Wiles City AFS, September 1958September 1958

Insufficient Data

Summary

On the morning of September 7, 1958, radar operators at three U.S. Air Force stations in South Dakota detected unidentified objects on their screens. The sightings occurred over roughly four hours in an area near Minot, Wiles City, and Ellsworth Air Force Bases. Radar showed what appeared to be one or more objects moving in a small, circular path at altitudes between 10,800 and 14,200 feet. Ground observers at one location also reported seeing two distinct objects about two miles apart, with green, white, and red flashing lights. The objects appeared to remain mostly stationary, with possible movement at speeds around 10 to 20 knots.

The Air Force scrambled fighter aircraft to intercept the objects. As the fighters approached within three miles of one radar target, the radar signal vanished. The pilots then searched the area from ground level to 20,000 feet but reported no visual contact with any object. Another radar station maintained intermittent contact with a target while the fighters conducted their search. The total radar observation lasted between 55 minutes and three hours, depending on the station.

Investigators considered several explanations. A weather station reported that a weather balloon was known to be in the area at 14,300 feet. The Air Force intelligence officer noted that one radar return resembled a normal aircraft signal, though the target showed unusual behavior, climbing and descending rapidly while staying relatively stable in distance. Another possibility was anomalous propagation, a radar phenomenon caused by unusual atmospheric conditions that can create false returns. An officer reviewing the case concluded it was probable that a weather balloon caused at least some of the radar sightings, though other weather-related effects could not be ruled out. The Air Force marked the case as unknown, noting that fighters unable to verify an object left the explanation uncertain.

The full case file, consisting of 10 pages, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.

Reported location

Wiles City AFS, September 1958

Date of incident

September 1958

State / country

? / XX

Page count

10 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 33

; E pt ERY ERATE FRE ERT BRA PTA a Raine NSE Ee , PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD vil 1. DATE 2 LOCATIONijles City AFS, @ont 12. CONCLUSIONS Elsworth AFB, S5.D. Q. hp Ag ST 7 September 1058 12 Mi S of Ming ald eB Bronebl) Balioon | 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION melt | Local &X Ground- Vi sual R Ground-Reder Q Drvetty Mverels | 2 - ¢ 0 Possibly Aircraft GMT.\ (11002 OZ, V22T4 & Air Visual QO Air-Intercept Radar a Rg | feo; [/ 8. Proetiy Aetrenomiest ( 77 ARYes Radar O Possibly Astronomical O Ne Ad 14% 3100 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE 2, ga: Other stile | 0 Unknown 3 BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING TRE n DWMENTS i i “on radar obj appeared as an a/c One of the ob js was proba paint. Obj appeared to orbit, Radar a balloon thac was in the ¢r.if "contact lost when interceptor plane The others werc probabil, Couey : approached within 3 miles, Visually by ananolous propogativ Gu ‘ there appeared to be 2 objs, size of ground reflections, Possibie | i a quarter with 2 miles separation, grpe astronomical nodv as visual | green, white and red flashing lights, sighting. | stationary with possible 10-20 knot | orbit, w | ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52) | | E%w ® | NNNN RECELV tL | ager 0731 10 yp ita ; | ATIC — ° Lo “ R/ Po VOCZCSQCS9T7ZLOYA8T «’ V od ® | | PP RJEDSQ wo | ~ 7 v | | Xx = a | DE RJWZGU 2H \ 4 / | - 'P @714157 a ° | FM COMDR 786 ACWRON MINOT AFS & | 'TO RJEDDN/COMDR AIR DEFENSE COMMAND ENT AFB ; | RJW ZGU/COMDR 25TH ADIV : ® 'RJEDSQ/COMDR AIR TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE CENTER or i | 'RJEZHQ/ASSISTANT CHIEF OF STAFF INTELLIGENCE | | RJEZHQ/OFFICE OF INFORMATION SERVICES BE a eo |} LL Taino sh SANSA 94 5s ib abl EB hs ir bl cai