Incident #113 Sighting Report — Montgomery, Alabama, 9 April 1948

On 9 April 1948, at approximately 1506 hours, Lt. Colonel Robert B. Hughes of the Tactics Division at the Air Tactical School, Tyndall Air Force Base, observed an unidentified aerial object while piloting a P-51H aircraft near Montgomery, Alabama. Colonel Hughes, who was flying at an altitude of 16,000 feet, sighted the object after completing a 130-degree left turn. He described the object as a silver disc, approximately eight feet in diameter, which appeared to be a parachute carrying a large canister or ball. A dark cable or shroud, estimated to be five feet long, connected the top portion to the canister. The object was observed for approximately five seconds before it was lost from sight. Colonel Hughes noted that the object appeared to be moving at a speed in excess of his own aircraft's 310 mph, and it seemed to fly away on a horizontal plane rather than descending vertically. He reported no sound or exhaust trail. Following the incident, Colonel Hughes returned to Tyndall Air Force Base and reported the sighting to the Intelligence Officer. The report was subsequently processed through military intelligence channels, including the Third Army and the Air Materiel Command. The incident was assigned number 113 and was later evaluated by the Air Weather Service. The official conclusion reached by the evaluating authorities was that the object was an instrument-carrying balloon, noting that there was no evidence to support an astronomical interpretation and that the description was similar to that of incident #81. The documentation includes a sketch of the object, which depicts a parachute-like top connected by a cable to a canister, and various internal memoranda regarding the investigation and the coordination between the Air Weather Service and Project SIGN. The file reflects the military's systematic approach to categorizing sightings, with the Air Weather Service specifically reviewing reports to determine if they could be attributed to routine weather balloon flights.