Bear Island, MaineMay 1955

On the afternoon of May 13, 1955, a man named Glendon Rae was walking toward his observation post on Bear Island, Maine, when he saw a sudden flash of fire in the sky. The object left behind a red vapor trail and appeared to explode. No sound accompanied the sighting.

The smoke from the explosion lingered in the air for roughly 15 to 20 minutes. Rae reported the incident to officials, and the 765th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Charleston Air Force Station scrambled two fighter interceptors from the 45th Fighter Squadron to investigate. The aircraft took off at 1744 (5:44 p.m.) and searched the area, but the pilots saw nothing. They landed about an hour later.

The Air Force noted that a Strategic Air Command (SAC) aircraft was conducting a training exercise in the area and using flares. The sighting appeared to correlate with activity from that exercise. There was no flight plan filed for any unknown aircraft. A weather report listed clear skies and good visibility. Investigators found no other objects or aircraft within a 43 to 59 mile radius of the location.

Despite the possible connection to the SAC training exercise, the Air Force ultimately classified this case as unidentified. Joseph H. Byrne, a military official involved in the investigation, noted that the object did not appear to be military or commercial aircraft, though the file does not explain his reasoning or whether he considered the flare hypothesis further.

The full case file, as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below (7 pages).