 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 Sept 2007
The wave of 1947 has always intrigued me for several
reasons. All the other waves had a precedent. This wave had come
before all of them, had come out of nowhere, and was an entirely new
phenomena. The
descriptions of the objects seen over a six week period were very
similar and half of the sightings involved daylight objects, many of
them described as "flying discs". The wave suddenly ended with
the reported crash of a strange object at Roswell, New Mexico. For what
we know about the wave of 1947 today we have Ted Bloecher, and a few
others, to thank. What you are about to read, not counting the BB
documents and NICAP reports, encompasses well over 500 pages.
This project involves a number of people. First of all, this
is an on-going project, and
Ted Bloecher is helping us to constantly update his 1967 work. The
entire updated version as
presented today is available on the
NICAP site. 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. With the help of William Wise (Project Blue
Book
Archive), and Dan Wilson (digging out the cases from my checklist), the
task was much easier. But
without Brad Sparks' updated list, the Comprehensive Catalog of Project
Blue Book Unknowns, the entire project
would have been impossible. And
our thanks go to Jean Waskiewicz who created the online NICAP DBase
(NSID) that helped make it possible to link from the cases to the
reports themselves. To view the 1947 sightings listed by Blue Book click here. Be sure
to click on and read the two great books below. But first, let's let
Ted
Bloecher do the introduction.
Introduction
During the summer of 1947 a bizarre and
inexplicable situation developed in North America for which, up to the
time of the writing of this report (1967), twenty years later, no
satisfactory
explanation has been forthcoming. Beginning in the latter part of
June, people in widely separated places and from all walks of
life began to report having seen shining, high-speed,
strangely maneuvering objects in the sky. In most of these reports the
objects were described as round or disc-shaped. For more than a week,
sightings were made in continuously increasing numbers. On July 4th the
reports rose sharply and spontaneously, and for five days there was
scarcely any part of the United States that had not been visited by
these strangely elusive aerial objects. Reports came from many points
in Canada as well. The number of sightings crested on July 7th, and
during the next few days reports began to diminish until, about a week
later, only a handful were being made from scattered sections of the
country. Although the objects themselves had all but vanished,
interest and speculation about them continued for some time after. A
wave of sightings of unidentified flying objects had occurred. Flying
saucers had become part of the language and the subject of fickle
interest and ever-increasing confusion.
As most people familiar with the history of the UFO
phenomenon are aware, the events of 1947 seemed to begin on June
24th, the date of the sighting made by Kenneth Arnold, while flying a
plane over the Cascade Mountains of Washington. The date is partly
justified, for it was the report made by this Boise, Idaho pilot and
businessman, who sold fire-fighting equipment throughout the northwest,
that opened the first chapter in the modern record of UFO activity. But
Arnold's was not the first sighting of the period. For weeks before
that
people had been seeing unidentified objects in the sky and keeping the
matter to themselves. An important result of Arnold's report was to
elicit from these earlier witnesses their accounts of those previously
unreported observations.
The 1947 UFO wave is perhaps the most fascinating of any to
examine because of its unique position at the very beginning of the
contemporary period of UFO activity in this country. There were no
attitudes about UFOs in June, 1947. There were no preconceptions, no
misconceptions, no policies by either press or public, nor by any
official agencies, and certainly no pattern existed concerning the
phenomenon by which comparisons might be made. Few people recalled the
reports of ghost rockets over Sweden during the summer of 1946, and it
was only during the crest of the 1947 wave, on July 6th and 7th, that
any connection was made with those earlier phenomena. A few World
War II veterans, who had observed foo fighters over Germany and in the
South Pacific during the war, were now reminded of those earlier
incidents by the widespread reports of flying saucers. But for most
witnesses, the experience of observing strange aerial manifestations
was completely without precedent and profoundly baffling.
We now know that after 1947 it could be expected that a UFO
witness might be afraid to report a sighting publicly for fear of
ensuing ridicule and intimidation. This is a reaction we have come to
expect, one of the many psychological complexities of the UFO
phenomenon that has developed out of prevailing public and official
attitudes over a long period of time. But in 1947 there were no such
precedents to create this type of fear; these witnesses had seen
something unaccountable and their fear was of the unknown, a reaction
to
something totally new and unexpected. There was no place, outside of
science fiction, for this kind of inexplicable experience. The
appearance of some new phenomenon was not just frightening, it
was against all common sense, and if something in someone's
experience does not make any sense, it is not likely that this
experience is going to be made public - at least not until it is
discovered that others have shared the same baffling experience. And so
to many, it must have come as something of a relief to read of Kenneth
Arnold's sighting, and to discover that they had not taken leave of
their senses and were not the only ones to have come face to face with
something they were quite unable to explain or understand.
Ted Bloecher
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE CHRONOLOGY
January 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)
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 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. At about eleven o'clock that morning 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 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
[23?], 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).
June 23, 1947; Cedar Rapids, IowaFran Ridge:
Bloecher found 20 reports on June 24! These were mostly in the far northwestern states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Sightings were scattered throughout the day from morning to night. After the 24th, the sighting rate stayed at about 10 per day or higher, with sightings occurring not just in the west but throughout the country. Railroad engineer saw 10 shiny disc-shaped objects, very
high, fluttering along in a string toward NW. [UFOE, XII]
June 24, 1947;
Mt. Adams, Wash. (BBU 12)
Afternoon. Prospector Fred Johnson of Portland, Oregon, was
at the 5,000 ft level when he saw a group of 6-7 fast-moving
objects [heading SE?], extremely bright on top, with long sharply
pointed tails and one waving like a compass needle, flashing when
seeming to bank, at perhaps 1° elevation (seemingly 1,000 ft higher
and possibly 10 miles away), angular size roughly 0.03° (seeming 30
ft size at 10 miles) viewed through a small pocket telescope, focusing
on one object mainly while noting 5-6 others; his compass needle
fluctuated. 45-60 secs. (FOIA; Sparks; Bloecher 1967) .
Ridge:
To many, the events of 1947
seemed
to have begun on June
24th, the date of the sighting made by Kenneth Arnold, while flying a
plane over the Cascade Mountains of Washington. It was the report made
by this Boise, Idaho pilot and businessman, who sold fire-fighting
equipment throughout the northwest, that opened the first chapter in
the modern record of UFO activity. But as you can tell, this wasn't the
beginning.
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; Pendleton, Oregon A humanoid report on the same day Arnold had his sighting (Bloecher). June 28, 1947; 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 heading S at high
speed. (McDonald list; FOIA; FUFOR Index; Bloecher 1967)
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 [26?], 1947;
Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama (BBU)
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. 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;
White Sands 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, Northern Idaho This interesting report describes the landing, seen by a family of ten in Northern Idaho, of eight huge objects. 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
Photo by Frank Ryman. Coast Guard yeoman took first known photograph of UFO, a circular object which moved across the wind. Photo shows round dot of light. [UFOE, VII, XII] 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 6, 1947; S. Central Wyoming
Aviation engineer saw oval UFO. [UFOE, VI] 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)
July 6, 1947; Clay Center, Kansas (BBU)
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; 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
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. (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 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. [See previous Muroc
sightings.] (Exact and complete quote from Ruppelt p. 22)
July 9, 1947; Bet. Meridian and Boise, Idaho (BBU)
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)
July 10, 1947; Harmon Field,
Newfoundland, Canada (BBU)
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.
July 11, 1947; Elmendorf Air Base, Anchorage, Alaska (BBU)
AAF Colonel Perry (?) plus another witness Guyer, saw a
round 3 ft aluminum object travel at great speed to the S. At 6:30 p.m.
(AHST) [July 12?] AAF Major Graham saw a balloon-like grayish 10 ft
object headed NW at 100 mph at 1,500 ft. [Same incident?] (McDonald
list; FOIA; FUFOR Index)
July 29, 1947; Canyon
Ferry, Montana
(Helena?) (BBU)
12:05 p.m. Observer Madden 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. (PDT?). 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).
Paragraph (b) states, "Lack of
topside inquiries, when
compared to the prompt and demanding inquiries that have originated
topside upon former events, gives more than ordinary weight to the
possibility that this is a domestic project, about which the President,
etc. know."
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)
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) Aug. 13, 1947; 40 miles SW
of Twin
Falls [at Salman Dam].
Idaho (BBU)
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. 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)
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) 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
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 August (late), 1947; Vaughn
(near), New Mexico
Approx 8:00 pm. Basketball-Sized object explodes near
colonel.
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)
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. 17, 1947; Ft.
Richardson, Alaska
(BBU)
[Army officer saw a 2-3 ft silver sphere traveling S at
tremendous speed below the 10,000 ft cloud cover.] (McDonald list; Mary
Castner/CUFOS)
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)
Oct., 1947; Dodgeville, Wisc. (BBU 91)
11 [a.m.?]. Unnamed civilian man saw an undescribed object
fly counterclockwise circles. 1-hr. (Berliner)
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. 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; Anderson Rd., Houston, Texas (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. 12, 1947; 40 miles N [S?] of Cape Blanco, Oregon, 20
miles off coast (BBU)
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??]
December 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 7:58 the crew found a growing ground fire about 7 miles E of Pilot Hill, at 38°50' N, 120°53' W, another C-47 crew sent to investigate found a triangular fire area with 2 points emitting bright blue-green flames, going out at 9:55 p.m. (FOIA) Dec. 30, 1947; Sawtooth
Nat. Forest,
Idaho (BBU)
7:26 p.m. (PST). Pilot AAF Lt. Col. W. W. Jones, Hq EPW
[Enemy Prisoners of War?], and copilot Major A. A. Andrae, 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. 2-secs.
(FOIA)
Reference: 1. Report on the UFO Wave of 1947, Ted Bloecher
|
|
|
