MADNESS OVER MUROC

Flying Sgt. signing out at Muroc

In 1947, Muroc Army Air Field was just carving out a niche as the place for experimental aircraft to test limits and aeronautic boundaries. It hosted a long line of experimental aircraft. About April of 1947 the X-1 #1 was making its transition from glider tests to powered tests and moved to Muroc. April through May, the craft was flown to Mach 0.82 and underwent gravity stress tests. June saw versions #1 and # 2 making numerous flights (#1 made 19 and #2 made 18). In October the Northrup YB-49 would make its first flight from there on 21 October 1947, and join the famous Lockhead P-80 Shooting Star and the XP-84 Thunder Jet as significant test flights. The most famous would be the October 14 event of Chuck Yeager climbing into the cockpit of the Bell X-1 with two broken ribs to break the sound barrier.

Northup YB-49 "Flying Wing"

Since 1946, the strange and unusual planes had been flying over the desert base. The best of the best in test pilots would make it home over the next thirty years and it all began in the post war years. The men who worked there, served there, and those who lived around it understood that a lot of strange things, secret projects, impossible ideas in flight would be normal.  Yet, on July 8, 1947 two clusters of sightings - on in the morning and one in the afternoon - would test all those individuals understood about "strange" and leave them wondering just what they had seen.

It was listed in Project Sign as "Incident # 2 ( with 2a,2b,2c)  Dr. Hynek (it is assumed) made the notation that there was "no astronomical explanation...objects slow speed and apparent size suggest aircraft under unusual light conditions, but the tactics argue against this interpretation."

A letter had been sent out from "Hq ADC" dated 7 July "File D333 5 AD" and the subject was "Investigation of Flying Disc" concerning an investigation initiated at the request of Air Defense Command.  The synopsis : "8 July 1947, approximately 1000 hrs. two incidents occurred in the vicinity of Muroc Flight Test Base."  It closed with the notation," no further investigation of these incidents is being considered by this headquarters." (File #1208-1; 13 August 1947).

"Incident # 1" - At approximately 0930 hours, 4 witnesses saw 2 silver disc or spherical like objects against a bright blue sky. They estimated the altitude at about 8000 feet and their speed at 300-400 mph.  They had the object in view for 1/2 hour. The object flew a straight line course. One of the witnesses, had ironically joked prior to the sighting, since flying saucers/discs were in the news (Roswell's story had broken just the day before), that "Someone will have to show me on of those discs before I will believe it..." and so AMC's final opinion was that the case was a mis representation of the nature of real stimuli, probably research balloons...

Incident #2 - Major Richard R. Shoop, of the Technical Engineering Division, at approximately noon was said to have described  1 object, seen at a distance of 5-8 miles, for 8 minutes, flying a fairly high altitude, slow speed, this object moved from an intermediate altitude in an oscillating fashion, almost to the surface of the ground and then began to climb again. The size of the object was that of a pursuit plane, its shape "unconventional shape'. It appeared metallic - it reflected the sunlight. It was a "thin metallic object" in the summary remarks.  The unfortunate thing about these reports it there is no evidence that these were the remarks of the witness. The room for editorial corrections to make descriptions, speeds, approximate time,  etc. conform to a approved narrative are limitless.

Incident #2A, 8 July, 1947, approx. Noon. The Witness was the Commanding Officer, Col. Gilkay to investigating officer Captain Black. What he observed from the groun, 1 object, and the Col. informed Black that he saw what he supposed was a piece of paper and therefore unimportant and nothing to comment on.

Here we have  an officer in the Technical Engineering Division, at an active experimental aircraft test facility observing something he allegedly deemed of an "unconventional shape" and his commanding officer who saw only a piece of paper on the wind and of no account.

It was clear that something was seen - in two different episodes - on the very same day. The day that General Ramey was in a photo op with the scattered pieces of an alleged 'flying disc' the Army Air Corp was claiming was just a mundane, run-of-the-mill weather balloon.

With due diligence, the military explored for research / weather balloon explanations and the Weather Bureau, the only government agency cleared to actually work with Project Sign, found possible links. The source of these alleged balloons, who sent them, and where they originated are missing from the files of the online Project Blue Book files (1947-07-9669025 [illegible][illegible]).

Given, however, the utter madness that was being reported 4-7 July 1947 from Washington State into Portland, Oregon to New Mexico (and elsewhere) something was going on. Many police and other reliable witnesses stepped forward to recount observations that all matched descriptions of round (or disc) objects, fast moving, often in groups that broke into two different directions, appeared metallic or eggshell to white-brown in color, no sound, large, dipped up and down, oscillating motions, made perfect 90 degree angle turns, had a low humming sound, numbered from 1 to groups of 5 or as many as 20-30.  Again it is assumed Dr. Hynek made these comments: 'There is no astronomical explanation for this incident, nor for numerous others (#6,7,8,9,12,13,14,15,16) which occurred in  or near Portland on the 4th of July 1947. The objects seen have in common a round shape, "terrific speed", abrupt tactics, and quick disappearance. Abrupt tactics certainly suggests that the objects were of a very light weight." Although, the last sentence may be an attempt of the commentator to fit the sightings into a proposed explanation (i.e. weather balloon/research balloon) category, it ignores the potential that the abrupt tactics might instead have been based on aerodynamic principles as yet unknown.

The sightings listed have been identified as : # 12 (Vancouver, Washington) July4 ; # 6(Milwaukee, Oregon); #1, 7,8,9 in Portland. Note documents in the file on Muroc labeled that case as #1 so it is unclear which is correct.