Most people who have read about UFOs get the impression that they have been reported only since World War II. In fact they go back much, much further. During World War II both Allies and Nazi air forces reported strange lights that often buzzed their aircraft. Each thought that the lights were some kind of secret weapon of the other, possibly unmanned flying observatories. Partly in jest, partly in frustration at their elusiveness the Americans nicknamed them "foo fighters". After a while, since nothing seemed to happen, both sides ignored them. In the late 1890s a world-wide series of sightings of "airships" gripped the headlines. Dirigible-like aircraft were seen over Europe, the United States and even Australia. In fact Australia has a
long UFO history. Bill Chalker --one of Australia's best known UFO researchers-- has spent years compiling dozens and dozens of older Australian cases from newspapers, magazines and other sources. Australia's oldest abduction case dates back to 1860 in Parramatta
Park in Sydney. There are also many Dreamtime references among the
Aborigines and other local peoples which strongly suggest UFOs, and
textbook cases of abduction. In one Island group off northern Australia
the shamans instruct the tribe in special chants to sing to calm
themselves when being abducted by beings.

There were many puzzing reports in the 17-and-1800s. For example, Sir
Edmund Halley, the great astronomer who gave his name to the famous comet, on March 1716 recorded seeing a brilliantly lit object over London for two hours. And over the French town of Embrun on September 7, 1820 witnesses reported seeing a groups of disc-shaped objects flying in tight formation execute a perfect 90 degree turn.

But strange reports go back much further and over much wider a field. Japan and China have recorded many events over the
centuries. Among them was an object like the full moon, shiny
and bright, that appeared on September 12. 1271. Another
event occured on March 17, 1458 when five stars suddenly
appeared cirling the moon, and changed colour three times
before vanishing. One of the more spectacular sightings
happened on August 3, 989 when three round objects of high brilliance were seen in the sky and later merged together.

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During the reign of Charlemagne in Europe there were so many reports of encounters with "tyrants of the air, and their aerial ships" the
Emperor became so concerned that people reporting these strange
events were subject to torture and death. Going further back the Greeks and Romans regularly reported phantom chariots appearing the night sky. These from civilisations well acquainted with the night sky and falling stars. Further still, hundreds of years before Christ, Ezekiel, the Biblical prophet, described a scene he experienced in captivity. In the King James version he says:

"...it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth
day of the month...the heavens were opened... Out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures...[that] had the likenesss of a man... Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures..." He goes on to describe other wheels, all
the color of "beryl"

"And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and
when the living creatures lifted up from the earth the wheels were up."

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