Triangulation radar fix (USAF, civil, Navy). I ordered intercept by SAC B-29. B-29 tracked object. Central fire control system locked on, armed itself, prepared to fire. Object then left area at estimated 4,000 knots.
At the time noted I was a S/Sgt. in SAC, 2nd AF, 6th Air Div. assigned as ((position deleted.)). Was "volunteered" to join a Captain as investigator of UFOs. Capt. handled off-base sightings (they were more fun) and I was stuck with military cases. This occurred at MacDill AFB, Tampa. About 9:30 p.m. one night in Aug. 1952 I received a call from the Base Operations officer (a Lt. Col.) He was a little miffed to be re- porting to an enlisted man but such are the curiosities of the military. The Captain was out of town. The Lt. Col reported that a UFO was cruising over the base at 40,000 feet, 400 knots. This was serious; we had A-bombs at MacDill. I de- termined there was no civil traffic within 300 miles. The object was being radar tracked by MacDill, the Navy, and Tampa civil. I de- termined there was a B-29 (ours) on a downwind leg to land. He had 5 hours fuel left. I ordered the pilot to up his gear and take a look-see. At midnight the Pilot reported that he had tried to close with the object. He was at 20,000 feet; the object at 40,000. Of course, the B-29 was woefully slow but as he turned toward the UFO his central fire control system radar-locked on the target, armed itself, and prepared to fire. At that moment the UFO changed course and left the area at an estimated 4,000 knots. Next morning the pilot reported to my office. He was a full Colonel, a command pilot with 27,000 hours in the air. One of the top men in SAC. He gave me his preliminary report and said he would send his waist scanner, a M/Sgt., down to supply details. The whole crew saw it....a bright white oval light. A hard radar target. Since I had no orders to the contrary, I printed the story in the base newspaper and offered it to the Tampa newspaper. Believe it or not they turned it down, refusing to print it because the M/Sgt was black! A.P. found out and was furious. Sent a man out to get the datails. Another oddity. Just before the Colonel came to my office I received a TWX from the Pentagon. From a general. It said: "Any of our people who see flying saucers have holes in their heads." That Colonel yelled "b((deleted))t" in the loudests and most authoritative tone I've ever heard. Eventually the Captain wrote a report of the more than 1,800 sightings we handled. A large number (more than 280) were absolute un- knowns. That report stated that "In our opinion we have no option but to conclude that we are under surveillance by intelligent life of extraterresrial origin," I also signed that report. I remember the Captain said: This report will never see the light of day." He was right. For the record I served three years in USAF, later worked as a reporter/city editor, and spent 7 years with NBC-TV. I was a reporter/producer of news documentaries and won six national awards including three Emmys. I'm not a kook. Yet. -((Name deleted))
((NUFORC Note: Date is approximate. PD))
At the time noted I was a S/Sgt. in SAC, 2nd AF, 6th Air Div. assigned as ((position deleted.)). Was "volunteered" to join a Captain as investigator of UFOs. Capt. handled off-base sightings (they were more fun) and I was stuck with military cases. This occurred at MacDill AFB, Tampa. About 9:30 p.m. one night in Aug. 1952 I received a call from the Base Operations officer (a Lt. Col.) He was a little miffed to be re- porting to an enlisted man but such are the curiosities of the military. The Captain was out of town. The Lt. Col reported that a UFO was cruising over the base at 40,000 feet, 400 knots. This was serious; we had A-bombs at MacDill. I de- termined there was no civil traffic within 300 miles. The object was being radar tracked by MacDill, the Navy, and Tampa civil. I de- termined there was a B-29 (ours) on a downwind leg to land. He had 5 hours fuel left. I ordered the pilot to up his gear and take a look-see. At midnight the Pilot reported that he had tried to close with the object. He was at 20,000 feet; the object at 40,000. Of course, the B-29 was woefully slow but as he turned toward the UFO his central fire control system radar-locked on the target, armed itself, and prepared to fire. At that moment the UFO changed course and left the area at an estimated 4,000 knots. Next morning the pilot reported to my office. He was a full Colonel, a command pilot with 27,000 hours in the air. One of the top men in SAC. He gave me his preliminary report and said he would send his waist scanner, a M/Sgt., down to supply details. The whole crew saw it....a bright white oval light. A hard radar target. Since I had no orders to the contrary, I printed the story in the base newspaper and offered it to the Tampa newspaper. Believe it or not they turned it down, refusing to print it because the M/Sgt was black! A.P. found out and was furious. Sent a man out to get the datails. Another oddity. Just before the Colonel came to my office I received a TWX from the Pentagon. From a general. It said: "Any of our people who see flying saucers have holes in their heads." That Colonel yelled "b((deleted))t" in the loudests and most authoritative tone I've ever heard. Eventually the Captain wrote a report of the more than 1,800 sightings we handled. A large number (more than 280) were absolute un- knowns. That report stated that "In our opinion we have no option but to conclude that we are under surveillance by intelligent life of extraterresrial origin," I also signed that report. I remember the Captain said: This report will never see the light of day." He was right. For the record I served three years in USAF, later worked as a reporter/city editor, and spent 7 years with NBC-TV. I was a reporter/producer of news documentaries and won six national awards including three Emmys. I'm not a kook. Yet. -((Name deleted))
((NUFORC Note: Date is approximate. PD))
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Off
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Tampa
USA
2 hrs. 30 min.
2 hrs. 30 min.
28.01
-82.48
oval
FL
Occurred : 8/1/1952 21:30 (Entered as : Aug 1952 21:30 hrs.) Reported: 12/12/1998 00:59 Posted: 12/2/2000 Location: Tampa, FL Shape: Oval Duration: 2 hrs. 30 min. Characteristics: There were aircraft in the vicinity or aircraft chasing the object
Triangulation radar fix (USAF, civil, Navy). I ordered intercept by SAC B-29. B-29 tracked object. Central fire control system locked