Incident #333 Sighting Report — Caddo Lake, Louisiana, May 1949

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (Incident No. 333) concerning an unidentified aerial object sighting on May 22, 1949, near Caddo Lake, Louisiana. The report details an account provided by a civilian witness, a paint shop foreman at Barksdale Air Force Base, who was on a fishing trip with his family. The witness reported observing a silver, oblong object, approximately the size of a baseball, flying in a straight line at an estimated altitude of 8,000 to 10,000 feet. The object was observed for three to four minutes before fading from view. The witness noted that the object made no sound and was traveling at an estimated speed of 500 miles per hour. The sighting occurred while the witnesses were watching an F-82 aircraft flying across the lake. The report includes an agent's note stating that the reporting officer was in Bossier City, Louisiana, at the time of the incident and observed a B-36 aircraft in the area at approximately 30,000 feet. The officer noted that while the B-36 was difficult to identify visually due to the bright sun, its distinctive sound was easily discernible. Consequently, the official conclusion reached by the reporting officer was that the reported object was likely the B-36, noting that the observers' ability to accurately estimate altitude was doubtful. The document was transmitted from the 3500th Pilot Training Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base to the Air Material Command in Dayton, Ohio, on May 25, 1949.