Chickasaw, Ala., August 1952August 1952

On the night of August 28, 1952, between 9:30 p.m. and 10:45 p.m., military personnel and civilians near Chickasaw and Brookley Air Force Base in Alabama reported seeing six unidentified flying objects. The witnesses were unable to determine the shape or size of the objects because of the darkness and distance, but they observed them for an extended period of time. The objects changed color, ranging from fiery red to a sparkling blue-green that resembled a diamond. Two of the objects appeared larger and brighter than the others, though size was estimated only by the brightness of their lights.

The objects had unusual movement characteristics. Several witnesses reported that one of the smaller objects remained stationary for about fifteen minutes, then moved in a thirty-degree arc before descending vertically to treetop level, hovering, and then ascending directly away from the observers. One of the larger objects performed what witnesses described as a hopping motion. Two distinct lights, one red and one green, were observed on one object in a vertical arrangement. The objects made no noise and left no exhaust trail. When the larger objects and some of the smaller ones finally disappeared, their lights simply went out as if switched off.

The Ground Control Approach radar unit at Brookley Air Force Base detected what appeared to be a solid target on its scope, showing as a white return at the edge of the ground clutter at approximately four miles from the station on a bearing of 200 degrees. This radar contact corresponded roughly with visual observations from the base. The weather at the time featured six-tenths stratocumulus cloud cover (a type of cumpy, low-altitude clouds) at three thousand feet, with winds from 90 degrees at ten knots initially, shifting to 135 degrees at fourteen knots by 10:30 p.m. The Air Force concluded that the sightings were not the result of meteorological conditions. Investigators checked whether weather balloons from Pensacola or the Eglin area might have drifted into the sighting area, and the weather officer stated that this was possible, though no balloons were confirmed. The complete case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, spanning 43 pages.