How UFO Researchers Know UFOs Create Clouds To Hide Within, Sept 1957 US Army Ft. Belvoir, Virginia Sighting.

Date of sighting: September 1957

Location of sighting: Fort Belvoir, Virginia, USA

Eyewitness: Army Private Stone

Source: Flying Saucers UFO Reports Magazine, page 6-9, by Ralph Rankow.

Flying Saucers UFO Reports Magazine states: 

UFOs come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but probably the most rare of all is that ring-shaped UFO. It's not quite an anomaly since it has been reported on several occasions, but it certainly is a rarity. To my knowledge, it has only been photographed on one occasion and on that one occasion, an alert army private took a series of six photographs which reveal a second rarity  reported in connection with UFOs.

On many occasions UFOs are reported to become gradually engulfed in a vapor cloud. The fully developed cloud looks like any other cloud in the sky and affords the UFO with a very convenient hiding place. The series of photographs made by the army private, not only show the rare ring object, but also shows it gradually becoming engulfed in the vapor cloud.

This series of photographs, which are probably the most amazing and puzzling pictures ever taken of a UFO, have never been published any place. They are presented to the readers of this magazine as a UFO photo exclusive.

The army private who took the set of photographs has asked that I not use his real name in this story since the photos were taken on an army base and since he still is in the Air Force reserves. However, his true identity is known to many others, as will be seen in the story which follows. For convenience we will call him private Jim Stone.

In September, 1957, Private Stone was stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He was assigned to the Post Engineers. It was about 9 AM while he was working inside buildings in the Post Engineer section, when someone yelled to him and others to come outside to see the odd thing coming over head towards their area.

Stone and five or six others ran out and spotted an odd, black ring, moving slowly, high above the tree tops but below the broken cloud cover. The ring seems solid enough, not a smoke ring and Private Stone guessed the size of the ring to be about 60 feet in diameter, with the ring width about five or 6 feet. (This was a guess, possibly incorrect.) 

Private Stone remembered his Kodak Brownie camera which was in his car. He ran over to the car, which was parked nearby, grabbed the camera and took six pictures in fairly rapid sequence. After the second picture was taken, the strange ring started to develop a mist around itself. The mist thickened rapidly until it was more like a small cloud and within 30 to 60 seconds the Black ring was completely enveloped within a small compact cloud of its own.