Summary of Information: Unidentified Objects on Radar Scopes at McGhee Tyson Airport, Knoxville, Tennessee

This document is a summary of information regarding unidentified radar returns detected at McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, Tennessee, on the nights of November 29 and 30, 1950. The radar station, operated by the 663rd Aircraft and Warning Squadron, reported numerous unidentified targets that appeared to originate near the center of the restricted area at Oak Ridge and travel southeast at approximately six miles per hour. These targets were described as appearing like 'pellets from a shotgun shell' poured onto a table, creating a cluttered radar scope. Fighter aircraft were dispatched to intercept the targets, but no visual contact was made. The report notes that the targets varied in intensity and appeared to be affected by wind conditions. Additionally, a Geiger counter in the restricted area recorded a rise in Alpha and Gamma radiation at 1900 hours on November 29, though Atomic Energy Commission officials stated there were no known radioactive releases. The investigation concluded that the radar returns were likely caused by atmospheric 'ducting' or 'beam trapping,' a meteorological phenomenon where temperature inversions bend radar beams, causing them to reflect off ground objects. The report explicitly dismisses the possibility that the radiation readings were caused by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory or that the radar targets were related to a separate, unrelated report of a truck carrying a cylindrical object in the mountains. Recommendations included using continuous radar scope photography and low-level atmospheric soundings to better understand these phenomena. The document includes correspondence between military commands, including the Third Army and the Air Materiel Command, confirming the findings and the conclusion that the events were atmospheric in nature rather than unconventional aircraft.