PROJECT 10073 RECORD 2. LOCATION Sacramento, California 10. CONCLUSION Aatro (ME:l'IDR) 11. BRieF SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS :)bservers sighted an object with a short, r oWlded nose, -----------~tery short wings rounded at the tips. There was P!ti no trail ~ TY?.: Or C~S~RVATION J 3-10 s~co~ds ; or noise. It appeared as a dark object having a dull gray or '; G:."Our.C:.-Visual silver finish. It was very fast. NFID!!~J~fC Tirl'!IT.LIGiA'CZ 00~7:0GATIOU Ttl! f ollowing two ( 2 ) officers rrere interrogate d 1 S9ptei:'bP-r 1949 as prescribod in letter, 000.9, Hq AFTRC, dated 2 l1arch 1949, Subject: "Unconventional Aircraft," Part II llather Air Force V.athe r Air Force Base with dut,y assignment What was th~ date of this sie;hting? 3l Au~st 1~9 2. Q: What was the time of sighting? A a 2217 hours. 3. Qa What was tion i n relation to object sighted? , SacralTDnto, Celi.forn:!.a Q 1 What called your attention to the object? Aa we were identifying stars as practice s alt tba object first and t old me and I saw i t almost as s oon as he told us. Qa Jny idea of your location in degrees? A: Longitude and latitude of position 3S 31 N 4. Q: What was tl'e number sighted? A: One object was sight~d. \9! both made a sketch or rough diagram. 5. Q: Do you think your sighting may have been a celestial phenou:ena? A: No, don't think so. "R9 are both familiar with all unusual celestial appearances and are both What was the distance from you to object sighted? - I mads a rough estimate of distanc~ at about Qa What was tm altitude? C)Sj> A: - I felt if it was 10\orer than 15,000 and had been maldng t; u ~ noisa, I would haw mard it. Any aircrs.i"t flying at ~ ~: .:.o that alti tudtJ if you wer3n t li.steni.ng for it the noise CJ'I ~ ~ would not be gr!at enough to attract your att9ntion. -If there had been any sound, 11e could hava guess~d clossr-.... " Page 1 of 3 Pages U":CLASSrFIED ~ l "lCLASS\F\ED Intelligence Intorroeation (Contd) If i t had be~n an airplane , th9r 9 would hav~ b::!')n a of contacting a i.r behind i. t, but tro::--.J was no is3 . I t rras 'JXCO::>tionall y larb3 and if it had bo,,n loner, we might hav~ b31n aul a to se~ any ~:mu.ust$ on it or sone indico.t.!.on of a l':lotor. Any obj ect flyi!'lG throu~h the a i r like t hat is b ound to malo Sor.l9 nois If we couldn ~ mar it, it must hav') bP3n high. 7. Qr How long would you asti.mate i t took to pass ovgr you and out of -10 secon::is but c ould haw bee n a lot 1e ss than that. I think i I said about 5 seconds, i t would be more accurate . I spot~3d it first and caltAl1' att~ntion to it. I said about 3 seconds. It could have been a littla long~r but n ot 10 s e c onds S. Q: What ":ra.S ths appearance of obj?ct, c olor, s hape, and constrJ.ction To me it appeared to have a dull finish; it tTasnt mutt), an unpaintad surfaco, l i ke buffgd metal y ou might say. (See inclosed sketch) It tmS dark , and I could sae it a gainst th;! sk7. Had a dull refigction. I t ca."":la over from Sa~rac3nto and went into the moonl1~ht. (See inclos~d sk3tch) both agree it was v~y large? I compare d it to a B-36 -)argo aircraf t I would compara it to th3 r elo.tive size o.f a c-54. It was definitely big. 9. Qz What was thP. dir:?ction or flight? .A a -I would sa:y about 240. . \Ye agr3ed to within 10 as to the direction of fiight. About 220 to 230. ua agr3ed to about 230. 10. Q: Did you observe arr:r tactics ar man~uvers? AI Just straight, levol flight. 11. Q 1 Was there m.denco of any exhaust? .A: Never saw any evid'3nce of exhaust. Th~a was no sound. Thero was another aircraf t in the vicinity that ~ ha~ cut out noisos it there 119r3 any. Horrevor, don't b3li3va anoth9r aircraft would hava covered any-noise s but think we would have heard noises had thers been ~ Page 2 or 3 Pages ~ ' t.JrLASSlFIED Int8lligence Interrogation ( Contd) 12. Q: Was thera aey-'.!ff ects on the clouds by objt:!ct? A: It was an exceptionally clear night. 13. ~: Did you obs~rva any lizhts in, or on object~ A: Didn't see any lights. No na.vi3ation li:;hts of a.ny kind. type of wing , fuse lage, and shape did obj:~ct -It app~Jared t o havs a short stubby vr.i.ng. no tail. Flying wing typa. Short nos e . streamlined. Az Just one l'r.i.n~, - I got the impression that it had some sort some sort of tail and no sort or nose. 15. Q: How was thg object pr opel19d? A: No ind:fcation. First inq:>rassion was that som!body was cot!li.n3 i n for a dead stick larxiing but it was traveli:1g too fast f or t hat Q: vta:J t har e any visibl9 exhaust, or . jet opening. 16. Q: Was any fins or stabilize r controls visible? 17. Q: Were an:y slots or duet openings visible? As No, couldnt distinguish arq. What was object's spe~d? - I thought it was going about 600 or 700 I:lile s p:1r hour. -~ estimate is 700 or SOO mile s ~ hom-. .'!as travC3ling exceptionally fast. $ti:nate I saw it at an anal e of and lost it at an angle of about a in. I followed it a littl-3 further I first saw it near Polaris and lost it ncar the moon. judged the speed of the object a c c ording to the speed of other aircra!'t. 19. Q: Did object make ~ sound? No noise whatever. Qt What was the manner or disappeara:x:e? At It fadsd !t-om view, blended in with tll:J moon. going with moon am was lost in moon glow. RIC lARD N. 1st Lt, USAF Wing Int orr P8urt9 3 of 3 P es -; bE. ~rJlll.Ad Seemed to be Int3rrogator CLASSIFIED MESSAGE ~AS~IFIED M.~A~ IN COt.~ IN G UNCLASSIF .Q thit c...v will IN .. f .. uor .. ed w ith tho ttr-tett care Ufttil octi-it c-pleted, at which t ime it will MCAO ' '"' No 21 1M prepared fOf ... ,tructi-ift occor .. aftco w ith Soctioft IV. Hq. Otr.co lftttructi-No. 11-2 . ' CLASSIFIED MESSAue UNCLASS\F\E:.~ HEADQUARTERS f=LYING DIVISION, AIR TRAINING Randolph f:ield, T xu SUB Jb:C1': Unconventional .Ai rcra.ft Com:narrline General Air l~ateriel Ccr.ur..and \fright-Patter s on Air 1arce Dase Dayton, Ohio ATT!i: 1:!QI,V..O ' 1. For.rarded in accordance with para:;raph 3c( 1 ) , Air Intelligence Requirements l:enor~rx:lum ~o 4, Hq, USAF, 15 Feb 191e 2. Canmanriine General, lfather Air Force Base, has b~en advised to submit all future r eports ()f thi s type on AF F,-,rm 112. FOR '1'. iE CCll:AlJDillG Gill~E:l~\L: Ltr 000.9, Hq, L~ather AFB, Slbj: Unconvent ional A:i.x- craft, ll~ Sept 1949 FRED N. SCHMIDT Captain. US A F Asst. Adj. Gen. UNCLASSif= I ~EADQUARTERS 3535T~ BOMBARDMENT TRAINING WING MAT~ER AIR FORCE BASE Mather Field, California SUBJECT 1 unc orwentional Aircraft TO& CODJnB.nding cnneral Flying Division, Air Training Cora11and Randolph Field, Texas ATTN& AC/S, Operations, Intelligence Division 1. In coq>liance with l~tter, 000.9 , Hq AFTRC, dated 2 l!.arch 1949, Subjects Unconventional Aircraft, the follcmi.ng is subnitted as a lete report to meet the r equirom:!nts of Part II of aforementioned 2. a. Date of sighting -31 August 1949 b. Time of sighting -2217 c. Position of observer when s1 ghted Sacrarrento, California d. Air -Not applicable e. Sea -Not applicable t. Number of Objects -One, see attached photostat g. Observable Celestial Phenomena -None h. Distance object !'roc observer -APproximately 15,000 feet i. Time in sight -Not less than 3 nor more than 10 seconds ~ j. Appearance of object -Large, dull fin1 sh. See photostat and stat nt 1. Tactics or maneuvers -Level tlight ~t? "'!.,.. llWCLASSIF. . 'VO 9 liF, UNCLASSIFIEC B/Ls 000.9, Hq, llath~r AFB, llather Fld, Calif, Subj: Unconv3ntional Aircraft (Contd) m. ~idence of exhaust -Non~ obs~rv~d n. Eff~ct on clouds -Iio clo'Jd s pres'3nt Lights -None obs:lrved Support -Very streamlin~d, short stubby \Y.ing q. Propulsion -No indication r. Control and stability - Not visible Air duets -Not visibls t. Speed -Approximately 600 to SOO miles per hour u. Sound-None v. Manner of disappearance -Fad~d into light of moon 3. a. Name of observer - Air Force Base, Mather Field, California c. Occupation -Air Force d. Place of business -l!ather Air r orce Base, l~ather Field, California e. Pertinent hobbies -Amatuor Astronomc:r f. Ability to determine -~ted and on flyin~ status g. Reliability of observer -Rated officer i n USAF h. How attention was drann to object -Vnrlle identifying stars 1. Witness Mathe r Air Ut~CLASS\F\EO B/Lz 000.9, Hq, Mathgr AFB, M3ther Fld, Cali.!, Subj: Unc onventional Air(~rart (Contd) k. Occupation - 1. Reliability -Rat~d Officer in USAF 4. J).tring interrogation of both officers, both wqrs v~ry serious and C.)ttain of s eeing objact report~d. N13ithgr are habitual drink~rs and cl~tmed nothing to drink 24 hours prior and subsequent to si;htine . Both officers app~arad r~liabla, both in int elligenc3 and char actor. Zvalu:1tion b:r this s ection, B-2. 5. Office of Special Investi~ations, 19th District, is continuing investigation in this matter as other parsons, this base, hnve reported to tho Office of Special Investigations sightings of similar nature t of obj'!ct w/Photostat o ject sighted 3 Intelligence Interrogation " (~LASSIFf0 UNCLASS\1' . . . I My name is assigned to !lather Air Forcs Base , Mather ld, California. I li V'3 which i s ap!Jr axim.:tt9ly f'i ve (5) mile s due South of the c ente r of Sacramento . Last n i eht, 31 August 1949, at approximately 2200 hours, my ne i ghbor, Lt. also assign~d to this base , calle d ma and asked me to help h1m iden a particular star. After doing this, we then procee de d to i den tify and l ocate various stars that v~ere out. The night was clear,. visi b i l ity unlimit ed. There was about a 3/4 moon. Apparently th~e was some haze because thore was a bright are a around the moon. As we were looking at the Star Polaris, I had noticed an airplane flying a course of a ppr oximat el y due ~ast at about 10, 000 f~at and I judged it to be slightly South or two (2) mil~s south of Sacracent o . could see its lights and hear its engin9. Suddenly punched me and said "Look" ani almost at the same instant I saw what he was pointing to. I r e c orded my obs ervations within twenty (20) minutes after this exp9r ience happened and I will give the facts as This object first attracted ~ attention in the direction or Polaris. It was a dark shape against th9 sky. I believe that it had wings; it had no fiapping or inner-motion. It made no sound before, during or at'tar I saw it. I lost the object, af't3r tracking it for approximately three (3) seconds, in the glow below tm moon. In otmr words, this object 119nt .trom the direction of Polaris which is due North into th'3 s lcy-Soutlmest or t he moon's direction, which at this tim3 was Southwest, in approximately three ( 3 ) secon:ls. I recal"ded rr:r feelings as follows: LarE! object, v~y fast, noiseless. I had a definite uncanny weird sensation probably due to not knon- ing wbat I was loold.ng at. I thought or a possibility of a shadow but this thing had body to it. It was hard to distinguish clearly but it blacked out the stars under which it passed. I have no way or guessing its altitude but as a comoarison of size , it app eared to be ot the same relative size as a c-54 at 3 to 5 Aa soon as we had lost it to si~ht Y/3 azreed n ot to d9scribe it to each other in order not to influence each other's opinion. The only things we discussed and agreed on were its cours~ w!U.ch was 220 and its speed which we estimated Y/&S 7 to S00 mi.l9S p2r hour. The tim9 of observation by b oth our l7atchas was 2217. We agr9ed that I would make the initial report would make any additional report that would b e desired. The attached drawing is 'f'lr/' impression at the time I r ec orded Swom and subscribed to before me this 6th day at Septeober 1949. 1st LT., U~.A~ Assistant AdJlltJ nt UNCLASSHlt:..L- , };~at .v'~r Air Force Base, MathGr Uy resid~nce is at located approximately fivo (5) mile s due south fror.1 the centAr of Sacram~nto California. On 31 August 1949 about 2200 hours I call~d Capta i n for assistance in identifying c ertain navigational stars. Tha night was very cl~ar, visibility unlim:i ted. The moon was at a 3/4 phase with a bright area around it probably due t o som:J haze in that area. Whi._le looking at the star Polaris, I noticed a plane f lying on an easterly h~ad1 ng a ppra:d rnatol y t-.'70 (2) or thre~ ( 3) mil ~s south of Sacram~nto. The navigation lights of this airplane 'vere clearly visible and the n oise from th<? engim s was very audible. Watching tha aircraft I suddenly touc IC':L "Look" and pointed tO\Tard the sky just above t m roof saw it just about the tine I pointed to it. When I first spotted this object, it was just coming over the horizon. It made no noise; there was no visible motion of its very short, stubby wings. No noise or sound was heard as it cane toward us and passed almost overh~ad. I lost sight of it just as it started into the moonli ght. This objgct came from a nortmrly direction, or floom a diraction of Polaris, the North Star. Its path of night was straight a."ld l evel and on an a pproximate h~ading of 230. Its spe~d was estjmated to be about 700 miles per hour. It was visible to me approximately five S9Conds. This was a very fast, very large noisless object. This obj~ct was very visible as a dark object a gainst the gl~ ~"ld refiection of the lights of Sacraml!nto. It seemed to have a dull grey or silver finish which bl'!nded into the moonlight after it passed 'rhs possibility of this being a shadow can be discounted because it did black out the stars above. I estimated its altitude to to be about 15,000 feet. As a comparison the size of this object was larger than that of a B-36 at about 5,000 feet. . Qo'WNGRA D'I-Jf) t l>ECLASsrFz ~T'" Y.r: -(n . DonEo ''Vrr:-,. r.\Jrel\, U~CLJ\SSIFIE[; UNCLASSIFlEO and I agreed not to describe thi~ object in order not to influence each other's opinion. i'le did agree on th3 t i m 2217, its direction of flight 220 t o 230 a~d its sp~ed 700 t o eoo mil~s per hour. Wa also agrde was t o make the initial report and I would follow up with ~ additional information The psychological effect on me was a V19ird sensation best descriood as a hair raising experience. This object had size, shape and motion and not knowi ng what we were looking at in all probability gava me this strange feeling. The shape of this thing i~ : short, rounded nose, v~y short wings rounded at tip~, .f'usalags short and thick. There were no visibl~ jet or 9xhaust opening and no visible indications of engin . There were no visible traces of jst or exhaust names or smoke. Th~re was no noise of any sort, no navigational lights or any ot~er li~hts indicating its position or presence in tm sky. Also in describing its shape, it no tail surfaces that were visible. The sketch attacb3d to this statec9nt is my i nqression of thi~ SWOl"ll and subscribed to before me this 6th day of Septen:ber 1949 W. J. 8ALL't, JR. 1st LT., USAF Ass1stant AJj, '1rat OOWNGRADF.D A't S YP.-\R t~r:~l:\' DECLASSlFIED AFTfH 12 ) E ARf