Roland D. Powell

Roland D. Powell (born circa 1926) is an American retired US Navy Lieutenant Commander who served aboard the USS Yorktown in World War II, and in Korea and Vietnam. In mid-July 1945, at age 19, he was stationed at Naval Air Station Pasco, Washington, training pilots in advanced combat tactics to protect the Hanford nuclear plant. Powell briefed six F6F Hellcat pilots who intercepted a massive oval-shaped UFO, size of three aircraft carriers, pinkish with vapor emissions, at 65,000 feet over Hanford. Ground control urged pursuit despite engine risks. He relayed this account to UFO researcher James M. Andrus, noting the pilots from Air Group III survivors. Powell's testimony provides early military UFO intercept evidence, predating Roswell, amid WWII secrecy.