Declassified UFO / UAP Document
Incident #129 Sighting Report — Wilmington, North Carolina, 31 May 1948
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AI-Generated Summary
A 1948 sighting of an oblong, smoke-emitting object over Wilmington, NC, was investigated by the military. Officials suggested it may have been a meteor, while dismissing local theories that it was a P-80 aircraft.
This document details Incident #129, a report of an unidentified aerial object sighted over Wilmington, North Carolina, on May 31, 1948. The report includes a newspaper clipping from The Charlotte Observer, which describes the object as being approximately three feet long, 'as large as an arm,' and emitting smoke. Witnesses, including Mrs. H. D. Alspach, Mrs. Charles Colvin, and Mrs. H. D. Hufham, observed the object at 1:20 p.m. traveling at a high speed from the direction of Bluethenthal Field before veering at a lower speed toward Wrightsville. The local office of the Civil Aeronautics Administration explicitly rejected a suggestion by the Bluethenthal Field station manager, James Holomon, that the object could have been a P-80 aircraft, confirming that no such plane was in the area at the time. The official military assessment, dated June 3, 1948, and authored by Colonel Walter A. Buck, characterizes the evidence as contradictory. The intelligence evaluation suggests that the object might have been a meteor, noting that the 'oblong shape' reported by witnesses could be attributed to the persistence of vision caused by a rapidly moving bright object. The report concludes with an inquiry regarding the proximity of any government guided missile testing fields to the area. The document is marked as 'RESTRICTED' and was processed as part of the intelligence files related to unconventional aircraft, later being indexed in the Project Grudge report.
Evidence in this incident is contradictory, especially concerning tactics, but from the meager description and the fact that the object emitted smoke and travelled at a high speed, the possibility of its having been a meteor is not ruled out.
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Official Assessment
Evidence in this incident is contradictory, especially concerning tactics, but from the meager description and the fact that the object emitted smoke and travelled at a high speed, the possibility of its having been a meteor is not ruled out. Apparent oblong shape might have arisen from persistence of vision of a rapidly travelling bright object.
The report notes that the Civil Aeronautics Administration discredited a suggestion by the local station manager that the object was a P-80 aircraft, stating no such plane was in the sky at the time.
Witnesses
- Mrs. H. D. Alspachcivilian
- Mrs. Charles Colvincivilian
- Mrs. H. D. Hufhamcivilian
Key Persons
- James HolomonBluethenthal Field's station manager