ACUFO:

In the summer of 1942 a fantastic incident occurred in the waters off Tasmania, a large island off the South Australian coast. My informant is a major in the Australian R.A.F., whom I will call Brennan. He is now stationed at the secret weapons and long-range missiles experimental desert station of Woomera:

"The whole yarn is so odd that I must ask you not to give my name if you write of it. We had orders not long after the Japanese attack on Darwin, to patrol the Bass Strait where fishermen had reported seeing mysterious lights on the sea at night.

"At 5:50 P.M., of a lovely sunny evening, we were flying some miles east of the Tasman Peninsula when, on a sudden, there came out of a cloud bank, a singular airfoil of glistening bronze color. I'd say it was around 150 feet long and about fifty feet in

diameter. It had a sort of beak at its prow, and the surface seemed burled, or rippled, or fluted. On its upper surface was a dome, or cupola, from which I seemed to see reflected flashes as the sun struck something, which might or might not have been a helmet, worn by something inside. The other end of the airfoil fined out into a sort of fin. Every now and again there came from its keel greenish-blue flashes. It turned at a small angle towards us and I was amazed to see, framed in a white circle on the front of the dome, an image of a large, grinning Cheshire cat!

"The damn thing flew parallel to us for some minutes, and then it abruptly turned away and, as it did so, it showed four things like fins on its belly-side. It went off at a hell of a pace, turned and dived straight down into the Pacific, and went under, throwing up a regular whirlpool of waves! Just as if it had been a submarine. No, the Japs had nothing in the amphibian line like that mysterious bird!

"I've read your 'Flying Saucers on the Attack,' and saw what you said of the 'Foo Fighters.' We were in the same predicament as those American airmen. If we reported to intelligence what we'd seen, we should likely have been grounded as suffering from nerve strain. So we did not report it! What do you think the damned thing was?"

Your guess is as good as mine, Major Brennan. All I can say is that queer objects like that have been seen both on the North and South Atlantic, in 1872 and in 1882-but on the surface of the ocean, and not in the air. It may be that the shipmasters who saw them arrived after the things had risen from the depths or come down from the skies.

"We received orders, after the Japanese attack on Darwin, to patrol Bass Strait where fishermen had reported mysterious night glows. At around 5:50 p.m., at the very beginning of dusk, we were flying a few km east of the Tasmanian peninsula when, suddenly, from a bank of clouds, we saw a strange device emerge. It was bronze colored and shiny and must have been about 45 m long and 15 m in diameter. There was something like a beak or a spur at the front, and the surface of the object seemed to vibrate. At the upper part, there was a dome or cupola from which flashes emerged of blue and green light. The other end of the device ended in a fin. It circled around us in a very short turn and I was then surprised to see, at the front of the dome, a white circle at the inside which I thought I recognized the image of a grimacing cat. Then this damned device flew parallel to us for a few minutes, then suddenly turned around, presenting like four fins on its ventral side. It set off at breakneck speed and plunged into the Pacific, disappearing under the water which churned in regular waves. As if it were a submarine! No, it is not possible that the Japanese could have such devices, no one has been able to build such a mysterious amphibious bird."

AUSTRALIAN A. F. UFO

By BILL CHALKER
APRO Representative for Australia

[... other cases...]

My research indicates that extraordinary violations of our national airspace, beyond known enemy activity, were apparently occurring before even the RAAF started its own study. The following two accounts were reported to civilian sources.

Late one afternoon, during the summer of 1942, an RAAF pilot was flying patrol off the Tasman Peninsula, after fishermen had reported seeing mysterious lights on the sea at night in Bass Strait. At 5: 50 pm, "a singular airfoil of glistening bronze colour" came out of a cloud bank. The pilot estimated it was around 150 feet (50 metres) long and about 50 feet (15 metres) in diameter. It appeared to have a dome on top which reflected sunlight. The object flew parallel with the plane for some minutes, before abruptly turning away, at "a hell of a pace". It turned again and dived straight into the ocean, throwing up "a regular whirlpool of waves". The object vanished as if it had submerged like a submarine.

[... other cases...]

1942/Tasman Peninsula/Wilkins (1955)

An object, 150 ft x 50 ft., flew parallel to the airplane and then turned away. It had the face of a Cheshire cat and flashed blue-green.

461: 1942/08/00 17:50 5 146:30:00 E 40:15:00 S 3213 OCN AUS TSM 7:2
BASS STRAIT,AUS:50M DOMED OVOID PACES RAAF PLANE:TURNS 2X:DIVES/SEA:/r107p225
Ref# 65 HALL,Richard: Frm AIRSHIPS to ARNOLD Page No. 19: IN-FLIGHT

413 Beyond Top-Secret, T. Good, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1996

419 The OZ files, Bill Chalker, 1996

Location: Tasman Peninsula, Australia.

Date: Summer 1944.

Time: Evening.

Two Royal Australian Air Force flyers were checking out the area after anglers had reported mysterious lights at night. Suddenly out of a cloud bank, a glistening bronze object descended towards them. The craft was about 150ft long, and about 50ft in diameter. It had a sort of beak at its prow, and the surface seemed rippled, or fluted. On its upper surface was a transparent cupola, inside what appeared to be a helmeted figure could be seen. At the other end of the object there was a fin. At one point it emitted greenish-blue flames. As the object turned at a small angle towards the airplane, the pilots were amazed to see an image of a large, grinning Cheshire cat. (?) The craft flew parallel to the witnesses for some minutes then abruptly turned away and dived straight down into the ocean, and went under, throwing up a whirlpool of waves.

HC addendum.

Source: Harold T. Wilkins, ‘Flying Saucers Uncensored.’

Type: A

Summer 1942; Tasman Peninsula, Bass Strait between Island of Tasmania and Australia
A singular airfoil of glistening bronze color; domed upper surface; possible crew member, Cheshire cat emblem on dome. (Page 29 Ref 1)

[...]

References:

Ref. 1, Strange Company (2007), Keith Chester

Case 3
Summer 1942,

Tasman Peninsula, Australia

At 1750, a RAF pilot flying on patrol sighted an object looking like a singular airfoil of glistening bronze color with a dome on top. He described it as 150 ft long and 50 ft in diameter with a dome on top which reflected sun I ight. The object flew alongside the aircraft for a few minutes and then suddenly turned away at a "hell of pace". It made another turn and then suddenly dived straight into the ocean.

Sources: Beyond Top secret, Timothy Good, 1996, p; 152 / The OZ files, Bill Chalker

Summer 1942 Bass Strait Australia

In the summer of 1942 a fantastic incident occurred in the waters off Tasmania, a large island off the south Australian coast. My informant is a major in the Australian R.A.F. whom I will call Brennan. He is now stationed at the secret weapons and long-range missiles experimental desert station of Woomera:

"The whole yarn is so odd that I must ask you not to give my name if you write of it. We had orders not long after the Japanese attack on Darwin to patrol the Bass Strait where fishermen had reported seeing mysterious lights on the sea at night.

At 5:50 P.M., of a lovely, sunny evening, we were flying some miles east of the Tasman Peninsula when, on a sudden, there came out of a cloud bank, a singular airfoil of glistening bronze color. I'd say it was around 150 feet long and about fifty feet in diameter. It had a sort of beak at its prow, and the surface seemed burled, or rippled, or fluted. On its upper surface was a dome, or cupola, from which I seemed to see reflected flashes as the sun struck something, which might or might not have been a helmet worn by something inside. The other end of the airfoil fined out into a sort of fin. Every now and again there came from its keel greenish-blue flashes. It turned at a small angle towards us and I was amazed to see, framed in a white circle on the front of the dome, an image of a large, grinning Cheshire cat!

"The damn thing flew parallel to us for some minutes, and then it abruptly turned away and, as it did so, it showed four things like fins on its belly-side. It went off at a hell of a pace, turned and dived straight down into the Pacific, and went under, throwing up a regular whirlpool of waves! Just as if it had been a submarine. No, the Japs had nothing in the amphibian line like that mysterious bird!

"I've read your 'Flying Saucers on the Attack,' and saw what you said of the 'Foo Fighters.' We were in the same predicament as those American airmen. If we reported to intelligence what we'd seen, we should likely have been grounded as suffering from nerve-strain. So we did not report it! What do you think the damned thing was?

Source: Wilkins, H T. 1955. Flying Saucers Uncensored pp215-216.

Note:

1. I have been unable to locate any other documents about this case.