ParaNet BBS/spitz

ParaNet BBS/spitz

File Name:	spitz.txt
Author:	Unknown
Date:	Unknown
Posting BBS:	Unknown
BBS Main Page:	ParaNet Main Page
Key Words:	ParaNet, UFO, Ufology

(5250)  Thu 21 Jan 93 10:04p
By: Don Allen
To: All
Re: Spitsbergen Flying Saucer
St:
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 * Forwarded from "MUFONET"
 * Originally by John Komar
 * Originally to All
 * Originally dated 22 Jan 1993, 19:13

A short time ago I had posted a newsclip obtained from a UFO
magazine dating to 1957.  The following information is more
current, and provides additional detail into the supposed crash
of a flying saucer on the island of Spitsbergen:

[Many thanks goes to Bob Dunn of Fortean Research for providing
this information!]
----------------------------------------------------------------

A brief synopsis of the article "Legend of the Spitsbergen
Saucer" by Ole Jonny Braenne from International UFO Reporter
Vol. 17 No. 6.

Ole Jonny Braenne is described as a prominent Norwegian ufologist
and the article itself is a summary of a 38-page special edition
of UFO-Norway devoted entirely to the Spitsbergen legend. He
begins:

  "For almost 40 years rumors have told of a crashed flying
saucer on the remote island of Spitsbergen. As the story goes,
the wreckage was discovered by jet pilots and later transported
to Narvik, Norway, where an investigation determined it was
composed of unknown metallic alloys and was of extraterrestrial
origin."

[Alternate versions suggest possible Soviet or Nazi origin.]

  Braenne believes that the first mention of a saucer crash in
Spitsbergen appeared in the German newspaper, Saarbrucker
Zeitung, on June 28, 1952. The article then includes an English
translation of an article by "J.M.M." which is slightly different
than the one posted on MufoNet. The details and location are the
same but this time the pilot who found the saucer is named Air
Capt. Olaf Larsen and it mentions a rocket specialist named Dr.
Norsel who allegedly examined the craft. This version was picked
up by several other German newspapers and eventually by the AFP
news service where it found it's way into the CIA archives.

  The next version included in the article was from the German
newspaper, Hessische Nachrichten, which published an account
under the headline "Flying Saucers Are No Fable", on July 26,
1954.  This version is nearly identical to the one posted on
MufoNet, as it includes the names of Col. Gernod Darnhyl and the
two fighter pilots Lts. Brobs and Tyllensen. The author of this
article was Sven Thygesen who along with the earlier "J.M.M"
has proven to be untraceable.

  After giving two more variants of the theme, Braenne says:

  "This is, basically, the Spitsbergan crash/retrieval story as
it stands today. Now we can either let it keep wandering from
magazine to magazine or conduct a little basic research and
investigation to check the story out."

  The author then cites the results of previous investigations
into the story, including one by Margaret Sachs in "The UFO
Encyclopedia" (1980) "...although rumors continue to circle about
the alleged Spitsbergan crash, no conclusive evidence has been
presented to support the story." and in the Condon Report (1969),
"...it seems well established that this story has no basis in
fact."

  The author then tells of his own research which consisted of
sifting through the entire 1952 edition of the local Spitsbergen
newspaper which contained no mention of any saucer crash, nor did
any of the major Norwegian newspapers. He also checked with the
Press and Information Division of the Norwegian High Command and
could find no mention of any of the pilots or other military
personnel allegedly involved in the event, although they did have
records for all other officers known to have served during that
era.

  He goes on to note that at the time (1951-52) no Norwegian Air
Force fighters even had the range to patrol Spitsbergen, which
lies 930 km north of Tromso. He concludes:

  "The Spitsbergen story is-as readers will have already
surmised-fiction. The original authors, mainly J.M.M. and Sven
Thygesen (if these were their real names), had a cursory
knowledge of Norwegian military aircraft but beyond that were too
ignorant to pull off an entirely successful hoax.

  "Even if this case is empty of substance, we may safely predict
that it will continue to show up in print for years to come, as
long as there are "researchers" who think it deserves their
enthusiastic attention and will not allow prosaic truth to stand
in their way."

=END=

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