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The Trent, McMinnville, Oregon photos, May 11, 1950 - courtesy
Bruce Maccabee Created
December 22, 2005, updated 5 Dec 2018
This is a 34-page report on an on-going
project involving a number of people. I
want to thank all the members of the A-Team who made this
possible. This was a very important year in
UFOlogy. Some of the best photographic
evidence was obtained that year: April 23, Red
Bud, Illinois; April 27, White Sands, New
Mexico (Cinetheodolite film taken by camera
tracking station); May 11, McMinnville, Oregon
(Trent photos); May 24, White Sands
(Cinetheodolite films); June 27,
Louisville, Kentucky (Hixenbaugh movie film);
August 15, Great Falls, Montana (Mariana color
film); August 31, Alamogordo, New Mexico
(Project TWINKLE film). Even more important is
the fact that the April 27 White Sands
tracking was a successful
triangulation!!! Then there were all the
sightings and radar-jamming and radiation
incidents at Oak
Ridge (in particular, Oct 29 &
30th). The Oak Ridge story included the FBI
being put on "immediate
high alert". Last, but
certainly not least, we have to thank Loren
Gross for thoughtfully and diligently
collecting data many years ago for his UFO
Histories and supplemental notes, in
particular here the year 1950. And a big
thanks to CUFOS and Mary Castnor for housing
them on the CUFOS site.
Francis RidgeUFO_History_Gross/1950_04_07_History.pdf
UFO_History_Gross/1950_08_12_History.pdf UFO_History_Gross/1950_08_12_HistorySN.pdf NICAP Site Coordinator: Note: There are 209 entries in the 38-page La Paz catalog, the " Summary of Sightings of Unknown Phenomena, 17th District OSI" But in the 1950 group there were 50 sightings and the ones listed here are the reports with some important details to make them extraordinary. The catalog ended with entry 209, which was for May 1, 1950. Also, brief case descriptions giving the Cat (Category) number, name of witness, and source in brackets (M=military), are NICAP UFO Evidence entries where cases haven't been located.
True magazine article "Flying Saucers Are Real,"
by Maj. Donald E. Keyhoe, suggested UFOs are of
extraterrestrial origin.
Jan. 6, 1950; Near Howard, Kansas (BBU) 2:10 pm CST. Gray and 2 other USAF crew of C-47
transport saw a 30-60 ft silver football-shaped
object flying in straight level flight. (Project
1947; FUFOR Index)
Jan. 6, 1950
A new wave of
Frank Scully-type hoax stories begin to
circulate widely through the media nationwide,
including TIME and Newsweek magazines (stories
of the AF meeting live aliens, recovering
crashed saucers, bodies of little green
men). Apparently the new stories were
inspired by AFOSI (AF Office of Special
Investigations) as a disinformation operation to
discredit the Roswell incident in advance, in
case Roswell should leak. The AF was
fearful that retired Navy-Marine officer-pilot
and investigative reporter Maj. Donald Keyhoe,
after his blockbuster TRUE article, was hot on
the trail of uncovering Roswell, though he was
not (the AF had no way of knowing that). AF
viewed this as a Navy attack on the AF,
exploiting inter-service rivalry and using dirty
tricks, and expected more to come (Brad Sparks)
Jan. 7,
1950; S of Corona, New Mexico (BBU)
10:15 p.m. Holloman AFB Asst. Maintenance
Officer Risley while driving saw a
yellowish-white ball of light at about 45°
elevation descending at a 60° angle, changing
color to orange with trailing flame, to just
above a mountain range where it leveled off
becoming bright blue-green traveling 10° E [?]
until it dropped behind the mountain. (FOIA;
FUFOR Index)
Jan. 10, 1950; Las Vegas AFB, NV 10:10 a.m. Civilian pilots, father and son, observed 2 F-80 jet fighters approaching for landing at elevation angle of about 45° into the sun [in the SE at about 21° elevation 141° azimuth] and saw an object at an altitude of approximately 1500-2000 feet, about 25-30 ft in size. Object appeared "pure silver," round "like a balloon" (AFOSI found no balloons launched) and solid material like "a metal," with no external fittings, air ducts, antenna, supports, or exhaust trail, seeming no noise audible above that of an F-80. Direction of flight [heading?] was NNE with no tactical movement, or maneuver, motion was smooth, at first slow and then a very rapid acceleration in a horizontal ascent, disappearing over mountains to the E. (Sparks; BB AFOSI files; NICAP website) 25 secs 2 witnesses 1 Full Moon ? AF Directorate
of Intelligence (AFOIN) quietly cancels
the special intelligence collection
directives to various government agencies
for reporting UFO (flying disc/flying
saucer) incidents, though routine
intelligence channels still require UFO
reporting. Cancellation is a follow
up up to the widely announced closure of
"Project Saucer" (classified codename
GRUDGE) at AMC (Air Materiel Command),
Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio, on
Dec. 27, 1949, which had been designed to
blunt the impact of Keyhoe's just-released
bombshell article in TRUE claiming saucers
were extraterrestrial. AFOIN
Director, Gen. Charles P. Cabell, believed
that in fact AMC was taking its UFO
project underground by announcing the
closure. Months later Cabell
discovers that AMC Intelligence Dept under
Col. Harold Watson was not running a
secret UFO investigation, and Cabell is
forced to make up for AMC's negligence by
conducting his own UFO investigations via
his AF Intelligence staff.
(Brad Sparks) 7:00-7:05 and 9:00 p.m. (MST). Airman John M. Gusich, 3024th Air Police Sq, file clerk in Air Provost Marshal's office, Holloman AFB, sighted bright white light similar to Venus, with erratically changing color to green and red, erratic left- right, up-down small motions, at about 10° to 15° above horizon in the N, at azimuth 353° to 355° moving level to the W. Sighted again briefly at 9:00 p.m. and had moved W to about 325° azimuth. Extremely cloudy in the W, S and E, clear only in the N, hence could not be Venus setting in the WSW, azimuth 252° elevation 5° (at 7:00 p.m.), setting at about 7:27 p.m. and well below horizon and totally invisible at 9 p.m. Similar sighting of star-like light in the N by Gusich next morning disappeared at 6:05 a.m. due to approaching sunrise was probably star Capella at azimuth 325° (about NW to NNW) elevation 3°. (Sparks) Jan. 12, 1950; Gulf of Mexico (BBU) At 11:25 p.m. EST, a B-29 aircraft was flying over the Gulf on a course of 260 degrees when three objects were noted on the radar scope orbiting the B-29 from all quadrants. The objects were noticed by the Radar Operator, Aircraft Commander, Navigator, and Bombardier. One object was first sighted on a bearing of 330 degrees traveling south. The objects travelled across the scope in approximately 15 to 20 seconds on the 100 mile range setting. In a few minutes this object was joined by two others, which disappeared in a few minutes. At short ranges the object was large and well defined on the radar scope. The object would go off for about 100 miles, turn and come in as if for an attack, pass through the center of the scope and emerge on the other side. The estimated speed of the object was between 2,500 to 3,000 mph. The one object remained on the radar scope for approximately 30 minutes, following the B-29 all the time. The radar operator switched ranges on the scope and picked up the object on the 20 and 50 mile settings. Twice the object came to within 20 miles of the aircraft and then apparently had the ability to hover, for the movement on the radar scope would cease for 5 to 15 seconds. After altering course the object no longer appeared, but the radar was jammed for approximately 10 minutes. (Dan Wilson) Jan.
13, 1950; Holloman AFB, New Mexico, OSI
Case 166
Jan. 14, 1950; Oak Ridge, TNSounds much like a star but the OSI
report stated, "Observable celestial
phenomena or planets that may account for
the sighting: None."
4:45 PM. Fairchild plant workers at the
nuclear research facilities watched a
brilliant fiery ball of light hover over
restricted military airspace for about two
minutes. (Source: Loren E. Gross, UFOs: A
History. 1951, p. 3).
Jan. 18, 1950; Denver, Colo. (BBU) 6:19 p.m. USAF pilots of T-6 saw a round
reddish-white object tapered aft flying at
15,000 ft. (Project 1947)
Jan. 18, 1950; Denver, Colorado (BBU) At around 1859 hours (6:59 p.m. CST) Lt. A. P. Webb and six other pilots in four aircraft saw a similar flame or light moving at a high rate of speed at times varying slightly. All the observers described the flame or light in similar terms and gave its course generally as southwesterly. (Dan Wilson) Jan.
22, 1950; Near Kodiak NAS, Alaska. (BBU)
2:40-4:40 a.m. USN P2V3 patrol plane pilot Lt. Smith and radar officer A. L. C. Gaskey briefly detected a radar target 20 miles N, then another target S of Kodiak at 2:48 a.m., possibly the same target traveling 225 mph in between. Smith radioed Kodiak NAS to look for other air traffic but none was reported. Gaskey then noticed strong radar interference preventing him from tracking the target. At 3 a.m. watch officers Morgan and Carver on the USS Tillamook S of Kodiak island saw a maneuvering red exhaust-like or orange ball of fire circle the Kodiak area in 30 secs clockwise beginning and ending in the SE. At 4:40 a.m., P2V3 radar picked up fast moving target at 5 miles which closed that distance in 10 secs (1,800 mph) to dead ahead position, where it was seen as "two orange lights rotating about a common center like two jet aircraft making slow rolls in tight formation." Smith tried to pursue but object came at him in a "highly threatening gesture." Smith turned off all aircraft lights to reduce visibility, object flew off to the SE disappearing in 4 mins. (Project 1947; BB files??) Jan.
24,
1950; Near Blackstone, Virginia (BBU)
4:50-5:05 p.m. (EST). 3 Pentagon officials, 2 USAF combat flying officers, pilot Capt. G. B. Edwards and copilot Capt. Theron C. Fehrevach flying C-45 transport plane heading 26° at 5,000 ft, saw a dark 200-250 ft diameter hemispherical parachute-shaped or B-35 flying wing shaped object at about 20° azimuth at about 7,000 ft about 5-10 miles away with a large black smoke region below it almost looking like a large suspended black object about 3x the object's diameter, possibly obscuring a lower portion of a sphere instead of the object being just an upper hemisphere. UFO was darker than the 50% cloud cover and “easy to distinguish as not being cloud.” Object moved smoothly horizontally to the right to about 32° azimuth at about 300+ mph then back again without any noticeable turn radius. Edwards put the C-45 into a climb to 7,000 ft so they would be on the same height level as the UFO and turned left slightly to 20° to head directly toward it. Army Courier Service passenger 1st Lt. John H. Van Santen was alerted by Fehrevach and now also saw the object move right then left by 12° again, then they all saw the object recede at high speed radically away and disappear [at possibly 6,000 mph to reduce angular size below visual resolution by increasing distance at least 200 miles in <2 mins at about 4:55 p.m.]. About 1-1/2 mins later object reappeared about 30°-45° to the right of their heading at the same level but at greater distance, stationary in position, then oscillating or “wiggling” about that position horizontally right-left about 1-1.5x object’s width. Object moved horizontally to dead ahead again and disappeared by receding in the distance at high speed. (Jan Aldrich) Jan. 31, 1950
President Truman announces his
approval of the H-bomb project.
This was widely seen as a "crash
program" and the number one super
secret weapon to counter the surprise
Soviet atomic bomb of Aug. 1949 which
had caught Western intelligence off
guard by coming many years sooner than
predicted. Later in 1950 it would be
widely thought that flying saucers
trumped even the A-bomb and
H-bomb. (Brad Sparks)
Jan. 31, 1950; N of Aleutian Islands,
Alaska (BBU)
6:55 p.m. USAF pilot saw 3 ft red and
white elliptical object flying E.
(Project 1947)
Feb. 2, 1950; Davis-Monthan AFB,
Tucson, Ariz. (BBU)
USAF bomber pilot saw object trailing
smoke. (Weinstein; BB files??)
Feb.
5, 1950; Teaticket, Mass. (BBU)
5:10 p.m. Marvin Odom, former U.S.
Navy fighter pilot, USAF Lt. Philip
Foushee, pilot from Otis AFB, and 2
others saw 2 thin, illuminated
cylinders, one dropped a fireball,
both maneuvered together then
disappeared high and fast. (Berliner)
5 mins
11:45 p.m. USAF crew of B-29 bomber
saw 300 ft long 30 ft wide
rocket-shaped object flying at 2,000+
mph. [Eastern Airlines??] (Project
1947; FUFOR Index) multiple?
Feb 18, 1950, Holloman AFB, NM 0610-0640. Driving north from Holloman AFB, MSTMajor William J. Maynor, M/SGT Raymond F Gotainger, M/SGT William R. Royal Observed in a break in the clouds an object the size of a coffee cup at arm's length which appeared to be a very bright light and as the sum arose occasionally reflected the light of the sun from the lower half of the object. It diminished to such a degree that it was no longer visible after its movement of about 10 degrees. The AF suggested Vega, but a balloon at high altitude is a better suggestion. (Maxwell PBB roll 7, frames 1212-1215.) Feb. 22, 1950
TRUE
publishes a follow up article by an
active duty Navy officer Cdr. Robert
McLaughlin claiming in the March
1950 issue that scientists at White
Sands Proving Ground had tracked a
UFO at escape velocity (the 18,000
mph speed was actually orbital
velocity and was merely assumed, not
tracked or measured by Charles B.
Moore, in the Apr. 24, 1949,
incident). McLaughlin states
he believes UFO's are
extraterrestrial. AF views
this as another Navy attack on the
Air Force. (Brad Sparks)
Feb. 22, 1950; Key West, Fla. Navy pilots, others, saw glowing UFO, confirmed by radar. [IV] Feb.
24, 1950; Albuquerque, New Mexico
(BBU 642)
1:55 p.m. While tracking a weather balloon from atop TWA Bld. at the Municipal Airport, 1.5 mins (theod). Weather Observer Luther B. McDonald saw crossing the field of view in the theodolite a white, round object not quite as elongated as an egg, darkened on the top-left side, flying straight and level from about 20° to 23° elevation at about 110° azimuth in the E apparently on a trajectory towards them on about a 240° to 270° heading, covering 2° in 1-1/2 mins [probable round-off in angles so that elevation may have changed from about 20.5° to 22.5° and azimuth from about 109° to 111°]. Object’s angular size about that of the upper part of the moon as seen through theodolite [probable 21x telescope sight of David White pibal theodolite]. Lost sight when shifted to weather balloon (and back). Weather Observer Harrison S. Manson also observed object with the naked eye, for about 20-30 secs, (unaided) appearing to be brilliant white like metal reflecting sunlight the apparent size of a weather balloon about to disappear in the distance, impression of flight heading to ESE [actually from ESE]. (Berliner; Jan Aldrich) Feb.
24, 1950; Datil, New Mexico (BBU)
7:30 p.m. (MST). Stanfield and other Holloman AFB Photographic Branch project staff for tracking aerial phenomena at the Datil observation post saw and photographed a circular luminous object 15.31 arcmins (0.2552°) in diameter with a 3.785° long trail, using 1-5 Cineflex camera with 3-inch focal length lens. (Sparks; FUFOR Index) observation post photo. Feb. 25, 1950. Datil, New Mexico 2-2:30 a.m. White round light reappeared in the same position in the sky from 4 hours earlier, changing to red and green, moving slightly towards the NW, then disappeared behind mountain. Angular velocity 0.5°/.min [in azimuth?] calculated by LaPaz. Note this is 2nd sighting of the same night by this Holloman AFB UFO observation post. (Sparks; BB NARA Microfilm Roll 91, pp. 465-6; Maxwell Microfilm Roll 7 pp. 1226-52) 30 min, observation post photo. Feb.
25, 1950; Los Alamos, New Mexico
(BBU 645)
3:55 p.m. 12 AEC Atomic
Energy Security Service (AESS)
inspectors saw a cylinder with
tapered ends, silver and
flashing, fly slow then fast,
flutter and oscillate, change
course. (Berliner) 3 secs to 2
mins
Feb. 27, 1950; Counterville, Illinois (BBU) 7 a.m. Pilot and
aircraft mechanic Richard
Lemmon was flying [SE] from
Wood River to Du Quoin,
Illinois, in a PT-19 light
training aircraft with his
wife, at 2,000 ft when he
noticed an object near
Coulterville, and he alerted
Mrs. Lemmon who then saw the
object. He climbed to
5,000 feet at 140-150 mph
where he appeared to be at the
same level with the object,
reaching as close as 1/2 mile
away. Object was in the
shape of a discus about 60
feet in diameter, 10 feet
thick in the middle and
thinner at the edges, with a
high metallic shine.
Lemmon flew above, below and
to side of object to be sure
it was real and no reflection
or illusion. No markings
or breaks in the metal for
windows or rotors, etc., but
had impression of "cuts of a
piece of a pie." No
flames, smoke or vapor
trails. Object was
highly maneuverable and made
several turns, right and left,
up and down. Object
tilted in the direction of
motion with no distinguishable
front or rear. No
visible means of
propulsion. Lemmon
tried to buzz people on the
ground to look up at the
object. Object
picked up speed to disappear
at "great speed" [near
Pinckneyville/ Du
Quoin?]. (Sparks;
BB files; Project 1947
website; NICAP
website; UP, Du Quoin,
Ill., March 14, 1950;
Loren Gross Jan-March 1950,
pp. 26, 93) 15
mins 2 witnesses 2
Full Moons
"How
Scientists
Tracked a Flying Saucer," by
Cmdr. R. B. McLaughlin, USN,
reported April 24, 1949 White
Sands sighting. [I]
March
1,
1950; Knoxville, TN
11:05 p.m. USAF 1st Lt. Frank
Mattson saw an intense, dull
yellowish light descend
vertically, then fly straight
and level at high speed.
(Berliner) 4 minsWitness not considered reliable. Incident involved the use of an Army surplus radar unit. Estimate
-
Soviets Pose
Dangerous
Threat By Mid
1952
On
March
2, 1950, a
Joint Chiefs
of Staff;
(JCS) meeting
focused on
establishing
goals for a
minimum air
defense by
1952. The
following
month at a
USAF
Commanders
Conference at
Ramey AFB,
Puerto
Rico, planners
familiarized
commanders
with the
thinking
behind the
plan of
minimum
defense as
well as with
its contents.
Referred to as
the Blue Book
Plan, it
stipulated
that a minimum
air defense
could be in
place by
mid-1952. It
was estimated
that July 1,
1952, as the
critical date
when the
Soviets would
pose a
dangerous
threat. General
Charles Cabell
expected the
Soviets to
have between
45 and 90 atom
bombs and 70
to 135 Tu-4
bombers
(copied
B-29s) by
that time.March 3, 1950; Selfridge AFB, Mich. (BBU 650) March 4, 1950; Near Newburgh, IN A man was driving east approximately two miles east of the junction of Indiana State Hwy 66 and 261 north of Newburgh, when he observed an object he believed to be a rocket at a distance of approximately 50-75 yards in front of his automobile. March 5?, 1950. Vaughn,
New Mexico
11:35 a.m. 1;00 p.m. White object in straight flight toward 195° azimuth? at 180-200 mph. (Sparks; BB Microfilm Roll 91 pp. 467-8) 1h25m. March 5, 1950;
Bloomfield, NM
Night. A dark, five-foot
diameter disc paced a car.
When the driver stopped the
car the object circled the
car, then sped away at a
high speed. (Sources:
newspaper clippings, March
10, 1950 and March 27, 1950;
Loren Gross, UFOs: A
History, 1950:
January-March, pp. 31-32).
March
8, 1950; Over
Wright-Patterson AFB, ATIC,
OhioIn mid-morning, the CAA received a report from Capt. W. H. Kerr, Trans-World Airways pilot, that he and two other TWA pilots had a UFO in sight. A gleaming UFO was visible, hovering at high altitude. CAA also had 20 or more reports on the UFO from the Vandalia area when WPAFB was notified, and sent up four P-51 interceptors. The UFO was also visible to control tower operators and personnel of Air Technical Intelligence Center on the base. Radar had an unidentified target in the same position. (Probable IFO, balloon) Mar. 8,
1950
Frank Scully cohort
Silas M. Newton gives
crashed-saucer tale to
college class at University
of Denver, in the guise of a
mysterious Mr. "X."
(Brad Sparks)
March 9, 1950; Selfridge AFB, Mich. (BBU) 7:45-9 p.m. (EST). USAF 1st
Lt. Francis E. Parker, 1st Lt.
Frank Mattson, Sgt. McCarthy,
Cpl. Melton, made multiple air
defense ground radar tracking
of an object erratically
varying height, position and
speed from 25,000 to 47,000 ft
altitude, 0 to 1,000 mph.
(Hynek UFO Rpt. pp. 123-5,
295-7) 75 mins multiple radars
(CPS-4 and CPS-5) Not listed
as a BBU for some reason.
Formerly classified secret,
this radar-visual report
surfaced as a result of the
efforts of a former skeptic.
This skeptic not only worked
for the U.S. Air Force, he was
their consultant on UFOs, none
other than Dr. J. Allen Hynek.
March 10, 1950; Orangeburg, S.C.March 10, 1950. Phoenix,
Ariz.
About 6-6:30 p.m. Object about 200 ft by 30 ft to SSE azimuth 160° at about 40,000-50,000 ft seen by 7 witnesses from moving car. (Sparks; BB Microfilm Roll 91 pp. 338-340, 467-8) 10 mins Disc hovered over city,
sped away. [XII]
March 11, 1950; Punta Arenas,
Chile (BBU)
March 11, 1950. Holloman
AFB, New Mexico
1:00 a.m. USAF Air Provost Marshal Major William J. Haynor. (Sparks; BB Microfilm Roll 91 pp. 381-3, 469-470) 5 mins 12 p.m. Many witnesses saw
a silver ping-pong-shaped
object at extreme altitude in
the NE traveling toward the
SW. (Jan Aldrich)
March 13, 1950; Clarksburg,
Calif.
Saucer-shaped object descended, hovered with swaying motion, moved away. [IV] March 13, 1950; Mexico
City, Mexico
Airport observers saw 4 UFOs, one through theodolite. [V, Xl March
16, l950; Dallas, Texas
Navy Chief Petty Officer at Naval Air Station saw a flat oval UFO pass under a B-36 bomber. [IV]. Ruppelt: "Just before noon on March 16, Chief Petty Officer Charles Lewis saw a disk shaped UFO come streaking across the sky and buzz a high flying B-36. Lewis first saw the UFO coming in from the north, lower than the B-36; then he saw it pull up to the big bomber as it got closer. It hovered under the B-36 for an instant, then it went speeding off and disappeared. When the press inquired about the incident, Captain M. A. Nation, commander of the air station, vouched for his chief and added that the base tower operators had seen and reported a UFO to him about ten days before." (RUFO,75; [IV]) March 16, 1950; Farmington, New Mexico Retired Army Captain,
others, saw dozens of discs
gyrating in sky. [IV]
March 18, 1950; Nr. Bradford,
Ill.March 17, 1950. Los
Alamos, New Mexico
3:07-3:08 a.m. 5 AESS inspectors. (Sparks; BB NARA Microfilm Roll 91 pp. 359-364, 469-472) 1-5 secs March 17, 1950. Los
Alamos, New Mexico
4:45 a.m. AESS inspectors. (Sparks; BB NARA Microfilm Roll 91 pp. 359-364, 471-2) 5 secs Private pilot watched
illuminated oval pass his
plane. [V]
March 20, 1950; 35 miles SE
of Clovis, New Mexico (BBU)
Morning. USAF pilot of T-6
saw a white spherical then
elongated object flying at
2,000 mph. (Project 1947; BB
files??)
9:26 [9:29?] p.m. Chicago &
Southern Airlines Capt. Jack
Adams and First Officer G. W.
Anderson, Jr., flying a DC-3 at
2,000 ft heading W from Memphis
to Little Rock, saw a 100 ft
flat cylinder-section circular
disc [or body of object not
visible?], width/diameter ratio
about 1:4.5, with 9-12 [or 7?]
bright white lights or
"portholes" along the lower side
emitting a soft purple [?]
light, and a blinding blue-white
center light at the top which
flashed 3 times in 9 secs [or
3/sec ??], fly at 700-1,000 mph
[or 1,000+ mph?] from the S
headed N, passing to their right
at about 1/2 mile distance about
1,000 ft higher altitude.
(Battelle Unknown No. 11;
Project 1947; Ruppelt) 25-35
secsMarch 20, 1950; 40 miles E of Little Rock, N of Stuttgart, Ark.(BBU 671) March 21, 1950; Kirtland AFB, New Mex. Bt. 1300 & 1330 hrs. UFOs observed from Kirtland Air Force Base and Sandia Base, New Mexico. Objects were silver in color, size approximately that of a dime at arm's length; left no trail or exhaust, had no effect on clouds, and there was no sound or odor detected. Appeared more maneuverable than any known aircraft. The tactics used were similar to the change of positions during dog fights involving two airplanes. However, the way the objects changed position, there seemed to be no similarity to the maneuverability of a conventional plane. Were very maneuverable, made right angle turns, also appeared to reverse (back up) the direction of flight. Another witness, whose name was deleted, viewed two small white objects 15 minutes later from the Sandia Ordnance Area. He said the objects were traveling about 600 miles an hour on an eastward course, while adding: "One made a complete circle around the other just prior to disappearing." About the same time, between 1:00 and 1:30 p.m., four enlisted men: M/Sgt. Guy Johnson, S/Sgt. R. E. Bedwell, Sgt.C. D. Byzewski, and Sgt. M. B. Woodward, sighted a bright silver object, round, and the size of a dime at arm's length, flying over Kirtland Air Force Base. As the object sped in a southeast direction, the witnesses noticed that it was very maneuverable. Zigzag motion up and down. More maneuverable than jet aircraft. Sort of floated like piece of large paper in the air. (Loren E. Gross, UFO'S: A HISTORY 1950: JANUARY - MARCH ) March 22, 1950. Kirtland
AFB (Albuquerque), New
Mexico
12:10 a.m. (Sparks; BB Microfilm Roll 91 pp. 373-4, 475-6) 1.5-3 secs March 22,1950; Kirtland AFB, New Mex. Eleven members of the 4925th Test Group (Atomic) witnessed a UFO northwest of Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, in broad daylight. Another group of sightings were reported the previous day. See Spot Intelligence Report for both days. March 23, 1950; 85 miles NW of Jacksonville, Florida (BB) 12:30 a.m. EST. A USAF pilot, Lt. Hahn, was on a flight from Jacksonville, Florida, to Robins AFB in a C-47 aircraft. He saw a blue white flame about 50 to 75 feet long coming at him from 11 o'clock at very high speed. T/Sgt. Young, a passenger on the aircraft, also saw the blue white flame approach the C-47. [Probable meteor] (Dan Wilson, BB files) March 24,
1950 - Project TWINKLE Begins
The
efforts of Dr. Kaplan and
Major Oder to start a fireball
research project came to
fruition in the spring of 1950
when the AF Geophysical
Research Directorate headed by
Oder issued a letter directive
on March 16, 1950, authorizing
Project TWINKLE. A $20,000
half-year contract was signed
with Land-Air, Inc. which
operated the phototheodolites
at White Sands. Land-Air
was to set up a 24 hour watch
at a location in New Mexico to
be specified by the Air Force
and the phototheodolite
operators at White Sands were
to film any unusual objects
which happened to fly past. By
this time there had been many
sightings in the southwest
according to the sighting
catalogue compiled by Dr.
Lincoln LaPaz for Lt. Col.
Rees of the 17th District OSI
at Kirtland, AFB, many of them
around Holloman AFB. The
official contract gave April 1
as the starting date.
March
26, 1950
Newspaper columnist
and radio broadcaster Walter
Winchell announces on the
radio that saucers are
Soviet secret weapons (a
repeat of his similar
announcement of Apr. 3,
1949, apparently inspired by
his friend FBI Director J.
Edgar Hoover, who leaked the
worried comments of AF
officer Col. Clyde D. Gasser
of Project NEPA).
(Brad Sparks)
March 26, 1950; Reno, Nevada CAA control tower operator saw maneuvering light source. [V] March 26, 1950; Nr.
Washington, D.C.
Former Air Force aircraft inspector dove his plane at disc which zoomed up into overcast. [V] March
27,
1950;
Motubu Peninsula, Okinawa
(BBU 678)
10:30 a.m. USAF antiaircraft radar operator Cpl. Bolfango tracked stationary target on radar at 18 miles range for 10 mins at 13,000 ft. Object then moved on 220° heading for 16.9 miles in 2 mins or about 500 mph to a point over a mountain apparently still at 13,000 ft, where it was lost. Visual observation not detailed, only mentioned in summary. (Berliner; Jan Aldrich) 12 mins RV March
27, 1950
Radio commentator
Henry J. Taylor counters the
Winchell claim that saucers
are Soviet secret-weapons by
announcing the "wonderful
news" that saucers are in
fact U.S. secret weapons,
which will reassure the
nation when the US Air Force
confirms it. Within
days story is twisted to
specifically credit the
Navy's alleged "top secret"
project the Flying Flapjack
XF5U (first stories from Los
Angeles Mar. 30, then U.S.
News & World Report
article Apr. 3). AF is
not credited in this
pro-Navy story which spreads
nationwide forcing the White
House to comment.
Pro-Navy anti-AF story is
apparently disinformation
planted by ex-Hollywood
writers in the CIA Office of
Policy Coordination (OPC)
Political and Psychological
Warfare Staff headed by
Joseph Bryan III, a future
President and Board Chairman
of NICAP. CIA and Navy
are traditional allies
against the AF and
Army. (Brad Sparks)
March 28, 1950; Santiago, Chile (BBU 680) 3:15 p.m. M/Sgt. Prince Patterson, U.S. Air Attaché's office, saw a white object through binoculars flying at extreme altitude and speed, crossing 30° of sky in the WNW about 300° azimuth at one point briefly lost in sun's glare [at 296° azimuth 29° elevation] then reappearing [and crossing the sky to about 330° azimuth]. Patterson left roof of U.S. Embassy to retrieve camera with telephoto lens but object was gone when he returned. (Berliner; Jan Aldrich) 5-10 secs binoculars. cat 1 March 29 [30?], 1950;
Marrowbone Lake, Tenn. (BBU
682)
7 a.m. Real estate salesmen
Whiteside and Williams saw
6-12 dark objects shaped like
300-lb. bombs, estimated 5 ft
long, flying 500 mph in
descent, making a noise like
wind blowing through the
trees. (Berliner)
April 1, 1950
Project TWINKLE
official contract period
begins
Apr. 4,
1950
White House comments
on news stories claiming
flying saucers are Navy or
foreign secret
weapons. Press
Secretary Charles G. Ross
releases statement that the
President and his top
military aides, air aide
Brig. Gen. Robert B. Landry,
and naval aide Rear Adm.
Robert L. Dennison, all deny
that UFO's are some secret
government project or a
foreign weapon. Other
top officials, Secretary of
Defense Louis Johnson, et
al., chime in support of the
White House
denials. (Brad Sparks)
April 7, 1950; Logan Airport, Boston, Mass. (BBU) CAA Watch Supv. Connelly
and 3 controllers saw a
deep-blue ellipsoid object in
the W at 15° elevation moving
SW-NE opposite the winds,
changing back to blue, split
into 2 blue lights revolving
around each other then
separate, change to white then
cherry-red, increasing to 45°
elevation, disappearing in NE.
Overcast at 16,000 ft. (Hynek
UFO Rpt pp. 65-68; FUFOR
Index) 10 mins binoculars
2 a.m. Earl Baker saw a grey
metallic disc, 50 ft in
diameter, 15 ft thick,
top-shaped with a “conning
tower” at the top and three
ports on the rim giving off a
blue light. Hovered for 2 mins
about 200 ft away, slowly
spinning and oscillating, then
flew away to the N. Baker
aroused from sleep by his dog.
(Berliner; cf. Vallée Magonia
75)April 8, 1950; Kokomo, Indiana (BBU 706) April 10, 1950; Brookley AFB and Bates Field, Mobile, Alabama (BBU) April 14, 1950; Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey (BBU 711) 2:30 p.m. Army M/Sgt. James
saw 4 rectangular, amber
objects, about 3 ft by 4 ft,
change speed and direction
rapidly, rising and falling as
a group. (Berliner) 3-4 min
April 17, 1950. Los
Alamos, New Mexico
3:30 p.m. UC scientists Buck, et al., with telescope. (Sparks; BB Microfilm Roll 91 pp. 376-9, 475-6) 20-30 secs to 15-30 mins April
18,
1950; Near Memphis, Texas
(BBU)
9 a.m.-12:40 p.m.
(CST). CAA observers in
Clarendon, Texas, saw
unidentified object to the
SE while observers in
Childress about 50 miles
SE saw object to NW and
triangulated stationary
object midway in between
near Memphis, for 3+ hrs
beginning at 9 a.m., which
did not move significantly
despite winds aloft.
Northrop engineering test
pilot Max Stanley and
observers Lloyd Balsam and
Sam F. West were asked to
intercept object as they
were about to take off in
F-61C (AF 8357) from
Amarillo on an MX-775 test
(Navaho cruise missile
celestial guidance test),
and a B-36 also took off
from Ft. Worth to
intercept.(Jan Aldrich)
April 27, 1950; 10 miles NE
of Camp Haugen, near
Hachinohe, Japan (BBU)April 23, 1950. Red
Bud, Illinois
3:58 p.m. Photographer Dean Morgan, Mr. and Mrs. Greene, and Donald Gene, saw and Morgan photographed hovering object that shot away. (Sparks; Randle) 2:45 p.m. Misawa AFB 7th Fighter Bomber Sq USAF pilot 2nd Lt. James Henry Petty was flying F-80C jet fighter in a slight turn to the left at 25,000 ft 320 mph (IAS?) heading NE about 45° azimuth to meet up with a lead aircraft (apparently another F-80C) piloted by Lt. Sofbom of 7th Fighter Bomber Sq, also heading NE at 45° at this point in a sharper gradual left turn, when he saw an unidentified object about 3 miles away at his 2 o'clock position (about ENE) following the lead aircraft in a tracking position about 1,000 ft below and to the right-rear [about 5 o'clock position roughly 1 mile away] from the lead aircraft traveling about 275-300 mph, silhouetted against clouds. During the lead aircrafts wide left turn that eventually resulted in a 260° heading, the UFO accelerated and pulled up to level position [at 3 o'clock] and climbed to the lead planes altitude while the F-80C rapidly approached and overflew both the lead aircraft and UFO, having to climb (slightly) to avoid collision [now heading about NW about 315°], but getting "a very good look from the top and both sides" of the UFO, Petty saw that it was a rectangular cream-colored flat object appearing to be made of "muslin" about 20 ft high, 60 ft long, but only about 2 inches thick, oriented vertically, not reflecting sunlight despite bright sun, no exhaust, no apparent means of propulsion, not wavering or fluttering. Petty first thought it was an aerial tow target but knew there was no aerial gunnery scheduled. After being overflown, UFO pulled away from lead aircraft, accelerated to 600 mph on a 330° heading [climbed to 28,000 ft?], overtook and crossed in front of Petty's F-80C from behind and left to right [from about Petty's 7 o'clock to 1 o'clock positions] and disappeared in the distance against a clear sky. Similar incident next day near Wakkanai. (Jan Aldrich; Weinstein) April
27, 1950; Plymouth,
Mass. (BBU)
At 0900 hours, 2nd
Lt. Frederick A. Beebe,
60th Fighter-Interceptor
Squadron, Otis AFB,
Mass., flying an F-86 on
a GCI mission at 21,000
feet, observed a light
brown, flat oval object
flying at terrific
speed. Beebe did not
attempt pursuit because
of the terrific speed of
the object. The length
of observation was
approximately 15
seconds.
April
27, 1950; Holloman AFB,
Alamogordo, New Mexico
(BBU)
While preparing for
an MX-776A Shrike
air-to-ground missile
test Charles Riggs and
other members of USAF
contract Land-Air, Inc.,
Askania theodolite crews
saw, tracked, filmed 4
high flying objects on a
cinetheodolite at
station P-10 and a
theodolite at station
M-7. Triangulation
resulted in 30 ft size
and 150,000 ft altitude
for the "high speed"
objects located between
Holloman AFB and
Tularosa Peak. (Sparks)
April
27, 1950; Near South
Bend (or Goshen?),
Indiana. (BBU)
8:25 p.m. Trans World Airlines Flight 117 pilot Capt. Robert Adickes and FO Robert F. Manning heading W en route to Chicago in a DC-3 at about 200 mph and 2,000 ft altitude saw off to the right well to the rear a bright red disc-shaped object, 5:1 to 10:1 width/height ratio, no trail, angular size of an orange at 20 ft, rolling on edge vertically on a parallel course to their plane overtaking it gradually in about 2 mins at slightly below 2,000 ft altitude until it reached about 100° relative bearing about 1/2 mile away. Adickes and stewardess Gloria Henshaw were then called in to watch, as well as at least 11 passengers including Boeing engineers C. H. Jenkins and D. C. Bourland, executives E. J. Fitzgerald, S. N. Miller, et al. When airliner was turned toward the object it veered off at 400 mph dropping down to about 1,500 ft headed N (or NNW), presenting edge on view, disappearing in a few mins. (McDonald 1968; Project 1947; Keyhoe 1953; NICAP) 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. Misawa AFB 9th Fighter Bomber Sq USAF pilot 1st Lt. James H. Harvey flew an F-80C jet to attempt to intercept unidentified target tracked by Radar Site #18 without success. After 1 hr, at 12:30 p.m., while flying due N 360° about 2 miles W of Wakkanai at 300 mph (IAS?) at 30,000 ft Harvey saw an object about 7 miles to his left in the W on a S 180° heading (click on link above). April 29,1950; Amarillo, Texas Alleged encounter where 12-year old boy David Lightfoot reportedly touched a small, saucer-shaped contraption before it flew away and burned him with some kind of gas or liquid. James McDonald re-interviewed the witnesses who didn't outright admit that it was a hoax, but after McD talked to Lightfoot he decided that it had no basis. McDonald letter (Jan Aldrich). May 5, 1950.
Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
Several witnesses reported to 57th FIS seeing hovering intense reddishorange light overhaed above Elemendorf AFB beneath overcast cloud layer at 7,000 ft. Hovered for 5 mins then departed at high speed. No noise or acrobatic maneuvers. (Sparks; AFHRA index for 57th FIS History) 5 min May 7, 1950; 9
miles S of Ely, Nevada
(BBU 721)
6:45 p.m. Mr. and
Mrs. George Smith and
their grandson saw a
silvery white object
hover at 100 ft
altitude, move back
and forth then fly up
out of sight at high
speed. Note in case
file: “No
investigation.”
(Vallée Magonia 79) 10
mins
May
11, 1950; 9 miles W
of McMinnville,
Oregon (BBU)
7:20 p.m. (PST). Evelyn Trent was feeding the rabbits in their backyard just before sunset when she spotted an object to the N in the distance and called out to her husband Paul Trent, who was in the house at the back door, asking him to retrieve their camera. She went into the garage to look for the camera but he found it in the house, ran out into the yard toward where his wife had been then he saw the rapidly approaching large metallic object to the N, saw the object turn on a W heading, bank its underside upward, felt a gust of wind from the object seemingly, snapped a photo of the object at azimuth 334° (about NNW) elevation 14°, angular size 1.67°, then walked 5 ft to his right to compensate for object's motion to the left, snapped a 2nd photo about 30 secs after the 1st, which shows a metallic pie-pan shaped object 1.46° angular size with a large off-center angled antenna or pole projecting from the top, at azimuth 317° (about NW) 12° elevation. Evelyn had joined him by the time Paul started taking pictures and later described the arc covered between photos as about 15° (close to actual figure 17°). Distance and size of object estimated by the witnesses as about 1/4 mile distance and 20-30 ft diameter, or "parachute-sized" (about 24-28 ft), or maximum angular size 1.3° (close to the photographically measured 1.46°-1.67°). Condon Committee and Bruce Maccabee estimated distance about 1 mile and object diameter about 100 ft. Several other witnesses reportedly saw the object. (Sparks; Condon Report pp. 396-407; Bruce Maccabee; Hynek UFO Rpt pp. 244-5; etc.) 2-3 minutes. 10:30 a.m. Two
military aircraft
pilots saw
triangular object
tracked by ground
radar. (Project
1947; McDonald list)
May 20, 1950;
Flagstaff, Ariz.
Astronomer/meteorologist observed a "powered" disc-like object from the grounds of Lowell Observatory. [I] May 21,
1950
Second
Gallup Poll on
flying saucers
is released
(first was in
Aug.
1947).
(Brad Sparks)
May
24, 1950; Holloman
AFB, Alamogordo,
New Mexico (BBU)
During an MX-674 Tarzon controllable vertical bomb test, Floyd Fannon and other USAF crew members saw 8 unidentified objects then separately tracked and filmed 2 of the objects down the North American Aviation missile firing range. Cinetheodolite station P-8 filmed one object to the NE for 6 frames (1.0 sec) moving uniformly to the S from azimuth 38°26'59.2" to 38°33'59.2" and elevation 47°32'20" to 47°25'50". Cinetheodolite station P-10, located 5.6781 miles down range to the N (to azimuth 347.07723°) from P-8 and 7 ft higher, filmed another object, hence no triangulation possible, viewed to the E for 74 frames (14.6 secs) moving uniformly to the N from azimuth 86° 9' 9.2" to 85°47' 9.2" and elevation 25°48' 0" to 25° 7'50". (Sparks) Summary of Observations - Dec 48 to May 50 (our cleaned up document version)
Re: Summary to Brig.
Gen. Joseph Carroll,
Director of Special
Investigations, HQ
USAF, Washington, DC
May
29, 1950; About 7
miles W of Mt.
Vernon, Virginia
(BBU)9:20 p.m. Capt. Willis T. Sperry with about 10,000 flying hours, copilot Bill Gates, flight engineer Robert Arnholt, a stewardess and 2-3 or 8 passengers on a DC-6 airliner headed 230° (about SW) out of Washington, D.C., en route to Nashville, at 7,500 ft at 250 mph, saw a spindle-shaped 150 ft long metallic object with intense blue light (about mag. -6) on the tail, beginning with Gates who sighted blue light from their DC-6 airliner on head on collision course. Sperry made evasive 45° turn to the right (to 275° heading), object passed from 11 o'clock to 7 o'clock position (about 125° or SE) to the left at slightly higher altitude meanwhile crossing in front of upper part of full moon to the S (at 145° or 159° azimuth 22° or 27° elevation, depending on whether EST or EDT time, 97% full) where submarine-like silhouette clearly seen, about 5 miles away. Sperry turned left back onto original course to get the object back in view, object may have stayed stationary about 30 secs at this point. Gates then noticed object circled around to the right side, Sperry banked right again, while the object paced the airliner about 20-30 secs before climbing to the E at a 30° angle at "fantastic" speed and disappearing. (Sparks) June (?), 1950, Redfern, Australia Sam Kaufman had discovered among his papers this drawing (see below *) by a friend of his, Mr. Frank James. Mr. James, a taxi driver, was on his way to work when he saw this object hovering over the main railway lines into the city of Sydney. The object was over Refern, which is an inner suburb of Sydney. Mr. James and many other people on the street looked up at an object that was dull grey in color. According to James, the “grill” on the underside rotated slowly. He said the arms were withdrawn when the “thing” moved off. As soon as he arrived at work James drew sketches of the object while the details were still fresh in his memory. (Rob Swiatek, Rich Vitello, Barry Greenwood) June 12, 1950;
California
Geologist saw disc-shaped object loop around plane. [VI] 8:25 p.m. Air
National Guard C-47
pilot Santini saw a
triangular object
pass the aircraft at
700 mph. (Project
1947; FUFOR Index)
June 17, 1950; Hasselbach, East Germany (BBU) 2:30 a.m.
Central Europe
Time. Oscar Linke
and daughter
Gabriella spotted
landed 40-50 ft
frying pan-shaped
object with two
rows of 1 ft holes
on the periphery,
a 10 ft tall black
conical tower on
top, about 450 ft
away, walked
towards it until
at about 130 ft
away saw two "men"
in shiny metallic
one-piece suits
stooped over, and
approached to
within 30 ft of
the "men," when
Gabriella called
out, the "men"
were alarmed and
jumped on the
conical tower and
went inside
[object about 80
ft from
witnesses?]. The
tower retracted, a
cylindrical
support column
shifted position,
object turned from
green to red, a
slight hum was
heard, it lifted
off the ground and
started spinning,
sound turned to a
whistling as it
accelerated and
headed off toward
Stockhelm. Linke
found a round dug
impression in the
ground seeming to
match the support
column of the
object. (Hynek UFO
Rpt pp. 204-6;
Davis-Bloecher
1978; Loren Gross)
June
21, 1950, Misawa
AFB, Japan (BB)
At 3:05
p.m. local
time (0605Z),
Capt.
Obermiller _
Fighter Bomber
Wing on a golf
course
observed a
circular-shaped
object
estimated to
be 30 feet in
diameter and 5
feet thick at
7000 feet
altitude.
Object
appeared to be
traveling at
650 MPH and
parallel to an
F-80 aircraft
at 1000 feet
above. Object
rose
vertically
1000 feet,
seemed to
change
direction and
rapidly
disappeared at
an estimated
975 MPH. The
witness is a
rated
transport and
fighter pilot.
(BB files/Dan
Wilson)
June 21, 1950; Hamilton AFB, California (BB)
1:35 a.m. Corp. Roger G. Pryor, a control-tower operator, and S/Sgt. Ellis R. Lorimer, another control-tower operator, and S/Sgt. Virgil Cappuro, member of the airways communications staff, observed an object the airmen described as circular, thick in the center and tapering to the sides. They used binoculars in following its course. The men said the disc was accompanied by a roar like thunder and the blue flame looked like an acetylene torch. They described its approach altitude at between 2000 and 5000 feet. The object made five passes near the base moving at speeds estimated to be between 1000 and 1500 mph. The whole affair lasted for approximately 25 minutes. The PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD, states that the evaluation on this case is INSUFFICIENT DATA - Report not in file, card not in file, case missing. [Dan Wilson, UFO Evidence, Section III]. June 23, 1950; Tuscaloosa, Alabama (BB) 1:00 p.m. CST. Twenty-thirty civilians observed an object like a flaming red cross moving slowly across the sky at approximately 5000 feet in altitude. The object was observed for about 30 minutes, then disappeared into a thunderhead cloud. The Project Blue Book evaluation of the sighting is listed as Insufficient Data. (BB files, Dan Wilson) June 23, 1950;
Gulf of Mexico
(BBU)
7:40 p.m. (CST).
USAF 308th Recon
Group, Tinker AFB,
Okla., “Pelican”
weather recon flight
at 10,000 ft heading
about 30° (about NNE
turned to 326° at
7:44 p.m.) ground
speed 173 knots (199
mph) with crew
navigator 1st Lt.
Donald D. Sherr,
scanner Sgt. Elbert
C. Bishop, engineer
Tech. Sgt. John W.
Horn, radio operator
Sgt. Claudio S.
Gonzales, saw at
relative bearing 80°
[to the right to the
ESE?, contra other
data to the left or
NW?] a huge ball of
fire descend slowly
in 1-1/2 mins in a
wavy spiral or
erratic elongated
“S” shaped path from
at least 50,000 ft
to 20,000 ft (or
from 50-70 miles
down to 30 miles per
one witness) at
estimated position
28°45’ N, 89°45’ W
[estimated by
triangulating vapor
trail as aircraft
flew along a
baseline of about 60
miles from a
distance of about
270 miles ?] where
it faded, leaving an
extremely bright
glowing bluish or
blue-white smoke or
vapor trail that
persisted for 20
mins without dimming
for 15 mins then
finally fading into
a soft blur at about
8:00 p.m. bright
object with
extremely bright
trail flying
erratically.
Numerous other
witnesses in
Alabama, Texas,
Mississippi [?],
including National
Airlines pilot Capt.
James L. Hansen
flying near Mobile,
Ala., J. A. Ellis of
Rosedale, Ala. (Jan
Aldrich; FUFOR
Index) June
24, 1950; 24,
1950; Daggett,
Calif.(BBU)
8:08 p.m. (PST). Numerous observers over Nevada and Calif. United Airlines Capt. E. L. Remlin, First Officer David Stewart, observer Capt. Sam B. Wiper, and crew of 2, plus about 25 of 50 passengers on an airliner at 290 mph at 14,000 ft saw a brilliant bluish-center cylindrical or dirigible-shaped object with orange-tint fly a parallel course with the airliner for 20 miles [3-5 mins duration] at about 20-30 miles distance at 20,000 or 60,0000 or 80,000 ft then fade in the distance. Navy transport pilot sighted dark gray or gunmetal cigar-shaped object 1/8 Full Moon angular size, with faint radiant exhaust at estimated speed 1,000-1,500 mph, altitude 50,000-100,000 ft, 3 mins, traveling N then turned W to disappearance. Lovelock, Nev., airport 30 pilots sighted vapor trail persisting for 20 mins. Witnesses in Ely, Pioche, and Briston Silver Mine, Nev., sighted vapor trail or smoke in a “3” shape to the W for ½ hour. (Jan Aldrich; David Rudiak; Weinstein; UFO Evid.) 3 mins (1/2 hr duration of contrail) June
25, 1950
North
Korean troops
and tanks
cross the 38th
parallel and
invade South
Korea in a
secret war
plan
instigated by
Soviet ruler
Josef
Stalin.
The Communist
aggression
opens the
floodgates for
military
funding which
increases by
350%, allowing
for
languishing AF
Intelligence
and R&D
projects to
get funded,
including UFO
investigations
(Brad
Sparks)
7:50 a.m. Red
River Arsenal
employees
Terrell and
Yates saw a
bright object
shaped like two
dishpans
face-to-face,
fly straight and
level at high
speed.
(Berliner) 4-5
secs
June 27 ?,
1950;
Louisville,
Kentucky (BBU)
Movie film of
UFO taken by
newspaper
reporter Al
Hixenbaugh.
Clandestine
investigations
initiated by AF
Intelligence and
AF R&D.
(Sparks; FUFOR
Index) film
June 29, 1950. Phoenix to Blythe, Calif 5:45-8:35 p.m. B-29 pilot. (BB NARA Microfilm Roll 91 pp. 482 June 30, 1950; Nr. Cunningham, Kansas Night.
The Rev. Ross
Vermillion,
26, a WW II
bomber pilot,
said he saw a
flying saucer
hovering over
US Hwy 54 near
Cunningham,
Kansas. The
witness,
paster of the
Cheney
Christian
Church, said
his wife, and
the family of
Dwayne Mulnix,
druggist, of
Meade, Kansas,
also saw the
saucer and
watched it for
about 20
minutes while
driving along
the highway.
They stopped
and watched
it, then
started to
drive closer
but it sped
away. As seen
in the bright
moonlight, the
object was
made of bright
metal and had
an elliptical
body "as big
as the
cross-section
of a B-29",
and had a
rotor turning
counter-clockwise
around the
body. [XII,
Reference:
Lawrence
Journal World,
July 1, 1950,
Page 7, Dan
Wilson)
11:15 p.m. On that night, two navy men were pulling duty on radar watch from dusk until dawn. The two reported a radar contact bearing 160 degrees at 5 miles [8.3 kilometers]. There was nothing unusual about the initial sighting except that the target remained in the same position for approximately 4 minutes before moving slowly out to sea to a range of 10 miles [16.6 kilometers]. At this point the target was observed to move quickly back inland whereupon radar contact was lost at 23:27 hours. But that wasn¹t the end of it. See report. July
1950
Flying
magazine
article, "Flying
Saucers --
Fact or
Fiction?"
summarized
recent UFO
sightings by
pilots.July 1950; Cincinnati, Ohio CAA flight engineer observed a "wingless, fuselage-shaped" UFO. [V] July 5, 1950; Los Angeles, California At midnight, William Grant, a former Marine Corps aerial photographer observed a brilliantly lighted circular object in the sky. When first seen the object was about 1000 feet overhead moving at about 100 mph then increased to about 500 mph before disappearing behind the Hollywood Hills. It was in sight about 45 seconds. It left no exhaust trail and made no sound. Grant estimated the object was 50 feet in circumference. Reference: (The Evening Independent, Massillon, Ohio, Page 2, New 'Flying Object' Seen in California) July
6, 1950
AF
Intelligence
Director, Gen.
Cabell,
discovers that
AMC is not
conducting a
secret UFO
study at all
and is forced
to arrange for
his own
investigations
of a number of
sightings
including a
movie film
case. AMC
Intelligence
Dept headed by
Col. Harold
Watson
grudgingly
revives
Project GRUDGE
in response to
Cabell's
complaint. Cabell
decides he
will fire
Watson if he
ever gets
direct command
authority over
him (which he
does on May
21,
1951).
(Brad Sparks)
July 7, 1950; Weisbaden, Germany
10:20 p.m. local. At approximately 2120Z the operator of the GCA scope noticed the presence of a radar target in addition to the aircraft under control. A second radar operator confirmed the presence of the additional target. After several minutes the radar target then seemed to separate into 2 or 3 individual targets spaced 90 degrees to 100 degrees apart. The separate targets then seemed to move at a very high rate of speed in a counterclockwise motion on the scope. (Dan Wilson) July 11, 1950; Near Osceola, Ark. (BBU) The crews of two Navy planes saw a disc-shaped UFO whose presence was confirmed by airborne radar. Lt. (j.g.) J. W. Martin, enlisted pilot R.E. Moore, and electronics technician G.D. Wehner said the object first appeared as a round ball, ahead and to the left of their planes. As it crossed their flight path, disappearing in the distance to the right, the UFO resembled a "World War I helmet seen from the side, or a shiny, shallow bowl turned upside down." Wehner said he "caught it on the radar scope," at the closest point, it was estimated to be about a mile away. (Weinstein; BB files??) July 13,
1950; Fort
Peck, Montana
(BBU)
11:50 a.m.
USAF Weather
Recon flight
crew saw 4
groups of
round metallic
silver
objects.
(Weinstein)July 13,
1950;
Huntsville,
Alabama (BBU
758)
5 p.m. 2
Redstone
Arsenal
employees
including Mr.
Washburn, saw
a polished
aluminum
object, shaped
like a bowtie
fly straight
and level,
then one
triangle
rotated 1/4
turn in the
opposite
direction and
returned to
its original
position.
Object then
made a
right-angle
turn and
accelerated
away.
(Berliner;
FUFOR Index)
30 secsJuly 15,
1950. Los
Alamos, NM
2:15 p.m. Sighting from Gamma Bld., LANL, of bright metallic aluminumcolored flying-wing-shaped object, no fuselage, with transparent section in middle, 15° above the horizon, heading E to W over mountain range at estimated distance of 15 miles, size about 35 ft, speed about 300 mph, yawing motion in straight flight, seen from window which blocked view of disappearance. (Sparks; BB NARA Microfilm Roll 91, pp. 489-492) 1 min Aug. 4, 1950; Approx. 100 miles SE of New York City (773) 10 a.m.
(EDT). Master
Nils Lewring,
Chief Mate
Jacob Koelwyn,
and the Third
Mate, of M/V
Marcala saw a
10 ft
elliptical
half-egg or
cylindrical
object, with
shiny aluminum
or metallic
white surface
sparkling in
sunlight,
approach from
the SW heading
NE at 50-100
ft altitude,
approaching to
within 1,000
ft or 10 miles
(depending on
witness) at 25
to 500 mph
(depending on
witness),
flying with a
churning or
rotary motion,
accelerating
at end of
sighting.
(Berliner;
Tony Rullan;
NICAP website)
15 secs to 1.5
mins
Aug. 7, 1950; Santa Fe, New Mexico (BBU) 4 a.m. [?] USAF fighter pilot Frazier with 93rd FI Sq saw black object at 20,000 ft disappear in the distance. (Project 1947; FUFOR Index) 1:22 p.m. (GMT). RAF Fighter Command Control at Neatishead radar tracked an unidentified aircraft located near Cromer at 15,000 ft traveling about 325 knots (375 mph). Neatishead GCI controller scrambled 257 Squadron Red Section leader Flight Lt. Kartley and a wingman at 1:24 p.m. in 2 RAF Meteor jet fighters from RAF Horsham St. Faith airborne 1:27 p.m. At 1:28 p.m. Neatishead Type 13 radar tracked target at 40,000 ft and height was radioed to jets which leveled off at 15,000 ft. At 1:35 p.m. jets reached 10 miles N of Cromer climbing in altitude to 25,000 and 30,000 ft where the pilots saw two vapor trails suggesting to them widely spaced engines on a single aircraft to their right at great distance and higher altitude on a heading of 280° on a parallel course to the jets. Jets got “slightly ahead” of the contrails while keeping them in sight, at a radar track range of 5 miles to the target. [See detailed report] (Jan Aldrich) Aug. 15, 1950; Great Falls, Montana 11:30 a.m. Nicolas Mariana obtained 16 mm color movies of two UFOs which appear as bright circular points of light. Footage of UFOs at closer range, confirming visual observation of discs with rotating rims, was reported missing from film when returned by Air Force. Remaining footage was contained in United Artists documentary movie "UFO" and compared to July 2, 1952, Trementon, Utah film showing similar images. Mr. Mariana used Daylight Kodachrome film in a Revere turret type camera and obtained 315 frames showing the UFOs. The film was examined by the Air Force and Navy, but no formal reports released. Report on Photogrammetric analysis by Dr. Robert M. L. Baker, Jr., Douglas Aircraft Corporation, on file at NICAP. Air Force explanation that UFOs were reflections off jet aircraft said to be "quite strained," and the analyst states no definite conclusion. However, UFOs could not be explained as any conventional objects. Aug.
15, 1950
The
British
Ministry of
Defence's
Directorate of
Scientific
Intelligence
(DSI) in
conjunction
with the
interagency
Joint
Technical
Intelligence
Committee
(JTIC) set up
a special
Flying Saucer
Working Party
with
representatives
of each of
several
agencies to
review UFO
cases.
DSI action was
requested by
top MoD
scientific
adviser Sir
Henry Tizard
following a
RAF radar
incident of
June 1, 1950,
and possibly
an RAF
Daylight Disc
sighting on
Aug.
14. Working
Party members
are extremely
skeptical and
work to find
ways to debunk
UFO incidents
and eventually
render a
caustically
negative final
report in June
1951. (Brad
Sparks)
Aug. 20,
1950; Nicosia,
Cyprus (BBU
793, 783?)
1:30 p.m.
USAF MATS
liaison
officer Lt.
William G.
Ghormley, Col.
William V.
Brown, Lt.
Col. Lloyd W.
Brauer heard
an aircraft
overhead (a
Turkish C-47
at 9,500 ft
heading SE to
Beirut) and
looked for it
but saw a
small, round
or elliptical,
bright object
directly
overhead
traveling W at
terrific speed
and high
altitude
moving
somewhat
erratically
passing
through the
glare of the
sun about 15°
below zenith
with no change
in brightness
[sun then at
58° elevation
231° azimuth
to the SW],
until
disappearing
about 30°-35°
above the [W?]
horizon, clear
weather
visibility 50+
miles. Brown
called
Brauer’s
attention to
object the
last 2-3 secs.
(Jan Aldrich)
15-20 secs
8:04-8:24,
8:27 p.m.
(AST). USAF
373rd Recon Sq
(Very Long
Range) B-29
from Kindley
AFB, Bermuda,
piloted by 1st
Lt. Frank J.
Stockton was
flying at 192
knots (221
mph) at 10,000
ft heading 27°
(about NNE)
when radarman
S/Sgt. William
W. Shaffer
turned on his
APQ-13-A radar
and tracked a
distinct
bright
unidentified
target
appearing to
travel at same
speed and
heading as
B-29 but about
1,000 ft lower
and at 10°
left of dead
ahead 12
o’clock
position about
1-1/2 miles
away. Shaffer
alerted pilot
Stockton who
alerted crew
to look for
visual,
without
success,
possibly due
to 50% cumulus
cloud
coverage; two
officers
verified
Shaffer’s
radar scope
readings.
Radar target
maintained
position for
several mins
then started
to fall behind
gradually
until
overtaken by
B-29 passing
about 1/4 mile
to the left,
then holding a
trailing
position
behind the
B-29 for about
5 mins, then
increased
speed passing
B-29 on the
right at about
1/4 mile,
drawing
slightly ahead
of B-29 then
gradually
turning away
to the right
and
accelerating
rapidly. Pilot
turned away
20° left to
see if target
would follow,
but it didn’t,
instead
continuing its
gradual right
turn until it
disappeared
off scope at
about 400
knots (460
mph) at 8:24
p.m. at 30°15’
N, 67°12’ W
[about 30
miles to the
SSW when B-29
was at about
30°37’ N,
66°54’ W]. At
about 8:27
p.m. B-29 crew
member saw a
bluish streak
flash past the
left wing from
head on
position about
1,000 ft
below,
appearing like
a meteor but
less bright
than
lightning.
(Jan Aldrich)Aug. 21,
1950.
Echterdingen
Air Base,
Stuttgart, W
Germany
9:54, 9:58-9:59 a.m. USAF Cpl. George P. Scarlett, 18th Weather Sq, Det 18- 32, Echterdingen AB (Army Air Field), launched a 100- gram pilot balloon tracked by theodolite at 9:30 a.m., briefly noticed a small white object pass across his field of view at about 9:54 a.m., just before the balloon burst at 9:55 a.m. He followed a broken balloon fragment in the theodolite for 3 mins after the balloon burst, when at 9:58 a.m. he spotted a small white object again crossing his 2° field of view of the theodolite, at azimuth 80° (almost due E) 25° elevation headed S for 1 min, appearing as a white oval 15 arcmins in size [1/2 Full Moon with naked eye but possibly 10 Full Moons in theodolite] increasing in size to 50 arcmins [1.5 Full Moons or perhaps 30 Full Moons in optics] then appearing grayish-white with several small lines or shadows on its surface with indistinct outline, when it abruptly changed direction to WSW at high speed and disappeared into the sun [at 99° azimuth 25° elevation]. (Sparks; BB Maxwell Microfilm Roll 8, pp. 161-2) ? + 1+ min 1 1.5 [in optics equiv to 30 ?] theodolite Aug.
23, 1950, FBI
memo
Aug. 23,
1950.
Philadelphia,
Penn.
9:05 p.m. (EDT). Retired USAF Col. D. Moreau Barringer and mother-in-law Mrs. Albert Newcombe sighted a white point of light 15 to 45 arcsecs in diameter (?) with sharp leading edge, flickering trailing edge with short yellowish flame exhaust trail, to the NNE (?) coming up from the tree-lined horized S (?) towards zenith, getting a little brighter, passed near bright stars including Vega [at 103° azimuth 85° elevation] so its brightness could be estimated at about 0 mag., passing 2° to 3° W of zenith, but noiseless, without altering course, disappeared in the trees on the S (?) horizon, where the ¾ Moon was visible [at azimuth 167° elevation 20° illuminated 85%]. Speed possibly 300 mph if at 6,000 ft or 1,500 mph if at 25,000 ft [angular velocity about 4°/sec]. (Sparks; BB Maxwell Microfilm Roll 8, pp. 164- 7) 30-40 secs 2 1/40 Aug. 24, 1950; About 250 miles SW of Bermuda (BBU 787) Aug. 27, 1950; Near Brockton, Mass. (BBU) 6:30 p.m.
USN radio
mechanic John
T. Early from
Quonset NAS,
Rhode Is., who
was a licensed
civilian
pilot, was
flying with a
passenger
Russell
Des-Jardins at
1,300 ft when
they spotted a
shiny white
spherical
object with no
projections or
irregularities
on its surface
about 20 ft
diameter at
least 1,000 ft
below their
aircraft
flying at high
speed, jet
speed [600
mph?], to the
E cross wind.
No exhaust
smoke or
unusual noise.
(Jan Aldrich)
Aug. 30, 1950; Earnest Harmon AFB, Newfoundland At 0545Z
(1:15 a.m.
local
time) an
object
was picked
up on the GCA
scope
travelling at
an estimated
40 to 60 mph
at an
estimated 4 to
6 thousand
feet on a
course of 120
degrees until
it reached
the
5-mile ring
where it
paused for 30
seconds. A
blip picked up
on
a second
scope veered
to a heading
of approx. 210
degrees then
to 140 degrees
and
disappeared at
approx 9 mile
range. There
were no
aircraft in
the GCA area
at the time.
(Dan Wilson)
Aug. 30, 1950; S of Sandy Point/Indian Head, Newfoundland, Canada. (BBU) 1:30-1:50 p.m. (ADT). 3 civilian Harmon AFB Water Transportation Section employees, John Kaeel, Fred Messervery and John Smith, located [in a boat] about 2 miles S of Indian Head (48°29’ N, 58°30’ W) saw a black or dark round object the size [shape?] of a barrel resembling a “large balloon” located about 3 miles SW of Indian Head (at 48°27’ N, 58°33’ W) about 1-1.5 [?] miles offshore [apparently about 2 miles to the W of the observers]. The object was hovering just above the water and after a few mins began to slowly ascend to about 15-20 ft above water, then descended again to just above water, in about a 40-60-sec cycle each time which occurred 3 times. On the last cycle the object remained near the surface about 3-4 mins when it ascended vertically until disappearance at 1:50 p.m. [See similar sighting at 2 p.m. near Kippens.] Helicopter search at 4:20 p.m. negative. [No unidentified ground radar returns were reported yet false explanation of “WX Returns” (weather returns) inserted into BB file listings.] (Jan Aldrich) 20 mins Aug. 30, 1950; S of Kippens, Newfoundland, Canada (BBU 790) 2 and 4? p.m. (ADT). William Alexander, son Bill Alexander and nephew Austin Alexander, fishing in a dory boat about 1-1/2 miles offshore from Kippens, saw a black or yellowish-brown object thought to be a submarine, the size of a dory [about 20 ft] about 1-1/2 to 2 miles away [to the S?], about 3 miles offshore about 15-20 ft above the water, the shape of a large aerial gunnery target balloon or a barrel with a pole or periscope trailing from its center line into the water, moving at 3-5 mph to the NNE [towards shore?]. Object disappeared over the horizon; briefly re-sighted from high ground ashore sometime later [about 4 p.m.?]. Reported to the USAF at 4:10 p.m. No smoke, exhaust, noise or markings. Helicopter search at 4:20 p.m. negative. [See earlier similar sighting from Sandy Point/Indian Head.] (Jan Aldrich) Aug. 30, 1950; Holloman AFB, Alamogordo, New Mexico
(BBU)
Aug. 31, 1950; Holloman AFB, Alamogordo, New Mexico
(BBU)10:45 a.m. During a Bell Aircraft MX-776 Shrike missile test (for the later Rascal air-to-ground strategic missile) USAF M/Sgt and 8 Bell Aircraft employees on base saw two glaringly bright circular to elliptical unidentified objects maintaining relative position to each other following the B-50 launch aircraft from above on both the dry run and hot run prior to missile release. Objects gave "strong glare at all times" not reflected sunlight, maneuvered at high estimated speeds up to 10x the B-50 or roughly 2,500 mph for short distances, left no vapor trails, hovered, accelerated rapidly, made abrupt "square" turns with apparent size changing to indicate ascent and descent. (Sparks; Jan Aldrich; McDonald files) 30 mins 10 a.m.
1 p.m.
(MST). After
V-2 missile
launch no. 51,
Project
TWINKLE
Askania
theodolite
crews tracked
and filmed
multiple
objects
sporadically
several times
from several
different
directions at
very high
speeds over
the course of
3 hrs. Askania
cinetheodolite
station P-5
filmed object
with major
axis varying
from 8.65 to
13.243 arcmins
(0.1442° to
0.22072°),
minor axis
3.493 arcmins
(0.05822°),
one frame per
second 60 cm
focal length
camera, 35 mm
color film.
Tape recording
of audio
reporting.
Frames 593 and
595 (2 secs of
nearly 10
mins? of film
of object)
show elevation
angle changing
from 53°44' to
52°38' at a
rate of
0.37°/sec.
Attempted
interception
by 4 F-86 jets
from 93rd FIS,
Kirtland AFB,
for 1 hr
failed to
locate
objects, which
apparently
returned after
jets left.
Cinetheodolite
observers
noted object
with definite
shape and 3-D
depth but
indistinct or
not sharp
edges, no
smoke or
trail, object
seemed to
“rock or
oscillate,”
lost when
observer
looked away to
get angle
reading.
(Sparks;
McDonald
files; Jan
Aldrich)
Sept. 1,
1950;
McKorryuk,
Nunivak
Island,
Aleutians,
Alaska (BBU)
7:30-7:35 p.m.
Nunivak Island
CAA Airways
Observer
Timothy J.
Kenick, George
Williams and
others saw a
strange deep
red ball of
fire near the
horizon to the
N towards
Siberia
"hundreds of
feet" high
which slowly
faded out,
followed by
sudden
appearance of
another round
red ball of
fire above the
first slowly
fading out
repeated
another 2
times or so
gradually
becoming oval
shaped and
moving toward
Siberia,
finally
disappearing
behind clouds.
(Jan Aldrich)2 p.m.
Major R. J.
Gardiner saw 3
metallic
bronze discs,
20-30 ft long,
2-6 ft thick,
moving
independently
and
erratically;
his wife and
neighbor
[Fortney?] saw
1 object.
(Berliner;
FUFOR Index) 5
mins
Sept.
8, 1950
Frank
Scully's book
Behind the
Flying Saucers
is
released.
(Brad Sparks)
Sept. 8, 1950;
Germany (BBU)
Sept.
8, 1950
Air Force
Intelligence
(AFOIN)
Collection
Division's
Collection
Control Branch
(AFOIN-CC-1)
at the
Pentagon in
Washington,
DC, issues new
intelligence
reporting
directive
requiring
special
handling and
reporting of
UFO incidents,
"Reporting of
Information on
Unconventional
Aircraft,"
thus reversing
the
cancellation
directive of
Jan. 12,
1950. Action
reflects the
increasing
interest by
AFOIN
Director, Gen.
Cabell, and
his
dissatisfaction
with AMC
inaction on
UFO study at
Wright-Patterson
AFB, Dayton,
Ohio.
(Brad
Sparks)
(McDonald
list)
Sept.
13,
1950; 5 miles
SW of
Effingham,
Illinois (BBU)
7:30 p.m.
(CST). Private
plane pilot
Frye saw 3
dull red
lights in
triangle
formation on
collision
course.
(Project 1947;
FUFOR Index)
Sept.
15, 1950
With
U.S. and South
Korea almost
forced off the
Korean
Peninsula by
North Korean
forces, a
rumor is
planted with a
gullible young
Canadian radio
engineer
visiting
Washington,
which is
designed to
boost Allied
morale with
sensational
news of a
super secret
weapon greater
than even the
H-bomb (which
was the number
one secret
weapon in
public eyes at
the
time).
Based on tips
evidently
passed along
by radio
engineer Ralph
L. Clark,
deputy chief
of CIA/OSI
(Office of
Scientific
Intelligence)
who had been a
top official
of the RDB
(Research
&
Development
Board of the
Dept of
Defense), the
CIA/OPC plants
this story
with RDB
official Dr.
Eric Walker
and RDB
consultant Dr.
Robert I.
Sarbacher to
be passed
along to the
visiting
Canadian
government
engineer
Wilbert B.
Smith.
(Brad
Sparks)
Sept. 18,
1950; Poplar
[Poplar
Bluff?],
Montana (BBU)
4 p.m. Air
National Guard
pilot James
and another
flying F-51's,
CAA tower
personnel and
other ground
witnesses saw
a round object
moving
erratically at
high speed
then hover.
(Project 1947;
FUFOR Index) Sept. 20
[19?], 1950;
Kit Carson [10
miles S of
Akron?], Colo.
(BBU 807)
10:49 [10:45?
MST] a.m. USAF
B-25 crew with
3416th
Training Sq
saw brilliant
white star
like object
accelerate and
decelerate,
emitting
sparks. Source
[?] saw 2
large, round,
glowing
objects and 3
smaller,
internally lit
objects; 2
hovered for 1
min, moved,
and 3 smaller
objects came
from behind or
within the 2
larger
objects, and
all sped
upward and
away.
(Berliner; cf.
Project 1947)
Sept.
21,
1950;
Provincetown,
Mass. (BBU
809)
9:53-9:55 a.m. (EST). MIT research associate and Air National Guard Maj. Myron Herbert Ligda and Joseph V. Connelly (plus another witness) tracked on SCR-615B radar an unidentified object heading N, during MIT Weather Radar Research Group tracking of USAF flight of 2 Otis AFB F-84 jet fighters which were heading 333° straight and level course at about 400 mph (IAS 250 knots) positioned at range 45 miles 105° azimuth initially, at 9:50 a.m. Object detected at 9:53 a.m. on a nearly intersecting straight line course heading about 358° [at about 500 mph?], F-84 pilots were warned by VHF-1 radio but could not see object due to poor visibility haze when ground radar showed object crossed about 3 miles [actually plotted about 1-1.5 miles ahead and blips “nearly merged”] in front of jets at 9:54:00 a.m. Object speed about 1,500 mph as it made a sharp right turn and loop of about 270° about 15 g's centripetal acceleration back to the W. (Jan Aldrich; Hynek UFO Rpt pp. 139-141; etc.) 2 mins September
25, 1950
Major General
Cabell,
Director of
AFI, requested
that AMC
reinstate the
investigation
and analysis
at ATIC. The
FBI received
from Cabell a
copy of an
intelligence
collection
memorandum
entitled
“Reporting of
Information on
Unconventional
Aircraft.”
This was yet
another
request to
provide
sighting
information
with the added
request that
“no publicity
be given this
reporting or
analysis
activity.” Once
again, in
private the
Air Force was
contradicting
its public
stance that
saucer
sightings were
not worthy of
attention. In
private the
Air Force and
the FBI found
out that
sightings
which were
about to occur
at Oak Ridge
were worthy of
attention...a
lot of
attention.
Sept
25, 1950 -
JANAP 146(A)
Joint
Army-Navy-Air
Publication
146, CIRVIS
Commuication
Instructions
for Reporting
Vital
Intelligence
Sightings.
Revised
version of
JANAP 146
(Oct. 1,
1948). Start
of CIRVIS
Reports for
commercial and
military
pilots, added
UFOs to list
of sighting
categories.October
3, 1950;
Pomona, Calif.
Disc-shaped UFO reported by scientist. [VI] October 5, 1950; Between San Fernando & Van Nuys, California Evening.
The pilot of
California
Central
Airlines
reported that
a mysterious
flying object
buzzed his
aircraft
between San
Fernando and
Van Nuys.
Pilot Cecil
Hardin said
that an object
with "eight
bright
lights", and
apparently had
no fuselage,
was sighted at
4,500'. Hardin
said it
flashed
beneath his
plane" at
terrific
speed" as he
pulled up to
avoid it and
was still
visible after
passing.
[AP article,
NICAP UFO
Evidence, V]
Oct.
12, 1950;
Knoxville,
Tenn. (BBU)11:25
p.m. EST. A
military radar
unit at
Knoxville
Airport
suddenly
detected 11,
“and possibly
more,”
unidentified
targets moving
over the
restricted
flight zone at
Oak
Ridge.
This time
action was
taken. At
11:30, the
radar station
commander
scrambled an
F-82
fighter.
It was in the
air nine
minutes
later. The
fighter was
vectored
toward two
targets and,
according to
the radar,
closed with
the targets,
but the
pilot saw
nothing.
Ground
observations
also failed to
detect
anything in
the
sky. No
unusual
objects were
seen visually
or on radar
for the next
two
days. Then
the “dam
broke.” On
October 15, at
3:25 PM, three
Oak Ridge
security
guards and a
caretaker saw
an exceedingly
strange
object.
(McDonald
list)
Oct. 12, 1950; Oak Ridge, TN Late Thursday, a saucer-looking object was observed over the K-25 area near the NEPA Project area. The object was described as round, as big as a four room house, silver in color, and had a blister at the top of the saucer. The object also had windows. The object rose slowly for about 100 feet, moved forward, rose again about the same distance and then it was gone at a high rate of speed. (Source: BB files/The Knoxville Journal, October 26, 1950). Oct. 13, 1950; Oak Ridge, TN Sightings by AEC security patrols? According to Blue Book Archive, Roll 90, Frames 635-636, radar tracks were noted at 0100 on the 13th but no visual sightings. (Barry Greenwood) Oct.
15,
1950; Oak
Ridge, Tenn.
(819)
3:20 p.m.
AESS Trooper
Rymer, J.
Moneymaker,
and Capt.
Zarzecki saw 2
shiny silver
objects shaped
like bullet or
bladder dive
with a smoke
trail, one
vanished, the
other hovered
at 5-6 ft
altitude, 50
ft away, left
and returned
several times
somewhat
further away.
(Berliner)
Oct.
15, 1950; Pope
AFB, North
Carolina (BBU
821)
4:20 p.m.
Miami Airlines
DC-4 pilot and
copilot Daniel
and Woodward
saw 4 round
shiny 100 ft
objects
descended
slowly then
took off in a
line. The
objects were
pursued by the
pilots for an
estimated 3
minutes at an
estimated 180
mph.
(Berliner;
FUFOR Index)
Oct. 15, 1950; near Pope AFB, North Carolina 4:25 p.m. EST. An Air Force pilot was following the flight of a jet when an object, oblate and spheroid in shape, crossed the line of flight of the jet plane and continued its movement in a NW direction. Total length of observation, 10-12 seconds. Object appeared to be constructed of aluminum or like substance...speed unknown...altitude unknown ...trail none. Object followed perfectly straight line of flight. Pilot suggested that the object sighted was the same or one of the same objects sighted and reported by commercial airlines pilot of the Miami Air Lines. (Ridge/Gross) Oct. 15,
1950; Oak
Ridge AEC
site, Tenn.
(BBU)
(Hynek
UFO Rpt pp.
142-3) RV
Oct. 16, 1950; Oak Ridge, Tennessee 3:20 (1520) EST. "While Special Agent William S. Price was present, a report came from the AEC Patrol to the radar station relating that a Trooper Isabell and four civilian employees at Oak Sidge had observed a "silver disc" hovering over the K-25 Plant in the controlled area. The radar screen was able to pick up an indistinct target about every three (3) or four (4) sweeps of the indicator. An F-82 fighter plane was sent to attempt an intercept of the object. The airborne radar of the fighter picked up a target which later proved to be a light aircraft. The ground observers reported that the F-82 passed under the "silver disc" while it was in pursuit of the light plane. The crew of the fighter observed nothing unusual. Nothing further was learned of the sightings." (NARA doc./Fran Ridge/Dan Wilson) Oct. 20, 1950; Oak Ridge, Tenn. 4:55 p.m. Not listed in either BB Unknown list, but has aspects that may ultimately classify it as an unknown. Larry Riordan, the Superintendent of Security for the X-10 control zone became a witness. While driving to a residential area he saw an object which he thought at first was a balloon which had lost its “basket.” It was generally round, appeared to “come together at the bottom in wrinkles (rather indistinct and something was hanging below.” It appeared to be 8 to 10 feet long and lead or gunmetal colored. It didn’t seem to be moving but, since he was traveling and only saw it for a number of seconds, he couldn’t be sure. He was sure it wasn’t a weather balloon, although he thought it might have been a gas bag balloon launched by the nearby University of Tennessee Agricultural Research Farm. On the same day at 3:27 PM the radar unit at the Knoxville airport detected radar targets near the area of Mr. Riordan’s sighting and scrambled a fighter plane. The pilot searched the area for about an hour and a half, which included the time of Mr. Riordan’s sighting, and found nothing. Oct.
23, 1950;
Bonlee, North
Carolina (BBU
824)
12:42
p.m. Ex-USAF
pilot Frank
Risher saw an
aluminum
object shaped
like a
dirigible or
Convair C-99
cargo plane,
with 3
portholes,
arrive from
SE, hover 3-5
secs and fly
away to the
SSE.
(Berliner) 40
secs
October 23, 1951; Oak Ridge, Tennessee 4:30 PM, Francis Miller, an Oak Ridge laboratory employee, while driving along a road in Oak Ridge saw an object that appeared to be less than half a mile away and between 1,000 and 2,000 feet up. It appeared as an "aluminum flash" that was traveling in a south-southeast direction. He only saw it for a few seconds. Subsequently it was discovered that a nuclear radiation detection station (a Geiger counter) in the vicinity of the sighting registered a burst of alpha and beta radiation. The purpose of this station was to detect any leaks of radiation from the Oak Ridge Laboratory. There was no leakage of radiation, however. An expert from the Health and Research Division analyzed the readings from the Geiger counter and pronounced them unexplained. This association between radiation detection and a UFO sighting was similar to that at Mt. Palomar mentioned in Chapter 13. Whether the reading of the Geiger counter was actually a result of nuclear radiations or whether the presence of the UFO induced a transient electrical fault in the counter or whether there was some other explanation is not known. This case does not appear in the Project Blue Book file. Oct. 24, 1950; Oak Ridge, Tennessee 6:30 p.m. FBI documents show several visual sightings at Oak Ridge and a radar track at Knoxville. An unidentified object appeared at 6:30 PM at an altitude of approximately 5,000 feet in the same general vicinity as the object observed by Fry (see FBI doc below). The radar target disappeared at 7:20 p.m.. The complete radar report to the CIC investigator says that targets appeared at 6:23 p.m. moving over the restricted flight zone and at 6:26 a fighter was scrambled to the area of the targets but failed to see anything. (Fran Ridge)
The G-2, an
Army
Intelligence
service, is
interested in
the matter of
UFOs and gives
some guidance
to commanders
reporting such
phenomenon.
Nov. 5, 1950; Oak Ridge, Tenn. (BBU 829) 11:55
a.m. Fairchild
Aircraft
illustrator
Don Patrick
saw a
translucent
object, light
grey with dark
core, shaped
like a pear or
bean, flying
with rapid,
darting
movements.
(Berliner)
5-10 mins
7:15 p.m. USN pilot Lt. jg Robert Haven flying AD-4Q at 3,500 ft heading W saw a steady white 10-12 inch light to his right at about 4,000 ft 5 miles away heading SE, made a slight climbing turn to the left to get on the tail of the object but it responded by making a head on pass about 100-200 ft over the AD-4Q in a slight dive at high speed. Haven made a tight turn to pursue, noted no wash or slipstream from the object traveling at about 900 mph, which made 5-6 head on passes at the AD-4Q, climb rate >2,000 ft/min, chase abandoned at 11,500 ft., as object outmaneuvered aircraft. When jets arrived object reached about 25,000 ft and disappeared. (Hynek UFO Rpt pp. 68-70; NARCAP) Nov. 10, 1950; South Ruislip, England 8:59 a.m. Not listed as an unknown in BB files, four radar contacts were made with an airborne unidentified object over England at altitudes of 1,000 feet or less to 30,000 feet or more and giving returns comparable to those of a B-29 aircraft, between 8:59 a.m. and 10:26 a.m. The speed of the object varied from 30 m.p.h. to 1000 m.p.h. statute. One contact at 9:46 a.m. lasting until 9:47 a.m. the object was lost due to accelerations and ascent in excess of capability of radar automatic tracking equipment. The object was observed through surface contact by AN/MPQ-2.. Observation was made from a radar van at Heston Airdrome (Dan Wilson; 51deg. 29' N -- 00 deg. 23' W). Nov. 10,
1950; southern
California
The U.S. Destroyer, Blue, searched the Pacific Ocean off southern California with radar, trying to track down a mysterious "unidentified object". A navy report said the Blue picked the "object" up on its radar screen and was maintaining the contact. The Blue, based at San Diego, had the object in the radar screen and was trying to close with it to identify it. Announcement of the search was made at Washington after San Diego authorities forwarded a report to the Navy Department there. (newsclipping) Nov. 14, 1950; Key West, Florida (BBU)
Appoximately 8:00 p.m. local time, an unidentified object was picked up by ground radar at 15,000 feet at 30 miles north of NAS, Key West. The speed of the object was 480 mph on a heading of 180 degrees. The object made a turn to the right and faded from the scope. An F6F-5N picked up object on radar at 1 1/2 miles range but was unable to close for visual contact. At approximately 8:15 p.m. an unidentified object traveling at high speed was sighted by the pilot of a F6F-5N near NAS, Key West. (Dan Wilson, McDonald list) Nov. 15, 1950; Key West, Florida (BBU) 9:00 p.m. An unidentified object was picked up by ground radar within 3 miles of two F6F-5N aircraft on a GCI flight. One pilot made a visual contact with the object with a long silver fuselage, no lights. The unidentified object followed the F6F-5Ns being controlled by GCI. The return on the radar was twice the size of the F6F aircraft and the speed of the object was estimated as twice as fast as the F6F's cruising at 160 knots. [See also Nov. 14, same location] (Dan Wilson, McDonald list) Nov. 20, 1950; South Ruislip, UK (BBU) (McDonald list) Nov. 23,
1950; Maxwell
AFB, Alabama
(BBU)
Thompson.
(McDonald
list; FUFOR
Index)
Nov. 27,
1950; Huron,
S.D.
CAA personnel saw hovering maneuvering UFO. [V] Nov. 27,
1950;
Evansville,
WI.
Flying instructor reported six elliptical objects in loose echelon formation. [V] Nov. 29-30, 1950; Knoxville, Tenn. (BBU) 1755
hours.
Numerous
unidentified
paints
appeared on
the radar
scope at the
662nd AW Radar
Detachment at
the McGhee
Tyson Airport,
Knoxville,
Tennessee.
These paints
almost covered
the
"Restricted
Area" at Oak
Ridge,
Tennessee.
A
fighter
aircraft was
sent to the
area but no
visual contact
was
reported.
Most of the
targets were
visible on the
radar scope
for two to
three hours.
At 1900
hours the
graph record
of a
background
(Geiger)
counter in the
"Restricted
Area"
indicated a
pronounced
rise in Alpha
particles and
a slight rise
in Gamma rays
at the same
time. These
readings were
unaccounted
for. The AEC
advised that
there were no
known "Argon
releases"
during 29 or
30 November
1950. On
November 30,
1950, at 1351
hours untill
1405 hours a
single
unidentified
target
appeared on
the radar
scopes ranging
12 to 21 miles
west to
northwest of
the station.
At 1630 hours,
on November
30, 1950,
numerous
unaccountable
paints
appeared on
the radar
scopes. The
"paints" were
so numerous
they could not
be counted or
plotted. These
paints
remained
visible on the
radar screens
until
approximately
2330 or 2400
hours. At
least nine
highly
qualified
persons
witnessed
these targets.
(McDonald
list, Dan
Wilson)
Dec. 1950; Nr.
Cheyenne, Wyo. USAF
officer saw
aluminum-like
oval UFO.
[III]
Dec. 2, 1950; Nanyika [Nanyuki?], Kenya, Africa (BBU 845) 10:50
a.m. Mr. and
Mrs. L. Scott
saw a pearly,
iridescent
object with a
flattened top,
spin while
hovering,
making a sound
like bees
buzzing. Only
data in files
was from East
African
Standard
newspaper.
(Berliner)
Dec. 6, 1950; Westover AFB, Massachusetts (BB) 8:16 a.m. EST. A civilian at Westover AFB, observed an object half moon in shape, with a silvery outline traveling south at a speed greater than known aircraft. The object appeared to be at an altitude from 10,000 to 20,000 feet. The object was first sighted at an estimated 60 degree angle above the horizon. The object disappeared suddenly without apparent reason. The Westover Approach Control Radar was inoperative at time of reported sighting. The observer is a member of the Air National Guard and is an aircraft mechanic. (Dan Wilson, Bruce Maccabee) Dec. 6, 1950; Radar-inspired national alert 10:30 a.m. For an hour the United States military was under a condition of national emergency during the morning of December 6, 1950. Two days later the FBI was informed that the Army's Counter Intelligence Corps had been placed on Immediate High Alert for any information related to flying saucers. (Ridge/Maccabee) Dec.
6, 1950; Ft.
Myers, Florida
(BBU 848)
5 p.m.
Former
aircraft
purchasing
agent Harry
Lamp and 4
boys, using
10x binoculars
saw a 75 ft
object, 3-4 ft
thick, bubble
on top, silver
with a red rim
having two
white and two
orange jets
along it and a
center that
revolved when
the object
hovered.
Object flew
away at very
high speed.
(Berliner)
Dec. 11
[18?], 1950;
10 miles NW of
Gulkana,
Alaska. (BBU
849)
10:13
p.m. Crew of
Northwest Air
Lines flight
802 [and
military ?]
saw 2 white
flashes,
followed by a
dark cloud
which rose and
split in 2.
(Berliner)
Dec. 14, 1950; Knoxville, Tennessee 4:05 p.m. A group of targets blanketed the radar scopes in the area directly over the government Atomic Energy Commission projects at Oak Ridge. These objects could not be identified from the radar image and a perfect fighter interception met with negative results. (Fran Ridge) Dec. 18, 1950; Oak Ridge, Tennessee (BBU) Between
0820 and 0830
hours seven
officials of
the NEPA
Division while
traveling in
two cars
observed an
unidentified
flying object.
At 0839 hours
to 0845 hours
a small
"paint"
appeared on
the scopes of
the 663rd
AC&W
Squadron AF
radar station,
Knoxville
Airport, near
the southeast
corner of the
Oak Ridge
Controlled
Area. The
target was on
a magnetic
bearing of 190
degrees at a
speed of 60
mph at an
estimated
altitude of
2500 feet.
Fighter
interception
was attempted
with negative
results.
Dec. 18, 1950;
Oak
Ridge,
Tennessee Calkins. (Blue Book files, McDonald list; FUFOR Index) Dec. 20, 1950; Oak Ridge, Tenn. (BBU) AN&C radar tracks UFO. Log of the 663rd AN &C Squadron, F-82 intercept. Dec. 27,
1950;
Lakehurst, New
Jersey (BBU)
Folean.
(McDonald
list; FUFOR
Index)December
27, 1950;
Bradford, Ill.
Trans-World Airways pilot watched light source perform violent and erratic maneuvers. [V] |
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