In the early cases of "mysterious airship" in the United Kingdom in 1909, there were several sighting reports of lights and a story by a man of a landing in Suffolk, on May 16, 1909.
One ufology source describing these incidents adds that the skipper of a Lowestoft fishing boat saw a strange object, too. He reported that he and his crew heard a commotion overboard, and gazing above, witnessed a dark craft of huge dimensions.
The skipper even claimed to have lit a flare and seen the occupants of the extraordinary aerial craft above ignite another flare in return.
A probably more accurate UFO source said that while the report was given in May 1909, it happened in October 1908. The boat was the Superb and the skipper was J. H. Stockman.
Fishing in the North Sea 35 miles off Lowestoft he saw what at first appeared to be a "a large star rising out of the water" and approaching his boat.
After calling one of his crew, Stockman decided to signal to the "airship" with a red flare - or to light it to better see it - and to his surprise he was immediately answered by a red flare from above his ship. He then showed a white flare, and received a blue flare in response.
The "airship" appeared to be sausage-shaped in the flare light, it carried a single light. After a few minutes it went out to the sea in the direction of the Continent.
In this version, there is no mention of direct sighting of occupants.
| Case number: | URECAT-001470 |
|---|---|
| Date of event: | October 1909 |
| Earliest report of event: | May 20, 1909 |
| Delay of report: | 8 months. |
| Witness reported via: | Newspaper. |
| First alleged record by: | Newspaper. |
| First certain record by: | Newspaper. |
| First alleged record type: | Newspaper. |
| First certain record type: | Newspaper. |
| This file created on: | August 17, 2013 |
| This file last updated on: | August 17, 2013 |
| Country of event: | U-K. |
| State/Department: | Suffolk |
| Type of location: | From fishing boat, above head. |
| Lighting conditions: | Night |
| UFO observed: | Yes |
| UFO arrival observed: | Not reported |
| UFO departure observed: | Not reported |
| UFO/Entity Relation: | Certain |
| Witnesses numbers: | 2 |
| Witnesses ages: | Not reported. Adults. |
| Witnesses types: | Not reported. Men, skipper and member of fishing boat crew. |
| Photograph(s): | No. |
| Witnesses drawing: | No. |
| Witnesses-approved drawing: | No. |
| Number of entities: | Several |
|---|---|
| Type of entities: | Not reported |
| Entities height: | Not reported |
| Entities outfit type: | Not reported. |
| Entities outfit color: | Not reported. |
| Entities skin color: | Not reported. |
| Entities body: | Not reported. |
| Entities head: | Not reported. |
| Entities eyes: | Not reported. |
| Entities mouth: | Not reported. |
| Entities nose: | Not reported. |
| Entities feet: | Not reported. |
| Entities arms: | Not reported. |
| Entities fingers: | Not reported. |
| Entities fingers number: | Not reported. |
| Entities hair: | Not reported. |
| Entities voice: | None reported. |
| Entities actions: | Are in UFO, lit a flare after witnesses lit a flare. |
| Entities/witness interactions: | Lit a flare after witnesses lit a flare. |
| Witness(es) reactions: | Observed, lit a flare. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | Not reported. |
| Witness(es) interpretation: | Not reported. |
| Explanation category: | Possible British airship, or invention. |
| Explanation certainty: | High. |
[Ref. hn1:] "HAWERA AND NOMANBY STAR" NEWSPAPER:
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[...] Then one night in the fateful North Sea - or "German Ocean" - a weird, imperceptible object was seen a-high, burning two lights and descending rudely curious, to observe more closely, the quaking seamen on a Norwegian vessel. This story was bruited abroad, and ever since dozens of people in the eastern counties have been tumbling into the newspaper offices to corroborate it. Several heard the familiar whizzing sound which an airship makes. A Lowestoft smack skipper was bold enough to exchange signals with the airship. [...] |
[Ref. jc1:] JEROME CLARK:
The author says that there was a sighting in Great Britain 35 miles off Lowestoft, Suffolk, that received publicity only months afterwards.
On a clear night in October 1908, skipper J. H. Stockman of the smack "Superb" noticed a "large star" which seemed to be approaching the ship. He and a crewman lit a flare to have a better look at the object, and to their surprise the object replied with a red flare of his own.
In the resulting light they could see the outline of a "sausage-shaped" airship.
The two men lit a white flare and the airship replied with a blue one. A few minutes later it headed out to the sea.
Jerome Clark says the source is the East Anglia Daily Times for May 20, 1909.
[Ref. dc1:] DAVID CLARKE:
David Clarke says the airship scare of 1909 brought a number of accounts from witnesses who claimed to have seen landed flying objects and their occupants; with similarities with those reported during the 1897 wave in America.
Early on the morning of Sunday 16 May, people in the Norfolk Broads area reported seeing the lights of an airship, and a man produced an account of a "landing" which would not appear out of place in any UFO magazine of the modern era. The witness was a solicitor's clerk from Lowestoft, Mr. Edwards, who was walking home through lonely countryside near the village of North Walsham when his experience began. He said:
"When about a quarter of a mile out of that town something attracted my attention, and upon looking round and lifting my eyes over a fence I saw two or three lights, and they appeared to be a short distance from the ground. I paid very little heed to them, and walked on. However, I had walked a few hundred yards when I again heard a peculiar noise, and this time upon looking round, I noticed a glaring light, and it seemed to be coming towards me. To make certain that there was something moving I got behind a large tree. I got into a position so that the light was entirely obliterated from my sight, and then I observed a dark object ascending. It passed over my head and proceeded in the direction of Yarmouth or Lowestoft."
David Clarke says the source is the Norfolk News (Norwich), 22 May 1909.
[I provide the above to show that these sightings apparently prompted the report in this file:]
David Clarke also says that in May 1909, the skipper of the Suffolk-based fishing smack Superb, J. H. Stockman, reported how in October the previous year, when fishing in the North Sea 35 miles out of Lowestoft he had seen what at first appeared to be "a large star rising out of the water" and approaching his ship. After calling one of his crew, Stockman decided to signal to the "airship" with a red flare, and to his surprise he was immediately answered by a red flare from above his ship. He then showed a white flare, and received a blue flare in response! The "airship" appeared to be sausage shaped, and carried a single light; it eventually disappeared out to sea in the direction of the Continent.
David Clarke says the source is the East Anglian Daily Times (Ipswich, Suffolk), 20 May 1909.
[Ref. cm1:] COLIN MULLIGAN:
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Perhaps because of his social standing, Captain Horvey's Scareship encounter was treated by the press as very real. Coincidentally it was also seemingly well verified by other independent and 'acceptable' witnesses. For example, a Mr. Edwards, chief clerk to an established Lowestoft firm of Solicitors, stated that whilst ambling towards Lowestoft at around midnight on Saturday 15, May, he had the following odd encounter: "When looking around, and lifting my eyes, I saw two or three lights, and they appeared to be a short distance from the ground. I paid very little heed to them, and walked on. "I heard a peculiar noise, and this time, upon looking round, I noticed a glaring light, which seemed to be coming towards me." To make certain there was something moving, I got behind a large tree, and then I observed a dark object ascending. It passed over my head and proceeded in the direction of Lowestoft." The skipper of a Lowestoft fishing boat saw the strange object, too. He reported that he and his crew heard a commotion overboard and gazing above witnessed a dark craft of huge dimensions. The skipper even claimed to have lit a flare and seen the occupants of the extraordinary aerial craft above ignite another flare in return. |
[Ref. mn1:] MICHAEL NAISBITT:
USO's - Unidentified Submerged Objects.Oh yes, this story has a bit of everything!! Back to the 1909 sightings and in 1909 a report states that the skipper of the Suffolk based fishing smack Superb. J. H. Stockman, told of how in October the previous year (1908), when fishing in the North Sea 30 to 40 miles off Lowestoft he had seen what at first appeared to be, "A large star rising out of the water" which then began approaching his ship. After calling one of his crew, Stockman decided to signal to the "airship" with a red flare, and to his surprise he was immediately answered by a red flare from above his ship. He then showed a white flare, and received a blue flare in response. The "airship" appeared to be sausage shaped, and carried a single light and after quite some time it eventually disappeared out to sea. Possible Explanation? Some argued that the airship reports were actually exactly that, i.e. airships. Airships with controlled manoeuvrability had been publicly flown in the US since 1863. Coupled with the fact that numerous inventors were working on airship and aircraft designs, in fact the Wright Brothers who are generally credited with building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and heavier-than-air human flight did so on December 17, 1903. |
The Germans flew airship in 1908 but commercial flights started only two years later.
However, the British had airships too, military airship, such as the Nulli Secundus (Picture below) and they did fly in 1908.
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Yet, the case is insufficiently documented, of course if was not subjected to a ufology investigation, it was probably not investigated at all. So numerous explanations are possible and nothing allows favoring one of them. In any case, there is no "impossible maneuver" here and nothing extraterrestrial or paranormal.
| Id: | Topic: | Severity: | Date noted: | Raised by: | Noted by: | Description: | Proposal: | Status: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Data | Severe | August 17, 2013 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Primary source not available. | Help needed. | Opened. |
| 2 | Ufology | Severe | August 17, 2013 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | No description of occupants. Occupants probably just assumed. | Help needed. | Opened. |
| 3 | Ufology | Severe | August 17, 2013 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Missing many basic data: day or night? Distance, size, duration? Noise? | Help needed. | Opened. |
Possible British airship, or invention
* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.
| Main Author: | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Created/Changed By: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | August 17, 2013 | Creation, [dc1], [cm1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | August 17, 2013 | First published. |
