19 March 1975
(The Register, Santa Ana,
California)
Source: NewspaperArchive.com
The whole article:
“At first Roberto Imolesi thought the sky object he saw was a reflection
on his car’s windshield. But when one of his four passengers saw the glow, too,
he stopped the vehicle.
‘I noticed a light in the distance at the center of the highway, right
above the white line,’ says Imolesi, describing his alleged encounter with an
unidentified flying object at Barbiano,
Italy, July 8,
1974. At least six other witnesses, in addition to police officers, support
Imolesi’s story.
‘I got out of the car,’ Imolesi continues, ‘and noticed that the light,
yellow and dark, was at the center of a huge ‘wing,’ not very well defined in
the darkness. I had the impression that it was in the form of a cap with a
visor. . .’
Imolesi estimated the size of the domed disc as 45 feet in diameter.
‘After we stopped,’ he says, ‘the light rose and I began to squat and to
make gestures with my hands to call attention of other passing autos. The mysterious
object then made a change in position, flying in the form of a circle,
returning to the point of departure.
‘I searched in vain to follow it. I met some farmers who also had
observed the very same phenomenon.’
Settimio Zambrini, a resident of Barbiano, confirmed Imolesi’s account
by relating a similar sighting in the area, as did several other local men. All
witnesses said the light moved in the same direction, toward the mountains and
the sea.
Police, alerted by callers, saw a glowing
object at about 1:30 a.m., July 9—the same night.
A few hours before, police in Ravenna,
Italy, also received reports
of a swiftly moving mystery light, flying across the highway to Ravenna, at an altitude
of about 30 feet.
On the morning of July 9,
a farmer discovered strange ground markings in the area
of the Imolesi sightings. The man claims that the physical traces were not
visible the previous day, because he had not seen them although he had cut
grass at the trace location. The markings were a large circle (25 feet in diameter, with a
circular impression 2 ½ to 3
inches wide in each circle). In addition, some ‘strange
and very thin powder of some sort’ was found near the rings.
Another possible landing report comes from Spain. On Jan. 2, 1975, a UFO apparently
touched down on an aircraft firing range at Bardenas Reales.
According to a Madrid
newspaper, ‘Informaciones,’ the sighting was made public by a Lt. Campos, a
firing range staff member. But not many details are available because of tight
military security pending a complete hearing on the matter.
In addition to Campos,
other military personnel from the Spanish Third Air Force Region apparently
also saw the object. It gave off bright, rapid flashes during the short time it
was on the ground. After taking off, the object shot away and ‘immediately was
lost in the sky,’ according to the Madrid
newspaper.
Adding mystery to the sighting is the report that a similar object was
observed in the same area in 1972. At the time the ‘strange and luminous
object’ was seen, a North American Phantom jet crashed. Two crewmen parachuted
to safety.
The current issue of the Mutual UFO Network journal (Skylook, published
in Quincy, Ill.) describes both the Italian and Spanish reports and observes
regarding the firing range incident: ‘Two guards of the Hydrographic
Confederation, who witness the 1972 crash, said they observed something similar
to a luminous ball ‘of the size of a balloon when it was close and of a pinhead
when it was farther away,’ which gyrated in all directions over the zone where
the airplanes were.’
Although at least two crashes of military aircraft in the United States
appear UFO-linked, no positive proof of UFO hostility has been found (unless
such information has been withheld by officials.)”
My comment:
Bardenas Reales Air-to-Ground Bombing and Gunnery
Range is located about 72 kilometres (45 miles) north west of Zaragoza
Air Base, according to Wikia.org.
Wikia.org article: “Zaragoza Air Base”:
Quote from the Wikia.org article:
“Zaragoza Air Base (IATA: ZAZ, ICAO: LEZG) was a
NATO military airbase located near Zaragoza,
Spain. It was
located 16 kilometres
(10 mi)
west of Zaragoza, 270 km
(168 mi)
west of Barcelona, and 262 km (163 mi) northeast of Madrid.
It was closed as a NATO base in April 1992 after the US Air Force had
been asked to move out, but continues be a major base for the Spanish Air
Force. Today it also functions as Zaragoza
Airport.
406th Tactical Fighter Training Wing
In February 1970 Project Creek Step called for the buildup of Zaragoza AB as a USAFE weapons
training site, with actual use of the Bardenas Reales Air-to-Ground Bombing and
Gunnery Range (about 72 km (40 mi) northwest of the base)
began in March.
With the closure of Wheelus Air Base, Zaragoza
returned to active status on 19 February 1970 with the activation of the 406th
Tactical Fighter Training Group. The 406th was elevated to Wing status on 21
July 1972.
Although the 406th had no permanently assigned aircraft, the Wing
provided support to all USAFE tactical aircraft which used the Zaragoza range, as well as deployed SAC and TAC units, as
well as allied NATO units.
Beginning in September 1972, the 406th also operated the USAFE Tactical
Forces Employment
School, and in May 1976, began
operating the USAFE
Instructor Pilot
School. Weapons training
detachments were principally F-4 aircraft, although F-111s used the wing's
ranges for a short period in 1974, and U.S. Navy A-7s used range facilities in
June 1974. During November 1976, the 406th TFTW began full maintenance support
of an SAC KC-135 detachment on a permanent basis.
On 12 September 1977, another facet was added to the wing’s training
operations when it conducted the first Dissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT)
missions with USAF and U.S. Navy aircraft.”
Related posts:
realtvufos.blogspot.com/search?q=1972
(tageo.com photo)
A U.S. Air Force General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark
(dropping high-drag bombs) photographed over the
Bardenas Reales
Air-to Ground Range, Spain
(wikimedia.org) (wikimedia.org photo)
Bardenas Reales, Spain
(Google photo)
(lib.utexas.edu image)
