Project Sign Report: Unconventional Aircraft Sighted in Southern Oregon, 27 May 1949

This document is a comprehensive Report of Investigation concerning a sighting of unconventional aircraft in Southern Oregon on May 27, 1949. The witness, a private pilot and former Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade, was flying his SNJ-type aircraft from Red Bluff, California, to Burns, Oregon, when he observed five to eight elongated, oval-shaped objects flying in a steady file formation. The witness, who is described as a highly reliable and competent pilot, estimated the objects to be less than 20 feet in length, unpainted, and traveling at speeds between 190 and 260 MPH. The objects were observed flying south/southwest, paralleling the witness's course near Hart Mountain. The witness noted that the objects appeared to be solid, with no visible smoke or exhaust trails, and he was certain they were not conventional aircraft. The investigation involved interviews with local residents and officials in Lakeview and Plush, Oregon, as well as coordination with the Civil Aeronautics Administration and the Seattle Air Route Traffic Control Center. Despite these efforts, no records of commercial or military flights in the area at the time of the sighting were found, and local residents reported no sightings. The reporting officer, Special Agent Bryden E. Moon, concluded that conventional explanations such as birds, balloons, or astronomical phenomena could be eliminated. The report notes that the witness's expertise as a pilot-instructor makes it unlikely that he misidentified conventional aircraft or was subject to optical illusions. Ultimately, the investigation remained inconclusive, with the reporting officer stating that the sighting remained a 'question mark'. The file includes various internal correspondence between the Office of Special Investigations and the Air Materiel Command, reflecting the military's interest in the case under Project Sign and later Project Grudge. The analysis by the Air Materiel Command suggests that while the objects were real and perceived from external stimuli, the lack of precise range data made it impossible to definitively determine their nature, though they were not identified as conventional aircraft.