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Chapter Five Russian Flying Discs Myth and Reality As UFO sightings began to gather momentum during the early post-war years, there was an increasing suspicion within the Western intelligence community that some of the more reliable reports might be describing new types of military aircraft built in the Soviet Union. There were very real concerns that the Russians had captured advanced technology from the Germans, allowing them to produce high-performance flying discs that were as least as good as the anticipated Avro Canada design and perhaps superior. The CIA had a relatively limited ability to gather information from behind the Iron Curtain and in some quarters speculation was rife. Like the West, Russia had taken full advan- tage of German scientific developments and an East-West arms race was under way which would last for decades and cost trillions of dol- lars. The first claims that new Soviet high-per- formance aircraft or missiles were undergo- ing tests appeared in Scandinavian newspa- pers during 1946. They reported unexplained bright fireballs dubbed ‘Ghost Rockets’, which were being regularly observed over Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. The Swedish government began an official investigation, which involved British Intelligence, but they eventually concluded that the sightings were of natural phenomena. These events were followed in 1948 by unusual sightings of ‘green fireballs’ in the night skies above New Mexico. The New Mex- ico reports were investigated for the USAF by Dr Lincoln La Paz, who was the Director of the University of New Mexico’s Institute of Meteoritics. He concluded that the green fire- balls were artificial objects because of their low velocities and flat trajectories. This study was immediately classified secret by the USAF, but increasing public and media inter- est made it hard to play the issue down. The USAF feared that the fireballs might be the visible signs of a new Soviet weapon and they commissioned further studies that were undertaken by Dr Joseph Kaplan from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Kaplan’s findings were reported on 3rd November 1949 and he concluded that, despite being unusual, the meteors were of natural origin and had been observed because of good ‘seeing’ conditions in New Mexico. He also noted the public’s height- ened awareness of unusual activity in the night sky due to UFO reports in the press. However, just over three years later Dr La Paz contradicted his colleague’s report when he told the media that many pieces of evidence indicated that green fireballs seen around the world were a new type of missile, possibly of Soviet origin. On 28th June 1952 the West German news- paper Saarbriicker Zeitung claimed that a crashed Soviet flying saucer had been discov- Inese events were followed in 1948 by unusual sightings of ‘green fireballs’ in the night skies above New Mexico. The New Mex- ico reports were investigated for the USAF by Dr Lincoln La Paz, who was the Director of the University of New Mexico’s Institute of Meteoritics. He concluded that the green fire- balls were artificial objects because of their low velocities and flat trajec his study was immediately classified secret by the USAF, but increasing public and media inter- est made it hard to play the iss The USAF feared that the fireballs might be the visible signs of a new Soviet weapon and they commissioned further studies that were undertaken by Dr Joseph Kaplan from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Kaplan’s findings were reported on 3rd November 1949 and he concluded that, despite being unusual, the meteors were of natural origin and had been observed because of good ‘seeing’ condition Mexico. He also noted the publi ened awareness of unusual activity in the night sky due to UFO reports in the press. However, just over three years later Dr La Paz contradicted his colleague’s report when he told the media that many pieces of evidence indicated that green fireballs seen around the world were a new type of missile, possibly of Soviet origin. On 28th June 1952 the West German news paper Saarbriicker Zeitung claimed that a crashed Soviet flying saucer had been di A bright fireball with an approximate magnitude of -8 passes across the Nevada night sky. These remain usual and interesting events for all astronomers and the number of ‘green fireballs’ sighted above New Me: in the late 1940s has never been properly explained. Bill Rose 106 Secret Projects: Flying Saucer Aircraft