Documents / Report

U.S. Air Force Analysis of Flying Objects in the United States, 101-172

U.S. Department of War · 210 pages · text by OCR

This declassified U.S. Air Force compilation of unidentified flying object incidents 101 to 172 contains check-list reports from 1948 and 1945. Incident 101 covers the 18 February 1948 sky explosion over Norcatur, Kansas, with letters from Norman G. Markham suggesting a lunar spacecraft, Dr. Lincoln LaPaz's reply judging it a genuine meteorite fall, and witness statements. The final incident, 172, records George F. Gorman's 27 minute F-51 pursuit of a white light over Fargo on 1 October 1948, corroborated by tower controllers and Dr. Cannon.

From the source:Release of 2026-06-12 Includes a "Check-List - Unidentified Flying Objects" that contains details about the incident. Many summaries also include witness lists or statements and other narrative reports or descriptions.

  • p. 23 …Incident reported on 9 March 1948, this headquarters, per telephone call from Sgt A. M. Larsen…
  • p. 24 # HEADQUARTERS FOURTH AIR FORCE Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff Intelligence Hamilton Field, California 4AFDA…
  • p. 25 …Although there is no evidence to substantiate the following, it is the opinion of this headquarters…
  • p. 30 …No action is contemplated by this headquarters. FOR THE COMMANDING GENERAL: c/c furnished CG, AMC…
  • p. 32 …In compliance with "Intelligence Requirements - Un-identified aircraft" and letters, your headquarters, AG 452.1 A…
  • p. 33 …Above incident reported your headquarters, 2 April 1948, in radio, cite KL2143H. FOR THE COMMANDING GENERAL…
  • p. 34 …AG 452.1 A-2 1st Ind 15 April 1948 HEADQUARTERS, FAR EAST AIR FORCES, APO…
  • p. 105 …45-5, Headquarters Strategic Air Command, Andrews Air Force Base, Washington 20, D. C., dated 19…
Fifty tq/60 shiny objects were seen moving at a speed faster than any known aircraft on an Easterly heading at an extremely high altitude. For the most part these objects traveled in a straight line altho some of them zig-zagged slightly. No sound was heard. Some objects seemed to have a silvery tail which might have been exhaust. These objects could not have been weather balloons as only one balloon was released by the Memphis Weather Bureau that day.

NOTE: Witnesses thought they had seen a meteor; however subsequent investigation seemed to preclude this possibility. See Supp II to Trip Report to Memphis - Visit with Dr. Paul Herget of the Observatory of Cincinnati, Ohio, in which Dr. Herget expressed serious doubt that the 50 or more objects observed 7 May 48 in Memphis were meteors. He, was, however unable to offer any explanation as to a possible identification of the objects.

Dr. Hynak of OSU and Dr. Lincoln LaPaz are to be consulted about the possibility of these being a meteor shower.

Witness of this incident were: Mr. F. J. Kaiser, salesman 251 W. Waldorf Ave., Memphis

Mrs F. J. Kaiser, housewife 251 W. Waldorf Ave., Memphis, Tenn.

Cases discussed

About this file

Report, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. The text was read from the page images by an OCR model; expect the odd misread word. 210 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.