Bloomington, Wis., August 1949August 1949

On August 19, 1949, at approximately 1500 (3 p.m.), a man and his wife driving between Glenn Haven and Bloomington, Wisconsin spotted an unusual object in the sky. The witness said the object was traveling north at the height of normal aircraft, moving at an estimated 200 to 300 miles per hour. He described it as exceptionally bright, resembling a shiny mirror with wing-like appendages. The main body was about one foot in diameter, with appendages extending roughly ten inches on either side and about one inch wide.

The witness said he saw no sign of propulsion, heard no noise, and watched the object fade gradually from view. The day was clear and bright. He did not think much about the sighting until he read a newsletter from his U.S. Representative mentioning a similar incident in Salt Lake City. This prompted him to write to Congress and report what he had seen.

Two months after the sighting, a local farmer told the witness he had heard an unusual loud noise in late September or early October while working in the fields with his two brothers. The farmer said it was a clear day but he could see nothing in the sky. He described the sound as strange and unlike an airplane.

The Air Force's Office of Special Investigations interviewed the witness on November 28, 1949, several months after the sighting. The agents noted that both the witness and his wife appeared intelligent and reliable, and that his ability to observe seemed good. The investigation turned up nothing in the evidence to seriously contradict the conclusion that the object was a conventional aircraft, according to the final Air Force report received on December 9, 1949. The complete case file, as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below across 10 scanned pages.