Black triangle UFO left US fighter jet ‘hopelessly outclassed’ & ‘moved like no known aircraft’ as it buzzed warship
A UFO "hopelessly outclassed" a US fighter plane as the craft intercepted a black triangle shaped object lurking over a warship.
US military documents show the mysterious object moved in ways "not possible for any known aircraft" during the chilling incident in the 1960s.
US Navy destroyer USS Gyatt was at the centre of the extraordinary encounter which saw an unknown object spend five nights menacing the ship.
Declassified files show how the destroyer encountered the mysterious object multiple times in November 1964 while sailing around 200 miles from Puerto Rico in the Atlantic Ocean.
It was tracked on the ship's radar and is reported to have have made extraordinary manoeuvres at incredible speed - while also being able to suddenly move slowly at low altitudes.
The object was also tracked by a radar station as it is reported to have hit speeds at up to 4,400mph.
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US files on the object described it as delta shaped or triangular and black or dark gray with "extreme high speed and altitude capability".
The incident was investigated by the US's secret UFO team at the time - Project Blue Book - and was filed away as an "unidentified aircraft".
And so, some 60 years on from the incident it remains unexplained and a fascinating case as UFOs take centre stage once again in Washington.
Lawmakers, former servicemen and intelligence officials are now all speaking more openly about UFOs - including a landmark hearing last month on Capitol Hill.
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US officials have acknowledged there is something in the skies they cannot explain - and the stigma around the traditionally fringe topic is finally being stripped back.
USS Gyatt was first launched in the final days of World War 2 - and had a long career which saw her become the world's first guided missile destroyer in 1955.
She also assisted with the space program in the early 1960s, before in 1963 moving to a deployment in the Caribbean.
And it is during this tour of duty that she is alleged to have had the mysterious encounter with the "black triangle".
Black triangles are some of the most widely reported UFO shapes.
Some 73 pages US military documents - published by the UFO investigative group and as reported by - offer a chilling picture of the encounter with the UFO.
The object was first detected on November 16 - before being seen again on the, 17, 18, 19 and 24 - during the height of the Cold War.
It is said to have hit speeds of up to 3,800 knots - or 4,372mph.
And in one of the incidents, the object is reported to have flown "directly over" the nearby USS Bainbridge - a nuclear powered cruiser.
UFOs are often linked to nuclear sites and a nuclear-powered assets such as modern aircraft carriers.
The most dramatic account of USS Gyatt's mysterious experiences however was on November 19 - when the UFO became engaged in a chase with a fighter plane.
Lieutenant Commander Kyle H. Woodbury, callsign SALT SPRAY 26, was already airborne with the USS Gyatt spotted the mysterious object once again.
He then flew his F-8 Crusader - which was capable of top speeds of 1,227mph - to try and intercept the mysterious shape.
He described his jet being "hopelessly" and "completely outclassed" as he attempted to pursue the object which then accelerated away at 50,000ft.
Its speed, acceleration, ceiling and ability to decelerate exceed any aircraft I have seen or heard of
Lieutenant Commander Kyle Woodbury
Woodbury was described as "reliable" and "experienced"; in the report on the encounter.
"There is no reasonable explanation of this target," he said, according to the declassified documents.
"Its speed, acceleration, ceiling and ability to decelerate exceed any aircraft I have seen or heard of."
Woodbury added: "I would evaluate the target as an aircraft, very high performance, maneuvered as an aircraft and performed no unusual maneuvers except, extreme acceleration and deceleration at will plus a very steep climb angle in excess of 50,000 feet at high speed.
"No lights on board expect what looked like an after burner light during acceleration."
The veteran pilot broke off pursuit and attempted to head back to the base, only for the object to then once again appear behind him.
USS Gyatt's crew took photos of the radar screen showing the erratic movement from the UFO as it was pursued by Woodbury.
Grainy images from the documents show two points marked "A" and "B" taken from the ship's scanner - and a detailed list of the object's incredible speed and location.
And the documents suggest there was a second attempted intercept also by an F8 on November 24.
But there is little detail beyond saying the object was detected at "high speed, high altitude" before it "pulled away rapidly" from the fighter jet which was travelling at near supersonic speed.
Further documents reveal that US officials passed on reports to the "foreign technology division" as it was determined there were no experimental US aircraft in the area at the time.
And this included the Lockheed YF-12 - an interceptor prototype - and "high speed drones".
US officials dismissed UFOs at the conclusion of Project Blue Book in the 1960s - stating there was nothing to see.
And yet now around five decades on the debate has returned and is now being treated as a serious national security issue.
The topic which was for decades considered a fringe and wacky damaging topic is now being openly spoken about by very senior figures, including former President Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
US lawmakers commissioned the Pentagon UFO report after a stunning string of leaked videos that showed military encounters with objects such as the infamous "Tic Tac".
And the Tic Tac encounter, with fighter jets encountering an incredible high speed object near a warship as eerie similarities to the incident 40 years prior aboard the USS Gyatt.
Washington is pressing on with discussions around UFOs, with new legislation being proposed to protect whistleblowers.
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Questions remain whether the objects being encountered by the US are previously unknown drones, natural phenomenon, black technology - or perhaps something more alien.
And last week, The Sun Online revealed one family's hunt for answers after a US pilot died in a crash while chasing a UFO.