Incident Report: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena - West Palm Beach, Florida, 15 July 1952

This document is a collection of reports and witness statements regarding an Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) sighting that occurred on 15 July 1952 near the Palm Beach International Airport in Florida. The primary incident involved an unidentified object observed by both military personnel and a civilian witness. The military witnesses were two U.S. Air Force officers from the 12th Air Rescue Squadron, flying an SA-16 aircraft at approximately 5000 feet. They reported that an object, described as greyish and disc-shaped, approached their aircraft from above and to the northeast. The object hovered near the aircraft for approximately one to one-and-a-half minutes before climbing and departing at a very high speed. The civilian witness, a private pilot and flight instructor, observed the event from the ground near the airport. He described the object as a 'flattened out doughnut without a hole' that appeared greyish, sometimes with a yellowish shade. He noted that the object had wavy ridges on its upper edge and that it hovered before moving off to the south. Both the military and civilian witnesses confirmed that the object exhibited no visible means of propulsion, left no exhaust trail, and made no sound. The weather conditions at the time were reported as clear with scattered clouds and good visibility. The investigation, conducted by the 1700th Air Base Wing, concluded that there was no physical evidence of the sighting and no radar contact was made. The report includes the official Air Intelligence Information Report (IR-408-52) and the completed Observer's Questionnaires for the civilian witness. The documentation emphasizes the reliability of the witnesses, particularly the civilian observer, who was noted as having significant aviation experience. The file also contains related intelligence reports regarding other sightings in the Washington state area, indicating a broader effort by the Air Technical Intelligence Center to collect and evaluate UAP reports during this period.