March 18, 1948

Here the "secret" is emblazoned on the cover of Popular Science for May 1948 as a bit of publicity hype since obviously it was not "secret" if it was being published openly. (Keyhoe's book cover two years later looks a bit like this magazine cover.)  The issue must have hit the newsstands in April possibly as early as March 1948, and written up in maybe Jan/Feb 1948.  (Brad Sparks/Ole Jonny Braenne)

April 23, 1948, A Preliminary Project SIGN Report (56 pages in pdf file)

Routing and Records Sheet by Miles Goll describing the excellent work of Alfred Loedding, monitor of Project SIGN.

May 28, 1948, 6 miles east of Monroe, Michigan [III]
Air Force transport reported being buzzed by 3 UFOs. [III]

11 p.m. Mrs. Catherine MacDonald and Mrs. Margaret Hollar saw an oval luminous object "rolling" vertically on its edge in level (or climbing) flight at about 5,000 ft, below the clouds, with a short trail (about 1/2 length of object), in the SW moving SW to NE (to the S of witnesses?). 2 similar objects seen at 5-min intervals, the 2nd seeming transparent as lightning could be seen flashing behind it. Police were then called so 2nd/3rd objects were seen by police Sgt. Charles Schulz [Schuh?] and Mrs. MacDonald's daughter Catherine. Another neighbor woman and her daughter were brought out, when a 3rd object was seen, height estimated 6,000-9,000 ft (climbing?), same SW to NE path. (FOIA; FUFOR Index) 5-10 secs + ? + 6-7 secs

June 30, 1948; S Knoxville, Tenn. (BBU)

Whitehouse. (McDonald list; FUFOR Index)

June 30, 1948; Hecla, South Dakota (BBU)

Pfutzenreuter. (McDonald list; FUFOR Index)




Summer 1948; Labrador
UFO tracked on radar at 9,000 m.p.h. [UFOE,VIII]

July 4, 1948; Dravesburg, Penna. (BBU)

Jannicky. (McDonald list; FUFOR Index)

July 8, 1948; McKeesport, Penna. (BBU)

Veway and Geltz. (McDonald list; FUFOR Index)

July 9, 1948; Alaska
Two Air Force officers reported approximately 20 discs or spheres milling around in formation and making a jet-like sound. (Fund Report C-7; 2 pp.)

July 9, 1948; Fielding Lake, Wash. (BBU)

Caramia. (McDonald list; FUFOR Index)

July 1948; Pasco, Wash.
Private pilot saw disc diving and climbing away at high speed. [NICAP, V]

July 9, 1948; Osborn, Ohio (BBU)

9:47 p.m. AMC Technical Intelligence Division officer and pilot, Lt. C. W. G., of  MCIAXO-4, saw to the N about 70° elevation a luminous yellowish-white object traveling E to W at estimated 3,000-4,000 ft about 500-600 mph, illuminated at regular intervals, first 1-2 secs, then dark 3 secs, lit 1-2 secs again, dark 3 secs, then lit 1-2 secs again disappearing to the W slightly above the horizon N of Patterson Field. No sound or trail. Moon 1/4 illuminated seen rising to the WSW (actually setting to the W at 272° azimuth 21° elevation 15% illuminated). (FOIA)

4:50 p.m. 2 Kirtland AFB Sgts. on a fishing trip with their families saw a group of 7 aluminum circular possibly spherical objects approach from the S at 20,000 ft pass overhead at 1,500 mph if the altitude was correct (5°/sec angular velocity), at first appearing like snub-nosed jet fighters of unknown type, shifting from V formation to L formation to circular formation to no regular formation, at which point a regular pulsating flashing light appeared in the group at 30° from zenith to the N, and at this oblique angle the objects did not appear circular. No noise or trail. (FOIA) [10-30 secs?]

July 20, 1948; Arnhem, Netherlands
Paragraph "q" of Top Secret Air Intelligence Report 100-203-79, "Analysis of Flying Object Reports in The U.S." 10 Dec 1948. It reads:

July 21, 1948; Van Nuys, Calif. (BBU)

(McDonald list)

July 24, 1948; Altoona, Penna. (BBU)

Griebel. (McDonald list; FUFOR Index)

2:35 a.m.  Eastern Airlines pilots, Captain C.S. Chiles and First Officer J.B. Whitted, reported that a cigar-shaped object with lights like portholes approached head-on, accelerated, climbed away. (Sparks lists this as possible meteor fireball. [Battelle Unknown No. 5] 5-10 secs) Ruppelt describes this incident in his book:

Captain Edward J. Ruppelt:

"On the evening of July 24 (Ridge: Actually the 23rd), 1948, an Eastern Airlines DC-3 took off from Houston, Texas. It was on a scheduled trip to Atlanta, with intermediate stops in between. The pilots were Clarence S. Chiles and John B. Whitted. At about 2:45 A.M., (now the 24th) when the flight was 20 miles southwest of Montgomery, the captain, Chiles, saw a light dead ahead and closing fast. His first reaction, he later reported to an ATIC investigation team, was that it was a jet, but in an instant he realized that even a jet couldn't close as fast as this light was closing. Chiles said he reached over, gave Whitted, the other pilot, a quick tap on the arm, and pointed. The UFO was now almost on top of them. Chiles racked the DC-3 into a tight left turn. Just as the UFO flashed by about 700 feet to the right, the DC-3 hit turbulent air. Whitted looked back just as the UFO pulled up in a steep climb."

August 5, 1948, Top Secret EOTS

Ruppelt:

"According to the old timers at ATIC, this report shook them worse than the Mantell Incident. This was the first time two reliable sources had been really close enough to anything resembling a UFO to get a good look and live to tell about it. A quick check on a map showed that the UFO that nearly collided with the airliner would have passed almost over Macon, Georgia, after passing the DC-3. It had been turning toward Macon when last seen. The story of the crew chief at Robins AFB, 200 miles away, seemed to confirm the sighting, not to mention the report from near the Virginia North Carolina state line."

"In intelligence, if you have something to say about some vital problem you write a report that is known as an 'Estimate of the Situation.' A few days after the DC-3 was buzzed, the people at ATIC decided that the time had arrived to make an estimate of the Situation. The situation was the UFO's; the estimate was that they were interplanetary! "

5:03 a.m. Farmer Niswenger saw a large silvery sphere rise from a wooded area and hover above his farm, dropping a silvery substance that disintegrated before touching the ground. (Vallée Magonia 67; FUFOR Index)

Sept. 12, 1948; 8-12 miles SE of Pittsburgh, Penna. (BBU)

3:20 p.m. USAF pilot and copilot flying C-45 transport saw a round white object moving at high speed on a SW heading. (Project 1947)

Sept. 18, 1948; SE Shreveport, Louisiana (BBU)

5:00 p.m. Draftsman at home using high-power binoculars to watch an L-6 aircraft at 10,000 ft altitude at 60° elevation to the SE traveling 100 mph, for Air Force Day, saw a bright white aluminum half-spherical object traveling the opposite direction in level flight at about 20,000 ft altitude 2­1/2 miles away ground distance at 100-150 mph heading S, no trail, lost when he tried to view it without binoculars. Object appeared to be 1/3 size of the L-6 (35.5 ft) but 2x the distance, or about 24 ft. (FOIA)

Sept. 22, 1948; Near Turner AFB, Albany, Georgia (BBU)

3:30 p.m. (EST). USAF Lt. Martin G. Rubisch, Asst. Combat Ops Ofcr. at Eglin AFB, Flor., the copilot of a C-47 flying from Eglin heading NE into Turner AFB at 2,000 ft when he saw a shiny metallic object about the size of a radio controlled target drone, but with no wings or rudder, approaching from about 1,500-2,000 ft away about 35° to the left heading 335° (or 155°?) at about 250 mph at 1,500 ft altitude, no trail. (FOIA)

Sept. 23, 1948; 4 miles E of San Pablo, 4.1 miles S of Pinole, Calif. (BBU 208)

Approx. 12:02-12:03 p.m. Retired U.S. Army Col. Horace S. Eakins and Sylvester Bentham saw a 2-engine bomber aircraft pass low overhead to the SE then saw far beyond and high above it, possibly 1 mile higher, a strange fast-flying irregularly shaped translucent white amoeba headed E, the size of a 4-engine bomber, with 3 appendages in front 2 trailing with a dark grey spot possibly spherical near the center which remained stable in motion, the arms of the amoeba undulating, the object wobbling, disappeared suddenly, no trail. [Another object sighted?: a buff or grey rectangle with vertical lines.] (cf. FOIA)

9:40 a.m. Group of Los Alamos Scientific Lab personnel, Angier, Fairchild and others, waiting for an aircraft at the landing strip saw a sun-reflecting glint in the sky from a flat circular metallic object high in the N sky appearing like a flat dime on-edge slightly tipped as if 50 ft away. (Case recounted in unpublished Ruppelt manuscript said to be included in the TOP SECRET AMC Estimate of the Situation, apparently a revised version of the Aug. 5, 1948, initial draft. FUFOR Index.)

Sept. 23, 1948; Los Alamos, New Mexico (BBU)

[AESS security guard Hanson ?? saw an oval orange luminous object, length/width ratio about 1.5:1, to the E crossing the sky in level flight from right to left, trailing flame, disappearing in a cloud bank to the NE.]

Sept. 28 [18?], 1948; San Simeon, Calif. Patterson (BBU)

(McDonald list; FUFOR Index)

9:00-9:27 p.m. (MST). Air National Guard fighter pilot Lt. George F. Gorman plus 4 others including 2 CAA tower controllers saw a small 6-8-inch round white ball of 27 mins light with a flat, no-depth disc-like appearance, blinking off and on at slow speed. First spotted by pilot Dr. A. D. Cannon and passenger Einar Neilson aboard Piper Cub aircraft at 1600 ft AGL, N of Hector Field moving fast to the W above them at about 250­270 mph, spotted by Gorman shortly after. Gorman radioed tower and began pursuit at 9:07 p.m. Cannon and Neilson landed, went up into airport tower and with binoculars watched Lt. Gorman attempt to chase the light in his F-51 fighter, closest approach less than 500 ft distance on his first pass at about 5,000 ft. Gorman climbed to 14,000 ft but stalled out unable to intercept light at about 16,000 ft. Light made evasive and aggressive maneuvers, such as seeming to try to ram the F-51, that outperformed the F-51 at a top speed 600+ mph. Light dropped to 11,000 ft, Gorman attempted to dive on it, light pulled up, rose vertically until it disappeared. (Sparks)

Oct. 11, 1948; Neubiberg AFB, Munich, West Germany (BBU)

Swap and Ingelido. (McDonald list; FUFOR Index)

Oct. 13, 1948; South Bend, Indiana (BBU)

Brooke and Thompson. (McDonald list; FUFOR Index)

Oct. 14, 1948; Between Dayton, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Ind.
Air Force pilot, major, saw a UFO flying in an oscillatory path, up and down motions. Intelligence report missing. (Fund Report C-13; 2 pp.) (Project GRUDGE Report Case No. 181)

11:05 p.m. USAF pilot 1st Lt. Oliver Hemphill Jr. and radar observer 2nd Lt. Barton Halter flying a P-61 Black Widow night fighter made 6 interceptions of the same or different objects tracked on airborne radar, only one seen visually. Dull or dark translucent object shaped like a dirigible with a flat bottom and clipped tail end. Speed varied from 200 to about 1,500 mph. Pilot tried to close on visual object, but it dove away fast. (FOIA; Jan Aldrich)

Oct. 15, 1948; (about 50 miles E of Virginia coast in the Atlantic) (BBU)

Oct. 16, 1948; 1 mile S, 8 [5?] miles E of Sterling, Utah (BBU)

11:45 a.m. Airplane mechanic and used car dealer Mr. Nash on a hunting trip on a mountain at 9,000 ft MSL heard a fluttering, throbbing or purring noise and saw a flattened football or lozenge shaped black object with wide silver longitudinal stripe 9 x 6 x 3 inches, with blunted opening in the rear but no exhaust, pass 500 ft overhead on a NNW path at 4+ secs 300 mph. (FOIA)

Oct. 17, 1948; Crescent City, Calif. (BBU)

 [4:10 p.m.?] (PST). Blimp­like object much too fast and maneuverable for a blimp. [Siler, Haley and 2 other witnesses saw bright silvery oval object heading SE at 6,000+ ft altitude moving faster than an aircraft.] (FOIA; FUFOR Index)

Oct. 18, 1948; Pacific Heights, Oahu, Hawaii (21.31° N, 157.87° W). 5:05 p.m. (AHST). USAF rated pilot Major Robert C. Drum, wife and daughter, saw a round or elliptical bright silver object 10-15 ft in size [or 4-5 inches at arm's length??] about 10,000­14,000 ft altitude heading NE on a steady course horizontal to the ground about 200 mph, no trail or sound, no markings of any kind seen, observed intermittently for up to 10 secs at a time [due to cumulus clouds?]. (FOIA)

Oct. 24, 1948; 10 miles SW of Junction City, Kansas (BBU)

Huber. (McDonald list; FUFOR Index)

Oct. 24, 1948; Phoenix, Ariz. (BBU)

Peterson. (McDonald list; FUFOR Index)

Oct. 24, 1948; 4 miles SE of Moorhead, Minn. (BBU)

5:45 p.m. Mr. Sanders and his wife while driving NW on Hwy 52 towards Moorhead and Fargo (46.88° N, 96.78° W) saw a brilliant golden-white round object suddenly appear as if a light switched on, about 3 miles away to the NE at 1,000 ft altitude in a gradual climb traveling at high speed, estimated 600-1,000 mph, heading W towards Moorhead, no trail or sound, about 1/2 full moon angular size [moon and sun both below the horizon]. When they reached the N of Moorhead the object, which was slightly to the left of directly ahead, suddenly made a right turn to the N then 1 sec later disappeared by suddenly switching off. (FOIA; McDonald list; FUFOR Index)

Oct. 29 [27?], 1948; Goose Bay AFB, Labrador, Canada (BBU)

On this date or succeeding dates Oct. 31, and Nov. 1, 1948, slow moving unidentified targets were tracked at low altitude. On one date 2 targets were on a collision course S of base and were radioed a warning, the targets then veered off. (McDonald list; FUFOR Index; Ruppelt manuscript)

Oct. 30, 1948; About 15 (25?) miles WNW of Grays Harbor / Pacific Beach, Wash. (BBU)

4:20?-4:30 p.m. (PST).  While flying in an F-82 fighter headed N at 8,000 ft at 240 mph on a GCI intercept mission initially directed by the ADC radar site 634th Aicraft Control Sq., Neah Bay, Wash. (505th AC&W Group, Everett, Wash.) radar observer AF 2nd Lt. Robert L. Kunzman, 318th All Weather Fighter Sq, 325th Fighter Group, McChord AFB, Wash., saw as he headed toward an interception point a single compact group of yellow objects in the WNW at 10 o'clock position which burst into an in-line formation of about 10-20 or 25 white egg-shaped objects that crossed over in front of aircraft to 1 o'clock (in the NNE) heading W to E still in line formation at about 8,000 ft heading S and dropping back to 3 o'clock position in the E, which he first thought might be seagulls.  Objects maintained same altitude and horizontal flight throughout.  Objects then doubled back heading N paralleling the F-82's course while moving back up to 2:30 o'clock position at high speed, turning translucent part of the time just before disappearing by fading out or dissolving without going far enough to have vanished due to distance (some fog with visibility 5 miles may account for disappearance).  [If at 5 miles objects covered 15° from 3 to 2:30 position in possibly 5-10 secs, time assumed not reported, then relative velocity was possibly 500-1,000 mph greater than F-82's 240 mph.]  He called attention of the pilot Maj. Homer William Morris who missed seeing the objects.  Ground radar lost object at this same time. AFOSI interviewed radar controllers at 635th AC&W Sq at Pacific Beach, who tracked "no unidentified objects at high rate of speed" (leaving unstated what about unidentifieds at moderate speed) but did not interview at 634th AC&W Sq at Neah Bay which did the tracking.  (McDonald list;  BB Maxwell Microfilm Roll 4, pp. 630-657;  NARA Roll 88 pp. 144-149) ? (radar) + 20 secs (visual) 2+ witnesses RV

Oct. 31, 1948; Goose Bay AFB, Labrador, Canada (BBU)

(McDonald list)

Oct. 31, 1948; Azores (BBU)

(McDonald list)

UFO tracked by radar at 600 mph (VIII) (Ruppelt manuscript)


Nov. 3-4, 1948; 10 miles E of Vaughn, New Mexico (BBU)

Nov. 6, 1948; Wakkanai, Japan (BBU)