National City, CaliforniaMay 1952

On the evening of May 13, 1952, an engineer living in National City, California, observed an unusual aerial object in the sky. The object first appeared as a red trail of light moving downward at roughly 20 degrees, which the witness initially mistook for a meteor. Within two seconds, a small white dot became visible at the source of the trail. The witness estimated the object's speed was meteoric, but as it continued its descent, the trail faded after about four more seconds.

At this point, the witness noticed that the object seemed to be slowing down and behaving erratically, no longer appearing to fall under gravity alone. The object displayed what the witness described as a self-luminous or fluorescent quality, different from the incandescent lights of aircraft. The witness called his wife to observe the phenomenon, and by the time she arrived with a telescope, the object had leveled off and was flying westward at a considerably higher altitude than a light plane also visible in the sky. The witness estimated the object's altitude at this stage to be between 10,000 and 15,000 feet, and through the telescope it appeared as a sphere roughly one-eighteenth inch in diameter, with white fluorescence tending toward yellow. A slight blue halo was visible through the telescope, which the witness attributed to chromatic aberration.

The object then executed a side-to-side oscillating motion without losing forward speed. After traveling almost due west for approximately one mile, it turned toward the northwest and appeared to circle over San Diego Bay and Point Loma, disappearing as it traveled north at constant altitude and speed. At approximately 9:25 p.m., the object returned on a circular course from downtown San Diego, passing nearly overhead at an elevation of roughly 45 degrees. It executed an almost 300-degree turn and passed over downtown San Diego heading directly west. As it passed over brightly lighted areas, the witness gained the impression that ground lights were reflecting off a metal hull, similar to reflections from aircraft fuselages and wings.

Throughout the entire sighting, there was no apparent sound or shock wave from the object, despite its extremely high speed during the initial descent. The witness concluded that the object must have been under intelligent control, possibly powered by electromagnetic force. The object was also observed by several other people in the San Diego area.

The full case file of 27 pages is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.