Watertown, N.Y., May 1949 - Incident Number: 324May 1949

# Watertown, New York, May 1949

On May 11, 1949, three separate groups of people driving near Watertown, New York observed an unusual object moving slowly across the sky over the course of about ten to fifteen minutes. The object appeared to be small, roughly one to two feet in size, white or silver in color, and shaped somewhat like a shoe box or automobile hub cap. All observers described the object as reflecting sunlight rather than producing its own light.

The witnesses reported that the object rose from the south or southeast, gained altitude for two to three minutes, then leveled off and moved slowly toward the northeast. One witness noted a forty-foot-long gray smoke trail trailing behind the object. As it moved away, the object appeared to dissolve gradually from the tail forward until it disappeared completely. The weather that day was clear with excellent visibility and no clouds.

The Air Force began investigating in May 1949. Agents interviewed the three main witnesses in June and conducted background checks with local police and sheriff's offices. The investigators also obtained copies of records showing that Rawinsonde balloons, weather balloons used to measure atmospheric conditions, had been released from Griffiss Air Force Base in nearby Rome, New York on May 10 and May 11. The file indicates investigators obtained wind computation data to compare with the object's observed flight path, though no conclusion about what the object was appears in the available records. The case remained unresolved.

This file consists of 19 pages as held by the National Archives.