel.  It also has much greater freedom, enabling it to cover a surveillance area of 450,000 sq.km.--12 times that of a ship in the same period of time. 
    The result of Soviet lab research making use of the ALA-40s, small minisaucers tested at the Aeronautical Institute since 1989, led to the public appearance of the Rossiya.  What doubt could there possibly be that any Russian citizen witnessing the slow flight of a 200 meter wide flying saucer would swear to his or her grave that they'd run into an alien vessel?

Alien "Blimps"

    In 1782, Charles and the Robert brothers, and Montgolfier in 1783, launched their first experimental balloons in the dawn of the history of dirigibles. 
    The prototypes of these aeronautical pioneers would be seen today as amusing toys (Montgolfier's balloon, for example, was "manned" by a ram, a rooster, and a duck, soberly nestled in the balloon's gondola.  Nonetheless, the effect that these early UFOs had upon the witnesses was humorous only to historians. 
    The balloons were perceived by farmers, albeit living scant miles from Paris, as "creatures from another world."  In the first case (the Charles/Robert balloon of 1782), the locals demanded the attendance of a priest, and considering this not to be sufficient, an enraged man reached for his shotgun and engaged in a firefight with the "flying monster."  In the second case (Montgolfier, 1783), the abbé arrived in time to perform an exorcism on those mysterious creatures who had descended from the skies.  
    The fact is that in spite of not having the mechanical trappings of the "circular airplanes," certain kinds of dirigibles and balloons have caused more than one case of confusion among untrained observers throughout history. 
    Nearer to home, in the morning of the September 6-7, 1993, the air traffic controllers from the Alvedro Airport Control Tower (Corunna, Spain) received a number of phone calls from people who declared having seen a strange object.  The citizens of Corunna and other localities within that province, such as Malpica, claimed to see a spindle-shaped object surrounded by lights. 
    I later learned that in other towns to the east, in the province of Lugo to be exact, the very same object had been observed a few minutes earlier. 
    As we have done on so many occasions, we started the investigations by questioning the witnesses, consulting the Provincial Meteorological Observatory, the Labacolla Control Tower (Santiago de Compostela, Spain), etc.  The weather balloon launched that evening had already detonated, and there was no reported aerial traffic over the area at the time-- yet the solution to the riddle bore no relation whatsoever to either airplanes or weather balloons. 
    The spindle-shaped UFO seen on September 7th was a promotional blimp headed out of Oviedo, bearing a gaudy illuminated sign for the Credit Lyonnais bank. 
    Perhaps something similar to this happened between November 1896 and May 1897 in the United States, where a genuine wave of "airship" sightings took place.  In spite of the fact that distinguished ufologists such as John Keel, Jerome Clark, or Jacques Vallée have collected earlier and later cases, the most widely held opinion is that the Airship Mystery began in November 1896, when the residents of Sacramento, California, witnessed a light moving in the night sky.  Similar observations were made throughout California during the same month, and others were made farther north, in Washington State and in Canada. 
    A dark shape could sometimes be seen under the light.  It was cigar-shaped, barrel-shaped, or egg-shaped.  The object always moved quite slowly, as if it were being impelled by the wind. 
    Witness descriptions of the "airships," which were even published in the newspapers of the time, are strongly reminiscent of the great rigid dirigibles and the sophisticated hybrid dirigibles (which combined aerostatic pressure with aerodynamics) that would become known in later years. 
    Even though European aeronautic designers were relatively advanced in the construction of dirigibles, this was not the case in the U.S., at least officially.  The first attempts at making and guiding aerostatic balloons came about shortly after their appearance in 1783.  In fact, the following year, Blanchard attempted to solve the problem by means of beating wings and a rudder.  The concept of the airscrew, known to the Chinese for centuries, appeared in Europe around this time, but it would be necessary to await the birth of a suitable engine. 
    In 1852, Henri Giffard made a trial voyage in a tapered balloon propelled by a three-horsepower steam engine.  This dirigible, which moved at some 10 KMH, proved itself somewhat responsive to the rudder, but was unable to return to the starting point (a classic maneuverability test), due to any stray wind it should happen to encounter. 
    On August 9, 1884, French captains Charles Renard and Arthur Krebs achieved the first substantial flight in a closed circuit (7. 6 kilometers) at Calais with their dirigible La France, fitted with a 9 horsepower electric engine fed by tubular chloro-chromic batteries.  As a result of this feat, La France is considered to be the first true dirigible in history, in spite of its electric motor, which had no future.  La France's gondola and propeller are preserved in the Musée de l'Air at Meudon (Paris).  The fact of the matter is that the shape of this early dirigible recalls some of the descriptions of the American "airships." 
    But if aeronautics was developing in Europe, then who was piloting the mysterious aircraft seen in the U.S.?  Also, some of the maneuverability details provided by airship witnesses were quite far removed from the clumsy designs of the European dirigibles. 
    Some witnesses, such as former senator W. Harris, managed to engage "airship occupants" in relaxed conversation (on April 22, 1897 in this instance) and even went aboard.  But their nationality was never made clear. 
    The behavior of these airships was similar to that of UFOs on many occasions.  Thus we have "abduction" episodes, landings, cattle theft, etc.  In 1892 H.G. Wells was inspired by this wave to write The War of the Worlds, the renowned book in which Martians invade the Earth. 
    Meanwhile, Jules Verne, always one step ahead of history, had published his novel Robur the Conqueror in 1886.  In this book, an ambitious character aimed to control the planet by means of curious aerial vehicles with propellers and cylindrical anchors, which resembled the craft which would be seen over American skies ten years later.  This work of fiction anticipated events to the extent that the design of the airship "Albatross" on the book cover was identical to some of the sketches which would appear in American newspapers a decade later, during the strange wave. 
    In a paragraph from this book, we have Robur the Conqueror saying: "My machine shall never be French, nor German, nor Austrian, nor Russian, nor British, nor American.  This invention is mine and I shall use it as I please.  With it, I shall be master of the whole world.  It is useless for humanity to resist me under any circumstances."
    A year after Jules Verne's death, his editor published a sequel, Master of the World, where airships play a critical role yet again. 
    I invite the reader to reflect upon this little known aspect of the UFO phenomenon, since those strange "airships" from the late 19th century were perhaps more closely related to our contemporary UFOs than we know. 

21st Century Aerostats

    Modern dirigible and aerostat designs bear little resemblance to the historic devices of Count von Zeppelin or the ill-fated Hindenburg.  The new airships, in many instances, rub shoulders with futuristic designs and technology not far removed from that of "flying saucers."
    The Revista de Aeronáutica y Astronáutica published in its September 1985 issue an entire dossier on dirigibles.  This dossier contained some of the most innovative designs on record, with a variety of incredible shapes, all of them easily identifiable as UFOs. 
    Naturally, all those designs form part of hybrid dirigibles, which manage to remain airborne by the combined use of aerostatic and aerodynamic pressure.  Vehicles which underwent little or no development in the past (as far as we know) have currently emerged as a new concept with a promising future.  They combine dirigible technologies with others, such as rotating wing vehicles (autogiros, etc.). 
    The basic role played by these hybrid vehicles would be to cover the requirement of lifting and transporting large loads, including to places lacking a support infrastructure on the ground, at a reasonable cost and with no need of special support.  Short-term development studies foresee lift/load capabilities of over 150 metric tons--weights far beyond the ability of helicopters to handle, and unreasonably costly for these due to their refueling limitations. 
    Studies undertaken by NASA and Goodyear Aerospace have indicated mean savings of about 45% in the total cost of a number of construction projects through the use of cargo lifting and transportation systems belonging to the hybrid dirigible class. 
    Programs aimed at achieving the full operational capacity of these vehicles have been undertaken since 1980 in the U.S., Canada (the "Cyclocrane", patented by D.C. Associates), France (the "Helicostat," under the supervision of ONERA and SNAIS), and Japan (programs contracted by the Ministry of International Markets and Industry), etc.  Some South American nations have also evinced an interest in this kind of vehicle. 
    A type of mission in which the "hybrids" compete with the modern conventional dirigibles is in the ferrying of cargo or passengers to hard-to-reach areas.  These vehicles can make use of aerostatic or aerodynamic support, and the rotors adopt lenticular or discoidal shapes to provide this increased support. 
    Based on economic analysis studies promoted by the Canadian Ministry of Transportation, it seems that huge savings in transportation to remote areas could be obtained through the use of hybrid VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) vehicles.  These savings could be considerably increased, since the building of highways and/or railways would no longer be necessary, nor would their rebuilding if they should be damaged by climatological or other causes.  In this way, the costs created by having to overcome natural obstacles (such as rivers and canyons) would be eliminated, since no time would be wasted in unloading men and equipment.  The available working season would thus be extended in spite of snow, rain, etc. 
    To cover the kind of mission mentioned above, a number of studies have been undertaken, mostly in the United Kingdom (large metal-covered dirigibles 130,000 m3 in size with elliptical hulls), and Japan (transportation of power-generating equipment to hard-to-reach areas in the islands, supplying the populations found on the numerous islets, etc.)  Some African and South American nations--particularly Brazil--have taken an interest in this kind of application, although the results of their studies have not become widely known. 
    The economic and tactical possibilities of hybrid dirigibles will grant them in the future--maybe even now--a major aeronautical role.  But, as is customary, the veil of silence which enshrouds the most state-of-the-art experiments keeps us from learning about the current situation. 
    Nonetheless, we are aware that some dirigibles are genuine flying saucers, and that airships with a futuristic design can be considered true "earthly UFOs," such as the Vanguard Donut, the Havill Parawing, the All-American Aerocrane, and others. 
    The dossier on dirigibles put out by the official magazine of the Spanish Air Force which I mentioned earlier, included a photo of one of these innovative hybrid dirigibles.  It is a Van Dusen design from Canada.  The photo shows a spherical body resting upon a gondola which houses the controls, cargo and fuel.  The sphere, filled with helium, can rotate on its axis, producing an added elevating force through the well-known Magnus effect, thus augmenting its airborne capability.  The engines mounted on the ends of the rotational axis can spin from 0 to 90 to provide thrust during take-off.  This is the classic VTOL hybrid, and I can assure the reader that any observer making a casual sighting of Van Dusen's dirigible would think it far removed from any conventional terrestrial vehicle. 
    The Revista de Aeronáutica y Astronáutica published in 1981 a news item that went largely unnoticed by most ufologists (with exceptions, such as the late Andreas Faber Kaiser).  It concerned the approval given by a British company to the Thermo Skyship project in February 1980. 
    The Thermo Skyship is a hybrid dirigible with VTOL capability in the shape of a perfect flying saucer.  Using liquid hydrogen for its fuel, the airship is covered in carbon fibers and uses helium (due to its light weight) to enable its lifting force. 
    The same issue of the magazine stated that in August of that year, flight testing of a new flying machine resembling a discoidal UFO had taken place at Edwards Air Force base in California by the NASA Research Center.  The device transformed solar power into electricity, which would in turn power a small propeller installed in the vehicle's tail, thus eliminating intermediary batteries. 

A Gallery of Earthly UFOs
    The list of strange aeronautical artifacts which could be confused with UFOs is practically endless. 
    Who hasn't heard about eccentric millionaire Malcolm Forbes? His passion for the subject made him build balloons and aerostats in the most dissimilar shapes year after year.  From the Kinkakuji Temple to Columbus's caravelle the Santa María, Forbes' balloons have adopted the most capricious shapes.  And, of course, he has also built balloons in the shape of a flying saucer, complete with a smiling alien looking out of a porthole. 
    As far as military technology is concerned, there are numerous unmanned vehicles used for surveillance or espionage which have adopted evocative shapes.  An account of all of them, however, would be much too long. 
    Nonetheless, there exist other kinds of UFOs capable of executing strange maneuvers, achieving breathtaking speeds, and with a more or less triangular appearance, which have been observed by qualified witnesses all around the planet.  Many of these craft are directly linked to secret military technology. 

[Translation ©1995, 2026 Scott Corrales. Extracted from the book “OVNIS y Pilotos” by Manuel Carballal]

Fabio Zerpa: The Balvidares Case (1973)

 

 The Balvidares Case

Location:    Rural area, Leandro N. Alem District (Buenos Aires Province, bordering the General Pinto District)
Date:    October 29, 1973
Time:    Between 5:00 PM and 6:55 PM
Investigation:    Professor Omar Demattei, Fabio Zerpa, and ONIFE (Junín)

On Monday, October 29, 1973, Mr. Carlos A. Balvidares (43)—accompanied by one of his nine children, 12-year-old Manuel—left home as he did every day to head to the farm owned by Mr. Jorge Urricarriet, located 25 km to the northeast, where he worked as the foreman.
In the mid-afternoon, Balvidares spotted three beings floating above the water next to a windmill on the property, without disturbing the water's surface; they appeared to be suspended in mid-air, with their backs turned toward him. The witness approached to within 80 meters of these strange entities—two "men" and one "woman"—and began calling out to them. The beings looked back and immediately vanished, only to reappear on the opposite bank of the lagoon, about 300 meters away. It is worth noting that the witness could not explain the method of their instantaneous movement from the initial sighting spot to the second location. Balvidares checked his watch: it was 5:20 PM.
The "woman" appeared to be between 1.60 and 1.65 meters tall. She was dressed entirely in black; her hair was also black (movement revealed it to be long), and she wore white boots that ended in a sort of fin-like structure that flared out to the sides like a fan. The "men" were slightly shorter than the "woman," a difference that was particularly noticeable when the three of them stood together. They were exactly the same height; they appeared naked—looking as if their bodies were slicked with oil or gel—and had a complexion resembling sun-tanned human skin. The witness did not rule out the possibility that the "men" were wearing tight-fitting, one-piece suits. The "men" had blond hair that also appeared slicked back; all three were notable for their fair complexions, broad foreheads, and small noses, and they moved with their arms and legs held close to their bodies.
Upon spotting them again, Balvidares also observed—in the same area where the entities were located, 20 meters from the power lines and resting on the ground—an extremely powerful light. It emanated from a rectangular object approximately 5 to 6 meters wide and 2 to 3 meters high. A beam of light about 40 cm in diameter (comparable to a movie projector beam in the dark) shot from the center of the object, reaching his position and blinding him while generating a sensation of heat. Balvidares, intent on making contact with the strange beings, mounted his horse and rode into the lagoon—which was full of water at the time—heading toward where the entities stood. However, as he advanced, the beings tried to move away, specifically toward the UFO. The witness managed to cover only half the distance (getting to within approximately 150 meters of the entities) before an invisible barrier prevented him from going further. His horse refused to obey him, despite his strenuous efforts to make it keep moving. Faced with this situation, Balvidares turned back and resumed drinking *mate*, while the beings engaged in strange behavior 30 or 40 meters from the craft.
Keeping their arms close to their bodies and their legs together, they moved from place to place with small hops. The "woman" appeared to be directing the other two beings; ...was always in the lead, and whenever it raised an arm (barely moving it away from its body), one of the "men" would move about 30 meters away, stop, and immediately communicate with the other two using a strange language—a sort of screeching sound, like a poorly tuned radio—which could be heard clearly despite the light wind.
Then, all three would crouch down (appearing as though they were making marks on the ground) and adopt a series of other strange postures that were unintelligible to the witness.
Something caught Balvidares's attention: a sow confined in a nearby pen jumped over the enclosure in an unusual manner and fled the scene. It was then that the witness suddenly smelled sulfur. Immediately, a sort of drowsiness or stupor overcame him for a few moments; when he recovered, neither the beings nor the light—which had held his attention across an arc of more than 90 degrees—were visible anymore.
It was exactly 6:55 PM. From that day on, neither the sow that had been in the pen when the UFO beings retreated (at the moment the witness smelled the sulfur) nor the sheep usually kept there would enter the enclosure, despite Balvidares's efforts.

Connection to the Llanca case

It is evident that the Balvidares case, which occurred on October 29, 1973, is closely linked to the incident involving truck driver Dionisio Llanca in Bahía Blanca one day earlier—specifically, in the early hours of October 28, 1973.
The two cases share several common features: there were three strange beings—two blond "men" and one "woman" (who was blond in the Llanca case but had black hair in the Balvidares incident). In both instances, the entities communicated using a peculiar language—a sort of screeching sound resembling a poorly tuned radio. Another detail: in both cases, the beings were described as having broad foreheads.
The possibility that Balvidares drew inspiration from the Llanca case to recount his own story can be ruled out; although his encounter took place on Monday, October 29—the day after the Bahía Blanca incident—Dionisio Llanca did not recall the events until Tuesday, the 30th. By the night of Monday the 29th, Balvidares had already shared his account with several people. Significantly, Mr. Carlos Balvidares always described what he had seen in the exact same way.

[Source: Ellos- Los Seres Extraterrestres by Fabio Zerpa. The late Mr. Zerpa was one of Argentina's most influential UFO researchers, with extensive writings and televised and public appearances]

Angel Carretero: A Teleportation Near Seville...Or Something Else?

 

 

Angel Carretero: A Teleportation Near Seville...Or Something Else?

THE TELEPORTATION AND/OR ABDUCTION PHENOMENON INVOLVING INDUSTRIAL EXPERT PEDRO OLIVA RAMÍREZ, WHICH OCCURRED IN ALCALÁ DE GUADAÍRA (SEVILLE) STARTING AT 11:25 PM ON NOVEMBER 9, 1986

On November 9, 1986, at approximately 11:15 PM, Industrial Expert Pedro Oliva Ramírez was driving his vehicle from Seville to Alcalá de Guadaira—the town where he maintained his temporary residence.

During the initial leg of his journey, nothing noteworthy occurred; however, after rounding a bend, he suddenly found himself traveling along a road featuring three lanes—each of double width—running in both directions. The road was perfectly straight, and, taken aback, he began to pay close attention to his surroundings, which were entirely unfamiliar to him. To his left, at a distance of about one hundred meters, he observed a flat expanse approximately four hundred meters in length, along which stood a row of five or six industrial facilities. These structures were fully illuminated and reached a height of roughly eighty meters.

An identical phenomenon presented itself to his right, though in this instance, the structures were residential apartment buildings, each rising to a height of about twenty stories. Along the shoulders of the road—on both his left and right—grew a dense, lush grass standing approximately 70 centimeters tall.

After observing this anomaly in the landscape, he felt a sensation of heat pervading his vehicle and heard a chorus of distant voices. Several meters ahead of his car, there appeared to be something resembling a large soccer goalpost; it remained unclear whether or not he actually passed through it. One of the voices confirmed to him that he had been transported—by extraterrestrial beings—to a different country located in another hemisphere.

He continued driving along this road for one hour before pulling over to a stop. While stopped, he was overtaken in the third lane by several large automobiles—resembling vintage Cadillacs—painted in shades of white or beige, and bearing dark, narrow license plates. He then exited his vehicle and walked along the roadside for fifteen minutes, examining the fine grass illuminated by his car's headlights. He also observes the passing of other vehicles at a frequency—or interval—of eight minutes between each one. He returns to his car and continues driving for another hour; then he stops, gets out again, and walks around for another quarter of an hour.


He resumes his journey and spots a turnoff to his right—completely unmarked. The road is narrow and patched; he drives along it for half an hour until he comes across a triple signpost reading: MALAGA in one direction, SEVILLA in another, and ALCABALA in the third.

He takes the turnoff toward Seville, and—without knowing why—he comes to a halt; looking to his left, he finds himself standing right in front of his own house in Alcalá de Guadaira.

Frustrated, he decides to retrace his steps and look for the junction, but he cannot find it—nor the triple signpost, nor the road with three lanes in each direction. He goes on to state that he typically covered the route between Seville and Alcalá de Guadaira in about half an hour; on this occasion, however, he took three hours and five minutes—consuming an amount of fuel equivalent to a distance of just over two hundred kilometers.


COMMENTS

José Ruesga Montiel offers an initial assessment, allowing us to reproduce here three points that are worth bearing in mind and which speak for themselves:

“...Given the sheer volume of experiences he recounts—and the outlandish nature of many of them—I am inclined to believe that this man is not, or was not, entirely sound of mind. Hearing whispering voices is a symptom of schizophrenia...”

“...If he truly shared his experiences with his boss, and the boss subsequently granted him two or three days of leave, this suggests that his mental health was indeed precarious—and that his superiors were well aware of this fact. I have never encountered a single instance where a boss granted an employee leave specifically because of a UFO encounter; such an action denotes a degree of indulgence typically reserved for someone who recognizes that their interlocutor is in poor health...”

“...In any case, interspersed within these accounts are objective facts—claims asserting that other individuals, such as his own wife, served as witnesses. It would be a simple matter to verify whether these claims are true, or if they were merely fabricated to lend credibility to his stories. If there is any basis in reality to these phenomena, those other witnesses would be able to corroborate it...”

Panama: A UFO Impact in Villa Lourdes?

 

Source: Panamá America

Date: 06.15.2000

Panama: A UFO Impact in Villa Lourdes?

An Investigation into an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon in Villa Lourdes, Panama

Introduction

Residents of the corregimiento (district) of Villa Lourdes, situated in the province of Los Santos, have reported witnessing an unidentified object. Accounts suggest that this object descended from the sky, impacted the ground, and subsequently re-ascended. The incident reportedly left behind distinct geometric impressions in the earth, specifically a triangular formation with apertures at each vertex and eight radial fissures extending from the central impact point.

Evidence

The site of the alleged impact, located within a pasture owned by the Gutiérrez-Castro family in Villa Lourdes, was reportedly observed in the early hours of Monday, June 5. This particular area of the pasture is notably devoid of vegetation. The impact created a circular depression approximately three inches in depth, with a diameter comparable to the lid of a 55-gallon oil drum.

As of the current date, the Gutiérrez-Castro family estimates that approximately one thousand individuals have visited the site.

Phenomenological Observations

At the epicenter of the circular depression, three distinct holes form a precise triangular configuration. Each vertex of this triangle contains an aperture approximately the size of a soda bottle, suggesting a uniform method of creation. The depth of these holes exceeds one meter, a measurement corroborated by the insertion of a metal rod.

Furthermore, eight cracks radiate outward from the central circle across the ground. While currently visible, these fissures are susceptible to degradation due to the significant foot traffic at the site. Measurements indicate a proportionally uniform spacing between each of the eight radial cracks.

It is important to note that ongoing heavy rainfall in the region poses a threat to the preservation of this physical evidence. Nevertheless, the Gutiérrez-Castro family and their neighbors uniformly attest to the presence of an ash-like substance within the circular depression and the triangular holes.

Eyewitness Accounts

Ms. Otilia Saldaña, residing approximately 800 meters from the impact site, reported being awakened by a profoundly loud noise, which she described as a“massive roar.” She likened the sound to an aircraft experiencing mechanical failure, noting that it commenced softly, intensified, and persisted for approximately five minutes.

Ms. Saldaña further stated that she had never previously encountered such a distinct auditory phenomenon. She observed that the object emitted a luminous trail that illuminated the interior of her residence, and upon impact, the event caused vibrations in the roofs and windows of nearby structures.

Ms. Faustina Castro de Gutiérrez recounted that during the early hours of Monday morning, while staying at her in-laws' residence, she was awake around midnight and observed rainfall. She described hearing a “humming sound” emanating from a distance, which progressively amplified. She estimated the duration of this noise to be approximately 15 minutes, culminating in a “terrifying roar” akin to a “clap of thunder.”

Ms. Castro de Gutiérrez added that the object's impact was accompanied by a flash of light that illuminated the surroundings, coinciding with the aforementioned massive roar. Subsequently, the sound appeared to recede until it was no longer audible. She noted that her husband discovered the physical evidence of the phenomenon the following day, observing a denuded patch of earth within the otherwise verdant pasture. Initially, he hypothesized that the disturbance was caused by two bulls engaging in a territorial dispute, given the appearance of churned soil.

Mr. Eusebio Saldaña, who was located in the district of La Espigadilla, approximately 25 kilometers from the incident site, reported hearing an “unusual thunderclap” and a sound that seemed to traverse the entire sky during the early morning hours.

Similarly, Ms. Juventina de García, situated in Macaracas, approximately 25 to 30 kilometers distant, also perceived the humming sound, the roar, and the illumination associated with the event. Ms. de García, daughter of the landowners where the incident occurred, expressed her initial concern regarding the safety of her home.

Mr. Valerio Samaniego stated, “The first thing I thought was that a bomb had exploded at the site; that wasn't thunder—it was like a bomb.” He further emphasized that the powerful impact generated an echo that persisted for several seconds, followed by the perception of the noise ascending, suggesting that the fallen object had subsequently departed.

Since this occurrence, local residents have maintained a heightened state of vigilance, anticipating further developments related to the impact of the unidentified object.

[Translation ©2026 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Panamá América]

Leopoldo Zambrano: The Dismembered Man Who Fell From The Sky

 

The Dismembered Man Who Fell From The Sky

By Leopoldo Zambrano Enríquez

1978. State of Tabasco, Mexico. A group of seven workers from the company "Petróleos Mexicanos" were heading down the Gulf Circuit highway—packed tightly into a "Gremlin" van—traveling from Villahermosa to Cárdenas. They had just collected their paychecks and were eager to celebrate. Along the way, the seven men were in high spirits—telling jokes and bantering—when suddenly, a terrible impact brutally jolted the vehicle, and a thousand shards of windshield glass sprayed into their faces like a shower of small stones.

In the ensuing chaos—and frightened out of their wits—the three men sitting in the front seat began to scream, desperately pleading with the driver to stop the car, for something large and heavy had just landed across their legs. In the panic and shock of the moment, the driver floored the accelerator instead of braking, and the seven men came perilously close to crashing.

When the car finally came to a halt, the three men in the front continued to scream in desperation; the uncertainty fostered by the darkness of the night prevented them from seeing exactly what lay across their legs. When they finally managed to catch a glimpse of what had fallen upon them, a wave of concentrated disgust and terror completely overwhelmed them—to the point that they began thrashing about, trying to shake the thing off. Lying across their bodies was the upper torso of a man—severed right at the waist!

The seven men finally stopped near Loma de Caballo, amidst the pitch darkness of the night. Driven by the fear and agitation churning within them, they abandoned the corpse right there on the spot and decided to return to the place from which they had started. The lower half of the body appeared shortly thereafter, near the road where the men had felt the impact against their car—much to their subsequent astonishment—having apparently fallen from the sky. Curiously, this section was not found on the roadway itself or in the roadside ditch, but rather in a field not far away. The deceased turned out to be a poor day laborer.

The seven men later maintained that they had not struck the man, but rather—quite to the contrary—that he had fallen vertically from above. It should be added that a body struck head-on is unlikely to be severed in half; furthermore, the windshield of a "Gremlin" automobile is steeply raked backward and would tend to deflect a body rather than allow it to penetrate far enough to shatter the glass.

However, there are further details that complicate this bizarre incident even more—if such a thing is possible. Salvador Freixedo was the individual who brought this case to public attention and investigated it down to the minutest detail. In the course of his investigation (which can be found in his book *La Granja Humana* [The Human Farm], published by Plaza y Janés), Freixedo spoke with the victim's son, who adamantly asserted that his father had not been struck by a vehicle. To support this claim, he argued that his father was a quiet, home-loving man, and that there was absolutely no reason for him to be in such a remote location—so far from his home—at such an ungodly hour. He told Freixedo that his father was not in the habit of frequenting those parts, let alone walking down the middle of the road.

Another reason he believed in the innocence of the seven oil company employees was that his father’s body did not exhibit the classic signs of a pedestrian struck by a car; the injuries found on the body were simply too peculiar to have been inflicted by the impact of an automobile.

"My father was sawed in half at the waist. I don't know who did it. But he wasn't run over by any car."

According to the son, his father had been meticulously severed using some sort of instrument. The body bore no jagged lacerations of any kind, and the clothing appeared to have been cut with absolute precision. There were no broken bones; nor did intestines or tissue remnants hang from the severed parts—as would have been logical had the victim been struck by a vehicle. To make matters worse, not a trace of blood could be found anywhere, nor did the clothing bear any rips or particles of soil. In short, both the flesh and the clothing of the corpse had been severed with meticulous precision—as if a giant guillotine had sliced ​​the body in two with a single stroke, and the resulting wound had subsequently been cauterized instantly, leaving no trace behind.

The seven men who had so traumatically discovered the dismembered body that had seemingly rained down from the sky were detained following their statements; however, they were released by the judge shortly thereafter due to a lack of evidence. As for the family, let us allow Freixedo himself to describe their reaction to the event:

"The family simply did not know what had happened. I get the impression that the intense agitation that seized their son stemmed from a vague realization that this was no natural occurrence—that, deep down, it was somehow linked to witchcraft or to something mysterious beyond his wildest imagination—and that very fact is what terrified him so."

He couldn't stop repeating: "They sawed my father in half."

(Cr: Fundación Cosmos A.C., 2003)

[While no UFO is present in this account, Freixedo suggested that it was the work of hostile non-human entities who have been responsible for human - and bovine - mutilations all over the world.- SC] 

Manuel Carballal: The UFO Phenomenon Is Manipulated by the Intelligence Agencies

 

The UFO Phenomenon Is Manipulated by the Intelligence Agencies

By Manuel Carballal


Fernando, an operative agent for CESID, locked the office door the moment I walked in. With complete nonchalance, he unholstered his pistol—a short-barrel 9mm—and removed the magazine. As if performing a routine gesture, he checked to ensure the magazine was fully loaded. Then, he reinserted the magazine into the pistol, racked the slide, and returned the weapon to his belt holster with total composure—a composure I certainly did not share. This wouldn't be the first time I’d had a weapon pointed at me during my UFO investigations involving military personnel; on one occasion, the barrel of a CETME assault rifle had even been pressed against my head at a certain Spanish base I prefer not to recall. Yet, one never truly gets used to such scares. It was evident that, with that seemingly routine gesture, Fernando had attempted to intimidate me—to "mark his territory." And he had succeeded. One is simply not accustomed to finding oneself locked inside an office with a spy who so blithely puts his weapon on display. He was the third CESID agent—to my knowledge—whom my investigations into the Spanish intelligence services' UFO files had led me to encounter.

Despite official denials and bureaucratic evasions, I had discovered that the Domestic Intelligence Department of "La Casa"—the Agency—maintains a strictly classified archive of UFO files. Fernando Rueda—author of *La Casa* and *Espías*, the first books ever published regarding Spanish intelligence agents—had just confirmed this to me at the editorial offices of *Tiempo* magazine. And if the Spanish spies I’ve spoken with are to be believed, those files contain ufological information of incalculable value. That is why I had found myself compelled, once again, to employ near-suicidal strategies—such as "crashing" a skydiving club or joining a shooting team—in order to infiltrate police and intelligence circles. Those strategies—which may seem far-fetched—have enabled me to gain access to confidential UFO reports from the Police and the Civil Guard, and to get close to secret agents like Fernando. At that very moment—with a pistol at his belt—he was pulling a briefcase from which he would extract a dossier containing classified information regarding one of the young Spanish ufologists—namely, myself—who are currently under surveillance by national intelligence services. The most surprising thing of all is that Fernando is a well-known figure in Valencia’s paranormal community. Who said there aren't spies infiltrated within the fields of international ufology and parapsychology?

Naturally, his identity must remain anonymous. Among other reasons, because—as a spy—he is currently conducting undercover investigations as part of the counter-terrorism effort against ETA; were it to become public knowledge that, in addition to being an esotericist, he is also an agent for the CESID, he would likely be assassinated immediately.

UFO "James Bonds"

In 1993, I published a book on the history of secret weapons, unconventional aircraft, and military espionage related to the UFO phenomenon. It was the only book written in Spain addressing this long-neglected subject within the field of ufology. Following the publication of that little book—and building upon my earlier investigations into UFO sightings reported by pilots (a database that now totals over 1,400 archived cases)—several military officers, aeronautical engineers, police officers, spies, and other officials from the State Security Forces reached out to me. Some wished to know my sources; others sought to exchange information; and still others claimed they simply wanted to provide me with details regarding what governments—including the Spanish government—are concealing in relation to UFOs.

Of all these contacts within the Ministry of Defense, one has proven particularly fruitful. I refer to him as "Marco," as he wishes to conceal his true identity for obvious reasons. This true polymath—an expert in aeronautics, a biologist, a military historian, a Ministry official, and someone with access to confidential Defense intelligence—first contacted me via letter after reading my work on UFOs and secret weapons. Telephone calls followed later, and finally, face-to-face interviews. From the very beginning of our relationship, Marco provided me with a vast amount of information regarding espionage, military intelligence, and UFOs. According to him, "the public has a right to know the Truth," and he decided to choose me—for reasons I remain unaware of—to serve as the custodian of this documentation. To paraphrase the source for journalists Woodward and Bernstein who exposed Watergate—or the anonymous informant for Agent Mulder in *The X-Files*—Marco describes himself as a "Deep Throat" ready to shake the very foundations of traditional ufology.

On a single occasion—shielded by a false identity—I was able to attend one of their meetings as an observer. The participants ranged from Navy Lieutenant Colonels to members of the Royal Family, as well as officers from the Brunete Brigade, Civil Guards, submarine experts, and others.

During that meeting, I heard a Lieutenant Colonel—one of the most senior-ranking officers in the Spanish Navy—describe how, on one occasion while he was a junior officer, a UFO passed directly over his ship's bridge and was detected on radar. When he submitted his report to the vessel's Captain, the Captain tore it up right before his eyes, telling him that such incidents were not to be documented in writing. I had to bite my tongue to keep from immediately interjecting in the conversation and thereby giving away my identity.

At this very moment, that same Lieutenant Colonel—along with the Navy Intelligence Services—is frantically attempting to track down the source of a leak regarding a confidential report currently in my possession. That report details the simultaneous radar and visual detection of a UFO by a Spanish Navy vessel during the height of the Gulf War. The document includes confidential military identification codes used for missile launches. This report served as one of my key tools for establishing contact with agents from the CESID regarding "crashed UFOs" in Spain, as well as other matters of profound ufological significance.

It is within this milieu—populated by spies, anonymous informants, secret weapons, confidential documents, and intelligence agencies—that a particular dimension of the UFO phenomenon operates: a dimension that the majority of ufologists prefer to ignore. They choose to overlook it because it is both uncomfortable and dangerous. It would not be the first time—as is currently happening in the United States—that civilian or military UFO researchers have been "suicided" (or, at the very least, made to disappear) simply because they stumbled upon this particular facet of the UFO phenomenon. Though that subject, in itself, would warrant an entire article of its own. UFOs, Flying Saucers, and Extraterrestrial Craft

When Marco handed me the dossier of blueprints—showing front, side, top, and elevation views—of "Flying Saucers," I was left utterly perplexed. I had heard of many of these disc-shaped craft designs before. And despite priding myself on possessing one of the most comprehensive archives in Spain regarding this subject, I had never seen such detailed schematics covering their navigation systems, landing gear, offensive capabilities, or even the hatch intended for paratroopers. Yet, these were not extraterrestrial craft. Let’s take this one step at a time.

The concept of the "flying saucer" has become synonymous with that of the UFO—and, by extension, with the "alien spacecraft." However, the reality is that these concepts are not necessarily linked.

A UFO is simply any flying object that an observer is unable to identify; and long before Kenneth Arnold ushered in the modern era of the social phenomenon known as the UFO, "flying saucers" already existed—craft that had very little to do with spaceships from other planets, at least as far as I know.

Any enthusiast of aviation history will have, on more than one occasion, stumbled upon sketches of "Flying Saucers" and disc-shaped aircraft within aviation catalogs and treatises.

Indeed, Leonardo da Vinci himself, back in his day, sketched the profiles of circular-shaped craft in his drawings. War chariots, portable fortresses, and other contraptions that—had they ever actually taken flight—would have served as the perfect precursors to the "flying saucers" of later eras.

Later, in 19th-century Germany—and serving as a premonition of the Nazi saucers that have caused so many headaches for modern ufologists—the mathematician and aviation theorist August Wilhelm Zachariae (a figure now largely forgotten by aviation history) conducted experiments with circular-wing models. Subsequently, in 1922, the British inventor Lee Richards developed an aircraft with a circular wing in England, designed to reach a top speed of 130 km/h and a taxiing speed of approximately 35 km/h.

Later, during the 1930s, several circular-winged aircraft designs were built in the USA; these would eventually confuse certain ufologists, who mistook them for evidence of UFOs that had crashed on American soil (see sidebar).

Meanwhile, in 1932, the American H. Zimmerman conducted a series of wind-tunnel tests involving various types of circular wings in order to identify the configuration exhibiting the least aerodynamic drag at its tips. The results of these tests were published in NACA’s (now NASA’s) "Technical Report 431," creating a genuine sensation and leading to the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 2,108,093; these findings later found practical application in the Chance Vought V-173, which made its maiden flight in 1942.

Furthermore, I recently came into possession of the original documents—not photocopies—pertaining to the sole Spanish patent ever granted for a "flying saucer." Accompanied by the License for the Commercial Exploitation of Invention Patent No. 224,592, these documents were formally submitted to the Intellectual Property Registry of the Ministry.

With the advent of World War II, the design of saucer-shaped secret weapons skyrocketed. Historical records document no fewer than fifteen distinct designs—and even two actual prototypes—of "Nazi UFOs."

The history of German "flying saucers"—setting aside the aforementioned antecedents, such as the designs of August Wilhelm Zachariae—begins with the distinguished Alexander Lippisch. Starting in early 1939, Lippisch developed for Messerschmitt in Augsburg his Me-163 delta-wing rocket fighter—a craft that eventually entered mass production. He also commissioned wind-tunnel testing at the AVA facility in Göttingen regarding his circular-wing designs from 1940–41, though in this instance, the results were not particularly spectacular.

Also in the late 1930s, another German designed aircraft with a circular planform—designs arguably even more intriguing than those of Zachariae. This individual was Arthur Sack, a farmer from Machern (near Leipzig). An avid aeromodeler, Sack decided to move beyond mere speculation regarding "flying saucers" and set to work building a physical model of one. As reported by German and British aviation journals—such as *Luftfahrt International*, *Air International*, and *RAF Flying Review*—which published photographs of this "Nazi UFO," "we do not know what inspired Sack, but there stands his flying saucer."

For certain esoteric-political groups established in Spain—as in many other parts of the world—it was actual extraterrestrials who inspired the Nazi engineers. I have personally read secret reports from the CESID (Spain's intelligence agency) and the Spanish police—indeed, I possess copies of some of them—concerning esoteric Nazi groups that exploit the UFO phenomenon and the myth of flying saucers to recruit young people awaiting the resurgence of the Fourth Reich. This political-ufological dimension of "Nazi UFOs" remains an unresolved issue within the field of Spanish ufology. Not long ago, in a certain Spanish city, I tracked down one of the last surviving SS officers—a man living in hiding in Spain, pursued by the Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Foundation. He was both an eyewitness to, and a historical protagonist in, that little-known reality...

"Military UFOs": Top Secret

When Marco handed me the dossier containing technical blueprints for "terrestrial flying saucers," he drew my attention to two very reasonable aspects of the "Top Secret UFO" phenomenon: "Forget about extraterrestrials for a moment. Regardless of whether they exist or not, one thing is clear: various militaries and civilian engineers have been building flying saucers for over half a century. From the standpoint of industrial espionage, any aircraft capable of vertical takeoff—such as Rolls-Royce’s 'Flying Bedstead,' VTOL aerostats, or the 'Rotavion'—has sparked envy and fierce competition among aeronautical engineers. There are millions of dollars at stake. Can you imagine the sheer cost of runways, conventional airports, and aeronautical logistics—costs that would vanish with the advent of vertical-takeoff aircraft? And from a military perspective, I can tell you that ever since the Nazis' fantastic 'Miracle Fighter,' numerous vertical-takeoff aircraft have been developed in secret—such as the famous 'Harrier' or the 'Tailsitters' (the Lockheed XFV-1 and the Convair XFY-1 'Pogo'), both of which featured rigid wings. In both cases, propulsion was achieved by means of an Allison YT40-A-14 turbine—generating 5,850 horsepower—and two counter-rotating propellers measuring 4.88 meters in diameter. There are very serious economic interests at play ensuring that real 'flying saucers' remain a secret—and that the only things people talk about are little green men." In other words, only the economic interests at stake—specifically those related to the new aeronautical technologies associated with "Flying Saucers"—could justify such absolute secrecy regarding UFOs... at any cost. But there is more—much more.

On September 9th, I met with a former Aviation Police officer who had been stationed in the Security and Defense Department at Air Surveillance Squadron No. 10 (EVA 10), located on the Barbanza Peninsula (A Coruña). Rafael I. provided us with fascinating information regarding his tour of duty at EVA 10. Just as I had suspected, the military radars providing coverage for the northwestern airspace frequently detected Unidentified Objects penetrating Spanish territory. Detailing the full scope of UFO incidents reported by radar operators and pilots in Spain would be a subject for another report entirely. However, of all the information shared with us by the former Security and Defense officer, two points stood out as particularly intriguing. On one hand, there were the numerous incursions into Spanish airspace by triangular-shaped American aircraft—planes that, during the Gulf War, went so far as to land illegally at Spanish bases, cloaked behind the "UFO" cover story. On the other hand, there was the existence of reports concerning American "round aircraft" that had been detected on radar, flying over Spanish soil on several occasions, "suspended for hours in the air..."

This startling information served to corroborate the testimony of a Spanish Army Captain—who was also a member of the CESID—whom I had interviewed previously.

Captain X. took a leave of absence from the Spanish Army just before attaining the rank of Colonel. However, his work with CESID intelligence agents granted him access to extraordinary information. "I can tell you, Manuel," he explained to me during one of our meetings, "that a Flying Saucer remained landed at Zaragoza Air Base for several days. It was located in the American sector of the base, and we surmised it was some kind of secret aircraft; that is why the CESID was required to compile a highly detailed report. And Manglano knows about it... Manglano knows everything."

The Captain—who was also an intelligence agent—told me that he had personally sighted UFOs on two occasions. On one instance, while traveling by train, he observed the low-altitude flight of unmarked Sabre fighter jets over Spanish territory. "They were likely Portuguese spy planes, but had they been detected on any radar, they would have registered as Unidentified Objects." On another occasion, from his home in Barcelona, ​​he and his entire family observed the maneuvers of a series of objects which—this time—proved impossible to identify. "I can tell you that UFOs do exist. There are things in the sky that we cannot identify; however, it is also true that this subject has been exploited to conceal all manner of secret military testing."

And how! During the wave of UFO sightings in Galicia—which we have been reporting on diligently—we have made some surprising discoveries. After traveling more than 2,000 kilometers through the towns and villages of Galicia, we have compiled over 200 cases of UFO sightings. When we plotted these cases on a map, we were in for a surprise: a significant percentage of the sightings occurred within topographical depressions—that is to say, situated between mountain ranges. The only reasonable explanation is that those objects—whatever they may be—were attempting to evade detection by the Barbanza radar system by flying through "radar shadow" zones.

In the latest issue of the newsletter *EL OJO CRITICO*, the intrepid investigator Alex Navarro publishes an interview with former Minister of Defense Antonio Olart (who had himself been the victim of one of the most scandalous surveillance operations conducted by the CESID—Spain's intelligence agency at the time—despite having been the very person who proposed Emilio Alonso Manglano to head "The House"). In this interview, the Defense Minister from Spain's democratic transition era acknowledges that, lying behind many UFO cases, are covert experiments involving unconventional aircraft conducted by "Americans, the French, the British, or even us—we experiment with things, but we don't talk about it..."

Scientific Ufologists or Military Ufologists?

But there is more—much more.

In 1994, hundreds of Galicians observed an Unidentified Object that flew at low altitude across several towns in the southern province of Pontevedra. We gathered eyewitness accounts in Porriño, Vigo, Bueu, the Illa de Ons, and elsewhere, which allowed us to plot an "Orthoteny"—that is, the object's precise trajectory. It was described as a "giant suppository" or an "iron cylinder" that was "spewing fire from its rear," and which had originated in Portugal. In my personal archive, I retain a Portuguese aeronautical report regarding this case—a document I am not yet authorized to publish. From a diplomatic and political standpoint, it would be far more serious for the Galician press to report that a Portuguese missile had overflown several Spanish towns—ultimately crashing into the Atlantic just a few miles off the Galician coast—than to run a story about "Galician sailors seeing Martians," a subject that carries no real social significance.

On numerous occasions, illegal ballistic experiments, flight tests of new aircraft, or the deployment of secret weapons have been concealed behind the "UFO" smokescreen in order to avert political conflicts. Let us not forget that, to this day, members of parliament from both the PSOE and the PP have—on multiple occasions—formally submitted parliamentary inquiries to Congress regarding UFO incidents. In private correspondence, some of those deputies have confessed to me that they did not believe the official version provided to them by the military. In such cases, intelligence agencies ensure that the term included in press headlines is "UFO"—rather than "missile," "secret aircraft," or "spy satellite." Immediately thereafter, "scientific ufologists" receive "disinterested support" from the military high command, which furnishes them with all manner of data regarding stratospheric balloons, planetary conjunctions, and other conventional explanations with which to account for the sighting. It is these explanations that they then take it upon themselves to disseminate in the specialized press. In this manner, shameful military experiments are rationalized—attributed to the planet Venus, weather balloons, and the like—at the hands of these "skeptics." 

Regarding the cover-up surrounding UFOs, I myself have received substantial financial offers from CESID—offers I have not accepted, at least for the time being. However, I can state with certainty that, whether consciously or unconsciously, numerous well-known Spanish ufologists are playing right into the hands of the Spanish military by collaborating in the effort to discredit the UFO phenomenon—a phenomenon behind which lies a multitude of state secrets.

What would have happened had a ufologist discovered that a certain instance of "Unidentified Traffic" detected on radar was, in fact, the Hercules aircraft transporting Luis Roldán from Laos back to Spain? To say that "Roldán returned to Spain in a UFO" might sound like a joke, but technically speaking, it would be accurate. Spanish intelligence agencies devised a meticulous plan to bring Roldán back—a plan that involved, among other things, utilizing two identical Hercules aircraft sharing the exact same flight plan. One aircraft would land in a specific European city, just as its flight plan indicated, while the other would continue its journey to Laos to pick up the fugitive. That aircraft—unidentified and detected on military radar—was, technically, a UFO; yet, far from representing an alien encounter, it was merely the product of one of the many Spanish espionage maneuvers concealed behind the smokescreen of ufology.

But there is more—much more. I currently hold in my possession police reports concerning UFO-centric cults that exploit the phenomenon to recruit followers, as well as far-right groups that leverage the UFO phenomenon for political gain—not to mention even more sensitive matters, such as illegal genetic experimentation, organ trafficking, and a long list of other illicit activities.

In short, within the archives of CESID—much like those of MI6, the CIA, the Mossad, the KGB, the G-2, and the world's other major intelligence agencies—lies the most startling information regarding UFOs. These are confidential files covering every conceivable aspect of the UFO phenomenon—files that remain hidden from the public eye. They detail new technologies, diplomatic incidents, secret weaponry, espionage operations, psychological manipulation, and much more. But what if, in addition to all this, some UFOs were actually non-human spacecraft? Just a few weeks ago, trailers for the movie *Independence Day* sowed panic among Spanish television viewers—much as Orson Welles' *The War of the Worlds* did half a century ago. Would CESID consider the Spanish public capable of handling the truth—should such evidence exist—regarding an extraterrestrial presence?

One of the most fascinating aspects of this subject involves cases of crashed UFOs in Spain. We, too, have had our own "Latin Roswells." In some instances I have investigated, the incidents turned out to be experiments involving new fuels, secret weapons, and the like; however, there are testimonies regarding an unidentified craft—and even a humanoid entity—that were collected in Spain and subsequently concealed, according to my sources, in Madrid. One of the witnesses I was able to interview claims to have seen a photograph of the "Spanish Roswell" incident and the alleged recovered alien. And, as is the case with all such incidents, this information remains filed away within the impenetrable bunker of CESID, located on the Carretera de La Coruña in Madrid. Mulder is wrong: "The Truth is *in there*."

NOTE: To whom it may concern: Copies of the audio recordings of my interviews with CESID agents (including "Marco") and numerous high-ranking officers from all three branches of the military—along with a dossier of documents and photographs—are currently in the custody of my attorney, to be released to the public in the event of an "accident."

Manuel Carballal

Copyright © 1997-1998 Mundo Misterioso

Bigfoot in Spain (Girona, 1968)

 

  

John Keel writes as follows in *The Eighth Tower*: "Spain experienced a wave of monster sightings in the months of January and February 1968. A tall, ape-like creature with extremely long arms was spotted in the vicinity of Girona, on the outskirts of Barcelona. It left behind footprints that were neither ape-like nor human. Police and soldiers scoured the area. 'This region is in a state of panic,' declared the Madrid newspaper *Arriba*. Believers in monsters—and the number of those who believe they are real animals is on the rise—attempt to explain the simultaneous UFO sightings as pure coincidence. Believers in UFOs, for their part, prefer to believe that flying saucers have nothing to do with shaggy monsters. Nevertheless, witnesses to both monsters and UFOs often suffer from the same aftereffects: conjunctivitis, thirst, headaches, and muscle aches. It is obvious that a relationship exists between these manifestations and the superspectrum." (*The Eighth Tower*, pp. 104–105, British edition)

Ancient History: UFOs of the Roman Republic

 

 According to Plutarch of Chaeronea, a phenomenon—one that could well be characterized as a UFO—occurred during the battle fought between the consul Lucius Licinius Lucullus and Mithridates IV, King of Pontus. In 74 B.C., "a large object appeared in the skies, enveloped in flames and shaped like a wine skin (*pithos*), with the color of molten silver." Authors of the stature of Andreas Faber-Kaiser wrote about the phenomenon's apparent interest in battles—and its tendency to intervene in them on behalf of one side or the other—while Salvador Freixedo observed regarding these intelligences: "If what they desire are human lives violently cut short—and preferably accompanied by bloodshed—then we must agree that war serves as another perfect instrument for their ends."

  In his *Natural History*, Pliny the Elder recounts an intriguing event from 76 B.C.: "In the sky, the fiery flames of a star were sighted; as it descended, it diminished in size until it was no larger than the moon, yet it subsequently soared back up into the firmament, transforming itself into pure light."