Incident #167 Sighting Report — Pacific Ocean, 6 May 1948

On 6 May 1948, at approximately 0905 GCT, Captain Floyd Barnes, a pilot with the Pacific Division of the Military Air Transport Service, observed an unidentified aerial phenomenon while flying between Kwajalein Island and Hickam Field. Captain Barnes reported seeing a large white ball of fire at an altitude of 10,000 feet, located four to five miles ahead and slightly above his aircraft. The object was visible for only a split second and was described as having exploded like a shell, with no streamers or tails observed. Following the sighting, Captain Barnes checked his IFF equipment, which was reported as operative. Shortly thereafter, a single white light was observed on the water surface, though it was quickly obscured by cloud cover. Approximately ten minutes later, additional lights were observed on the water surface, which Captain Barnes and his crew concluded were from a surface vessel. An aircraft was also sighted flying a reciprocal course at 1,000 feet below the observer's aircraft. Subsequent investigation by the Air Materiel Command and the District Intelligence Officer of the 14th Naval District suggested that the USS Boxer was engaged in tactical training operations in the vicinity of the reported contact. The official assessment concluded that the object was likely an exploding fireball seen head-on, and that the lights observed on the water were unrelated to the original object. The report notes that it is improbable that the object was a shell fired from the USS Boxer, as only one shell would have been observed. The documentation includes correspondence between the Air Materiel Command and the Air Weather Service regarding Project SIGN, which was responsible for the collection and interpretation of data related to unidentified flying objects.