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8/13/2019 Vembos T. Cold War Balloons and the Greek UFO Wave of 1954
1/19
Cold War Balloons and the Greek UFO
Wave of 1954
By Thanassis Vembos
Examining the now-so-distant era of the early Cold War and its relation with the fascinating
phenomenon of UFOs, is an enthralling work. Many ignored or overlooked details come to light,
helping us to understand better many incidents of that time. Someone investigating the UFO
subject in Greece must come in terms with facts such as the lack of organized archives (or even
the lack of archives in many cases) or the various difficulties in accessing them. Nevertheless, by
searching old newspaper archives and other sources I managed to unearth a lot of stuff from this
bygone era, unknown even to Greek researchers.
The great UFO wave in the autumn of 1954 in France and southwestern Europe was always one
of my favorite subjects for research. I had managed to make a preliminary report by collecting
material from newspaper files and books. Further search in libraries and archives and the onsetof modern technology -digitalization of archives and digital cameras- opened up new vistas. This
article replaces the old report which I had posted here ten years ago.
During my research I realized that some, seemingly irrelevant, things were of much interest.
During this distant era, when Cold War tensions were gradually increasing, Europe was deeply
divided and the two superpowers were standing opposite to each other with their finger on the
trigger. Western propaganda was trying to breach the nearly impenetrable Iron Curtain.
One of the means to penetrate this barrier was the propaganda balloons. From August 1951 till
November 1956 Central European skies were brimming with hundreds of thousands of balloons,
carrying hundreds of millions of leaflets and other printed propaganda material. The balloons
were launched from West Germany and were carried by the winds over Iron Curtain countries,
like Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. According to official estimates, 590,415 balloons
were launched, carrying 301,636,883 propaganda items
Balloons were and are one of the most usual candidate to explain (or explain away) UFO reports.
Truly, many of the latter can be attributed to weather and other balloons floating in the upper or
lower atmosphere. On the other hand, balloons are one of the most popular interpretation used
by skeptics to discard the UFO phenomenon altogether. But truth, as always, lies somewhere in
the middle.
Yet, one that has a thorough knowledge of the nature and history of UFOs, will know that the
phenomenon is characterized by the strange trait of disguise. It masks itself behind various
camouflages. The possible reasons are not a subject to be discussed and analyzed now;
nevertheless the Camouflage Factor is an actuality.
There are many cases where UFOs used the facade of the balloon to play their indecipherable
gamesin the same way that they used the mask of planet Venus, of bizarrely shaped clouds,
of mirages, of hallucinations. In my research regarding the 1954 UFO flap in Greece, I found out
much information showing that propaganda balloons were intricately connected with many
contemporary flying saucer reports. I do not simply mean that UFO sightings were just balloons.
There is something more than that. But before we survey the cases, we must first take a look atsome facts about this six decades old propaganda campaign.
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Bal loons Storm Eastern Europe
At the late 1940s the Soviet dominance over Eastern Europe was consolidated; the borders
closed and an Iron Curtain was raised between East and West. This nearly impassable barrier had
cut off not only free travel of people but free exchange of information as well. Now the
monopoly (and subsequent control) of information was under the control of Moscow and the
aligned governments of its satellite communist countries. On 17.12.1947 the newly founded
National Security Council of the United States issued decree NSC-4-A giving the green light to
the conduction of clandestine operations of psychological warfare against the Soviets and their
satellites. A part of this campaign were radio stations transmitting to countries under Soviet
control. These radio stations were not officially affiliated with the American government they
could transmit programs and the American government could deny any responsibility.
In 1948 CIAs Special Procedures Group (SPG) set up Project ULTIMATE for the dispersion of
propaganda leaflets in Eastern European countries but was assessed that the time was not still
ripe. In June 1948 NSC 4-A decree was replaced by NSC 10/2; the new one was more detailed
on psychological war operations (psy-ops). In June 1949 National Committee for a Free Europewas founded in New York; its airwaves branch was Radio Free Europe (RFE). RFE transmitted
its first program on July, 4, 1950.
The first balloons with propaganda material were launched on August 13, 1951, from a field just
5 kms away from Czechoslovakian border, thus commencing Operation Winds of Freedom.
Each balloon was carrying nearly 3,000 leaflets. Weather conditions permitting, up to 2,000
balloons were launched every night. A total of 11 million leaflets were sent to the Iron Curtain
this way.
The operation was not especially effective from a political point of view but RFE and CIA
gained valuable experience. Helium-filled balloons of various sizes and types were used. Thespherical rubber balloon containing leaflets was carried away by the wind up to an altitude of 10
- 12,000 m. When the inside pressure became much higher than the external, the balloon blew
and the leaflets were falling like rain. The smaller, pillow-shaped plastic balloon was carrying
the leaflets in a carton underneath. When the balloon reached a high altitude, expansion of gas
triggered a leaking mechanism; thus the balloon leaked gas and soft landed with the carton
hanging underneath. Below the carton there was dry ice, as ballast. When it evaporated, the
carton containing the leaflets overturned dropping them. To disperse the propaganda leaflets to
specific populous urban centers a clever system was designed; it took into account the weight of
the dry ice, the quantity of gas in the balloon, the weight of the leaflets and the direction and
intensity of the prevailing winds. These balloons were first used for Hungary since the country
was too far for the simpler latex balloons to reach it.
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Our survey starts in early October 1954; few if any flying saucer cases from Greece were
reported before that. Yet, Greek newspapers contained lots of stories and features about flying
saucer sightings in other countries. One of them described the summer of 1954, as the season of
the flying saucer.
Occasionally the odd opinion of a scientist, a retired military officer or a notable was presented
usually negative or ridiculing. The few that believed UFOs existed, thought that they wereprobably secret American/Soviet weapons, or spaceships from other planets -Mars or Venus.
There was a small but significant faction that believed the flying saucer phenomenon had strong
links with Spiritualism. But this is another story which will be told some other time.
The show commenced on October, 2, at Agios Georgios village, on Pilion mountain, eastern
Thessaly, when 50 year-old Elias Voyagis was returning home from his fields around 19.00. Half
a kilometer from the village he looked at the sky and noticed a huge, bright object. It was a
conglomeration of four extremely bright circles, like luminous spots constituting a longish
thing moving with airplane speed. He described it like a long moving balloon target for anti-
aircraft guns. It did not have any tail and was moving horizontally over Mount Othrys flying
eastwards. The witness estimated its length to 10-12 lunar diameters, its altitude at 5,000 m. Thewhole sighting lasted no more than ten seconds. When he reported his experience to his fellow
villagers, agriculturist Hatzigeorgiou revealed that he saw something similar but by the time he
started to watch it, it had moved away [note 3].
Voyagis (right) and a journalist at the site of the incident (Embros, 16.10.1954)
We note that the witness compared the UFO with the balloon moving targets for anti-aircraft
guns; yet the characteristics and behaviour of the object excludes this possibility. But this
synchronistic resemblanceis significant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Othryshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Othryshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Othrys8/13/2019 Vembos T. Cold War Balloons and the Greek UFO Wave of 1954
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Interestingly several hours before the Pilion sighting, a real balloon created a big fuss inRhodes
island, Dodecanese. At 03.15 of October 2, a small white balloon coming from northwest,
crashed on a fence atKremastitown and blew off. In a little carton hanging below the balloon,
leaflets in Hungarian were found. To my knowledge this was the first documented account of a
stray balloon of Operation VETO that ended up on Greek soil. Significantly the operation had
just commenced just the previous day!
In these paranoid Cold War years, at first the authorities thought the leaflets were communist
propaganda but the translation showed that it was anti-communist. A few days later a sketch of
the balloon appeared in an Athenian newspaper. The lengthy caption explained that this kind of
balloon is currently used for sending propaganda material to communist countries. A description
was cited about the dry ice mechanism for releasing the leaflets. Probably the ice did not
evaporate in the estimated time because of intense cold, so the balloon passed over Hungary and
Yugoslavia and the largest part of mainland Greece before ending up far south in Rhodes where
it released it load [note 4].
"The Mysterious Balloon of Rhodes" (Sketch from Ethnos, 7.10.1954)
UFOs Love Lesvos
A few days later, on October 5, at 15.15 atVrysavillage of Lesvos island, the president of the
local community and many residents observed a bright spot in an indefinite altitude. We do notknow the weather conditions prevailing but the spot must have been really bright to be visible.
The object kept on moving in small circles for a quarter of an hour.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kremastihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kremastihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kremastihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vrisahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vrisahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vrisahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vrisahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kremastihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodes8/13/2019 Vembos T. Cold War Balloons and the Greek UFO Wave of 1954
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Finally, at 15.30 moved with incredible speed to northwest, then to the north and disappeared
in the west. According to other information coming from Istanbul, Turkey, the UFO was spotted
by two professors of Istanbul University, from the Turkish (Asia Minor) coast, opposite Lesvos.
The report told about a flying cigar sometimes white, sometimes pink, moving in great speed
for about a quarter of an hour [note 5].
During the 1954 wave, flying saucers showed a particular like to Lesvos. So, the next day,October 6, at 18.00 a bright spot large as the full moon and having a tail like a frying pan was
seen over Anemotia village emitting golden-white rays. Three minutes later it disappeared
moving in circles to northeast direction. Many people saw the UFO; at first they thought it was
the Moon with a strange luminous tail. The phenomenon must have been quite spectacular and
was seen by other parts of the island, particularly Petra and Molyvos villages, on the north coast
[note 6].
Three days later, on October 9, again at Lesvos, S. Horiatellis and his 12 year old son were
hunting near Stymi village when they a saw a luminous cigar-shaped object moving horizontally.
After a while it started moving vertically and it was divided in two. The divided parts were also
cigar-shaped and moved in a constant distance from each other [note 7].
The UFOs settled over Lesvos for good. On October 13, at 11.30 over the sanatorium of
Agiassos,patients and employees saw a round luminous body big as an alarm clock moving
slowly, sometimes in circles, sometimes up and down. After ten minutes the UFO vanished. But
after another ten minutes, two similar flying objects appeared moving in parallel to the same
direction. They disappeared to the north, with slow speed. According to another newspaper
report the UFO was seen by hundreds of people, was flying at an altitude of 2-3,000 m, vanished
after 30 minutes and the two reappearing objects were of undefined shape, moved in circles
and flew away to the west. At 16.30 in the afternoon, a white vertical contrail was observed at
the cloudy sky; it made the impression that it was formed by a body moving in the clouds [note
8].
On October 16 a telegram by the police headquarters reported that a flying luminous body
shaped like a frying pan was seen over Moudros town , Lemnos island, Northern Aegean Sea
[note 9].
The next day, October 17, dentist Athena Gelemiri and Sophia Kapaoura saw east of Doxato,
eastern Macedonia, a red tail moving in circles and changing colors continuously. The two
women observed the object for five minutes until it vanished far away. At Horisti village, many
people observed the same phenomenon too [note 10].
In the evening of October 22, strange rumors about an unknown parachutist that had fallen from
the sky and about a sack of propaganda leaflets started circulating in the neighborhoods of
Piraeus, the Athens port. The reason of all this was apparently the fall of a meteorological device
launched on a balloon by Americans from Hellenikon Airport (the old Athens airport). This is an
incident characteristic about the relations between propaganda balloons, UFOs and the general
anxiety in Greek society at the time [note 11].
Probably at the same day, people at regions of Didymoteicho and Orestiada,Thrace, near the
Bulgarian and Turkish border were upset; shepherds had testified that they had seen two cigar-
shaped flying objects. One of them landed, remained on the ground for 20 minutes and then it
instantly disappeared. This could also be another case of balloons that landed and lifted offafter they got rid of their leaflet loads. On the other hand, the fact of the instantaneous
disappearance perplexes things.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anemotiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anemotiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayassoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayassoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moudroshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moudroshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doxatohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doxatohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didymoteichohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didymoteichohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orestiadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orestiadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orestiadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didymoteichohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doxatohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moudroshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayassoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anemotia8/13/2019 Vembos T. Cold War Balloons and the Greek UFO Wave of 1954
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Yet, the newspaper report is extremely brief; there are no conclusive data. On the other side, this
could be another example of the Camouflage Factor in action [note 12].
Early in the morning of the next day, October 23, a luminous object emitting white and red light
appeared in the sky west of Neapoli, Lasithi,Crete. The object which was reportedly moving
with instantaneous speed (sic) changed direction many times and finally disappeared to the
southwest. The sighting lasted for five minutes [note 13].
Celeber ities and Things with Wings
On October 25, a case with perhaps the most celebrities as witnesses ever took place in Greece.
During the shooting of the movie Golfo by director Orestis Laskos in Zachlorou, Achaea,
Peloponnese, two seemingly metal objects shaped like a frying pan without a handle appeared
moving in the sky with tremendous speed, keeping a stable distance between them. Suddenly the
first object made strange loops and then started moving again followed by the other. The UFOs
disappeared to the direction of Corinth (northeast). The objects were first seen by actor Mimis
Fotopouloswho pointed them to the others. The whole team of the stage -10 to 15 people- werewitnesses, among them actress Antigone Valakou, actor Nikos Kazis, famous producer
Filopoimin Finos and others. The shooting was made on a mountain slope, across the railway
station [note 14].
A few hours after the appearance of the two UFOs at Peloponnese, there was another incident,
quite significant. During the night of October 25, Irene Sarris and Socrates Karliamis, residents
of Antimacheia village, Cos island, Dodecanese, saw a UFO; they described it as a basket
flying fast, emitting a blinding light. The object seemed to speed towards the village but then it
changed course and disappeared. During the same night, George Kakamoundis, another
Antimacheia villager, saw a thing like a man with wings, flying. The winged creature flew over
his head and vanished with speed. The witness fled to the church village where he stayed for along time, seriously scared [note 15]
Two days later, on October 27, at 21.00 or 22.00 a huge flying saucer appeared at Rhodes
island flying in circles for about five minutes. The disk approached the anchored balloon of
Voice of America radio station and then sped away to the west. The names of many witnesses
were cited in newspaper reports. But note again this strange synchronicity with balloons and
Cold War propaganda devices. We remember that, in the near future the propaganda balloons
would become obsolete due to the powerful radio transmitters of Radio Free Europe! [note 16]
At 06.00 of October 31, near the hospital of the city ofPyrgos (northwestern Peloponnese) H.
Theodoratos saw a strange luminous body over the village of Katakolo. He could not define itsexact form, due to its blinding, golden light. He estimated it was as big as the full Moon and was
moving with tremendous speed from west to south. Two seconds later it disappeared over the
Ionian Sea leaving a luminous trail. There were at least two other independent witnesses of the
event. Police officer Stefanatos saw a strange light like that of a spotlight over Katakolo, which
vanished towards the horizon; strangely he said that it vanished slowly. Maritime agent D.
Yannatos while in his house saw a blinding flash illuminating the rooms. Thinking it was
lighting, looked out of the window and saw that the sky was clear. This is one of the numerous
incidents that, due to the lack of data, could be attributed to a meteor. Nevertheless, the media
reported the event as a flying saucer sighting [note 17].
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasithihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasithihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orestis_Laskoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orestis_Laskoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zachlorouhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zachlorouhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimis_Fotopouloshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimis_Fotopouloshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimis_Fotopouloshttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0278339/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0278339/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrgos,_Elishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrgos,_Elishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrgos,_Elishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrgos,_Elishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koshttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0278339/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimis_Fotopouloshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimis_Fotopouloshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimis_Fotopouloshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zachlorouhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orestis_Laskoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasithi8/13/2019 Vembos T. Cold War Balloons and the Greek UFO Wave of 1954
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The next sighting took place on November 7, at 04.45 outside the city of Patras, northern
Peloponnese. Four men were in a taxi going to hunt at the foothills of Erymanthos mountain.
When the car was at Isoma village, one of them noticed a luminous body in the sky, a little
smaller than the full moon, moving to south. At first he did not pay any attention since he
thought it was the Moon; soon he realized that the Moon had set long ago. He showed it to the
others who considered it to be a flying saucer or at least something they had never seen before.
They stopped the car and observed a sudden blinding flash which lit up the whole area like athousand flares. The object flew away with tremendous speed and after a few seconds
disappeared towards Erymanthos. The weather was clear [note 18].
Several hours later on the same day (November 7), at 22.30, two men at the city of Volos
(Thessaly) saw in the sky above Pagasitikos Gulf a flying saucer emitting silver light. Its size
was slightly smaller than the Moon, which was almost full and high up in the sky. The object
rotated with great speed around the Moon and after a while it sped to the east and exploded with
a hollow noise. The point of the explosion was covered with a dense white cloud emitting
dazzling light, illuminating the whole sky [note 19].
On November 9, a luminous flying saucer was sighted over Komotini, Thrace. It vanishedafter jettisoning three luminous objects like cigars [note 20].
Probably on November 11, at 06.20 Nicolaos Stephanopoulos was driving from Faliro suburb to
Athens when he saw a luminous body with unusual shape that disappeared after a few seconds.
This is another one typically brief report which makes the case nearly useless [note 21].
But later on the same day, at 17.00 a crowd was gathered at Kypseli square, at a
neighborhood in central Athens, trying to locate a flying saucer that some people
claimed to have seen northeast, over the nearby Turkovounia hills. They
described it as a white star in high altitude. A report by a student from
Zografou neighborhood is much more detailed. Nineteen-year old Pharmaceutics
student Nicolaos Kokavesis (left) and his friend Antonios Andreoulakis were
walking on a street at 17.03 pm when they spotted a flying cigar in an
estimated altitude of 10,000m. It was moving from north to east, emitting
blinding silver light and leaving white smoke behind, which was immediately
dissolving. The object was disappeared after 85 seconds. Fifteen minutes later, another flying
saucer appeared northeast, moving wobbly in the same altitude with the cigar; it was also
emitting brilliant silver-white light. It disappeared after 5 minutes and 17 seconds. The UFOs did
not make any noise. Two other people observed the objects by binoculars. The unusual
meticulousness of the report was due to the detailed account the student sent to the newspapers
[note 22].
During the night of November 11, many residents of Playari village, at Paiko mountain,
Macedonia, observed a very luminous flying saucer emitting bright flashes. The phenomenon
lasted 2-3 minutes [note 23].
Probably the next day, November 12, at 17.00, crowds at Kaningos square, central Athens
observed a round, disc-shaped bright (or reflecting) body at an estimated altitude of 10,000 m; it
remained stationary on the zenith for 5 minutes and then disappeared gaining altitude gradually.
round the saucer there were contrails clearly visible. If this last detail was absent, the lack of
data could have made the balloon explanation seem reasonable [note 24].
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voloshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voloshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komotinihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komotinihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komotinihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volos8/13/2019 Vembos T. Cold War Balloons and the Greek UFO Wave of 1954
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During the night of November 16, at the small island ofHalki,Dodecanese, George Spyrou and
Mitsos Dimitriou were returning home from Potamos region when they saw a luminous object
moving in the sky with great speed. A little later they realized that strange creatures were
moving in some nearby outcrops. They approached carefully and managed to catch one of them;
the strange creature was a little goat [note 25].
The F lying Car and More Balloons
November, 20. A strange report came from Vovoda village, near Aegion, Peloponnese. At 7:00
am, 84 year old Elias Coromilas was at his field, at Voulomeni area, outside Vovoda when he
noticed a small object, resembling a small car, rolling on the road and then entering the field at a
distance of about 100 m (300 ft) from the witness. Coromilas run to warn the driver of the "car"
that there was a steep cliff in front of him, but when he approached it, suddenly, the "car" took
off making no sound at all and, engulfed in dust, flew away in the sky. Coromilas said later that
the "car" was dark in colour, had two wheels and was 1,5 X 2 m in size, and 1 m in height. He
considered the whole incident supernatural [note 26]
On November 25, at Mesimvrina village, Alexandroupolis, Thrace, a villager found a deflated
balloon made by waterproof white cloth. A large carton and a folder were found nearby. Similar
objects were discovered at Fylakia and Kyprinos villages and were handled to the local police
station [note 27].
The balloon reports were to be piled on the next days and weeks. On December 7, at 15.00 a 3m
diameter balloon laded outside Dimitritsi village, nearNigrita(Macedonia). It was pear-shaped,
made by gleaming white plastic. When people from nearby villages ran to it they saw that a man
was lying down below the balloon, tied with ropes from his waist. Reportedly the man stood up
and activated the balloon which slowly started lifting up presumably taking him away. At the
place the man was lying, leaflets printed in luxury paper were found; they were written inCyrillic and contained photos. National Security Regiments (TEA) militia took the leaflets. The
balloon seemed to come from the direction of Serres (east) and continued its course to the same
direction. Almost surely the man is an exaggeration or a misinterpretation. Nevertheless, this
reminds of some rare reports of men hanging from balloon-shaped UFOs [note 28].
The phenomenon intensified. According to newspaper reports, the last few days a balloon rain
falls at various areas of Northern Greece (Apogevmatini, 9.12.1954). In the morning of
December 8, a farmer at Vathylacos (Thessaloniki) was working in the fields when he saw a 2m
wide balloon coming down slowly. Panicked, he ran to alert the people of his village, claiming
that he saw a passenger inside the box that was hanging from the balloon. The report lacks
details but it seems that the balloon dropped its cargo of leaflets, written in Hungarian. Anotherballoon landed at Nigrita, near an agrarian policeman who thought some enemy was hiding
inside. He hit is with his rod; the balloon lost all it gas and leaflets were scattered all over.
Another balloon fell on a house atPolycastro.Two days ago, a similar balloon crossed the sky
over the same village. At Drama, two balloons landed near Amfipolis and Psili Rahi. There were
also reports of balloon falls or landings at Gefyra village (Thessaloniki) and at the regions of
Veroia and Katerini. All these areas are in Macedonia [note 29].
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalkihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalkihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalkihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigritahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigritahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigritahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polykastrohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polykastrohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polykastrohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polykastrohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigritahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalki8/13/2019 Vembos T. Cold War Balloons and the Greek UFO Wave of 1954
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PROSPERO balloon launch (Photo fromPsywarrior)
During the early morning hours of December 13, a luminous body described as a large star
was seen over Corinth, Peloponnese. The object remained stationary until 09.15. The report is
again disturbingly brief but most probably this was a purely astronomical phenomenon. Using an
astronomy program, I certified that at this particular time for this particular region, Saturn and
Venus were clearly visible early in morning low over the horizon to the southeast. Presumably
when the Sun rose, they faded [note 30].
Genuine UFO reports became rarer and rarer as 1954 was ending. At the same time, more andmore balloon sightings were reported. On December 28, at 17.00, dozens of people at Patras,
Peloponnese spotted a dark object moving in the sky, apparently blown by the wind, slowly
gaining altitude. Flying saucer rumors proliferated. According to the newspapers it was a balloon
launched by pranksters. The Meteorological Station of Patras issued an announcement informing
the public that it would start launching meteorological balloons and that they should not be
misinterpreted as flying saucers. But during the same day (or night), a luminous meteor
appeared over Pilio mountain, Thessaly; many witnesses described it as a flying saucer [note
31].
http://www.psywarrior.com/RadioFreeEurope.htmlhttp://www.psywarrior.com/RadioFreeEurope.htmlhttp://www.psywarrior.com/RadioFreeEurope.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrashttp://www.psywarrior.com/RadioFreeEurope.html8/13/2019 Vembos T. Cold War Balloons and the Greek UFO Wave of 1954
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During the night of New Years Day of 1955, residents of Doxato observed a luminous object in
the sky; they thought it was a flying saucer. The object move to the north and finally landed on a
field. It was a paper balloon launched by local boy scouts, with a lit candle underside [note 32].
On January 11, at 08.00 a luminous object flying from east to west appeared for one hour over
Larisa or Lamia (two different sources refer two different cities). Venus was visible low in
southern sky at that time, moving (very slowly) from east to west [note 33].
White objects were spotted crossing the skies over many towns and villages of Lasithi
prefecture, Crete, on January 17. One of them flew low over Perivolakia village and was shot
down by a TEA man who opened fire. It was a balloon 3 X 2 m [note 34].
On March 24, at 18.00 a flying barrel was seen flying with blowing wind speed in an
altitude of 500 m over the bridge of Simopoulo village, Elis, Peloponnese. Around the same
time, between Zytineika and Malakasi villages of the same area, two men saw a strange barrel-
shaped object hovering low over the ground. They approached and they found an empty carton
on the ground. The object lifted up in an altitude of 15-20 m; it hovered there for a while and
then started moving towards the city of Pyrgos; no accounts were reported from there [note 35].
This balloon wave broke out at western Peloponnese and some islands of Ionian Sea. On March
26, at 16.30 a witness at Argostoli,Kefallonia island, saw a green triangular object landing on
the sea, 300 m away from the shore. Two minutes later, the object lifted off with tremendous
speed and disappeared to the west. An exaggerated description of a balloon landing or
something else? Again, the data are irritatingly scarce. The same report said that a few days
ago a small box with leaflets fell at Hionata village, on the same island. Again on Kefallonia,
people at Lixouri saw an object landing on the fields and then moving away. The residents of
Vlahata village managed to retrieve another object; it was a carton 0.250.75 m.
There were other reports from Central Greece. Outside the city of Lamia an aluminium
spherical parachute was found and handled to the police. Another two parachutes found at
Makrakomi and Amfikleia, at the same general area. In the morning of March 25, at Elaiofyto
village, near the city of Agrinion, western Central Greece, a 2 m wide balloon was seen; an
empty box was hanging below it. A same balloon fell on nearby Trichonida lake and was
retrieved by fishermen [note 36].
A Meeting Over the Aegean
Almost surely these reports concern genuine propaganda balloons. Nevertheless, the Camouflage
Factor came into play. A very interesting incident took place on March 26, at 17.50, some milesnorth ofSkiathos island, Aegean Sea. Remarkably, there are many details available; the report
came from the crew and passengers of a commercial aircraft flying from Thessaloniki to Athens
who saw a triangular UFO from close range at an altitude of 5,500 feet.
The plane, a DC-4, lifted off from Sedes airport, Thessaloniki. A little before flying over
Skiathos the pilot, colonel Margopoulos, left the controls to the co-pilot, major Nicolaos
Stasinopoulos, and went to the passenger cabin. Stasinopoulos asked a glass of water from flying
hostess Margarita Zaharaki. When she entered the cockpit, they both spotted the flying object. It
was 5-10 miles away and at first Stasinopoulos thought it was another aircraft. It was gleaming
brilliantly under the sun. It hovered over the north slopes of Othrys mountain and was right in
the middle of the aircrafts course. Stasinopoulos turned the plane 5 degrees to the right to avoid
any collision. But the object approached with tremendous speed, as he described later.
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Far away, when I first saw it, it seemed big. But when we approached it, or it approached us, I
had the impression that it shrank.
He kept observing the object for 1.5 to 2 minutes. I was stunned. It was not another airplane. It
was a strange object 2-3 meters in size. I know all kinds of weather balloons. This is not a
balloon, I thought. Balloons are round. It was like a large church bell, upside-down. Its outer
shell was transparent, seemed like cheesecloth, nylon or glass, a little opaque. Inside there wassomething indescribable. It was something solid, wide on top, with an upper protuberance. It
was white, white as cotton. It seemed, allow me the metaphor, like a pelican bird with no legs; it
was not touching the outer shell, seemed like floating inside [] I passed 30-70 m next to it, saw
it sideways. The shape was the same. I sent the air hostess to call the pilot. He came immediately
and then we turned the plane to the left, flying in a large circle in order to see it again. But the
object was lost. If it was a balloon, we ought to see it again, because until we completed the turn
we were no more than a couple of miles away from it. I made a sketch of the object. The air
hostess agreed on its shape. One passenger who had also seen it agreed too.
The air-hostess described the object as a glass ball, turned upside-down [] It was transparent
and I could see something bright white inside, something I could not describe. Something like atripod, with one leg taller than the others, like a geometrical pattern.
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From left: co-pilot Stasinopoulos, air hostess Zaharaki and a sketch of the mysterious object by
Stasinopoulos
Passenger Leonidas Petrakakos, sitting on seat 16 saw the object but he thought is was a weather
balloon.
The Meteorological Service excluded the possibility of a meteorological balloon. One suchballoon had been actually launched at Thessaloniki at 15.30 but as lieutenant colonel
Peroyannakis of the MS stated, these balloons lift off with great speed, reaching an altitude of
20,000 feet in only a quarter of an hour. He remarked that it was simply impossible for a balloon
to stop at 5,500 feet. He said that the wind was blowing from the north, and such an encounter
with a balloon at the referred point would have been against the laws of nature.
It never became clear if the object was moving or was stationary. A plane could be spotted from
another one if the distance is less than 5-7 miles. The DC-4 could cover this distance in 2-3
minutes. From the time the crew spotted the UFO until it crossed paths with it, 2 minutes had
passed, therefore the UFO was most probably stationary. Yet, since it was shining brightly
maybe the initial distance was more than 5-7 miles, so maybe the UFO was moving with great
speed. This could explain the fact that it had vanished when the aircraft turned and after one
minute passed from the spot of the initial encounter.
It is also remarkable that on the same day, March 26, people at Elefsina, a town outside Athens
saw a flying object crossing the sky at an estimated altitude of 30,000 feet, changing shape
continuously. We also saw that just one and a half hourbefore the aircrafts encounter, an
object landed on the sea at Kefallonia island and then lifted off with tremendous speed.
Another brief report which may relates to the mystery, concerns a triangular flying machine
around 2 m in size which landed at Halandritsa, near Patras, Peloponnese. A little later it took offbefore the approaching villagers could reach it [note 37].
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The balloon wave continued. According toAcropolis(28.3.1955), at least ten balloons were seen
over villages at Elis, landing, releasing their boxes and lifting off again. The locals called them
ghosts; many claimed that they took off suddenly when they were approaching to retrieve
them. Nevertheless, on March 27 the people of Lantzoi village managed to retrieve such a
balloon; it was made of nylon and was 3 2.5 m, with a carton below. Another empty box was
found outside Tripotamia (Belesi) village at Arcadia [note 38].
Student V. Barkolias from Belesi village, holding the carton (Apogevmatini, 28.3.1955)
Balloons kept on dropping from the Greek skies. On June 11 a mysterious flying machine
landed between Amnissos and Kalos Agros villages, at the district of Drama, eastern Macedonia.
When the witness approached, it took off [note 39].
The following years, lots of sightings would familiarize Greek public with the UFO
phenomenon. More than ten years would pass until the first private groups of UFO researchers
were formed. Unfortunately the 1954 UFO wave was not investigated at its time and lots of data
are now lost forever. Nevertheless, a restrospective analysis can shed some light in a forgottenaspect of the old enigma, especially about the role of the Camouflage Factor.
Special thanks to SGM Herbert A. F ri edman (Ret)for his permission to use photos from his
article atPsywarrior website
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Notes
1. Operation FOCUS had results in Hungary. In December 1956, after the failed revolution and
the subsequent bloody Soviet invasion, a huge wave of 200,000 political refugees reached the
West. Radio Free Europe compiled a report based on interviews with over 1,000 refugees. The
question from which source did you learn the news before the uprising?, the answer from
foreign radio was (expectedly) in the highest position (86%). Unexpectedly the percentage for
the answer from balloons and leaflets was 21%.
2. Sources are Balloons over East Europe: The Cold War Leaflet Campaign of Radio Free
Europe by Richard H. Cummings, an article adapted from his paper "Attacks from the East
Against Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty," presented in 5th International Meeting of
International Intelligence History Study Group (18-20 June 1999, Tutzing, near Munich).
It was published in The Falling Leaf.No. 166, autumn 1999
(http://www.psywarsoc.org/FallingLeaf/balloons.php)Complementary data exist in Free
Europe Press Cold War Leaflets, by Herbert A.Friedman(http://www.psywarrior.com/RadioFreeEurope.html). A valuable source is Allan A. Michie's,
"Voice Through the Curtain: The Radio Free Europe Story," Dodd, Mead & Co., New York,
1963.
3. Sources: Luminous Cigar Sighter at Orthrys [sic] the Night Before Yesterday, Athinaiki,
12.10.1954 (The newspaper wrongly cites October 10 as the day of the sighting). A Giant Cigar
Over Pilion, Embros, 16.10.1954. In this detailed feature, the journalist made a field
investigation, met the witness and made a long report. He notes that Voyagis, was a simple
peasant yet self-educated and with a significant background of encyclopedic knowledge;
noticeably he knew the position of the planets in the night sky.
4. The Mysterious Balloon of Rhodes,Ethnos, 7.10.1954
5. Apparently the only source is a telegram by the commander of Lesvos Police based on a report
of the president of Vrysa community. A Flying Saucer or Cigar to Some Others Was Seen for
15 Minutes Over a Mytilene Village, Acropolis, 7.10.1954; A Flying Saucer was Seen over
Mytilene the Day Before Yesterday, Eleftheria, 7.10.1954; Two Turkish Professors Saw the
Mytilene Flying Saucer, Apogevmatini, 7.10.1954. Note that Mytilene is the name of the
capital of Lesvos island, but sometimes is (wrongly) used as the name of the island itself.
6. Residents of Anemotia Village Observe the New Flying Saucer of Lesvos, Apogevmatini,
7.10.1954; Flying Frying Pan Appeared Over Lesvos Emitting Golden-White Rays,Athinaiki,9.10.1954; A Flying Saucer with a Tail and Rays Sighted at Lesvos,Eleftheria, 10.10.1954
7.Hellinikos Vorras, 10.10.1954
8. The only source must have been a telegram from local police authorities. Strange Luminous
Spots Appeared 2-3 kms High in the Sky Over Mytilene, Acropolis, 16.10.1954; The Official
Report for the Lesvos Flying Saucer, Athinaiki, 18.10.1954; The Heavenly Phenomenon of
Lesvos,Ethnos, 18.10.1954
9. Flying Frying Pan Seen Over Moudros,Athinaiki, 26.10.1954
10.Ellinikos Vorras,20.10.1954
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11. Imaginary Rumors Due to the Fall of a Meteorological Device in Piraeus, Eleftheria,
23.10.1954; Meteorological Device Falls in Piraeus Misinterpreted as Parachutist with
Leaflets!,Acropolis, 23.10.1954
12. Unknown clipping, 23.10.1954
13. In Crete Also,Eleftheria, 26.10.1954
14. Flying Saucers over Zachlorou Seen by Mimis Fotopoulos,Apogevmatini, 27.10.1954
15. Flying Basket and Winged Human Creature Seen at Cos,Athinaiki, 29.10.1954
16. Huge Luminous Flying Saucer Appeared in the Sky of Rhodes, Vradyni, 28.10.1954;
Huge Luminous Saucer Flew for Five Minutes Over Rhodes,Ethnos, 28.10.1954
17. Blindingly Luminous Flying Saucers was Seen at Pyrgos, Athinaiki, 1.11.1954; Flying
Saucer Over Katakolon!,Apogevmatini, 1.11.1954
18. They Claim That they Saw Flying Saucers at Patras and Volos, Acropolis, 9.11.1954;
Flying Saucer Seen on Sunday at a Village of Patras,Athinaiki, 9.11.1954
19. They Claim That they Saw Flying Saucers at Patras and Volos, Acropolis, 9.11.1954; The
Claim that the Saw Silver Brilliant Disc Over Volos.Apogevmatini, 9.11.1954
20. A Flying Saucer Over Komotini Also,Apogevmatini, 10.11.1954
21.Acropolis, 11.11.1954
22. A Flying Saucer Appeared Over Kypseli!,Eleftheria, 12.11.1954; A Flying Saucer Was
Seen at Zografou!,Apogevmatini, 12.11.1954
23.Macedonia, 12.11.1954
24.Acropolis, 13.11.1954 [?]
25. The Flying Saucer Men Were a Flock of Goats!,Ethnos, 19.11.1954
26.Patris Pyrgou, 26.11.1954
27. Mysterious Balloons with Boxes and Folders Found at the Border,Apogevmatini,
26.11.1954
28. Balloon Dropped Leaflets Near Nigrita,Athinaiki, 8.12.1954
29. Nylon Balloon Rain Falls in Various Areas of Northern Greece, Apogevmatini, 9.12.1954;
Lots of Balloons Containing Hungarian Leaflets Fell at Macedonia,Eleftheria, 9.12.1954
30. Luminous Phenomenon Like a Large Star Seen for Hours at Corinth,Athinaiki13.12.1954
31. The Patras Flying Saucer, Athinaiki, 29.12.1954; Not to be Misinterpreted as FlyingSaucers,Eleftheria, 29.12.1954; Flying Saucers Over Pilion!,Eleftheria, 29.12.1954
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32. The Doxato Flying Saucer was a Paper Balloon,Ethnos, 4.1.1955
33. Heavenly Phenomenon Over Larisa,Ethnos, 11.1.1955; Luminous Object Over Lamia,
Ta Nea, 11.1.1955
34. Flying Saucers Were Balloons, Vradyni, 18.1.1955
35 Barrel-Shaped Object Seen 500 m Over an Elis village,Apogevmatini, 26.3.1955
36 Mysterious Flying Machine Appeared the Day Before Yesterday at Argostolion, Acropolis,
27.3.1955; Cartons Dropped From Aeroplanes Reported as Flying Saucers at Kefallonia,
Eleftheria27.3.1955
37. Mysterious Flying Object Seen by TAE Aircraft Crew 5 Miles North of Skiathos, extended
coverage by G. Karagiorgas,Ethnos28.3.1955
38. Ten Balloons Carrying Boxes with Leaflets Sighted Over Elis One was Retrieved,
Acropolis, 28.3.1955
39. Mysterious Flying Machine Landed at Drama Area, Vradyni, 11.6.1955
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Map of Greece with place names referred in the text
1. Othrys mnt / 2.Pilion mnt / 3.Volos / 4.Doxato / 5.Orestiada / 6.Didymoteicho / 7.Neapolis /
8.Zachlorou / 9.Patra / 10.Pyrgos / 11.Athens / 12.Komotini / 13.Playari / 14.Aegion /
15.Alexandroupolis / 16.Nigrita / 17.Thessaloniki / 18.Drama / 19. Polykastro / 20. Katerini /
21.Veroia / 22.Corinth / 23.Lamia / 24.Larisa / 25.Area of encounter between commercial
aircraft and UFO, 1955