USS Tiru UFO sighting
The USS Tiru UFO sighting is an UFO sighting reported by William Cooper, involving an alleged encounter with a massive metallic craft during a test dive near Hawaii in 1966. Cooper described the object as resembling a giant metallic ship, approximately the size of an aircraft carrier, emerging from the ocean and tumbling through the sky before vanishing.
Event
The alleged sighting occurred aboard the USS Tiru in 1966 during its transit from Pearl Harbor to Seattle for the Rose Festival. According to Cooper, the submarine was cruising on the surface at approximately 10 knots when the port lookout reported a strange contact at a range of 2 miles, bearing 315 degrees relative.[1] The lookout insisted that others verify the sighting. Through binoculars, the port lookout, the OOD, and the starboard lookout witnessed a massive metallic craft, described as larger than a football field or the size of an aircraft carrier[1], tumbling end over end from the clouds into the ocean, causing huge geysers of water to rise upon impact.[2] Cooper noted that he observed the object rise from beneath the ocean, tumble on its axis, and disappear into the clouds.
The craft allegedly re-emerged from the ocean multiple times, tumbling into the clouds and back into the sea. Radar and sonar operators reported unusual signals corresponding to the craft's position.[1] The Captain and Chief Quartermaster joined the witnesses on the bridge, and photographs were reportedly taken using the ship's 35mm camera.[2] Cooper described the object as a large, saucer-shaped craft with an inverted bowl structure, metallic machinery on the surface, and possible windows or lenses around its perimeter. It emitted no detectable sound and did not interfere with the submarine's electrical systems or instruments.[1]
Aftermath
Cooper claimed that the witnesses, including himself, Ensign Ball, and a crewman nicknamed Geronimo, were ordered by the Captain to sign non-disclosure agreements under the threat of severe penalties.[2] The incident was classified by the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), and the photographs were never publicly released.[1] Cooper further alleged that he felt uneasy discussing the event, describing a sense of fear akin to his experiences in Vietnam.[1]
In his first post to a UFO message board[3], Cooper detailed the incident and expressed frustration over the silence of other military witnesses, attributing it to intimidation by policies such as JANAP 146-E, which imposes penalties for disclosing classified military information. He described the event as one of the most vivid and terrifying moments of his life and claimed that the sighting's details could be verified through ship logs and records if access were granted.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Sacred Texts: USS Tiru UFO Sighting.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cooper, Milton William (1991). Behold a Pale Horse. Flagstaff, Ariz.: Light Technology Publishing. ISBN 978-0929385228. PDF: Highlander Juan's archive. Internet Archive: "Behold a Pale Horse", p. 19.
- ↑ Jacobson, Mark (September 4, 2018). Pale Horse Rider: William Cooper, the Rise of Conspiracy, and the Fall of Trust in America. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-698-15798-9.