Incident #294 Sighting Report — Peterson Air Field, Colorado, 15 April 1949

On 15 April 1949, at approximately 1530 hours, three military personnel stationed at Peterson Air Field, Colorado, observed two unidentified aerial objects. The witnesses, Major Joe R. Bullock, M/Sgt Leonard Fink, and T/Sgt Walter J. Morbeck, were on the ramp in front of the operations building when the sighting occurred. The objects were described as perfectly round, resembling the color of an unlighted, frosted electric light bulb. They were estimated to be at an altitude of 30,000 feet and appeared to be 6 to 8 inches in diameter. The objects were traveling from south to north. According to the report, the objects followed a straight course, and the rear object overtook the lead object in approximately two seconds while in flight. The total duration of the observation was between 25 and 30 seconds. The witnesses noted that the objects moved at a high rate of speed, with one estimate calculating their velocity at 1500 mph. No sound was heard, and no exhaust trails were observed. The weather conditions were reported as exceptionally clear with unlimited visibility. The incident was investigated by the Intelligence Division of the Fifteenth Air Force. The interrogator noted that all three observers were considered reputable and competent, and a check with the local OSI detachment revealed no derogatory information about them. The report explicitly states that the objects' maneuverability, specifically the rear object overtaking the lead object and flying in close formation, seemed to preclude the possibility that the objects were meteors. No radar sets were in operation in the vicinity at the time of the sighting, and no other military or commercial traffic was in the immediate area that could account for the phenomenon. The report was forwarded to the Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for further review.