From San Franciso To Balhoa, Panama Canal, August 1950August 1950

On August 7, 1950, the crew of the motor vessel Minerva reported seeing an unusual flaming object while sailing from San Francisco toward the Panama Canal. The sighting occurred at 10:02 a.m. local time, when the ship was at latitude 21 degrees 30 minutes north and longitude 208 degrees 30 minutes west. A sailor first noticed a bright, flaming appearance rising from the horizon. He initially thought it might be a ship catching fire, but the object was only visible for seconds. Before the sailor could alert the others, the master and chief mate, who happened to be talking nearby, also saw it. The object appeared to be about 45 degrees above the horizon.

According to the written statement provided by the ship's master, the object moved with what witnesses described as unbelievable speed across the sky. It traveled over the ship and disappeared toward the northeast. The chief mate called out "flying saucer" as it passed. The ship's engineer, stationed toward the rear of the vessel, reported seeing a flaming body about half the size of the setting sun streaking away over the ship. He noted that it did not resemble a meteor or any known celestial phenomenon.

All witnesses agreed on several details. The object had a dark body with bright flame trailing behind it. The time was shortly after sunset, though daylight remained. The rear of the object displayed a yellow or orange-yellow tail, and the upper rear appeared to emit a spray of sparks. All crew members stated they had never witnessed such a sight before. A naval investigator from the Fifteenth Naval District interviewed the master during the Minerva's return trip through the Panama Canal and found him to be sincere and intelligent. Because the sighting was confirmed by multiple independent witnesses, the investigator felt it had credibility.

The Air Force's investigation concluded the object was a meteor. The file contains a lengthy discussion of documented fireball sightings from that era, including a blue-green fireball observed over Washington, Oregon, and Idaho on August 11, 1950, that was tracked by the American Meteoritics Society. However, the Minerva sighting occurred on August 7, predating this comparison case. The file also includes a separate report of an unidentified object sighted in Japan on August 11, 1950, which changed colors from yellow to blue to red, separated into two parts, and made a hissing sound.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, containing 7 pages.