Incident · 3 June 1967 · Montánchez, Extremadura, Spain
Montánchez radar-visual intercept by T-33 and F-86 jets (Spain, 1967)
Also known as Montánchez 1967, Duende 20
Partly explained. The Air Force's 1992 review judged a sounding balloon probable ("con las lógicas reservas"), but no balloon launch was ever checked and two radar stations tracked the object. (Spanish Air Force file 670603: aircraft and radar encounter over Montánchez, 3 June 1967)
On the afternoon of 3 June 1967, two Spanish Air Force pilots flying a T-33 from Torrejón to Talavera saw a brilliant object hanging some 5,000 feet above them over Montánchez. They tried and failed to reach it. Two air-defence radar stations picked it up, and two F-86 Sabres were scrambled from Torrejón with cameras. Every crew saw an object that seemed to change shape with the viewing angle, and most thought it might be a balloon. Only one poor photograph survives.
When the file was declassified in 1992, the Air Force's intelligence section said the radar returns proved a real, slow-moving solid object. It judged a sounding balloon the likeliest explanation, while noting that no one had checked whether a balloon had been launched. The pilots' names are blanked in the released file.
Sources: Ejército del Aire, expediente 670603
Facts and claims
- documented Two Air Force pilots in a T-33 (DUENDE 20) saw a bright object high above them over Montánchez and could not climb to it, noticing strong radio interference beneath it. Radar stations EVA 3 and EVA 2 both made contact, and two F-86s scrambled from Torrejón with cameras reached it but recovered for lack of fuel without closer data. Source: Spanish Air Force file 670603: aircraft and radar encounter over Montánchez, 3 June 1967
- documented The Air Force's 1992 review called the double radar detection undeniable evidence of a solid physical object moving very slowly, and concluded that it was probably a sounding balloon. Source: Spanish Air Force file 670603: aircraft and radar encounter over Montánchez, 3 June 1967
Connected files
Documents
- Spanish Air Force file 670603: aircraft and radar encounter over Montánchez, 3 June 1967 (documented in)