Incident #112 — Ashley and Delaware, Ohio, 8 April 1948

This document contains a series of reports and an official evaluation regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon observed on April 8, 1948, in the vicinity of Ashley and Delaware, Ohio. Multiple witnesses, including a housewife, a pastor, and a newspaper reporter, observed a strange object in the sky at approximately 2:30 PM. The witnesses described the object as a white, clearly-outlined, slow-moving, spherical or cylindrical shape that traveled in a southwesterly direction. Some observers noted vapor-like streaks or protrusions associated with the object. The witnesses reported no sound, no exhaust trails, and no maneuvers. One witness, a newspaper reporter, initially thought it was skywriting but later concluded it was a distinct, long, cylindrical body resembling a stick of firewood. Another witness, a pastor, noted that the object appeared to be a concentrated bit of cloud. The witnesses observed the object for at least ten minutes before it disappeared behind trees or from view. The official evaluation, dated February 15, 1949, and included in the Project Grudge report, concludes that the descriptions provided by the observers are consistent with a short, vertical, daytime meteor trail. These trails are noted to persist for half an hour or more and drift with prevailing winds, which the investigators suggest explains the observations. The document includes checklists for multiple witnesses and a summary of the investigation conducted by the 109th CIC Detachment.