PHOENIX, ARIZ., August 1952August 1952

In early August 1952, two separate sightings were reported in Phoenix, Arizona. The first occurred on August 4 at 2:20 a.m. when an airman stationed at Luke Air Force Base saw a round, yellow-white ball about three-fourths the size of the full moon traveling southwest at an estimated 200 miles per hour. The object appeared perfectly round at first but gradually stretched into a long, narrow shape like a plate as it moved across the sky. The airman watched for about five minutes from South Central Avenue near Salt River, with the object staying at a constant altitude no higher than 3,500 feet and maintaining steady speed throughout the sighting.

Later that same day, around 12:20 a.m. (the date marking is unclear in the file), another observer at Sky Harbor Airport reported seeing an orange-yellow disk, about one and one-half inches in size, that was initially motionless before slowly accelerating to between 600 and 700 miles per hour. This object left a small trail of exhaust and traveled from east to north-northeast before disappearing. The witness was a recently discharged Navy airman working as a mechanic for Frontier Airlines. He noted the object made no sound and appeared to have physical substance.

The Air Force investigation noted that both observers had familiarity with aviation. Weather conditions at the time of the first sighting were clear with excellent visibility. One report mentioned that a Sky Coach aircraft departed Sky Harbor Airport shortly before the second sighting, and the observer claimed to have seen this plane as well as the unidentified object. The file does not explicitly state a final Air Force conclusion about either sighting, though some pages suggest possible balloon or aircraft identifications were considered.

The complete case file, consisting of 18 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.