A guard at Ladd AFB saw a grey disc hover and puff smoke on February 26, 1951.
THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTINGS REPORT
1951: A flattened grey disc hovers over the Ladd Air Force Base runway
At about 7:10 on the morning of February 26, 1951, an Air Force sergeant on interior guard duty at Ladd Air Force Base, Fairbanks, Alaska, looked up and saw what he later reported as an unconventional aircraft hovering over the base: an oblong, dull grey metallic object with no wings or appendages, high overhead and nearly motionless.
It hovered for about 45 seconds, puffed out a single white smoke ring, and left at great speed, without sound or exhaust. Nobody else reported it. Air Force investigators found no balloons, aircraft or test firings that could account for it, and Project Blue Book’s card lists it as Unidentified.
Date: February 26, 1951
Sighting Time: About 7:10 a.m. local (1710Z)
Day/Night: Early morning
Location: Ladd Air Force Base, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States
Urban or Rural: Military base
No. of Entity(‘s): 0
Entity Type: None observed
Entity Description: Not Applicable
Hynek Classification: DD (Daylight Disc)
Duration: About 45 seconds hovering; about 1.5 minutes total
No. of Object(s): 1
Description of the Object(s): An oblong, dull grey metallic object resembling a flattened football, with no wings or appendages and no visible exhaust.
Shape of Object(s): Oblong, like a flattened football
Size of Object(s): About 120 feet across and 10 to 12 feet thick (witness estimate)
Color of Object(s): Dull grey, metallic
Distance to Object(s): Not estimated
Height & Speed: About 18,000 feet, about 80 degrees above the horizon (witness estimate); hovered about 45 seconds, then left at high speed
Number of Witnesses: 1 (an Air Force sergeant on guard duty)
Special Features/Characteristics: Emitted a single puff or ring of white smoke after hovering, left no trail, exhaust or sound; no other person reported it
Case Status: Project Blue Book card: Other (Unidentified), with a comment allowing a weather balloon bursting or entering overcast; an OSI report found no balloons in the area
Source: Project Blue Book record card; Air Force Office of Special Investigations report on Sgt. John B. Sells (investigation March 1951); Alaskan Air Command message; Berliner
Summary/Description: An Air Force guard at Ladd AFB saw a dull grey, football-shaped metallic object, about 120 feet across, hover over the base at about 18,000 feet for 45 seconds, emit a puff of white smoke and depart at great speed. The OSI report found no weather balloons, aircraft or project work in the area and no other witness. Blue Book listed it as Unidentified.
Related Cases: February 1951 UFO sightings archive | Johnson Air Base, February 1, 1951
Detailed Report
The record on this sighting consists of a Project Blue Book card, an Alaskan Air Command message, and a report of investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) district at Ladd AFB, dated in March 1951. The OSI report names the witness as Sgt. John B. Sells of the 5001st Air Base Group.
The Alaskan Air Command message says that at 1710Z on February 26, an airman performing interior guard duty at Ladd AFB reported what appeared to be an unconventional aircraft hovering over the airbase. The object appeared oblong without appendage and had a dull, grey metallic color. The observer estimated it at 18,000 feet, about 80 degrees from the horizon. It hovered over Ladd for about 45 seconds, then emitted one puff of white smoke and left. The OSI report says Sells, on guard duty, saw a grey object hovering over the Ladd runway at 18,000 feet; it was 10 to 12 feet thick and 120 feet across, resembling a flattened football, and stayed in that position about 45 seconds before moving away with great speed after emitting a single white smoke ring.
The investigation began on information from the assistant division intelligence officer of the 11th Air Division that Sells had sighted an unusual unidentified object. The OSI report records that the object was not reported by any other person; that there were no weather observation balloons or aircraft in the air at that time; that no project work was being conducted by the Cold Weather Test Branch, the Arctic Test Branch or the Geophysical Institute; and that no test firing was being done by units at Eielson AFB, Ladd AFB or the Big Delta Army base.
The record documents conflicting details. The OSI report says the object moved off to the north; the card summary says it proceeded south. The OSI hour of observation (1719) disagrees with the 1710Z in the message and card, and appears to be a typographical slip for 1710Z. The card records no exhaust or sound, and the weather as light snow. Its comment says the sighting indicated the possibility of a weather balloon bursting or disappearing into overcast, but that reports indicate no balloon was in the area, and that some data conflicted. A later annotation on the card says the case was carried as unidentified in 1951.
The Hynek classification is DD (Daylight Disc). The witness saw a defined metallic body in early-morning light; it was far outside 500 feet, with no physical effects and no entities.
Researcher’s Notes
One Witness, a Clean Investigation, and an Open Case
- Classification: DD fits a defined metallic body seen at about 7:10 a.m. The light conditions are not recorded, and a case could be made for the shape being seen in twilight. The classification is the closest fit, not a certainty.
- The Balloon Comment: The card comment raises a weather balloon bursting or vanishing into overcast, and then says no balloon was in the area. A balloon would not normally produce a “puff of white smoke,” and the OSI report checked and ruled out balloons, aircraft and test firings.
- Single Witness: One guard saw it and no other person reported it, including others on a busy air base. That is the case’s main limit. The OSI report records no concern about the witness’s reliability.
- Conflicts: North or south, 1710Z or 1719, “puff” or “ring” of smoke. None of these changes the core account, but the differences are part of the file.
- Size and Altitude: The 18,000-foot altitude and the 120-foot size are linked estimates. If the object was lower, it was smaller; if it was higher, larger. A single observer with no reference point cannot fix both.
- Official Status: Blue Book checked Unidentified on the card, and the card carries a later note that the case stayed unidentified in 1951. That puts it among the officially unexplained cases in Berliner’s Blue Book unknowns compilation.
The Ladd Air Force Base case is a single-witness sighting with an unusually thorough official check. The OSI looked for balloons, aircraft, projects and test firings and found none, and Blue Book left it Unidentified. The missing pieces are a second witness and any measurement of distance, so the 120-foot figure remains an estimate.
“…what appeared to be an unconventional aircraft hovering over the Airbase.”
Alaskan Air Command message, on the February 26, 1951 sighting at Ladd AFB
