Which agency produced A703 580/1/1 Part 1, RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO Reports (1957–1959)?

A703 580/1/1 Part 1, RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO Reports (1957–1959) is a primary-source record from Royal Australian Air Force / National Archives of Australia. Its original classification was UNCLASSIFIED (reclassified 7 May 1982).

What programs and topics appear in A703 580/1/1 Part 1, RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO Reports (1957–1959)?

A703 580/1/1 Part 1, RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO Reports (1957–1959) references RAAF Department of Air UFO reporting procedure, NAA series A703 item 580/1/1, Australia, NAA A703, white sphere and luminous object.

← Files

DISCLOSURE / FILE

A703 580/1/1 Part 1, RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO Reports (1957–1959)

Royal Australian Air Force Department of Air master UFO file A703 580/1/1 Part 1, covering 1957 through 1959 sighting reports, witness interviews, and intelligence correspondence, reclassified UNCLASSIFIED on 7 May 1982.

Brief

Part 1 of the 32-part RAAF master UFO file (NAA series A703 item 580/1/1) compiles Department of Air headquarters correspondence on civilian and military sightings across Australia in 1957 through 1959. Reports are routed through the Assistant Provost Marshal Sydney, the RAAF Provost Service Field Security Section, and Headquarters Home Command at Penrith, then sent to the Secretary, Department of Air at Victoria Barracks Melbourne. Witnesses include a Castlecrag television producer, a housewife at Oatley, an assistant pharmacist at North Manly tied to the UFO organization, and a Wooroloo observer who watched a fast white object during Vampire jet operations. The entire file was reclassified UNCLASSIFIED on 7 May 1982 by G CAPT A. Perske of AFIS.

Metadata

Agency: Royal Australian Air Force / National Archives of Australia
Release: 1957-01-01
Type: PDF • .pdf
Length: 162 pages
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED (reclassified 7 May 1982)
Programs: RAAF Department of Air UFO reporting procedure, NAA series A703 item 580/1/1
Tags: RAAF, Australia, 1957, 1958, 1959, NAA A703, white sphere, luminous object, Oatley, Castlecrag, Wooroloo, Mildura, North Manly, Department of Air, Provost Service

Key points

All folios in all parts of Department of Air file series 580/1/1 were reclassified UNCLASSIFIED on 7 May 1982 by G CAPT A. Perske, per AAP 810 paragraph 326.p.3
On 19 August 1958 at 10:10 a.m. at Wooroloo, Western Australia, A. M. Wishart watched Vampire jets and then sighted a whitish table-tennis-ball-shaped object moving east to west at roughly three times jet speed, fading from view at high altitude.p.6
On 25 March 1958 at 02:00 hours, Mrs Constance MacDonald of 5 Neville Street, Oatley, NSW, observed a luminous yellow object near the Milky Way that dropped toward the southern horizon, first slow then accelerating; Sgt Quinn assessed it as possibly a falling star.p.8
On 6 April 1958 at 03:00 hours from Castlecrag, R. V. Geist, an assistant television producer at ABN Studio St Leonards, and W. Tulloch, public relations officer for de Havilland Aircraft at Bankstown, jointly observed an unidentified object moving slowly east, still visible at 04:10.p.12
Sightings were funnelled to the Secretary, Department of Air at Victoria Barracks Melbourne via Wing Commander P. G. Hetzler at Headquarters Home Command Penrith, NSW, who signed for the Air Officer Commanding.p.7
On 24 February 1958 at North Manly, NSW, the witness R. Moore at 15 Nyrang Street was identified as an official of the International UFO organization, with a 7-inch telescope mounted in his backyard and offering RAAF a hush-hush watch service.p.18
A sighting of an unusual aerial object at Mildura on 3 February 1958 was forwarded from Headquarters Training Command, RAAF Albert Park Barracks, Melbourne, to the Secretary, Department of Air.p.24
The cover sheet identifies the subject as Reports of Flying Saucers and Other Aerial Objects and routes the file through Department of Defence archival action.

Verbatim

In accordance with Reference A, all folios, in all parts of Department of Air File series 580/1/1 are reclassified 'UNCLASSIFIED ' with effect 7 May 82.
p.3
I would say it had the speed of 3 times the jets, that is a rough estimate I know, but having watched them flying and diving there is at least time to call anyone to have a look, with this there wasn ' t .
p.6
He appears to be e ~ery level- headed mao end not .ooe who would imagine things.
p.12
SUBJECT : REPORTS OR FLYING SAUCERS AND OTHER AERIAL OBJECTS .
p.1

Most interesting

The file was held classified for at least 24 years before its blanket 1982 reclassification to UNCLASSIFIED, covering the entire 32-part series in one administrative stroke.
Sightings reached the RAAF through a chain that mixed civilian witnesses, the Department of Civil Aviation, and the RAAF Provost Service Field Security Section, which treated UFO interviews as a security-police function.
One 1958 witness, R. Moore of North Manly, was an active member of the International UFO organization, ran a 7-inch backyard telescope, and offered the RAAF a covert watch service, blurring the line between civilian UFO research groups and military intake.
Mrs MacDonald told investigators she had foreseen their visit because her teacup had told her the Kings Heralds were coming, a detail Sgt Quinn recorded verbatim in the official report.
R. V. Geist and W. Tulloch disagreed on the object's shape, Geist calling it cigar-shaped and Tulloch star-shaped, an early documented witness-to-witness divergence preserved in the official record.

Cross-references

PDFA703 580/1/1 Part 3, RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO ReportsRoyal Australian Air Force / National Archives of Australia
PDFA703 580/1/1 Part 2, RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO ReportsRoyal Australian Air Force / National Archives of Australia
PDFA703 580/1/1 Part 4, RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO ReportsRoyal Australian Air Force / National Archives of Australia
PDFA703 580/1/1 Part 10, RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO ReportsRoyal Australian Air Force / National Archives of Australia
PDF

Common questions

What is A703 580/1/1 Part 1, RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO Reports (1957–1959)?: Royal Australian Air Force Department of Air master UFO file A703 580/1/1 Part 1, covering 1957 through 1959 sighting reports, witness interviews, and intelligence correspondence, reclassified UNCLASSIFIED on 7 May 1982.
What does A703 580/1/1 Part 1, RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO Reports (1957–1959) reveal?: All folios in all parts of Department of Air file series 580/1/1 were reclassified UNCLASSIFIED on 7 May 1982 by G CAPT A. Perske, per AAP 810 paragraph 326. On 19 August 1958 at 10:10 a.m. at Wooroloo, Western Australia, A. M. Wishart watched Vampire jets and then sighted a whitish table-tennis-ball-shaped object moving east to west at roughly three times…
Which agency produced A703 580/1/1 Part 1, RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO Reports (1957–1959)?: A703 580/1/1 Part 1, RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO Reports (1957–1959) is a primary-source record from Royal Australian Air Force / National Archives of Australia. Its original classification was UNCLASSIFIED (reclassified 7 May 1982).
When is A703 580/1/1 Part 1, RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO Reports (1957–1959) dated?: A703 580/1/1 Part 1, RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO Reports (1957–1959) is dated 1957-01-01. It was declassified 1982-05-07.
What programs and topics appear in A703 580/1/1 Part 1, RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO Reports (1957–1959)?: A703 580/1/1 Part 1, RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO Reports (1957–1959) references RAAF Department of Air UFO reporting procedure, NAA series A703 item 580/1/1, Australia, NAA A703, white sphere and luminous object.

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