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fact that nullifies the balloon explanation. The strange object had disappeared when Mantellā€™s wingman searched the sky, just after the leaderā€™s death. If it had been a balloon held stationary for an hour at a high altitude, and glowing brightly enough to be seen through clouds, it would have remained visible in the same general position. Seen from 33,000 feet, it would have been even brighter, because of the clearer air.

But the mysterious object had completely vanished in

{p. 42}

those few minutes. A search covering a hundred miles failed to reveal a trace.

Whether at a high or low altitude, a balloon could not have escaped the pilotā€™s eyes. It would also have continued to be seen at Godman Field and other points, through occasional breaks in the clouds.

I pointed out these facts to one Air Force officer at the Pentagon. Next day he phoned me:

ā€œI figured it out. The timing device went off and the balloon exploded. Thatā€™s why the pilot didnā€™t see it.ā€

ā€œItā€™s an odd coincidence,ā€ I said, ā€œthat it exploded in those five minutes after Mantellā€™s last report.ā€

ā€œEven so, itā€™s obviously the answer,ā€ he said.

Checking on this angle, I found:

1. No one in the Kentucky area had reported a descending parachute.

2. No cosmic-ray research instrument case or parachute was found in the area.

3. No instruments were returned to the Navy from this region. And all balloons and instruments released at that time were fully accounted for.

Even if it had been a balloon, it would not explain the later January 7th reportsā€”the simultaneous sightings mentioned by Professor Hynek in the Project ā€œSaucerā€ report. This includes the thing seen at Lockbourne Air Force Base two hours after Mantellā€™s death.

Obviously, the saucer seen flying at 500 m.p.h. over Lockbourne Field could not have been a balloon. Even if there had been several balloons in this area (and there were not, by official record), they could not have covered the courses reported. In some cases, they would have been flying against the wind, at terrific speed.

Then what was the mysterious object? And what killed Mantell?

Both the Air Force and the Post articles speculate that Mantell carelessly let himself black out.

Since some explanation had to be given, this might seem a good answer. But Mantell was known for coolheaded judgment. As a wartime pilot, he was familiar with signs of anoxia (oxygen starvation). That he knew his tolerance for altitude is proved by his firmly declared

{p. 43}

intention to abandon the chase at 20,000 feet, since he had no oxygen equipment.

Mantell had his altimeter to warn him. From experience, he would recognize the first vague blurring, narrowing of vision, and other signs of anoxia. Despite this, the ā€œblackoutā€ explanation was accepted as plausible by many Americans.

While investigating the Mantell case, I talked with several pilots and aeronautical engineers. Several questioned that a P-51 starting a dive from 20,000 feet would have disintegrated so thoroughly.

ā€œFrom thirty thousand feet, yes,ā€ said one engineer. ā€œIf the idea was to explain it away, Iā€™d pick a high altitude to start from. But a pilotless plane doesnā€™t necessarily dive, as you know.

ā€œIt might slip off and spin, or spiral down, and a few have even landed themselves. Also, if the plane started down from twenty thousand, the pilot wouldnā€™t be too far blacked out. The odds are heā€™d come to when he got into thicker airā€”admitting he did blur out, which is only an Air Force guess. I donā€™t see why theyā€™re so positive Mantell died before he hit the groundā€”unless they know something we donā€™t.ā€

One of the pilot group put it more bluntly.

ā€œIt looks like a cover-up to me. I think Mantell did just what he said he wouldā€”close in on the thing. I think he either collided with it, or more likely they knocked him out of the air. Theyā€™d think he was trying to bring them down, barging in like that.ā€

Even if you accept the blackout answer, it still does not explain what Mantell was chasing. it is possible that, excited by the huge, mysterious object, he recklessly climbed beyond the danger level, though such an act was completely at odds with his character.

But the identity of the thing remainsā€”officiallyā€”a mystery. If it was some weird experimental craft or a guided missile, then whose was it? Air Force officers had repeatedly told me they had no such device. General Carl Touhy Spaatz, former Air Force chief, had publicly insisted that no such weapon had been developed in his regime. Secretary Symington and General Hoyt Vandenberg,

{p. 44}

present Air Force chief, had been equally emphatic. Of course, official denials could be expected if it were a top-level secret. But if it were a secret device, would it be tested so publicly that thousands would see it?

If it were an Air Force device, then I could see only one answer for the Godman Field incident: The thing was such a closely guarded secret that even Colonel Hix hadnā€™t known. That would mean that most or all Air Force Base C.O.ā€˜s were also in ignorance of the secret device.

Could it be a Navy experiment, kept secret from the Air Force?

I did a little checking.

Admiral Calvin Bolster, chief of aeronautics research experimental craft, was an Annapolis classmate of mine. So was Captain Delmer S. Fahrney, head of the Navy guided-missile program. Fahrney was at Point Mugu, missile-testing base in California, and I wasnā€™t able to see him. But I knew him as a careful, conscientious officer; I canā€™t believe he would let such a device, piloted or not, hover over an Air Force base with no warning to its C.O.

I saw Admiral Bolster. His denial seemed genuine; unless heā€™d got to be a deadpan poker player since our earlier days, I was sure he was telling the truth.

The only other alternate was Russia. It was incredible that they would develop such a device and then expose it to the gaze of U.S. Air Force officers. It could be photographed, its speed and maneuverability checked; it might crash, or antiaircraft fire might bring it down, The secret might be lost in one such test flight.

There was one other explanation: The thing was not intended to be seen; it had got out of control. In this event; the long hovering period at Godman Field was caused by the need for repairs inside the flying saucer, or repairs to remote-control apparatus.

If it were Air Force or Navy, that would explain official concern; even if completely free of negligence, the service responsible would be blamed for Mantellā€™s death. If it were Russian, the Air Force would of course try to conceal the fact for fear of public hysteria.

But if the device was American, it meant that Project

{p. 45}

ā€œSaucerā€ was a cover-up unit. While pretending to investigate, it would actually hush up reports, make false explanations, and safeguard the secret in every possible way. Also, the reported order for Air Force pilots to pursue the disks would have to be a fake. Instead, there would be a secret order telling them to avoid strange objects in the sky.

By the time I finished my check-up, I was sure of one thing: This particular saucer had been real.

I was almost positive of one other point-that the thing had been over 30 miles high during part of its flight. I found that after Mantellā€™s death it was reported simultaneously from Madisonville, Elizabethtown, and Lexingtonā€”over a distance of 175 miles. (Professor Hynekā€™s analysis later confirmed this.)

How low it had been while hovering over Godman, and during Mantellā€™s chase, there was no way to determine. But all the evidence pointed to a swift ascent after Mantellā€™s last report.

Had Mantell told Godman Tower more than the Air Force admitted? I went back to the Pentagon and asked for a full transcript of the flight leaderā€™s radio messages. I got a quick turn-down. The reports, I was told, were still classified as secret. Requests for pictures of the P-51 wreckage, and for a report on the condition of Mantellā€™s body, also drew a blank. I had heard that some photographs were taken of the Godman Field saucer from outside the tower. But the Air Force denied knowledge of any such pictures.

Puzzling over the riddle, I remembered John Steele, the former Intelligence captain. If by any chance he was a plant, it would be interesting to suggest the various answers and watch his reaction. When I phoned him to suggest luncheon, Steele accepted at once. We met at the Occidental, on Pennsylvania Avenue. Steele was younger than I had expectedā€”not over twenty-five. He was a tall man, with a crew haircut and the build of a football player. Looking at him the first time, I expected a certain breeziness. instead, he was almost solemn.

ā€œI owe you an apology,ā€ he said in a careful voice after

{p. 46}

weā€™d ordered. ā€œYou probably know Iā€™m a syndicate writer?ā€

I wondered if heā€™d found out Jack Daly was checking on him.

ā€œWhen you mentioned the Press Club,ā€ I said, ā€œI gathered you were in the business.ā€

ā€œIā€™m afraid you thought I was fishing for a lead.ā€ Steele looked at me earnestly. ā€œIā€™m not working on the storyā€”Iā€™m tied up on other stuff.ā€

ā€œForget it,ā€ I told him.

He seemed anxious to reassure me. ā€œIā€™d been worried for some time about the saucers. I called you that night on an impulse.ā€

ā€œGlad you did,ā€ I said. ā€œI need every tip I can get.ā€

ā€œDid it help you any?ā€

ā€œYes, though it still doesnā€™t fit together. But I can tell you this: The saucers are real, or at least one of them.ā€

ā€œWhich one?ā€

ā€œThe thing Captain Mantell was chasing near Fort Knox, before he died.ā€

ā€œOh, that one.ā€ Steele looked down at the roll he was buttering. ā€œI thought that case was fully explained. Wasnā€™t he chasing a balloon?ā€

ā€œThe Air Force says itā€™s still unidentified.ā€ I told him what I had learned. ā€œApparently youā€™re rightā€”itā€™s either an American or a Soviet missile.ā€

ā€œAfter what youā€™ve told me,ā€ said Steele, ā€œI canā€™t believe itā€™s ours. It must be Russian.ā€

ā€œTheyā€™d be pretty stupid to test it over here.ā€

ā€œYou said it was probably out of control.ā€

ā€œThat particular one, maybe. But there have been several hundred seen over here. If they found their controls were haywire, they wouldnā€™t keep testing the things until theyā€™d corrected that.ā€

The waiter came with the soup, and Steele was silent until he left.

ā€œI still canā€™t believe itā€™s our weapon,ā€ he said slowly. ā€œThey wouldnā€™t have Air Force pilots alerted to chase the things. And I happen to how they do.ā€

ā€œThereā€™s something queer about this missile angle,ā€ I said. ā€œThat saucer was seen at the same time by people a

{p. 47}

hundred and seventy-five miles apart. To be that high in the sky, and still look more than two hundred and fifty feet in diameter, it must have been enormous.ā€

Steele didnā€™t answer for a moment.

ā€œObviously, that was an illusion,ā€ he finally answered. ā€œIā€™d discount those estimates.ā€

ā€œEven Mantellā€™s? And the Godman Field officersā€™?ā€

ā€œNot knowing the thingā€™s height, how could they judge accurately?ā€

ā€œTo be seen at points that far apart, it had to be over thirty miles high,ā€ I told him. ā€œIt would have to be huge to show up at all.ā€

He shook his head. ā€œI canā€™t believe those reports are right. It must have been sighted at different times.ā€

I let it drop.

ā€œWhat are you working on now?ā€ Steele asked, after a minute or two.

I said I hadnā€™t decided. Actually, I planned a trip to the coast, to interview pilots who had sighted flying disks.

ā€œWhat would you do if you found it wasnā€™t a Soviet missile?ā€ said Steele. He sounded almost too casual.

ā€œIf security was involved,

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