Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia: Landing craft's compass fails near rotating light in sea
On January 23, 1964, the crew of the landing craft Loellen M. in the Gulf of Carpentaria near Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory, found the compass malfunctioning and saw a pulsating, rotating white light in the water; the case is the first 'unknown' in the RAAF's UFO files.
Background
On January 23, 1964, the landing craft Loellen M. was in the Gulf of Carpentaria between Cape Grey and Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory, Australia, when a crew member noticed that the compass was malfunctioning ('haywire') and the vessel was off course. He noticed an odd phosphorescence in the water on the starboard side about six feet from the ship: a ghostly, pulsating white light rotating clockwise that seemed to be 'miles across.' As the light wheel moved to the port side, another rotating light approached the starboard side. Eberhart considers unusual bioluminescence to be involved, but notes that the case is the first 'unknown' in the RAAF's UFO files. The account follows the entry in George M. Eberhart's chronology UFOs and Intelligence (CUFOS) and the sources cited there; it is not an independent determination by From Beyond Space.