For decades we Americans have been lied to as our pilots had died or simply vanished. Has an undeclared air war been underway over our air space or are we merely seeing human civilization being eclipsed by a savage, higher technological, power grab?

In his book, “Aliens in Space” Major Donald Keyhoe, retired, pointed out that an alarming number of US military and civilian aircraft were reported missing, crashed, or lost while in pursuit of UFO’s. Keyhoe, whose articles pioneered coverage on flying saucers from 1950 on, also began to detect the growing government cover-up that quickly resulted on the issue once it was clear that the phenomenon could not be contained by the US military.

Although many UFO sightings had taken place from 1947 on as corroborated by recent FBI file releases, the problem of incursions into US air space increased to critical levels by 1949 and climaxed in 1952. When UFO’s were chased by US F-94C fighter jets over White House air space over several weeks, it was clear that something was wrong and our air defenses were not up to the task of defending our skies. Why? The Russians clearly lacked the capability, and they were our most prominent competitors as global super power, but were simply incapable of posing any threat of penetrating US air space. There was only one conclusion to draw.

Keyhoe pointed to the incredible volume of UFO’s witnessed , attempted intercepts, radar visual reports, and the inescapable conclusion of related aircraft losses. An unusually high incidence of losses occurred with veteran aviators who had logged hundreds or thousands of hours of combat experience. This made the likelihood of such losses that more uncanny. The disproportionate number of new state of the art jet aircraft lost or crashed indicated a very ominous conclusion that Donald Keyhoe openly voiced even though the Pentagon had been understandably guarded about publicly making any correlations over incidents.

Beginning with anti aircraft batteries trying to bring down a UFO over Los Angeles in 1942, the aerial harassment of a P-51 fighter over San Antonio airfield in 1949, and the attempted shoot down of a UFO reported by an F-86 pilot of a disk shaped craft by Captain Edward Ruppelt, Director of Project Blue Book that occurred in 1950, something clearly was afoot. The growing potential for aerial confrontations was becoming more and more contentious between human pilots and their extraterrestrial counterparts.

Motives for air to air engagements between UFO’s and aircraft of the US armed services were not just over issues of identification or air defense, but the race for superior armament between the Soviet Union and America. Each of the super powers were jockeying for position over nuclear arms, rocketry, and other highly classified projects. According to Keyhoe, in his interview with Navy fighter pilots, the aviators admitted that their superiors had urged them to ram UFO’s if they could safely eject. Why? Under pressure to attain advanced technical superiority before the Russians could recover it, US military leaders were getting desperate.

At what cost were these confrontations in the thin icy altitudes of our air space were we headed for when in air to air contests with UFO’s? How high would the stakes become? By 1952 during the infamous Washington National Sightings, analysts warned air defense commanders that the shoot down of any UFO could possibly lead to the dangerous prospect of a war with the superior technology of an alien civilization. The implications of such a prospect could be unpredictable if not destructive for the US. An undeclared air war with a more sophisticated foe could end badly for the US as well as mankind. So, it was advised as such, but when White House air space was being violated repeatedly with impunity, the stage was set for unforeseen consequences. Tensions were high.

It seems the final straw that broke the camels back in terms of outright hostility between US war planes, their crews and their UFO opponents occurred in 1953 following the most heavily reported year of UFO sightings. Even Captain William Patterson who converged on a formation of UFO’s seemed to have been tolerated as he reported that the brightly lit objects he had pursued had now surrounded his F-94C and were moving in on him. As the radar room at Bolling Air Force Base grew quiet in desperation as USAF Major Dewy Fournet and a number of other officers observed UFO’s encircle the hapless fighter pilot, several tense moments passed by. As Captain Patterson’s voice reported on the intercom piped into the radar room, suddenly the unknown targets that had come threateningly close to his aircraft withdrew leaving a shaken fighter pilot. That had been a very close encounter with potential disaster, but things were to get much worse as the years wore on.

In 1953 according to Donald Keyhoe Navy fighter jet crews engaged a brilliantly lighted object off the coast of California near Los Angeles. After repeated attempts to order the unknown craft to land the situation intensified as radar scope visuals showed the object accelerating away from the trailing jets only to slow down and allow them to catch up. After several such cat and mouse episodes, the unknown object came to a halt. The pursuing Navy jets began making head on passes at the object, breaking off within a couple hundred yards, but the bogey never budged. Fearful that the bizarre game might become deadly, the interceptor pilots were ordered to break off their pursuit.

Subsequent air crews attempting to defend our air space were not so lucky. Over Soo Locks Michigan, Lieutenant Felix Moncla and Lt. Robert Wilson were lost without a trace when ordered to intercept a UFO over Lake Michigan. When radar operators watched as the two blips merged on their screens, contact with the F-89C Scorpion Fighter jet ceased forever.

May 3, 1953 three navy pilots were reported missing aboard a Douglas Sky Raider night bomber off the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey despite a 27 air craft search and rescue effort. The occurrence was deemed highly unusual with experienced personnel at the controls on a routine mission. However, in the realm of the UFO nothing remains routine or predictable for long. Many accident and disappearance reports are often altered or omitted in order to discourage actual association with a UFO incident.


Walesville, NY was the scene of another deadly incident in 1954 as a F-94 C fighter jet crew ascended from nearby Griffiss Air Base to intercept an unknown object. According to Donald Keyhoe’s account, an invisible wall of intolerable heat assaulted pilots Lt. William Atkins and backseat radar operator, Lt. Henry Coudon forcing them to eject from their aircraft. The two pilots watched in horror as their stricken fighter plunged toward the tiny town of Walesville crashing into a house and killing a family of four.

It would be easy for us to forget the past and overlook the death of Captain Thomas Mantell near Godman Air Field in Kentucky who died while in pursuit of a bright metallic object in 1948 or Flight 19 (5 TBM Avenger Torpedo Bombers) who disappeared off the coast of Florida Dec. 5, 1945, as being casualties of the UFO phenomena as well. However, by the mid 1950’s much more clear intent of hostility seemed to have resulted as a consequence of continued chases and use of weapons in trying to bring UFO’s down in relation to the findings of Marine Major, Donald Keyhoe.

Between 1952 and 1956, a 4 year period, some 14, 302 aircraft losses to various reasons were recorded! The new generation of jet fighter was now in full deployment with the state of the art advancing rapidly. Many veteran World War II and Korean War pilots with excellent training and long hours of combat experience inexplicably fell prey to unknown and mysterious circumstances. Of this startling loss of hardware and personnel, 1773 incidents were due to unknown conditions. 2.5 % were attributed to the “Unsafe Conditions” category while 56.2 % of the grand total were chalked up to pilot error. To take these vague explanations and interpret them in proximity to UFO reports would probably uncover even more disturbing details.

It was known within military circles privy to the forbidden knowledge of UFO and US fighter pilot engagements that flying saucers seemed impervious to air to air rockets, machine gun bullets, or canon. It was known that many who attempted to bring down these airborne anomalies were in turn fired upon and killed. While others simply disappeared. According to Donald Keyhoe, by 1949 he had already been informed by Pentagon Major, Jere Boggs, in the presence of General Sory Smith that the Air Force had been ordered to get a flying saucer by any available means.

This is but a fractional history on the long decades of UFO interceptions attempted by the armed forces of not only America, but the world. However, for us to go back in time and try to imagine what must have going through the minds of those young pilots as they attempted to out fly and intercept the unknown after briefings on just how dangerous their objective might be, must have seemed daunting to say the least. We must surely give these brave young men their due, especially those who died or were never seen again in the face of a mystery that has allowed their sacrifices to go on unacknowledged and forgotten down the long dark corridors of secrecy and official denial.