Tucson, ArizonaAugust 1952

On the evening of August 6, 1952, near Tucson, Arizona, air traffic controllers and pilots reported seeing an unusual bright object moving across the sky at remarkable speeds and altitudes.

The sighting began around 2002 MST (8:02 p.m.) when personnel in the control tower at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base spotted a brilliant object about three miles southeast of the base at roughly 5,000 feet altitude. The object appeared to be about the size and brightness of a landing light, glowing with a yellowish-white color. Witnesses said it climbed rapidly in a general northwest direction until it reached between 15,000 and 20,000 feet, directly above the air base, where it hovered for about ten minutes. The light then moved slowly and irregularly, flashing on and off, before accelerating northwest and disappearing at 2030 MST (8:30 p.m.).

Controllers at nearby Tucson's municipal airport said they thought they saw the same object. More significantly, a U.S. Air Force C-47 transport plane flying at 15,000 feet over Phoenix answered a radio call and changed course toward Tucson to investigate. The pilot confirmed the sighting, describing an intensely brilliant white light. After spotting it near Gila Bend, the pilot turned to pursue the object but lost sight of it. Minutes later, over Chandler, Arizona, the pilot saw a bright white light again and reported it traveled from Chandler to Tucson, a distance of roughly 70 miles, in about 50 seconds. The pilot stated during radio transmissions that the object was spherical, had no projections, emitted no exhaust trail, and was not an airplane.

Control tower operators at Davis-Monthan used 7x50 power binoculars during their observation. The sighting lasted approximately 25 minutes total. The Air Force evaluated this case as unidentified. The full case file, 13 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.