Shamya AFB, AlaskaMay 1949

Insufficient Data

Summary

During May 1949, a B-29 bomber crew flying a weather reconnaissance mission near Shamya Air Force Base in Alaska reported sighting two unidentified lights. The object was described as moving at high speed at altitudes between 2,300 and 5,000 feet, appearing as a blue-white light with the appearance of an exhaust. The crew observed the object twice during their mission, passing both beneath and above their aircraft.

The first sighting occurred at 2205 hours (10:05 p.m.), when the co-pilot and left scanner reported a lighted object approximately 100 feet below the aircraft at an altitude of 2,400 feet. The pilot reported the sighting to Shemya tower and inquired about other aircraft in the vicinity. The only reported aircraft was a Northwest Airlines plane that had recently taken off and was believed to be on course.

The second sighting took place around 2235 hours (10:35 p.m.) while the B-29 was performing a procedure turn at 5,000 feet south of the island. A white light was observed approaching from the left, passing directly overhead at what the pilot estimated to be approximately 1,000 feet above the aircraft, traveling at an estimated speed of 200 to 400 miles per hour in a northerly direction.

The pilot and other crew members considered but rejected the possibility that the light was a meteor, noting that it maintained a definite horizontal altitude with steady intensity. A weather observer on the crew compared the object to a pilot balloon (weather balloon) that had been released from the base shortly after the sightings, but found significant differences: the balloon's light was bright and small, while the observed object was dull, yellowish, and much larger.

The base weather observer provided additional details, recording the object's intensity as equivalent to a 40-watt light bulb at 200 feet. Weather conditions at the time consisted of scattered to broken stratocumulus clouds with visibility unlimited at the aircraft's altitude. The Air Force's final evaluation of this incident remains unknown based on the available file records. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 38 pages.

Reported location

Shamya AFB, Alaska

Date of incident

May 1949

State / country

AK / US

Page count

38 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 4

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 38

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28933723