Navy radar and a fighter pilot report a fast delta-shaped object near Puerto Rico; CIA finds a probable aircraft
November 16, 1964 – November 24, 1964 · Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range, off Puerto Rico · Sighting · Primary document linked
CIA briefing notes say that on 19 November 1964 the destroyer USS Gyatt, while directing an F-8 Crusader at 35,000 feet near Puerto Rico, tracked a high-altitude contact at more than 3,800 knots. It slowed and held about nine miles off the fighter, then climbed away fast when the pilot tried to close, staying on the ship's radar for 21 minutes. The pilot, in full moonlight, described a delta-shaped object about the size of a jet fighter. On 24 November the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range held another high-speed, high-altitude target that pulled away from a Crusader flying at Mach 0.99. A CIA memo of 1 February 1965 says the commanding officer at Ramey had identified the object as a YF-12A, which the CIA persuaded the Office of Naval Intelligence it was not, and asks for analysis of the Gyatt's radar film. In a memo of 11 February 1965, Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence Donald F. Chamberlain concluded there was no high-altitude, ultra-high-speed UFO: the 19 November object was probably a delta-wing fighter that climbed significantly better than the F-8C, and the other reports that week appeared to be unidentified aircraft. He noted that missile tests made the range a likely reconnaissance target and that the Gyatt was within MiG-21 range of Cuba.
Era: Project Blue Book · Threads: Military and police witnesses, Intelligence and the FBI
Why it matters (3/5)
A radar-and-pilot case that CIA scientific intelligence analyzed from the Navy's radar film.
Caveats
The accounts disagree on speed: the briefing notes repeat the ship's report of more than 3,800 knots, while the CIA's analysis of the radar film gives a speed of a few hundred knots relative to the ship. The CIA found no evidence either way of MiG-21 reconnaissance flights from Cuba, so the aircraft's type and nationality were not established. The briefing notes are undated; their year comes from the companion memos. The radar film itself is not in the release.
Sources
- Briefing Notes for Mr Walter Elder (CIA-UAP-D023) (Central Intelligence Agency (released by the Department of War)), primary
- Unidentified Flying Object Reported near Puerto Rico 1965 (CIA-UAP-D022) (Central Intelligence Agency (released by the Department of War)), primary