Category 11 Case Directory
  SIGHTINGS FROM AIRCRAFT 
 
  Preliminary
Rating: 5  

                                   
     

AVCAT is a special project being conducted by NICAP, with the help and cooperation of the original compiler of AIRCAT, Dr. Richard Haines, and other sources, to create a comprehensive listing of sightings from aircraft with detailed documentation from these sources, including Projects SIGN, GRUDGE & BLUE BOOK.

Gorman (Fargo) Case
Oct. 1, 1948
Fargo, North Dakota

9:00 p.m. MST
Duration 27 mins
F-51 aircraft
United States
Military & civilian
5 witnesses
No EMI
No radar contact

Updated: July 2019
Fran Ridge:

Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, in his book ("The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects") wrote that it was just a matter of days after the top secret Estimate of the Situation was signed, sealed, and sent on its way, that the third big sighting of 1948 took place. This was the famous Fargo, ND case, one of the cases  "that 'proved' to ATIC's intelligence analysts that UFOs were real." Small lights in the sky are easy prey for the skeptics, until one reads the details of the reports. This is not only unexplained, it's a good report supporting the existence of a type of object that has become known as a probes. Documents found recently (see USAF SIGN3-2 below) state the object detected the approaching F-51 and took evasive action. [See bad news for debunkers. *]

Brad Sparks:
Oct. 1, 1948; Fargo, North Dakota (BBU)
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 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 250-­270 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. 27 mins. (Sparks)

George Gorman:
"I can tell you this much, because it's been mentioned in print. There was thought behind every move the light made. It wasn't any radar-responder gadget making it veer away from my ship."

Detailed reports and documents
The Gorman/Fargo, ND Case Report [3 pages] (Richard Hall)
The Gorman Case - [extract from FSAR, 5 pages] (Donald Keyhoe)
The Gorman Letter [2 pages] (Francis Ridge & Wendy Connors)
Letter to Chief of Staff from Col. McCoy dated 7 Oct 1948 [2 pages] (FUFOR/Richard Hall)
Extremely Bad News For Debunkers (Sparks) *
MAXW-PBB4 685-701 - Check Lists - Incident 172 - Gorman [18 pages] (Dan Wilson)
MAXW-PBB4-721 - Memo From Sneider to Money - Incident #172, Fargo, ND [1 page] (Dan Wilson)
MAXW-PBB4 742 - Routing & Record Sheet [1 page] (Dan Wilson)
MAXW-PBB4 744-750 - Oct 1, 1948; Fargo, ND, Sign Interrogates Witnesses [8 pages] (Dan Wilson)
MAXW-PBB4 751-760 - Oct. 1, 1948; Field Investigation Report [9 pages] (Dan Wilson)
MAXW-PBB4 764-767 - Essential Elements of Information / Gorman File [4 pages] (Dan Wilson)
MAXW-PBB4 768-770 - Agent Sherry Report - Fargo, ND Incident [5 pages] (Dan Wilson)
MAXW-PBB4 771-772 - Letter to Commanding General, HQ ND ANG, Fargo [2 pages] (Dan Wilson)
MAXW-PBB4 774-777 - Newspaper Articles - Gorman Case [3 pages] (Dan Wilson)
MAXW-PBB4 702-704 - Comic Book Version Found in BB Files [3 pages] (Dan Wilson)
MAXW-PBB4 706-711 - The Gorman "Dogfight" / Donald Menzel [7 pages] (Dan Wilson)
USAF-SIGN3-2-39 -  Re: 30-32,  Object Detected Approaching F-51 [38 pages] (Fran Ridge)

The P-51 Mustang


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