No one has seen the “op oap“, but many have heard them. What is the nature of this phenomenon? Is it the sound of nature, ground-based technologies, or perhaps the creations of extraterrestrial ships?
Gathering Evidence
Nikolai Shevchuk, the design manager at the Nikolayevna submarine factory in Ukraine, stated that before World War II, the Soviet Union developed a project to create flying submarines, abbreviated as LPL (Letayusaya Pogvodnaya Lodka). The intention of the experts was to create a device with a three-member crew that could fly directly into the sky upon detecting enemy ships.
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Captain Sergei Laboda reports observing strange lights in the Bay of Biscay (Atlantic Ocean). Photo: Komsomolskaya Pravda |
To avoid detection, the LPL would soar into the sky to evade enemy ship weapons, then safely descend into the water to secretly approach and deploy torpedoes to destroy the enemy. This device was very advantageous for sabotage missions. In 1936, the project was approved by the Soviet Military Research Committee. However, in 1938, the construction of the LPL was halted for various reasons.
Following reports from sailors, in the 1980s, the Russian Navy (VMF) issued a classified directive titled “Guidelines for Monitoring Unusual Physical Phenomena and Their Impact on the Environment, Living Organisms, and Technical Devices”. The directive, signed by Vice Admiral V. Saakyan of the VMF General Staff, included the following lines: “Unusual physical phenomena or objects (unlike known phenomena or objects) are regularly observed by many people, including experts, astronomers, crew members, and sailors in our country and abroad. In some cases, these phenomena remain unexplained. This issue requires serious study. If these unusual phenomena are detected, captains must immediately report to fleet command within five days (in cases where UFOs affect technical equipment or people).”
Sailors and divers have also reported strange light beams emanating from the ocean floor. Retired Navy Colonel Sergei Laboda, now an official in the Primorsky region (Far East, Russia), recounted an incident where testing of new weapons was halted due to mysterious light. He shared: “In 1983, in the Bay of Biscay, the French were preparing to test a new strategic nuclear submarine, while our reconnaissance vessel was sent to gather information and measure parameters. My watch began early in the morning.
But shortly before dawn, sailors reported a bright spot on the water four miles away. Something shiny was flying just below the water’s surface, resembling a giant grasshopper, but as it neared the surface, it dove back down without causing any wave sounds. The French from a tugboat monitoring us also noted the phenomenon… Based on my maritime experience, I recognized this was an unusual phenomenon and reported it to command. The French abandoned their test and left the area.”
Hypothesis 1: Bioluminescent Microorganisms?
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| The mysterious glow resembles that created by an extremely powerful spotlight. (Photo: Komsomolskaya Pravda) |
Scientists believe the sailors could not have experienced hallucinations. They suggest that it could be due to organisms, as German oceanographer Karl Kalle noted after analyzing over 2,000 instances of underwater illumination. To illuminate the sea, movement of water layers at the ocean floor is necessary, often caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions under the sea. In such cases, wave impacts can transform into thick columns of water rising to the surface, simultaneously pushing bioluminescent microorganisms abundant in the ocean upward.
However, A. Golubev, the assistant captain of a Kamchatka fishing vessel, expressed skepticism about this hypothesis. Golubev observed illuminated circles in the Sea of Okhotsk on two occasions. He reported that in 1998, as the assistant captain on the refrigerated ship “Captain Kantsiber“, he was astonished to discover a dimly lit area spread across the sea through the glass.
He thought “there must be a nearby ship“, but the radar screen was empty. Stepping out onto the bow, he saw a vessel right at the center of the illuminated area, which had a diameter of nearly two miles. It was as if someone had turned on an extremely powerful spotlight beneath the sea. This light was not refracted; it was a direct beam!
Five minutes later, while he was still considering the phenomenon, the light moved with the ship at a speed of 10 knots (approximately 20 km/h). No bioluminescent organisms could swim that fast. When he stepped out again, a second area of light appeared to the right of the ship’s path, and the ship glided on the waves of the Sea of Okhotsk for another 15 minutes. After that, the second light spot moved ahead, crossing the ship’s path before suddenly stopping and vanishing.
In the same waters, Golubev encountered the light again in April 2001 aboard the refrigerated ship “Tesei“. The ship was heading towards the Port of China during another night watch and also found itself within that illuminated area.
Hypothesis 2: Training Torpedoes?
In 1976, crew members of the research vessel “Vladimir Vorobyev” discovered a white spot on the Arabian Sea, rotating counterclockwise. The sonar onboard detected something large at a depth of 20 meters. A glow appeared at 11:30 PM, and by midnight it had disappeared. Since this was a research vessel, the experts understood the issue and measured the water temperature: 26°C – a temperature considered average. They also took seawater samples for testing and found no chemicals or bioluminescent organisms. |
According to retired Navy Colonel Vadim Kulichenko, combat torpedoes are extremely expensive, which is why during exercises in the Soviet fleet and those of other countries, reusable torpedoes are utilized. He explained: “These torpedoes are launched from boats or submarines and will travel about 10-15 km before stopping. After exercises, a specialized boat retrieves them for reuse.”
To make these torpedoes easier to locate at sea, strong spotlights are attached to them, capable of emitting vertical beams. The battery lasts for two working days. Sometimes these torpedoes can be lost, and it is possible that currents have drifted them outside the boundaries of the “test area,” entering commercial shipping routes.
However, unusual phenomena in the ocean have been recorded long before the world became aware of UFOs. In 1919, British researcher Charles Fort recounted in his book The Book of the Damned an incident where a ship from the British-Indian Company Patna encountered a “demon wheel” in 1880.
Captain Averna went to the bridge to witness the unusual phenomenon. Each wheel had 16 spokes and a diameter ranging from 500 to 600 yards (1 yard = 91.44 cm), with spokes arranged very evenly. For 20 minutes, these wheels followed the ship as if in parallel, then suddenly disappeared. At that time, the world had no training torpedoes!
NG.THANH summarized from Sự Thật Komsomol
