Unidentified Submerged Objects

Summary

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Alien UFO Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Unidentified Submerged Objects
Host: Simon Bown
Date: July 25, 2026
Key Source: Excerpt from Richard Dolan's A History of Unidentified Submerged Objects, Volume 2: 1970–1989

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Episode Overview

In this episode, host Simon Bown explores the enigmatic world of “Unidentified Submerged Objects” (USOs) by reading from Richard Dolan’s authoritative book on the subject, focusing on the tumultuous period of the 1970s through the 1980s. The episode delves into patterns and trends in USO encounters, technological implications, and the evolving nature of reports, especially the surge during the 1970s. Simon contextualizes Dolan’s research, highlighting the most dramatic and revealing decades in recorded USO history.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Changing Patterns in USO Sightings

(03:02 – 04:10)

• Shift to Nighttime Encounters:

  • There is a notable increase in nighttime USO activity post-1960s. Before this period, sightings were fairly balanced between day and night, but afterwards, almost three-quarters occurred after sundown.
  • Military encounters skew even more heavily towards night, with almost 90% happening after dark.

• Concealment and Changes in Reports:

  • Nighttime allows USOs to conceal structural details, often appearing as “luminous forms… bright points, bars, or diffused glows, rather than discernible craft.”
    • Quote from Richard Dolan (03:50):

      "Under cover of darkness, an object that emits light can appear as a luminous form with few or no structural details. Witnesses report bright points, bars, or diffused glows rather than discernible craft."

• Rise of Reports as ‘Lights’:

  • The vocabulary used to describe encounters narrows due to diminished visibility; more cases are simply categorized as 'lights'.

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The 1970s: The Peak of USO Activity

(04:10 – 06:15)

• Unprecedented Surge in Reports:

  • The 1970s saw the highest frequency and intensity of USO encounters in history.
  • Activity spanned oceans, seas, and inland waters worldwide, involving military, mariners, fishermen, and civilian witnesses.

• Richness and Diversity of Events:

  • Many incidents had multiple witnesses or involved simultaneous radar/sonar and visual detection. Some prompted military aircraft launches for investigation.
  • Quote from Richard Dolan (05:20):

    "The decade is crowded with activity, and it resists any easy reduction."

• Approach to Documentation:

  • Dolan notes his research avoids vague or weak reports and uses entries that sometimes group together intense waves of sightings in particular regions.
  • Spreadsheets and updated counts are available for further scrutiny.

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Statistical Context and Interpretation

(06:15 – 07:45)

• Numbers and Trends:

  • Volume 2 increases the 1970s entries from 127 to 133; the 1980s rise from 82 to 85.
  • The 1970s remain the most active decade, followed by intense activity from 1966–1983.

• Beyond Human Activity:

  • Growth in human presence at sea or technological sensor improvements alone doesn’t explain the peak.

    • Quote from Richard Dolan (07:05):

      “If more human eyes and sensors were the main driver, one might expect the later, more connected decades to dominate the case counter. The pre-digital 1970s should not surpass the 1990s or 2000s on that logic. Yet they do.”

  • Suggestion: The phenomenon itself changed—either more operator presence or greater willingness to reveal themselves.

• Possible Operator Intentions:

  • Theorizes that “operators” (i.e., presumed intelligences behind USOs) may escalate monitoring in periods important to them, or respond to shifts in human surveillance capability.

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Patterns in Object Types and Effects

(07:45 – 10:27)

• Evolution in Craft Descriptions:

  • Reports still described disks, spheres, cigars, and triangles, but:
    • Spherical and light-based objects rose in number and prominence.
    • Cigar-shaped declined.
    • Triangular craft became more frequent, especially into the 1980s/1990s.

• Electromagnetic Interference (EMI):

  • The 1970s had a notable spike in cases involving electromagnetic effects—ships losing power, radar/radio failures, etc.

    • Occurred more often in military contexts, suggesting possible intentionality or operational strategy.

    • Quote from Richard Dolan (09:45):

      “It is not necessary to conclude that EM suppression was purely a weapon. It could also function as a tool to manage an encounter, to test response, or to deny data collection.”

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Interactions with Military Assets

(10:27 – 12:18)

• Behavior Around Naval Forces:

  • USOs were often detected or observed near military vessels—carriers, destroyers, submarines—and patrol aircraft.
  • Behaviors included pacing, circling, shadowing at close range, sudden acceleration, and cautious non-confrontational withdrawals.

• Consistency Across Navies:

  • These patterns are not isolated but observed across different navies globally.

    • Quote from Richard Dolan (11:42):

      “The consistency of this pattern across navies and theaters is hard to dismiss.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the decade’s activity:

  “The 1970s stands as the most active in recorded USO history, with both frequency and intensity rising to a level that has not been matched since.”
  — Richard Dolan, read by Simon Bown (04:55)

• On the limitations of human-centric explanations:

  “The pre-digital 1970s should not surpass the 1990s or 2000s on that logic. Yet they do.”
  — Richard Dolan (07:10)

• On the function of EM effects:

  “A repeated capacity to switch off our systems at will points to technological mastery, and to a decision to use it in specific contexts.”
  — Richard Dolan (10:10)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:02 — Episode theme, book excerpt introduction, and setup
• 03:50 — Description of increased nighttime activity / witness reports shift
• 05:20 — Explosion of USO activity in the 1970s and case selection criteria
• 07:05 — Debunking human activity as the sole explanation
• 09:45 — Technology suppression and EM effects
• 10:27 — Military encounters and behavioral patterns
• 11:42 — Global consistency in military USO encounters

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Closing Notes

Simon ends the episode by recommending both Dolan’s and his own books to listeners, and encourages reviews and subscriptions for future episodes.

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This summary distills the episode’s rigorous exploration of a critical evolutionary period in USO encounters, punctuated by Dolan's meticulous research and Simon’s clear and engaging narration. Those interested in UFO/USO phenomena, their underlying causes, and military encounters will find rich ground here for further investigation.

Transcript

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This is episode 144 of UFO Encounters. This episode I'm reading from Richard Dolan's book A History of Unidentified Submerged Objects, Volume 2 from 1970 to 1989. When I have guests on my podcasts, I read their books to work out questions for the episodes. When reading these books I always find such amazing information that never makes into the podcast and here I get a chance to give you a peek into the book. I've put a link to the book in the show notes and I did seek permission to record this extract and the author kindly said yes. I'm going to be reading from a section titled the Tumultuous 1970s and this is what Richard has written. Something changed at the end of the 1960s. The pattern of USO encounters shifted with a marked increase in activity at night. Before this period, sightings were roughly balanced between daylight and darkness. Within a few years, the ratio tilted decisively toward the latter, with nearly three quarters of all reports taking place after sundown. Military encounters displayed an even sharper skew, with close to nine out of ten occurring at night. This tendency has remained a feature of the phenomenon since that time and continues to shape the way the record looks. One explanation is simple concealment. Under cover of darkness, an object that emits light can appear as a luminous form with few or no structural details. Witnesses report bright points, bars, or diffused glows rather than discernible craft. That change in presentation helps explain another feature of the decade, which is the rise in reports categorized only as lights. Under cover of darkness, an object that emits light can appear as a luminous form with few or no structural details. Witnesses report bright points, bars, or diffused glows rather than discernible craft. That change in presentation helps explain another feature of the decade, which is the rise in reports categorized only as lights. When so many encounters take place at night, the descriptive vocabulary narrows. Yet the single most striking characteristic of the 1970s is not the move toward night, nor the change in what people say they saw. The defining feature is the sheer number of cases the decade stands as the most active in recorded USO history, with both frequency and intensity rising to a level that has not been matched since. The 1980s remained active as well, ranking third among the periods covered in this study. But the 1970s stands apart. The surge spanned oceans, seas, and inland waters and involved every category of witness. Naval personnel and civilian mariners reported encounters from the North Atlantic to the South China Sea. Fishermen, ferries, and cargo crews added to the testimony. People on beaches and shorelines watched lights and craft rise from the water or descend into it. There were many multiple witness events. There were events in which radar or sonar detection coincided with visual contact. There were events in which aircraft were launched and sent to investigate. The decade is crowded with activity, and it resists any easy reduction. Some qualifications apply to the numbers used in this study. First, the totals reflect the cases I located and judged worthy of inclusion. Vague or weak reports were excluded, and I cannot claim to know the final or complete count. Second, the figures represent the number of entries, not the raw number of individual sightings. Most entries cover a single event, but certain regions, such as Puerto Rico, the Italian coast, and Brazil's Amazon Delta, produced intense waves that I grouped into single entries for clarity. The true number of sightings in these volumes is therefore higher than the number of entries. Third, after publishing volume one in early 2025, I continued to discover additional cases while completing this volume. These additions do not alter the trends or conclusions, so I left the original analysis intact. The detailed spreadsheet is available at richarddolanmembers.com USO spreadsheet In total, this volume adds nine USO cases to my earlier totals. The 1970s rise from 127 to 133 entries, and the 1980s from 82 to 85. The 1970s remained the most active decade by a comfortable margin, with the 1980s in third place. Viewed year by year, however, the true surge runs from 1966 through 1983. Explanations based on human activity alone do not fully account for the peak. Our presence at sea has grown for a long time. Commercial shipping expanded, offshore drilling spread, and military patrols continued at a high tempo. Detection technology also improved both below and above the surface. If more human eyes and sensors were the main driver, one might expect the later, more connected decades to dominate the case counter. The pre digital 1970s should not surpass the 1990s or 2000s on that logic. Yet they do. This suggests that the rise in reports reflects a change in the phenomenon itself. Either the operators were present in greater numbers or they chose to reveal themselves more often or both. We should therefore consider the possibility that the operators altered their own behavior in response to something. An intelligence with an established presence will pursue its goals regardless of our expectations. It might escalate monitoring during periods that matter to it. It might also react to our own growth in power and surveillance at the same time. Perspective is necessary. The history of USOS does not trace a simple upward line. There are busy decades and quiet ones. The 1970s hold the peak, but significant clusters appear before and after. A reader should avoid absolutism. A better approach is to see the decade as a hinge that might bring several trends into sharper focus. Patterns of appearance evolved. Reports of disks, spheres, cigars, and triangles all continued in these years, but the mix changes. Spherical objects increased in number and remained common through later decades. Lights without visible structure rose sharply, a likely consequence of the move toward night encounters. It is not always easy to distinguish between a glowing sphere and a simple light. Even so, some spheres were reported without illumination, which supports the view that at least a portion of them were structured craft. The parallel rise of spheres and lights began in the 1970s and never fully receded. By contrast, cigar shaped objects began to decline during this period and became less common in the 1980s. Triangular craft made a modest entrance in the 1970s, appeared more often in the 1980s, and became more prominent in the 1990s. That timeline coincides with a broader trend in aerial reports and is not limited to the sea electromagnetic interference features. Strongly in this period, the proportion of USO cases that include EM effects rose compared with the long term average. Ships lost, radar and radio engines faltered, and power cut out, only to return when the object departed. In some events, aircraft systems failed during close approaches. The pattern is uneven. Civilian craft experienced EM effects, but military encounters show at a higher rate when measured as a share of total cases. That difference suggests intentionality. It is not necessary to conclude that EM suppression was purely a weapon. It could also function as a tool to manage an encounter, to test response, or to deny data collection. In either case, a repeated capacity to switch off our systems at will points, the technological mastery, and to a decision to use it in specific contexts. Another feature of the period is the attention given to military assets. Many of the most detailed cases involve carriers, destroyers, submarines, and patrol aircraft. The behaviour included pacing, circling, silent shadowing at close range, and sudden acceleration away from engagement envelopes. There were also cases in which objects manoeuvred within striking distance and then broke away without confrontation. The consistency of this pattern across navies and theatres is hard to dismiss. In this episode I was reading from Richard Dolan's book A History of Unidentified Submerged Objects, Volume 2 from 1970 to 1989 and my book titled Aspects of Alien Abduction is on Amazon. You can get it on paperback, audiobook or Kindle. And if you enjoy the podcast, please leave a review and be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or via your favorite podcast app to make sure that you don't miss out on any episodes. And thanks for listening.

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