Mather AFB, CaliforniaJanuary 1953

On January 27, 1953, a crew of Air Force pilots flying a T-29 transport plane near Hanford, California reported seeing four to five brilliantly shiny objects performing unusual maneuvers at an estimated altitude of 12,000 to 15,000 feet. The pilots were flying at 8,000 feet when they spotted the objects roughly 40 to 50 miles away in the direction of Bakersfield. The sighting lasted four to five minutes.

The pilots described the objects as extremely bright and metallic, resembling flat discs or plates. The objects moved in ways the pilots found unconventional. One pilot noted they appeared to tumble and move erratically, approaching the aircraft then retreating at what he judged to be high speed. The objects left no visible exhaust or trail. One witness thought he might have been looking at jets at first, but dismissed that idea because no conventional jet performed such abrupt, tricky maneuvers. The pilots used the aircraft windshield as a reference point to track the objects' movement. Weather at the time was clear with good visibility, though a haze layer existed around 4,000 feet. The pilots notified Fresno Radio, which relayed the information to Military Flight Service.

The Air Force evaluated the sighting as unidentified. A cover sheet in the file notes "Probably Balloon," but the case itself received the unidentified rating. The file contains detailed witness statements from the pilots and supporting documentation, though the OCR quality of some pages degrades toward the end of the document.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, spanning 14 pages.