Gonzales, TexasFebruary 1952

On a Monday evening in February 1952, a young man driving through Shiner, Texas saw an unusual object in the sky that appeared to vanish into what looked like a ball of fire. The same observer and his brother had also spotted two other strange aerial objects in the Gonzales area during the winter of 1951. A married couple reported seeing a circular object while driving south on Highway 3, about one mile north of Gonzales. All the witnesses lived in or near Gonzales, Texas.

The main sighting occurred around 5:30 to 6:00 p.m., shortly after Valentine's Day in February 1952. The object appeared as the young man drove north on Main Street in Shiner, then reappeared after he turned onto another street heading west-northwest. He described it as aluminum in color, roughly the size of a single-engine airplane viewed from three-quarters of a mile away, with no distinguishable features. The object traveled from east to west in a straight line. It remained visible for about fifteen minutes during the first sighting, but then disappeared into the distance over the course of two to three minutes. Notably, about half a minute after the second sighting, a bright light appeared as brilliant as the sun, which lasted roughly fifteen seconds. The observer heard no sound and saw no trail following the object. He noted that the sun was setting at the time, visibility was unlimited, and the light was good.

The Air Force investigators interviewed the young observer, described as an airplane and hot rod enthusiast who built model aircraft. He initially thought the object might be a cloud, then considered it could be a "flying saucer" after hearing and reading about them. The investigators also spoke with other witnesses and checked their reliability through local officials and community leaders. The sheriff vouched for the credibility of several witnesses. However, one community figure expressed some reservations about the main observer's tendency toward exaggeration and imaginative thinking, particularly since he had been injured in a fire. Despite this concern, no one suggested the witnesses were dishonest or fabricating stories.

The Air Force's evaluation form indicates the case was marked as "unidentified," though the OCR text is partially unclear. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 7 pages.