Francis Ridge
Mid July of 1945; Hanford Washington
Noon & a clear sky. This is one of the earliest UFO sightings supporting a "nuclear connection", but this report was not listed in the Blue Book Unknowns. Radar detected a fast-moving object that was in a holding pattern directly above the Hanford plant. It was extremely high and the pilots couldn't see it at first. As they rapidly increased altitude the pilots all spotted it at about the same time and headed directly for its position. None of them could recognize it, but they could see it well from their vantage point. It had a saucer-like appearance, was bright, extremely fast, and very high. The F6F had an operating ceiling of 37,000 feet, but on this day they exceeded that considerably and still couldn't get close enough. It didn't make any overt moves, gave no signals, just hovered there as if observing, staying well enough out of reach. When some of the engines began to fail, and fuel consumption got critical, the planes returned to base one by one, and the strange craft disappeared as quickly as it came. The six F6F "Hellcats" made visual contact with the object described as the size of three aircraft carriers side by side, oval shaped, very streamlined like a stretched-out egg and pinkish in color. The witness who filed this report said that some kind of vapor was being emitted around the outside edges from portholes or vents. The object was observed at noon in a clear sky at an estimated altitude of 65,000 feet. After hovering in a fixed position above the Hanford Nuclear Reactor for an additional twenty minutes, the object disappeared going straight-up as the six Hellcats limped back to the Pasco Naval Air Station.

Detailed reports and documents
UFO Sighting Over Nuclear Reactor, Hanford, Washington In 1945 (MUJ-344,13)
Grumman F6F Hellcat