Recovered Alien Vehicles And Warnings Of Bloodshed: Accounts Of UFOs From The Mid-1930s

As war once more looked increasingly likely in Europe, sightings of strange objects and humanoid figures continued, both throughout Europe and around the world. Perhaps because of the anticipation of conflict, the skies were watched all the more closely, at least by respective militaries. And while the final years before the start of the Second World War (1938 and 1939) saw an explosion of UFO reports (a period of time we will examine in an upcoming article), the first three years of the second half of the 1930s saw UFO sightings and encounters with strange figures remain consistent.

What’s more, several of these encounters would seemingly result in attempts at warning humanity of the bloodshed and destruction that was heading humanity’s way. If this was the case, then we have to ask, how did these extraterrestrial entities know such events were coming? Did they have the ability to look into the future? Or might space travel itself result in time not existing as we understand it here on Earth, meaning this potential alien race was privy to this information?

While all of the encounters were unique, many shared very similar details – both with each other and with sightings that would occur decades later. And while it might be easy to dismiss this as many of the encounters from this era were not reported until decades later when knowledge of UFO sightings was very much more in the public consciousness, it is a detail in itself which is worth noting.

As always, while we don’t have the time or the space to examine each and every one of the encounters that are on record, we will look at some of the most intriguing, as well as those that contain details that can be found in the many sightings that would start to be reported around a decade later at the start of the Modern UFO Era.

UFO Repairs And Animal-Headed Figures

Right at the start of 1935 in Saskatchewan, Canada, three people reported seeing a strange craft land a short distance from them. Several moments later, three humanoid figures, each wearing “silver suits” were witnessed moving around outside the object. When witnesses went to examine the area the following day, they could see clear imprints in the ground, as well as what appeared to be burn marks.

Around the same time in Genesco, Illinois, an unnamed man was at a water pump near his farm when he heard a sudden sound that made him spin around. ^[1] To his surprise, staring straight at him was a bizarre-looking figure that appeared to have the body of a man and the head of an eagle with “shiny red eyes”. The two continued to stare at each other for around half a minute it turned around and ran off into the distance. The witness further recalled that the bizarre entity appeared to be wearing a “khaki military-style jumpsuit”.

Several weeks later, in Chiara Torre, Italy, 17-year-old Theresa Maria Vanucci witnessed a round “sphere of light” hovering overhead. Inside the sphere, the witness further recalled they could see what appeared to be a “female figure”. Another encounter from early 1935 occurred near Charbonier in Spain when Manuel Reina and a friend were driving along a quiet road at night when the vehicle’s headlights suddenly shined upon a strange figure standing in the road. The car came to a stop and both men were physically unable to move. The figure, wearing a “tight-fitting outfit” that looked like “shiny plastic” simply stared straight at them. After several moments, the figure turned and disappeared into the distance.

According to the research files of Sven Olof Svensson, one morning in February 1935 in Svanhals Ostergotland in Sweden, 7-year-old Carl-Axel Jonzon was making his way to school when he saw several bizarre-looking entities near a metallic object that appeared to be embedded in the snow. Each of these strange figures was wearing the same style uniform and wore long helmets. Enthralled by the scene, the young boy set out across the field toward the figures. After taking only a few steps, however, a mysterious white fog appeared out of nowhere and surrounded him. The next he knew, almost three hours had passed and the figures and objects were no longer there.

Only a few weeks later in Malines Antwerp in Belgium, Mr. Aerts witnessed a bright, circular object hovering over the houses near his home. Even more amazing, he witnessed two humanoid figures that appeared to move around the outside of the object, as if they were carrying out some kind of repairs. The object eventually disappeared into the distance.

If we turn to the files of Vicente Ballester Olmos we find a similar encounter unfolded around 7:30 pm on 5^th April in Aznalcazar Sevilla in Spain. On the night in question, farmer, Mr. Mora, was carrying out duties on his farm when he noticed a shining round object descend out of the sky, only stopping a very short distance from the ground. Then, as Mora looked on, several “strange beings” emerged from the object and began walking around the outside of it.

The Bizarre Encounter Of Air Marshal Sir Victor Goddard

It is also perhaps worth going over the strange incident that Air Marshall Sir Victor Goddard of the British Royal Air Force found himself in. One day in 1935, while flying from Edinburgh in Scotland to Andover in England, Goddard made his way over an abandoned airfield. He looked down at the airfield, noting how the area was overgrown and even some of the hangers were collapsing.

Then, out of nowhere, a strange and sudden storm appeared. So powerful was this storm that Goddard began to lose control of his plane as it began to spiral toward the ground. He just managed to regain control and level out his aircraft. When he had done so, however, he noticed that the storm had seemingly passed. Even stranger, it appeared he had gone backward, as the abandoned airfield was now in front of him, only now, it appeared no longer abandoned. The hangers looked as though they had been repaired and even repainted. Furthermore, there were several planes parked on the airfield, and the overgrown grass and vegetation were no longer there.

He further noted that the planes were painted a yellow color and that one of the planes was a monoplane (which the RAF didn’t possess in 1935. Confusing Goddard even further were the mechanics he could see walking around on the airfield, each of whom was wearing blue overalls instead of the usual brown. As he passed over the airfield, he appeared to reenter the storm once more, although he managed to maintain control of his plane and soon arrived in Andover.

Four years later, in 1939, the RAF did indeed reestablish the airfield, began painting their planes yellow, changed the color of mechanics’ overalls to blue, and began using the monoplane – all things Goddard had witnessed that afternoon in 1935. Had he traveled back in time, albeit unintentionally when he entered the powerful storm?

While it is clear, at least on the surface, that Goddard’s encounter was seemingly a slip in time several years into the future, when we consider that at least some UFO sightings might sightings of aerial vehicles from another time, then the incident is perhaps worthy of being on the backburners of UFO researchers and investigators.

An Increase In Encounters With Strange Humanoids

As 1936 unfolded, particularly in the opening weeks and months of the year, several sightings of strange humanoid creatures around the world. In the Dourdan Woods in France, for example, a witness was walking in a wooded area, when he came across a bizarre humanoid figure wearing a long, black cape. At around 2 am in Great Falls in Maryland, at around 2 am in the early hours one morning, a night security guard watching over the Maryland Mine witnessed a strange man-loke creature that stood at around ten feet tall and had shining eyes. Before the security guard could see anything else the creature turned and disappeared into the nearby woodland.

An evening strange encounter occurred on the other side of the Atlantic in Nottingham in England when youngster, Marjorie Johnson was lying lazily in bed one sunny morning. ^[2] Suddenly, she had the strange urge to turn and look toward the empty fire grate in her bedroom. When she did so, she saw a “strange little creature” sitting on a cobweb on the grate. The figure was looking straight at Marjorie, although it didn’t appear threatening. When she got out of bed in order to get a closer look, the strange creature vanished right before her eyes. However, upon getting back into bed, it reappeared again. This happened several times until Marjorie wiped the cobwebs away.

Several weeks later in Arran Stirlingshire, also in England, a local resident was walking along a path in the woods when he heard what appeared to be a conversation in a strange language taking place nearby. Curious, the man made his way to where the voices were coming and were amazed to find several short human-looking creatures standing in a clearing. As he approached, the strange figures turned and ran deeper into the woods.

Around a month later, again in England, this time in Hertfordshire, an unnamed man was driving along a quiet country lane when he noticed a strange-looking humanoid figure sitting at the side of the road. By the time he had brought his vehicle to a stop, the creature had seemingly vanished into thin air.

The Truly Strange And Unsettling Maria Incident

Without a doubt one of the most intriguing and unsettling accounts from the second half of the 1930s comes to us from the files of Felix Zigel and Anton Anfalov. Although the exact dates are not known, at some point in 1936, the vessel Maria was making its way across the Pacific Ocean when they noticed a strange object floating on the water in front of them. The crew sent out signals in an attempt to make contact with the strange-looking vessel but received no response. Ultimately, the captain ordered a small team of five crew to take a boat to the object to investigate.

As the crew of the Maria watched, the small boat made its way to the object. It pulled up alongside it and they cautiously climbed aboard the mysterious floating vessel. Only moments later, however, the strange object began moving and did so at a great pace. It headed toward a suddenly appearing fog and disappeared from sight.

The captain ordered the Maria into motion in an attempt to follow and locate the object. However, it was clear it was out of sight and lost. The Maria went on its route, but when it was on its return journey several days later, the captain ordered the crew to be vigilant when making their way through the location where they had spotted the strange object. To their disbelief, an object was spotted, this one looking like a strange transparent boat. The captain ordered the Maria closer.

Amazingly, inside this strange boat were three of the five crew members who had gone to investigate the object several days earlier. Bizarrely, and disturbingly, as the Maria approached, one of the crew members in this transparent boat suddenly jumped from it into the water, screaming as he did so. Despite a search taking place by divers from the Maria immediately, the crew member was never seen again. The remaining two crew members were taken back aboard the Maria. After being given water and time to recover, they informed their captain and crew just what had happened.

They claimed that after boarding the floating vessel, they found themselves surrounded by humanoid entities, each dressed in “dark shiny suits”. They claimed that these strange creatures began turning to each other as if they were communicating with each other using telepathy. Following this, the apparent aliens said that they would have to remain with them and that they could no longer return to their boat, or their lives on Earth. Two of the crew seemingly readily agreed, and happily went with them. The remaining three were then imprisoned in a strange room. They believed they remained there for approximately two days.

The next thing the three men realized, they were floating in the transparent vessel that the crew of the Maria had found them in. With them were strange tablets in transparent pockets that were some kind of food or source of sustenance, and eating one, certainly, no more than two of these tablets each day resulted in filling the crew. However, the crew member who eventually leaped into the water refused to eat the tablets. Consequently, his mental state deteriorated to such a degree that while the surviving two men were sleeping he threw the tablets out of the vessel and into the water. Because of this, the men had no source of food whatsoever for the last 24 hours.

The Maria eventually returned to Leningrad where the two men made official statements which were sent to the Ministry. A short time later, the captain of the Maria and the two crew members were summoned to the Ministry, where they were each interrogated intensely. Ultimately, one concluded to be “psychotic” while the other crew member simply refused to cooperate with the authorities, perhaps suspecting they were seemingly being set up. This would seemingly be corroborated by the fact that despite the captain maintaining the account was accurate, he suddenly changed his account and stated that it didn’t happen at all. A short time later, he was transferred to another ship.

Multiple Sightings Around The Mediterranean

Another thought-provoking encounter is that of Maria K, which took place in Halandri in Athens, Greece, and comes from the files of UFO researcher, Makis Podotas. On the day in question, around noon one day in the summer, 12-year-old Maria was playing near her home with around six other children when they were suddenly surrounded by strange clouds of dust. The children immediately stopped what they were doing and looked around to see what the cause of the dust was. It was then that they noticed a strange egg-shaped object shining a brilliant silver color descending toward them. It eventually landed on the ground, resting on four legs approximately 500 feet away from them.

As the group looked on, they could see a small humanoid figure moving around underneath the object, dressed in a white outfit that appeared to have flashing lights on it (although none of the children could recall seeing an open door or the figure itself emerge). Eventually, the creature turned in their direction, even raising his arm in a greeting-like fashion. Then, right in front of the children’s eyes, it disappeared into thin air. A moment later, the object rose into the air, causing dust to rise once more, and eventually disappeared into the sky.

According to an account relayed in the book UFOs over The Maltese Islands by David Pace, one evening in July 1936 over B’Bugia Bay in Malta, several local residents reported seeing a zeppelin-shaped object at a considerable pace heading out to sea. One of the witnesses viewed the object through a telescope and claimed to have been able to see several humanoid figures inside, each wearing “strange helmets”.

During the Spanish Civil War, on the evening of 25^th July in Pilar de Los Muertos in Guadalajara, Spain, three soldiers – one of whom was referred to as “JV” in the report – were returning to their base following a scouting mission of the area. As they did so they were suddenly surrounded by a brilliant white light. The next thing they realized two tall humanoids wearing strange white clothing was a matter of feet away from them, seemingly having appeared out of nowhere. Some kind of telepathic communication took place, but JV could not fully recall what was said.

Although the date isn’t certain, another UFO encounter is on record as having taken place in the Spanish Civil War. On the night in question, former soldier, Valentine Williams, along with two others were driving from Spain heading toward the Spanish border with France. During their journey, however, they witnessed a bizarre glowing object in the sky that appeared similar to a flare but that moved with magnificent purpose and control. Williams claimed that the object was “like a streamer of white smoke” and that “as it went, it burst into a bright orange flame” and elaborated that “there was no sound or explosion”. Upon arriving at their location, another witness offered that they had seen the same object from their location at the same time.

Several interesting encounters took place towards the end of 1936 that are also worthy of mention here. In October, for example, in Eklutna in Alaska, two men were hitchhiking toward Anchorage when they noticed an extremely bright light heading toward them. And it was doing so with great speed. It came to a stop just in front of them momentarily, causing both of them to duck to the ground. After several moments, it headed off into the distance.

Several weeks later, an unnamed 15-year-old boy observed a “metallic saucer-shaped craft” pass overhead at low altitude before it landed in a nearby field. The boy began toward the object in order to see it closer. When he was close to it, he noticed several humanoid figures close to it. The witness claimed he was allowed to look inside the craft, noticing machinery and dials that he didn’t recognize before he went on his way.

Increasing Descriptions Of Grey-Alien Type Creatures

One of the earliest UFO encounters of 1937 occurred early in the year just outside of London, England. On the day in question, an unnamed 8-year-old girl was walking near a field when she noticed a “huge silvery object” hovering almost directly above her. As she looked on, a platform emerged from the side of the craft and began to head toward the ground. The next thing she noticed, three “tall men”, each one dressed in red, were visible at the top of the platform. One of the men stepped down and reached for her before taking her onboard the object. As she was carried, she suddenly realized that she was unable to move.

At this point, her memories became slightly hazy. She recalled being placed in some kind of large chair with a bright light facing her. She also recalled being shown visions of places she didn’t recognize, and even of being taken to a huge pyramid where she was taken through a network of tunnels. The next thing she realized, she was standing back in the field where she had first seen the silver object.

A particularly intriguing case from early 1937 can be found in the files of the Yaroslavl UFO Group. The incident in question occurred in Philippov, in the West Yaroslavl Province in Russia. According to the account, a local woman – named as Anna in the report – was suddenly surprised when several strange men burst into her home in an isolated part of the village. She recalled these strange entities as having “grey-greenish faces” and “big hairless heads” and “large dark slanted eyes” – perhaps very much how we might describe a grey alien entity today.

Then the tale turns even stranger. Rather than being there to harm the woman, they simply requested iodine, claiming that their ship had landed near a nearby lake and that they needed it to treat one of the injured crew (he had apparently damaged his hand in a hatch on the craft). Anna did indeed give the strange men a bottle of iodine, which they took gratefully. After seemingly performing some kind of decontamination of her home (presumably to benefit her) they promptly left.

From the same organization, at the same location, and around the same time comes another bizarre encounter. The report states that one particular afternoon, a local resident of the village by the name of Parshin was sitting on a bench on the riverbank when he suddenly began to feel decidedly ill – as if he was losing consciousness.  The next thing he knew, there were several strange men standing near him, each with a greenish skin tone. Behind them was some kind of round object.

One of the mysterious men gestured for Parshin to follow them, which he did (although he believed that this was under some kind of “influence” from the apparent aliens). They were walking toward the round object, which he duly stepped inside. At this point, he could hear the aliens speaking to him directly into his head. They told him to remove his clothes. Again he did as requested. The men shone some kind of light over the pile of clothing, which appeared to be some kind of decontamination procedure.

After being allowed to dress again, Parshin recalls being shown several images on a strange screen, some of which were of the aliens’ home planet. He further recalled that this extraterrestrial race sent units to Earth, although they didn’t recall for what reasons they did so, with each of these teams staying for five years before being replaced.

Tentative Signs Of Alien Abduction Cases

Early in 1937 in Sydney, Australia, an unnamed man experienced several consecutive nights of waking suddenly, being unable to move, and sweating as if from fright. On this particular evening, he did so again, only this time there were two “small figures dressed in black” standing near to his bed. He noticed that one of them was pulling at the bedclothes. The witness claimed he closed his eyes and prayed, and when he opened them, the menacing figures were gone.

Around the same time, a little after 9 pm in Fontana, California, several residents were walking back from the movies when a suddenly appeared “shaft of orange light” shone down on them. This light remained on for several seconds before seemingly going out again. Although perplexed, the group continued on their way home. Later that evening, however, one of the witnesses woke in the middle of the night to find a similar light filling his room. Of more concern, though, were the five large-headed creatures who were standing in the room staring at him. From this point, his memory of the events went hazy, but he would receive several such visits over the coming years. If the account is authentic, then this would seemingly be a case of repeat alien abduction, with the beam of light almost being an identification mission before the actual abduction took place.

The following month in a small village in France, Mr. Billon and an unnamed woman were driving along a country road at around 8 pm when they noticed a strange, multi-colored square object hovering a short distance from the ground in a nearby field. Even stranger, they could see two figures, around three or four feet high, moving around on the ground near the object. The pair remained in the car simply watching the scene for several minutes before driving away in shock. They didn’t see the figures, or the object leave.

An equally intriguing sighting occurred several weeks later some time around the end of March or start of April just outside of Naples in Italy. The two witnesses were actually involved in wine smuggling at the time of the incident, hence, the encounter remained unreported for some time. According to their account, while on a smuggling mission at around 2 am one night near Capodichino Airport, they witnessed a strange object that resembled “two inverted plates” and measuring around 100 feet across land near to where they were working. The craft appeared to have a silvery surface and glowed slightly despite the late hour.

As the two men looked on, three white lights appeared in the side of the object, and a fourth, blue light appeared on the top. At the same time, a discreet but very noticeable high-pitched hum was heard. The two men also recalled that in a domed section of the object at the top, they could see a humanoid figure moving around. Then, without warning, the object shot straight up into the air and disappeared within seconds.

The Bizarre Encounter Of Dr. Z

According to the files of researcher, Richard Stevens, in the summer of 1937 in a small village near the Carpathian Mountains in (what was then) Czechoslovakia near the border with Romania, a witness by the name of Dr. Z was in a field observing the full moon when he noticed what he at first thought was a shooting star. However, when this moving object came to a sudden stop, the witness realized he was looking at something much more out of the ordinary.

The object remained motionless for several minutes before then bursting into action once more, darting from one part of the sky to another and making turns that appeared impossible. Then, after several more minutes, the object simply shot off into the night sky and disappeared. Dr. Z returned home. However, later that night, the strangeness would continue.

Dr. Z would have a strangely intense dream that evening. In it, he was back in the same field where he had viewed the strange object. This time, however, it was much nearer. So near, that he could see that it was a spherical shape with a shiny silver metallic exterior and approximately 50 feet wide. The object was not only much closer, but this time, it landed in the field a short distance away from the witness. A moment later, an opening appeared in the side of the object and a “ray of blue light” shot out from it and struck Dr. Z.

He was immediately paralyzed, while at the same time, appearing to be floating. He did indeed find himself moving through the air toward the strange spherical vehicle. The next thing he knew, he was inside the craft and was walking to a chamber. In front of him, leading the way, were two creatures who appeared like metallic robots, although the witness noticed that the metal around the joints on their arms and legs appeared “flexible”, almost like a metallic skin.

Once inside the room, he was told to seat in a strange seat in the middle of the floor. A moment after he did so, a tall humanoid figure appeared in front of him. He went on to issue an ominous warning to Dr. Z that the Earth would find itself in the middle of a “great battle” that would leave many dead. At this point, the witness was claimed to have been given a blueprint that would help humanity in the coming future, after “good had overcome evil” and the war was over.

Of course, we should treat the incident with a pinch of salt. It is intriguing, however, not least given that the Second World War was only around the corner.

The Czernica UFO Crash?

Another UFO encounter that should definitely be treated with a pinch of salt is that of an apparent crashed UFO in Czernica, Poland, also in the summer of 1937. Although it is most definitely intriguing, especially due to the repeated claims and conspiracies of recovered alien technology and the advancements of the Third Reich, there are some researchers who have highlighted what appear to be errors in an account that could prove to be slightly fabricated, at best. And the fact that is said to have involved the eventual wife of Adolf Hitler, Eva Bruan, to some, only makes the account that much more unbelievable. Nevertheless, it is an interesting report to take note of.

According to the account, on land owned by Eva Bruan’s family, a strange “multicolored ball or globe-shaped” object crash-landed one evening. Immediately after, following a report made by the Braun family, a unit of SS troops arrived and cordoned the entire area off. The object, which now appeared more disc-shaped, was taken to a secret base where it was placed under strict guard while scientists of the Third Reich went about studying this apparent extraterrestrial object.

The object was around 20 feet across and approximately 10 feet high at its tallest point. On the top part of the craft was a large dome section, while along the side were portholes. However, these portholes didn’t appear to be windows but rather some kind of lights. There were also lights on the underside of the craft (12 in total). The overall color of the object was “dull metal gray” and scientists also discovered what appeared to be a logo or insignia that looked similar to “the letter T with two props on its sides”.

However, it was when scientists examined inside the domed cabin that the most remarkable discoveries were made. They noticed three small seats in the circular chamber, with control panels and strange dials going all the way around the walls. The most stunning discovery of three alien entities, one of whom was dead, but two remained alive. They were around three feet tall with “hairless pear-shaped heads” and an extremely small, thin frame. Their skin had a grayish appearance to it and their eyes were particularly oversized and dark. Ultimately, the description would match that of a typical grey alien. Incidentally, one of the two surviving aliens apparently died shortly after scientists discovered it, while the other lived for around six weeks before also passing away.

Scientists continued to study the vehicle. And a short time after its discovery an especially designed underground research base was built a short distance away (reports state that this site was close to where the Germans were excavating uranium ore, with the mine connecting to the research base via a network of complex tunnel systems). As well as the vehicle itself, the bodies of the alien entities were also stored at the top-secret location.

Once more, while we should take these claims with a pinch of salt, it is claimed the longest surviving extraterrestrial did pass on information to German scientists regarding their vehicle and the technology behind it. It also volunteered that their race came from a star system that was known as 78 mu-1 Cygni here on Earth – a system that is around 73 light years away. Furthermore, this alien race had established bases deep under the ground in Canada’s Northern Territories, near the polar region.

It is claimed that this information was treated so seriously that it was brought to the attention of Adolf Hitler himself, who, along with the top scientists and other high-ranking members of the Third Reich, came to the base to inspect the recovered alien vehicle for themselves.

An already strange tale then takes further leaps. According to the reports, although the technology was much too sophisticated for the Third Reich scientists to fully back-engineer (in fact they seemingly made very little progress in this direction), they did develop some of the features, which sparked several other advanced projects and weapons. Some accounts even go as far as to state that it was these advancements – and the potential of more advancement the more the object was studied – that gave those at the top of the Third Reich the bullish confidence they had when they, for all intents and purposes – started that Second World War.

As the war unfolded, however, and with the Soviet Union now fighting against Germany as opposed to being bystanders, a decision was taken to destroy the base rather than risk the advanced technology falling into Soviet hands. The disc, as well as the bodies of the extraterrestrials, were buried in one of the tunnels, which were then sealed shut from all directions. Sources state that it remains deep under the ground in Poland today.

We should note, the crash occurred around 18 months before Germany invaded Poland (and ultimately kick-starting what quickly became World War Two), leading many to question just how SS units managed to recover the craft in the first place and not the Polish military, not least as the SS did not come into existence until 1940. And while a secret recovery is perhaps not completely out of control, that the Third Reich would have been mining in Poland at that time, not to mention establishing underground bases has led many to question the account’s credibility. Might the dates in the report simply be wrong? There are many researchers who have concluded that at least some high-ranking Third Reich scientists were working with technology, not of this world. The account, while shaky, is worth keeping the basic elements on the back burner.

Goat-Like Creatures And Strange Objects Over The Sea

There are also several strange encounters that unfolded in the winter of 1937. According to an article in Northern UFO News (edition no. 110) by Michele Clare, at around 8 pm one winter’s evening in Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England, a local man was walking his dog along a quiet lane when he noticed a bizarre figure heading toward him running down a nearby hill. The witness would describe the figure as around five feet in height and humanoid in appearance. It was, however, covered in hair from head to toe, and had hands and feet that were “goat-like”, as well as an ”oddly pointed head”. Before the witness could take in any more detail, the strange figure had passed him and disappeared into the distance.

Several weeks later, over Porlier Pass off the east coast of Vancouver Island in Canada, according to the research files of Martin Jasek, a sighting of a metallic, glowing spherical object was reported. According to the account, “George” was part of a commercial fishing crew when he witnessed the bizarre object approximately 1000 feet behind his vessel. He described the object as being spherical in shape and a “whitish-bluish” color. He estimated it was around seven feet across and was simply hovering just over the water.

The more he watched the object, the more convinced he became that it was purposefully following him, even getting to within 100 feet of his boat at one point. When it did so, he could make out further details, noting that there were “defined edges” to its structure and that its exterior had a “variety of blue tones”. The craft itself remained visible for around five minutes before disappearing.

Some researchers – and George himself – had suggested that the object could, in fact, have been St. Elmo’s Fire, a natural blue-green glow that is sometimes witnessed near a ship’s mast during thunderstorms. However, not only were the conditions clear and calm that day, the fact that the sighting occurred during the day would have made it impossible to see (St. Elmo’s Fire is only witnessed at night). Just what the object was, remains a mystery but given the realization of UFO researchers over the last seven decades that more UFO sightings occur over or near water than not, the incident should perhaps be viewed as largely credible.

Were These Encounters Alien Reconnaissance Missions?

While sightings of strange aerial objects and, at times, even stranger apparent alien entities were steady throughout the 1930s, as we will examine in an upcoming article, the years immediately before the start of the Second World War exploded with such encounters. We might ask in advance why this might be. Could it be that an alien race was already observing humanity before the outbreak of war? After all, the mountain of sightings in the opening decades of the twentieth century would certainly suggest so. Was this explosion of sightings an attempt to stop the upcoming bloodshed, or were they merely reconnaissance missions to report back on human activity?

It is also further interesting to note – foo fighter sightings aside – that while not stopping completely, UFO encounters dropped off during the war years themselves. This could have been merely because people were by and large distracted by the horrors that were unfolding, and the authorities themselves had much more to deal with than taking reports of “visitors from another world”. Or it could very well be that these alien visitors themselves maintained a lower profile until the conflict was over.

What becomes clearer and clearer, though, as we wade through the many reports of advanced aircraft and humanoid beings with equally advanced technology, is that some kind of purposeful, predetermined extraterrestrial mission was underway here. Whether this apparent alien race and mission were the same that would seemingly reveal itself after the Second World War as the Modern UFO Era truly began is a question that remains unanswered.

The short video below examines some of the strangest UFO and alien encounters from history.