FBI file: UFO, UFO Part 16

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

UNIDENTIFIED OV CT OVER OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE - October 1950.

On the evening of October 24, 1950 I was attending a moving picture show at the Oak Ridge out-door drive-in theater. I arrived approximately at 6:45 which was about 15 minutes prior to show time. While sitting in the car with my wife and children I casually glanced skyward towards the southwest and observed what I at first thought to be an unusually bright star. The exceptional brilliance caused me to continue to observe it when it suddenly seemed to change color rapidly from a reddish hue to a bright orange and again to a brilliant light blue. My son noticed that I was observing something and questioned as to what it was at which time I asked him to look at the star and tell me what he saw. At first glance he immediately said that it did not look like a star to him at all because of the change in coloring. My wife also noticed the same phenomena. My now I was certain that I was not merely having an optical illusion. A few moments later I heard a plane directly over head making passes over the Oak Ridge area, which was later identified as one of the F-82 fighter planes from the Air Force unit stationed at the McGhee-Tyson Airport.

I hesitated to approach other vehicles in the theater to witness the object, but managed to reach a telephone at the projection building and called , NKPA Division, 67 Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation, at his home to ask him whether or not he could see in that direction and possibly observe the object. A later check with indicated that his home was located in a poor geographical position to observe anything towards the southwest because of hills and other obliterating features of the terrain. He did, however, drive to a higher location but failed to see the object.

While returning to my car I met a friend, of Knoxville, to whom I pointed out the object. He stated he had been observing the same object. I continued to observe the object together with my wife but it seemed to be in a slightly more northerly position which caused me to select a fixed point to determine whether or not the object was changing in either altitude or direction. There seemed to be a deviation from north to south for approximately five to ten degrees. The changing in colors were still very evident but the object seemed to be continually getting smaller or smaller as though it was becoming more distant. At approximately 7:18 by my watch it disappeared from view entirely. During these observations my wife continued to report to me the identical things that I was observing. During the entire time the F-82 airplane continued to make passes over the area until approximately 7:15. The weather conditions were excellent; the air was calm; and the sky was cloudless with the exception of a very slight haze over the distant horizon.