Shreveport, LouisianaJuly 1947

On July 7, 1947, in Shreveport, Louisiana, a man named Harston observed what he thought was a flying disc. At 6:05 p.m., he heard a whirling sound coming from above and looked up to see a disc traveling at high speed about 200 feet in the air. It was coming over a used car lot where he stood. According to his account, the object had smoke and fire coming from it before it fell into the street nearby. Harston retrieved the disc and reported it to Army officials at Barksdale Field.

Military investigators quickly dismantled the "disc" and discovered it was made entirely from ordinary parts. The object consisted of an 18-inch aluminum disk with two small electrical condensers (components that store electrical charge) attached at the ends. A fluorescent light starter sat in the center, held by a self-tapping screw. Copper wire connected the condensers to the starter. Soot had been applied to the edges to create the impression of heat damage from high-speed flight.

The investigation led officials to the maker: a man working at an electric fan manufacturer in Shreveport. He confessed that he had built the device as a practical joke on his boss. He had climbed to the roof of the building, tossed the disc in front of the boss's car on the street, and intended it simply as a harmless prank. When his boss failed to notice it, a bystander (Harston) picked it up instead. The FBI was notified and confirmed the hoax. Military investigators concluded the flying disc incident was nothing more than an elaborate joke and discontinued their inquiry. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, spanning 11 pages.