Incident Report: Unidentified Aerial Object Sighting, San Antonio, Texas, 28 July 1952

This intelligence report details a sighting of an unidentified aerial object near Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, on 28 July 1952. The incident began at approximately 0053 hours when Airman First Class LeRoy D. Pratt, a senior control tower operator, observed a brilliant white light with a bluish cast. The object, described as elongated and elliptical, appeared to hover and move vertically without horizontal displacement. Pratt, along with fellow operator A/1C Samuel Levy, monitored the object for 32 minutes. Simultaneously, a C-97 transport aircraft (number 2608) piloted by Captain Samuel W. Tyson and co-piloted by Captain Donald E. Knebusch, was vectored toward the object after the tower requested assistance. The C-97 crew also observed the light and attempted an intercept, climbing to 18,500 feet. Ground radar at an Aircraft Control and Warning site also tracked the object, though the controller, Captain S. S. Hoggatt, later identified a return on his scope as a DC-6 aircraft, noting that a temperature inversion in the area may have caused anomalous radar propagation. The C-97 crew, after consulting their navigation charts and observing the object's behavior, concluded that the light was the planet Jupiter. The report notes that the object appeared to have a sweeping beam of light, but this was likely an optical effect. The final assessment by the reporting officers, including Major Robert W. Fox and Major Marvin P. Thompson, officially identified the object as the planet Jupiter, citing its position, appearance, and the effects of atmospheric refraction and temperature inversions. The report concludes that no physical evidence was recovered and no photographs were taken. The document includes a certificate from A/1C Pratt and a sketch of the sighting geometry.