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December 29, 1952
The NICAP document describes this event as:
December 29, 1952--Northern Japan. Colonel, other USAF pilots, radar detected rotating UFO. [III]1
Section III gives us a bit more information but not much:
UFO with rotating red, green, and white lights, 3 fixed beams of white light, out sped F-94.2
The footnote tells us that this information came from USAF intelligence reports, which means the details should be in the Blue Book records
Blue Book file
Blue Book has an extensive file on this case, which involves multiple sightings that night. There was an extensive investigation of the event and their conclusions are something not mentioned by NICAP.
The record card summarizes the case as follows3:
The FLYOBRT report describes the object as follows4:
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..it was larger and brighter than any of the stars or other heavenly bodies.
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Its body whose shape can only be assumed to be circular, gave off three colors, i.e. red, white, and green. These are the colors gave the rotating effect was similar to the change in colors often seen in popular makes of Juke-boxes.
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Beyond the prominence of the colors common to the body, (possibly the center of the body) the most prominent item of description appeared to be the three beams of light that worked from the body outward in straight shafts of white light. These three beams never changed their relative positions, and actually were located at about 11 o’clock, - 5 o’clock, and 7 o’clock.
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The object at no time executed any violent maneuvers, except for an almost gradual change of direction during the two observations.
The sequence of events for the UFO sighting involved numerous sightings from various personnel and aircraft, which ended in the pursuit by the F-84. Witnesses at Chitose had reported UFOs from the ground and airborne aircraft were alerted to their presence. This involved two F-94s and a B-26. They saw nothing regarding the UFOs reported by Chitose but they all noticed a bright UFO low in the west until about 1955 local time. At 1948 local time, an airborne F-84 interceptor, noticed the bright light paralleling his aircraft. He turned west and gained altitude to 35,000 feet. He appeared to be gaining on the object until 1955, when the UFO sped away.
With the UFO gone, the F-84 chose to return to his air base to the southeast. Around 2000, he noticed the UFO to the South or Southwest. At 2005, he attempted to turn west but the UFO rapidly disappeared again.
There was also a radar contact as part of this event but it was too the east of Misawa AFB and not to the northwest, where the UFO was sighted and pursued.
Explanation
Like many UFO reports involving nocturnal lights, there is a probable astronomical explanation. At the time of the sighting, the
These values indicate that the three other aircraft had sighted the planet Venus. The F-84’s initial pursuit was also of the planet Venus. Since all were looking in the direction of Venus and did not notice it, then it is logical to conclude that the UFO was probably Venus.
The F-84’s second sighting is not so easily identified. If the directions are correct, the pilot saw the object to the south, or South-South- west, which is not the planet Venus or Mars. The pilot referred to the object disappearing to the west a few seconds after he turned towards it. It seems possible he might have confused a distant light from a ship, ground light, or another aircraft that was visible for a short period of time and disappeared for some reason. The aircraft’s southeastward trek would make a distant light appear to slowly move towards the west as the aircraft moved south, which would agree with his final statement that the object disappeared to the west. While some might find it unlikely he would confuse a distant light, one must remember, he was already in a state of alert for unusual lights and had already chased the planet Venus. Confusing another light for a UFO seems probable.
Quelle: SUNlite 6/2016