1949: May UFO & Alien Sightings

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Date: May , 1949
Location: Los Alamos, New Mexico
Time: . 10:30
Summary: 13 saucers were observed by a male witness near a nuclear test site for 45 minutes (Hunt).
Source: NICAP

Date: May 2, 1949. BBU
Location: Elko, Nevada
Time: 11:40 a.m.
Summary: CAA radio operator Mr. Small using field glasses saw 3 flying discs 30 ft diameter at 14,000 ft moving (heading?) SW at 300-400 mph make a left turn and depart ahead of a United airliner taking off from Elko airport. 3-4 mins
Source: FOIA; FUFOR Index

Date: May 3, 1949 BBU
Location: Sidney, Ohio
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Summary: Store owner Wilford and Sprague saw bright shiny disc high overhead at about 85° elevation heading NE wavering, climbing and descending slightly on a straight path. 2 mins
Source: FOIA; FUFOR Index

Date: May 3, 1949
Location: Jefferson County, Missouri
Time: . 20:00
Summary: One object was observed.
Source: Doubt Magazine

Date: May 4, 1949 BBU
Location: 4-1/2 miles W of Maplewood, Ohio
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Summary: Ms. Wical saw bright silver flat circular object to the SE traveling NE with sun glaring off the surface, spinning at high altitude, no sound or trail.
Source: FOIA; FUFOR Index

Date: May 5, 1949 BBU 376
Location: Ft. Bliss, Texas
Time: 11:40 a.m.
Summary: Army officers Maj. Day [May?], Maj. Olhausen, Capt. Vaughn saw 2 oblong white discs, flying at about 200-250 mph, make a shallow turn. 3″ object passed through field of fire on Waco #4 firing range. 30-50 secs
Source: Berliner

Date: May 5, 1949
Location: Oakland, California
Time: . Evening
Summary: More than two objects were observed by one witness briefly (Smith).
Source: Doubt Magazine

Date: May 6, 1949
Location: Los Alamos, New Mexico
Time: . 01:05
Summary: Time: 105; Number of Observers: 1; Reliability: good; Area: Los Alamos, New Mexico; Direction: north to south; Altitude: 5° above horizon; Course: was going down at an angle of 30° 35°; Color: green; Duration: fraction of a seconds; Sound: none; Shape: round; Size: app 1/8 size of full moon; Speed: very high rate of speed; Disappearance: disappeared west of Jemez mountains.
Source: NICAP

Date: May 6, 1949
Location: Los Angeles, California
Time: . Before 0800
Summary: One object was observed.
Source: Doubt Magazine

Date: May 6, 1949 BBU
Location: Sidney, Ohio
Time: 8:30 a.m.
Summary: Stump, Herman and Quinn saw a bright object about 1/2 mile to the W moving S at high speed, no trail or sound, one saying it was too bright to see the shape the other saying it had a flat circular shape. 2 mins
Source: FOIA; FUFOR Index; Jan Aldrich

Date: May 6, 1949 BBU 379
Location: Livermore, Calif.
Time: 9:35 a.m.
Summary: C. G. Green saw 2 shiny, disc-like objects rotate around each other and bank, then one shot upwards with a grey trail and rejoined the other. 5 mins
Source: Berliner

Date: May 6, 1949
Location: Saratov, Russia
Time: . Daytime
Summary: On this day, a decorated Soviet test pilot named Apraksin was flying over the Volga River in Russia , 40 kilometers north of the city of Saratov, when his aircraft’s electrical system was knocked out of operation by a cone of light from a cucumber-shaped UFO after he attempted to approach it. He was blinded by the light, but managed to land the crippled aircraft despite his incapacitation in an abrupt emergency landing. He then lost consciousness and was confined to hospital to recuperate.
Source: Weinstein, Dominique Aircraft UFO Encounters Project ACUFOE, Paris, 1999

Date: May 7, 1949 BBU
Location: S St. Louis, Missouri
Time: 7 p.m. (CST).
Summary: Just after sunset Vaughn saw the sun glinting off a flat reddish-brown object, “somewhat triangular” shaped, oscillating, the size of a private plane but faster.
Source: FOIA; FUFOR Index

Date: May 7, 1949
Location: Serbia
Time: .
Summary: A flying disc was observed. One disc was observed.
Source: Hill, H. Edward Catalog Through 1950

Date: May 7, 1949
Location: Fort Hood, Texas
Time: . 19:40
Summary: Lieutenant Mardell Ward, at the Army’s UFO observation post, and another observation site, spotted a brilliant white diamond-shaped object at triangulated location 15,000 feet away at 1,000 foot altitude headed NW. Object was tracked for 57 seconds as it traveled 20 miles (at 1,300 mph) while changing color from white to reddish to greenish as it dropped altitude and dimmed then disappeared. No sound. (FOIA; Jan Aldrich; Loren Gross Jan-Jun 1949 Supp p. 79, erroneously put at Los Alamos) Time: 2025 2105; Number of Observers: 4; Reliability: good; Area: Camp Hood, Texas; Direction: SE; Altitude: 1300′; Color: green-white; Train: none; Duration: 40 minutes; Sound: none; Shape: diamond shape; Size: three mils width; Speed: covered 15 mils in 40 minutes horizontally.; Disappearance: dimmed and went out.
Source: Sparks Database of Bluebook Unknowns Version 1.7, Dec. 31, 2003

Date: May 8, 1949 AFOSI Case 67
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Summary: Four witnesses reported a motionless, metallic, circular object at 4,000′ that started moving west then turned to the north. Object was moving horizontal, then rapid climb at 45-degree angle to 20,000′ until out of sight. 10-20 minutes.
Source:

Date: May 9, 1949 AFOSI Case 68
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Summary: SW-NE, silvery object, 25′ in diameter and moving at 750-1000 mph. 6-10 secs. Time: app 1430; Number of Observers: 1; Reliability: good; Area: Tucson, Arizona; Direction: southwest to northeast; Color: silvery; Train: none; Duration: 6-10 seconds; Sound: none; Shape: round and flat; Size: 25’in diameter; Speed: 750-1000 mph; Disappearance: faded from view.
Source: Project Bluebook

Date: May 11, 1949
Location: Houston, Alaska
Time: . 10:30
Summary: At 10:30 a.m. four gray discs flew over Houston, Alaska heading north. According to witness George Mertz, they had thicker tops, and flew with a ‘decided list to the port side’ at a speed in excess of 1000 mph. Their diameter was estimated to be from 80-100 feet.
Source: Sullivan, Edward CSI/LA investigation files

Date: May 11, 1949
Location: Fresno, California
Time: . 15:25
Summary: A group of objects was observed by four witnesses for over one minute.
Source: Doubt Magazine

Date: May 11, 1949
Location: Ontario, Canada
Time: . 22:30
Summary: One object was observed.
Source: Doubt Magazine

Date: May 12, 1949 BBU
Location: Holloman AFB, New Mexico
Time: 9:30 p.m. (MST).
Summary: AF contract solar astronomer, Donald H. Menzel, of Harvard Observatory, was being driven by military car from Holloman AFB, on Hwy 70 just outside the base, en route to Alamogordo [headed ENE on road azimuth 66°], when shortly after leaving the base he saw a bright reddish star Antares about 6°-8° East [to the lower left] of the nearly Full Moon estimated to be 15°-18° above the ridge line [99.3% illuminated Moon at about 19° elevation 136° azimuth, Antares at about 11° elevation 132° azimuth] rising above the Sacramento Mountain ridge. Shortly afterward he noticed first one small round white light low about 3°-4° over the ridge to the lower left of the Moon and star and then another identical light to the right of the first and in horizontal line, about 3° apart [at roughly 122° to 125° azimuth, 5°-6° elevation, seemingly over Moore Ridge, summit 7,264 ft, 32°42’22” N, 105°51’11” W, 15 miles away]. Each light was white possibly slight greenish tinge, about 0 to 1st stellar magnitude, the left one slightly brighter, both increasing in brightness as if possibly rising above a haze layer, both initially “fuzzy” but apparently sharpening in edge contrast. Each light suddenly disappeared one after the other before the car could be stopped. Menzel estimated that as the car traveled 50 mph it created a 3-mile baseline over which he nevertheless noticed no perceptible change in the lights’ azimuths, or perhaps no more than 1° to 2°, hence a distance he calculated at 180 miles and object “diameter” about “¾ mile” (4,000 ft) [correct figure 2,300 ft]. 4 mins 1 witness 1/4 Full Moon
Source: Sparks; BB NARA Microfilm Roll 88, pp. 904, 920-1; Roll 91, pp. 424-5; Maxwell Roll 6, pp. 241-9

Date: May 12, 1949
Location: Kingsport, Tennessee
Time: . Dusk
Summary: One object was observed by over 100 witnesses for a few seconds
Source: Newspaper

Date: May 12, 1949
Location: Bristol, Virginia
Time: . Around 2000
Summary: One object was observed by a male witness.
Source: Newspaper

Date: May 12, 1949
Location: Pulaski, Virginia
Time: . Around 2000
Summary: A flying disc was observed. One disc was observed by a male witness
Source: MUFON

Date: May 14, 1949
Location: Ernest Harmon AFB, Newfoundland, Canada
Time: .
Summary: A flying disc was observed and photographed. One disc was observed at an airfield “USAF photographs UFOs here” according to Walter Winchell, famous newspaper columnist.
Source: Hatch, Larry

Date: May 14, 1949
Location: Houston, Alaska
Time: . 09:10
Summary: M Flying discs were observed. Two gray discs were observed by one witness briefly (Mertz). traveled same route at 5/11/49 at slightly higher elevation.
Source: Sullivan, Edward CSI/LA investigation files

Date: May 15, 1949
Location: Houston, Alaska
Time: . 11:30
Summary: A flying disc was observed. One gray disc was observed by one witness briefly.
Source: Sullivan, Edward CSI/LA investigation files

Date: 1949: These Flying Discs Are At It Again, Virginians Report – Newspaper

Date: May 16, 1949
Location: Medford, Oregon
Time: .
Summary: One object was observed.
Source: Doubt Magazine

Date: May 16, 1949
Location: Davis Monthan AFB, AZ
Time: 5:00 pm.
Summary: Object was described as black, round and flat in shape, similar to a washtub. It maintained the same altitude, fluttering as it disappeared behind an obstacle. Ground/visual from a military source. 8-10 seconds
Source:

Date: May 19, 1949
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Time: . 16:15
Summary: A 20-foot diameter disc flew over New Orleans, Louisiana going north at 4:15 p.m., again on this date.
Source: MUFON

Date: May 19, 1949
Location: Fort Bliss, Texas
Time: 8:30 a.m.
Summary: Numerous military witnesses observed a round silver thin object, rocking giving an edgewise and sideways view, 30 degrees altitude. Object in sight for approximately 5 minutes. Object moved about 15 to 20 miles during observation. Maneuvers: Irregular rolling and tilting motion slowly rising as it traveled away.
Source:

Date: May 19, 1949
Location: Pueblo, Colorado
Time: . Around 1700
Summary: One object was observed by three witnesses (Preston).
Source: Doubt Magazine

Date: May 21, 1949 BBU
Location: Moses AFB, Hanford, Washington
Time: Afternoon.
Summary: A silvery, disc-shaped object had been visually sighted by crew and personnel from the Hanford radar station and confirmed on radar. USAF F-82 fighter pilot Walter was scrambled from Moses Lake AFB, Washington, to intercept silvery disc-shaped object hovering over Hanford at 17,000-20,000 feet, sighted visually and on radar by Hanford radar station USAF personnel 637th Air Defense Control Center (Wallace and Blish). The object accelerated away to the south suddenly before the F-82 could intercept it.
Source: Bluebook

Date: May 21, 1949
Location: Fairfield, Connecticut
Time: . Night
Summary: More than two objects were observed.
Source: Doubt Magazine

Date: May 24, 1949
Location: Rogue River, Oregon
Time: .
Summary: A metallic disc with a tail fin was viewed through binoculars as it moved on a horizontal flight course in Rogue River, Oregon at 5:00 p.m. It gradually increased its speed until it reached that of a jet aircraft. No propulsion method was apparent.
Source: NICAP

Date: May 24 1949: Aeronautical laboratory employees see disc-shaped object

Date: May , 1949
Location: Gold Beach, Oregon
Time: . 17:00
Summary: NACA Ames Research Lab employees Don Heaphy and another, plus Mrs. Oliver Elizabeth McBeth, a pharmacist, and their wives, saw, in the east at azimuth 60°, a hamburger-shaped metallic disc about 25-35 feet to 100 feet wide with a tail fin and a “dirty” surface, rough and wrinkled in the rear. It was at about 5,000 foot altitude and about 1-4 miles away, traveling at about C-47 speed. It then accelerated to jet speed, flying to the south, azimuth 170°. The object was observed with 8x binoculars.
Source: Project Bluebook

Date: Late May , 1949
Location: White Sands, New Mexico
Time: . Morning
Summary: An object was observed using optical instruments. One object, about 1 foot across, was observed by several witnesses near a missile (McLaughlin).
Source: Heard, Gerald Is Another World Watching? Harper & Brothers, New York, 1951

Date: May 25, 1949
Location: Loudon, Tennessee
Time: . 12:00
Summary: One metallic disc was observed by five witnesses on a farm. A flapping sound was heard.
Source: Hatch, Larry

Date: May 27, 1949 BBU 404
Location: Near Hart Mtn., south-central Oregon
Time: 2:25 p.m. (PST).
Summary: Oil company vice-president, USNR pilot, former AAF flight instructor, Joseph C. Shell, flew his lightened-load SNJ Navy aircraft from Red Bluff, Calif, to Burns, Oregon, heading NNE at 212 mph ground speed at 9,000 ft above MSL (about 4,000 to 5,000 ft above ground level), saw to his right (about NE) something metallic in the distance [about 20 miles away] at about 42° 38′ N, 119° 43′ W, which as he approached resolved into 5-8, most likely 6-7, oval or egg-shaped metallic objects, 2:1 length/width ratio, and 1/5 as thick, each the same size less than 20 ft in diameter, fly in trail formation, with an interval equal to 3-4x their length between the lead object and the 2nd object, and only 1/2 to 2/3 object length spacing between the 2nd and all remaining objects, which separation remained constant almost as if being towed by the lead object. He saw the objects “outlined” against the bluffs of Hart Mtn, and could see the dark ground between each object, and noticed they had slightly changed course from a “quartering” path to a path parallel to his course in the opposite direction (heading SSW) at about 230 ±30-40 mph while following the rim of the bluffs (which rim was about 7,000 ft MSL), appeared to be about 1,000 to 1,500 ft below his altitude about 5-1/2 to 7-1/2 miles away at closest approach (to his ESE), but less than the 10-mile distance to the bluffs. Near end of sighting Shell dropped in altitude and then could see the objects at his flight level, at his estimated position 42° 41′ N, 119° 49′ W, hence his estimate of objects’ altitude as about 1,000-1,500 ft below his original 9,000 ft MSL. Objects disappeared on the horizon out of visual range, at estimated position 42° 28′ N, 119° 48′ W. Visibility being >60 miles. 5 mins 1 witness 1/30 ? Full Moon
Source: Sparks; Berliner; Jan Aldrich; Footnote.com images 6313041 ff.

Date: May 31, 1949 BBU
Location: Misawa AFB, Honshu, Japan
Time: 11:10 a.m.
Summary: USAF pilot Giles flying F-80 saw a circular object moving at high speed and disappearing into cirrus cloud overcast.
Source: Project 1947; FUFOR Index

Date: May 1949
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