Project 10073 Record — Incident No. 337

On 9 May 1949, at approximately 1430 hours, a Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force, stationed with the 43rd Air Refueling Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, observed two unidentified objects while resting on the front lawn of his residence in Tucson, Arizona. The witness, a flight engineer with eight years of experience in aircraft maintenance and flight operations, described the objects as round, flat, and silvery, with an estimated diameter of 25 feet and a thickness of one foot. The objects were observed at an altitude of approximately 10,000 feet, traveling from a southwesterly direction toward the northeast at an estimated speed of 750 to 1,000 miles per hour. The witness noted that the objects maintained a formation, were perfectly round, and exhibited no visible means of propulsion, exhaust, or vapor trails. During the 6 to 10 seconds they were in view, the objects performed a level flight, banked once to the north, and then banked abruptly to the northeast toward the Catalina Mountains before fading from view. The witness attempted to call his wife to observe the objects, but they disappeared before she could reach the location. An investigation conducted by the 17th District Office of Special Investigations, led by Lt. Col. Doyle Rees, included a neighborhood check, a review of local police and FBI records, and inquiries with local flight services and weather bureaus. No other witnesses were found, and no records of conventional aircraft or weather balloons in the area at that time were identified. The investigating officer noted that the witness was of good character and normal intelligence, though he suggested the observer might have been influenced by recent reports of sightings in the area. The final conclusion of the report, filed under Project 10073, remained that the objects were unidentified.