Godman AFB, Ky., August 1948 - Incident Number: 187August 1948

On August 19, 1948, the Wright-Patterson Air Force Flight Service Center received a report from Lt. Col. John Waugh at Godman Air Force Base in Kentucky. He said that an unidentified object was visible above the base, appearing to be at an altitude of 30,000 to 40,000 feet. The object was described as spherical, bright silver in color, and reflecting sunlight. An F-51 fighter aircraft was sent from nearby Standiford Air Force Base to locate it, but the pilot could not spot the object even though it remained visible to observers on the ground using the naked eye.

Throughout the morning, personnel at Godman tracked the object with a theodolite (a surveying instrument used to measure angles and positions). They recorded its azimuth and elevation at regular intervals, watching as it seemed to move slowly toward the southwest. At 1132 that morning, ground observers reported the object at 235 degrees azimuth (southwest) and 60 degrees elevation from their vantage point. The object appeared to stay in view for approximately two hours, seeming to move very slowly or remain almost stationary.

By mid-morning, Air Force officers began comparing the observations to the known position of Venus. Mr. W. E. Head, an astronomer from the University of Louisville, was consulted. He concluded that the object was almost certainly Venus, which was near its brightest phase at that time. An examination of theodolite readings and computed astronomical data showed strong agreement between where observers had seen the object and where Venus should have been in the sky. The Air Force accepted this identification, and at 1219 that afternoon, Major Mitchel at Godman notified Wright-Patterson that the unidentified object was the planet Venus.

The full case file of 15 pages is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.