North Atlantic 62 DEG 00'N 33 DEG 00'W, April 1948 - Incident Number: 124April 1948

Insufficient Data

Summary

On April 18, 1948, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter patrolling the North Atlantic detected an unidentified target on radar. The ship, positioned at an ocean weather station about 620 miles northeast of Newfoundland, was conducting routine surveillance when the radar operator made the contact at 3:00 p.m. Greenwich time.

The operator tracked the object as it moved across the radar screen, picking it up first at a distance of 6,500 yards and following it until it reached 18,000 yards away. Based on these measurements, the crew calculated the target's speed at approximately 30 miles per hour. The area where the radar contact occurred was clear and cloudless, with no visible weather patterns that might explain the reading. When the crew looked toward the radar blip with their eyes and checked the ship's surface radar, they found nothing. The target's radar signal strength was 55 units and began to fade as it moved away.

The crew reported that this was the only time they observed the phenomenon during their entire patrol from April 3 to 24. The radar sighting was forwarded up the chain of command through the Coast Guard to the U.S. Air Force for investigation. An attached analysis noted that an astronomical explanation seemed unlikely for the incident and questioned whether the radar contact might have been a flock of migrating birds.

The case file includes an evaluation list showing that the incident was placed in a miscellaneous category alongside other unexplained radar events, reflections, and atmospheric phenomena. The full case file of 7 pages is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.

Reported location

North Atlantic 62 DEG 00'N 33 DEG 00'W, April 1948 - Incident Number: 124

Date of incident

April 1948

State / country

? / XX

Page count

7 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 2

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