Davis Monthan AFB, ArizonaMay 1949

On May 16, 1949, at approximately 5:00 p.m., an airman stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, spotted an unusual object while lying on his bed in the barracks. He described it as a solid, round, flat black disc about the size of a washtub, roughly three to four feet across. The object flew directly overhead, traveling from east to west at an estimated speed of 800 to 1,000 miles per hour.

The airman watched the object for about eight to ten seconds as it maintained a steady altitude of approximately 5,000 feet. He noted that it appeared to flutter as it passed behind an aircraft hangar building located three blocks west of his barracks. The object made no sound, left no exhaust, cast no reflection or lights, and showed no visible means of propulsion or control surfaces. It traveled in what the airman described as a pre-determined direction, as if it knew where it was going.

When the airman first spotted the object, he called to several fellow servicemen in the barracks to come look, but none arrived at the window in time to see it. The Air Force's Office of Special Investigations conducted a follow-up inquiry, interviewing the observer and checking with local weather services, aircraft operators, and private aviation services. Investigators found no record of any conventional aircraft or weather balloons in the area at that time. The observer was rated as reliable and sincere, with above-average intelligence and good observational skills. He had no history of disciplinary problems and was described as a serious young man genuinely interested in mechanics rather than someone prone to imagination or exaggeration.

The Air Force's final evaluation of this case remains listed as unidentified. The full case file, comprising 14 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.