U.S. Air Force Analysis of Flying Objects in the United States, 101-172

) 0 , . - J1 ~ ~<:JL . Authority: NND 917033 ' ED F'L 'Ji-; OBJ~TS l . L'bt 18 Febnlary 1948 101 3; l..o i cn 1oroatur, ~.,... 5. Occupati on of obqo rvor F.di tor " • .-idr ::s of ol' co r vor Horton, K su 7, Pl ac of ob~ r ~ t i on or catur, Kan s 10 . Ti.,o in c i ·ht N/s 11 . ,di. tt udo 30 - }5 mi.loo above earth l~. S pood N/S ..,,, ir 'i One b~ explosion - "a!t.erwarde a lot ot little explonons" 16. c:; 11;0 N/S 17 . Col er Bluuh""'ft'hite smoke smwi e l'; . O<ior dot votod N/ ,"> 'C . ..pph r unt r.ons r ur.t1,.n Meteor r l. ErJuu.a:;t t r 11s _.,.. Blu1ah-,.iftt e:ooke smudge :On-t.hur conditi ons 14/S r. 23 . Eff t o:. c louds U/ S 24 . Sk ot ch •s or pt t or r .. pts Photo of vapor trail left in sky by 8xPlcs1oo ?5. Monn1J r of disnpp,Jor nnco Disintecrat1oo 20 . Romnrks : Oscar Monni&, of the Tex8.8 Observnre, JDB.teur Astronomy, 1010 Monunl81de Dr1Te, rt. orti1 , of f ers "tanpble proot that u, fir· ball r r -I ., .. • -· of February 18 over ncrtt.ern l\ansas was just t.hat, inasrmch as meteorites have been recovered tron i t. 11 Thore were found , be(;ir nine 1.prU 211, first sever al su.lla fra..,-en:.s JJ) to ore of 4 1/2 pounds . Then a disturl ed spot in a clover f'ield led to "the di i:giI1e up of a r i PC& of so e 109 po\l1llls e edded about two feet in the soil. The st.one i s nhat is tenred aa an "achondrite", a technical name f or an unusual cy-pe or stony m teorite. It is reported t o be of a tYJ hi ch will detAriora~a rapidly. A p otorrHph or t re trail of the meteor, r:l.'.lde by amateur p.otor,r ~her Duane ,I. ~"fr117 of Nortor , shows tho vapor tridl left in the sky by t.he exploaiol"'l of a ~eteor which was secl'I 1r Oklahooa, t,ew -exic o, Colorado, Kansas, ard uebr.,~ka . It wu m:.de at. uray 1s },oae, ni.Je mil,-.s rort·1 or Norton, jlPt tour r.,inutes after the teer XJ loded . A ~r:n.cce of blue­ wliite smoktio remained in the sky £or an hour 1' ebruary Wth . '!'his pboto­ craph is in tile under lri i ent '1101. Furthe r r emarke are contained in supplement . r (COPY) 323 W. Ton1,h t., Pueblo, Colorado February 20, 1948 Uffi<•e of the Chief of J tnff u. . ~rrr:, ,ash.in n, D. C. l si ,, in the sky near l!orcntur, ..ans. S1Jbject: L:00 p. n. ('",T) February lt, 19l,it To call at.ten ti.on t.o so peculiarities Purpose: in connection, whe her coincid ntal er not AccordinG to 'Vl AP bulletin appeari"' 1n the Pueblo CHIEFTAIN for Fehruary US, 19116, sone ohject was seeu moving eastward across the sky or tt-.n late artemoon of 1" bruary IBth, ard en this UiinG re'lcl ed a po:iition ap1,roxi.mate to l!orcatur , Kansas, c:xploded , or disrupted, or disappeared. The ex­ plosion is said t.o ha· e been terrific. Dir,..ction:i gi.vi::n as to •he prccress or tJ is appearance i n­ rticate Unt it rii< ved from west to east. Information con ,ained in t,hc dispatch under a Denver dateline in1i ·ate that ile mar,y would call this object a bolide ­ e . , . , expl din meteor - the astronomP.rs of Chamberlin Vbservator y (iJenvor) did not so assess it : it is said in U e dispatch that t se offic1al• could offer no explanation of it. If this 1.s t ca· e, the a ;:,para.nee is anomalous, and may lend 1 tseli to other meteoric explanation. A sb tch~iaGJ"Bm of t ~ earth and moon I s orbit reveals a pe­ culiarity in coMcction witt thP appearance, 1'hich may be &1E;nJ.ficant . Ir a line i s s •r icken r..it r ight- anrl"'s 'lcross the meridio"'a.l position or the s:ite of expl "'sion r this oeteor at hour argl • fo•ir o'clock (local time) and t ds line be con::idered the west- to-eai:;t cours of thP object, tten it will bo St en t 1at if • iB line i .. c !'It n' d tward ir to 'lpace toward t.ho orbit of t t e moon it will intersect the lunar orbit at a pla nPar to wt re the moon would be at fron 60 to one huncir ed h urs after the explosion t.,ok }lace. Uew moon occ11rrud at 9 0 10 H 2 U Februarn First uurt er at 17D 'H . F'e' ruary - the noon ciov s -i1 I r ox1111ately 12. 5 do rrees per d::i:• alon 1~ its orbit. -- -----•~----­ - It is held by rocketry experts (example, WILLY LEY - see his ROCKE'IS, p. 192, diagram and note in connection there­ with) that it wol,ll.d take about 100 hours f or a rocket-craf t to negotiate the di stance from Earth to Moon. Prior to its ~xplosion over Norcatur, this object of Feb. 18th was variously reported as a "falling plane", a "jet plane", and a ''ball of fire 11 • It is said by some to have l eft a trail of smoke behind it. It is the suggestion of this writer that the Army collect am assimilate reports on this object , with a view t o determining where it was seen as an object trailint: smoke and llhe re as a ball of fire. If this thing is a r ocket of some kind headed for the moon, it might first have been seen as a streak of sr.oke, then later as a ball of fire , and lastly as a tremendous ex­ plosion when it at last reached sufficient speed and eleva­ tion for take-off . The writer has in mind the various and unexplained r e1.,orts on "!lying saucers", and bases this speculation upon a lonb c onsideration of various oddments of reports whose significance might be of epace-craft f r om other worlds of space. The so- called "meteori c procession" which crossed Tor ont o in February 1913, consisted of a number of u oups or illimunated bodies traveling in v oups of three an:l moving in "rigid formation", all pursuing a course acr oss the same streak of the earth's surface . J.r a line is projected backward along ·t his line of fli ght it will be seen that this line "comes out" at the position of the moon at the time. The 1913 phenomenon occurred in the mid-period of a series of reports on dirigible aircraft of appearance like zeppelins which were seen over :&, gland an:i whose appearance terminated - or reports on the appearances stopped - j ust prior to the inferior conjt.mction of Venus of April 24, 1913. The writer begs to call attention to the f act that the times prior to and just after inferior conjunction of Venus are prolific in reports of strange t hings seen i n the sky. Also t }at lights have been reported on t he moon from time to time, back f or at l east a century. Ir in thr future of mil itary experiment the moon is selected as a base for the launching of r ockets (which has been suggested by some writers), it may be wel l to look first 2 - i·1to •·er orts like Vis one or1 Lhe explosion ovf"r Norcatur aw1 1.hc di t·PctioT' 1)1' the nhject in•,olved . Tl·ere is n r,os:,i. bilitv, 1 O\-rev"'r r cMote this r:iay seem, that tlte moon is e· ther inrabited or in use b:v other ti an hlll"lan he: t1 ;S . .1.011rs , /s/ N)Pl.\AN GARRETT !.lARKHAM It ma~, do not harm tn ,Tatch the moon for possible arrival of t .1 s thi ng in the quarter at ~o to 100 101.1r fi after "its uepar·tur e" . lJG!.1 3 IJ ... (COPY) FILE REF: - SIGGE-U-1 From: To: • Subject: Purpos-e: ' .I.larch 14, 1948 Norman G. Uarkham MAIN HOT£L, Pueblo, Colo Chief ~ignal Of ficer U. s. Army, ,ashington, D. C • Norcatur, ~s., sky explosion of lS February, 1946 To shc,,r a speculation regard­ ing tho above phenomenon and another one of earlier date and to call attention to occurrences between the two which have an appearance of relationship whether coinci­ dental or not. The geographical position of the Norcatur explosion s uggests possible linka.!;8 with other occurrences happening inside latitooinal limits arbitrarily demarkable between 43° 36 1 North (which is the latitooe of Ooise, Idaho) and 36° 10 1 North ( the latitu:ie of Nashville, Tenn.)., a belt about 485 miles wide. 'lbis suegestion is gained from positions given for occurrences happening between June 24., 1947 and February 18 , 1948, as s hall be hereinaft er briefly described, THE OOISE (Idaho) OBJECT- This was seen either beginnin{.! or ending at 330 pm 24 June 1947 am was visible for 20 minutes. It was in the western sky, was of comet-li~ appearance, and settled gradually toward the horizon ae planetary bodiea set. It was seen bo.r Lt. Gov. Whitehead •u)j Chief Jus tice Lartpert. Its nature was unknmm . The peculiarity which connects this object, for speculative purposes, with the explosion of some unknown object over 1~orcatur, Kans ., on 18 l!'ebruary 1948 is the seeming of a relationship between the positions of the moon for the two phenomena: In the form2r case the moon was at the date of phenomenon, about 7%, 63 before the positionof First Quart er; on the second case i t was about 8%. 73 beyotxi the position of first quarter. Since the Boise object was visible for 20 minutes before it sank this argues it was about ten deil"ees above the horizon when fi?1J t seen. Now if a line be dra1'l'l westward and at ten degrees zenithward from the l : , " \ horizon of Boise at 3:30 p . m. and another l ine be dra"'ft'll from tbe position of the ooon a t one hundred hours before the s ighting of the Boise object, and projected to t he center of the earth, it will be seen that this ten­ degrees-altitude and the moon-earth line intersect as a place tar above a geographical position considerably to the west of Cape Bla11ce, in the neighborhoodof about 700 miles off the coast. The Boise object in its appearance suggests a rocket-type ar craft possibly using r eaction blasts to brake itself down for a landing on the earth. The brig"lt point and plumy tail of the description suggest this, as also its apparent fixity in space. HOLLE' S 11SHIP Ir F1J\MES" - Nine days after the siehting of the Boise object a forest lookout named F..arl Holle saw at or soon after 4:00 p . m. , 3rd July, 1 ,47, something he took to be a "tanker in flames". This was seen horizon-ward f r om a point 1n Sonoma Gounty, Cali fornia , near to Fort Roos . A search waR inst:!. wted by the Navy or Coast Guard, and nothing was foum . Tho s ov;et tanker ELBRUZ , w'1idl had been in t.he vicinity, was quer i.ed a rd found to b~ all right. This was not explained. Ir this apperance had been on the horizon, there is no telling how far it may have been from the observer. CAPE MENDOCINO BLDAP H'CIDENT - Hot far from the l ocati on of Holle 's "burnini; ship" an accident occurred to a navy blimp, 14 July 1947, off Cape t,1endocino. This blimp soodenly settled into the water, slipped out its crew and rose ai;ain. '1110 anoMaly here is that one would not expect to find drastic do'Tm-<:lrafts of such violence as to thus upset a lighter than air craft. Possibly a dovmdr :ift accounted ror t ~ accident - but if the Signal Officer will look up the incident of the British steamer Talma w',ich, at the time of the sighting of a luminous wheel- like phenomenon in the Gulf of Llartaban, reported a slowinr: of the engines from some unknO\m cause, it may be seen that possibly forces are ,-:enerated in son:e manner by certain unk11own ohjects at times in t he or ean, which may have physical attraction for materj al objects . 1'1is blimp aceidP.nt occurring in waters where occnrred othPr phenomena shortly to be mentioned, seems to have a doubtful side t.o it. TI 1E OAKIAIID ODJ"EX;T - !!.arly on the morninc; of 13th Octob0 r, 1947, a photographer named Hen Dobus togehter with a taxidriver named A. J. Goldman saw a thing "that looked like Saturn with a rinc around it." lt shot at terrific speed WEST,7AfID across the sky of the Bay area, anci was seen shortly after midnight. 2 This may have been heading in the general direction of what may have been the goal of two later objects which r oughly resemble it in description. THE TICOODEROGA OBJEC'IS - According to the tanker Ticonderoga's secom officer, two "nyinc discs" were seen heading SOU'IHWE:3T when the ship was in 43 degrees fifteen minutes north and 124 degrees 54 minutes west, at 0620 GCT, 12th November 1947. These may have been heading f or the object seen in the Pacific off the Golden Gate, not long afterward - or possibly at the same time, if earlier reports on this are consulted. • .THE PHAN'IOM REEF - On November 24, 1947, the Navy denied that it had found a phantom reef or other obstruction to navigation at a point about 4oO miles west of San Francisco. TM Navay Survey ship MAURY, sent out there in r esponse to reports of ships that some hugh object had been seen in the water in that neighborhood, reported that when in the approximate 1 titude and long:1.tu:ie of the supposed obstruction they picked up an echo from soll8thing in the wa+.er 16oo yards f rom the ship; but that Tfhen they had steamed to within 4oo yards of thi s, the echo vanished. There seems a possible connectability between the various elements so tar considered. Later on January 7, 194.S, there were occurrences in the neighborhood o! \filmington, o., Ft. Knox, Ky., Franklin, Ky., am Nashville , Tenn., all of which must be now familiar to the archivists of the Signal Office. Something like a "fl¥ing disc" was pursued by one Lt. Mantell arrl two other pilots, ~antel being killed while in the process of att empting to gain altitooe to get close to whatever it was he was chasing. Also, in this connection , it may not be amiss to mention the deaths of two military officer& ,mo were said to have been bringing back material evidence from "flying discs" one of which was said to have met with some kind of accident over .14aury Island, Puget Sound, around June, 1947. It Will be seen on inspection that the geographical locales of these incidents fit inside the belt of latitu:ies hereinbefore mentioned. 'mE NORCATUR EXPLOSION was described in a previous letter of this writer, an:i it was shown in that letter that a line tangential to the meridian of Norcatur, Kans ., at hour-angle 2:20 p.m., would if con­ tinued outward into space to the orbit of the moon , intersect the moon's orbit at a point where the moon would have been at about 100 hours after the time of the explosion. According to r ocketry theory, it would take a reaction-propelled craft of the rocket type about 100 hours to reach the moon. ! p , . . ! sub,i.t there is n likelihood t.hn t. on .J1u11,1 2!,, 19!17, ~:mn,•thini; like a sp:icc-sl i• ca• , l •~e from the r10011 and 1won Februar:· 1g, 19hS, returned to • hP. J'!IOnn . 'M1is is of ~ r.;n spcculill.i 'ln. 8•11. has ., nyone :,,,t, cxplatnel t.ho '1fl·:int; disc:. 11 in ter1:1s of all th~ p1•etty-well proven fa<" ts in conuccti on vrith t.t,om? lla!l an·,one vet devised .s fuel powurful enough t o k~ck , r ocket !"rom ,-.1rt!. to l.o !.!0011? Th"'re la·~ beer hw lreus o!." reports, durlnc the pnst century, on oc~ 1rr,•nces which implv this world is visited from outside space. Alis, nee ,,f c..r1tact hy these po11tul-itahle visiting entiti,•s ma.v imply a st.ate of C)t lt.urt? frir beyond ours, to the point ffh(?l'e it wo11l.d be inP.X­ pediPn t. !'or th.,i r ·.,.obers to han. to do "ith us en-r.iasse. lhese reports hive navPr Ileen seriously considered by science, wh ich in general il?)'lore~ them . Howevr•r, acco!'dir,1 .o Dr . Rocr.t of Chamborlin Obsnrvatory, Jenver, there is not ,int ir. astr or~or.iy to expl ain the thing which expl oded over Norcatur. Jr . Ninin1 1er 1s idea that t.he thint wa~ a meteor fl:ltly di3rei:;ards Dr. Rocht ' s opinion, wl it-h may have been based on the Jknver losts • statement that a nver ll'l"l'11.n saw t..he "orc:itur object twenty rninutes before the eXt,losion occurred. I sub, .l t th·,t the rmy needs men who are capable or r ecoenizing Un anomalies beforeri,•ntioMd when they OC"ur , evenif only to aid in s eculation r egarding tnm . The und,-rslrned off~rs his ser Jices to +.J1at erd, if t.he Arr,y may wish to avail itself of tl·em. /s/ N. r.. rtARKJ.IAM 4 a ,a . Excerpt of letter dated April 11, 1948 from Dr. Lincoln LaPu, Director, Institute of Meteoritics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, to the Deputy Executive Director, Committee on Geophysical Science~, Research and Development Board: Thank you for the surprising documents sent roe under date of March 3(). As you remark, certain aspects of Markham's letters are fantastic (for example: (1) the fir~ball procession of 1913, February 9, waa genuinely meteoric, although a rare type of chain fall; (2) no astronomer could take seriously Markham's 11invasion by beings from Venus or the Moon"­ theory: <,) he appeals to, and biases in his favor, such untrustworthy evidence as newspaper stories, e.g., the absurd statement attributed to Dr. Rocht of the Chamberlin Observatory) . Nevertheless, Markham is justi­ fied in calling attention to certain incidents as tD1explained, for example, the 11flyin6 lenses" (in my opinion 99% hoax and imagination and 1% r eal). As r egards the Norcatur, Kansas incident, I remain convinced t hat, like the Four Corners incident, it was a genuine meteorite fall, although one of exceptional size (again like the Four Corners fall ) . Hovrever, there are many curious aspects of bot h these falls, some of an objective nature, like the singular fact that in spite of intensive searches (ad­ mittedly tmder bad terrain and weather conditions), not a t race of meteoritic material has so far been found; some of a non-objective nature, like the amazing testimony given by Mr. Leland Sammons, Mr. Alfred Gle:m, .and other witnesses of the Norcatur incident, both to members of the State H1gtiway Commission of Kansas and to l nstitute of Meteoritics field survey parties. (See exhibits A, B, am C enclosed.) Some comment on such testimony as appears in 1i.,B, and C would seem desirable: 1. Glenn first reported the battery case as red hot. hhen I pointed out that the pa·'er on it was not charred, his account was changed to "too hot to handle". The Institute of Meteoritics party found only two men, not four, who saw the battery case fall. The battery case '1as been examined by Dr. 11ictor Regener, Department of Physics, University or New "'exico, who stat.es that it appears to be identical witn the small batteries used in portable radios. 2. K. Hays ' identification of the Norcatur object as a rocket has the following support: On the morning of February 19, I talked to the to,rer man and two assistants at the Air Base at McCook Field, Neb!'aska. All three denied the Norcatur object was a fireball and described it as a filack object with an extremely bright jet of flame pouring out of t he rear. Furthermore, a l h-year old, and presumably unbiased, schoolgirl in Oberlin, Kansas wrote me a similar description of the "Fireball." l 3. A detonnined ettort is umer way to chock up on Sammons ' veracity ( and sanity!) I hove neither seen nor talknd to -'aMnOna, but another Qlllber or he Institute of J.lcteoritics pnrty (Dr. D. M. Gragg, an Instructor in the epo "t.l'tent or Mathematics) l'mO did so believes Samons (who is a well- to-do !armor ) to be sincere am very b~ly scared . Or course nearness to a bi& 111eteor1te fall would scare one as b:id~ as an atom bomb; but •1ow could it produce such testimony as morns". The 11mP.te itic" incidents fr the great fall ot 1~5, >veraber 29 (from "1ii ch no meteorites have been recover ed eithP.r !) throuih tho sequonce of ai ilar falls culminating in the Four Com~rs and 'lorcatur inci~ents, coupled With .,uch t incs as the Ussuri incident, convince me that ei. t 11er t 1.3 earth 1:; unrfer a rro--• nusual cosmic bombardNnt or t"18TIY ot the fireballs are not meteorites at all. While I still cling to the 1D1Jteoritic h:,pothes1!1, it is clear that which evP-r Alternative is tie ri,1lt one, t he situation c-ries alou::t for thoroll(;h i nvestigation. .. - - - - - - - - - ------ ··~, t Tl(> " .... 1. ni .1. liv•• 11 u ! ... l n rt. c; •• l wao s·~,,1 lis ,. Of• .r C'l' 0 ._, ('0 uho,.rt. 100 I • rn • a i't.f> 1• 1r! m1c-l! ar I t hn l l lo rn1:n'i ',f!\•1:1rd 1 ,, 1m1"'P fi f' :·1 ,·1 w·1. r .. 1 I!' r i :11· i s l J\T• r rir, .' u.. . a hovC' h• . f! . l r. t ,a1· ➔• c, • ·u I :i• tl,11 J0,7C'l'Cd n•.r•· 41 c r r'I t'IO f 'ht• lnu!e 4 ·tr~ •·' 1 r•111i. 11a '.lr•nvl)r:vr.-.,rit,a1rcxim1tel.r6 1 ·:...,Pt it. •1, 1>u1t, Lvt•l w1tt. my fac,•, and ,iust ,wthl"I a:n11rcl for an ii: a1·. , f di,· ut. r 1.t .ind .uc:kin 1:ick ·n . 'lhe t.t.in!'wa:; ah ut I.' lc,n , 1 r.11 t,1 11 !' 1 i ;f ·1 fur , 1 . 7hrar1.• v..i:, a J•l! •' r,t,j cld 11·, lt.o ·1c-l • i , r.:e as t 1·1 I b J. d ar0 .llid, !,he J ip,• r1as :,'l,i dd, · 1·i ti l. ~ t r.i l:.1 11 • J1d I, J) f,hcru • U!.J a lot. o•· -:parks shol'rer "'d fr m i1. , an I •.I .. fli·e ii c.:r..asvd :; if a f11~1: 1,1i°(hf, hava ll{~ht,ed , a tel it took off in a nort-.1 -wos1er·l:, dlrt·cti ,r1 VPr~ fHs'., aininr c1ll,ita!e as it we11t . Uy wife hr•ard it, lt=!'lVe and 1 .1 1,.rt w , l'f: 1 st, n,J, :md we wntchP. ! it • , , le vinr .:i tra U nJ' nmokn ,11 t! e wa_•, . ·••l le ly U,c-r,, was a {,'l'fl,i t. cloud uf' s .oke in t.l.e sl<y , r ot mor o tt an ho n, conrls '1ft ,. it L- rt my y·IJ"d. anrl it a few ~,ec011ds or rr.ore, we heard an e:qlt,:-;ion. I 1.rt>n s1.epo,J uff from :Jt'l 1,01.1..cie tc- vtlr•re it. narl 'een , .:mi it was five s+.e1s . cs, it ,1a: h ut., 1 c·,ld reel tt,,,. rear t'r •r.ii1. . Harl lnot bf,en :a:c;t i1 ,_. 1,v C"ar 1rior to t,ht> vccur:rt1nce , wettir t t..he i,;round , t..hf're would lia ve been a harr• spot in the yard wher < tJ1e t' in~: start ed up heeu t~c 1.hcre was a [~(•'lt rusll f fire fr,7. it v,J.en it left . It must h:ive heen q,nte lj .h 'lien u ,..x· lcued. i<rmnct.h •·a.r.:, s, n of Flo·,d ltw-::. , 11, rr.iles east of I ort.on on ll:i :;&, at the Jct. 1 0 • K-1--(), sn11t,h rirlc r~ i,tw>'1,•· . At ah,-ut. c:; to c, :;o l . 1-t.• , not sur e of time, wa!: r di,: is hor se i.r a 1-t·,st,..n·e, \'ften he 11eard s<.,r.!tttin1 quner int.he sky . I ookin, 'J} to ,.,. south -west, 1~ .,av, wl a1. ;ippearcd tr f im t.o be a r c,cket, just li ,e ~,. h·,d seen !·i.rin,• the war in ...uror,e. l 1, startl ed ,im, and he j111,11cd ,""Jff the 'or::ie . "a t.h1.:n r er101u1t,cd, 11ntcl;ed itc:: cowse , alrr.ost on a lir P-1 hut lns· ni; Hi t ide a lii ,le, anrl i1 then expl oded with a bir cloud of smoke , c.11 pnr entl;: ov, r 1\0:rton , from i·,1,ere he vra~, south of 1-rairie Vievr. JI., rc<le or, t oward hnr:,,,. ,'? wa_·fi , w en c..udcle-,lv t he sound and jar of t he explosion I r eadied i,, . I rs . l'nrs v,a:-; hone in tl e 1ous o , when s he heard and relt SO!'Y t..hing likn a trud· mi1; 1 t h::ive struck the house. ,>he ran out of the l•ouse and t. ~.en fit-r.t saw t.he h11,se clo1x:f ,f SMOl.:E' . ·,bout 110 minutes lnter, a part of t,he sr.ioke cl ou1 lirf'ted d ir, ctl y over thei r ho11se, and went on east ovor 1-hil l iJ sburt:• 11-aJ.J.h 'JP.w, J,ostm·!ster a1. Lor catur, that at. about l~ : 50 l-'. 1.!. he was s1, at,ed standinb j ust inside t.he front wir.dow of the rost.offi ce in Nor c'ltur, when l,e observed a blindir ., flash as if someone had taken a flashliJht pie ture. dP. could locate no one wit1J a camra, but noticed several men walkint; t,o the c,•nter o.f t i e s treAt and lookinc up. Ye ti.en walked out t,o where t,hey nere and looking up, saw a high cloud of smoke i n t he sky almost diredtly over head but slightly east. Suddenly, about 1 anct 1/2 minutes after e }ad seen the flash, there was a terrific explosion an1 jar, shakinc the vrotmd and causine the windows all around to rattle. Following the explosion, there were several low reverberating rumblil'lgs across the heavens . He stated that tho explosion must have been very high. Edgar Younr:, 1 \>0y living at Regar, just east of Horcatur, was outside the ele~ator, when he observed the eXJ losion, looked up and saw the huge clotd of smoke . He stated that it 11as almost overl.ead but slightly west of hiJ!I. He said that it was a bif explosion. The elevator man was out in the elevator, 1'hen he heard the e.xµlosion . He t ought th~t his oil-burner had exploded in tho office and ran in to see about it. Fi.ndinr, i• O. K., he ran outside to see what had exploded, saw the big clo1.rl of ~moke hir;h overliead, slightly west. Ea, tern Kansas newspapt!r carried a story about 6 days aco of one just like this one, coming from the south to vicinity of Iola, ~ansas, where it turned west and disappeared into the sky. Check with Chief Scott of Norton about a bum~d flashlight b~ttery which fell in the street of Norton just after the explosion. It was too hot to be picked up for sevoral minutes. Chief Scott has it. Note : A copy of Exhibit 11c11 referred to in letter fron Dr. LaPaz, was not received. I I - ,. • l CPBC.:t- 1TS'~ - n:·rn:::i:'I' :.rTED F L'.'lll<i OAJEGTS ln~i-3 ,rt ~ 102 18 Fe Tuary 1948 1500 ~fiT 5. 1nc t l cm lc@odill pita ■•■ Air Nea- Green RiTer, Utah !1 . .. ,M• of ob:;,... rv,... r Lenord P. Marchese· (B-2<1 Pilot, Lt. 28 Bomber Op) Carl H. St ucki, Lt., Co- Pilot, (see reverae eid.e '.) . Cr.cup• i on c• f ob~v rvor Pilot for other w1.tnessee) G. ., : ;r . :1 of ob:. r v ,r 771:ll Bomb Sq, 2$th Bomb Op ( VH), Weaver AFB. S.D. I . rl·,c of' ob~ rv1 t i <,n 39° N - 100° W - near Green River, Utah ) . JL t ·.t-1c J 0!" c,b.' ct, f r C',rn obs, r vor 100 miles ) 1 • 1' !.:"ld i 11 !'; i,•ht N/S l l. "11 i .url 20,ooo feet '') J. • Very high l ;, . Southeast of Limon, Colorado -:'i,ct ic,: Ex} losion rate 1~ . .:;,, 1 l Could not be determined d ue t.o B-20 eni::;ine noise 17 . c,,1or u1ulti-colored ball of fire • • , ;}i pdluge mulb.-colored ba] 1 of fir e and tierise cloud of smoke Vapor trail with ball of fire at head of trail ' . r c c,nd i t i , r •. Clear ' ) I . Hone ,.. • A wee 11Ult1-colored ball of fire trailing a dense cloud of emoke w.a ai&hted at approx 1500 hours MST 18 Feb 48. 39° N-100° Wat approx 20,000 ' b.r two~ aircra!t of the 28th Bombardment Groo.p (VB). It wa• seu a>me 100 miles southeast of the B-..."9a. Size -.ae eatimaed aa huge al.tho illpc>1aible to determine accurately due to the distance. It •• tr&Telii:ig at Tecy high speed and hea.di.Dg southeast of Li.Ioon, Colorado. at approx 20,000 ft. Witneeeee: Capt Boward B. Berodt, A0-49504. 718th Bomb Sq 28th Bomb Gp (VE). Pilot of 1st B-.."9 Capt Mairice T. llitenour, J0-48o43. 718th Bomb Sq 28 :Bomb Gp (VB). Co-Pilot of lat B-29.. lat Lt Leonard P. Marchese. A0-748714, 77th Bomb Sq., 28tp Bomb Gp (KH). Pilot of 2nd. B-29 lat Lt. Carl W. Stucld., AD-785916, 77th Bomb Sq, 28th Bomb Gp (VH). c.o..-Pilot of 2nd :B-29. l!lOT.E: See Ineident 101 - 'Rorcatur KenM11. ' • f Jnr, i l JT ft 10'3 1 • 18 February 194g l • . 1n, 15()0 :ST • 3 .. Tr.,· 7j o IWI ClillJd.u!IMII Air n Green Riv~r Utah 1,. :· .r1• n o1 r v1rS GaJ..t . How ard H. rodt - Cat .Aaurice "". Rit nour (See Inc 102 - corrclm-ation) ,. Jic., n ob~, rv'lr ilots J • ••• 11· ,:; o .l ,:::;• r r 718th BonbSq, 28th Bomb Gp (VH) ' eavr B, S. D. rf . Fl·,c r f' obn r·· lir 39° ti - 100 ° \7 - Ne Green River, Utah r; :r.lJ, r (J ~- l•hj t. <; .e (' ,, 9. ~l~ .,!. 1CQ 0 ., f r c obr. rv r 100 miles ll, • Til"lo i?L ~frht '/s 11 . nl i ,ud•J 20, 000 feet Diroc i on of fl· 1·h 'outheast (of Limon, Colorado) T• c- .ics losion rate • Could not be determined due to 29 en ine noise 16 . iz ,., Huge (Seen 100 niles west of the B-29 's) 17 . Color ulti-colored ball of fire 18 . -->h .po Hugh milti-colored ball of f ire and dense clou:i of smoke followed 19 . Oder ciJtnc d N/S 20 . , FJ.(, nm co s -r u e ion N/S 21 . Exh .u & tn.ils Vapor trail with a ball of fire at the head of trail :.,~ . 'ii ,::. Jhor cond i i ons Clear Eff.ict on ~l ouds /s 2L . ko ch Js or photo r phs None 25. nnncr of dis pp a r nnc ~ N/S 26. Rema rks : bblR - Same a.a incident 102 which see ., r , • r l 104 7 Mar 48 2055 C ll:ayrna• 'l'enn. ~ r v r Franit L. renn, Maj, USAF, 00, Smyrna AF Base Col Ric."'lard C. Pettingill & Pvt Frank C. Jobntnn, • p. i :. f' r •, r e 00 of Smyrna & radio and toi.ier operator• AA.CS Station ...r f rv r ~ AJ:F, ixiq S:eyrnn, Tenn . rI. r ('lb.' · t fror.i C'h r v r 6 milea . ' i. • "" C l • 1- ii ,.1 lt 45 minutes ll. ,.1 • i• ul About 5° above horizon l' . d very elov l • D r c i T fl 1 ht. N a~ from 5:uyTDa N/ S Faded awq l . I 1• d Bone ,. ,it Unknown r,.., 1c r yello•r-0range 1 . ';h ·P" oTel Odor cl t, c t 1d N/5 N/5 ­ •eemed to be flare l. Bone t l r ~ ndi i !' CAVU - 10 milea 2; . Eff' o.., l oud:; N/5 2 , . Si ch ~ or pho or,r phs 11&• (2) ahovil:lg yellov oran,ge fi&'lle-like oru P:t;nr." r of i. ,,, p• r .,,. faded into horizon 26. R ur k :; : (oTer) • • ' . A yellow-orange object ...W.ch had the appearance of a flare was observed eome six miles from Smyrna AAF between the west and northwest just above the horizon and movill& directly awq from ~ '!'he speed was estimated aa alow since the object t"ema1ned visible aome forty-five minutes. It gradna1Jy faA.ed awey disappearing into the horizon. No ubaust trail was seen and nqsGUDd was heard. r,· I'\ -. . ... ;,•" ·~ '" "◄ . , ' .. •, ' r I i ,., .•. • ' . 1\· ') -:-, ~ .; 't'l lJ u CHECK- LIST - urIDEllTIFIED FLYHJG OBJECTS Inc id ,rt ff 105 g Mar 48 2. TiMO 1100 3. Locotion BelD:>nt, B. C. li. Pomo of obsc-r vor Kr. A. C. Morri•on 5. Occupc.tion of ob!jor vor Sapt. Meter Dept, lbb Po\\er Co.• Charlotte, I. C, 6. ;,-:Idr ,...ss of ob::;orvor Charlotte, B. C. (n.uat Power Co.) Belmont, I. C. (Sitpted from ground) 7. Ploc of obs~ r Vl.ation ~- Nunbor of obj~cts l 9. Distance o!' obj.: ct f r om obs r vcr 11/S about 10 seconds 10. TiMO in s i ~ht 11. ~lt.itudo B/S - could not be esti:Afted l:?. Spc.od Around 600 l4PH laaterq Dirocti on of flirht llJ. Tur 1cs lone - moved 1n atr~t line at constant speed without change in altitude or direction 1r- . S"und Bone 16. Siz~ From a distance - that of a small coin l7 . Color _bright or ailTer - looked metallic 18 . 3h,.pc round or sphere (unable to determine wich) Odor d tc.ct d N/S 20. i.p~n r, nt con-, t..ruc~i,m Metallic :"'~ . ·:: n t,l·w r conditi on' Clear with scattered white cloud• 23. Eff c or, clouds N/S ?1 • 31': t ch s or photor,r l<p~s None 2~. 'i;.n r of di,.-ipo ••r r.~~ behind small -.dlite cloud ~J . R~~ur k::; : (oTer) • , A round ~tallic-appc :-ine object mvinc vc;cy rapidly st an e1t~ted soeed of bOO l-:?H s obsen d n.-~ 3 l.:lont. N. C.• at rox 1100 the nx>rning of 8 Mar 48. '!'he • ther s cle r w1th excellent vtdbil1t1 witb. a fev lhlal.l acattered fie cy vriite clouds. It could ot be determin d if the object were a disc or ap r~. It e.opa. fut she va.s that of a s:nall coin of a bright or 1ilver o:,lor. It re.fleeted the swi mai.nt 1.n1.n.g a 1ttwdy reflection 'Cbich did not flicker. Tho obJect ..nich was under observation for 10:ne 10 secon I was on an e3ak:rl7 beacU..og and moved 1n a trt.iyit l..ne at a constant speed witaout apparent ~ in altitude or direction. It waa impoaeible to deter.:nin.e the altitude but 1 t was 11Dving above the clru~a. No sound of an,y kind \11188 heard nor • ~ exbau .. t trail obeerved. NOTE: Wi tn.eaa (Mr Morri 10n) 1a a ::l8Zl of excellent char ct r e.nd re :ut tlon, 0 a first-gread.e e 1neer and employee of Iuke Fower Co for some JO ye r,. He impressed t..e agent u bei..D& conservt1.tive and sound and ia a technical man with a very tec.'lniccl and re•. oneible poaition. Mr. Morrison was c.ar etul in hi ■ 1t&t e:.enta. Be doe ■ not cl3ia he eaw t he "fl~ d.iac" . merely d:ts claiai_ng that tbe7 aav an object -..bi.ch tbe7 could not 1d.ent1f7 with any natural phenomenon or known tlJ)e of aircraft. It re1embled •a r ound metallic appe...ring object JDOviz:ig very r apidly. • Vitnesaea: Mr. Rezw.rix, aa1iatant Superintendent. Meter Dept nib Power Co., Charlotte, N. C. Mr. G. V. Jordan, Oaatonia J:lectr1c Co., Gastonia, B. C. t \I JEt:TS ~. Tir.o 1610 ch 19/..iS - 1655 lncid Jr L 106 3. : OCl ti n Bakersfield, Cali!ornia 5. Oc upa ion or ob!jor ..- r n/s 6. "•ld r • ,,, of oh o11 rvor RBkersti old , California 7 . Pl c of otir. r·~, t i on hoo er nd, aouth st, t.o d Bue Vista Lake, Cali.t. r1 . Uunb, r M' oh,1,.,otD Two 1 . ~istonco o~ objoe~ fr cr.i ob~ r v r 10 - 12 ailAto lG . Tino in sir.ht lJ/S 11 . ~ltitud N/S 12. Spead N/S 13. Diroct.irm or rHrht earthward i,..d ice N/S 16 . Sizo /S 17 . Color See::u.n;q on tire , bl.ack and red amoke t.ra1.li.'1G be~1nd 18 . ~hi.po S1.miJ ar to .falling airera.rt 19 . Oior d tcctod Njs 20 . ..p, r. r or.t ran I ru,.tion N/S 21 . Ex}viu:.t trt.ilo &-own1eh-.h.1to smoke and debris trailing :">2 , Hoothor conditi ons N/S "3. Err ct nn cl oud:,, N/S I 21, . Skotch 1J or p ntc~rcp!l:: .lone ?~ . t:o.nn..,r or d i onppnarnnot' Behind a water t 011Jer, which 1'8.1!1 an obatruction 26• RoT1Wr " : Col!Dents of G. t o the • ie"ft' L. Buckner and other witnessea to thia sighting cont ained 1n attached supplement . n HEADQUARTERS FOURTii AIR FORCE Office or the Assistant Chief of Starr, A-e Intelligence Hamilton Field, California 4AFDA- 3/120S- I Mar 11, 19liS SUBJECT: Investigation of Flying Disc. TO: Chief of Staff United States Air Forces Washingt on, D. C. AT'IN : DIREC TOnATE OF INTELLI GENCE Air Intelligence Requirements Branch 1 . Incident reported on 9 March 19WS, t his headquarters, per telephone call from Sgt A. U. Larsen, Sheriff's office, BakP.rsfield, California. a. ubservation by Mr. (Geor ge L) Les Buchner, Bake r sfield, California, 0£ two objects fallin g to P-a.rth from unknown source on 5 March 19-48 between 1610 and 1655 hours. Descr iption o~ objects similar to falling aircraft with smoke 3lld debris trailing . Observation made at Bakersfield with objects sighted southwest tovrard Buena• Vista Lake , California. b. Ubserva tion by Mr. Denio, employee of the Pacific General 1lect ic Company, Bakers.fi eld , California, of t.wo objects wlri.ch fell to earth from r unknown source north of Bakersfield, California, 8 March 1948. One object seemed to be on f ire with r ed and black smoke trailing behind. 2 . In1orl:l8J1t Larsen stated that searchin g p :irties, •1ircraft and rescue w,it~ ha:ve made numer ous attempts to locat e these reported objects without success . 3. investigation of incident has been initiated by t · is headquarters . Report •,ti.11 f ollolf. /s/ Donald L. Spr inger DONALD L. SPRDlGZ. Lt . Colonel, USAF AC of 3, A....!2 Inforration to: A.JC , •.!i t chel Fld, tl . Y. FfH, San Francisco G-2 , vixth Amy DIO, .Jan :."r a ncisco (12th r av . !)is t) HEADQUARTERS FOURTH AIR FORCE • Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff' Intelligence Hamilton Field , Cal ifornia 4AFDA-;/l208-I SUBJECT: Investigation of Flying Dis cs SUMMARY OF lNFO.RMATION.: Information from t he Sheriff 's Off'ice, Bakers.field, California, r eve~ed that nwrero"UB calls from r esidents in Bakersfield concerning peculiar objects in the sky over Bakersfield, predicated an invest1c;at1on by their office and contact With A-2 Headquarters Fourth Air Force. On 13th March 19~, tl'() informants, Mr. George L. Buchner, and .!ar. H • B. Nix, stated that they observed a flyinl object wh1ch appeared to be consumed in fire, am left a br01m1sh-white plume of smoke , which suddenly stopped an::l disappeared. Secorx:is l at er, what appeared to be a i:arachute, was seen to be drifting to the east. The object, as described, appeared to be a burning fabric airplane, consumed in smoke. Observations were ~ade in Bakersfield of object to the south and southwest, appro:ximately ten to twelve miles distance, arotmd 1600 hours on 5 March 1948. On 13th March 1948, informant, Mr. H. B. Nix, stated t hat he observed an object at 0830, 8 March 1948, due north of Bakersfield, approximately five miles distance. 'Ihe object was a large, orange-red ball of fire , s omewhat larger than a smll airplane, appeared to remain static for a ppr oximately thirty seconds, then split and continued to bm-n ; each visible as a burning half. A parachute, with a black object hanging was then observed to fall, drift to the east an:i disappeared into the hills eas t of Bakersfield. On 13th ula.rc:h 194$, two informants, Mrs . Callie R. Wason, secretary, Haberfelde Building, Bakersfield, California, and Dr. J. E. Johnson, dentist Habe:rfelde Building, Bakersfield, Cal ifomia, stated that they were in Room 518, 11aberfelde Building, on the mor ning of 9 March 194,S. L1rs. tAason was a pat ient of Dr. Johnson. Both informants stated that t hey observed a !laming object which appeared at first to be a very small airplane . Orange red nanes seemed to envelope the object w:i. th considerable black smoke trailing in a zigZag manner for approximately 4,ooo to 5, 000 feet. The obj ect was observed Rt 1,000 feet, appr oximately due north of BakerRfield, seven t o ten miles distant at approxi.na tely 0830 hours. Informants further st ated that the object disappeared behind a water tower, which was an obstruction to their view, and was near the vround . Both in£ormants watched for an explosion, thinking t hat it would expl ode upon reaching the ground, but nothing unusual was noted. .., •. • -._ .. , • , -2C'"']"I' : Alt..:our' t, ere i. r. no ev-:cinece to ~uh;1t.antiat,c 1,h.. followiri1 , it is t,1--.£? o• ininn n" t' is hAadqunrt1?rs that this acti·:i t,.: c ,1ld be t,t,rj b11te-d .,. rkc.. fl re" . :..: . further lcv.,.l oi :nents, or ovid,.ucc o taincd , -..ill be f n, rdPrl iJ-is na<lqu r torr. froo the lrriff 1!l Office , hker rfield , Califor nia . EVALUJTIG:: Of Sourco Of lnform·1tion C 3 t.. f (.' I 1. 2 . 3. I.. ! 5. .. t I 6 ~ I ' I 7 . I 8 . 9. 10. 11. 12. 13 . 14 . 15 . 16 . 17 • 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23 . 21.i.. 25. 26. Dato g March 1948 Incid mt fl 107 Tine N/S Locotipn Baker sf ield, California :!nmo of obsor vor .Mr. Denio Occupat i on of ob!jor vor Pacific Cieneral Electric Company employee l,ddr<.;ss of obsor vor N/S - Plo.co of obso r vc.ti on Sighted f r om ground Nunbcr of objocts Distnnco of obj oct Til"lo in sight N/S I Altitudo N/S Spead N/S Direction of f l i 6ht Ta ctics N/S Sourd N/S Sizo N/S Two from obsorvor N/S :Earthward Col or One object seemingly afire, r ed and black srooke trailing Shcpo N/S Odor dotoctod N/S Appo.r ont constr u ction N/S EY.huust t r uils N/ s Woathor conditions N/S , ~ ~· .... ·.; •") r;. \ Effoct on clouds N/S ··1 (::.- i.i tr t . ~ 4~. r~ I'• • / ~ .. \! I <.I ~-ff •I .z 1J.p- Skotchos or photogr o.phs None Manner of disnppoarance XJI J'ell to ear\h Remarks : See supplement to Incident #106. Cl!E<a: - •• r sr - t!rIDEi::' !rJED Fl Yli!G OBJECTS l • D. ':: g lJ.arch 194g Inc id ,rt # 108 3 . Ir.- ti<"n Bakersi'ield, California H. B. t-tix , • fhc of ob" r;r tit n Sighted from r:round '). Di:,t11nc1 n!' obj c1 f'r cm obs r vc:r 5 miles 10. Tii"lo in sfrht Approx. 30 seconds bofore splitting and burning ! 1. ,,.J i +,ud~ H/S 1~ • S1• ,d Static for apnrox 30 seconds , and then drifting l " . Diroct.i, r. o f fli ht eastward "' . .,i z Lareer t iian a small "i r plane 17. ~,.,lcr Oran~e-red ball ol..' fire l • Jh•.P" Ball 1r, • ct •d t:/S 21. N/S : ., 11 •r condition• N/S None 0 ""r,. ' !.lr r of di<:•1pp ••r nc ~ Drifted to the elst into the hills east of Bakers.!."i e 1d 1 • R, .,,1 r 1·!" : See s•.1pplo11ent to .Lnci dent #106 , i • CEECK- LIS'f - llrHDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS Inc i d ·mt 4/- 109 1. D~tc 9 March 1948 3. Locntion Bakersfield, California h . :-ramo of observers J.E. Johnson an1 Mrs. Callie R. Mason 5. Occupoti on of ob~orvor J.E. Johnson, Dentist, Mrs. Mason, Secretary 6. 1,ddrcss of obsorvor N/S 7. Ploco of obse r vr,t i on 5th noor of business building B. Numbor of objocts One 9. Distonco of obje ct from obsor vor 7 - 10 miles 10 . Ti~o in sight N/S 11. Altitude 1000 f~et 12. Speed N/S 13. Dir oction cf fliGht Due north of Baker sfield 14. Toctics Zig~a~ng 15 . S onr.:d N/S 16. Size Appearance of a very small airplane 17. Color Orange--red f lame 18. She.po Appearance of a very small airplane 19. Odor dotoctod N/S 20. Apporont construction N/S 21. Exhoust trails Considerable black smoke trailing !or 4000 to 5000 feet 22. Vfoothor conditi ons N/S Effoct on clouds N/S Sketches or photogr aphs None 25. Monnor of disappoa ranco N/S 26. Remarks : See supplement to Incident #106 1---Y • '1' "T.. l :1 , 0300 - 0500 ✓ I • •: ! ; n fultimore (Ha··1ilton) Maryhnd • ,r,• o~· nt,,;, rv ·r ldentity coi fidential ,. up• 1,j t: n f co:.. rv~r Active in A•nerican .L,e ion activities ' • .:;r •• nf' ol:.; r v,r N/S ~· ::·\i r •J•' r,r,.i ·cts Undetermined F, . .> 1?'d r;otor drope of foreign type aircraft H • ;,h'. pc N/S 21 . C:xh•.w,t. t r uils N/S ,v;, . 'iJu, thvr conditi ons N/S ~3 . i~ff, ;ct on clouds N/S None 21. . :,}:,,tch •~ or photoi;r l..phs r /S !:onn(;r of disu pp,Jn r·mco Romorks : 8ee Supp lement ✓• ·•-' \ . n. rf;', ~4' :/)::, (T'\ ,; ?a ~ <.: (COPY) :.i ; :> \a - Incident # 110 . . .. . -.•· li 'i ~ ~ V ~ .;, • ,_'1 J .__~ __,/ HFJ.DQUARTERS STRATEGIC AIR CO!AUAND A2B Andrews Field Washington 20, D. c. SAC 3~ (29 Mar L.a) 29 March 1948 SUBJECT: Report of Unidentified Aerial Sounds. TO: Chief of Staff United States Air Force Hashington 25, D. C. Attehtion: • Director of lntelligmce 1. The follo,ring is quoted from a copy of a l etter, .8a1ti more Office, FBI, addressed to the Director of Intelli , ence, Second Army: "On liarch 23, 1948, an individual, who desi red. that her identity be kept confidential, telephonically communicated With this office arrl indioated that she is the wife of a former mernber of the United States military forces, am that s he is presently active in American legion activities, but was emphatic in sta ting that she was in no way hysterical or unduly apprehmsive regarding present world conditions . She did, however, wish to bring to t he attention of the proper authorities that during the past six or ei ght weeks, on a number of occasions between the hours of 3:00 and 5:00 ,L.M., she has heard peculiar sounding noises in the sky, whi ch npr,ear t o come from airplanes in the dist ance, but the sound is not the type of airplane motor drone T1hich i ~generally heard f rom ~merican planes. She has discussed the matter with he r husban::I, and he belie ves t hat t he sound is more like that of a foreign type airplare . J he r ecently discuss ed this matter ,nth a:q unidentified v,oman who lives in her neighborhood, which is Hamilton, Baltimore, l>iarylan::t, arrl t his woman stated tha t she, too, had heard the noise in question, and that her husband is also an ex-G.I. arrl he has stated that the motors sounded like that of foreign planes." 2. No action is contemplated by t his headquarters. FOR 'mE CO;IMANDING GENSRAL: ALAN MARCEAU CWO, lliAF Asst udj Gen ~{ ~ •• ~ ~·~ \ ) ·­ c/c furnished CG, JJKJ , Attn: MCI. .. 111 f6> CHECK- LIST - UlHDSHTirIED FLYillG OBJECTS Ineid'>rt j lll 1. D::i to 1 April 194S 2 . Time 0955 r 3. Locution 124° 3 1 East, 12°, 52' Horth 11. l!nmo of obsor vor 1st Lt. Ueyars (Robert W.) 5. Occu~tion o!' ob~o r vor P-47 Pilot 6. i,'1dr • ~is of obso rvor 67t h Fighter Squadr on, l,gth Fightar Group 7 • Pl ucc, of obso r vi.tion Philippine Islands - Sighted from dr 9 . Uumbor of' obj C'ots One 9 . Distunco of ob;,,Jct f r-om obs ,:ir vor 3 miles 10. TiJ'Tlo in sic;ht Approximately 60 seoonde ll. t\ltitudo 1.000 feet 12. Spcod 200 mph (disappeared in 5 seconds, in iicating great acceleration) 13. Dirocti on of fli {~ht 270° Jb. Toctics N/S 15 . Sriurd None 16. Siz0 Estimated - wing- span 30 feet, l engt h 20 feet 17 . C0l or Silver Hl . Ghcpo A half moon closely resembling a f lying wing type acft; turtle back a nd an indist inct dorsal fin l <j . Odor <lotoctud N/S 20. ,.ppu r unt oonstr uction N/S 21 . Exhn ust tr£.i ls None observed ;">:? . Vlocithor conditi on s Scattered cumulus, base 3000 feet, tops 6000 f eet 23 . Eff ,1ct on clouds N/S 211 . Sk<1tch ,•o or photogrc.phs None rlannor of dimippl.larr,nco Object leveled out on he adin1~ of 270°, accelerated rapidly and disappeared from sight 26. Romurks : See a t tached :upplemeot • ,.,., ~ I.&;;; IIEADf.fJARTIPS, TPiltTEENIB Ain ft,CRCE CLAR. A~ FORCE BASE APO 719 B-2/am S April 1946 AG 452. 1 SUBJEC r : Report of bighting of Unidentified ,ircraft and/or Fl yi ng Ubj ect. TO Conrnandin g General, Far East Air Forces, APO 925, u. -=> • . Army. ATTN : AC/S, A-2 1. In compl iance with "lntelliga,ce Reouirernents - Un-identified i\ir craft" and letters, your hea:iquarters, AG 452.l A-2, 3 11ovember 1947 and AG 452 .1 A-2, 20 ~Jarch 1948, the f ollowing incident is reported. 2. At 163() hours on 1 Apr il 1948, the S- 2 officer of the 18t h Fighter Gr oup contacted the A-2 Division, this headquarters, and reported :that 1st Lt. Robert .,. ~eyers had sif:t1ted an unidentified flyin1: object. His s tory i s as follows . 3. On l f\pril, at 0955, 1st Lt . •~eyers was l eading a flight of four l4) P-47 aircraft of t r.e 67th F'ipj,ter Squadron, 18th :F'iE:hter Group. He was flying a heading of 180 degrees, al titude 1500 f eet, position 1?4 degree6 3 minutes east and 12 degr ees 52 minutes north, when he sight ed an unidentified d:>ject approximately three ( 3) mil es east of his position and at an estimated altitude of 1000 feet, heading of 36o degr ees . The object appeared to be a flyine wing type aircraft, its shape r esembled a half moon what appeared to be a dorsal fin waR barely perceptible, the span of t he object estimated to be t hirty feet, length t-wenty feet and silver in co l or. Upon sifjltint: theobject, Lt. - eyers immediately started a l eft tum with the intenti on of intercepting and to more J:OSi tively id 81 ti.fy this phenomena. 1'/ldle l!eyers was making a 240 degree turn, the unidentifi ed object made a 90 degree left turn, then l evel ed out on a headinc of 270 degrees, accelerated rapidly and disappeared f r om sight in approximately five seoonds . Ther e was no sound heard, ·and no exhaust trails were observed. At the time of t he s~hting visibility was unlimited, scattered cumulus, base 3()00 feet, tops 6000 feet. a. Because of the distance fr om which the sightint: was made, no distinguishing features i .e . power \inits, larding gear, armar1ent oi, cockpit were observed. T-22190 &-2, AG 452.1, ::,ubject 1 "Report of Sightin& of Unidentil"ied ircrof't am/or ~ t< Object. " cockpit were observed. b. The interview 1d. th Lt. •eyers indicated that he is a reliable, non~xcitable i•dh i!'lual and appeared q•dte posi tive 1n hia stateni,nt.s. It must be taken into consideration howe· er that he was t he only w1. tness t o this incidert, as t-e wu. \l"lable to call the object to t~ attent ion of his three wing-1:2en because of thei r maneuverir g in t he t um, plus the fact tt-at his radio •~ ~ • 3. Above incident repo· ted your headquarters, 2 April 1%S, 1n rmio, cite KJ,i2L3H. ' FOR 'll=E CO!!l >JlDING G ::HAL: /1/ Robort 1' . DeLong ~ •.:.RT r. DE w m lat J..t., tSAF .lctinc Asst Adjut.ant General 2 BASIC : Ltr Hq 13th l\.F, APO 719, ~ubj : "Rpt of vii;hting of Uni dentified 11.ir cr aft and/or f lyin~ Ub,iect, 11 dtd 8 Apr 4 • 1st Ind 15 Apri l 19uS AG 452. 1 A-2 HEAD4UAR'l' :FtS, FAR FAST AIR Foi~cES, APO 925, TO: Comrnandi nb Gener al, Air l.1ater i el Command, ,,ri l ht Patterson Air Force Ra se , Jayton, Ohio, Attenti on : CUI 1. Referen ce i s rrade t o lett er Headquarters United States Air For ce, r. ubj ect: "Repor t ing of l nf or na t ion on 11'l yinr Di scs "' dated 26 February l ti4,S. 2. Eva l uation of si e}1ting descr ibed in basic communi cation by this headquarters is tha t in view of t he circumstances surroundin1 1 t he inc i dent , t he obj ect was probabl y a bird . FOR 'lHE C011HANDING GENER.AL: /s/ c. N. Stewart C. N. STElVART Capt, AGD Asst Ad j Gen T-22190 e (COPY) • Ill 090359Z PRIO RITY .lpril 194S FRW: CINCFE TYKYO JAPAN oso7312. '10 a DEPT OF ARMY WASHING'roN DC FOR CSGID, COMGE?~A.MC WRIGHT- PATTERSON AFB DAY'IDN OHIO ATTN MCI RPT MCI lNFOL: COMGI!NFFAF IN REPLY CITE: ex r:JJ1{:/:} Report control is A- 1917. Pilot , 13 Air Force, at 0955, 1 April 4S, i,~lying P-47 Aircraft heading l&:> degrees altitude 1500 feet i ndicated at 124 degrees 3 ninutes East, 12 degrees 52 minutes lijorth, weather scattered CFMULre Rpt CUMULES . 3/10 base three thousand, t op 6oo vis1bility unlimited sighted fiyin g object prroxi­ mately 3 ·m11es East lA roead1ng ,e,o, altitude estimated one thoua·ind feet below him. Unidentified object estimated speed at time of signting 200 miles per hour . Pilot turned left attempting to intercept unidentified flying object for more posi tive identification . At this time n y1ng object made a turn of 90 degrees left, leveled out and accelerated disappearing in appr oxitrately- 5 seconds . Described as having A turtle back and an i ndistinct dorsal fin. The sahpe of the object v,as that of A half moon closely resembling A nying Wing type a:ircraft, estimated Wine span 30 feet, estimated len th 20 feet , color silver, no r pt no exhaust trail was observed. Five seconds elapsed t ii'e for disappear ing would indicate exceedingly high speed and great acceleration. Reporting ufficer is consmred sincere and non-excitable type and firmly belie·,ea he si ehted object. A r eport wi ll b e fo:rwarded upon completion of an i nvesti­ gation of this i ncident . Received lACAA0121 9 Apr 48 1005 (1505: ) Typed by IJCAA0f21 9 Apr 4£ 1359 )1859Z)ams DISTRIBUTION: EJK L MCI-action 2 . MCAAGM21 T- 177$9 CHECK- LIST - Llt:IDEl!TIFIED FLYUlG OBJECTS I ncid<mt # 112 g Apr 4g 2. Time llK:O - :»+30 3. Loc()tion Ashley, Ohio /+. ::o.mo of obscr vor Miss Winifred Paine& - Mrs. Bertha Slack 5. Occuputi on of ob9orvor Mte• Paineal Asst Bank Cashier; Mrs. Slack: housekeeper 6. iddr c:ss of obsc r vor 227 WHigh St•• Ashley, O. 7. Pl oco of obsor V1c>t i on Ashley, Ohio (ground) 8 . Numbor of objocts l 9. Di stonco of ob jnct from obsorvor n~te a distencen 10 . TiMo in si~ht N/S 11 . ;..1titudo Could not estimate slow-moving 12 . Speed Southwest Di r octi on of fl i.[;ht 111 . 'i'1_1c.tics No maneuvers l~ . Si ~0 undet ermined 17. Col or silver W . Gh::;po Oblong, l ong end narrow - like silver s t reak Odor d•Jtc:ct od N/S 20. i-prn ront construct i on N/S :-'2 . '.ile;oi,hor c onditi ons Cle ~r. n.o clouds near object 23 . Eff ct on r l ouds N/S - no cl ouds ne r:r object ?Ji . Sv.rJtch\.ls or photor,r uphs None 25. ~'.unr.ir of disnpp,:::i r r.nco N/S 26. Romurks : (over) ). I­ -- ' Witness thoUe;l)t she he,,rd plane which appe red. to be flying lo,,., Emd m...king an unusual. moount of noise. Coulc. not locs te the plane tv.t did see en object oblone; in shape r-nd long end narrow which h; d the app&·re.nce of a silver stre,ak. It wns clearly outlinr-,d and moving slo~ly and et.es.d.ily in a south..-esterly direction -parallel to the ground a..d without charlgirig direction. Altitude a.od. size were Lot estimeted.. Note: See Incident #1120 in which the plane was rerceiv~d flying low. T • . 1 • D..... 6 Auri1 l i6 3. r ti •1 I\Shlev ' Uhio CC'Upl ion of cb:;or v r e,13 ,oer :- porter . ! !r • of h r '.Jr 7. ri-.c r,i' ol,-; n., t i on Fr rn t.hP. r,round ? . Jj:-tuuco of obj ct. f'r c nh:i r v •r l!ot ~t..3-ted 1 1. "1 t i t.udo 11ito high 12 . ~I od !>low - dirfting l ~. Diructior. of fli r.ht SoutlTNcstcrly l . T d ic~ ilone 1r . S I d Uone l'J. S11.c &na.11 "r than the 'lir l:3ne I.hat r:a:. in view at tl o tim 17 . Col or Opal •scent - liko mot ,r,r of pero-1 10. :;h,.po Lon, cylindrical bod;,, 11\<P :i s t ick ".If fire ,ood l r•.,. Crier d t, ctod Ilone ~l . Exh•1ubt t r uib None !l? . \/oc.t;hor oondit:ionoClear, f ew clo..rls i n sky but non "lround object Eff ct on ~louds /S ?l1 . Sl-:otch s or photor,rophs 1t one 25. :Onm,r of disopponronco l /.;; 26. Romor ks : A plane, which sounded as if it ,rere f lyint lO'ff since there was an exceptionally loud r oaring noi~e,first attracted the atwntion ) or t. is Tritness. he OJSe!'V8d u larre ai.rp .ine, ,,ding ,outh, and aboJt thu same ·t.i·•.e alHo ohsorved a :'I trance objeot ir, tho sky 1,r~velling s l owly ir south--resterly dir ct~on. litn~ss firs· ~ro tit a~ sky writirt, as i lo •ed lik ... st.re'l,c; o Jt lat.er it bee e clo rly o tli., ed, a.· • rin. to ',e a 10•1,1 c,vli dric.11 boch 11.r<e a sr.ick of firuwood . "itn l.he sull ehininr, on h, it. a.pea.redo· 1lesce; t., l ikn ,otrer of pearl. The object wa, uch h- 1er, anJ iui1.r. a bit ~oil r tha."l, the rpl.i e, but drifted sl0ft'4 lllong a ter r.hc air;'l lnc di!:appCd!"cd. It r.,~ t-ave been dri!'tintJ ':fith tr,e moo. 3)... ....., ,, ~ . C. \ ~ 4I:J!":l . r~:-. ( . .. • j ~ ,:..~ ~ 1 ,. 1,, i . / ' "i ' g'-'J \'j .... v:.~1 • h \:,,.,,, u ~ \\ ,\ ... ""'i " CHECK- LIST - m:IDEl'.':'IFIED FLYIUG OBJECTS Incia ·3r.t .fl 112b g April 19J+g 2 . Time 1430 3. Locution Delaware, Ohio h. ::umo of obser ver Mrs . James B. utephenson 5. Occup~tion of ob~orvor Housewife 6. I,'1dru3s of observe r 93 Uorth Franklin Street , Delaware, Ohio 7 • Ploco of obsu r vr,tion From the ground O. 1!umbor of objMts One 9. Distance o!' objoct from obsorvor H/S lG. TiMO in sic;ht N/.:3 11 . ~ltitudo N/S 12. Spcod Slow 13. Direction of flir,ht Southwesterly 14. Tactics None 15 . S r,uJ!'d None 16. Sizo Very large - about the size of a f t,11 moon in height but much snaller in width 17. Color Very white 18. She.po Cylindrical, with vapor around the top 19. Odor dotoctod N/S 20. Appnront construction N/S 21. Exhaust t rails None 22. Vfoothor conditions Clear, no clouds ur ound object 23 . Effect on clouds H/S 24. Skotchos or photoi:;r aphs None Alannor of disopp0o r nnco N/S 26. Romorks : At 1430 Urs . J . B. Stephenson 's attention was at tracLed from her ,v:indo.v by an obje ct of unusual shape in t!1e sky. 1Jpor. going 0 ,1tside to et a better view it ~ppeared ve ite with no oha tfB at all, was cylindrical • in sh and seemed to •e v par o t.e t op. en first it ape to be leaninp a t an an le , arrl then right itse and move alon II ndic r' to the gro 1d . lt appear d not o e moving at first, b t upon a closer look it ·as s en ovin~ slowly· a ~r ut 1 sterly i·ection, i o s~ v~ inin · at th 881' alti t e . The wea er clear, e seen. 'J. he obje ct seemed ve r lar ·e, :i.?. e o ut much small~r in w.i.dth . ince th re wa n ~ t.o co , ot be sure of tl. size . Jo st tem nt 1as made as to whe r not witness e air lane . . ( ( . ... f ­ . CHECK- LIST - Ul'IDE'l!':'IfIEO FLYIUG OBJECTS Incid ,r.t; /t 1.12c 1. D~t , g April 1945 2 . Tirno 1430 ~ _. Leicoti on Delmrare, Vnio l1 . :!omv of obsf"'r vor Rev. "ames B. Stephenson 5. Occupci.tion of ob~orvor Pastor 6 . i,rldr •·:.s of obsorvor 93 N. Franklin btreet., DelAware, Ohio ? . Pli..cc of obsvr vt;tion From the ground 8 . Numbor of' objnots One 9. Distonco of objoct from obso r vur N/S 10 . TiMo in s i ght N/S 11 . ltltitudo N/S 12. Spead ::>low 13. Dirooti on of fHr ht Southwesterly 1L. Tactics None 15 . Sourd None 16. Sizo Not Stated 17 . Color ,lhite 18 . Shcpo Ve:rticle, larger at t he botton and narr01f at lJ1e top 19. Odor dotootod None 20. .1~ppc1 ront construction N/S 21 . EYJH1u&t t r uils None 22. Woothor conditions Clear 23 . Effoct on cl ouds N/S ... . Skotchos or photogr aphs None hlonner of disappoe ronco N/S 26. Romorks: "'itness first thought that object vra:, a plane on fire, as it was s urrounded by a vaporous substance. A plane was heard, and .. l""••••d lair &Id m~ a great, deal- et noin. Alter a tew seconds' stud7 object became el.early outlined and looked p11:ifdlar to a vertical cylinder, large at the bottom am narrow at the top, w1th streamers or strealca of vapor attached. it gave t he appearance or a white cloud, but did not behave as a cloud. It retained its shape and maintained a steady movenent on a straight c ourse agains t the wind. The Delaware airport was alerted •for i ts appeara1c e, but after a half t our it had not been sighted there. ---~ ,,----· .,.--,..., .. ~~ r • ., ,:-~ -- - ... i. "".-:,. ~ ~~ ,. t ·•~ I I ' ~ ., }. .I ~ l: ; l, ~ \ ,_.y ' \) ,, J .. ,, l • Inc i-1 :rt ii 112d g April 1 1 -~ :U..30 Delaware, Ohio Cccupr.ti on of obs,:.rv•:ir Housew:.f e G. ..-!d r .;:; of ob::;,,rvJr 111 Horth .ashinDton Street 7 . Pbc of obr; r vi t,i on Fr om the gr ound ll, . Ti.10 in s i r;ht ~/S 11. ,dti1-ud, N/S 13 . Diroc t.i , r: cf f1 i.dit .::louthwesterly , i ' l • 'i'·,<'i ic5 ffone Could not be detemined 17 . ·>l or :·,bit e l ,· . 3h•.p, Spher ical 11 blob11 with s1,reaks a oove it 23. l, iJ "/'' I'.011 C 2-:, . H•.)mur lrs : ./ir,ness iF'ard planer. J,rior 1,0 tl.P sirhting , h111, docsn ' t knov, v/h('ther or r.ot t e,y had ,::in:\' cor.nectior. wit,J-: t,he object. ... The object was clearly outlined, but did not look like 1:. balloon. The l:'erkins Ot>servatory ,vas alerted but vra.s unable to si ~ht t heobject. . T • ,. '. . I· ~ t , • I , 11. ,,, l • I • •1 !)clavrar .-. . '-1•~ rr;en ••• : l" • c r or t.' ..a! in ton t.rect L f • fl , c· r~J ri ' r·· Li • r. r-r1 l 1 1.}if' JT011l rl 1:,. 1'i:,,, i11 ~ i ·ht Ten mirut,..s n . 1\11 i•, 11d•l ..>cvera l thousa~d feet 13. Dir ,ct t• r. r •• fl; ht Alrrlns t due west in':.c U'lt"? ~ ind 11.> . ,-;i?. ?lot less than 5 feet ir- ·vidtlt 17. Cc l r r Very wt~te 1n . ::;h,.p Spherical, with a sn~ll µro+,n1s " on a• ove .; t., lihe ..aror treaks 10 . Cdor d t,.c t; ,d i.one /S 21. Exh•,u!-t t r t,ils ;>? . ,J •(.thur c ondit1 orin Glear 23 . Eff , ct o!l <' louds l~/u 211 . S'lrntch :s or photor:r uphs N ne 25. .:nnr.t r of dir;npp, r:i r ·,nc~ Di s apµcared from view ber ird t.he 1,r ces 26. Romorks : 'fnis object app~ar ed like a concentrated bit of cloud except it ..as clearl;v outlin~d . T .e size could no~ be deternined, • f ., sicce witness could not tell whether it was as wall object near him or a large object far away. It traveled in a straight l ine and did not maneuver. It was not stated that the sound of a plane was heard. ... r 1FCi - :r.:;. • A r l 19L !J U1"1l" io !i -r r'I r •·ou...c ri.fe ...r l l r ' r 1U7 • ortl t .,..,,. j . ·i-, ir :-i."1t. /. , 1 . "J' i. •I , 'j ! • 1 S• r.a1:1 nc,t - t.no "a!lt j • . n: r { '. J ~ ..)0\ltl- TJ stcrl: nt . ~ I • •TJI• 1 r.a. nn4.. l ~ ~ . u f r JJf J::; n ,.. . l r • ♦ 1 V cnl :r I f a r A CY ... p ill - ,ft .. •t, ll1r • 1· 0 •, t OJ .. r d I ,., . If IJ r • • ., '/ r c :di' I • JJ fl, ');(. • ,,, • "·f • t • • <" l I u•, ' / . . , ~ 1 , ; h • ('r I l ,,t , r.r ,I \ .. I I ,, , r11 r o f •li ,'IJ p r r r : 1,itnc:-.~ t • :-a . b rt. lid not cu a a wl i o ob.'~ ct , SJ hr•r \c·d i r• t,I 11 e, LJ1r•r 1 •r ll2f S r• t 0 l . :i I :,i e clou ;.i.tli u t'r o t,ru in ·1 um . an I sa 'l f, t, 1~ tn111,ith cr,d uni :•r t•:.t,h in:,t.c::itl H 11·, t1,1d;n 0 er'd undi::rrieath . It ,,·a. cle rly outlined and r1ai.ntajred i he sane s ~ape as it. moved along , s teadily, ard at thf> same altitude . itober t Cocnran, son of r. 1 e witness, w o is in U .~ .er chant 'ctr ine, tt ouvh.., .he ohje ct ,,er y i.m usual. le said i t vras in t· P. sha; o ,Jf ;a r&.ln5pout. Incid ,r t~ 113 1 . D~tr 9 April 1946 2 . Timo 15}tQ 3. l nc,. tion h4ontgomery , Alabama i1 . :r11mu of o bs,..r vor Robert D. llughes, .1.,t . Colonel , IBAF 5. Occupution of ob~orvor Pilot 6. ,ddr•.:.s of obs'l rvor l'actics Di v. , Air Tactical ~cl ool, Tyt1dall AF Base 7 . Plue ! of ob::.v r vr.ti on Fr om t he air 0 . ?Jumuor of' obj,.cts One 9. Dis tunco of obj <Jct from ol'>snrv,,r N/S 10 . TiMO in sirht Five seconds 11 . hltitudo Approrimately 16000 feet 12 • Spr:od In excess of the viewer 1s 310 mph air speed 13 . Diroct i on of f'l i.t"ht Nor thwest 14 . 'l\1ctics l~/S 16 . Siz~ Top part eight £e et diameter 17 . Color Si l ver 18. Sh~po Had the aweara,ce of a p11rachute carryine a lar ge canister or ball 19. Odor dot octod N/S 20 . Jppnront cons t ruction 1·'/S 21 . Exhuu5t t rails t-lone 22 . Vloathor conditions Clear, visibility and ceilin g unlimited 23 . Effoct on cloudsN/S Skotoh0s or photogro.phs - Sketch ( t rip ) 25. Mo.nnor of disnppoa rnnco N/~ 26. Romurks :Lt. Col Robert B. Hughes fir st si1Y2ted the object r,efore com­ pleting an 180° le.ft turn over the town of Montgomery, n.labama. e · T h e t o b e object, sighted at ten o'cl.ock o!t his left wing, aweared a silver disc. He immediatel.y completed a sharp bank to t he left ar¥i waa able to get a better look at the object, and described it as follows: "Top part of the object approXimately eight !'eet in diameter, eilver 1n color, bad the appearance or a parachute. Attached to the bottom of this had been a dark cable or shrou:i which appeared to be approximately five feet long. Suspended upon the cable had been a la