 presents The 1947 UFO Sighting Wave A Comprehensive Chronological Summary of the Period  The Rhodes Photo, July 7, 1947, Phoenix, Arizona Created December 14, 2005,
updated: 12 Nov 2018
This 26 page chrono involves a number of people.
First of all, I want to thank Ted Bloecher. His 1967
work, the entire updated version, is available on the
NICAP site (See below). Over a thousand incidents, many
of which are included in the chronology below, are
listed in the charts from "The Report on the UFO Wave of
1947" (Reference 1). We also wish to thank Wendy
Connors and Mike Hall for allowing us to post their
great book, "Alfred Loedding and the Great Flying Saucer
Wave of 1947". No 1947 work would be complete without
the aid of Jan Aldrich of Project 1947. I want to thank
all the members of the A-Team who made this possible. To
view the 1947 sightings listed by Blue Book click here. Be
sure to click on and read the two great books below.
Finally, I want thank Loren Gross for thoughtfully and
diligently collecting data many years ago for his UFO
Histories and supplemental notes, in particular here the
year 1947. And a big thanks to CUFOS and Mary Castnor
for housing them on the CUFOS site..
1947_01_06-23th_HistorySN.pdf NICAP Site Coordinator 
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THE CHRONOLOGY
Jan., 1947; England
Midnight. "Ghost Plane X362" makes its first
appearance. RAF radar picked up track of something
flying at 30,000 feet. It zoomed over the East Anglia
coast at speed of 400 miles an hour heading west. The
target was logged in as track "X362," "X" being the RAF
symbol for "unidentified". This incident became quite
mysterious when the object made repeat appearances of
the same nature, (UFOs A History 1947 SN Jan-Jun 6)
Jan. 16, 1947; North Sea, 50 miles from Holland (BBU) 10:30 p.m. (GMT). RAF pilot of Mosquito pursued unidentified radar target showing efficient controlled evasive action at 22,000 ft speed equal or greater than Mosquito, headed W? towards Norfolk, Eng. (FOIA) This was five months before the Kenneth Arnold sighting and the beginning of the Wave of 1947, followed by the crash at Roswell in early July. The incident was also linked to another "X raid" tracked by radar earlier that same day. An FBI document from July of 1947 quoted the Air Ministry case summary stating that: "no explanation has been forthcoming, nor has it been repeated." This information was not entirely accurate, because a very similar incident had occurred just 24 hours after the North Sea incident. As a direct result, Fighter Command immediately extended its night radar watch. (FOIA) Jan. 17, 1947; North Sea In the afternoon, two Chain Home Low stations in Lincolnshire (Skendleby and Humberstone) tracked what they described as "an exceptionally good track" (U294) at 10,000 feet above the North Sea. With Eastern Sector on alert, Meteor jets from 245 Squadron were placed on standby to scramble if Charlie came within range, but the plot faded from their screens. At 1945 hours the radar station at Humberstone, near Grimsby again tracked an unidentified target over the sea for a period of 30 minutes at a speed of more than 200 mph. Feb. 6, 1947 Port Augusta, Australia 9:00 AM.* While working in the
yard at the Commonwealth Railways workshop Mr Ron
Ellis and two workmates claim to have seen five
strange objects in formation pass across the sky
from N-S. The objects were white or light pink
and egg-shaped. Ellis said that he could not
give an accurate estimate of the size of the
objects, but they were casting shadows and judging
by his experience with aircraft in the RAAF during
the war he considered they were about the size of a
locomotive. Although the objects kept on a
direct course at a height of about 6000' feet they
appeared to be quivering. Owing to their great
speed they were out of sight within a few
seconds. Any question of the phenomenon being
an optical illusion was dispelled by the fact that a
few minutes later both Mr Ellis and his companion
gave an identical description of what they had
seen. Their description was verified by
another member of the workshop who said he had also
seen the objects.(Adelaide Advertiser 7
Feb 1947 copy provided by Darryl Tiggeman of
Adelaide. [* time given in follow-up article the
next day]) Feb. 28, 1947; 6 miles south of Lima, Peru Time not given. While driving C.A.V. saw a sand-colored & very shiny disc-shaped object hovering 6-7 feet off the ground. Three figures emerged from it. They looked like mummies. They had a humanoid profile, but their legs were fused together. The hands looked like fingers in mittens, and they had a opposable thumb. The skin was sand-colored, & they had no facial features. There was a transparent area where the eyes should have been. Source suggested reliability rating: 2. (Due to the time of year and lack of reports, this incident needs to be checked - Fran Ridge) April ?, 1947; Col De Serre, near Falgoux (Cantal),
France
8:15 a.m. The second French case in April: "M.
Maxime Orliange, in car, observed an object which
appeared like lens-shaped disc with a cupola above him,
flying on an ascending sloping path. blue light emanated
from the place where the cupola joined the disc. The
disc seemed to be 30 meters in diameter, and when it was
about 400 meters away it disappeared on near vertical
path. (Guy Quincy Catalog, INTCAT #7; J. J. Vallee,
Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, p.l 19; LDLN #249,
P33)." (UFOs A History Jan-Jun 1947, NN 15)
April 1947; Richmond, Virginia ((BBU) 11 a.m. (EST). Meteorologist Minczewski saw a silvery disc through a theodolite while tracking a pibal weather balloon, traveling E to W at less than 15,000 ft, appeared larger than the balloon. (McDonald 1968; FOIA; FUFOR Index) May 5, 1947; Seattle, Washington 3:30 PM. A silver object was spotted streaking across the sky by three witnesses. The object was thought to have nose dived and the witnesses all thought that the object was most certainly going to crash. Before it seemed to hit the ground, the object disintegrated leaving a “long pillar of “gas” hanging in the sky”. The gas pillar was very strange as it remained in the sky and didn't blow away like a plane trail would. It was said that the silver object was travelling at very high speed. It was also said to have had very erratic motions. (Lara Elliott, FBI UFO Docs PDF 4 of 16 Pages) [Interesting for several reasons: An early sighting before Arnold even though maybe not a UFO but noted by the FBI, who wouldn't investigate the incident in September since four months had elapsed. - Fran Ridge) May 17 [19?], 1947; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (BBU) 8:30-9 p.m. Field Engineer Savage saw a frosty white round and flat object, with diameter/thickness ratio 10:1, the size of a B-29 [?] (140 ft) traveling N at 350° heading at 10,00018,000 ft and 3 times speed of a jet [1,800 mph] with a slight swishing sound. 30-mins. (FOIA; FUFOR Index) Last week of May, 1947; Near
Beaufort, South Carolina
11:00 a.m. Dr. Battey, a physician in Augusta, Georgia, had been fishing ten miles off St. Helena Sound, near Beaufort, South Carolina. He noticed a formation of four disc-like objects flying overhead in a southeasterly direction at a terrific rate of speed. The discs appeared to be spinning on their axes and were at an estimated altitude of about 20,000 feet. They were silvery and appeared highly polished, and on their under-sides, Dr. Battey could see a circular rim, or projection, about one-quarter of the way from the edges. No sound was heard as they flew overhead. The formation sped out of view in less than twenty seconds. Dr. Battey's report of the sighting did not appear in print until July 6th, when the Augusta Chronicle gave it prominent front-page coverage. INS sent it out on the wires, where it was picked up by numerous newspapers around the country. (Bloecher) Bloecher:
There was approximately one sighting every other day for the first half of the June. These were scattered over the midwest and western United States. Then the sighting rate doubled to about 2 per day until June 20. I found 3 sightings for June 20, two for June 21, three on June 22, six on June 23..... and then the explosion: I found 20 reports on June 24! June
2,
1947; Rehoboth Beach (near Lewes), Delaware (BBU)
Pilot Forrest Wenyon in aircraft flying N at 1,400 ft saw a silvery jar-shaped object 15 inches [?] in size cross in front of the plane at 1,000-10,000 mph heading E on a straight course at same altitude, with a silver-white fire exhaust. [Daytime meteor?] Sev secs. (Project 1947; McDonald list; FOIA; Bloecher 1967) June 8 (??), 1947; 20 mi S. of Maltaw Evening. Fishermen Pawlu Zammit and others on a boat 20 miles south of Malta were raising their nets with a catch of fish when they saw an object floating on the water's surface that looked like a black submarine. The fishermen were frightened because they thought it looked more like a monster than a submarine, so they quickly pulled in their nets and started the boat's engine. At that moment a bright light from the "submarine" lit up the whole area and "little men" began running over the deck of the object. The fishermen couldn't make out much detail from their boat, but whenever the light illuminated the "little men," they could see some sort of apparatus around their waist. When the witness was asked how tall these men were, he replied, "About the size of a 10 year old boy." After a few minutes, the "little men" entered the "submarine" which began to glow so brightly that the fishermen couldn't see the object. It then submerged. June 12, 1947; Weiser, Idaho (BBU) 6:15 p.m. Mrs. H. Erickson saw 2 high speed round
objects glistening in the sun at high altitude
headed SE in trail formation moving up and down
twice and leaving a vapor trail that persisted for
over an hour. Sev secs. (McDonald list; FOIA; FUFOR
Index; Bloecher 1967)
June
14, 1947; Bakersfield, Calif. (BBU)
2:15 p.m. Veteran pilot Richard Rankin and a
young boy saw 10 "almost round" or Flying
Flapjack-shaped objects in formation at 9,000 ft
and 300-400 mph headed N on a straight level
course, then 7 returned on reverse S course at
2:15 p.m. (McDonald list; FUFOR Index; Bloecher
1967)
June 19, 1947; Webster, Mass. One of the earliest cases of humanoid reports appeared about two weeks later in, I believe, a Worchester paper -- possibly the Telegram. By an older, unidentified woman who saw an occupant inside an object who looked like "a Navy officer." (Bloecher) June 20, 1947; Hot Springs, NM 8:00 PM MST. Woman and her daughter observed three revolving groups of three discs in triangular formation, straight course, S-NE (Bloecher,17,II-9) June
21, 1947; Spokane, Washington (BBU)
11:50 [11:55 PST?] a.m. Civilian woman
[Mrs. Guy R. ?] Overman saw 8 [shiny silvery
and slim-bodied?] disk-shaped objects the
size of a house fly at 600 mph [or slower than
a 2-engine army plane?] traveling SSW at 7,000
ft one object below an aircraft, then fall
with a dead-leaf motion and land before 10
witnesses on the shore of the St. Joe River,
Idaho. Sev mins. (Vallée Magonia 57; cf. FOIA;
FUFOR Index; Bloecher 1967)
June 21, 1947;
Maury Island, Washington
Cat 6. Maury Island Incident (hoax).
Fran Ridge:June 24, 1947; near Pendleton Oregon Afternoon. A man driving down a remote rural road heard a loud humming sound, and driving over a rise he saw on a nearby field a large disc shaped craft hovering six-feet off the ground. He could also see two short figures wearing green suits and white helmets standing right underneath the object. The figures suddenly vanished and the craft then shot towards the Columbia River, made a big circle then flew towards the mountains. (HC addition # 728. Source: Bob Gribble, Mufon UFO Journal # 290, Type: C) [Comments: Interesting report that occurred on the same day of the Arnold encounter. Also notable is the clothing description of the little men, which was said to have been green, not the little men themselves.] June 24, 1947; Richland, Washington 2:30 p.m. PST. L. G. Bernier, observed three flat objects that were faster that P-38's. The objects were flying on a level course to the northwest. [Note: Richland is part of the Hanford site]. (Ted Bloecher/Dan Wilson) June 24, 1947; Mt. Rainier, Washington At 3:00 P.M., pilot Kenneth Arnold,
was flying his airplane near Mt.
Rainier and noticed some flashes of
light. He then saw the source of the
flashes; a string of nine very bright
metallic objects.
Kenneth
Arnold:
"I spent the next twenty to thirty seconds urgently searching the sky all around - to the sides and above and below me - in an attempt to determine where the flash of light had come from. The only actual plane I saw was a DC-4 far to my left and rear, apparently on its San Francisco to Seattle run. My momentary explanation to myself was that some lieutenant in a P-51 had given me a buzz job across my nose and that it was sun reflecting off his wings as he passed that had caused the flash. Before I had time to collect my thoughts or to find a close aircraft, the flash happened again. This time I caught the direction from which it had come. I observed, far to my left and to the north, a formation of very bright objects coming from the vicinity of Mt. Baker, flying very close to the mountain tops and traveling at tremendous speed.... I observed a chain of nine peculiar looking aircraft flying from north to south at approximately 9,500 ft elevation and going, seemingly, in a definite direction of about 170 degrees." June 24, 1947; Mt. Adams, Wash. (BBU 12) Afternoon. Just about the time that Kenneth Arnold lost sight of his objects, Fred Johnson, listed as a prospector, reported watching five or six disc-shaped craft as they flew over the Cascade Mountains. He said they were round with a slight tail and about 30 feet in diameter. They were not flying in any sort of formation and as they banked in a turn, the sunlight flashed off them. As they approached, Johnson noticed that his compass began to spin wildly. When the objects finally vanished in the distance, the compass returned to normal. June 24, 1947; Diamond Gap, Washington 3:00 PM. A member of the Washington State forest service was on fire watch at lookout tower at Diamond Gap, a small settlement near the town of Salmon, just south of Mount Rainier, noticed something in the sky which he said were: ". .flashes in the distance quite high up in the east (and they] .seemed to be going in straight line and made strange noise, higher pitched than most airplanes make." (Newsclipping. Loren Gross, UFOS: A History 1947, page 8) June 24, 1947; Pendleton, Oregon A humanoid report on the same day Arnold had his sighting (Bloecher). June 24, 1947; 10-12 mi. E of Joliet, Illinois 1:50 p.m. CST. Charles Kastl,
60, an employee for 38 years with the
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad,
was walking along a highway to work
when he spotted about nine speeding
discs in the air. He described
them as a string of flat circular
objects "going faster than anything
I've ever seen." Kastl said he could see no
connecting link between them, but
they acted as though the leading
disk had a motor in it to power the
others because when it flipped, the
others would too. When it would
right itself, the others would right
themselves.They were appeared
to be very high (4,000' ???) and
heading N-S. (The Cedar Rapids
Gazette, June 28, 1947) [UFOE, XII]
June 27, 1947; Woodland, Washington Two groups of loosely-bunched objects rocking back and forth as they flew over noiselessly, were reported seen over this small southwest Washington town during the afternoon. The report was phoned in to the Portland Oregon Journal late the same afternoon by the witness, Clyde Homan, manager of Tulips, Inc., a bulb-growing farm two miles south of Woodland, near the Columbia River. (Case 85, Bloecher) June
28,
1947; 30 miles NW of Lake Mead,
Nevada (BBU)
3:15 [1:15 PST?] p.m. AAF pilot
Lt. E. B. Armstrong from Brook AAF,
San Antonio, Texas, flying F-51
fighter at 6,000 ft saw a tight
formation of 5-6 white circular 3 ft
objects off his right wing heading
120° [about ESE] at 6,000 ft at 285
mph. (Ruppelt p. 19; FOIA; FUFOR
Index; Bloecher 1967).
June
28, 1947; Maxwell AFB, Montgomery,
Alabama (BBU)June 28, Rockfield, Wisconsin (BBU) 3:43
[3:45 CST?] p.m. Marion Beuschler
and her brother a farmer saw 7-10
saucer-shaped objects fly overhead
directly over their home "like
blue blazes" heading S at high
speed. (McDonald list; FOIA; FUFOR
Index; Bloecher 1967, Dan Wilson)
9:20-9:45 p.m. 4 AAF officers
including 2 pilots and 2
intelligence officers, Capt. W. H.
Kayko, Capt. J. H. Cantrell, Capt.
Redman, 1st Lt. T. Dwwey, saw a
bright light just above the SW
horizon travel towards them in a
zigzag with bursts of high speed,
when directly overhead it made a
sharp 90° turn and lost to view in
the S [SW?]. 25-mins. (Ruppelt
p.19; FOIA; FUFOR Index; Bloecher
1967)
June
29, 1947; Des Moines, Iowa (BBU)
3:45 [4:45 CST?] p.m. Bus
driver Dale Bays saw a single
file line of 4 [18 ?] "dirty
white" round objects between
circular and oval in shape,
inverted saucer shape about
175-250 ft diameter 12 ft thick,
at about 1,200 ft height
traveling about 300 mph to the
SSE, sound of electric motor or
dynamo. Another group of 13
objects seen heading SSE to NNW
[later?]. Few
mins. (Battelle/BBSR14 ?;
Mary Castner/CUFOS; FUFOR Index;
FOIA; Bloecher 1967)
About June 29, 1947; Jacksonville, Oregon About 1:00 p.m.. A
V-formation of UFOs seen by a
group of people on a Sunday
either at the end of June or
early in July. The date,
believed to be June 29, had not
been definitely established. A
group of people west of Medford,
just above the California
border. The formation was
traveling northwest toward
Medford, east of the observers.
There were nine objects.
According to one witness, when
first seen the objects were "as
white as snow geese"; as
they came closer they became
blue-white, "like a
fluorescent-bulb light." They
were sharply outlined and seemed
to be solid; "also translucent,
like a light, pebbled, frosted
bulb." The size of the
individual objects was estimated
as more than twice the diameter
of the full moon -- presumably
when the objects were nearest to
the witnesses, although this is
not stated definitely.
(Reference 1, Section II, Page
3)
June
29, 1947; About 20 [15?] miles
ENE of Las Cruces, New Mexico
(BBU)
About 1:15 [1:20?] p.m.
Rocket scientist-engineer Dr.
Carl J. Zohn, Admin Asst.,
Rocket Sonde Section, USN
Naval Research Lab (NRL)
temporarily assigned to White
Sands Proving Ground (WSPG),
NRL scientist Curtis C.
Rockwood and his wife, and
WSPG technician John R. Kauke,
were driving in a car from Las
Cruces to WSPG headed NE when
they saw to their right front
[E] a rotating silvery or
shiny disc or sphere with no
appendages, wings, tail,
propellers, reflecting
sunlight [pulsating?],
crossing the sky at high speed
heading N at about
8,000-10,000 ft which suddenly
disappeared in mid-air in a
clear cloudless sky. Kauke had
stopped the car and briefly
saw a short vapor trail at one
point not reported by the
others. Zohn on the passenger
side rolled the window for an
unobstructed view. Nearly
60-secs. (FOIA; cf. Ruppelt,
p. 20; FUFOR Index;
Randle-Schmitt; Bloecher 1967;
etc.)
June
30,
1947; Near S rim of Grand
Canyon, Ariz. (BBU)
9:10 a.m. (MST?). Navy
Lt. William G. McGinty
flying P-80 from Williams
AAF at 30,000 ft heading S
saw 2 gray, circular objects
about 8 or 10 ft diameter,
diving at "unconceivable"
speed from about 25,000 ft,
which appeared to land 25
miles S of the Grand Canyon.
(Vallée Magonia 59; cf.
Project 1947; FOIA; FUFOR
Index; Bloecher 1967)
Bloecher:
Few of the
thirty-nine reports for this
period received headline
attention when they were
printed, and by June 30th,
newspaper coverage was not
quite as widespread as it
had been several days
earlier. But UFO
sightings would very shortly
pick again as the July 4th
holiday approached. In early July the sighting rate climbed beyond 20 per day to 88 sightings on July 4, 76 on July 5, 156 on July 6, 159 on July 7, and a whopping 189 on July 8. After that it dropped quickly back to 20 per day and then only a few per day. The last meeting, one of the most important meetings of our time, took place at the Pentagon to discuss the evaluation of the atomic bomb as a military weapon. The Joint Chiefs of Staff Evaluation Board meeting signaled the start of the nuclear arms race. Just by reading the highlighted portions of the report one must wonder if this is the reason for the start of the modern UFO wave in 1947. Mankind was embarking on a road to mass destruction. And the confusion displayed by the military during the height of the UFO flap, combined with the nagging residue of unexplained sightings, made plain that the U.S. had no adequate early warning system against surprise attack Early July, 1947; Nashville, Tennessee Area of a sighting of a landed disc and two occupants. (Bloecher) Early
July, 1947; Near Malta,
Mediterranean Sea July 1,
1947, Chitose, Hokkaido,
Japan July
1,
1947;
White Sands July 2, 1947. Roswell, New Mexico (BBU) 9:50 p.m. (MST). Pharmacist Dan Wilmot, wife, and son Paul, at home in downtown Roswell. Fireball came from SE directly or almost directly overhead, heading towards and disappearing over Sixmile Mtn at about azimuth 306° (about NW). (Sparks; Roswell Daily Record, July 8.1947) July 3, 1947; San Diego NAS, California 12:45 p.m. Motor machinists Chief Robert L Jackson and Chief William Baker reported three saucer shaped objects twice the size of Navy aircraft, gleaming in sun like aluminum, flying about 400 mph, over ocean west of San Diego (Src: San Diego, CA Union 4 Jul 1947, Bloecher Case 194) July 3, Roswell, New Mexico Cat 6 (physical
evidence). The Roswell
Crash.
July
3, 1947; South
Brooksville-Harborside,
Maine (BBU 27)
2:30 p.m. (EDT). Astronomer John F. Cole alerted by a roaring noise overhead saw about 10 very light colored 50-100 ft wide objects to the N at about 50° elevation in a formation initially about 1.5° wide, with 2 dark forms to their left or 2 objects had darker projections somewhat like wings, moving like a swarm of bees to the NW at about 600-1,200 mph through about 30° arc [at about 4-20 miles distance?]. 10-15 secs. (Berliner; McDonald 1968; FOIA; Bloecher 1967) July 3, 1947; near Santa Rosa NAS, California 4:50 p.m. A trained observer from the Naval Auxiliary (name withheld by newspaper and confirmed by Dr. R. W. Nelson, civilian dentist) observed an object shaped like a giant pocket watch colored like aluminum about 15-20 feet in diameter, about 1,000 feet above main runway, It moved N to end of runway, turned E banking headed toward Santa Rosa. (Jan Aldrich, Loren Gross, Santa Rosa Press-Democrat) July 3, 1947; St. Maries, Idaho Mrs. Walter Johnson of Dishman, Idaho, and nine other witnesses near St. Maries, observed eight objects land on a mountainside at Butlers Bay on the St. Joe River. According to Mrs. Johnson the saucers came into view at an extreme speed traveling south to north and suddenly slowed, then fluttered like leaves to the ground in timber. Ted Bloecher suggested that this report should have been among those in the Air Force files because it had been reported to intelligence officers from the Spokane Army Air Base, and an intensive air search was carried out by two missions of the National Guards 116th Fighter Group. Local sheriffs deputies also made a ground search, but since no apparent trace of the objects was found, a report was probably never forwarded to Wright Field in Dayton. (Bloecher) Bloecher:
According to these (AMC) spokesmen, the investigation at Wright Field was continuing, in spite of what spokesmen in Washington were telling the press. Within twenty four hours after the release of these official statements, events would begin to take place that would leave everybody, civilians and military personnel alike, in a state closely approximating Ruppelt's description of a flap. Reports of sightings, coming almost simultaneously from hundreds of bewildered citizens, were made to newspapers and police stations all over the country, and adjacent areas as well, from Southern California to New Brunswick, and from Louisiana to North Dakota. People everywhere were experiencing the beginning of one of the most massive waves of UFO sightings on record. Reports came from all kinds of observers: from picnickers and holiday crowds, from policemen and public officials, and from pilots, farmers, professional men, housewives and bus drivers. July 4, 1947; Redmond (near) , OR (BBU) 11 a.m. C. J. Bogne of Tigard, Ore., and other witnesses in a car near Redmond saw 4 discs flying past Mt. Jefferson on a straight course at high speed. (McDonald list; FOIA; Ruppelt p. 20; Bloecher 1967) July
4, 1947; Portland and
Milwaukee, Oregon, and
Vancouver, Wash. (BBU)
1:05 p.m. Radio
newsman Frank Cooley
of station KOIN, INS
wire service employees
in the Portland Oregon
Journal Building,
Clark County Sheriff's
Deputy Fred Krives,
Deputy Clarence McKay,
Sgt. John Sullivan,
Portland Police
Officer Kenneth A.
McDowell, Harbor
Patrol Capt. K. A.
Prahn, Harbor
Patrolmen A. T. Austad
and K. C. Hoff,
Portland Police
Officers Earl J.
Patterson [Paterson?],
Walter A. Lissy and
Robert Ellis, Oregon
Highway Patrol Sgt.
Claude Cross, and many
others over a wide
area saw 5 large discs
moving at high speed
to the E, 2 flying S
and 3 to the E, with
oscillating or
wobbling motion,
sudden 90° turns or
zigzagging, radio
reports alerted other
officers who saw the
objects, aluminum or
chromium color, disc
or hubcap or pie-pan
or half-moon shape
flashing in the sun,
no vapor trail, no
noise (except possible
humming), some at
10,000-40,000 ft
others at about 1,000
ft. McDowell noticed
pigeons reacted.
Sullivan, McKay and
Krives noted low
humming sound and
reported 20-30
objects. Cooley
reported 12 discs at
about 20,000 ft.
[Further sightings at
2, 4:30, 5 p.m.]
Patterson, Lissy and
Ellis were pilots.
30-90 secs. (Hynek UFO
Rpt pp. 1002;
McDonald 1968; FOIA;
Bloecher 1967)
July
4, 1947; Seattle,
Washington
5:45 p.m. Photo by Frank Ryman. U.S. Coast Guard yeoman took first known photograph of UFO, a white circular object which moved across the wind. Photo shows round dot of light. (UFOE, VII, XII, Hall II 87, SIGN/Grudge Case 3, Project Blue Book # Bloecher Case # 257) July 4, 1947;
Portland, Oregon (BBU)
2 p.m. E. A. Evans
saw 3 metallic discs
glinting sunlight, 1
moving W to E,
followed by 2 others
heading N. [Other
sightings at 1:05,
4:30, 5 p.m.] (Hynek
UFO Rpt pp. 100-2;
McDonald 1968; FOIA;
Bloecher 1967)
July 4, 1947;
Portland, Oregon (BBU)
4:30 p.m. Mrs. L.
J. Hayward saw a
silvery disc-shaped
object looking like a
new dime flipping in
an erratic path moving
slowly. [Other
sightings at 1:05, 2,
5 p.m.] (Hynek UFO Rpt
pp. 100-2; McDonald
1968; FOIA; Bloecher
1967)
July 4, 1947;
Portland and
Milwaukee, Oregon, and
Vancouver, Wash (BBU).
5 p.m. [Other
sightings at 1:05, 2,
4:30 p.m.] (Hynek UFO
Rpt pp. 100-2;
McDonald 1968; FOIA;
Bloecher 1967)
July
4, 1947; Near
Emmett, Idaho (BBU
34)
9:12 [8:17?
8:12?] p.m. (MST).
United Air Lines
Flight 105 Capt.
Emil J. Smith, First
Officer Ralph
Stevens, Stewardess
Marty Morrow who was
called in by Smith
as a confirming
witness, flying NW
on heading 300° from
Boise to Seattle at
about 7,000 ft, saw
5 disc-shaped
objects with flat
bottoms and rough
tops (possibly 100+
ft size) move at
varying speeds, in
loose formation [or
evenly spaced?]
roughly 1,000 ft
higher in altitude
about 10° left of
their heading [or at
290°], with one high
and to the right of
the others in the
distance, all
disappearing to the
W [NW?] in a gradual
climb at about 9:20
p.m. as 5 [4?]
additional similar
objects came into
view slightly higher
heading W [or took
off to the NW; 3
objects in a line
with 1 off to the
side]. Smith tried
to close on the
objects at 185 mph
as he climbed from
7,000 to 8,000 ft
but could not.
12-15-mins.
(Berliner; cf.
McDonald 1968;
Bloecher 1967;
FBI..)
July 5,1947;
Albuquerque, NM
9:00 AM. Five
discs flew toward
the east over the
city; one circled
back over the
city. In the
afternoon five
witnesses saw a
sphere maneuver
in-and-out of
clouds. (Source:
Jan Aldrich,
Project 1947: A
Preliminary Report
on the 1947 UFO
Sighting Wave;
Albuquerque
Journal, July 6,
1947).
July 5, 1947; Seattle, Washington 12:40 p.m. SGT Raynar Cain, USMC reported two disc-like objects like footballs. One banked slightly at about 8000 feet, then shot up and out of sight to north. Second one following a minue behind, wobbling headed north climbing out of sight. (Bloecher Case # 326) July 6, 1947;
S. Central Wyoming
Aviation engineer saw oval UFO. [UFOE, VI] July 6, 1947; Buckley NAS, Colorado Daytime. LeRoy Krieger, Aerologist, Second Class; James Cavalieri, hospital apprentice, reported a bright round silvery object to the ?? shooting up and down noiselessly for several minutes, then left at high speed. (Bloecher Case #403) July 6, 1947; Fairfield-Suisan AFB, California (BBU 36) Daytime. AAF
Capt. and Mrs.
James H. Burniston
saw a highly
reflective round
flat object having
no wings or tail,
the size of a C-54
transport (118 ft)
roll from
side-to-side 3
times then fly
away very fast
from NW to the SE
[SW?] at 10,000
ft. (Berliner;
Bloecher 1967)
1:45 p.m. AAF pilot Major A. B. Browning and crew flying B-25 E to Kansas City saw a silvery circular object 30-50 ft diameter pacing the aircraft at a little lower altitude then shot off at high speed heading E at 11,000 ft at 210 mph. (Project 1947; FOIA; Bloecher 1967) July 7, 1947; 7
miles N of
Shreveport,
Louisiana (BBU)
Morning.
Military aircraft
pilot Harston saw
a bright silver
object about the
angular size of
the moon.
(Project 1947;
McDonald list)
July 7, 1947;
Hickam Field,
Hawaii (BBU)
9 a.m. Civil
Service employee
Saito saw a large
silver
balloon-like
object with
silvery disc
[attached?]
immediately
beneath it without
attaching cables
slowly ascending
to the NW at 6,000
ft. (McDonald
list; FOIA; FUFOR
Index)
July
7, 1947; Muroc
Army Air Field,
Calif. (BBU)
10:10 a.m.
AAF experimental
test pilot Major
Jowell C. Wise
while powering
up an XP-84 jet
on the runway
looked up where
others were
looking and saw
to the N a
yellowish-white
sphere about 5
10 ft diameter
oscillating in a
"forward
whirling" motion
without losing
altitude at
about
10,00012,000 ft
altitude moving
W to E at about
200-225 mph.
[Sightings at
Muroc next day.]
(FOIA)
July 7, 1947; Willow Springs, Illinois A very notable incident occurred around noon, when Robert Meegan and his 14 year old son John heard a buzzing noise overhead. They were working in the fields on their farm near the Des Plains River not far from the Argonne National Laboratories. Looking up they saw "13 round objects all going east, single file in a straight line." They described the objects as round with flat bottoms estimated about as big as a house and bluish-grey in color. They stated that the craft flew on a straight and level course toward the east. (Ref 2 page 73) July
7, 1947;
Lakeland,
Florida (BBU)
Bet. [?]
1-2 p.m.
(EST). Sign
painter saw 5
round shiny
objects in the
NE climbing at
7,500 ft;
shrill noise
heard.
(Battelle/BBSR14
?; Mary
Castner/CUFOS)
July 7, 1947; PacificOcean off Fort Bragg, California 3:10 p.m. Two witnesses were surf fishing and observed a flat, glistening object approach them from the ocean. They could not estimate its height as it was dropping rapidly and finally hit the water approximately a quarter of a mile off shore with an enormous splash. It was traveling at a high rate of speed, and just before it hit the water, they heard a humming sound. The object floated for a few minutes and then appeared to have sunk. Estimated to be the size of a large truck tire. (Carl Feindt) July 7, 1947; Decatur Alabama Around 6:00 pm Lucile Hullet and Kenneth Patterson witnessed a UFO from their front yard in Danville. The UFO was about ¼ mile south of their location and at 1,000 to 1,500 off the ground. The saucer was so bright, it hurt the observers eyes. The UFO was moving at 100 to 150 mph and heading west to east. The sighting lasted several minutes. ()“Flying Discs Are Seen Over Danville”, by Frank Heflin; The Decatur Daily, Decatur, Alabama, July 8, 1947, Tuesday, Page 1 [article attached] submitted by John S. Chase) July
7, 1947;
Arlington,
Virginia (BBU)
Bet.
10:30 and 11
p.m. (EDT).
AAF Lt. Col.
Cobb saw a
"blob," the
size of a
small
airplane,
reflecting
white light
flying at less
than 500 ft
above ground
to the SE at
about 1,350
mph. (FOIA;
FUFOR Index)
July
7, 1947;
Phoenix,
Arizona (BBU)
Sighting and photograph of a gray, elliptical object about 20-30 feet in diameter with a visible canopy; object moving at an estimated 400-600 m.p.h., spiraled down from about 2,000 feet, then went upward at a 45 degree angle, making no sound while within view. Analysis based on camera data indicated a diagonal size of about 40-50 feet. (Rhodes phtotos, Project SIGN "Initial Report," chart, Incident No. 40) July 7, 1947; Tacoma, Washington Bloecher's case 547, from his book, is a humanoid report. July 7. 1947. Lakeland. Florida (BBU) Bet. [?] 1-2 p.m. (EST). Sign painter Griffin saw 5 round shiny objects in the NE climbing at 7.500 ft; shrill noise heard. (Sparks; Battelle/BBSR14 ?: Mary Castner/CUFOS; Saunders/FUFOR Index) July 8, 1947698, outside of Houston, Texas Case 698, from Bloechers' book, is another humanoid report. July 8,
1947; Los
Angeles
(near),
California
Cat 11,
F-51 pilot (M)
Fran
Ridge:
According to Captain Edward Ruppelt, the top secret "Estimate of the Situation", which was... that the UFOs were interplanetary, listed the following case as one which suggested that conclusion. July
8, 1947; Muroc
Army Air
Field, Calif.
(BBU)
9:45 a.m. (PDT). AAF 1st Lt. Joseph C. McHenry, T/Sgt Joseph Ruvolo, S/Sgt Gerald E. Nauman, and Miss Jannette Marie Scotte at 10:00 a.m., saw two saucer or disc shaped objects, silver and apparently metallic, fly a wide circular pattern [?] at about 7500-8000 ft at 350-400 mph heading 320° (about NW) toward Mojave, Calif. Before the first 2 objects disappeared a 3rd similar disc or spherical silver object reflecting sunlight was seen, with additional 5 witnesses, to the N flying tight circles at about 7,000-8,000 ft beyond capability of known aircraft, maintaining altitude. No sound or trails. 3-4 mins. [See sightings at Muroc later in the day and previous day.] July 8, 1947; Muroc
Army Air
Field, Calif.
(BBU)
11:50 a.m.-12 noon. AAF experimental test pilot Capt. John Paul Strapp, Mr. Lenz from Wright Field and 2 others in an observation truck at Area 3 of Rogers Dry Lake for a P-82 ejection seat test saw a round silver or aluminum-white object at first thought to be a parachute, about 25 ft wide, falling from a height below the 20,000 ft of the test aircraft at 3x the rate for an ejection seat test, drifting horizontally toward Mt. Wilson (to the S) at less than 50-80 mph, which when close to horizon appeared to have an oval outline with 2 thick fins or knobs on the upper surface which seemed to rotate or oscillate, no propellers, slowly disappearing below the mountain tops in the distance after 90 secs. July 8, 1947, Muroc Army Air Field, Calif. (BBU) Noon. Others witnesses independently, including Muroc CO Col. Signa A. Gilkey and engineer Major Richard R. Shoop and wife saw from a different location 5-8 miles away to the N [?] the apparently same falling object, thin metallic aluminum colored and the size of a pursuit aircraft [50 ft?], reflecting sunlight and oscillating, descend to ground level, then rise again and move slowly off in the distance for a total of 8 mins. No sound or trail. [See sightings at Muroc earlier and later in the day and previous day.] 8-mins. (FOIA; Vallée Magonia 60) July 8, 1947; 40 miles S of Muroc Army Air Field (BBU) 4 p.m.
Exactly four
hours later
the pilot of
an F-51 was
flying at
20,000 feet
about 40 miles
south of Muroc
Air Base when
he sighted a
"flat object
of a light
reflecting
nature." He
reported that
it had no
vertical fin
or wings. When
he first saw
it, the object
was above him
and he tried
to climb up to
it, but his
F-51 would not
climb high
enough. All
air bases in
the area were
contacted but
they had no
aircraft in
the area.
(Exact and
complete quote
from Ruppelt
p. 22)
July 8, 1947; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 5:30 p.m., HST. More than 100 Navy men watched an oblong shaped object over the base at Pearl Harbor. It was described by most witnesses as "silvery colored, like aluminum, with no wings or tail, sort of round or oblong-shaped, and moving both slow and fast." The object was "very high," and moving westward toward Honolulu in "alternating bursts of speed" and in a "slow, zigzagging" flight path. Among the Navy men reporting the object were Yeoman 2c Ted Purdue, 21, of McClain, Texas; Yeoman 1c Douglas Kacherle, 22, of New Bedford, Mass.; Seaman 1c Donald Ferguson, 19, of Indianapolis, Indiana; Yeoman Morris Kzamme, 13, of LaCrosse, Wisconsin; and Seaman Albert Delancey, 19, of Salem, West Virginia. Navy officials at the base reported that they had begun an investigation of the reports. A check of balloon flights was made and it was learned that at 4:35 p.m. a weather balloon had been sent aloft from the Honolulu Airport, but had risen quickly and was carried off to the south. (Case 769, The UFO Wave of 1947) July 8, 1947; Norfolk, Virginia 11:30 PM.
On this night
a young boy,
Billy
Turrentine,
aged 13/14,
managed to
photograph a
UFO he claimed
to be flying
across the sky
when he was
sitting out on
the front
porch of his
apartment. He
observed a
"grey, almost
black" object
of large size
flying across
the sky at a
high rate of
speed going in
a SW to NE
direction. He
described the
large object
as if it was
"rocking and
spinning like
a football"
and like a
"burned
crisp". Billy
claimed that
this large
object was
also followed
by two smaller
objects
proceeding in
the same
direction. A
white mist was
thought to
have been
followed by
all three of
the objects.
Billy also
claimed that
the objects
were at a much
higher
altitude and
speed (600
miles per hour
at an
estimated 5000
feet) than
that of any
plane seen in
Norfolk.
Photographers
have claimed
that despite
Billy having
an old camera,
he did a fine
job capturing
the flying
saucer. Billy
was
interviewed by
a Special
Agent
(unnamed) on
the 8th of
August
regarding this
occurrence
12:17
p.m. (PDT).
Idaho
Statesman
aviation
editor and
former (AAF)
B-29 pilot
Dave Johnson
flying in an
Idaho Air
National Guard
AT-6 saw a
black disc,
standing out
against the
clouds, make a
half-roll then
a stair-step
climb. Object
the size of a
25-cent coin
[at arm's
length?].
(Berliner,
Sparks,
Wilson)
July
10, 1947;
Harmon Field,
Newfoundland,
Canada (BBU)Shortly after 5:00 p.m. EST. Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Edward Lane were picking berries when they heard a kind of "puff" noise nearby. Looking up, they saw a ball of white, sparkling fire, like a 4th of July sparkler, about the size of a bushel basket, no more than a hundred feet away. It was hovering several feet above a stretch of sand. After about 10 or 15 seconds, the fiery object "went out," and the object vanished. The only thing remaining was a peculiar dark substance on the sand, and some metallic fragments. The report, from the Air Force files, is explained as a "Possible hoax." ( IV 2 ) Analysis does not, as such, constitute any proof of a hoax. On the contrary, it seems to confirm that something of an unusual nature did occur, although it does not seem on the face of it to be necessarily connected with UFOs. According to a letter from Lt. Colonel Barnett B. Young, dated August 18, 1947, the incident, while classified as a hoax, "was not initiated by the observer." (Bloecher Case 802, FBI docs) July 9, 1947, North Hollywood, California A report was received by the Los Angeles office of the FBI that a flying saucer had landed in the area around Redford and Magnolia Streets in North Hollywood. The saucer was described as approximately 30 inches in diameter, all metal, disc shaped and to have a radio antenna. It was also reported to have burst into flames upon landing. An unknown woman called and "excitedly" reported that the disc had had landed in her garden and began to flame. The woman phoned the fire department which took the disc to the fire station where it was held until it was transferred to "the office". The flying disc was examined and and unknown Major reported that the object was most definitely a hoax. (FBI docs, Lara Elliott) July
9, 1947; Grand
Falls,
Newfoundland
(BB)
11:30
p.m. Eric Kearsay, a Newfoundland Constable,
arrived home and was asked by his wife it he
saw the
"flying
saucers." Just
minutes
earlier, his
wife, his
mother-in-law,
and Mr. John Jackman saw four round shaped
objects flying
in an easterly
direction. Mr
Jackman
said that the
objects were
flying side by
side at a
terrific rate
of speed. As
Eric Kearsay
looked
skyward, he,
his wife and
Mr. Jackman
saw a round
object like a
huge jellyfish
with a
phosphorous
glow flash
across the sky
in a rocking
motion. The
direction of
this object
was not
stated. (Dan
Wilson)
Bet. 3
and 5 p.m. [or
5:30 p.m.
(ADT)]. Cat.
8. Three
ground
crewmen, A. R.
Leidy, J. N.
Mehrman, and
J. E.
Woodruff, of
Pan American
Airways,
briefly saw a
translucent
disc or
silvery
wheel-shaped
object the
size of a C-54
transport fly
very fast at
10,000 ft,
leaving a dark
bluish-black
trail, then
ascend and cut
a path through
the clouds.
Photo.
(Berliner;
FOIA)
July
10, 1947; Near
Ft. Sumner,
New Mexico
(BBU)
4:47 p.m.
Dr. Lincoln
LaPaz with
wife and 2
teenage
daughters were
driving W on
Hwy 60 when
they saw a
sharply
outlined,
white
ellipsoidal
seemingly
luminous 200
ft object (±40
ft,
major/minor
axis ratio
2.45) wobbling
in the
distance to
the W
[probably 272°
azimuth
initially]
about 25 miles
away (±5
miles;
distance from
triangulation
of the cloud
bank by
driving around
it by about
90° over 50
miles along
Hwy 84 and
weather data).
Object about
30 secs almost
motionless at
a low speed of
about 150 mph
(±30 mph) then
disappeared
behind a cloud
at 273°
azimuth
elevation 1°
but reappeared
5 secs later
further to the
right, or N,
and higher at
275° azimuth
2° elevation,
about 1 mile
distance
traveled thus
an average
speed of
roughly
600-900 mph
[peak velocity
about 1,400
mph at about
13 gs], but no
sound, no
trail. Object
continued to
slowly drift N
about 2 mins
[in level
flight] until
disappearing
in the cloud
bank [at about
287° azimuth].
2.5 mins.
(LIFE Incident
2; Hynek
astronomer
survey Aug.
1952; etc.)
July
10,
1947;
Morristown,
New Jersey
Cat 8.
Six daylight
discs observed
from aircraft.
2:45 am. An unknown woman (name blacked out in FBI files)
heard a noise in the back of her home and thought a collision had
occurred, so she went to investigate and found a disc 30-1/2" in
diameter, circular in shape and "dished like a saucer" in the back garden of the
home next door. On the surface of the disc a plastic cone was attached described
as about 14 inches in diameter and fixed on with 8 bolts "in a rather rough
manner". On the other surface another dome, described as metallic and gold and
silver in colour. Three tubes were observed going through the plastic dome,
these tubes resembling radio tubes with writing on them. The disc was 10 inches
thick and 14 inches thick where the domes are located. (FBI doc, Lara Elliott) According to details found in the Tulsa Daily World
newspaper of July 12th , four boys aged from 15 to 16 years spent two days
making the disc, which measured 30-1/2" across. The boys planted the disc in
Thompson's house garden at about 10 PM the previous night.(Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos). July 11, 1947; Elmendorf Air Base, Anchorage, Alaska
(BBU)
11:00 a.m. (AHST). AAF Col. Bruce H. Perry and Major William E. Geyser, 59th AACS Group, saw a round 2-3 ft or 10 ft aluminum or silver-metallic spherical object travel at great speed to the S at estimated altitude of 3,000 to 4,000 ft, below scattered clouds at 10,000 ft. (Sparks; Lara Elliott/NICAP website; FBI files; BB files; McDonald list; FOIA; Saunders/FUFOR Index) 15-20 secs 2 witnesses 1/2 Full Moon July 12, 1947; Sand Point Naval Air Station, Washington 6:35 p.m. Seaman John C. Kennedy, Seaman Ben Bobberly reported a disc-like object observed flying overhead headed east toward Kirkland over Lake Washington. Silvery, perfectly round and made no noise. Reported to officers on base. (Jan Aldrich, Bloecher Case #835) July 24, 1947; Squantum Naval Air Station, Massachussetts Morning. Joseph Muka, Seaman 2c, John Francis Nihen, aerographic. During routine weather check on the Operations Building a highly polished silver ball hurtled thru the air between about 8 to 10 thousand feet at a speed of 300 mph and raising in NW durecton. It was not a weather balloon. (Gross Supplement to Supplements, page 40-41 Quincy, (MA) Patriot-Ledger 24 July 1947, page 1). July 28, 1947; Bt. Mountain Home & Boise, Idaho 8:34 p.m. Crew of a Seattle-bound United Airlines Mainliner DC-3 reported disc-like object in the sky at estimated 9,010 feet as twin-engine liner was flying at 7,500 feet. CAA said no other planes in the area where pilot Givian said he saw the disc. (Newsclipping, Dan Wilson) July
29, 1947;
Canyon Ferry,
Montana
(Helena?)
(BBU)
12:05
p.m. Observer
Madden and two
others saw
hovering and
fluttering,
rising and
descending 3
ft gleaming
and shimmering
object heading
NE at 3,000 ft
height at
tremendous
speed.
(McDonald
list; FUFOR
Index)
July
29, 1947;
Hamilton
Field, Calif.
(BBU 69)
2:50 p.m.
(local).
Assistant Base
Operations
Officer Capt.
William H.
Ryherd and
ex-Air B-29
pilot 1st Lt.
Ward Stewart
saw for
unknown length
of time two
round, shiny,
white objects
with estimated
15-25 foot
diameters, fly
3-4 times the
apparent speed
of a P-80,
also in sight,
(or at 750
mph), at
6,000-10,000
ft heading S
or SE at 120°.
One object
flew straight
and level; the
other weaved
from
side-to-side
like an escort
fighter.
(Berliner;
FOIA; FUFOR
Index)
Bloecher:
By the end of July the sighting rate was about one per day and by August it was down to several per week. (Newspapers reported a few sightings in other countries as well.) Capt.
Edward J
Ruppelt:
"By the
end of July
(1947) The UFO
security lid
was down
tight. The few
members of the
press who did
inquire about
what the Air
Force was
doing got the
same treatment
that you would
get today if
you inquired
about the
number of
thermonuclear
weapons
stock-piled in
the U.S.
atomic
arsenal. . .
(At ATIC there
was) confusion
almost to the
point of
panic."
(Report on
Unidentified
Flying
Objects, p.39)
Michael
Swords:
As July
wore on into
August, (Lt.
Col. George
D.) Garrett,
(General)
Schulgen, and
(FBI's liaison
officer to the
AAF/AF) S.
Wesley
Reynolds
became
confused by a
lack of
interest and
pressure
emanating from
the high
echelons of
the Pentagon.
The previous
year they had
gone through
an
investigative
furor about a
subject that
they
considered to
be similar to
the flying
discs, when
hundreds of
ghost rocket
reports came
out of Sweden
and other
European
countries. In
1946, the top
brass had
exerted
continuous
pressure to
find an
answer, but
now it had
gone
completely
quiet. This
puzzling void
has been
termed the
silence from
topside. It
was very
peculiar to
Garrett and
the FBI. Their
mutual
suspicion was
that the very
highest
officials knew
what this
phenomenon was
already
(Swords,
1991).
The
following
pages are a
portion of
Colonel
Garrett's
Estimate
Report. This
is a rough
draft of the
report. The
finalized
version has
not been
located. Page
8 mentions
"lack of
topside
inquiries,
when compared
to the prompt
and demanding
inquiries that
have
originated
topside upon
former events,
give more than
ordinary
weight to the
possibility
that this is a
domestic
project, about
which the
President,
etc. know."
Page three
text is known
but the actual
doc page is
still being
sought.
August,
1947;
Media,
PA
Cat
11,
Boyce Case,
(M)
Sometime in August, 1947; Danforth, IL Labeled a hoax by Col. McCoy, this object found on Illinois farm was neither a crashed disc nor a portion of a Mogul balloon. Aug.
4,
1947; NW of
Bethel, Alaska
(BBU)
Sunset.
Pilot Capt.
Jack Peck and
copilot Vince
Daly flying a
DC-3 saw a
smooth
surfaced black
object larger
than a DC-3
with no
visible means
of propulsion
cross their
flight path at
500-1,000 ft
height. They
averted
collision,
then turned in
pursuit at 170
mph but the
object flew
out of sight
[to the NW at
about 500
mph].
[Additional
witness
Johnston??]
(FOIA; Project
1947; FUFOR
Index)
Aug.
4,
Everett 1947;
(or 10 miles
NW of Boston),
Mass. (BBU) Aug.
13, 1947; 40
miles SW of
Twin Falls [at
Salman Dam].
Idaho (BBU)4 p.m. Pan Am airliner pilot Powell and navigator White saw a bright orange or deep-gold colored cigarette-shaped (or elliptical) object 15 ft long 2-3 ft wide flying at 150 (or 175) mph at 7,000 ft to the E at about 110° magnetic. (Project 1947; McDonald list; FOIA; FUFOR Index) August 6, 1947; Myrtle Creek, Oregon
Approx. 6:15 pm. A pilot (whose name has been deleted from FBI files) was instructing a student in a take off. Just as the student was about to take off, the pilot noticed an object in the sky about 5,000 - 8,000 feet in the air. The sky was known to be completely clear and visibility for the pilot was excellent. He stated that the object "glistened" and appeared to be of "aluminium sheeting". As he noticed the strange object he immediately took over the controls, which at that time was at about 400 feet, and proceeded East in an attempt to continue to observe the object. The pilot advised that the object was climbing and travelling East at a high speed which he estimated as 1,000 miles per hour. He believed the object to be of a spherical shape and recalled a darker object to the right of it when he first saw it. No vapor trails or noise was observed from the object. After around 10 minutes of observing the object, the pilot made another landing and take off and in practically the same position at 400 feet both the pilot and the student observed the object just as they had seen it before. The pilot estimated the sphere to be about 30 feet in diameter and stated that the first time they saw the object, it was so close they could fly right into it. These sightings made were verified by the student, but the student estimated the sphere to be 50 feet in diameter. (FBI files, Lara Elliott) Aug. 6, 1947; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Bt. 10:30 -10:45 PM. An unknown woman was sitting on the steps outside her home when she spotted a white object pass in the sky at a very high rate of speed. The woman was facing N and the object was said to be travelling S. There was a buzzing sound coming from the object, it was not a loud buzzing sound but it was definitely audible. The object left a trail of thin smoke of a greyish color. The woman was said to have been talking to another individual when their conversation was stopped abruptly as the woman noticed the object and the woman appeared frightened. Another party of people who were outside their home but facing E, also saw an object. They claimed that the object was emitting a bluish-white flame. This group of people also stated that the object was travelling NE to SW. The object was approximately 1000-3000ft in the air and travelling at speeds of around 400-500 mph. No smoke or trail was left by this object according to this party but there was a faint hissing sound. Thirdly, another man and his wife spotted an object which the man thought resembled a “giant firecracker”. This object was said to have passed quickly in a S direction with no noise. The witnesses claimed the object did, however, leave a fiery trail for about 100 ft. The conditions of this night were said to be clear. (Lara Elliott, FBI UFO Docs, PDF 4 of 16, Pg. 22-24, 45+46, newspaper article) August 11, 1947; St. Louis, Missouri The witness was a veteran commercial pilot who later became an A&E mechanic with aviation inspection authorization. He was seeing some dark specks growing in the sky going South and North in vertical Vee formation with one on a point and the others stepped above and below in trail. The location of the sighting was the outskirts of St. Louis, during softball game.The objects were soon discerned as disc-shaped, nine in number, approaching at some 25,000 feet and doing about 1,000 mph in the cloudless, cobalt-blue heavens. At arm's length the discs appeared to be the size of grape. Dark on one side and light colored on the other, the objects flipped in unison every two seconds. Both teams and some 25 spectators watched with great interest. The ballplayers were an excellent collection of witnesses with one team consisting entirely of aircraft ground instructors and the other team made up of pilot and aircraft mechanic students. 230. (UFOs: A History 1947, Loren Gross) August 12,1947; Seattle, Washington 2:20 PM. Mr Bruce Armstrong, along with a number of other engineers at Boeing Aircraft, spotted an object, said to have sounds like a fluttering leaf. The object was black or dark blue in color and was travelling at around 15 mph. No distance was determined between the object and Armstrong. (Lara Elliott, Newspaper article:, posted on the 13th August) in the Seattle Post Intelligencer titled “Blue Triangle Latest Thing Seen In Disks”; FBI UFO Docs, PDF 4 of 16, Page 6+7,48 [linked above]} Approx. 9 a.m. A Mr. Sid Decker claims to have seen two very bright
objects, travelling at extreme speed. These objects were sighted just outside
the city post office. Decker describes the objects as having no wings, no tail,
and that both ends were tapered. He also described the objects as looking like a
"belly tank". The objects were said to have been completely noiseless and they
were headed in a NE direction. Decker described one object to have been a bit
behind and a little above the other object. The two objects were travelling at
equal rates of speed for about 8 seconds after which they disappeared from
sight. Mr. L. R. Brummett was the original witness of these two objects. He
noticed the objects and informed Decker. Brummett described the objects to be
flying at a 45 degree angle also in a NE direction. He claimed that they were
travelling 3 times faster that a plane. He also described the objects to have no
wings, no tail, to be tapered at both ends and to look like aluminium. (Lara Elliott, FBI UFO
Docs, PDF 4 of 16, Page 29+30)
9:30 a.m.
County
Commissioner
L. W. Hawkins
and Mr. Brown
while fishing
saw 2
disc-shaped
objects 6 ft
diameter
reflecting
light and
making the
echo of a
motor, at
4,000-6,000 ft
flying at high
speed.
(McDonald
list; FOIA;
FUFOR Index)
1:00
p.m. Snake
River 6 miles
W of Blue Lake
Ranch, 9 miles
NW of Twin
Falls,
Idaho.
A. C. Urie on
land and 2
sons Billy and
Keith 300 ft
away in a
boat, all on
the S side of
the river or
river bank
looking to the
N, saw a
squeezed or
elongated
straw-hat
shaped
sky-blue
object about
10 x 10 x 20
feet, with
pods on the
side emitting
flames, about
1/2 mile away
fly towards
them down the
canyon at
1,000 mph E-W
at 75 ft
height, with a
contour
following
motion up and
down over
uneven
terrain, trees
swaying
underneath
with a
circular
motion,
disappearing
with a swish
sound. Urie
was about 300
ft from the
object which
was about
level with him
about 75 ft
above the
river, and
silhouetted
against the
canyon wall
1,200 ft away,
disappearing
behind a hill
about 1 mile
away. Object
was at about
45° elevation
to the boys on
the river
below him,
disappearing
behind trees.
5-secs?
(Battelle
Unknown No. 9)
Aug. 14, 1947; Harmon Field, Newfoundland, Canada (BBU) 10:40
a.m. 3 AAF
airmen with
the 147th AACS
Sq. saw 2
small
crescent-shaped
objects pass
over them on a
zigzag path at
2x jet speed
[1,200 mph?]
heading W at
about 1,200 ft
disappearing
into clouds, a
few secs later
a same or
similar object
emerged from
the clouds and
continued to
the W. (FOIA)
Aug.
14, 1947; 5
miles S of
Placerville,
Calif. (BBU)
4 p.m.
Insurance
adjuster
Switzer saw a
metallic
highly-polished
chromium
surface object
4-6 ft wide
10-14 inches
thick, rounded
slightly on
top larger in
the front,
leaving a
white trail,
at 500-1,000
ft height
traveling at
high speed.
(McDonald
list; FOIA;
FUFOR Index)
Aug. 14, 1947; Friuli, Italy Time not given. Professor R. L. Johannis was on a rock-hunting expedition in the mountains in the extreme NW part of Italy. He emerged from a stand of trees & saw, on a rocky riverbank, a large red object that seemed to be shaped like a lens. The witness & the creatures approached one another, but when they were a few paces apart, they stopped. Witness felt paralyzed. Two creatures, about 3 feet tall, heads larger than normal human. No hair. Tight-fitting brown caps. Noses straight & long. Eyes large, protuberant, & round; yellow-green in color with a vertical pupil like a cat. Hands had 8 fingers & seemed to be opposed. Randle/Estes reliability rating: 6 August 19, 1947; Wtin Falls Witnesses first spotted a single disc zooming in a NE direction followed a short time afterward by flight of 10 disclike objects in triangle formation. Within minutes a trio of discs, also in triangle formation, came into sight on the same course. Almost before witnesses could catch their breath, another triangle formation, this time consisting of 5-6 objects traced a path across the heavens going in an identical direction as their fellow sky travelers. On the heels of this manifestation, one of largest flights of UFOs ever reported soared overhead, 35-50 in number, lined up in triangle formation. This group also proceeded NE. Within a half an hour small groups of discs came over the horizon at short intervals returning from the NE and fleeing in SW direction. (UFOs A History pg. 62 [243]). Aug.
15-20
(approx.),
1947; Rapid
City Air Base
[Weaver?],
South Dakota
(BBU)
Major
Hammer sitting
in the parking
lot near the
flight line
shortly after
dark saw to
the NW about
12 elliptical
objects about
the span of a
B-29 (140 ft)
with a
yellow-white
luminous glow
in a tight
diamond
formation,
approaching in
a shallow
descent, level
off at about
5,000 ft
altitude
[height?] at
300-400 mph,
make a gentle
110° turn to
its right
about 4 miles
away climbing
to the SW,
accelerating
rapidly. No
sound or
trail. 1 min?
(FOIA; FUFOR
Index)
Aug. 18, 1947; Near Mountain Home, Idaho (BBU)August 15, 1947 12 p.m.
United
Airlines
Flight 147
pilot and
copilot saw 2
"skeet target"
shaped objects
flying under
the plane.
(Project 1947)
August 19,
1947:
FBI memo to
D.W. Ladd from
E.G. Fitch
mentioning SAC
Reynolds
conversation
with Lt. Col.
George
Garrett, re:
"there were
objects seen
which somebody
in the
Government
knows all
about."
Aug.
19, 1947; Twin
Falls, Idaho
(BBU)
9:30 p.m. Housing Authority Executive Director Hedstrom saw 55 [?] [luminous?] objects in horizontal flight looking like electric lights headed NE at tremendous speed. (McDonald list; FOIA; FUFOR Index) Aug. 28, 1947; Fukuoka, Japan Time not given. MEW Radar Station. A target was picked up in orbit at a range of 26-30 nautical miles on a bearing of.20 to 30 degrees. Target then took a heading of 023 degrees and vvas tracked to a range of 54 nautical miles where it faded.The target was in a climb on this outbound course and the weather at the time was such that the climb would have to be made on instruments. Speed: 390-415 knots; altitude: 1500 feet. (Item "b" from SECRET letter, Fran Ridge, Jan Aldrich) Late
Aug. 1947?;
Alamogordo
[Holloman]
Army Air
Field, New
Mexico.
AMC
Watson Labs
Project MOGUL
engineer
Rosmovski and
communications
officer Lt. H.
G. Markley
tracked a
stationary
target at 200
miles altitude
using a
modified CPS-4
radar aimed at
70° elevation.
(FOIA; Loren
Gross Aug-Dec
1947 SUPP p.
28)
Late
Aug.
1947;
Alamogordo
[Holloman]
Army Air
Field, New
Mexico (BBU
83)
AMC Watson Labs Project MOGUL communications officer Lt. H. G. Markley while watching 2 balloons with radar reflector to the SE in 10x binoculars saw traveling at "unprecedented rate of speed" a round white object in horizontal light S to N several thousand feet over the tops of Sacramento Mtns. [Case falsely explained by AF as false radar targets when no radar observation was involved.] (FOIA; Mary Castner/CUFOS; Loren Gross Aug-Dec 1947 SUPP p. 28; July-Dec 1949 orig Sept. 3,
1947; Lake
Oswego,
Oregon. (BBU
85)
12:15
p.m. (PDT).
Housewife Mrs.
Raymond Dupui
saw 12-15
round, silver
objects fly an
unstated
pattern for
unknown length
of time.
(Berliner;
FOIA)
Sept.
8, 1947; Logan
[Salt Lake
City?], Utah
(BBU)
10:30 or
11 p.m
Anderson and
Hall saw 5
groups of a
total of 12
[?] white or
yellowish
objects
traveling at
high speed to
the N at
2,0003,000 ft
height, faster
than birds,
size of
pigeons [?]
(Battelle/BBSR14
?; Mary
Castner/CUFOS;
FUFOR Index; FBI files, Lara Elliott) Sept. 13, [11? 12?], 1947; Midway Island to Oahu,
Hawaii, past
Necker Island
(BBU)6:58 p.m.
Pan Am
airliner crew
[military air
flight?] saw a
bright light
with no blue
or red tinge
split in 2
move towards
the plane then
disappear
[first heading
350° then 109°
at
9,50010,000
ft traveling
at 1,000 knots
or about 1,200
mph].
[Possible
meteor?]
(McDonald
list; Project
1947; FOIA;
FUFOR Index;
Mary
Castner/CUFOS) Sept. 16, 1947; Fukuoka, Japan Time not given. MEW radar station. A target was picked up at a range of 89 miles on a bearing of 040 degrees (Point C). Target was tracked on an incoming course to a range of 19 miles and a bearing of 045 degrees at which point it faded out. The nearest known operational U.S.S.R. air bases are on the east coast of Korea at 39° 10' North Latitude and 127 degrees 29' East Longitude and Haeju on west coast of Korea at 38° 02' North Latitude and 125 degrees East Longtude. The range to these oases from Fukuoka is 360 nautical miles. Genzan is classified as having permanent runways of 4500-6000 foot length, and was highly operational by the Japanese. Haeju has one runway of approximtely 4000 foot length, probably surfaced. It is therefore reasonable, to assume that the U.S.S.R. is utilizing the facilities at these bases to the utmost, since the location is strategically between Vladivostok to the north and the U.S. occupied areas of Korea to the south. A recent report from the U.S. XXIV Corps, evaluated F-3, states "a new type aircraft on Haeju airstrip North Korea. "'This aircraft emitted black smoke on take-off, but was not identified as jet propelled." Speed: 840 - 900 mph (730-780 knots); altitude: 10,000 - 20,000 feet. (Item "c." from SECRET AAF letter, Fran Ridge, Jan Aldrich. Sept.
17, 1947; Ft.
Richardson,
Alaska (BBU)
Two Army
officers saw a
2-3 ft silver
sphere
traveling S at
tremendous
speed below
the 10,000 ft
cloud cover.]
(McDonald
list; Mary
Castner/CUFOS) [Now resolved as a mistake, a duplicate of the July
11, 1947, case].
Sept. 17, 1947; Rix Ledges north of Lebanon,
New Hampshire
On this date, an unknown individual reportedly observed a flying saucer. This occurred as he/she was half way up Rix Ledges. The individual claims to have seen the flying saucer while watching the honey bees. The witness describes the saucer to be "as large as a tennis ball" and "as white as cotton batting". The object approached rapidly and noiselessly from the East and was followed by another object closely. The second object appeared in the size and shape of a saucer and maintained a constant angle of inclination to the ball and followed it at a constant distance. The two objects made an angle of about 5 degrees to the individuals eye. The objects were in their sight for more than a minute until vision was lost in the glare of the sun. (FBI document) Sept. 20, 1947; off the coast of San Diego, California The Coast Guard were told that a flaming object had fallen into the sea off that coast, but no check of airports revealed any missing liner or plane, and the Observatory at Griffith Park did not think it was any sort of meteor. Further inquiry elicited the fact that the object maneuvered, and for some time. (Carl Feindt) On
September 23,
1947, the
chief of the
Air Technical
Intelligence
Center, one of
the Air
Force's most
highly
specialized
intelligence
units, sent a
letter to the
Commanding
General of the
then Army Air
Forces. The
letter was in
answer to the
Commanding
General's
verbal request
to make a
preliminary
study of the
reports of
unidentified
flying
objects. The
letter said
that after a
preliminary
study of UFO
reports, ATIC
concluded
that, to quote
from the
letter, "the
reported
phenomena were
real." The
letter
strongly urged
that a
permanent
project be
established at
ATIC to
investigate
and analyze
future UFO
reports. It
requested a
priority for
the project, a
registered
code name, and
an over-all
security
classification.
ATIC's request
was granted
and Project
Sign, the
forerunner of
Project Grudge
and Project
Blue Book, was
launched. It
was given a 2A
priority, A
being the
highest
priority an
Air Force
project could
have.
(Ruppelt)
An
interesting
3-page SECRET
letter from HQ
AAF 26 Sept
1947 regarding
three radar
incidents
lsted on this
chrono..
Oct., 1947; Dodgeville, Wisc. (BBU 91) 11:00 p.m. A civilian observed a "saucer" moving slowly to the south at an altitude of about 2 miles. All at once the object in a sudden burst of speed (faster than a plane) circled from right to left in a huge circle. Observation lasted about one hour. (Berliner, Dan Wilson) Oct.
8/9, 1947; Las
Vegas, Nevada
(BBU)
[AAF
reserve Capt.
Moore saw an
object
traveling at
700 mph leave
an almost
white
smoke/vapor
trail and
change
direction from
SE to W.]
(McDonald
list; FOIA;
FUFOR Index)
Oct. 12, 1947. Guadalupe, Mexico (BBU) 9:30 a.m. (CST). Numerous witnesses saw a cigar-shaped, blue and silver color fireball trailing blue flame heading E to W plunge to earth resembling an errant V-2 rocket and appearing to head for impact in the Zamalayuca Mtns. with a billow of smoke and loud explosion. Mexican Army reserve Capt. Aranda saw the fireball from the Hernandez Torres filling station near Caseta and saw it disappear over the sandhills near Colonia Reforma. No meteorites or other remains found in searches. (Sparks; Loren Gross, Jul-Dec 1947 p. 38; 1947 pp. 69-71; SUPP Aug-Dec 1947 pp. 44-45; Mary Castner/CUFOS; Saunders/FUFOR index) Oct.
14 [12?],
1947; 11 miles
NNE of Cave
Creek, Ariz.
(BBU 95)
12 noon
(MDT). Ex-AAF
fighter pilot
J. L. Clark,
civilian pilot
Anderson,
third man saw
3-foot "flying
wing," black
against the
white clouds
and red
against the
blue sky,
flying
straight at an
estimated 380
m.p.h., at
8,000-10,000
ft, from NW to
SE. 45-60
secs.
(Berliner)
Oct.
20, 1947;
Xenia, Ohio
(BBU)
11 a.m.
Atkinson saw a
round 1 ft
object at
1,500 ft
heading SW on
a straight
course.
(McDonald
list; FOIA;
Mary
Castner/CUFOS)
Oct.
20, 1947;
Dayton, Ohio
(BBU)
1:20 p.m.
Farmer Britton
saw 2
cigar-shaped
objects
reflecting
brilliant
sunlight
traveling W to
E on a
straight
course at high
speed about 1
mile height in
trail
formation
about a city
block apart
emitting a
slight vapor
trail,
disappearing
suddenly.
(McDonald
list; FOIA;
Mary
Castner/CUFOS)
Nov.
2, 1947;
Houston, Texas
(BBU)
Nov. 12, 1947;
40 miles N
[S?] of Cape
Blanco,
Oregon, 20
miles off
coast (BBU)
Daybreak. Immigration Service [agent?] Brimberry saw an almost round or oval or saucer-shaped object with bright light [?] about 100 ft [?] diameter spinning in its descent. (McDonald list; FOIA; FUFOR Index) Nov. 3 (or 4), 1947; Vaughn (near), New Mexico Approx
8:00 pm.
Basketball-Sized
object
explodes near
colonel.
Nov. 5, 1947; Persian Gulf Crewmen aboard the oil tanker Chipola were said to have sighted eight saucer-shaped objects whizzing through the air a mere half mile away while the vessel made its way through the warm waters off Arabia. As the sailors watched, the objects in question climbed out of sight gaining height while in an echelon formation. (UFOs A History 1947; 284. 75) Early
morning. USS
Ticonderoga
USN 2nd
Officer
Williamson saw
2 balls of
fire with a
fiery trail
headed NW at
700-900 mph.
[Probable
meteors.]
(McDonald
list; FOIA;
FUFOR Index)
Nov. 15,
1947; Wichita,
Kansas (BBU
2224)
7:02 a.m.
USAF Maj. R.
L. Wallander,
Capt.
Belleman, A/3c
Phipps saw an
orange object
(a blue
streak?)
varied in
shape, as it
made jerky
upward sweeps
with 10-15 sec
pauses. 3-5
mins.
(Berliner)
Nov. 15,
1947; Wichita,
Texas (BBU)
8:25 p.m.
USAF B47 crew
and passengers
saw an
elliptical
blue-white
object with
orange or red
tail, moving
erratically.
(BB Status
Rpt?) [Same
case as
above??]
Dec. 8, 1947; Las Vegas, Nevada Moving
reddish UFO
emitted flash
of light, shot
upwards out of
sight.
[XII]
Dec.
30, 1947; 1
mile W of
Pilot Hill,
Calif. (BBU)
7:25 p.m. (PST). Crew of McClellan Field C-47 saw a high speed low altitude object trailing red, green and other colored flames headed E over hills. At 7:37 another C-47 crew sent to investigate found the triangular fire area with 2 points emitting bright blue-green flames at the position reported by the first crew. At 7:58 the first C-47 crew found this growing ground fire about 7 miles E of Pilot Hill, going out at 9:55 p.m. If flight path data was reversed to E to W this might be the "Green Dragon" Fireball, a possible precursor to the Green Fireballs. (Sparks; Jan Aldrich FOIA; BB files) Dec. 30, 1947; Sawtooth Nat. Forest, Idaho (BBU) 7:26 p.m. (PST). Pilot AF Lt. Col. W. W. Jones, and copilot Major A. A. Andrae, both of the Air Transport Command (Eastern Pacific Wing, Pacific Division) flying a C-54 from Great Falls to Fairfield-Suisun Field at 13,000 ft saw a high speed object trailing green and blue flames descending vertically at their 2:30 o'clock position, but slowing just above the ground. Possibly the "Green Dragon" Fireball, a possible precursor to the Green Fireballs. (Sparks; Jan Aldrich FOIA; BB files) 2 secs Reference:
1.
Report on the
UFO Wave of
1947, Ted
Bloecher
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