Historias Aeronáuticas que Nos Hicieron Creer en
OVNIS
by Francisco J. Máñez. Valencia: Editorial
Tetragrama, 1999. 142 pages. Paperback.
This remarkable little book, whose title translates
as "Aeronautical Stories which Led Us To Believe in UFOs" is the
perfect book for two wildly dissimilar readers: the UFO buff and the
WW II enthusiast. Author Francisco Máñez's book indicates that the
first UFO sightings were in fact Nazi prototypes being tested by the
Allied powers during the postwar years. Rather than interplanetary,
they should be studied as part of the "secret history" of
aeronautics.
At this point, howls of disapproval can surely be
heard. But Máñez poses the compelling thesis of how financial,
military and political interests fostered a belief in flying saucers
and extraterrestrials as a smoke-screen for their projects. Nothing
new here--certainly Renato Vesco and INEXPLICATA's own Manuel
Carballal have ploughed that field before. But the author produces
amazing photographs that give us the full impact WW II Germany's
breathtaking aeronautical secrets. Being an aviation buff myself, I
was stunned by a never-seen-before photo of the colossal Junkers
Ju-390 heavy bomber: a six-propeller monster with an endurance of 32
hours. Máñez tells us the Luftwaffe specifically built this plane to
bomb New York City, and came within 20 kilometers of the city
undetected during its trial runs. Even more ominous is the fact that a
nuclear-capable version was on the drawing boards.
Photos of manmade saucers dot the text: Rene
Crouzet's perfect saucer-shaped vehicle; Argentina's triangular IA-37;
SNECMA's Lit-Cage Volant (a cigar-shaped contraption), and many
others. While the book is unconvincing when it comes to tackling the
issue of UFO occupants, it remains a powerful advocate for the belief
that a large share of saucer sightings (the CE-Is) can be explained as
manmade vehicles.
Thanks to Internet book ordering services such as
<www.crisol.es> it is now possible to acquire books from
overseas with greater ease than before. If the "Nazi Saucer" scenario
thrills you, you can't go wrong with this book.
INEXPLICATA gives Historias
Aeronáuticas... ? ? ? ?