Springfield, Mass., June 1949 - Incident Number: 356June 1949

On June 7, 1949, at around 12:10 p.m. (1210 EDST), a writer in Springfield, Massachusetts, spotted something unusual in the sky near his home. He was watching a large airplane pass overhead when his attention shifted to a white, round object moving rapidly across the sky. The object appeared to be roughly the size of a small jet fighter, but had no visible wings or other supporting structures.

The observer watched the object for about five seconds. It flew horizontally at first, then made an abrupt turn upward into a steep vertical climb. Shortly after, it descended back to its original flight path and then faded from view. The man estimated the object was traveling between 400 and 500 miles per hour at an extremely high altitude. He heard no sound and saw no exhaust or trail of any kind. The day was clear with good visibility, and the object never came near any clouds.

The observer was a person of excellent character and intelligence, according to neighbors and local police records. He had fair ability to judge color, speed, and size at a distance. He stated this was the first time he had ever seen an object of this type. He was certain the object was not a weather balloon or conventional aircraft.

The Air Force investigation noted that weather conditions were clear on the day of the sighting. The file mentions that a weather balloon from Bedford Air Force Base could have been in the area at the time. The Air Force found no radar corroboration of the sighting. The investigation report concluded the object was likely a balloon, though the OCR text is unclear on the reasoning behind this determination. There were no photographs or physical evidence collected. The full case file, as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below across 12 pages.