1966: Sighting at Subic Bay Naval Station

THINK ABOUTIT SIGHTING REPORT

Date: July 1966

Sighting Time:

Day/Night: Day

Location: Subic Bay Naval Station

Urban or Rural: –

Hynek Classification:  DD (Daylight Disc) Metallic or whitish object was seen in the day.

Duration:

No. of Object(s): 2

Height & Speed:

Size of Object(s):

Distance to Object(s):

Shape of Object(s):  round 

Color of Object(s): white 

Number of Witnesses: 1

Source:

Full Report

I was on board the USS Holder (DD-819) and we had traveled from Norfolk, Virginia through the Panama Canal on to Pearl Harbor and finally to our temporary home port in the Philippines, Subic Bay Naval Station.

For the next 4 months we were in and out of Subic Bay several times. In these 4 months there was only one time that any aircraft came directly over our ship, and that was on a Sunday in July when we first arrived at the base.

I had just purchased a 35mm German made agfa camera and had loaded it with 36 shot color slide film. I recall distinctly that it happened on a Sunday because we were in our dress white uniforms, and I wanted to get pictures of all my shipmates.

As I walked around deck snapping pictures 2 jet fighter aircraft appeared directly overhead and were in a steep climb nearly straight up with full afterburners kicked in. I took my camera and aimed it at the 2 jets and snapped one picture, I saw nothing other than the 2 jets. The noise from the jet fighters was deafening, and for the next 4 months there was never any plane that came over the top of our ship at pierside.

Tied up pierside with us was a nuclear attack submarine, and our ship was equipped with nuclear anti submarine rockets, ASROC.

When the slides were developed I looked at them and the ones of the 2 fighter airplanes were very small, they must have been at 15,000 feet high or more, I put the slides away and 6 years later, Christmas 1972, a friend gave me a slide projector.

Soon I had a 5 foot square picture screen, actually a white painted wall, to look at my slides on. When I came to the slides of the 2 jets over Subic Bay in 1966, straight above these jets at maybe 35-40,000 feet were 2 distinctive round white dots and the jets were vectored exactly at them. I showed the slides to several friends and they could not believe what they were seeing. Some suggested reflection in the lens or maybe a defect in the film. All the other shots were perfect and nothing to suggest a malfunction of the camera.

I put the slides away and stored them for many years in the basement, when I went to get them water had wiped them all away, so regrettably I do not have the slides anymore.

Clark Airforce base was nearby and maybe a reader of yours that was a radar operator could comment on this event from 38 years ago. Best Wishes

Thank you to the gentleman for this excellent and interesting report.

I am still requesting other military folks come forward if they have had an experience with an unknown object when serving.