DALLAS, TEXASDecember 1952

On December 24, 1952, a B-36 bomber flying east of Dallas, Texas detected an unidentified object on radar at 12:15 p.m. (1215 hours). The phenomenon was tracked intermittently by both the aircraft's AN/APG-41 radar and its AN/APS-23 navigation radar for approximately 30 minutes. The object appeared at altitudes ranging from about 40,000 feet down to 15,000 feet, maintaining a position roughly 2,000 to 4,000 yards ahead of the aircraft. Despite an intensive visual search by the pilot and crew members, nothing was ever sighted by eye.

The radar operators aboard the B-36 were experienced technicians who had flown multiple test missions with their respective equipment. Both radar sets detected the object at approximately the same location in space. When the aircraft maneuvered, the object maintained a stable course and speed ahead of the aircraft, descending at the same rate as the B-36. The pilot performed maneuvers, including turns, climbs, and dives, but the phenomenon remained trackable and steady in its apparent position. Whenever the B-36 turned sharply enough that the object fell outside the radar antenna's search sector, the radar would lose it for a period of several seconds to a few minutes, after which the target would suddenly reappear.

The weather in the immediate area was clear. The nearest cloud formations were approximately 40 miles away at the same altitude. The aircraft carried radar cameras (an O-15 film camera mounted on the AN/APG-41 indicator), and though the images were not clear due to focus and developing issues, they did confirm the presence and trackability of the phenomenon. No other aircraft were in the Dallas area at the time of the sighting. Two F-84 fighters had been participating in simulated attack exercises against the B-36 earlier that day but had returned to their base (Bergstrom Air Force Base) before this 30-minute event occurred. The file notes that there was a conflict in weather condition reports, and requests that the radar operators be interrogated.

The Air Force evaluated this case as unidentified. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, spanning 59 pages of microfilm T1206, Roll 16.