May 15, 1957🇺🇸Military Encounter
Radar Evidence
RAF Manston: Fighter Pilot Ordered to Fire on Radar Target
USAF Lt. Milton Torres received an order to fire 24 rockets at an unidentified radar target tracked over East Anglia from a secret nuclear bunker in Essex. The target disappeared at high speed before Torres could engage.
Background
Incident Details Lt. Milton Torres, a USAF pilot with the 406th Bomber Wing at RAF Manston in Kent, England, was scrambled near midnight on May 20, 1957 (or possibly 1956). Ground control, tracking from Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker in Essex, vectored Torres and a wingman to 32,000 feet over East Anglia to intercept an unidentified target.
Radar Engagement Torres acquired the target on his F-86D aircraft radar, which displayed a blip comparable in size to a B-52 bomber. An RAF controller issued an extraordinary order to fire a full salvo of 24 rockets. Alarmed by this unusual command, Torres requested confirmation before proceeding.
Outcome Before Torres could execute the firing order, the target accelerated to tremendous speed and vanished from radar screens. Upon landing, Torres was debriefed by a secret service agent and instructed that the mission was classified.
Possible Explanation Some researchers suggest the target may have been a classified CIA-MoD experiment codenamed Palladium, designed to simulate aircraft blips on Soviet radar systems.
Connections
🏛Organizations(1)