Big Bird Satelitte #1216 Launched 1980 Jun 18

[John Burroughs]

Very interesting. Could we ahve brought a Russian one down on the first night and they brought one of ours on Halts night? But its just like the other article you posted on using ELF beams where is the follow up. I see the part about when it was launched but nothing on the 67th or when it came down on Wikipedia anyway we can follow up?

[IanR]

Hopefully IanR can offer comment on this one please.

I’d say this is a mixture of fact and fiction.
Firstly, there was indeed a KH-9 (“Big Bird”) launch on the stated date. I’ve not been able to find anything about recovery of the film capsule, but in earlier versions the capsule was recovered over (or sometimes in) the Pacific Ocean for safety and security reasons. The idea was to snare the parachute in mid-air as it came down, which was done in daylight. If they missed, it would float for a while and could be fished out.
The description on the French website of the supposed “capsule recovery” is undoubtedly a piece of imaginative fiction concocted in an attempt to explain the RFI.

Ian

[Observer]

Ian
I agree, lots of licence used on this to try and explain the RFI. However, i think that this and some of our recent posts are moving towards the right ball park.

Obs

[Observer]

ST
It is an interesting story, one thing that springs to mind is the HH-53 would not have the range to get out to the 'Dogger Bank' area and then loiter for an unspecified time. Having said that, the HH-53 can be re fuelled in flight from a C-130 as i have seen it done. Bit of a long shot this one. As you say, this seems to be the only connection between the 67th and the RFI unless of course we include the Apollo theory.
One wonders how our French friends arrived at that scenario?
Thanks for digging this stuff up.
Some where in this mystery the 67th are involved but at the moment its still guess work.
Obs

[Observer]

ST
Was the response by my 67th ARRS crew chief friend right for the incident when he said to me a couple of years after the RFI. "If i told you you what happened, you wouldn't believe me, and i value my stripes too much". Adding to that, i remember him saying it with a huge grin. He must have thought it funny!
This surely must implicate the 67th ARRS some where in this.
Obs

[IanR]

One wonders how our French friends arrived at that scenario?

The French website attributes it to an article called "Did the Americans drop a satellite on Suffolk?) by Richard Kidd and Michael Akeroyd, August 1996, but the name of the publication is not given. Maybe it was in UFO Magazine - does anyone have back issues?
Ian

[John Burroughs]

Could you show where Bentwaters was and if you know of any special operation bases the US or British had in the area also.

[John Burroughs]

Can you show it on the one that showed dogger bank also can you show the braudey site on Subs robert posted and anyother special ops bases.

[AdrianF]

Good Find St.

I just tried to email him, but it bounced back. It's a great theory, but I'd just like to know how the details of this recovery operation were verified, before jumping to too many conclusions. There are some refernces to writings on the Big Bird project, but I wonder what the original source of info on the recovery going into plan B were?

Cheers
Adrian

[Observer]

The forum looked at this scenario independantly of this source some time ago and we suggested that a spy satelite may be the RFI.
It has some interesting thesis that does fit in with some of the evidence, but more verification is needed to enter it into the strong theory catigory.
Well done ST
Obs