A703 580/1/1 Part 4 — RAAF Department of Air HQ UFO Reports

Brief

The file aggregates Department of Air UFO correspondence spanning approximately 1965-1966, drawing from civilian witness accounts in Victoria, multiple military and administrative signals from Papua New Guinea, and a public address by RAAF Operational Research officer B.G. Roberts that articulates the department's sighting-assessment posture. Roberts characterized the UFO label as a misnomer and argued that more than 90% of well-reported sightings received satisfactory identification. A District Commissioner in the Territory of Papua New Guinea observed that UAP encounters had become so routine that witnesses rarely bothered to report them promptly. The entire 580/1/1 series was reclassified UNCLASSIFIED by Group Captain A. Perske of DAFIS effective 7 May 1982.

Metadata

Agency

Royal Australian Air Force / National Archives of Australia

Release

1962-01-01

Type

PDF • .pdf

Length

416 pages

Classification

UNCLASSIFIED (reclassified 7 May 1982; prior classification varied by folio)

Tags

cigar-shaped, phosphorescent-green, color-changing, silent, luminous, Papua New Guinea, Victoria Australia, 1965, 1966, visual-observation, multi-witness, military-signals

Key points

• All folios in all parts of Department of Air file series 580/1/1 were reclassified UNCLASSIFIED effective 7 May 1982 by G Capt A. Perske of DAFIS, citing DI(AF)AAP 810 para 326.p.3
• October 1965 Victoria sighting near Bass-Anderson highway: civilian observer M.F. Bradly described a cigar-shaped, phosphorescent green object approximately 100ft long, producing no exhaust trail, no sound, and appearing self-luminous.p.9
• July 1965 Milne Bay District, PNG: two sightings within 24 hours — one of a light changing from red to blue moving laterally at approximately 10 MPH at ~5,000ft, the second of a bright light described as a primus spinning in a large circle at approximately 1,500ft. Both were silent.p.26
• A/Assistant District Commissioner Mackellar reported in August 1965 that UAP sightings in PNG had become so frequent that officers were formally instructed to forward all fresh reports by telegram.p.27
• Multiple military signals from MILCOMMAND Port Moresby to Defence Canberra reported unidentified aircraft and UAP in PNG airspace; DCA confirmed no known aircraft in the relevant areas at the times sighted.p.19
• The Department of Territories forwarded PNG UAP signals to the RAAF for assessment, illustrating formal inter-agency coordination outside the military chain.p.24
• RAAF Operational Research officer B.G. Roberts stated the department's assessment posture: the term UFO was a misnomer, and more than 90% of well-reported sightings could be satisfactorily identified.p.30
• RAAF assessment protocol cross-referenced civil aircraft movements via DCA, military movements, weather balloon schedules, and satellite debris tracking through the Department of Supply, which monitored all satellites regardless of country of origin.p.31

Verbatim

• At first I thought the object was a rocket but I soon realized that it left no trail

  p.9

• it was cigar shaped but seemed as if it may have had one or more dark bands around it

  p.9

• UFO BEARING 240 DEGREES TO 260 DEGREES ESTIMATED DISTANCE SIX TO EIGHT MILES OFF OTOMATA POINT VISIBLE 2050 UNTIL 2130 HOURS ON ELEVENTH OCTOBER

  p.19

Most interesting

• At approximately 82 MB, Part 4 is the single largest file in the 32-part A703 series and contains correspondence around the Westall (April 1966) and Tully (January 1966) incidents per the war.gov description, though those pages were not among the 347 with extractable text provided here.
• A Papua New Guinea District Commissioner reported in August 1965 that UAP sightings in the territory had become so routine that witnesses no longer reported them immediately, prompting formal instructions requiring officers to file all fresh reports by telegram.
• RAAF Operational Research officer B.G. Roberts proposed replacing 'unidentified flying object' with 'unidentified aerial sightings,' arguing the existing term created a misleading inference toward extraterrestrial craft.
• A female teacher at Bwaruada Mission, Milne Bay, described a UAP as a very bright light 'like a primus' spinning in a large circle, disappearing to the east at considerable speed with no sound, while a nearby plantation owner reported a similar object that did produce a definite noise.
• Roberts noted that more than 500 pieces of satellite hardware were in orbit at the time of his February 1965 address, and the Department of Supply maintained tracking data on all of them regardless of country of origin — a resource the RAAF used to eliminate satellite re-entries from UAP reports.
• Civilian witness Mr M.F. Bradly estimated the Bass-Anderson object was between one and two miles distant and approximately 100ft long based on comparison with the apparent diameter of the moon, a methodology he described explicitly in his written statement.