THINK ABOUTIT UFO SIGHTING REPORT
On July 16, 1947, at approximately 15:30 hours, a United States Air Force officer and a flight engineer witnessed a significant daylight encounter with unidentified aerial phenomena over Promontory Point, Utah. While flying in a B-17 aircraft, the witnesses observed nine round, metallic discs—measuring approximately 40–60 feet in diameter—rising from the Salt Flats at high speed. The objects, described as having sand-colored tops and light-blue underbellies, performed a climbing flight in a structured V-formation (three groups of three) before disappearing from view within seconds.
Date: July 16, 1947
Sighting Time: 15:30 hours
Day/Night: Day
Location: Promontory Point, Utah
Urban or Rural: Rural
Hynek Classification: DD (Daylight Disc) Metallic or whitish object was seen in the day.
Duration: few seconds
No. of Object(s): 9
Appearance / Description of the Object(s): Round, metallic discs.
Height & Speed: Rose from the Salt Flats at “great speed” and performed a climbing flight.
Size of Object(s): approximately 40-60 feet in diameter
Distance to Object(s): Objects veered close enough to the left wing for identification of color and shape.
Shape of Object(s): round disks
Color of Object(s): the top of them as sand colored, with light blue underbellies
Special Features/Characteristics: Sand-colored tops and light-blue underbellies; flying in a V-formation (three groups of three).
Number of Witnesses: 2 (USAF Colonel and a Technical Sergeant flight engineer).
Source: UFO Casebook, eyewitness report
Full Report
Nine Flying Discs Encountered
by B-17-Utah, July 16, 1947
The ABC Program relative to UFOs has prompted me to provide details of my sighting of unidentified flying objects. This is the first time I have offered this event to any type of media.
I was a member of the United States Air Force at the time that I saw nine flying discs. I dutifully reported my sighting to the Operations Section at Travis Air Force Base as had been directed by the Senior Officer.
The pilot of our aircraft was also the officer in charge of the section that I was assigned to at the time. I was the Aircraft Distribution Officer of the Far East Air Materiel Command located in Fuchu, Japan in 1947.
I had a project to take B-17 aircraft from the theater to Middletown Air Depot, Pennsylvania to have them modified to be air rescue aircraft. This involves such modification to accommodate a lifeboat attached the bomb bay which could be dropped for rescue at sea. I was assigned to one of these trips to observe the modification process.
I became a passenger on the flight of a B-17 from Japan to the Middletown Air Depot. The crew picked up a modified B-17 aircraft (without the lifeboat) for return to Japan.
On that return flight I had positioned myself in the nose of the aircraft. As we approached Promontory Point, Utah at 15:30 hours, 16 July, 1947, I noticed several objects rising from the Salt Flats. At first I thought they were big white birds but they were coming towards our aircraft at such great speed that I became alarmed.
However, in just a few moments they veered to the left of our aircraft, but close enough for me to identify them as nine round disks, approximately 40-60 feet in diameter with light blue underbellies.
They were in what appeared to be a V formation of three, three, and three. They passed off the left wing of our aircraft in a climbing flight. I immediately made my way to the cockpit to advise the pilot of my sighting. He had not seen them. However, the flight engineer, Technical Sergeant GJH (name withheld), Serial Number AFxxxxxxxx, did see them and confirmed my sighting.
We only differed on one thing. T/SGT. H saw them as they were a little lower than our aircraft and he described the top of them as sand colored.
I had been in the Philippines Islands and Japan for approximately for 18 months and had not been aware of the UFO excitement in the States at that time. The weather over the sighting area was perfectly clear and there was no way that I could have been mistaken about what I had seen.
I talk about this event to my friends and others that want to listen to my experience. Since there is so much reaction to stories of such sightings, I have never gone beyond just telling about the event.
Also, I never had any further contact with T/SGT. H since he was assigned to a different organization than mine. I have kept the record of this event in my wallet all these years to make sure that the data was immediately available to me in the event someone wanted names and dates.
I also put a copy of the data in my personal strongbox for safe keeping.
There is one thing that I regret about this event. I had just purchased a movie camera with a telephoto lens while in the States on this trip, and had it right in front of me at the time, and I did not think enough to take pictures of the sighting.
However, on the other hand, the whole thing was over in just a few seconds and had I tried to take movies of it I may have missed the whole show. I thought this might be of interest to your group.
ETW
COL. USAF (RET)
California, USA
source: UFO Casebook, eyewitness report
Researcher’s Notes
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Aviation Context: The encounter occurred during a return flight from Japan to Middletown Air Depot, Pennsylvania, involving a B-17 being ferried for air-sea rescue modifications.
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Witness Credibility: The primary witness, ETW (a retired USAF Colonel), was the Aircraft Distribution Officer for the Far East Air Materiel Command; the sighting was corroborated by the flight engineer, T/SGT GJH.
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Visual Discrepancies: While both witnesses agreed on the shape and formation, their differing perspectives (from the nose and cockpit) provided a comprehensive view of the craft’s coloration: sand-colored on top and light blue underneath, possibly for camouflage against both desert terrain and the sky.
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Hynek Classification: This case is categorized as a Daylight Disc (DD) due to the metallic/whitish appearance of the objects against a clear day sky.
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Historical Significance: The sighting occurred only weeks after the famous Kenneth Arnold encounter, yet the witness—having been stationed in Japan for 18 months—claimed no prior knowledge of the growing “flying saucer” phenomenon in the U.S. at the time.
The 1947 Promontory Point encounter remains a high-merit case in early ufology due to the professional background of the military witnesses and the specific technical details of the craft. The structured V-formation and the extreme speed of the objects rising from the ground suggest a level of organized flight and propulsion that far exceeded the capabilities of the B-17 or any known contemporary aircraft. Despite having a movie camera with a telephoto lens at his side, the suddenness of the event and the witness’s initial shock prevented the acquisition of photographic evidence—a common frustration in close-range encounters.
Ultimately, this report serves as a vital record of military-observed aerial anomalies during the foundational year of the modern UFO era. By documenting these events in the Utah Sightings and 1947 Sightings archives, we preserve an account that combines radar-like precision in visual description with the high credibility of veteran Air Force personnel. The consistency of the Colonel’s record-keeping over several decades underscores the profound impact the event had on his professional and personal life.
