MTF IU TO A'l'IG TDfl' ('lr. Bl: :lrt'I!IO -..-- Ll:rm'J'Il OF 'l'Ir 11. ODSJ..!rYEU --- PIIOL'Ct1 yea not in fil.KETCUES_-_-_-_- _ 'l';:m(lOlary ATIC Io'onn 3~9 -~wn:tM:rtn ---- Radar sighting believed to be spurious since fighter interceptors failed to make any contacts. Ground sightings by various observers vary in descriptions UNCLASSIFIED SUMM"RY OF INFORMATION or'fil\b CIC D.t.&olultn\ PAO I I, P. o. lax 379, lnaxrille, !enneaaee CODE FOR USE IN INDIVIDUAL PARAGRAPH EVALUATION T S IGit'i'ED OF SOURCE: OF INFORMATION: COM"-ETT\. Y MUAIU: A UIUALL Y IIOJAILI . . I NOT USUAU Y MLIAIU . D IIILIAMLITY U"KNOWN . . . , CO"'"'MED IY OTHl lt SOURCES . I PROUAYTitUE .. I DDUWTt'UU. Y TWUE . . . . t TltUTM CA"NOT IE JUOC.E:D I IUMMMY Of IN,OIUIATQI the n~ of 12 ancl 13 Ootcber 19SO, att.er 2325 hcura ca 12 October 19SO, object were ~ 1.a the radar scope of the lnaxv:llle, McGe .. 'f7801l nclar acopet. The tirst objects were ~tee! at ~25 hours B.S.'l'., tranllng at apprcoctate)T 190 degreea, 1500-3000 toet. altitude, at 100 to 125 miles per b~ar. !he radar statiCD Snned1atel7 called Atnmtc Bnerg Ccmniss1Cil to 1ntom th that there was no report ot &liT aircraft t171ng in the Y1cSnSt,7 At 2330 tighter ot the Sth All Weather Pishtel' Sqd., 52nct. .all \Veather Fighter Win&, at llcOe._!pCD Airport, lnoxtUle, !ennesaee, "scrambled" to intercept, these unidentified object At the SAM tim8 IDaxril.le Civil Aeronautical authorities were contacted and the7 adrleecl that no aircraft were lcn011D to be tl.7ins in the Yicin1t7. !he "scrambled" tighter was airbom at Z339 and ehort.lT thereafter, according to the radar scope, was seen to intercept the hostile objects. the tighter pilot advised that no object was yisible so the control Yectored hi eo as to intercept. this object two more timea. Ql all three occasions neithe!' the pUot nor the observor saw an7 object ri.llualq and no object was sighted in the fighter aircraft radar scope. llt 0014 hours on 13 OCtober 1950 the tighter made a "complete ewe~ ot the control area" in an attanpt to locate aD7 ot the target. (apprrnclmatelT 5) aho11D CD the control radar screen. .. Control Officer at the Jtnaxdlle Radar Station, stated that th"e were approxtmatel7 the size ot a smull aircraft and that the would in lntensit7 making the target resemble, altemately, a L-S and a c-47. dered the tighter to land and did not recall the tighter at a later , -13 October 1950, when more targets ot the same illtensit7, at. approxiteq the same altitude, and tlJing in the similar magni,.. tude were sighted, howeyer Capt. Surrmera ot the Jdr Defense Command, Control Center, Sultridge Pield, Detroit, Kichigan, was notified. Capt. Swrwners advised that there were no practice mission scheduled 1n that area. At 0210 hours, the Eaatem Air Defense d Headquart.era Stewart. Air Force Base, Newburgh, H. Y. were advised of the ntating conditicaa and the7 stated that investigators would be eent that dq. At apprcwximatelJ' 1400 hours, 13 October 1950, investigators trca the !astem Air Deferwe C J Office ot SpecW Innetigat.ions; Securit7 Didaioa, Atomic Eneru , OHk Ridge, tea.neeseeJ and Agents ot thie headquarters, met. at the radar ite in Knoxrllle to diseuse these radar eightinge. SGYeral theori were adYancecl, oae ot which were technical 1D nature, &Dd othen 11hicb were rejected due t.o improbabilit7. It was not. beUevecl that m1deat111ed aircraft were responsible tar tbe~te radar sightinp becauae before the second group appeared em the a the Securit7 Patrol ot the Atomic lnerg C Oak Ridge, Tennessee, had bee adriaecl and f"" ~FtO~NT\Atl .. liMY fillS ORIIATIOII NCLJ\SS,F1Et' l3 October 1950 CODE FOR USE IN INI)9VIDUAL PARAGRAPH EVALUATION t# IOURCE: OF INFORMATION: COMIUTl\.Y MUAa1 . , , A CCNI'lltMIO IY OTH11 ~IICII . I IIOT UIUA' I y ltiUAM.I D DOUITPUU.. y TltUI . . M' .... UTY UftKI'IOWN F TltUTM CAIIIOT JUOGID . . . I aa tbe alert tor~ OOCNI'I'tfto At lftwrt ott1ct..la aclriee that the SeovltJ' Patrol heard oalJ' the one alroraft 1dentlt1ed aa the Air roroe tlsht l'urt,her, t.he 1 of , tl.ock8 ot bird8 tlJinl objeot8 AE, and ltah\ trca Sulphv Spr!np Airpon, were eel wltb good An ottloer at the KnCIIDUl.e alte and an officer the r.aatem Alr Detcae CCIIIIADd atated thllt th., have eean aucb a pattem en radar acopea 1A the paat tor which there waa neyer 8ll adequate upl.anatlOD. !hOT hasarded the optnlca that tbla patt.em haft bMD oauaecl 'bJ' atmoepher1o or techftloal 1At.ertereoc, ho,r, the oauH baa not been SOORCia llajor R. c. Care, Capt. w. Aldn, Lt. Clevenger, (ICnoxdlle Radar Site), Lt. Vlolt (Pilot ot tighter aircraft), Eastern Air Detmae Command Repreeentativ, Special Agent 001, and an otticjal ot the 8eourit7 Div1a1on, Atomtc Eoerg C , Ork Rid&, fcma DiaftitmiCIIt 3 t.o General, !biN~ 1 to OSl, ICnOXYllle, Tennea 1 \o m, IDaullle, Tean UNCLASSIFIED fiiMii .. tt I J t lr 1. to tnton tbe !lr Statt of action beiaa to 1nnat1pte opera d1tt1caalt1ea encoUDtered ill the operation ot the earl7 amine radar ot tbe Continental Air at IDoxtille, Teoneaaee. 2. ~ 1 Dec 50, tbe Airoratt Section, UOIH-V/TC, coAf'erred ritb three ottioera connected witb tbe Enercr Plant, Oak Ridge, tenne !beae of'tioen were Lt B. '1. o. DickinaOD, II, AFIT, Oak JUdp, tenneaHeJ llaj J. L. steele, A7 Plant Representative, Onk Ridp fen,.ea .. J and 11a.1 B. B. BobertaOD, .UC, ZDaineerinc lielcl Office, Oak tezmea !be7 wre aoc011pan1 ed b7 11a3 r. 1. lila a, AFOl!. 3. letter tzoa Bq fbird U.,, subject a Unoonventional Airoratt," waa cliaouaeed with thea. T.beae ofticera turniebed additional information Oil eftnta oocu.rine aince 13 Oct so. It appears that some torm ot unexplained radar pben~Da baa occurred at Oak Ridge which gi vea false tarpta on the aoreen. !be diacuaaion indicated that the f'alse returna wre not du. to weather, u waa atated in the lat IDd prepared b7 Intelligence Department, ~. It appean that the radar dif'f'icultiee are due eith.ar toa Cbe5 cal iapuri tiea iD tbt air o. ao. fora ot radar pbeao 4. !be above-.antioned ottlcere troa Oak Ridge did not consider it Mceaa&r7 to lntol"'l tbe Department of the l.rrq ot the radar dif'ticultiea now being encountered until tbe7 could follow anggeationa given to tbea during the diacusaiOD. 5. On Saturda7, 2 Dec 50, approx1atel.7 1500 hours, Lt Col lillia wu contactec:l b7 the USAl D/I D.lt7 otticer concerning thia problea. lla.1 B. P. Robertson Dd Senator-olect Monrone7 had been referred to the DQt7 Officer bJ General Bradle7 a ottioe tor a further diacuaaion ot tbe nporta. Lt Col Willia talked to 3 B. P. Robertson again to detemine what additional lntoraation could 'be turniabecl. Maj Robertson bad no tional iatoraation. ID view ot the lack of' technical information, Lt Col '111118 reoowDdecl to tbe Directora \8 Dut7 Otticer that the 110at t.h1Da to do at the aont, it it were of a aerioua nature, would be to requeat the AftJ7 to tUI"Dieb a 110bile radar UDit of SUMMARY OF INFORMATION 00\ober 19JO FAU ffJJ D.-~17 Kncatl.11e CIWYI'C!S Stnut:~ 'l'Kt7N.21SII IUMMAR't 0# INFORMATION COOE FOR USE IN INDIVIDUAL PARAGRAPH EVALUATION OF IOUACE: OF INFORMATION: COMPLITII.Y lllntAILI . , A COIWIIUUD IY OTH(R SOURCES . . I MOT USUALLY MLIAill . . . . D OOUI1TULL Y TltUIE . . . . . 4 MUAIILITY UNKNOWN . . F l'-UTH CANtiOT 1 JUDGED . , I at.t.aohed to t.hla ;.hat-..17 u elenn (U) 1nolonr"a which tend to claritY lntonnatlon oont.alned ln th" roraar two (2) ~wrmamoe ot Inrormutlon on ~UJ CT. 'ftleae lnoloaurea are ocaroaed ot td.tfteel .t.at-.tiJ background intomatlon prewloua aightlfta ot peoul1ar objt!Ote oyer ~ Ulc'.geJ and radar reporta. The moe\ nllable aourcea avatluble were utilised ln the oomp1lutlon or thia repcrt. The .ap1 recorda &Del t.he Federal Qrau ot lnyeeti,.:utlon report eonceming the wltn were lnspacted t.o anoertaia their rell.abUlt7 and loJ&].t7 to the United Stat.ea eo.-.-n. !he ~lnlODI of the ottloSala ot t.he ~eourit7 Ulri.elon, 4\EC oek ;U.dgea Seourit7 Branch, r~l'::PJ\ r.lnalon, Olik ftldgeJ Al Securlt7 Jlatrol, r:&k \lidgeJ ll3I KnaxlllJ i&.ir Force Radar and Fir..hter ~quac!rma, KnoxwlUeJ nnd the OOI, t<naxville, Tennessee, taU tr> eyolve an ade.1uate explanation tor SUDJ;t,'T, hor;aycr the possiba 111 ties of practical joker maea hpteria, ballone ot Q1' description, tlir,ht.a of birds (with or without oobweb c.-other objeota attached), tal.l.ing loans, ins eo\ ..,_, p eather conditicn, retlectioas, tl.Jing kite:~, d;jecta thrd'ID trcm the gr~mcl, wind.blGIIl object.e, lnaanltr, and JDUr11' other natural h~ppcninga haft been rejeotecl because ot the taneoaa witnessing ot the objects \lfith the radar eightingeJ beoauae ot the rel'abi11t7 of the \'litneasJ because ot the detaUed, similar ol t.be Gbjeot,a bJ' dttterent perecnJ and beoauae ot aiblllt,.. . the ot -to follow three patterna of thonght. The ftret ls that. the objeotl are a phJ81oal. '-hich have a eoientltlo r:pln at.S.onJ the eecand 1a t.hAt the objecta are objecte ( trca an uncletermh1ul source) guided bJ eleotrcalceJ and the third le 'ndlar t.o the eeoood axoept. th~at. an ct.orallsatice or harraeent. u lDYOlted. the f.mtaatlo la generitl..q rejected. !h .. obje~t haw OD17 two pattema. !he fire\ la that th.,. ai~ted at. the ea. hour on two oonaecutlft da,. end the eecond 1a that the line ot flight 11 either to or troa the and Southweat, Ythlcb dtrectiana p~arallel the t.err"m r.l.dc ill tbi looa11t,.. att.t.lcn la ia.S.ted to the 1947 phot.ograpb ot a fl71n8 objeot (!ncl.OINI'e I 1). At FAerF C otflolal adYiee \bat the lr Force Laba'ato17 at Wrigh\ Field, Chio, 1ndloate that the objeot la a water epot. ca the photograph. Deoauae thla object doea aot, ree..,le other t e pota ot the J)hotograpb, u.nd beoauae the objo