Project 10073 Record: Sighting of Flying Disc on 26 Aug 49 at Davis-Monthan AFB

This document is a formal Report of Investigation concerning an unidentified aerial object sighting on August 26, 1949, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. The primary witness was a Major, described as a stable and reliable weather officer, who was conducting a test on an upper-air weather balloon at the time. At approximately 1345 hours, while tracking the balloon, the officer observed an object at an extreme altitude, estimated at 50,000 feet. The object was described as triangular with rounded edges and a brownish-hazy color. It traveled in a level, straight path from the southeast to the northwest at a high rate of speed, which the witness calculated to be approximately 800 miles per hour. The object produced no sound, no exhaust, and exhibited no visible means of propulsion or control surfaces. The observation lasted for approximately 60 seconds before the object faded from view. The investigation, conducted by Special Agent Sheridan W. Cavitt of the 17th District Office of Special Investigations, confirmed that no other witnesses were found and that no radar sets in the vicinity detected the object. Checks with the AACS Detachment and local flying fields revealed no scheduled flights of commercial or USAF planes in the area at the time of the incident. The report notes that the witness himself suggested the object might have been a Convair XF-92A delta wing interceptor, which was undergoing tests at Muroc Air Force Base, California, as the shape was similar to the object observed. The official conclusion reached in the Project 10073 record is that the object was an aircraft. The file includes a statement from the witness, a map of the terrain, and correspondence between the 17th District OSI and the Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.