BROOKS AFB, TEXASOctober 1952

On October 9, 1952, a captain and four enlisted airmen at Brooks Air Force Base in Texas spotted three round, silver objects in the sky over the course of about an hour. The captain called out enlisted men from Building 315 after being alerted to something unusual overhead. At first, the stationary object resembled a weather balloon to several observers. Then the captain saw two additional objects cross the sky at high speed, moving in opposite directions and climbing steeply before disappearing from sight. The hovering object remained in nearly the same position throughout the sighting, wobbling slightly, until around 10:10 a.m., when it departed on a westerly heading.

The witnesses estimated the objects were between 40,000 and 50,000 feet high, though size estimates varied. None heard any sound or saw exhaust trails. The captain immediately checked with Base Operations to see if radar was available, but the only equipment running at the time was an APQ-13 radar (a ground-scanning system typically used to detect thunderstorms) operated by the weather section. Several observers believed the hovering object was a weather balloon, though the captain's account emphasized the dramatic speed and climbing maneuvers of the other two objects.

Base headquarters noted there was no meteorological activity that might explain the sighting and no physical evidence was recovered. No radar confirmation of the objects appears in the file. An intercept or identification attempt was not made, and the base was not notified at the time of higher command. The Air Force evaluated the sighting as unidentified.

The full case file, comprising 9 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.