Carswell AFB, TexasFebruary 1954

On the night of February 4, 1954, radar operators at Carswell Air Force Base near Fort Worth, Texas, detected an unusual target heading straight toward the base. The object appeared on ground-controlled approach (GCA) radar at 2300 (11 p.m.), about 13 to 15 miles southwest of the base. Five minutes later, control tower personnel watched it pass overhead. The observers described it as dark grey, roughly the size of a B-36 bomber, with a long fuselage and elliptical wings. What made it remarkable was that it made no sound and showed no visible means of propulsion or exhaust.

Twenty minutes after this sighting, radar operators detected two more targets flying in formation about 17 miles southwest of the base at an estimated altitude of 5,000 feet and speed of 200 nautical miles per hour. The targets then separated and took on a southerly heading. At about 14 miles from the base, the trailing target suddenly reversed course, flew for two miles, then reversed again and gradually caught up to the lead target. Both then departed the radar range heading south-southeast.

The Air Force dispatched investigators from Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC), including Captain Charles Hardin and a radar specialist, to Carswell to examine the evidence. During a routine check, they discovered that a C-124 transport aircraft had reported in to Fort Worth radio at 2304 (11:04 p.m.) and changed its flight plan to descend from 13,000 feet to 7,000 feet. The timing and radar data matched the first sighting. The investigators concluded that the C-124, descending through the tower altitude, explained the silent appearance and the observers' altitude miscalculation. They noted the lack of sound was consistent with a distant, descending aircraft.

For the second radar target, investigators found that the 3627th WACCO squadron at nearby James Connally Air Force Base had been conducting radar observer training exercises that night using B-25 aircraft flying maneuvers against each other. The movements recorded by Carswell radar, including the sudden course reversals, matched the pattern of training flights. A check with nearby airbases confirmed no other flights matching the description were in the area at the time.

The Air Force concluded that the first sighting was an identified aircraft (the C-124), while the second radar target remained unidentified based on the available evidence, though trainers suspected it was likely the B-25 exercise aircraft. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 65 pages.