Report of Unconventional Aircraft - 15 October 1950

This document collection details a sighting of four unconventional aerial objects reported on October 15, 1950, near Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina. The primary report comes from Captain George A. Woodward of Miami Airlines, who, while piloting a DC-4, observed four shiny, saucer-like objects. Woodward described the objects as being approximately 100 feet in diameter, constructed of a shiny substance resembling aluminum or chrome, and shaped like two saucers fitted together. According to the report, the objects were flying in a line, spaced about 25 feet apart and five miles away. Woodward stated that he attempted to pursue them, but the objects backed away, descended slowly, and then accelerated in a burst of speed. The sighting was reported to the Civil Aeronautics Administration offices in Lumberton and Florence. A separate, internal military report included in the file describes an observation made at 1625 EST on the same day by an unnamed observer who witnessed a jet plane flying at 35,000 to 40,000 feet. This observer reported seeing an oblate, spheroid object cross the jet's flight path. The author of this second report notes that while the information is sparse, there is a strong likelihood that the object they observed was one of the same objects reported by the Miami Airlines pilot. The author attempts a mathematical evaluation of the object's speed, estimating it at roughly 1,200 miles per hour based on assumed flight paths and observation times. The documents include official correspondence from Headquarters Third Army to the Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, forwarding the newspaper clipping from the Raleigh 'News and Observer' regarding the incident. The file is marked as unclassified and includes notations referencing 'Project Grudge'.