Geoffrey Cruickshank — selected primary posts (geoffcruickshank.substack.com, 2026)
Source: Geoffrey P. Cruickshank, self-published at geoffcruickshank.substack.com (Reddit: u/harry_is_white_hot). Extraction: curl (Firefox UA) + trafilatura, captured 2026-06-02. His own primary voice on the Bluegill Triple Prime case. The “recovery operation” post is subscriber-gated — only the free preview was retrievable. Analysis: cruickshank-bluegill-researcher, bluegill-triple-prime-1962. Skeptical rebuttal: johnson-bluegill-triple-prime-rebuttal.
”The Bluegill Triple Prime UFO shootdown and recovery operation: New Evidence” (2026-04-20)
URL: https://geoffcruickshank.substack.com/p/the-bluegill-triple-prime-ufo-shootdown (subscriber-gated; free preview only)
The Bluegill Triple Prime UFO shootdown and recovery operation: New Evidence New evidence has emerged from U.S. government files of the 1962 nuclear weapons test that took out a UFO during the Cuban Missile Crisis, including a link to missing USAF General Neil McCasland. Further evidence has emerged of the Bluegill Triple Prime shootdown and recovery event during the Cuban Missile Crisis from declassified US Government data, including:
- Footage from a third fixed camera on Johnston Island showing the smoke trail the object left as it crashed toward the ocean
- Ship’s deck logs of the “special recovery operation”, including the use of a fully instrumented barge designed for photography of an underwater nuclear test
- Anomalies in the service records of the diver who inspected the downed craft and suffered severe psychological injuries
- The weird insignia adopted by the crew of the US Navy ship involved in the recovery mission
- Gen. Neil McCasland’s discussion of the event with Tom DeLonge This was my proposal for a presentation at the 2026 Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies conference in Toronto, Canada in July. Unfortunately, it was not selected - so here it is. Enjoy.
”Towline - …journal publishes article on the Bluegill Triple Prime UFO shootdown incident” (2026-04-25)
URL: https://geoffcruickshank.substack.com/p/towline-the-national-association
Towline – The National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors journal publishes article on the Bluegill Triple Prime UFO shootdown incident The authors argue that the historical record—as it currently stands—is incomplete, internally inconsistent, and deserving of renewed scrutiny. The following article was published in the April 2026 edition of Towline. Were US Navy Tugs involved in the attempted salvage of a UFO shot down during a 1962 nuclear test? The Honorable Tim Gallaudet, PhD, Rear Admiral, US Navy (ret). Caren Gallaudet, MS, Veteran US Navy Diver Over the past few years, a sea change has occurred regarding how the public perceives UFOs, now known as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). Beginning with a bombshell New York Times article which exposed the Pentagon’s classified program to research UAP, both chambers of Congress, universities and research institutions, government agencies such as NASA and the Department of War, notable podcasters such as Joe Rogan, and even accomplished filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg have begun to take the once-taboo topic seriously. Now, two recent research papers have come to light suggesting that the Navy’s dive and salvage community has been involved as well. These papers present a detailed reconstruction and analysis of an alleged classified recovery operation following the Bluegill Triple Prime high-altitude nuclear test of 26 October 1962, conducted during Operation Dominic at Johnston Island. Declassified high-speed footage taken by two RC-135 aircraft during the first few microseconds of the weapons test appear to show an object tumbling out from within the 400 kt nuclear fireball over the Pacific Ocean, which occurred during the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The research focuses on ship movements, deck logs, salvage operations, radiation anomalies, and witness testimony associated with the fleet tug USS Abnaki (ATF-96) and supporting vessels off Johnston Island in the days directly after the event. Furthermore, the research narrows the focus to the anomalous personnel records of a Navy diver allegedly involved in the recovery, arguing that his service history shows evidence of post-mission concealment, medical confinement, post-traumatic stress related behaviours in the years afterward and exceptional recognition inconsistent with official records. The Abnaki operations document assembles a wide array of primary and secondary evidence—deck logs, ship photographs, radiation exposure tables, salvage timelines, and later testimony—to argue that an extraordinary and highly classified recovery mission occurred in the days immediately following the Bluegill Triple Prime detonation. The authors note that official documentation records Abnaki departing Pearl Harbor at the end of October 1962 under COMSERVPAC orders, accompanied by harbor tug USS Tuscumbia and covered lighters and barges. While the official mission is nominally described as routine towing and salvage support, the deck logs reveal a sequence of maneuvers inconsistent with standard operations, including unexplained anchoring, repositioning, diver deployment, and repeated barge handling between 3–7 November 1962. Figure 1: Location of the USS Abnaki (ATF-96) from deck log entry November 6, 1962 A particularly notable feature of the timeline is Abnaki’s positioning south-southeast of Johnston Island, coinciding with the general location of the Bluegill Triple Prime event. The document highlights that this area lies only slightly beyond the officially acknowledged “surface zero” region. Log entries show diver activity, barge inspections, and unusual towing behaviour—such as the formation of a submerged “Christmas tree” towing rig—suggesting the recovery of an object requiring stabilization, concealment, or shielding. The repeated anchoring at shallow fathom depths, followed by sudden course and speed changes, is interpreted as consistent with a sensitive underwater recovery rather than routine logistics. The authors also draw attention to radiation exposure anomalies recorded among the crews of Abnaki and Tuscumbia. Referencing the 1983 Kaman Tempo report on Operation Dominic, they note that both vessels appear among a very small subset flagged for unexpectedly high radiation badge readings, despite crew members having no officially documented duties near radioactive sources. On Tuscumbia, every crew member reportedly recorded suspect or elevated exposure; on Abnaki, 63 crew members were listed with unusual readings- despite both vessels only being present in operational areas on the very last day of Operation Dominic, the United States’ atmospheric nuclear test program (November 3, 1962). The authors argue that these anomalies are difficult to reconcile with official accounts but would be consistent with close proximity to radioactive debris or an irradiated object recovered from the ocean. The document further incorporates former sailor David Noble Whitecrow’s 2019 testimony, in which he recounts a conversation with a former Navy diver at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in 1976 who described descending on an anomalous object during a secret recovery mission in the Pacific. The diver allegedly encountered a large, smooth, metallic structure, and was ordered by surface command to try and touch the object. As he attempted to do so, the diver later recalled that his hand appeared to enter the outer surface of the object, along with the distinct impression that his entire body was about to be pulled inside by an unknown force. Requesting immediate ascent after this very strange encounter, he subsequently suffered severe psychological distress and was medically evacuated to Pearl Harbour. While the testimony is second-hand and retrospective, the authors argue that it aligns strikingly with Abnaki’s movements, the timing of the Bluegill test, and the radiation anomalies documented in official sources. The appearance of an unusual Abnaki ship insignia painted in 1962—depicting a hand and nonstandard iconography—is also presented as circumstantial evidence of a mission considered extraordinary by the crew. The second document, focusing on this diver’s service records, provides a more granular analysis of the individual allegedly involved in the recovery. It identifies a sequence of administrative anomalies in the diver’s leave, performance, and pay records spanning late 1962 through mid-1963. Most strikingly, the diver’s leave record shows an abrupt jump from 10 November 1962 to 30 June 1963, with the intervening period marked as “Time Not Served.” This gap coincides precisely with the aftermath of the Bluegill Triple Prime event and Abnaki’s return to Pearl Harbor. The document proposes that this absence reflects prolonged inpatient hospitalization, possibly for psychological trauma resulting from the dive. Supporting this interpretation, the diver’s performance record lists “GMM” as his command—a designation the authors suggest may indicate a medical or inpatient status rather than a conventional operational assignment. Additionally, his Pay Entry Base Date (PEBD) was reset on 1 July 1963, an unusual administrative action typically associated with re-entry into service following extended interruption. The authors question why such measures would be necessary if the diver had simply been on routine leave. Another major anomaly concerns the diver’s receipt of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Official criteria required a minimum duration of service within the operational area between 24 October and 31 December 1962. Yet the diver’s records indicate he supposedly went on leave on 27 October 1962, only three days after the qualifying window opened. The document argues that the award could only have been granted under a special provision allowing commanders to recognize “duty of particular value” even when standard criteria were not met. This, the authors contend, strongly implies classified service of exceptional importance rather than routine participation. Although the diver involved has been positively identified and is now deceased, his family have requested that his name, rank and serial number be redacted from his service records for their privacy. Taken together, the two documents argue that the Abnaki salvage operation and the diver’s anomalous service records are mutually reinforcing. The ship logs, radiation data, and eyewitness testimony suggest that an unanticipated and unidentified object—possibly radioactive and technologically anomalous—was recovered from the ocean following Bluegill Triple Prime. The diver’s missing service time, medical indicators, and unusual commendation are presented as the human counterpart to this operational narrative: evidence of direct exposure to a traumatic and classified event that could not be openly acknowledged. The authors are careful to acknowledge limitations. Much of the evidence is circumstantial, and some claims rely on retrospective testimony rather than contemporaneous documentation. However, they argue that the convergence of independent anomalies—actual footage of an object tumbling out from within the nuclear fireball, logbook inconsistencies, radiation exposure data, unexplained personnel actions, and corroborative witness accounts—exceeds what could reasonably be attributed to coincidence or bureaucratic error. They conclude that the available evidence warrants further official investigation, declassification, and archival review, particularly regarding naval salvage activities and personnel medical records from late 1962. In summary, the two documents together present a structured, evidence-driven case that something extraordinary occurred in the Pacific following Bluegill Triple Prime. Whether interpreted as an unidentified technological object (UAP), mischaracterized nuclear debris, or an event deliberately obscured for Cold War security reasons, the authors argue that the historical record—as it currently stands—is incomplete, internally inconsistent, and deserving of renewed scrutiny. (Further information regarding the circumstances of this incident can be found in the 1-hour presentation below)
“UFO document release: The designer of the Thor missile system… letter to the State Department regarding the ‘Space Alien Race Question’” (2026-05-10)
URL: https://geoffcruickshank.substack.com/p/ufo-document-release-the-designer
UFO document release: The designer of the Thor missile system who witnessed the Bluegill Triple Prime incident writes a letter to the State Department regarding the “Space Alien Race Question”. In October 1962, after the third failure of the Thor missile system in the important BLUEGILL test of Operation Fishbowl, the chief designer Maxwell W. Hunter was asked to assist. He saw everything. The BLUEGILL and KINGFISH tests of Operation Fishbowl (a sub-project of Operation Dominic, the 1962 nuclear weapons test series) were crucial in investigating the thermo-mechanical loading effects of incoming ICBM re-entry vehicles when exposed to high energy X-rays in space. It was General Curtis LeMay’s top priority. https://www.osti.gov/opennet/servlets/purl/16156584.pdf Page 423 However, multiple failures of the Thor carrier missile used to loft the XW-50-X1 thermonuclear warhead to the required point in space left Operation Dominic - Joint Task Force 8 commander Major General Alfred Starbird and the Scientific Director William Ogle with little faith in the missile’s ability to perform the task. https://www.osti.gov/opennet/servlets/purl/16156584.pdf Page 430 Maxwell W. Hunter II, one of the world’s leading rocket designers and space engineers who helped design Nike, Thor and other missiles during the Cold War and was a leading proponent of a space-based laser defense program was asked to assist rectify the problem. A pioneer rocket scientist whose career spanned five decades, Hunter joined Douglas Aircraft in 1944. He graduated in physics and mathematics from that state’s Washington and Jefferson College, and, in 1944, got a PhD in aeronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was recruited by Douglas Aircraft, in Santa Monica, California, to work on the design of experimental versions of two of the company’s B-42 and B-43 bombers, and then transferred to the team starting missile development. As chief design engineer, he was involved in the development of the Honest John, Thor, Nike-Zeus and other cold war missiles; and, as chief engineer of space systems, was responsible for all Douglas space efforts, including the Delta launch vehicle and the Saturn S-IV stage of the Apollo moon programme. Hunter stayed with Douglas until 1961, when he joined the National Aeronautics and Space Council, the panel that advised the US federal government on space projects. He was hand-picked for the role by President John F. Kennedy. What Hunter saw during the Bluegill Triple Prime test on October 26, 1962, during the peak of the Cuban Missile Crisis, changed his mind regarding the “Race” with the Soviet Union to reverse engineer the technology recovered. During the Basic National Security Planning meeting on May 31, 1963, the prospect of a joint Lunar mission with the Soviet Union was raised. The subject of what to if non-human intelligence was encountered during such a mission was also discussed. Attendees from the CIA and Joint Chiefs of Staff were horrified - a joint program with the Soviets would be disastrous for their ever-ballooning budgets. I believe that the wheels were set in motion after this meeting in May 1963 to remove the President - as per the MJ Directive, otherwise known as the “Burned Memo”. Max Hunter, having been witness to the Bluegill Triple Prime shootdown incident firsthand, disputed this paragraph in the minutes of the Basic National Security Meeting: On July 18, 1963, he decided to write to Mr. Robert F. Packard of the State Department to set them straight - and that letter is part of the May 8, 2026, UFO file release. https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/18_6369445_general_1948_vol_1.pdf Max Hunter was therefore hugely influential in producing President Kennedy’s National Security Action Memorandum 271 - Cooperation with the USSR on Outer Space Matters, signed on November 12, 1963 - 10 days prior to his assassination. On August 30, 2016, Blink-182 frontman Tom DeLonge told Jimmy Church, host of the “Fade to Black” radio program, that a high-ranking USAF General had told him that the United States was working on a joint program with the Soviets in October 1962, in a “race” to try and shoot down a UFO. We now know that person was Major General Neil McCasland. Douglas Caddy, former lawyer for Watergate Burglar E. Howard Hunt, explains here on Daniel Liszt’s Dark Journalist program that Hunt told him in 1975 that President Kennedy was assassinated because “he was about to reveal our most vital secret to the Soviets - the Alien Presence.” Watch this five-minute excerpt of the interview. For a full run down on the Bluegill Triple Prime UFO shootdown incident, I suggest watching this one-hour documentary of all the evidence I have gathered from declassified US Government data of the shootdown and recovery attempt.