Chanute AFB, Illinois, [ILLEGIBLE]Date unknown

On the night of August 15, 1952, at 0003 hours (12:03 a.m.), four people at Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois witnessed four unidentified objects flying in a tight "V" formation directly over a residential area on the south edge of the base. The witnesses included Major [name redacted], a pilot with extensive flying experience and training advisor, Captain [name redacted], a weather officer, and their wives. All four observers watched the objects for five to ten seconds as they traveled from east to west across the sky, covering roughly ten degrees of the horizon before disappearing behind a house.

The objects were bluish-gray and phosphorescent in color, with an oblong shape that was wider than it was deep. The witnesses estimated the larger dimension to be roughly the size of a B-25 bomber's wing span as seen from 5,000 feet altitude. The smaller dimension was about half that size. The spacing between objects matched approximately their minor diameter. During the entire sighting, the objects maintained constant speed, position, formation, and color. The witnesses noted there was no sound, exhaust trail, flickering, or oscillation. Notably, Major [name redacted] observed that the objects blocked starlight as they passed overhead, and he also observed that the objects had no relationship to the rotating beacon light at Chanute AFB.

All four witnesses corroborated each other's accounts regarding the number, size, color, course, and absence of sound. The case file includes witness questionnaires and a sketch diagram showing the viewing angle and direction of the formation. The Air Force's evaluation of the sighting is not clearly stated in the available OCR text.

The full case file of 20 pages is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.