YouTube video · UAP Gerb · 17 April 2024
USO - Unidentified Submerged Objects
A history of unidentified submerged objects. Gerb starts with Maj. Dewey Fournet's Project Interloper (1951, with the Navy), the 1952 AFOIN-X SG "special group" letter with nine ONI submarine-contact reports, and the 1954 JANAP 146C and OPNAV 3820 directives that routed Navy UFO reports away from the public. He then covers Tim Gallaudet's 2024 paper "Beneath the Surface" (with Aguadilla 2013 and Shelburne 1960), Elizondo's Caribbean missile story, sailors' firsthand accounts and the disputed USS Trepang photos.
On the record
- JANAP 146C and OPNAV 3820 (1954).
- Gallaudet's 2024 SOL paper "Beneath the Surface".
- The 24 Apr 1952 AFOIN-X SG letter to ATIC.
Open questions
- Where are the nine ONI submarine-contact reports attached to the 1952 letter?
- Trepang 1971: the ice and print-enhancement readings are commentary, not demonstrated.
Leads to follow
- Lead, not a record yet: case/shelburne-1960 (Gallaudet's source).
- Lead, not a record yet: case/puerto-rico-trench-missile (Elizondo, secondhand).
- Lead, not a record yet: case/trepang-1971 (photo dispute).
- FOIA the ONI submarine-contact reports of 1952.
Timeline
On the recordWitness testimonyAlleged / one person's word
People across the timeline · click a name or a dot
Click a person to follow their thread.
1951
Project InterloperMaj. Dewey Fournet with the Navy; only cases 26-28 survive.
24 Apr 1952
AFOIN-X SG letterNine ONI submarine-contact reports sent to ATIC.
1953
Interloper briefs the CIAFindings never reached Congress.
Mar 1971
USS Trepang photosDisputed photos between Iceland and Jan Mayen.
1991
Kevin Thomas, USS NimitzA 1-km black triangle rises from the sea.
2010
John Bowman, USS Carl VinsonA white Tic Tac shape under the surface off Haiti.
The claims, checked
On the record (4)
In 1951 Maj. Dewey Fournet ran Project Interloper with the Navy on aerial and undersea objects; it briefed the CIA in 1953 and only cases 26-28 survive.Per Gerb's sources.analysisProject Blue Book
An ATIC letter of 24 Apr 1952 from AFOIN-X SG to Col. Dunn attached nine ONI submarine-contact reports, which have not been released; a 1979 FOIA on the "special group" was denied.firsthandATIC letter (cited by Gerb)
JANAP 146C (1954) had airborne and waterborne UFOs reported as CIRVIS/MERINT, with penalties under the 1934 Communications Act and espionage laws.firsthandJANAP 146CJANAP 146(C): CIRVIS and MERINT reporting (1954)
OPNAV 3820 of 23 Jan 1954 sent Navy flying-object reports to ATIC, Air Force intelligence and ONI.firsthandOPNAV 3820 (copy in Keyhoe)OPNAV 3820: Navy flying-object reports (23 January 1954)
Witness testimony (5)
Interloper case 26: Lt George P. Williams and nine crew saw a 200-ft elliptical object with a red-orange rim rise from the sea between Keflavik and Newfoundland.firsthandLt George P. Williams (Interloper file, per Gerb)
A submarine's sonar logged a "fast mover" at several hundred knots and was told to "log it and dog it"; a senior Navy figure later said he could not discuss "that program".Unverified.firsthandMark D'Antonio (FX Models, 2017)
"We're being visited by non-human intelligence with technology we really don't understand."NewsNation with Ross Coulthart (11:24).firsthandTim Gallaudet
Off Haiti in 2010 a 20-ft white Tic Tac shape below the surface darted down.firsthandPO John Bowman (USS Carl Vinson)
In 1991 a 1-km black triangle rose from the sea with no water dripping, and men in plain clothes questioned him the next day.Gerb could not confirm his service.firsthandPO Kevin Thomas (USS Nimitz)
Alleged / one person's word (6)
UFO and USO files were stored at Norton AFB.Forbidden Science (1985).secondhandunnamed source → Jacques Vallee → told itJacques Vallée
The Navy knew of an underwater hotspot near Golfo San Matias, Argentina.secondhandOke Shannon's notes (BDM working group, 1985; published 2022)unnamed participants → Oke Shannon → told itBDM Corporation
Recovered USO material moved through an ONR-CIA (OSWR/WINPAC) channel.Rumour he heard.secondhandJohn Ramirez (ex-CIA, 2022)unnamed colleagues → John Ramirez → told itOffice of Naval Research (ONR)Central Intelligence Agency
At Shelburne, Nova Scotia, in 1960 RCN divers in a joint mine-sweeping exercise saw two discs on the seabed and occupants repairing one.Gallaudet's 2024 paper; original witnesses not named on screen.secondhandRCN divers → Tim Gallaudet → told itBeneath the Surface: We May Learn More about UAP by Looking in the OceanShag Harbour, Nova Scotia: lights into the sea
During a Caribbean cruise-missile recovery a dark round object "the size of a small island" rose beneath the missile twice and the second time pulled it under.To Terry Virts, 2022; crew unnamed.secondhandunnamed crew → Luis Elizondo → told itLuis ElizondoA 4,400 mph contact near Puerto Rico
The March 1971 USS Trepang photos show triangle and cigar shapes; the commander said he "saw only ice" and one print shows tampering.Commentary under the what-if rule; not settled.analysisWim van Utrecht and Greenewald (commentary)