Unconventional Aircraft Sighting Report — Charleston, South Carolina, December 1950

This document consists of a series of military communications regarding a sighting of an unconventional aircraft near Ellenton, South Carolina, on December 2, 1950. The incident occurred in the vicinity of a site selected by the Atomic Energy Commission for a multi-million dollar hydrogen bomb plant, which was under construction at the time. According to a newspaper report from the News and Courier, four witnesses—including a Baptist minister, the Rev. R. D. Parkinson, and his neighbor, Dolphin Dunbar—observed a brilliantly-lighted object in the sky at approximately 10:45 p.m. The witnesses described the object as appearing like a 'big star' that was white and red in color. The object reportedly dipped up and down and flashed back and forth for about ten minutes before moving away in a south-westerly direction toward Georgia. The Rev. Parkinson noted that he was initially reluctant to report the sighting due to the existing public excitement and tension surrounding the town's displacement for the H-bomb plant construction, but he felt compelled to report it regardless. The military documentation includes a memorandum from the Headquarters Third Army, Office of AC of S, G-2, dated December 8, 1950, forwarding the newspaper clipping to the Commanding General of the 14th Air Force at Robins Air Force Base. Subsequently, on December 14, 1950, the 14th Air Force forwarded the report to the Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in accordance with established procedures for reporting information on unconventional aircraft.