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PDF · DoWPURSUE Release 03

Department of War PURSUE File

DOW-UAP-D088, U.S. Air Force Analysis of Flying Objects in the United States, 101-172

Declassified

Editorial summary

This U.S. Air Force compilation analyzes reported flying objects in the United States, covering cases 101 through 172. It uses a standardized Check-List for Unidentified Flying Objects to record incident details, along with witness statements and narrative reports. One entry, dated February 18, 1948, near Norcatur, Kansas, describes a bright object seen across several states that exploded in the sky, leaving a blue-white smoke trail. The Air Force assessment for that case recorded the apparent cause as a meteor, and meteorite fragments were later recovered from the area.

Editorial summary written by govweird from the declassified document text. The official government description follows below.

Government description

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.

Caption issued by the U.S. Department of War on war.gov/ufo. Verbatim, unedited.

Originating agency

Department of War

Record type

PDF

Incident date

Unspecified

Incident location

Unspecified

Release tranche

Release 03 (May 8, 2026)

Distribution

Cleared for public release

Original document

PDF hosted by war.gov. If the embedded viewer fails to load, open the file directly.

More from DoW

Source: war.gov/ufo · PURSUE Release 03

PURSUE = Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters. Records released by the U.S. Department of War on May 8, 2026 are unresolved cases for which the government cannot make a definitive determination, and the Department has invited private-sector analysis.