UFO ROUNDUP
 Volume 3, Number 7
 February 15, 1998
 Editor: Joseph Trainor
 
 ORANGE SPHERE UFOs FLY
 OVER SOUTHERN SPAIN
 
      A three-day UFO flap rocked the Andalucia
 region in southern Spain this week, with numerous
 sightings of glowing orange spheres.
      On Monday, February 9, 1998, Juan Valiente
 was at work at Fabrica de Cementes Ltda., a cement
 plant in Torredonjimeno when he spotted a mysterious
 orange glow at 8 p.m.  Looking directly at it, Valiente
 saw "a spherical orange object rising in circles above
 the plant."
      The following day, Tuesday, February 10, 1998,
 at 1:42 p.m., Jose Antonio Martini Framit and his friend,
 Mark Sanders, were driving north on autovia Jaen/Granada
 near Pico de Magina.  Both men are members of the
 Sociedad de Investigaciones Biofisicas (S.I.B.), a UFO
 study group.
      "Halfway down the road we saw an incredible
 sparkle," Jose reported.  "Like a flash of lightning that
 illuminated everything.  My first reaction was to look out
 the side window, and there it was.  In that moment, I saw
 a very vivid, orange-colored sphere.  It was not the first
 time I had seen one, but this time the object was much
 more distinct."
      He estimated the UFO's size at that distance to
 be 15 centimeters (7 inches) in diameter.  "The altitude
 was approximately 500 meters (1,650 feet), and I saw it
 below the clouds," he reported.  "The velocity was very
 high, comparable to a meteor.  Its flight path was totally
 horizontal.  Mark did not see the object, only the glow."
      The UFO was heading southeast.  Jose stopped the
 car, turned and followed, hoping to keep the object in
 view.  "We followed in the same direction, but it 
 disappeared before Mark could see it."
      The next night, Wednesday, February 11, 1998,
 at the Fabrica de Cementes plant in Torredonjimeno,
 night watchman Manuel Lopez was in his guard shack
 at 7 p.m. when "something began rattling the windows."
 Reddish-orange light poured through the windowpanes.
      Rushing outside, Lopez watched the orange-sphere
 UFO fly away at high speed.  "I heard the loud clap of
 its departure and felt the vibrations," he told investigators.
      At 1:40 a.m., Officer Baldomero of the Policia Local
 was on patrol in town with another policeman when
 "they saw 'an immense luminosity' of a white color that
 flew through the night sky.  The light lasted between
 15 and 20 seconds."
      Nearly a minute later, "they heard a tremendous bang
 of four seconds' duration.  They did not observe an object.
 The light appeared in the north."  The officers reported the
 incident to the local cuartel of the Guardia Civil (Spain's
 police--J.T.)
      Torredonjimeno is located 20 kilometers (12 miles)
 west of Jaen, approximately 240 kilometers (150 miles)
 south of Madrid.  (Muchas gracias a Antonio Salinas
 Cervi y Miguel Angel Pereira de S.I.B. para esas noticias.)
 
 MYSTERIOUS SKY BOOMS HEARD
 AROUND MOBILE, ALABAMA
 
      On Thursday, February 5, 1998, residents of Mobile,
 Alabama (population 196,278) reported hearing "loud
 sonic booms" and "explosions."
      Mobile County 911 was flooded with calls.  Most of
 the complaints came from Navco, Cottage Hill, Jackson
 Heights and Tillman's Corner on the south side of the
 city.
      According to the Mobile County Sheriff's Department,
 a deputy at the substation in Theodore, Alabama
 (population 6,509), on Highway 59 about 10 miles
 (16 kilometers) south of Mobile, "saw the walls shake
 when a boom sounded.  No one was injured and no
 major damage was reported."
      Meteorologists at the National Weather Service had
 no explanation for the noises.  The U.S. Geological
 Survey's Earthquake Center in Boulder, Colorado said
 the sound was not caused by earthquakes.
      A spokesman for the U.S. Air Force said the sonic
 booms might have been caused by USAF supersonic
 fighters "traveling from Texas to Florida."  He added that,
 under "certain weather conditions," a sonic boom may
 be carried long distances over water.
      Mobile is located on Interstate Highway 10 at the
 head of Mobile Bay, approximately 170 miles (272
 kilometers) south of Montgomery, the state capital.
 (See the Miami Herald for February 6, 1998.)
 (Editor's Comment:  Mobile Bay is thirty miles long.
 That's a long way for a sonic boom to travel from the
 Gulf of Mexico.)
 
 RED UFO TRAILS A JETLINER
 SOUTH OF LOS ANGELES
 
      On Tuesday, February 10, 1998, at about 8 p.m.,
 James D. was relaxing at his home in Dana Point,
 California (population 31,896), about 35 miles
 (56 kilometers) south of Los Angeles, when he spied
 a most unusual UFO.
      "Every night I try to go out in my yard and smoke
 a cigar," James reported.  "At about 8 p.m. I witnessed
 a red object keeping pace with a southbound 
 commercial airliner.  It seemed to be off the left wing
 somewhere between 300 and 500 yards.  You could
 clearly see that it was not a plane, as it was much
 smaller" than the jetliner.
      "The jetliner was going in a southeasterly direction,
 probably ten miles (16 kilometers) offshore," he added.
 "It flew at between 15,000 and 20,000 feet (4,545 to
 6,060 meters)  The object appeared off the left wing
 from where I was.  It was at the same speed for
 approximately four to five miles before it disappeared.
 It was a red sphere.  It almost looked as if it was
 chasing the plane, because the airliner was accelerating,
 but the object kept pace.  As it passed to the south, you
 could definitely see that the object was separate from
 the plane.  It (the UFO) just seemed to disappear into
 thin air.  The only sound I heard was the engines of
 the airliner."  (Email Interview)
 
 BLUE UFO SEEN HOVERING
 OVER DENVER, COLORADO
 
      On Tuesday, February 3, 1998, at 9:47 p.m.,
 Jonathan A. "was heading south on I-25" Interstate
 Highway 25 in Denver, Colorado (population 467,610)
 when he spotted something strange in the sky.
      "I saw a bright blue light in the sky that was
 hovering for about one minute," Jon reported. "There
 was no structure (on the UFO), and the sky was
 clear.  It looked by me that it could have been just
 east of the Highlands Ranch.  I could not saw just
 how far away it was, but it was as big as my thumb,
 so it was close."
      "I would say it was about 20 degrees above the
 horizon," he added.  "I stopped to watch.  Then it
 moved fast--straight up--and it was gone.  I drove
 further east but had no luck seeing it again.  Who
 knows what it was?  All I know is that I saw it, and
 I could not identify 'it' or the flight pattern it took."
 (Email Interview)
 
 UFOs AGAIN ACTIVE AROUND
 GRATIS, OHIO
 
      The small town of Gratis, Ohio (population 998),
 at the junction of Highways 725 and 503 approximately
 97 miles (155 kilometers) southwest of Columbus, is
 once more the scene of UFO activity.
      On Thursday, February 5, 1998, at 8:30 p.m.,
 Timothy J. reported that "his brother came in the
 house and stated that there was a UFO outside."
      Heading outdoors, Tim spotted the object to the
 southeast of their house.  He described it as "a
 triangular shape" that "had a glow that contrasted
 against the sky.  It had a light at each corner and three
 more at the center.  Two of the outside lights flashed
 alternately with one center light.  It made no sound and
 flew extremely slow."  (Many thanks to Tim Hagemeister
 of NACOMM for this report.)
      On November 19, 1997, at around 5:30 p.m., Edward J.
 reported, "My wife and daughter have seen the strange
 objects in the southern sky near Camden and Gratis.
 Today I saw those lights.  There were four lights in
 position.  Two of the lights were almost on top of the
 others.  One of the two was much larger.  The four lights,
 when you looked at them, you could tell they were all
 together in a group, being set apart from all the others
 such as stars and aircraft.  My daughter states that she
 sees these lights frequently and calls them 'the Gratis
 UFOs.'"  (Many thanks to Kenneth Young, public relations
 director of Tri-State Advocates for Scientific Knowledge,
 T.A.S.K., for this report.)
 
 TUBULAR ORANGE UFO SEEN
 OVER DUNKIRK, NEW YORK
 
      In early February, Jason R. was staying at his
 grandparents' home in Dunkirk, New York, located on
 the shores on Highway 5 approximately 45 miles
 (72 kilometers) southwest of Buffalo, when he heard
 a strange whirring noise.
      "I was sitting on my grandmother's front porch
 one night and heard a type of whizzing sound coming
 from the sky," he reported.  "At first I thought it was
 a plane crashing.  As I looked around for several 
 minutes, I saw a bright orange stick-figured object
 fly over the house.  It looked like one of those
 roadside red flare things.  It was as big as or
 bigger than the house across the street."
      Jason immediately went indoors to tell his
 family.  As the UFO flew around overhead, it was
 observed by the boy, his sister and both grandparents.
 (Many thanks to Kenneth Young of T.A.S.K. for
 passing on this report.)
 
 UFO FLAP SWINGS INTO
 HIGH GEAR IN CHILE
 
      January 1998 was a big month for UFO sightings
 in Chile.
      On January 4, 1998, Pablo Marinan and his family
 spied a UFO over their hometown of Angol, located
 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of Santiago de Chile,
 the national capital.
      "The object was 55 degrees above the horizon and
 southeast of us," Pablo reported.  "The UFO was oval
 in shape, a very bright light with a dark structure around
 it.  The object was vibrating.  At arm's length, it was
 about two centimeters (one inch) long."
      On January 17, 1998, at 9:19 p.m., Rodrigo Bravo
 saw "a very bright white/gold light come from the south
 at high speed.  It stopped in mid-air over Santiago
 (above the Corrillos section) for about ten seconds,
 then it shot back to the south from where it came."
      On January 24, 1998, Sergio Rojas and four friends
 drove out to Tranque Alfalfal dam in El Cajon del Maipo
 about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Santiago.
 On their way up the mountain to the dam, "they saw
 two balls of light pass over them at a very high speed.
 After a few seconds, they saw a third one, but it was
 traveling much slower."
      Arriving at the dam, Sergio and his friends left
 the car and walked to the cliff's edge.  "From here they
 could see the Rio Maipo 100 meters (330 feet) below.
 Then they saw a cigar/egg-shaped UFO about 18 meters
 (60 feet) long coming up the river.  It was a bright white
 color.  They heard a very high-pitched tone that clogged
 their ears for a while."
      As the UFO flew by, the group found themselves
 covered by "a strange mist, hot and cold at the same
 time."  They hurried back to the car and drove down
 the mountain.
      "On their way to San Jose de Maipo, they encountered
 a UFO that was hovering about 800 meters (2,640 feet)
 from them.  They stopped the car and got out.  The UFO
 looked like the moon but was slightly smaller and was
 white-colored.  After five minutes of observation, the UFO
 faded away like a cloud or smoke."  (Muchas gracias a
 Luis Sanchez Perry para esas informaciones.)
 
 TWO BLACK HELICOPTERS
 SPOTTED IN CONNECTICUT
 
      On Monday, February 9, 1998, at about 3 p.m.,
 Vincent R. was near Railroad Avenue in Greenwich,
 Connecticut (population 58,400) when he heard the
 distinctive sound of helicopter engines.
      Looking up, Vincent saw "two black helicopters
 with armor around the windows.  They were flying very
 low, just over 1,000 feet (300 meters)."  He described
 the helicopters as "medium size, no antennae" and
 "with skids."  They were "flying towards Long Island"
 along a flight path that would have taken them across
 Long Island Sound to Lattingtown, New York.
      Greenwich is located on U.S. Route 1 in the
 southwestern corner of Connecticut approximately
 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of New York City.
 (Email Interview)
 
 from the UFO Files...
 
 1942: THE BRENNAN DOGFIGHT
 
      Five years before Roswell, during World War II, a
 Bristol Beaufighter of the Royal Australian Air Force
 (RAAF) clashed with a UFO over the Bass Strait,
 south of Melbourne, Australia.  Here is the pilot's
 own account:
      "We had orders not long after the Japanese attack
 on Darwin (on February 19, 1942--J.T.) to patrol the
 Bass Strait where fishermen had reported seeing
 mysterious lights on the sea at night."
 (Editor's Note:  The Allied high command thought
 the lights might be from long-range German U-boats
 or Japanese I-class submarines.)
      "At 5:50 p.m. of a lovely sunny (February) evening,
 we were flying some miles east of the Tasman
 Peninsula when, of a sudden, there came out of a
 cloud bank, a singular airfoil of a glistening bronze
 color."
      "I'd say it was around 150 feet long and about
 50 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."
      At this point, the pilot, Lt. William Brennan,
 took his Beaufighter in for a closer look.
      "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."
 (Editor's Comment: Cartoon "nose art" was common
 on warplanes of World War II.  It seems that the
 UFOnauts had gotten into the spirit of the times.)
      "The damn thing flew parallel to us for some
 minutes, 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."  (See FLYING SAUCERS UNCENSORED
 by Harold T. Wilkins, Citadel Press, New York, NY
 1955, pages 224-255.)
 
 FUN UFO WEBSITES:
      For a look at the UFO scene in Japan, check out
 Mizuki Tamura's new site.  Log in at this URL:
 http://www.bekkoame.or.jp/~fitzroy/html/ufoe.html
      On Saturday, February 14, Ontario ufologist
 Jennifer Jarvis launched her new site, ORBWATCH.
 Check it out at http://www.per.to/orbwatch
      Our parent site, UFO INFO, has a great new
 feature--a whole webpage devoted to the Irish UFO
 Research Association (IUFORA).  For a look at
 IUFORA's files on sightings and encounters in Eire,
 go to http://www.digiserve.com/ufoinfo/iufora/
 files.shtml
      Back issues of UFO ROUNDUP are always
 available for downloading at our website.  Just drop
 in at http://www.digiserve.com/ufoinfo/roundup/
      Last week your editor mentioned a site devoted
 to underground bases.  Several readers have
 informed me that the URL for this site--http://www.
 budget.net/~harbob/undbases.htm--cannot be
 contacted.  Readers, please take note.
 
      And that's it for this week.  If you come across
 a UFO story in your local newspaper, why not clip
 it out and send it to our snail-mail address.  That's
 UFO ROUNDUP, Box 16, 126 Toll Gate Road,
 Warwick, Rhode Island, USA 02886.
 
      We'll be back next weekend with more saucer
 news from "the paper that goes home--
 UFO ROUNDUP."  See you then!
 
 UFO ROUNDUP: Copyright 1998 by Masinaigan
 Productions, all rights reserved.  Readers may post
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 and its editor by name and list the date of the issue
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