Skip to content

Unexplainable.net

Watching The World Change

  • U.S. Attractions for Dinosaur Lovers Information and Theories
  • Comparing Yourself To Others Is A No-No Self Improvement
  • Taking A Look at Saints: St. Ambrose & More Meditation And Spirituality
  • Mystery Boom Puzzles Norfolk Unexplainable Weather
  • Does MMA Fighter Benson Henderson Embrace Illuminati Symbolism? Information and Theories
  • Earthlight Theory Simply Unexplainable
  • Legendary Creatures in Africa Information and Theories
  • Zombie Apocalypse: More Likely than you Think Information and Theories

The Death of Thomas Mantell UFO Story

Posted on November 20, 2005 By jim No Comments on The Death of Thomas Mantell UFO Story

January 7, 1948, would be a day of tragedy for Captain Thomas F. Mantell of the Kentucky Air National Guard, and his family, friends, and fellow Guardsmen. The Mandell case would forever be a part of the hotbed of UFO reports of the late 1940s and early 1950s. He would have the unfortunate distinction of being the first human being to give his life in the ongoing chase for the elusive truth behind bizarre reports of flying craft from other worlds. Was his sighting a carry-over from the foo-fighters of World War II? or were they altogether another phenomena?..a phenomena that was just out of his reach. He gave all he had to reach this mysterious, intelligently controlled metallic craft, but whatever it was, and whoever controlled it, escaped that day.. that day that Thomas Mantell lost his life.

Mantell was piloting an F-51 that fateful day, soaring to Standiford Air Force Base, Kentucky. He was accompanied by three other Guard planes. At approximately 1:30 P.M. the Kentucky State Police began receiving reports from worried citizens of spotting a large circular object flying over the city of Mansville. In a matter of minutes the area of the sightings expanded to cover Irvington and Owensboro. This large, metallic flying craft was then clearly seen from the tower of Godman Air Force Base. The object was described as being an extremely large, round, whitish in color, with a red light toward it’s bottom side, and seemed to be moving slowly toward the South. A little over an hour after the first reports, Mantell and his crew were asked to investigate these strange reports. The actual transcripts read,” Godman Tower Calling the flight of 4 ships northbound over Godman Field. Do you read? Over. [Pause] Godman Tower Calling the flight of 4 ships northbound over Godman Field. Do you read? Over.” “Roger, Godman Tower. This is National Guard 869, Flight Leader of the formation. Over.” “National Guard 869 from Godman Tower. We have an object out south of Godman here that we are unable to identify, and we would like to know if you have gas enough; and if so could you take a look for us if you will.” “Roger, I have the gas and I will take a look for you if you give me the correct heading. One of his three companions in flight received permission to continue his pre-assigned flight plan, while Mantell and the remaining two planes headed to the coordinates of the visual sightings.

Mantell led the way in the climb to 15,000 feet, and upon reaching the position, he radioed the following statement back to the control tower. “The object is directly ahead of and above me now, moving at about half my speed…It appears to be a metallic object or possibly reflection of Sun from a metallic object, and it is of tremendous size. . . . I’m still climbing. . . . I’m trying to close in for a better look.”  18,000, 20,000, 22,000 feet! too high for the WWII fighters without oxygen! The other two planes turned back, leaving Mantell alone to pursue the giant object. By all accounts Mantell must have passed out from lack of oxygen at about 30,000; at least his plane leveled off at that height. His plane now began to plunge back toward earth. He crashed a few harrowing moments later on the farm of William J. Phillips near Franklin, Kentucky. Mantell’s watch stopped at 3:16, and his body was still strapped in his plane, which become his coffin. He had spent 45 minutes in a frantic flight into the realm of the unknown. By 3:50, the giant craft was not visible from Godman, but other reports continued southward into Tennessee.

The reports of the incident spread like wildfire. Theory and speculation reached radio shows, television, and newspapers. The New York Times’ story began with this headline, “Flier Dies Chasing A `Flying Saucer,” and another story was headlined with, “Plane Exploded Over Kentucky as That and Near States Report Strange Object.” Common speculation that Mantell was chasing a UFO was countered by the Air Force, which initially concluded that Mantell and his co-hearts were chasing the planet Venus. They also announced that his death was directly related to oxygen deprivation. This almost comical conclusion was hastily put to rest by an eye witness, Glen Mays, who lived near Franklin. Mays stated categorically that Mantell’s plane exploded in mid-air.” The plane circled three times, like the pilot didn’t know where he was going,” reported Mays, “and then started down into a dive from about 20,000 feet. About halfway down there was a terrific explosion.” Then again, there is the testimony of Godman Base Commander Guy F. Hix, who stated to reporters that he observed the craft for almost an hour through binoculars. He would not have confused what he saw with the planet Venus.

Richard T. Miller, who was in the Operations Room of Scott Air Force Base in Belleville, Illinois also made several profound statements regarding the crash. He was monitoring the radio talk between Mantell and Godman tower, and heard this statement very clearly. “My God, I see people in this thing!” Miller added that on the morning after the crash, at a briefing, investigators had stated that Mantell died “pursuing an intelligently controlled unidentified flying object.” In conclusion, Miller made this statement, “that evening, Air Technical Intelligence Center officers from Wright-Patterson AFB arrived and ordered all personnel to turn over any materials relating to the crash.

“Then, after we had turned it over to them, they said they had already completed the investigation.” “I was no longer a skeptic. I had been up to that time. Now I wondered why the Government had gone to all of the trouble of covering it up, to keep it away from the press and the public.”

In more recent years, additional information has come forward. Captain James F. Duesler, who was one of several military officers at Godman, was retired and living in England. In 1997, he stated that he and several other officers actually saw the gigantic UFO hovering over Godman field that day. Duesler, who was a pilot and crash investigator, stated, “the UFO was a strange gray-looking object, which looked like a rotating inverted ice cream cone.” Shortly after the crash, Duesler visited the site, and made these observations, “The wings and tail section had broken off on impact with the ground and were a short distance from the plane, he recalled.  There was no damage to the surrounding trees and it was obvious that there had been no forward or sideways motion when the plane had come down. It just appeared to have “belly flopped” into the clearing. There was very little damaged to the fuselage, which was in one piece, and no signs of blood whatsoever in the cockpit. There was no scratching on the body of the fuselage to indicate any forward movement and the propeller blade bore no telltale scratch marks to show it had been rotating at the time of impact, and one blade had been embedded into the ground. The damage pattern was not consistent with an aircraft of this type crashing at high speed into the ground. Because of the large engine in the nose of the plane, it would come down nose first and hit the ground at an angle. Even if it had managed to glide in, it would have cut a swath through the trees and a channel into the ground. None of these signs were present. All indications were that it had just belly flopped into the clearing. I must admit, I found this very strange.” To further debunk the “Venus” theory, astronomical records indicated that the planet was only 33 degrees above the horizon at the time of the incident, thus totally eliminating it from the case.

The Air Force, embarrassed by the “Venus” theory falling through, now searched for another “worldly” explanation for the object observed that day. After discovering that Naval research was sending up the enormous “Skyhook” balloons, the Air Force had their alternate solution. This theory was also soon aborted after discovering that no balloon was launched, or could have been in the skies that day. The UFO theory received more credence after Mantell’s death. On January 8, residents of Clinton, North Carolina, reported a cone-shaped object moving through the skies at incredible speeds, and on February 1, a large metallic UFO was seen emitting an orange light near the ground at Circleville, Ohio. Whatever happened on the day that Thomas Mantell crashed his plane, it is certain that it was not a weather balloon, and it was not Venus, or any other planet. Could it have been a visitor from another planet, or another dimension?

This Story Was Taken With Permission From http://bjbooth.topcities.com/Mantell.html

UFOs and Aliens

Post navigation

Previous Post: The Chiles/Whitted UFO Sighting
Next Post: Alien UFO Vanishes in France

Related Posts

  • UFO Explosion Rocks Houses in Missouri UFOs and Aliens
  • Alien Races, what alien races visited earth UFOs and Aliens
  • ‘Peeping Tom’ Alien Sighted UFOs and Aliens
  • World War II Foo Fighters UFOs and Aliens
  • Mars Rover Discovers Possible UFO Crash Site On Mars UFOs and Aliens
  • Air Force closes study on UFO’s UFOs and Aliens

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • The Meat Eater couple arrested for child abuse
  • The Meat-Eater boxer kidnapped and raped a young school Girl
  • Carnist man arrested for 198 years for raping and shooting a woman
  • Mitch McConnell- Eating Cow Corpses
  • Animal Flesh Eater Arrested: Felony Charges Serious Injury To 3 Month Old!

Recent Comments

No comments to show.

Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • May 2020
  • June 2018
  • February 2018
  • July 2016
  • May 2016
  • February 2016
  • September 2015
  • July 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • July 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • March 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • October 2006
  • September 2006
  • August 2006
  • July 2006
  • June 2006
  • May 2006
  • April 2006
  • March 2006
  • February 2006
  • January 2006
  • December 2005
  • November 2005
  • October 2005
  • September 2005
  • August 2005
  • July 2005
  • June 2005
  • May 2005
  • April 2005
  • March 2005
  • February 2005
  • January 2005
  • December 2004
  • November 2004
  • October 2004
  • September 2004
  • August 2004
  • July 2004
  • June 2004
  • May 2004
  • April 2004
  • March 2004
  • February 2004
  • January 2004
  • December 2003
  • November 2003
  • October 2003

Categories

  • Ancient Civilizations
  • Benjamin Fulford Story
  • Corrupt Carnivores
  • Cryptology and Monsters
  • Eating Healthy
  • Ghost And Demons
  • Information and Theories
  • Mars Coverage
  • Meditation And Spirituality
  • Mysteries
  • NASA Articles
  • Other Exciting News
  • Personal Accounts
  • Pictures And Multimedia
  • Political Conspiracies
  • Recent Submissions
  • Religion Articles
  • Self Improvement
  • Simply Unexplainable
  • Space and Astrology
  • Technology Articles
  • True Stories
  • UFOs and Aliens
  • Unexplainable Video Library
  • Unexplainable Weather
  • A Stone’s Throw from the Paranormal Simply Unexplainable
  • Plastic Blood: Not Just for Halloween Anymore Technology Articles
  • NASA Announces Plans To Colonize Mars Information and Theories
  • The Killigrews of Falmouth , a Pirating Family Information and Theories
  • Moscow: 25,000 Protesters Spot Drone UFO UFOs and Aliens
  • UFO Pictures From Texas 1951 UFOs and Aliens
  • Trivia and Facts About Vampire Movies: Twilight (2008) Part 1 Information and Theories
  • A Glimpse into Siddhartha Gautama’s Life Other Exciting News

Copyright © 2023 Unexplainable.net.

Powered by PressBook News Dark theme