KEESLEE AFB, MISS., August 1952August 1952

On the night of August 2, 1952, at approximately 1920 (7:20 p.m.), Airman First Class Gerald T. McCabe was walking near the base supply area at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi when he heard an airplane overhead. Looking up, he saw a white flash in front of and below what he believed was a twin-engine C-47 aircraft. The object appeared round, about eighteen inches in diameter, and was located roughly one-half to one mile away at an altitude of about three thousand feet. McCabe watched the flash for approximately two seconds as it trailed off in a downward, curving path that resembled pyrotechnics burning out. He heard no distinct sound from the object itself, though he noted an exhaust comparable to dying pyrotechnics.

McCabe's experience made him a reasonably credible witness. He had served approximately five hundred hours of aircraft spotter duty during World War II and was described as intelligent, serious, and conscientious. The Air Force checked with base operations and confirmed that a C-47 aircraft did land at Keesler that evening. However, interrogation of the available crew members revealed no information about the unidentified object.

The weather at the time was clear, with fair conditions reported: partly cloudy skies with cirrus clouds above twenty-five thousand feet, twelve miles visibility, and southwest winds at twelve knots. The investigating officer noted that the brief duration of the sighting and the absence of other witnesses made it impossible to determine the reliability of McCabe's report with confidence. No physical evidence was recovered, no interception was attempted, and no conclusive identification was reached.

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