PAOLI OKLA, October 1952October 1952

On October 28, 1952, a C-47 aircraft carrying three U.S. Air Force crew members from Perrin Air Force Base witnessed an unusual object near Paoli, Oklahoma. The sighting lasted approximately ten seconds.

The object appeared as a bright bluish sphere traveling in a straight line from east to west at what the crew estimated as jet speed, around 600 miles per hour. One crew member noted that one side of the object glowed brighter than the other, but there was no visible exhaust. The aircraft was flying at 5,500 feet altitude when the object appeared at the same altitude nearby. Without warning, the object burst into fragments and disappeared.

The three witnesses, Captain Jack E. McKinister, Captain John R. Nau, and S/Sgt George W. Watson, all held responsible positions at Perrin Air Force Base and were considered reliable by their command. Weather conditions at the time were clear with visibility of fifteen miles and light winds. The crew reported the sighting to Oklahoma City radio, their home base operations, and to Carswell Air Force Base flight center, which reported no intercept attempt.

The file includes a separate report of a similar sighting near Jacksboro, Texas on October 29, 1952, one day later, though that report came from a civilian motorist rather than military personnel. The Air Force evaluated the Oklahoma sighting as unknown. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives across 17 pages.