A KC-97 crew's sighting over Newfoundland matches ground radar; an Air Force committee cannot explain it
July 6, 1955 · Off western Newfoundland (49°10'N 59°50'W) · Sighting · Primary document linked
On 6 July 1955 the crew of a KC-97 tanker reported an unidentified object over the Newfoundland area, and a ground-controlled intercept (GCI) radar in the same area recorded returns that appeared to match it. A committee of the Air Force Directorate of Intelligence reviewed the reports, crew interrogations and Northeast Air Command's evaluation. Its memorandum for record of 11 July 1955 says the committee could not explain the simultaneous radar returns and visual sightings, tentatively accepted the command's explanation of an electrical phenomenon plus misinterpretation by the crew, and classified the incident as UFOB. Citing the threat if an unfriendly nation developed high-performance unconventional aircraft, it recommended more intelligence collection on Soviet research and immediate fighter scrambles in future incidents.
Era: Project Blue Book · Threads: Military and police witnesses, Intelligence and the FBI
Why it matters (3/5)
An Air Force intelligence committee reviewed the case, could not explain it and recommended faster fighter scrambles.
Caveats
The file holds the committee's conclusions and a summary, not the crew's reports or the radar data, which are cited by message number only. The committee called its acceptance of the conventional explanation tentative.
Sources
- Joint US Canadian Aviation Projects and UFO Sighting Reports 1954 1955 (DOW-UAP-D095) (U.S. Department of War), primary