Sheaves Cove, Newfoundland, March 1953March 1953

# Sheaves Cove, Newfoundland, March 1953

In March 1953, several residents of Sheaves Cove, a small community about 25 miles west of Ernest Harmon Air Force Base in Newfoundland, reported seeing bright, fast-moving lights in the sky. The witnesses described objects shaped like light bulbs, typically about 6 to 18 inches long, that traveled silently at high speed and seemed to fall or descend in downward arcs. The sightings occurred over a period of weeks, from March through April 1953.

The first documented sighting involved two men walking along a road near dusk in March. One witness said the area suddenly became very bright, and he saw a light in the sky about three-quarters of a mile away that resembled a light bulb with a tail roughly 8 inches long and 4 inches wide. The light was the color of a kerosene lantern flame. For about 75 yards around where the witness stood, the object's brightness dimmed out the light from a lantern they were carrying. The object traveled from southeast to southwest over St. George's Bay at tremendous speed, appearing to move two or three times faster than aircraft normally seen in the area.

Another sighting occurred on 14 April 1953, when a man observed a similar light from his kitchen. This object also resembled a light bulb, was roughly 18 inches long, and was colored like a kerosene flame. It appeared to be falling toward St. George's Bay and traveled three times faster than a falling aircraft. On approximately 20 April 1953, the same witness reported a different light about two miles away that appeared smaller (roughly six inches in diameter) and traveled more slowly than the earlier objects. A U.S. Air Force serviceman interviewed during the investigation stated he believed this April 20 sighting was an aircraft with navigation lights on, making an approach to Ernest Harmon Air Base.

A third incident occurred much earlier, on 17 October 1952, when two men carrying a kerosene lantern into the woods noticed the area becoming intensely bright. They saw a round ball of fire the color of a kerosene lamp approaching from the south. The ball passed to their right and disappeared over a hill about 600 feet high. As it vanished, it appeared to descend in a downward arc, and a large number of sparks burst from it. The light was so bright it dimmed their lantern. The object seemed to be traveling two or three times faster than aircraft normally seen in the area. A woman living nearby reported being awakened by a flash of light that morning and seeing the entire area lit by a bluish reflection, though she did not see the object itself.

The Air Force investigation, conducted in May 1953, found that no radar contact had been made with any of the objects, no flight plans matched the sightings, and no nearby astronomers could account for unusual celestial activity. One of the witnesses, a U.S. Air Force serviceman, believed the 20 April sighting was a conventional aircraft. The file notes that investigators encountered difficulty reaching all potential witnesses, and that the sightings appeared to occur over a geographic area accessible by water.

The Air Force concluded that the reported light was probably a meteor. The full case file, comprising 11 pages, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.