Encounter record / 1947

The Malta fishermen's "submarine" with little men on deck

c. 1947 · At sea, 20 miles south of Malta, central Mediterranean, Malta

11Thinly documented UAP Being / humanoid 10 sources

Summer 1947. A fishing boat sat on the dark water some 20 miles south of Malta. The crew were hauling in their nets, heavy with fish. Then they saw it. Something black, floating on the surface, shaped like a submarine. To the frightened men it looked more like a monster. They pulled in the nets and started the engine. At that moment a bright light from the object lit up the whole area. Small figures ran across its deck. "Little men", about the size of a 10 year old boy, with some sort of apparatus around their waist. A few minutes later they went inside. The craft glowed so brightly the fishermen could no longer see it. Then it sank.

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Key facts

When	c. 1947
Time of day	evening
Where	At sea, 20 miles south of Malta, central Mediterranean,Malta
Duration	a few minutes
Witnesses	2
Witness roles	civilians
Found	testimony only
Evidence	none confirmed
Investigations	none recorded
Status	undisputed

The beings

Small figures "about the size of a 10 year old boy" ran across the deck of a black, submarine-like object floating on the surface. Each had "some sort of apparatus around their waist", visible when the craft's bright light lit them. After a few minutes they went inside; the craft glowed too brightly to see, then submerged.

Size	about 1.4 m (beings the size of a 10 year old boy)
Colour	black
Surface	dark
Lights	1 light, single light
Sound	no sound
Duration	3 minutes

The 1947 Flying Disc Craze: America's First Flying Saucer Wave (related)

Context

Summer 1947. The exact day is lost. NICAP files the case under June 8, but with question marks of its own, and another report places it somewhere between June and August. Everything that survives comes from one source. A Maltese-language book by David Pace, UFOs fuq il-Gżejjer Maltin, roughly "UFOs over the Maltese Islands". Pace is described as a Maltese amateur astronomer. His account was summarised by Malta UFO Research, known as MUFOR, on a website that no longer exists. Every version online goes back to that summary.

Sources (10, most influential first)

URECAT-001738: Malta, Summer 1947 · Patrick Gross, URECAT· 2018-10-11 · Research organisation · org report
1947: Malta, Small Creatures Seen on Water Craft · The Black Vault· 2016-09-14 · Wiki, blog, podcast · blog
NICAP 1947 chronology · NICAP · Research organisation · org report
NICAP case index: Malta 1947 · NICAP · Research organisation · org report
NICAP detailed report (Rullan): Malta 1947 · NICAP · Research organisation · org report