THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTINGS REPORT

1952: A Man at Temple, Texas Watches 50 to 75 Gray-White Discs Tilt in Unison Every 12 to 15 Seconds

At 2:59 p.m. on April 6, 1952, a man at Temple, Texas, near Miller-Graughan AFB, saw a group of 50 to 75 grayish-white, metallic, disc-shaped objects in the north-northwest sky, 30 to 40 degrees above the horizon. They were arranged in a circle that covered about the visual space of a full moon, evenly spaced but in no geometric pattern, and the group made no sound and left no trail.

At intervals of 12 to 15 seconds every disc in the formation tilted from one side to the other on a horizontal axis, flashing in exact unison for about two seconds, like the slats of a venetian blind. After two minutes the cluster thinned in the center and thickened at the rim, then slid slowly toward the horizon and faded away. The Air Force report on this Temple, Texas UFO case took no identification action, and Project Blue Book lists it as Unidentified.

Date: April 6, 1952

Sighting Time: 2:59 p.m. CST (1459 hours)

Day/Night: Day; clear

Location: Temple, Texas, at the approximate location of Miller-Graughan AFB (the report is from James Connally AFB, Waco)

Urban or Rural: Town and airfield

No. of Entity’s: Not Applicable

Entity Type: Not Applicable

Entity Description: Not Applicable

Hynek Classification: DD (Daylight Disc)

Duration: 3 minutes 30 seconds

No. of Object(s): 50 to 75

Description of the Object(s): Grayish-white, metallic, disc-shaped objects in a circular formation, evenly spaced but not in any geometric pattern

Shape/Size/Color of Object(s): Discs, grayish-white; the whole formation covered an area comparable to the visual space of a full moon

Distance to Object(s): Estimated 15 to 25 miles away, at an elevation of 30 to 40 degrees

Height & Speed: Not estimated; the group moved from 30–40 degrees to about 5 degrees above the horizon and about 10 to 15 degrees along it, away from the observer

Number of Witnesses: 1 (a civilian of Temple; the name is blacked out and the report calls him Mr. Russell once, in the text)

Special Features/Characteristics: All discs tilted in unison every 12 to 15 seconds for about 2 seconds; the group thinned in the center and thickened at the rim after the first 2 minutes; no sound, trail or exhaust; propulsion unknown

Case Status: Blue Book: Unidentified; status report extract: no conclusions

Source: Air Intelligence Information Report IR-2-52 (Office of Intelligence, James Connally AFB, April 7, 1952); Project Blue Book record card; status report extract; Blue Book April list; Berliner

Summary/Description: A civilian watched 50 to 75 discs in a circular formation tilt together at regular intervals like venetian-blind slats for 3 minutes 30 seconds in a clear afternoon sky. Air Force intelligence found no meteorological explanation and took no identification action.

Detailed Report

The Air Intelligence Information Report was prepared the next day by 1st Lt. William M. Harvey Jr., officer in charge of the Office of Intelligence at James Connally Air Force Base, and signed with A/2C Randolph L. Simmons, intelligence specialist. It states that the observation was made by a civilian of Temple, Texas, at Miller-Graughan AFB on April 6, 1952. Two enclosures are listed: the witness’s statement and a drawing of the objects. The evaluation is B-2.

The objects appeared in a group of 50 to 75. They were of a grayish-white metallic nature and disc-like in shape, in a circular formation, the whole formation covering an area comparable to the visual space of a full moon. They were not spaced in any particular geometrical manner but seemed to keep a comparatively equal distance from each other. There was no sound and the speed of the group was not estimated. There was no trail or exhaust, and the type of propulsion was not known.

At regularly spaced intervals, estimated at between 12 and 15 seconds, every disc-like object in the formation seemed to tilt from one side to the other on a horizontal axis, flashing in exact unison. Each flash or tilt lasted about 2 seconds. The report says the action resembled the movement of the slats of a venetian blind when rocked up and down horizontally.

After the first two minutes of observation the cluster of objects seemed to lessen in number in the center of the circle while becoming more dense on the outer rim. From their original position, 30 to 40 degrees above the horizon in the north-northwestern sky, the objects moved upward on the horizon about 5 degrees and approximately 10 to 15 degrees horizontally. Throughout, they kept up their rhythmic tilting at intervals of 12 to 15 seconds. Moving away from the observer at the approximate angle of observation, the objects gradually faded out of sight.

The cluster was first sighted at 1459 hours and was under observation for 3 minutes and 30 seconds. The formation was estimated to be about 15 or 25 miles away at an elevation of 30 to 40 degrees above the horizon. The observer’s location is given in coordinates as the approximate location of the air base at Temple. The weather was clear with 15 miles visibility, an 8 mph wind from the southwest, a temperature of 85 degrees and a dew point of 52.

The report says there were no unusual meteorological activities or conditions at the time and no fragments or physical evidence other than the observer’s drawing of the formation in flight, photostated as an enclosure. It states there has been no identification action taken. The Project Blue Book record card adds the comment that 2100 is a balloon launch time but that there are no known balloons in the area, and the status report extract reads: “Group of 50 or 75 grayish-white objects shaped like a disc and in formation, changing position constantly.”

RESEARCHER’S NOTES

Rhythmic Tilting, a Full-Moon Formation and No Identification Action

Synchronized Tilting. The report treats the unison tilt every 12 to 15 seconds as the defining feature. Whatever produced it behaved as one unit; the report offers no cause.
The Balloon Remark. The record card says 2100 is a balloon launch time but no balloons were known in the area. The card does not say whether the 2100 refers to GMT (the card gives 2059 GMT for the sighting), so the remark may refer to a scheduled launch time rather than a launch that day.
The Observer. The statement and drawing are enclosures that are not in the file I have; the report is the surviving account. Berliner and the live page call the witness H. L. Russell; the report text names a Mr. Russell once and blacks out the name elsewhere.
Naming. The report places the observer at Miller-Graughan AFB; the live page spells it Miller-Gaughan; another spelling in the report reads Draughan–Miller.
Blue Book Listing. The Blue Book April list shows Temple as Unidentified.

Temple is a daylight, single-witness report, but it comes with a drawing, a written statement, a weather check and an air base intelligence officer who looked and found nothing to explain it. The distinctive detail is the rhythm: dozens of objects tilting together every few seconds, like a single machine.

«The action resembled the movement of the slats of a venetian blind when rocked up and down horizontally.»
— Air Intelligence Information Report IR-2-52, James Connally AFB, April 7, 1952