Documents / Report
Air Intelligence Division Study No. 203 is a Top Secret analysis dated 10 December 1948, prepared jointly by the USAF Directorate of Intelligence and the Office of Naval Intelligence. It reviews about 210 reported flying object incidents and concludes that some type of flying object has been observed, though its identity and origin cannot be determined. The study treats domestic devices or Soviet aircraft based on German flying-wing designs as possible explanations. It also summarizes selected sighting and radar reports.
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# SECRET b. On 19 August 1948, at approximately 1050 hours an unidentified flying object was visible from the ground at Godman Air Force Base, Kentucky. This object was estimated to be at about 30,000 to 40,000 feet altitude, spherical in shape, bright silver color and gave a bright reflection from the sun. An F-51 was dispatched from Standiford Air Force Base, Kentucky, to observe the object. During observation from the ground, there was no change in the elevation of the object and it seemed to be moving southwest from Godman Air Force Base. The F-51 which was flying over Godman AFB at an altitude of 30,000 to 36,000 feet reported that it was unable to locate the object although it was still visible from the ground with the naked eye. Azimuth and elevation readings were taken by theodolite every minute and the path of the object was charted. The object was determined to be the planet Venus by Mr. Moore, the head astronomer at the University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky. It is believed that earlier incidents at Godman Field (reference paragraph 2k, page 12, Appendix "C") may also have been observations of the planet Venus. 5. AMONG THOSE incidents still not positively explained, reported observations differ to some extent, but three general categories of sightings emerge -- the flying disk, the ball of fire and the large jet rocket. Interesting observations that were noted are: a. Most of the objects are a thin disk, round on top and flat on the bottom. The front half of the disk is often circular, sweeping back to a square tail across the full width. b. A high rate of climb as well as the apparent ability to remain motionless or hover for a considerable length of time is indicated. c. Reported sizes have varied from that of a 25-cent piece to 250 feet in diameter, and from the size of a pursuit plane to the bulk of six B-29 airplanes. d. Speeds have been estimated throughout the entire range from very slow or hovering to supersonic. e. Sounds and visual trails are not normally associated with the sightings.
Report, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 19 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.