FAIRCHILD AFB, WASH., January 1952January 1952

On the evening of January 20, 1952, two Air Force intelligence officers at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington witnessed an unusual object flying beneath the clouds at approximately 1920 hours (7:20 p.m.). The observers, a Technical Sergeant and Master Sergeant stationed at the base, were walking from their barracks when they noticed what initially looked like a shooting star. They quickly realized it was something else.

The object moved silently at a speed much faster than any jet aircraft the witnesses had ever seen. It appeared oval or slightly circular in shape and had a brilliant blue-white color that seemed to pulsate as it traveled. The men estimated it was roughly 3/4 to 1 mile away, about the size of an orange or grapefruit from where they stood. The object left a distinctive broken blue trail, appearing to come from it in short bursts, and maintained a horizontal course parallel to the ground at an estimated altitude of 500 feet below a cloud layer. The entire sighting lasted only about two seconds before the object disappeared behind a nearby building. A third witness, Sergeant Robert Barnes, was present but did not see the object.

The Air Force investigation focused on whether the cloud cover and altitude estimates could help identify the object. Official weather data from Fairchild showed an eight-tenths broken cloud layer at 4,700 feet. If the observers had actually seen the object between breaks in the clouds, it might have been much higher and possibly a meteor. However, both witnesses insisted the object was definitely below the cloud cover. This placed the object at around 7,300 feet of slant range, which ruled out conventional aircraft and meteors. A meteor would not travel horizontally, and the object made no sound, which also contradicted the aircraft theory.

The Air Force investigation noted the witnesses were highly reliable individuals with responsible positions in the Wing Intelligence Section. However, the file indicates that follow-up questions about the object's exact angular movement and other technical details could not be obtained, presumably because the witnesses were not available for additional questioning. The investigation concluded that if the object was indeed beneath the cloud cover, it was neither a conventional aircraft nor a meteor, and its identity could not be determined. The case was evaluated as unknown.

The full case file, comprising 10 pages, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.