PROJECT BLUE BOOK

Ball of Fire Seen
In Southern Skies

Object, Visible 500 Miles,

Quickly Burns Out

NEW ORLEANS, June 23 (UP).

—A great ball of fire visible for
500 miles burned for g few seconds
high in the southern sky tonight
and then gliimmered out, leaving
a curving trail of glowing vapor.
. R. M. Kiser, senior air traffic
controller of the Civil Aeronautics
Administration here, said the
gleaming object was seen from
Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Houston, Tex.,
and a plane 250 miles southward
over the Gulf of Mexico.

In Jackson, Miss., City Fireman
Bert Kyzar said: “It looked like
@ grapefruit and was spouting fire
like a roman candle and was fol-
lowed by a white vapor trail. It
made a loop and then a white
light came on.”

‘A. E. Amie, United States.

weather forecaster here, said he
saw an object of “tremendous
brilliance” in the western sky at
7:40 p. m. C. 8, T. “It was more
brilliant than any meteor I have
ever seen,” Mr. Aime said. “It
burned out { two or three seconds.
It left a long, White smoke or
vapor trail, which is something
else I have never seen a_ meteor
do.” ; x sg

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HgO. WA Fotm wo. 2

32 wal 49 | 4 .
BRE CHRP ain MATERIEL AREA CCAL/OGRep ga
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE J) £
OM REPLY REFER TO: ORLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA oa
; Ocal | 28 June 1950
SUBJECT: Intelligence Report
4 9: Commanding General
Air Materiel Command
ATTN: MCIA
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

Dayton, Ohio

1. The attached intelligence report.is forwarded as an

item of possible interest.
Ah Ub ei

“POR THE COMMANDING GENERAL:

1 Incl de i wr. Captai, USAF
Intelligence Report, 308th Chief, Intelligence Section
Reconn Group, TAFB, no date, Personnel and Administration

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DOWNGRADED AT 8 YEAR INTE ,
DECLASSIFIED AFTER 12 YEARS -
DOD DIR 5200.10 }

UNCLASSIFIED

fe — D”

brett) de Rees note

SGaeae a A hn een me

CLASSIFIED

OFFICE OF THE INTELLIGENCE OFFICER
SO6TH RECONNAISSANCE GROUP (WBATHER)
Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahom

SUBJECTs Intelligence Keport

TOs Comm nder
Military Air Transport Service
Andrews Air Force dace
Washington 25, DC.

ATTN: Director of Plans, Intelligence Division

le Reference radio this Headquarters, dated 241600 CST, June 1950,
(essentially restated in paragraph two below).

2. At 251940 CST June 1950. crew members flying a routine "Pelican"
weather reconnaissance mission over the Gulf of tlexico noted what anpeered
to be a huge ball of fire falling in a spiral discent froma height of
at least 50,000 feet. The accompanying brilliant light faded at 20,000
feet. A bluish colored smoke or vacor trail followed the object and per-
sisted for twenty minutes. The weather at the time was CAVU with a few
scattered thunderstorms on the horizon to the south and east. Estimated

position of sighting 26° 45'N, 89° 45'W. Position of airoraft at time of
sighting 27° 00' M, 86° 00° We

Se Pertinent excerpts from crew member reports:

"I looked out and saw a flaming trail in the sky which was de-
finitely not a falling ster. As it fell it made a twisting trail in more
or less the shave of an "S". It started at a height of 50,000 feet or
“over and faded out at around 20,000 feet. The flame, wapor, light or
whatever it was, remained visible in the sky for around one half en hour."

DOWNGRADED AT 3 YLAL INTERVALS. rs
DECLASSIFIED AFTER 12 YEARS’ |

DOD DIR 6200.10 Scanner.

*I noticed a bright streak in the sky off our left wing that
appeared at first to be a falling flame. It grew greatly in brightness
and size and appeared to be in a spiraling descent. I believe it was at
great height and distance. I observed same for fifteen minutes."

T
UNCLASSIFIED aig 4%,

, —— + /
ca

oa)

Ps:

UN ;
"A pe hp eh sigeag cau’ of itehe“whioh appeared to extend fron -

a base of 80 miles to a height of 60-70 miles. It remained visible for

approximately 20-30 minutes, seeming to elongate iteelf in an uowerd 2xotion,
and then later seeming to dive toward the earth."

Set

Kadio Operator

"At 1940 CST, 24 June 1950, flying on « routine Velioan et 10,000
feet, course about thirty dezrees, ground speed 175 mots, position 26°60" N
86°05 'W, a brilliant light wes observed hich in the sky at what seemed a
great distance at a relative bearing of about 30°. The Licht proceoded
earthward at what seemed a slow rate and in a ourving erratic path leaving
an extremely bright glowing trail. After about a minute and a half tho
light diseanpveared but the trail continued to glow blue-white with undim-
inished brilliance for another fifteen minutes eftwr which it faded slowly
to ea soft blur and finally dissipated at about 2000 CST."

Appearance from Navizator's window.

"At this time the portion of the sky in which the phenomenon
ocourped had turned dark enough for most of the stars to be visible. Skies
in the immediate vicinity were clear but a few thunder storns on the hor-
igon, esvecially to the South and hast, gave off internittent flashes.

(These flashes were quite yellowish in’ contrast to the blue-white glow of
the observed light.)

pry avy TAYE | VALS
DOWNGRADYD AT 3 Y!
LapsitibD APYRR 12 Yusns
DECMASS OD DIR ezvv..0

UNCLASSIF IED

en

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YUNCLASSIF

A eeries of fairly accurate radio fixes were ED ined which showed
the airoraft at the following positions:

1940 CST - 26°60'N 86°05 'W ,
1944 CST © 27°06'N 66°S6'N (Turned to heading of 526°)

2000 CST - 27°so*'N © 86 “401

A series of visual vearings taken on the light trail during this
period showed it to be over the vicinity of 28°46'N, 69°45'W."

wn,

Navigator

LEWIS L. EOWES
lst Lt., USAF
Intelligence Officer

ec @~ OCAMA Int Division

- GI

ic

DOWNGRADED AT 3 YEAR INTERYAIS:
DECLASSIFIED AFTER 12 YEAS.
DOD DIR 5200.10

UNCLASSIFIED_

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ae dhe J a nt ee

HEADQUARTERS TIMIRD ARMY

: — Fort MoPhorson, Georria :

¢ -
O — MAQI8-360.53 29 Juno 1950
SUBJECT: Unconventional Object in Air

TOs Canmandinr General
Air Materiel Camand
Wright-Patterson Air Foreoe Base
Dayton, Ohio

Attention: iCI (Control Moe A-1917)

Inclosed herewith is information re flyins objects si-hted in
Miobile, Alabamae

FOR TEE COMMANDING GHERALs

1 Incl: JORN LigADS
. S/T dtd 26 Jun 50, Colonel, GSC
| w/newspaper clipping, AC of S, G2
ry" dtd 25 Jun 50

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: SUn.MARY OF INFORMATION

Fireball Seen Over Mobile
(Mobile Press Rerister)

25“ June 1950

Fireball In Sky Over City "|
: Apparently Was Meteorite

eyes were deceiving them need
not worry about their eyesight—

it really happened.

| Wire services reported the
mentee as being seen in
oosa, Fort Smith, Ark., and
Fort Worth, Texas. The main
testimony toward the reality of
the big flash came from a National
Air Lines pilot who was approach-
ing Mobile at about 7:40 p.m.

‘DESCRIBES FLASH

The pilot, Capt. James L. Han-
gen, reported the brilliant flash
and vapor trail to the Associated.
Press and United Press in Jack-|
‘sonville, Fla., after he finished his |
flight.

Hansen described the scene as
a meteor-like object in the sky
over Mobile that left a vapor)
trail. He said it was traveling “at
a tremendous speed.” “I couldn't

(Continued on Page 2, Col. 6)

jlians who saw that “ball
in the Western skies early

Frida¢ night and thought their

thy

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OF INFORMATION:

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estimate its altitude” Hansen said,
“but it was high.” ;

J. A. Ellis of Rosedale, near
Tuscaloosa, Ala., reported to the
\Civil Aeronautics Administration's
communication station there that
;he saw an object Friday night|
that seemed to be an aircraft with
‘a ball of fire billowing from it.
He reported he saw the fire “ap-
-proximately 40 miles south of
‘ Tuscaloosa.”

At Fort Smith, three fishermen
witnessed the flash and vapor
trail as they fished in a lake
there. They said they witnessed
the flash about 2 a.m. Saturday.
It lasted several seconds and was
followed by what sounded like
an explosion.

BELIEVED METEORITE

Meanwhile, the minds of Mo-
bilians were set at rest by
‘Weatherman Bill Tilson who said!
|the flash was evidently a b¥
,meteorite sailing off its regular’
route and probably landed in the
swamps of Louisiana. -

Some Mobilians reported it as
an explosion in the sky. Others
said it looked like a speeding
| Plane with the sun’s fading red.
and gold rays playing tricks with .
its vapor trail.

A few Mobilians thought they
were witnessing a flying saucer.
Generally it was described as any-
| thing from a fiery ball to a streak
in the Eastern skies. The vapor}
trail was visible in the sky for'
|about a half-hour after the flash.

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Plane Passen gers

WatchSSaycer”

LOS ANGELES, June 27.—
(AP)—United Airlines today dis-
closed the largest flying saucer
report:

First officer David Stewart of
Redondo Beach, Calif., today told
@ news conference that his crew
of five and some 25 passengers
watched a brilliantly-glowing ob-
‘Elgar nine ey Feet’

t n Ce hea is
~ Stewa tr) object was
more
ously

cigar-sha than the
.— reported pancake = shaped

flew a parallel cotrse for 20 miles
and then faded itto the distance
He estimated | as faster

Qn miles per

ct “

—

O_O, TTT

path ag (INFORMATION ~~)

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vA

ye JUNE 2, 190 e

DAILY

{ Paper" s Photos Show
‘Saucer’ in Kentucky

June 28 U.P).—
The se Lautvile yt pic-
tures today of
taken its ee
Ta Gn Gotewiaiy atic neu,

token © by y Staff Pho-

ict
Wham ty her A Hixendaugh for
AS-TV on moviefiterinclud-
ed 60 feet of film in which a bri ght

flying ohjeet showed clearly
‘it Stood Still
Hixenbaugh, on assi ent to
take other shots for station,
suddenly heard the roar of a plane
above him, glanced up and saw
both the plane and the “flying

disk” to its left. He said it was
a large bright disk with a slight
corona around it.
He ond vat, with Gh S van oan =e
and s Ww eo appearing
motionless for about 10 seconds.
“During that time,” he said, “it
stood still like a balloon.”
Then the object began to get

smaller and finally vanished into
the west. The “saucer” appeared

on all the film he took, but the
eee plane was out of the picture

field sry uickly, appearing on only
about

Air fielde tr here said no planes had
reported seeing such a disk yester-
day and the Air Force has denied

—— that “flying saucers”
st.

Cairo, Iil., June 28 (U.P).—Five|
persons in three sections of the

city reported today that they spot-
ted a “flying saucer” in -the sky
southwest of here at approximately
AN agrerd thet he tan-ch
at the egg-sha

object was at a high altitude i
had a chrome finish. They said it
bore no resemblance to an airplane.

27 June 1950
Leuisvill

e, Kentucky

Le-cthe ct