San Bernardino, CaliforniaApril 1949

Unidentified

Summary

On the afternoon of April 7, 1949, two U.S. Air Force pilots in a T-6 training aircraft near Riverside, California spotted an unusual object while flying a radio range practice route. Lieutenant Edwin B. Reeser was at the controls while Lieutenant Marvin M. Van Salter observed from the front seat. At approximately 7,000 feet altitude, Van Salter saw what he initially thought was a red and grey fuel tank tumbling through the air about 1,000 feet below them. He watched it for four or five seconds before a second concern struck him: could an aircraft have broken apart overhead?

When Van Salter looked up, he saw what he and Reeser immediately took to be four white parachutes floating roughly 1,000 feet apart. The objects reflected a pure white color, not a metallic silver. However, neither pilot could see any shroud lines (the cords that attach to a parachute canopy) or bodies. Van Salter called out his observation to Reeser, who scanned the sky, spotted the four white objects in nearly the same positions, and confirmed they looked like parachutes. The pilots then climbed toward the objects, starting from 7,000 feet. By the time they reached 9,000 feet, the four objects had vanished in an easterly direction. Van Salter emphasized in his report that the sighting occurred directly over March Field and that the objects maintained consistent spacing and color throughout the sighting.

The Air Force concluded there was insufficient data for evaluation. The full case file, consisting of 6 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.

Reported location

San Bernardino, California

Date of incident

April 1949

State / country

CA / US

Page count

6 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 4

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 6

View transcribed text

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PROJECT 10073 RECORD
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Military 1. INSUMIICTENT DATA FOR IIVALUATION |
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4. NUMBER OF OBJECTS 9 | Ot hey (s ] RACHUTES ) |
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5. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 11. BRIEF SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS
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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28934032