Project Blue Book file, RB-47, July 17, 1957

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

PATH OF RB-47H DURING PERIOD OF CONTACT WITH UFO OTHER PORTIONS OF RB-47H FLIGHT

A-FIRST EMC CONTACT OVER GULFPORT AREA

B-9B-4TH TURNS TO WEST NEAR MERIDIAN

C-FIRST VISUAL SIGHTING BY COOKPIT CREW

D-9B-4TH TURNS NORTHWEST WARD TO PURSUE AT FULL POWER

E—AREA NEAR WHICH AIRCRAFT OVERSHOOTS UTO

F—OBJECT APPEARS TO RAPIDLY DROP SOON FT.

THEN BUNKS OUT AS RB 74H ATTENTES TO DIVE ON IT

G—LAST ECN CONTACT NEAT OKLAHOMA CITY, 15 MTR

AFTER FIRST VISUAL CONTACT

H-79-47H LANDS AT HOME BASE

At 1010Z aircraft cmdr first observed a very intense white light with light blue tint at 11 o'clock from his aircraft, crossing in front to about 2:30 o'clock position, copilot also observed passage of light to 2:50 o'clock where it apparently disappeared.

Chase did not observe any magnetic compass anomalies during the Night.

## Actions over Louisiana-Texas Area

Immediately after the luminous source blinked out, Chuse and McCold began talking about it on the interphone, with the already alerted crew listening in. McClure, recalling the unusual signal he had received on his ALA-6 back near Gulfport, now mentioned for the first time that peculiar incident and concurrently set his #2 monitor to scan at about 3000 msec to see what might show up. He found he was getting a strong 3000 msec signal from about their 2 o'clock position, just the relative hearing at which the unknown luminous source had blinked out moments earlier.

Provenzano told me that immediately after that they checked out the 2 monitor on other known ground-radar stations, to be sure that it was not malfunctioning: it appeared to be in perfect working order. He then tuned his own #1 monitor to 3000 mes and also got a signal from the same bearing. There remained, of course, the possibility that, just by chance, this signal was from a real radar down on the ground and off in that relative direction. But as the minutes went by and the RB-47 continued westward at about 500 mph, the relative bearing of the 3000 mes source out in the dark did not move showers on the monitors as should have occurred with any ground radar, but instead kept up with the RB-47, holding a fixed relative bearing.

I found those and ensuing portions of the entire episode still vivid in the minds of all the men, although their recollections for various details varied somewhat, depending on the particular activities in which they were then engaged.

Chave varied speed, going to maximum allowed power, but nothing

seemed to change the relative benning of the 3000-mes source. They crossed Louisiana and headed into eastern Texas, with the object still maintaining station with them. Eventually they got into the radar-coverage area of the 745th ACWRON. Duncanville, Texas. and Chase dropped his earlier reluctance about calling attention to these peculiar matters and contacted that station (code name "Utah"). The crew was becoming uneasy about the incident by this time. Several of them remarked to me. That phase of the incident is tersely described in the following quotes from the report of the Wing (1920, July 21).

Aircraft computer notified crew and ECM operator No 2 searched for signal described above, found some approximately 1070Z at a relative bearing of 070 degrees; 1035Z, relative bearing of 080 degrees; 1050Z, relative bearing of 090 degrees.

Note that the above time would indicate that Vittorio did not immediately think of making his ALA-6 check, but rather that some 20 min went by before that was thought of. Note also that by 1058Z the un-