Project GRUDGE Incident 325 — St. Louis, Missouri, 7 May 1949

This document is a formal Report of Investigation conducted by the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) under Project GRUDGE, concerning an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported in St. Louis, Missouri, on May 7, 1949. The primary witness, a retired artist, reported observing a dark, reddish-brown, triangular object while sitting in his backyard with his wife. He described the object as being approximately the size of a light private airplane, moving in a straight line but oscillating from side to side, and noted a bright glint on its right side. The witness estimated the altitude at 9,000 to 10,000 feet and stated the object was faster than any aircraft he had previously seen. His wife corroborated his account, adding that the object had a reddish glow similar to an iron coal stove. The investigation involved interviews with the witnesses, checks with local police and FBI records, and inquiries into flight schedules at Lambert Field and Scott Air Force Base. Investigators determined that a Chicago and Southern DC-4 had departed Lambert Field at 1751 hours on the day of the sighting, heading south-southwest. The report concludes that there was no evidence to suggest the object could not have been an aircraft, and suggests that the witnesses likely observed this commercial airliner, with the evening twilight conditions contributing to the misidentification. The investigation was closed with no further action contemplated.