Sighting Report: Erik Östberg, Karlstad, August 24, 1946

On August 25, 1946, Police Commissioner John Bergdahl filed a report regarding a sighting reported by Erik Östberg, a mechanic residing in Karlstad. Östberg, who had previously completed military service in the Swedish Air Force, reported that on the evening of August 24, 1946, at 20:58, he was standing on Gamla Hammarövägen near the Epidemic Hospital in Karlstad. While looking across the Klarälven river, he observed a light phenomenon at an altitude of approximately 250 to 300 meters. The object was described as having a bluish, strongly blinding light, similar to an oxygen gas flame. Based on his military experience, Östberg estimated the object's speed to be approximately 700 kilometers per hour, moving in a straight vertical path toward the south-southwest. The duration of the sighting was exactly 7 seconds, which Östberg timed using his radio-controlled wristwatch. After the light vanished, he heard a dull bang, though he could not confirm if it was related to the phenomenon. No smoke or other associated phenomena were observed, and he estimated the object was a few kilometers away from the city. The report was forwarded to the V Military Command and the Air Defense Department of the Defense Staff for their information.