Palmyra Atoll & Normandy: Sphere and Ellipsoid Sightings
In June 1944, Coast Guard commander Edward W. Ludwig observed a bright sphere near Palmyra Atoll that moved intermittently. On June 10, gunner Edward Breckel on SS George E. Badger spotted a dark ellipsoidal object off Omaha Beach.
Background
Witnesses and Context
Edward W. Ludwig, commander of a small Coast Guard cargo vessel, was searching for a missing navy patrol aircraft near Palmyra Atoll. Edward Breckel, a gun captain on the Liberty ship SS George E. Badger, was off Omaha Beach in Normandy.
Sightings
Ludwig saw a luminous sphere in the sky that alternately moved and halted, over a period of more than 30 minutes. Breckel saw a dark, ellipsoidal object on the horizon, roughly 8 kilometres away, blunted at both ends like a sausage. It flew slowly and silently about 4.5 metres above the water and remained visible for 3 minutes.
Significance
Both incidents occurred during military operations in the Pacific and the Atlantic. No conventional explanation fits; sources: "True Mystic Experiences" (Fate, 1950) and "The Case for the 'Sea-Saucer'" (CRIFO Orbit, 1955).