DOBBINS AFB GA, July 1952July 1952

On the night of July 1 to July 2, 1952, radar operators at Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta, Georgia tracked an unidentified object on their radar screens. The object first appeared on an SCR-584 radar set at 1040 hours (10:40 a.m.) on July 1 as a second signal at a greater distance than a wind-finding target the radar was monitoring. Over the next few minutes, the unknown object moved slowly toward the wind target, passed through it, and then pulled away. This pattern repeated three times, with the unknown signal appearing to maneuver deliberately around the wind target. Finally, the object stopped and held a steady position for three to five minutes before moving away from the area.

The radar blip was described as moving at speeds under 50 knots (about 57 miles per hour) at an altitude of approximately 5,300 feet. At the time of the sighting, the object was about 2,000 yards away from the radar station at an azimuth of 330 degrees (roughly northwest). The radar operator who tracked the target, a technical sergeant with two years of experience on this equipment, was described as very reliable. A lieutenant also witnessed the sighting. Ground-based weather conditions at the time were scattered clouds at about 2,800 feet, with winds from 190 degrees at 19 knots. The location of any aircraft in the area at the time was unknown.

A radar specialist reviewing the contact noted that additional radar data would be needed to determine whether the unidentified target was on the exact same line of sight as the wind-finding target. If it was, the signal could have been caused by a malfunction in the radar set rather than an actual object in the air.

The Air Force's evaluation of this case is listed as unknown. The complete case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, with 13 pages total.