Tuscon, ArizonaMay 1949

A round object the size of a tennis ball caught the attention of a Tucson resident on the morning of May 8, 1949. The main witness was lying in bed when he spotted the white object in the southern sky at roughly 1100 hours (11 a.m.). He went outside for a closer look and estimated the object was about two miles away and two miles high, traveling west. The object's shape changed from looking like a football bladder (an old type of ball) to flat. When the object reached the mountains west of Tucson, it banked north and started climbing at about a 45-degree angle. After climbing for roughly two minutes, it disappeared from view. The witness believed the object was solid and white, reflecting sunlight as it moved. He estimated it was in view for ten to fifteen minutes and noticed it made no sound, had no windows or visible control surfaces, and showed no smoke or exhaust.

Three other people witnessed the same or a similar object that morning and gave separate accounts. One witness, an employee at an electrical store, reported seeing an object shaped like a balloon that changed to flat and appeared to climb faster than a jet. A Davis Monthan Air Force Base airman reported seeing a round object that changed to flat, estimated to be seventy-five feet in diameter if on the ground, climbing at high speed when an airplane came within ten thousand feet. A second Air Force airman described a silver object the size of a thumbnail at arm's length, changing from round to flat, that appeared to flutter and climbed rapidly before fading from view as an airplane approached.

The investigation found no physical evidence. The file concludes that the investigation in Tucson, Arizona, did not result in finding a possible explanation of the object. The Air Force evaluation marked this case unidentified. The full case file, consisting of 21 pages, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.