Goddard’s Strange Squadron

If one were to write a dictionary of all the terms in the Royal Air Force, and come to the entry for the term “paranormal” the name Goddard would certainly stick out.  Sir Rovert Victor Goddard, one of the most recognized names in the RAF history books was no stranger to the strange.  Three major incidents that impacted his life eventually became major icons of the paranormal that you may have never heard of.

The above photo is one of the most recognized early images of a ghost.  Many have seen this image out of context in paranormal photo montages on Youtube and in books filled with some of the strangest paranormal photos from the 20th century.  But this particular picture was taken in 1919 of Goddard’s squadron.  The image is believed to show the ghost of Freddie Jackson who had lost his life while repairing engines when a propeller malfunction resulted in major lacerations and ultimately death.  The day the photo was taken had been Jackson’s funeral.  And while this may be one of the most recognized photos of the paranormal ever seen, it is certainly not the last time Goddard had a brush with the unknown.  He would, in fact, have at least two more – one of which would be made into a film.

Of course the film, “The Night My Number Came Up” outlined Goddard’s 1946 incident.  Goddard had been attending a party in Shanghai where another officer had related to him a dream about Goddard dying in a plane crash with a woman and four men on a pebbled beach.  Goddard was relieved to reply that he was scheduled to fly, but only two men would be on board.  As he was about to take off, another woman and two men boarded his plane.  He reluctantly took them as well, but paid extra attention.  After the plane crashed, Goddard found himself on a pebble strewn beach – precisely how it had been in the fellow officers’ dream.  The only difference was, he had taken extra precautions and survived.

So what could possibly top such an incredible case of serendipity?  In 1935 Goddard flew through a strange storm and found himself staring down at a previously abandoned airfield.  As he looked this time, however, he saw that the planes were all biplanes painted yellow and that the workers were all wearing blue overalls.  Clearly this was strange, but when Goddard returned to base and reluctantly told his fellow fliers they ignored it.  It wasn’t until the RAF began painting their planes yellow, flying planes described years before by Goddard, and wearing blue overalls instead of the customary brown of 1935 that they sat up and took notice.  As each element of his prophecy came true, his claims became a little bit more validated.  But even then it was too strange and fantastic for most to believe.  How could a pilot fly a biplane through a wormhole and end up at a completely different point in time only to return later?

After so many strange incidents involving this pilot of the paranormal it’s easy to lose track of the incredible career he led, which made his credibility in the eyes of his admirers unquestionable.