The Flying Triangle (FT) type of UFO has been seen on an ever increasing basis since the early 1980s. Are these FT’s  extra-terrestrial space craft, advanced military aircraft, or perhaps a combination of both? One of the common observed facets of FT  sightings is that the ‘craft’ are frequently showing numerous bright lights – and this would seem to be contradictory to any  requirements for a stealth aircraft! This apparent contradiction has always been a puzzle for UFO researchers, and even aviation  researchers to solve. Have we now found some connections between FT’s and USAF stealth bombers? Recent observation by a  witness near Swindon, would suggest that the answer is yes!

APRA Co-ordinator James Hill was able to find a witness to a remarkable aerial flight...

Witness’s Observation: “On Tuesday 9th March 1999, I was watching TV, the time was 6.00pm. I was disturbed by the (familiar) sound of a B-52 bomber of the USAF. I got up and rushed to the utility room door. I knew this was a B-52  before I saw it, as they have a distinctive engine noise, and also they throttle back for some unknown reason as they come over, then open up  again. It was heading northeast, before abruptly turning to an east heading. Having watched the B-52 depart, I went back to the TV. At about 6.45pm I could hear the distinctive whine of the engines again, but this time they seemed to be louder. I ran to the back door, and the  (twilight) was fading fast, but you could still make out the planes. What made me do a double-take was that the planes were flying in formation,  one ahead, and others out to the side. But, in between were B-2 stealth bombers I watched these planes for 30 – 50 sec. They all took the  same route as the one seen at 6.00pm (with the abrupt turn) After having time to think about what I had seen, I can only assume that the (B-52) bombers were escorting the B-2 bombers, but to where I do  now know. I can only assume that they were on exercises, as one of the B-2’s did land at Fairford the day after.”

Investigations by J Hill: The lighting configuration of the B-2’s was curious, showing 4 lights on each wing leading edge . The Swindon Evening Advertiser gave a brief quote from a USAF officer, regarding the landing of a B-2, the “Spirit of Arizona” (Fire & Ice) at  Fairford on Wednesday, 10th March A fuller report in an earlier edition is being sourced. Inquiries were made with neighbours of the witness. While they obviously heard the aircraft, none bothered to go and look. I have visited the village of Fairford, just to ‘quiz’ locals about any flying that night – none recalled any flights, which is odd considering the noise  the B-52’s make when taking off! This makes the evening take on a sort of UFO-type feel, since such an obvious aerial spectacle was  unseen/ignored/forgotten by so many people.

Comments by APRA Researchers: On examining several photos of B-2’s, it is clear that there is some variance in RAM panel detail, and apparent lights. Some photos show five  white panels wrapped round the wing leading edges, and some sort of red lens behind a clear panel Curiously, some photos on show this  arrangement on the right wing only. It might be speculated that the red lenses could be part of some infra-red illuminator. These photos also  show a red light on the mid-lower leading edge. Why should the B-2’s be in the UK at all, let alone flying in what was quite a massed formation with B-52’s? The situation in Kosovo is one  possibility, and of course that over Iraq. But the tight formation being flown was more suggestive of a display. It may be a matter of considerable  concern that exercises, with such tight formations and necessary precision flying, was being carried out over Swindon and the Thames Valley. Now that we have positive identification of a B-2, with a lighting configuration resembling that of a ‘boomerang’, we may have to re-evaluate  many FT UFO cases. There are at least two on the APRA database which will have to be looked at again. Also, given that the B-2’s may well  change their lights for various reasons, it is not impossible that they could be configured to show various apparent delta shapes – the ‘truncated’  nose FT is a good example. Of course we still cannot be sure how many years that the B-2’s, and other stealth aircraft, have been ‘operational’ over the UK. However, APRA  have pointed out that a friend of one of the co-ordinators reported seeing large “black delta-shaped aircraft” at RAF Fairford at the time of  Operation Desert Shield in 1990. This witness later commented that he would now recognise them as B-2’s! It is more likely that they might  have been the much –speculated TR-3A, which would have flown alongside the F-117 stealth attack aircraft.

We are sure that there will be more updates on this issue…

 Did a Triangular UFO, or Stealth Aircraft, crash near Bicester in 1967?

Those of you who read Fortean Times magazine will have noted a curious reference last year in a report on a UFO conference, by Andy  Roberts. It referred to an alleged UFO crash between Bicester and Upper Heyford during 1967. The report came from a former RAF engineer,  who had been based at RAF Bicester as part of No 71 Maintenance Unit (71 MU). The original report confused many, by claiming that the  engineer had recovered Vulcans and Tornadoes, and of course the Panavia Tornado was not even flying in 1967. However the ‘Tornado’ in  question was an RB-45 Tornado, originally a ‘spyplane’ for the Strategic Air Command (SAC). The RB-45 Tornado was used by the RAF. However, to the main claim. The airman claims that on an unspecified date in 1967, 71MU were called out to deal with the recovery of a  crashed ‘aircraft’, midway between Bicester and Upper Heyford, which was itself a major USAF base. On arrival at the site, the aircraft was not  conventional. It was delta-shaped, looking like dull aluminium, having no cockpit or visible engine intakes or exhausts. It was not a large  vehicle. The vehicle has apparently hit the ground hard, scraping across the ground, leaving an obvious trail, although no aircraft debris was  reported. The unusual aircraft was lifted onto a low-loader, and transported back to RAF Bicester, where unusually it was not placed into hangar  for the normal salvage/repair operations, but immediately taken to bomb a disposal shed, the doors of which were welded shut. It is intimated that there were USAF personnel overseeing the recovery operation. It seems strange that while there was an American presence  at the recovery, no attempt was made to transport the vehicle to RAF Upper Heyford. Does this suggest that the aircraft was of British origin?

No more was heard of this until last year when the airman came forward to make his claims. The claims have been investigated by various UFO  and aviation researchers, such as Tim Matthews and Chris Gibson. Tim Matthews features the case in his recent book UFO Revelations – The  Secret Technology Exposed. The case also featured in the local press at the end of March this year, although unfortunately a large photo of an  F-117 Nighthawk was used to indicate the possible stealth connection.

From the original description of a small delta, with no cockpit or obvious engines quite clearly indicate that this was not a manned aircraft, and  may have been more of a lifting-body type of design. Perhaps similar to those used by NASA in the early days of research into re-usable space  vehicles, and which ultimately led to the Rockwell design for the current space shuttle OSV. Chris Gibson believes that the aircraft was an  English Electric prototype, the P42, designed as a Mach 5 aircraft – it was one of several hypersonic designs in Britain at the time. Also  remember that in its short-lived space programme, Britain was working on possible ‘mini-shuttle’ vehicles, using lifting body designs – Project  Mustard by Bristol Aerospace was well-advanced in its design, even to the point of launch platforms being built at Filton aerodrome.

James Hill has been told by acquaintances that the crash site is still fenced off even today. A field trip tried to establish the fenced-off site, but  as we did not have precise details, end the ground area is fairly large and difficult to see from the road, then we were unable to make progress.

Recently, one source has come forward, claiming to have seen the 'downed' delta, before it was found by the RAF recovery team! This 'witness'  has prepared some drawings of what he saw of the downed vehicle, and his descriptions suggest a natural-metal-coloured delta, about 4m long,  with a 3m wingspan. There was no cockpit, nor engine intakes or exhausts. The significant part of this claim is that the rear upper surfaces  were not the same as the underside, and was 'shaped' with more of a dorsal spine, that gave the impression of a slight wing and fin  arrangement - although the surface was contoured. The site was supposed to be between Middleton Stoney and Bucknell, and trains could be  heard on the nearby railway line. It should be noted that this type of 'craft' has been described in recent British books, such as UFO Revelation  by Tim Matthews, and Cosmic Crashes by Nick Redfern.

Perhaps we might also look again at one of Oxfordshire’s most famous UFO cases – the ATV film case? On 26th October 1971, at 11.50am, while filming a shepherd at Enstone, the film crew were able to capture footage of a UFO. It was a stationary  object, which suddenly moved of at high speed, leaving a vapour trail.. While other reports at the same time were of an orange object, possibly  an orange flame, there were other reports of a white delta-like craft, notably:

At Stonehill, four men saw a sharply defined white delta-shape. At Evenly four men saw a white aircraft of "unconventional design". At Deanshanger four schoolboys saw a white, well-defined missile shaped object, emitting flame and a trail. At Towcester, a sharply-defined white rocket-shaped object was seen.

We still do not have a credible explanation for the ATV Film event, nor others on that day, but the observations of white or metallic ‘missiles’, or  even delta craft, strongly suggest terrestrial technology. Was the craft that crashed near Upper Heyford in 1967 an early part of the same  project? Even as late as 1977, Brian James witnessed a very fast delta-shaped vehicle while on holiday at Weymouth. It was clearly metallic, glinting in  the sun. It was slightly arrowhead shaped, and was leaving a trail after emitting a loud single boom and a strange cloud – as if had ‘fired up’ a  propulsion system.

 It is undoubtedly worth remembering that the mid-1970s was also a time when mysterious night-time 'booms' were heard regularly in parts of  southern England - though they seem to have been rather forgotten these days. These booms were all too easily dismissed as sonic booms,  made by Concord. However, anyone who ever heard the 'Nocturnal Booms' of 1976 and 1977 will know that they were not sonic booms. The  two articles from local papers (below) will indicate just how they were perceived, not only by the general public!

Mystery Noise May Be Concorde Echo by David Horne Strange nocturnal rumblings which cause windows to rattle and curtains to shake in South Oxfordshire may be distant echoes from supersonic  Concorde aircraft. Mr. Richard Clayton and his wife, who live at Mill Farm, West Hendred, have been hearing the noises, sometimes three times a week since  December. And they always occur at the same time - about 9.20 pm. They were so intrigued that they inquired at Wantage Police Sation to  see if anyone else in the area had been hearing things. The police had had a similar report. On January 8 a householder in Larkdown,  Wantage, said there had been a "rumbling noise", but enquiries led nowhere. But several people from the Wantage and Abingdon areas have  since come forward and said that they too have heard the mystery noise. And to Mr. Derek Smith, of London Road, Blewbury, there is no mystery at all - he is quite sure that Concorde is responsible. "It is either the French Concorde going along the English Channel, or the English Concorde going through the Bristol Channel. I would think  that we would get the reports here when there is a clear night and a westerly or south-westerly wind." adds Mr. Smith. He bases his  explanation on the fact that the same noises can be heard very frequently at his daughter's home in Exeter. They occur around the same time,  between 9 to 9.30 pm. Mr. Smith, an ex-RAF navigator, says other RAF friends identify the rumblings as the shock wave caused by an aircraft  going faster than sound. A spokesman for the British Aircraft Corporation at Bristol said on Monday that there were Concorde flights around that time of evening, but  that the evidence was not conclusive. The Concorde theory had been advanced for the mystery bangs in the South-West, and this possibility is  still being studied, but he was not aware of the latest reports from South Oxfordshire. (from the Didcot Herald - 29 January 1977)

 MYSTERY BANG SETS OFF POLICE SEARCH A bang loud enough to rattle doors at RAF Benson and arouse suspicions of IRA activity during the weekend remains a mystery. Police searched the airfield shortly after midnight on Sunday after two NCOs on duty at different points on the station had been startled by what  they thought was the sound of an explosion in the direction of Didcot and Wallingford. But not only did the police find nothing, they also had no  other reports of explosions in the area. (from the Oxford Mail - 5 February 1977)

 NEW EXPLANATIONS?

I read with interest your report on the Bicester 1967 "Flying Triangle" UFO crash. It rang some bells with me, so I took a quick web-search for reconnaissance drones. And there it was, clear as day. Your mystery craft was a USAF D-21 supersonic reconnaissance drone. 31 of these  are reported to have been built from March 1966 through to 1969 and the aircraft enthusiast historians list each by serial number, carrier  aircraft and ultimate fate.  Some are missing, presumed lost in crashes. Some are in museums on open public display.

The pilotless drone aircraft looked EXACTLY like your rendering, maybe a bit more curvy along the leading edges of the wings. It was also  slightly larger than the dimensions you quote with a wingspan of something like 20 feet. The single jurbojet engine had a large "cone" stuffed  into its intake at the nose, so the intake was all but hidden with just a circumferential slot exposed.

The D-21 went into service in 1966 and was usually carried aloft under a B-52 bomber (and later on top of YF-12A Oxcart aircraft). It was  released at high altitude to overfly soviet military establishments at supersonic speeds and then return to land where the reconnaissance media  could be recovered. The aircraft were introduced to replace the Lockheed U-2 spy planes which had proven vulnerable to shoot-down when  Maj. Powers was captured on a reconnaissance mission over Russia. The D-21 would have been in service in Europe and the UK in 1967.

The D-21's were themselves later replaced by the Oxcart derivative SR-71 "Blackbird" manned aircraft. These are twin-engined aircraft that fly essentially the same mission and look just like an enlarged twin-engined D-21. In 1967 the D-21 would have been just about the most secret  aircraft in the world and to lose one in a civilian area a serious embarrassment for the USAF.

FROM Chris Burleigh, California USA

APRA co-ordinators are still working with other researchers into the background of the 1967 crash.

Special thanks to Chris Gibson, David Windle and Chris Burleigh for their input into this research.