NORTH KOREA, February 1952February 1952

On the night of February 24, 1952, a B-29 bomber flying a leaflet drop mission over North Korea was caught in searchlights near the town of Sinuiju. About forty-five seconds after the searchlights locked onto the aircraft, the navigator spotted an unidentified object approaching from the seven o'clock position (roughly toward the left and behind the plane). The object was estimated to be over Antung, a town on the Korean-Chinese border, when first spotted.

The navigator described the object as cylindrical in shape with a rapidly pulsating, bluish exhaust trail that was roughly three times longer than the object itself. The object initially climbed at a steep angle of fifty-five degrees. However, it leveled off about four thousand feet away from the B-29 and turned toward the aircraft as if setting up an interception course. For roughly fifteen seconds, the object closed in on the bomber at high speed. Then it broke off level flight, headed downward, and passed underneath the aircraft at a gradual angle. As it descended, the exhaust flame grew brighter and shrank in size. The navigator estimated the object came within two thousand feet of the plane and judged it to be roughly the size of an automobile as seen from a distance. Throughout the encounter, searchlights kept the B-29 illuminated, and the bomber was exposed to weak, inaccurate anti-aircraft fire. The pilot executed evasive maneuvers including a series of sharp turns and a shallow dive. The electronic countermeasures operator picked up weak electronic signals but was unable to activate the plane's electronic defenses. The entire incident lasted about four minutes, and weather conditions were clear with unlimited visibility.

The interrogating officer noted that the navigator was an experienced pilot, a captain who had flown fifteen combat missions over North Korea. The officer found him reliable and rational, and the navigator was confident he had seen a rocket. He ruled out searchlight reflections or other aircraft. The navigator was the only crew member to report anything unusual.

Air Force intelligence officers analyzed the sighting and concluded the object most likely resembled a surface-to-air guided missile, possibly a German Schmetteling type design. They noted that the Soviet Union was believed to have the capability to operate such missiles, though no earlier intelligence had confirmed this. The case was referred to the Air Force's guided missiles research group for further evaluation. The Air Force's official evaluation of the incident remains unknown. This case file contains nine pages as held by the National Archives.