This interview of Warrant Officer Delbert C. Newhouse was conducted in 1956, four years after the original interrogation by the Air Force's Project Blue Book. The interview was filmed by Greene-Rouse Productions for inclusion in the documentary, "Unidentified Flying Objects."
This text was published by Francis Ridge, Loy Pressley, and Adam Lowe for the official NICAP website.
The Newhouse Testimony Filmed interviewNewhouse: The exact date of my sighting was July second, nineteen fifty-two, at eleven A.M., Mountain Standard Time. I was driving on US Highway thirty-south, with my wife and son, Delbert, and our daughter, Anne. We were on our way from Washington, D.C., to Portland, Oregon - on vacation - before moving to my new duty station at the Aviation Supply Depot, Naval Supply Center, Oakland, California. About seven miles after passing through Tremonton, Utah, Norma, my wife, noticed a group of objects in the sky, which she could not identify. I pulled off onto the shoulder of the road and stopped the car. I got out, looked up and saw the objects. There were about twelve of them, milling about in a round formation and proceeding in a general westerly direction. They were like nothing I had ever seen before, although I've logged some 2,000 hours in the air. They were identical in appearance. Captain: How would you describe these objects? Newhouse: The shape of two saucers - one inverted over the other. I had no way of estimating the altitude. They appeared to me to be the size of B-29s at 10,000 feet. Captain: Did you immediately photograph them? Newhouse: I watched the objects for several moments before I got my camera out of the suitcase. I lost more time getting the film out of a second suitcase and then loading the camera. When I first saw them they were nearly overhead, but by the time I got the camera ready they had moved to a considerably greater distance. Captain: What type of camera was it? Newhouse: A Bell and Howell 16 mm. Filmo Auto Loadmaster camera with a three-lens turret. I selected the three inch lens and set it at f:8. I focused on infinity. The camera was set at sixteen frames per second - I did not think to shoot at a greater rate, although that would have improved the coverage. I centered the objects in the view finder and made the first shoot. Then I decided that the objects would show better if the sky were darker. I stopped the lens to f:16 and continued photographing. This proved to be an error, as the film would have been of better quality had I left it at f:8. Captain: Did these objects remain together as a group at all times? Newhouse: No. Toward the end, one of the objects reversed its course and proceeded away from the rest of the group. I held the camera still and allowed this single object to pass through the field of view, picking it up again later in its course. Captain: Did this single object return to the group? Newhouse: No. I allowed the single object to pass through the field of view two or three times and then it disappeared. Captain: In what direction? Newhouse: Over the eastern horizon. Captain: What did you do then? Newhouse: I turned, swinging the camera just in time to see the rest of the group disappear over the western horizon. Captain: What was the weather like? Newhouse: The day was bright and cloudless. Captain: Good visibility? Newhouse: The visibility was excellent. Captain: How does the film you shot compare with what you saw with the naked eye? You have studied the film? Newhouse: Yes. I've studied the film and I'm very disappointed. The film falls far short of what I saw with the naked eye - due to the delay in getting the camera going and to my error in exposure. - If I had had that camera on the seat beside me, loaded and ready to go, there wouldn't be any need for questions. The Air Force would have the answer. Captain: What is your full name, please? Newhouse: Delbert Clement Newhouse. Captain: Are you currently on active duty in the Navy? Newhouse: Yes, sir, I am. Captain: What is your official Navy rank? Newhouse: My title is Chief Photographer. I am a Commissioned Warrant Officer, United States Navy. Captain: How long have you been in the service? Newhouse: Twenty-one years. Captain: Is there anything else you can add to the description of these objects? Newhouse: They were a bright silvery color. Captain: Can you describe any particular details? Newhouse: They had a metallic appearance. They seemed to be made of some kind of polished metal. |
