LAKE CHARLES AFB, LAOctober 1952

On October 6, 1952, around 2120 (9:20 p.m.) Central Standard Time, three Air Force mechanics working on the flight line at Lake Charles Air Force Base in Louisiana spotted an unusual object in the sky. The object appeared round and about the size of a nickel held at arm's length. It was white in color, and it alternated between bright and dim light.

The three witnesses, all aircraft mechanics from the 63rd Periodic Maintenance Squadron, observed the object for approximately five minutes as it moved from north to south. What caught their attention most was the object's behavior. It traveled at varying speeds, sometimes very fast and sometimes nearly stopping. At its slowest speeds, it made sharp right-angle turns, completing three or four of these maneuvers, all at different angles. The men watched until the object moved out of sight at a higher altitude than when they first saw it.

The object was spotted almost directly overhead from their position on the flight line. The area had active aircraft traffic at the time, which may have made it difficult for the witnesses to hear any sounds the object might have made. Weather conditions that evening included scattered clouds at 9,500 feet, with ten miles visibility and winds from the northeast. A weather officer at the base reported these conditions at 2127 (9:27 p.m.) that same evening. Notably, a balloon had been released from the base about twenty minutes before the sighting, but the Air Force found no meteorological or other conditions that could have caused what the men observed.

The official U.S. Air Force evaluation of this case was unidentified. The case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives across ten pages.