Norton AFB diamond-shaped craft claim (1988)
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Contents 9
Norton AFB diamond-shaped craft claim (1988)
| Date claimed | Saturday 12 November 1988 |
|---|---|
| Place | Norton Air Force Base, San Bernardino, California |
| Claimant | Michael Schratt, aerospace researcher, citing an anonymous engineer |
| Claimed object | Diamond- or football-shaped "lifting body" covered in Shuttle-like tiles; said to be an unmanned vehicle able to launch nuclear missiles |
| Related account | Mark McCandlish's story of "alien reproduction vehicles" shown at Norton on the same day |
| Status | Unconfirmed; no official record |
| Date | 12 November 1988 |
| Topics | Beings & bodies (topic), Nuclear & missile sites (topic), Military encounters (topic) |
| People | Michael Schratt, Mark McCandlish |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 102 |
| Year | 1988 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1988 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 7 |
The Norton AFB diamond-shaped craft claim is a story told by the researcher Michael Schratt, who studies secret aircraft programmes. He says that on 12 November 1988 a restricted exhibit of classified aircraft was held at Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, California, for cleared officials. The exhibit was said to include a diamond-shaped "lifting body". According to an anonymous engineer who said he attended, the craft was shaped like a football or diamond, covered in tiles like those on the Space Shuttle, and was an unmanned vehicle able to launch nuclear missiles.[6] The date is the same one the aerospace illustrator Mark McCandlish gave for a friend's sighting of hovering "flying saucers" in a Norton hangar.[7] There is no official confirmation of either account.
Schratt's claim
- According to the anonymous UAP timeline in Michael Shellenberger's 2024 House testimony, Schratt says that U.S. Senator Alan Cranston and California Congressman George Brown Jr. were at Norton on 12 November 1988 to see the F-117A demonstrated. There was also an exhibit intended to build support for black-budget aerospace programmes.[6]
- The anonymous engineer's description, as summarised there, is of a football- or diamond-shaped craft covered in Shuttle-type tiles, described as an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of launching nuclear missiles.[6]
- The timeline's source is a November 2007 report on the journalist Linda Moulton Howe's Earthfiles website. The report is open only to subscribers. Its free preview opens with a quotation attributed to a 1997 Jane's Intelligence Briefing: "The aero-diamond's aerospike engine and diamond platform could propel the craft to speeds of Mach 14."[5][4] Howe is a journalist known for promoting UFO-related claims, including about cattle mutilations and government contact with aliens.[3]
- The earlier version of this article placed the event "around November 1988" and said it was for "senior officials". The timeline gives the exact date and names the two politicians.[6]
McCandlish's version
- In his December 2000 testimony for Steven Greer's Disclosure Project, McCandlish said a former schoolmate, the industrial designer Brad Sorensen, went to an air show at Norton. McCandlish had planned to go with him to see an SR-71 fly-by but stayed home to meet a magazine deadline.[7]
- According to McCandlish, Sorensen went with a client: a tall, white-haired, millionaire former Secretary or Under Secretary of Defense with an "Italian-sounding last name", whom McCandlish guessed was Frank Carlucci. As the Thunderbirds' display was starting, the client led Sorensen to "The Big Hangar" at the far end of the field and passed him off as his aide to the man running an exhibit for cleared local politicians and military officials.[7]
- Inside, McCandlish said, were the losing prototype from the B-2 bomber competition and a "Lockheed Pulsar, nicknamed the Aurora". Behind a black curtain, three "flying saucers" of different sizes hovered above the floor with no visible support. The smallest was about 24 ft across and the next 60 ft, and a video showed the smallest hopping and then shooting straight up out of sight in silence.[7]
- McCandlish called the craft the "Alien Reproduction Vehicle" or "Flux Liner", and dated Sorensen's visit to "November 12, 1988 — it was a Saturday".[7] His account is covered in more detail in Mark McCandlish and the alien reproduction vehicle.
- McCandlish's craft were saucer-shaped and hovering. Schratt's was a tiled, diamond-shaped lifting body. The two stories share a date and place but describe different objects.[6][7]
Other claims about Norton
- Lieutenant Colonel John Williams, an Air Force engineer who managed construction projects for Military Airlift Command, told the Disclosure Project in September 2000 that one facility at Norton was so closely held that "not even the wing commander there could know what was going on". He said pilots rumoured it housed a UFO, which visitors such as senators could view while attending golf tournaments. He said he was never allowed inside.[7]
Context
- November 1988 was a turning point for black aircraft. The Air Force had denied the F-117 stealth fighter's existence until 10 November 1988, two days before the claimed exhibit. On that day Assistant Secretary of Defense J. Daniel Howard showed a grainy photograph of it at a Pentagon press conference.[1]
- Norton, two miles east of downtown San Bernardino, was mainly a logistics depot and heavy-airlift base. From the late 1950s it also hosted the Air Force's ballistic-missile directorate and, from the 1960s, the Space and Missile Systems Organization, which managed the Minuteman and Peacekeeper programmes. It was chosen for closure in the 1988 Base Realignment and Closure round and closed in 1994.[2]
- A display of classified aircraft for cleared personnel is not implausible against this background.[1][2] The earlier version of this article also said the B-2 bomber was unveiled at Palmdale that month. That is not covered in the sources read here.
Assessment
- Both Norton stories are second- or third-hand. Schratt relies on an anonymous engineer, and McCandlish on what a friend told him a week later.[6][7]
- No document, photograph or named attendee has confirmed the exhibit, and it is unclear whether it happened as described.
People and topics
- Norton Air Force Base — A California air base linked to claims of secret aircraft displays.
- Michael Schratt — Researcher of secret aircraft programs.
- U.S. Air Force — The U.S. military service that ran the official UFO projects from 1947 to 1969.
- Mark McCandlish — Aerospace illustrator who drew the alleged "Alien Reproduction Vehicle".
On the Timeline
- Edmund Gomez and Dulce (23 October 1988) — A New Mexico rancher claims he saw troops and an aircraft crash near Dulce.
- John Lear's source Mike (1989) (January 1989) — John Lear says a source was flown to an underground site to photograph a saucer and autopsy.
See every 1988 event on the UAP Timeline →
Further reading
- U.S. congressional hearings on UFOs — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
References
- Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk (publicly acknowledged 10 Nov 1988) — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Norton Air Force Base — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Linda Moulton Howe — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Earthfiles — Linda Moulton Howe's news site · earthfiles.com · archived copy
- earthfiles.com · earthfiles.com · archived copy
- Michael Shellenberger, written testimony to the House Oversight Committee (13 November 2024), p. 102 · oversight.house.gov
- Disclosure Project Briefing Document (2001): testimonies of Mark McCandlish and Lt. Col. John Williams · archive.org
Facts in this article are drawn in part from the Wikipedia articles “Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk (publicly acknowledged 10 Nov 1988)”, “Norton Air Force Base”, “Linda Moulton Howe”, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
Categories: 1988 | Beings bodies | Mark mccandlish | Michael schratt | Military encounters | Norton air force base | Nuclear missile sites | Timeline event | Us air force
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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