Bluebook Part 1 - (THE BLUE BOOK UNKNOWNS )
 

The unexplained UFO reports from the files of the U.S. Air Force’s

Project Blue Book UFO investigations.

Compiled by Don Berliner, for the Fund for UFO Research
 

THE UNEXPLAINED UFO CASES FROM THE PROJECT BLUE BOOK FILES

In January, 1974, I visited the U.S. Air Force Archives at Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Ala., to review the files of Project Blue Book as the first step toward writing a book on the subject.

In a full week, I read all the "unexplained" cases in the original files and made extensive notes, including the names and other identifying information on all witnesses where given. The cooperation of the staff of the Archives was excellent, and no restrictions were placed on my work.

A few months later, the files were withdrawn from public view so they could be prepared for transfer to the National Archives in Washington, D.C. This process involved making a Xerox copy of almost 30 file drawers of material, blacking out the names and other identifiers of all witnesses, and then microfilming the censored Xerox copy. The microfilm has been available to the public at the National Archives since 1976. The original Project Blue Book files remain under lock and key at the Archives.

On almost every page of the 12,000+ case files, there are big black marks where information that could be used to cross-check Project Blue Book’s controversial work has been censored.

This includes the names of witnesses to widely-publicized cases, and even names in newspaper clippings!

As it was perfectly legal for me to copy witness’ names when I visited the Air Force Archives, those names can be found in this report of 585 (less 13 missing) unexplained cases. And since the Privacy Act, which motivated the Air Force to censor the files in the first place, does not apply to reporters or anyone else outside the Government, they can be used as the reader pleases.

Inasmuch as the book I planned to write has never progressed beyond the manuscript stage, I see no reason to keep this information under wraps any longer. Perhaps it will encourage others to re-investigate cases and make the results known.

"Unidentified" says a great deal... and it says almost nothing.

Probably the most controversial aspect of the entire Air Force investigation of UFOs was its handling of individual cases.

The means by which one case was determined to be "identified" and another "unidentified" has no doubt fueled more arguments about Project Blue Book than anything else it did.

For many years, Blue Book’s most vocal opponents have insisted that the standards by which cases were allegedly explained were grossly unscientific. Blue Book’s goal, according to those who held it low esteem, was to attach some explanation to every case, regardless of logic or common sense. Examples of Blue Book saying a violently maneuvering disc was an aircraft, or of blaming a puzzling radar tracking on a supposedly malfunctioning radar set which it never bothered to check out, are numerous in the popular UFO literature.

And they are even more numerous in the files of Project Blue Book. The urgency with which Blue Book officials tagged answers onto cases without having done the proper investigation is obvious, though not proven. But if the Air Force was so eager to label cases "identified", despite the lack of supporting evidence, then those few cases which it labeled "unidentified" presumably withstood every attempt to apply every other kind of label. And so it may be that those cases are truly unidentifiable in familiar terms.

Indeed, the Air Force defines "unidentifiable" cases as those which,

"apparently contain all pertinent data necessary to suggest a valid hypothesis concerning the lack of explanation of the report, but the description of the object or its motion cannot be correlated with any known object or phenomenon."

To meet such criteria, a report must obviously come from a reputable source, and it must not bear any resemblance to airplanes, balloons, helicopters, spacecraft, birds, clouds, stars, planets, meteors, comets, electrical phenomena, or anything else known to frequent the air, the sky, or nearby space.

Unfortunately, the Air Force failed to stick to its own rules. Some of the "unidentifiable" cases most certainly can be correlated with known objects or phenomena. But most of them cannot. Moreover, many of the so-called "identified" cases cannot honestly be so correlated. But we are primarily concerned here with those cases which Project Blue Book openly admits it tried to explain and failed.

The amount of detail in these cases varies enormously. Some cases - frequently those which were well publicized at the time of the event - contain considerable information, while others are vague and seriously incomplete. Project Blue Book generally placed the blame for such incompleteness on the witnesses, but it should take its own share of the responsibility. In thousands of cases, there is no completed questionnaire in the Project files, nor even any indication that one was sent to the witness. And in most of the instances where a questionnaire was filled out, it was never followed up to get more complete answers to questions which the witnesses failed to deal with properly. For much of the life of Project Blue Book and its predecessors, there was no satisfactory. questionnaire at all. And one of those used for a lengthy period was so badly organized that a witness should not be held to blame for giving incomplete answers.

Yet, despite all the roadblocks, many reports are sufficiently complete to tell a pretty clear story of a puzzling experience. With this data now available, anyone can look at Project Blue Book’s "unidentified" UFO reports and make up his own mind.

• July 3, 1947; Harborside, Maine. 2:30 p.m. EDT. Witness: astronomer John Cole of South Brooksville, Me. Watched 10-15 seconds while ten very light objects, with two dark forms to their left, moved like a swarm of bees to the northwest. A loud roar was heard.
   

• July 4, 1947; over Emmet, Idaho. 8:17 p.m. PDT. Witnesses: United Air Lines Capt. E.J. Smith, First Officer Ralph Stevens, Stewardess Marty Morrow. Watched for 12-15 minutes while four objects with flat bottoms and rough tops moved at varying speeds, with one high and to the right of the others.
   

• July 6, 1947; Fairfield-Suisan Air Base, California. Daytime. Witnesses: Army Air Forces Capt. and Mrs. James Burniston. Watched for 1 minute while one object having no wings or tail rolled from side-to-side three times and then flew away very fast to the southeast.
   

• July 8, 1947; Muroc Air Base, California. 9:30 a.m. PDT. Witnesses: lst Lt. Joseph McHenry, T/Sgt Ruvolo, S/Sgt Nauman, Miss Janette Scotte. Watched for an unstated length of time while two disc-shaped or spherical objects--silver and apparently metallic--flew a wide circular pattern, and then one of them later flew a tighter circle.
   

• July 9, 1947; Meridian, Idaho. 12:17 p.m. PDT. Witness: Idaho statesman aviation editor and former (AAF) B-29 pilot Dave Johnson. Watched for more than 10 seconds from an Idaho Air National Guard AT-6 while a black disc, which stood out against the clouds, made a half-roll and then a stair-step climb.
   

• July 10, 1947; Harmon Field, Newfoundland, Canada. Between 3 and 5 p.m. local time. Witnesses: three ground crewmen, including Mr. Leidy, for Pan American Airways. Watched briefly while one translucent disc- or wheel-shaped object flew very fast, leaving a dark blue trail and then ascended and cut a path through the clouds.
   

• July 29, 1947; Hamilton Air Base, California. 2:50 p.m. PDT. Witnesses: Assistant Base Operations Officer Capt. William Rhyerd, ex-AAF B-29 pilot Ward Stewart. Watched for unknown length of time while two round, shiny, white objects with estimated 15-25 foot diameters, flew 3-4 times the apparent speed of a P-80, also in sight. One object flew straight and level; the other weaved from side-to-side like an escort fighter.
   

• Sept. 3, 1947; Oswego, Oregon. 12:15 p.m. PDT. Witness: housewife Mrs. Raymond Dupui. Watched for unknown length of time as 12-15 round, silver objects flew an unstated pattern.
   

• Oct., 1947; Dodgeville, Wisconsin. 11 unnamed civilian man. Watched for 1 hour while an undescribed object flew counterclockwise circles.
   

• Oct. 14, 1947; 11 mi. NNE of Cave Creek, Arizona. Noon MDT. Witnesses: ex-AAF fighter pilot J.L. Clark, civilian pilot Anderson, third man. Watched 45-60 seconds while one 3-foot "flying wing"-shaped object, which looked black against the white clouds and red against the blue sky, flew straight at an estimated 380 m.p.h., at 8-10,000 feet, from NW to SE.
   

• April 5, 1948; Holloman AFB, New Mexico. Afternoon. Witnesses: Geophysics Lab balloon observers Alsen, Johnson, Chance. Two irregular, round, white or golden objects. One made three loops then rose and disappeared rapidly; the other flew in a fast arc to the west during the 3O^second sighting.
   

• July 29, 1948: Indianapolis, Indiana. 9:88 a.m. witness*: James Toney, Robert Huggins, both employees of a rug cleaning firm. One shiny aluminum object, shaped something like an airplane’s propeller, with 10-12 small cups protruding from either blade. Estimated size 6-8’ long, 1.5-2’ wide. The object glided across the road a few hundred feet in front of their vehicle and apparently went down in a wooded area. Sighting lasted a few seconds.
   

• July 31, 1948; Indianapolis, Indiana. 8:25 a.m. Witnesses: Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Swigert; he was an electrician. Object was shaped like a cymbal, or domed disc; about 20’ across and 6-8’ thick, and was white without any shine. It flew straight and level from horizon to horizon in about 10 seconds, shimmering in the sun as if spinning.
   

• July or August, 1948; vicinity of Marion, Virginia. Shortly after sunset. Witness: Max Abbott, flying a Bellanca Cruisair four-passenger private airplane. A single bright white light accelerated and turned up a valley.
   

• Sept. 23, 1948; San Pablo, California. 12 noon. Witnesses: Sylvester Bentham and retired U.S. Army Col. Horace Eakins. Two objects: one, a buff or grey rectangle with vertical lines; the other a translucent "amoeba" with a dark spot near the center. The arms of the "amoeba" undulated. Both objects traveled very fast.
   

• Oct. 15, 1948; Fusuoka, Japan. 11:05 p.m. Witnesses: pilot Halter and radar operator Hemphill of a P-61 "Black Widow" night fighter. Up to six objects tracked on radar, only one seen visually. Dull or dark object shaped like a dirigible with a flat bottom and clipped tail end. Six seen on radar separately Pilot attempted to close on visual object, but it dove away fast.
   

• Dec. 3, 1948; Fairfield-Suisan AFB, California. 8:15 p.m. Witness: USAF Sgt., control tower operator. One round, white light flew for 25 seconds with varying speed, bouncing motion, and finally a rapid erratic climb.
   

• Jan. 4, 1949; Hickam Field, Hawaii. 2 p.m. Witness: USAF pilot Capt. Paul Storey, on ground. one flat white, elliptical object with a matte top circled while oscillating to the right and left, and then sped away.
   

• Jan. 27, 1949; Cortez-Bradenton, Florida. 10:20 p.m. Witnesses: Capt. Sames, acting chief of the Aircraft Branch, Eglin AFB, and Mrs. Sames. They watched for 25 minutes while a cigar-shaped object as long as two Pullman cars and having seven lighted square windows and throwing sparks, descended and then climbed with a bouncing motion at an estimated 400 m.p.h.
   

• March 17, 1949; Camp Hood, Texas. 7:52 p.m. Witnesses: guards of the 2nd Armored Division. While awaiting the start of a flare firing, they watched, for an hour, while eight large, green, red and white flare-like objects flew in generally straight lines.
   

• April 3, 1949; Dillon, Montana. 11:55 a.m. Witnesses: construction company owner Gosta Miller and three other unnamed persons. One object shaped like two plates attached face-to-face; matte bottom, bright aluminum top; 20’ diameter, 4-5’ thickness. It rocked or rotated in six cycles, descended, rocked, flew, rocked; all this was very fast.
   

• April 4, 1949; Merced, California. 10:20 p.m. witness: William Parrott, former Air Force pilot and major. One generally round object with a curved bottom and dull coloring. The object gave off a clicking sound until overhead. Parrott’s dog reacted. 35 seconds.
   

• April 24, 1949; Arrey, New Mexico. l0:30 a.m. Witnesses: General Mills meteorologist and balloon expert C.B. Moore and others on a balloon launch crew. One white, round ellipsoid, about 2.5 times as long as wide.
   

• April 28, 1949; Tucson, Arizona. 5:45 p.m. Witnesses: Howard Hann, Mr. Hubert, Tex Keahey. One bright, sausage-shaped object was observed for 40 minutes while it rolled and flew fast.
   

• May 5, 1949; Ft. Bliss, Texas. 11:40 a.m. Witnesses: Army officers Maj. Day, Maj. Olhausen, Capt. Vaughn. Two oblong white discs, flying at an estimated 200-250 m.p.h., made a shallow turn during the 30-50 second observation.
   

• May 6, 1949; Livermore, California. 9:35 a.m. Witness: C. G. Green. Two shiny, disc-like objects rotated around each other and banked. Then one shot upwards with a grey trail and rejoined the other. The sighting lasted 5 minutes.
   

• May 9, 1949; Tucson, Arizona. 2:30 p.m. Witness: M/Sgt. Troy Putnam. Two round, flat silvery objects, estimated to be 25’ in diameter, flew 750-1,000 m.p.h. in a banked but steady manner.
   

• May 27, 1949; South-central Oregon. 2:25 p.m. Witness: Joseph Shell, ferrying SNJ trainer for North American Aviation, from Red Bluff, California, to Burns, Oregon. Five to eight oval objects, twice as long as wide, and 1/5 as thick. They flew in trail formation, with an interval equal to 3-4 times their length, except that the second and third were closer together.
   

• July 24, 1949; Mountain Home, Idaho. 12 noon. Witness: Henry Clark, manager of a flying service, flying a Piper Clipper. Seven delta-shaped objects, 35-55’ in span, 20-30’ long, 2-5’ thick; light colored except for a 12’ diameter dark circle at the rear of each. They flew in a tight formation of twos with one behind, and made a perfect, but unbanked, turn. During the 10 minute sighting, they displayed decreasing smooth oscillations. Clark’s engine ran rough during the sighting, and upon landing was found to have all its spark plugs burned out.
   

• July 30, 1949; Mt. Hood, Oregon. 9 p.m. Witnesses: Northwest Airlines Capt. Thrush, two Portland control tower operators, and one flying instructor. One object with one white light and two red lights, maneuvered and hovered.
   

• Feb 5, 1950; Teaticket, Massachusetts. 5:10 p.m. Witnesses: Marvin Odom, former U.S. Navy fighter pilot, USAF Lt. Philip Foushee, pilot from Otis AFB, and two others. Two thin, illuminated cylinders, one of which dropped a fireball, maneuvered together and then disappeared high and fast after 5 minutes.
   

• Feb. 24, 1950; Albuquerque, New Mexico. 1:55 p.m. Witnesses: Municipal Airport Weather Observers Luther McDonald, Harrison Manson. One white, slightly elongated oval was watched for 1.5 minutes through a the odolite while it flew straight and level.
   

• Feb. 25, 1950; Los Alamos, New Mexico. 3:55 p.m. Witnesses: Twelve Atomic Energy Commission security inspectors. One cylinder with tapered ends, silver and flashing, flew slow and hen fast, fluttered and oscillated, and changed course. observations by individuals varied from 3 seconds to 2 minutes.
   

• arch 3, 1950; Selfridge AFB, Michigan. 11:05 p.m. Witness: st Lt Frank Mattson. One intense, dull yellowish light descended vertically, then flew straight and level very fast for 4 minutes.
   

• March 20, 1950; Stuggart, Arkansas. 9:26 p.m. Witnesses: Chicago & Southern Airlines Capt. Jack Adams, First Officer G. W. Anderson, Jr. One 100’ circular disc with 9-12 portholes along the lower side emitting a soft purple light, and a light at the top which flashed 3 times in 9 seconds, flew at not less than 1,000 m.p.h. It was seen for 25-35 seconds.
   

• March 27, 1980; Motobo, Okinawa. 10:30 a.m. Witness: USAF radar operator Cpl. Bolfango. Tracked on radar for 2 minutes while it was stationary and then moved at 500 m.p.h.. Visual observation not detailed, only mentioned in summary.
   

• March 28, 1950; Santiago, Chile. 3:15 p.m. Witness: M/Sgt. Patterson, of the office of the U.S. Air Attache. One white object observed for 5-10 seconds through binoculars while it flew high and fast, crossing 30^ of sky.
   

• March 29, 1950; Marrowbore Lake, Tennessee. 7 a.m. Witnesses: real estate salesmen Whiteside and Williams. Six-twelve dark objects shaped like 300-lb. bombs, estimated 5 feet long. Flew 500 m.p.h. and descended, making a noise like wind blowing through the trees.
   

• April 8, 1950; Kokomo, Indiana. 2 a.m. Witness: Earl Baker. One grey metallic disc, 50’ in diameter, 15’ thick; top-shaped with a "conning tower" at the top and three ports on the rim giving off a blue light. It hovered for 2 minutes, then flew away. Baker aroused from sleep by his dog.
   

• April 14, 1950; Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey. 2:30 p.m. Witness: Army M/Sgt. James. Four rectangular, amber objects, about 3’ by 4’. changed speed and direction rapidly; the group of objects rose and fell during the 3-4 minute sighting.
   

• May 7, 1950; Nine miles sough of Ely, Nevada. 6:45 p.m. Witnesses: Mr. and Mrs. George Smith and their grandson. One silvery white object hovered at 100’ altitude, moved back and forth for 10 minutes and then flew up and away. Note in case file: "No investigation."
   

• June 27, 1950; Texarkana, Texas. 7:50 a.m. Witnesses: Terrell and Yates, employees of Red River Arsenal. One object, bright, shaped like two dishpans face-to-face, flew straight and level, fast for 4-5 seconds.
   

• July 13, 1950; Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. 5 p.m. Witnesses: two skilled Arsenal employees including Mr. Washburn. one object, shaped like a bowtie, and like polished aluminum. Flew straight and level, then one triangle rotated 1/4 turn in the opposite direction and returned to its original position. The object then made a right-angle turn and accelerated away after at least 30 seconds.
   

• Aug. 4, 1950; approx. 100 mi. SE of New York City (39’ 35’ N., 72’ 24.5’ W.). 10 a.m. EDT. Witnesses: Master Nils Lewring, Chief Mate Jacob Koelwyn, Third Mate, of M/V Marcala. One 10’ cylindrical object at 50-100’ altitude, flying with a churning or rotary motion, accelerated at end of 15 second sighting.
   

• Aug. 20, 1950; Nicosia, Cyprus. 1:30 p.m. Witnesses: USAF MATS liaison officer Lt. William Ghormley, Col. W. V. Brown, Lt. col. L.w. Brauer. One small, round, bright object flew fast, straight and level for 15-20 seconds.
   

• Aug. 25, 1950; approx. 250 mi. SW of Bermuda (29’ 40’ N., 67* 28’ W.). 8 p.m. Witness: B-29 radarman S/Sgt. William Shaffer. Radar observation, plus possible blue streak 3 minutes later. B-29 followed unidentified target, then passed it at l/4-mile distance, target followed for 5 minutes, then passed B-29 and sped away. Total time of tracking: 20 minutes.
   

• Aug. 30, 1950; Sandy Point, Newfoundland, Canada. 1:30 p.m. Witnesses: three local employees, including Kaeel and Alexander, of the Air Force Base. A dark, barrel-shaped object with a pole down from it into the water, flew at 3-5 m.p.h. and 15-20’ altitude for 5 minutes.
   

• Sept. 3, 1950; Spokane, Washington. 2 p.m. Witnesses: Maj R.J. Gardiner, Mrs. Gardiner and neighbor (former saw three objects, others saw one). Metallic bronze discs, 20-30’ long, 2-6’ thick. Moved independently and erratically for 5 minutes.
   

• Sept. 20, 1950; Kit Carson, Colorado. 10:49 a.m. Witness identified only as a "reliable source". Two large, round, glowing objects and three smaller, internally lit objects. Two hovered for 1 minute, moved, and three smaller ones came from behind or within the two larger objects, and all sped upward and away.
   

• Sept. 21, 1950; Provincetown, Massachusetts. 9:52 a.m. Witness: M.I.T. research associate and Air National Guard Maj. M.H. Ligda. Radar tracking of one object during M.I.T tracking of USAF flight of F-84 or F-86 jet fighters. Object speed was 22 miles/minute (l,200 m.p.h.), made turn of 11-12 gs acceleration during 1 minute observation.
   

• Oct. 15, 1950; Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 3:20 p.m. Atomic Energy Commission Trooper Rymer, J. Moneymaker, Capt. Zarzecki. Two shiny silver objects shaped like bullet or bladder. They dove with a smoke trail and one vanished. The other hovered at 5-6, altitude, 50’ away, left and returned several times somewhat further away.
   

• Oct. 15, 1950; Pope AFB, North Carolina. Witness: Daniel. Listed as "unidentified" in folder index, but no supporting data could be found.
   

• Oct 15, 1950; Pope AFB, North Carolina. Witness: Woodward. Same as previous observation.
   

• Oct. 23, 1950; Bonlee, North Carolina. 12:42 p.m. Witness: ex-USAF pilot Frank Risher. One aluminum object shaped like a dirigible or Convair C-99 cargo plane, with 3 portholes, arrived from southeast, hovered 3-5 seconds and flew away to the south- south-east at end of 40 second sighting.
   

• Nov. 5, 1950, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 11:55 a.m. Witness: Fairchild Aircraft illustrator Don Patrick. One translucent object, light grey with dark core, shaped like a pear or bean. Flew for 5-10 minutes with rapid, darting movements.
   

• Dec. 2, 1950; Nanyika, Kenya. 10:50 a.m. Mr. and Mrs. L. Scott. One pearly, iridescent object with a flattened top, spun while hovering and made a sound like bees buzzing. Only data in files was from East African "Standard" newspaper.
   

• Dec. 6, 1950; Ft. Myers, Florida. 5 p.m. Witnesses: former aircraft purchasing agent Harry Lamp and four boys, using lO-power binoculars. One 75’ object, 3-4’ thick, bubble on top, silver with a red rim having two white and two orange jets along it. The center revolved when the object hovered; then it flew away very fast.
   

• Dec. 11, 1950; l0 mi. NW of Gulcana, Alaska. 10:13 p.m. Witnesses: crew of Northwest Air Lines flight 802. Two white flashes, followed by a dark cloud which rose and split in two.
   

• Jan. 8, 1951; South of Ft. Worth, Texas. 10:45 p.m. Witnesses: Mr. and Mrs. W.J. Boggus, plus unidentified drivers and passengers in other cars stopped to watch. Two groups of red and green lights in triangular formations were stationary and then moved.
   

• Jan. 12, 1951, Ft. Benning, Georgia. 10 p.m. Witness: U.S. Army 2nd Lt. A.C. Hale. One light with a fan-shaped wake remained motionless like a star about 20 minutes and then sped away.
   

• Jan 16, 1951; Artesia, New Mexico. Time unknown. Witnesses: Two members of a balloon project from the General Mills . Aeronautical Research Laboratory, the manger of the Artesia Airport, and three pilots. The balloon crew was observing their 110’ balloon at an altitude of 112,000’ when a dull white, round object was spotted. It appeared larger than the balloon, but made no movement. Later, the balloon crew and the others saw two objects from the airport; flying side-by-side, they circled the balloon and flew away to the northeast. The second observation lasted about 40 seconds. Note: there is confusion over the date of this case, with some USAF records showing it as 1952; however, 1951 appears to be correct.
   

• Feb. 1, 1951; Johnson Air Base, Japan. 5:10 p.m. Witnesses: pilot and radar operator of F-82 night fighter. One amber light made three or four 360* turns to the right, reversed toward the F-82 and then climbed out of sight.
   

• Feb. 21, 1951; Durban, South Africa. 4:55 a.m. Witnesses: three men in a truck, several other persons, none named. A dark red, torpedo-shaped object with darker center, flew straight and level.
   

• Feb. 26, 1951; Ladd AFB, Alaska. 7:10 a.m. Witness: USAF Sgt. J.B. Sells. One dull grey, metallic object, estimated to be 120’ long and 10-12’ thick, hovered, puffed smoke and sped away after 1-1.5 minutes. Note: may have been Feb. 25.
   

• Mar. 10, 1951; Chinnampo, Korea. 9:51 a.m. Witnesses: crew of USAF B-29 bomber, including scanners and tail gunner. A large red-yellow glow burst and became blue-white. No further information in files.
   

• Mar. 13, 1951; McClellan AFB, California. 3:20 p.m. Witnesses: USAF lst Lt. B.J. Hastie, Mrs. Rafferty. A cylinder with twin tails, 200’ long and 90’ wide, turned north and flew at incredible speed. Two minutes.
   

• Mar. 15, 1951; New Delhi, India. 10:20 a.m. Witnesses: 25 members of a flying club, including the chief aerial engineer and his two assistants. One metallic cigar-shaped object with white exhaust which turned black when it accelerated to an estimated 1,000 m.p.h. and made a large loop. Seven minutes.
   

• June 1, 1951; Niagara Falls, New York. 4:20 a.m. Witnesses: M/Sgt H.E. Sweeney, 2 enlisted men. One glowing yellow-orange, saucer-shaped object with arc-shaped wings, flew straight up. Seen for 30-40 seconds.
   

• July 24, 1951; Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 7:10 Witnesses: Hanscom AFB Operations Officer Capt. Cobb, Cpl. Fein. One 100-200’ tubular object, 5 times long as it was wide, with fins at one end, and colored greyish with many black spots. Flew 800-1,000 m.p.h. at 1-2,000’ altitude, leaving a faint swath. 20 seconds.
   

• Aug. 25, 1951; Albuquerque, New Mexico. 9:58 p.m. Witnesses: Sandia Base Security Guard Hugh Young and wife. A flying wing- shaped craft passed over their heads at an estimated 800-1,000’ altitude with no sound. Size estimated at 1.5 times wingspan of B-36 bomber,or 350’. Dark, chordwise stripes on underside, and 6-8 pairs of soft, glowing lights on trailing edge of "wing". Speed estimated at 300-400 m.p.h., object seen for about 30 seconds.
   

• Aug. 31, ; Matador, Texas. 12:45 p.m. Witnesses: Mrs. Tom Tilson, one or two other women, all apparently of excellent reputations. One pear-shaped object with a length of a B-29 fuselage (100’), aluminum or silver with a port or some type of aperture on the side. It moved with smaller end forward, drifting slowly at about 150’ altitude, then headed up in a circular fashion and out of sight after a few seconds.
   

• Sept. 6, 1951; Claremont, California. 7:20 p.m. (not really clear). Witnesses: S/Sgt W.T. Smith, M/Sgt L.L. Duel (?). Six orange lights in an irregular formation, flew straight and level into a coastal fog bank after 3-4 minutes.
   

• Sept. 14, 1951; Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada. 9:30 p.m. Witnesses: T/Sgt W.B. Maupin, Cpl. J.W. Green. Three objects tracked on radar. Two were on a collision course, then one evaded to the right upon the request, by radio, of one of the radar operators! No aircraft were known to be in the area. A third unidentified track then joined the first two. More than 15 minutes.
   

• Oct. 2, 1951; Columbus, Ohio. 6 p.m. Witness: Battelle Memorial Institute graduate physicist Howard Cross. One bright oval with a clipped tail flew straight and level, fading into the distance after 1 minute.
   

• Oct. 3, 1951; Kadena, Okinawa. 10:27 p.m. Witnesses: radar operators Sgt. M.W. Watson and Pvt. Gonzales and one other Sergeant. One large, sausage-shaped blip tracked at an estimated 4,800 m.p.h.
   

• Oct. 9, 1951; Terre Haute, Indiana. 1:42 p.m. Witness: CAA Chief Aircraft Communicator Roy Messmore at Hulman Municipal Airport. One round silver object flew directly overhead, reaching the horizon in 15 seconds. Note: a very similar incident happened 3 minutes later near Paris, Illinois (15 miles NW) and was also listed as "unidentified" for several years, but was eventually reclassified.
   

• Oct. 11, 1951; Minneapolis, Minnesota. 6:30 a.m. Witnesses: General Mills balloon researchers, including aeronautical engineer J.J. Kaliszewski, aerologist C.B. Moore, pilot Dick Reilly in the air, and Doug Smith on the ground. The flight crew saw the first object, a brightly glowing one with a dark underside and a halo around it. The object arrived high and fast, then slowed and made slow climbing circles for about two minutes, and finally sped away to the east. Soon they saw another one, confirmed by ground observers using a theodolite, which sped across the sky. Total time first object was seen was 5 minutes, second was a few seconds.
   

• Nov. 18, 1951; Washington, D.C. 3:20 a.m. Witnesses: Crew of Capital Airlines DC-4 Fliqht 610, Andrews AFB Senior air traffic controller Tom Selby. One object with several lights, followed the DC-4 for about 20 minutes and then turned back.
   

• Nov. 24, 1951; Mankato, Minnesota. 33:53 p.m. Witnesses: USAF or ANG pilots W.H. Fairbrother and D.E. Stewart in P-51 Mustangs. One milky white object shaped like Northrop flying wing (broad, slightly swept-back wing with no fuselage or tail). Estimated 8’ span. Flew straight and level for 5 seconds.
   

• Dec. 7, 1951; Sunbury, Ohio. 4:30 p.m. Witness: amateur astronomer Carl Loar. One silvery sphere seen through telescope. Two specks sighted at sides, object seemed to explode and was replaced by a dark cloud and many specks. 30 minutes.
   

• Dec. 7, 1951; Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 8:15 a.m. Witness: Atomic Energy Commission guard J.H. Collins. One 20’ square object, white-grey but not shiny flew above ridge to clouds and back again twice, taking 30-40 seconds each time.
   

• Feb. 11, 1952; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 3 a.m. Witnesses: Capt. G.P. Arns and Maj. R.J. Gedson flying a Beech AT-ll trainer. One yellow-orange comet-shaped object pulsed flame for 1-2 seconds of a 1 minute straight and level flight.
   

• Feb. 23, 1952; over North Korea. 11:15 p.m. Witness: Captain/B-29 navigator. One bluish cylinder, three times long as wide, with a tail and rapid pulsations, came in high and fast, made several turns and levelled out under B-29 which was evading mild antiaircraft fire. 45 second sighting.
   

• March 20, 1952; Centreville, Maryland. 10:42 p.m. Witnesses: WWl/WW2 veteran A.D. Hutchinson and son. One dull orange-yellow saucer-shaped light flew straight and level very fast for 30 seconds.
   

• March 23, 1952; Yakima, Washington. 6:56 and 7 p.m. Witnesses: pilot and radar operator of F-94 jet interceptor. On either occasion, a red fireball increased in brightness and then faded over 45 second span. Stationary both times. Note:

 Go Back