Project Blue Book Case File
Cotati, CaliforniaAugust 1952
Summary
On August 13, 1952, at around 12:45 p.m., a woman in Cotati, California, observed a white, flat object in the sky. According to her questionnaire responses, the object was roughly the size of an automobile and flew overhead while moving northeast at an altitude of 10,000 feet. She watched it for approximately 30 minutes as it moved against the wind. The object made no sound.
The observer reported that conditions were clear with only very light haze, and a northeast wind blew at 5 miles per hour. She was stationed at a ground observation post when she saw the object and reported her sighting to officials at nearby Hamilton Air Force Base. The Air Force's official report noted that the object was round and white, traveling at 50 to 182 miles per hour, with no sound and no visible propulsion.
The Air Force evaluated this case as "unidentified" and concluded that there was insufficient data to support a definitive explanation. No aircraft were reported in the area at the time, and the file contains no evidence of radar confirmation or other corroborating observations. The case was investigated as part of Project Blue Book, the Air Force's systematic effort to catalog and evaluate UFO reports.
The full case file, comprising 15 pages of documents held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.
Reported location
Cotati, California
Date of incident
August 1952
State / country
CA / US
Page count
15 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unidentified
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 14