Chickasaw, Alabama, September 23, 1952, about 10:00 p.m
THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTINGS REPORT
1952: Chickasaw, Alabama, the Five Bluish-Gray Lights
At about 10:00 p.m. on September 23, 1952, a woman watching from her bedroom window in Chickasaw, Alabama, near Mobile, saw five bluish-gray lights in an indefinite pattern move slowly overhead in a straight line from south to northeast, with a soft whoosh unlike a jet. She first took them for a helicopter.
A small airplane that passed a few minutes later flew higher and faster than the lights. Brookley AFB intelligence put the lights at about 2,000 feet and about 75 mph, rated the observer’s reliability excellent and found no aircraft or weather balloons to account for them. The report reached the base about twelve hours later, so no interception was tried.
Date: September 23, 1952
Sighting Time: About 10:00 p.m.
Day/Night: Night
Location: Chickasaw (near Mobile), Alabama
Urban or Rural: Suburban
No. of Entity(‘s): None reported
Entity Type: Not applicable
Entity Description: Not applicable
Hynek Classification: NL (Nocturnal Light)
Duration: Not recorded
No. of Object(s): 5
Description of the Object(s): Five bluish-gray lights in an indefinite pattern, moving slowly overhead in a straight line with a soft “whoosh”
Shape of Object(s): Lights; no body seen
Size of Object(s): Not recorded
Color of Object(s): Bluish-gray
Distance to Object(s): Not recorded
Height & Speed: About 2,000 feet and about 75 mph (Brookley AFB estimate), south to northeast
Number of Witnesses: 1 (a woman in her bedroom)
Special Features/Characteristics: Soft whoosh unlike a jet; first mistaken for a helicopter; a small airplane passed minutes later higher and faster; no interception because the report arrived about twelve hours late
Case Status: Unexplained (Brookley AFB intelligence found no aircraft or balloons to account for it)
Source: Blue Book file (Brookley AFB Air Intelligence Information Report)
Summary/Description: A Chickasaw, Alabama woman saw five bluish-gray lights move slowly overhead in a straight line at about 2,000 feet and 75 mph. Brookley AFB intelligence rated her reliability excellent and found no aircraft or balloons to explain them.
Related Cases: the other September 1952 night-light reports on the September 17th–30th page
DETAILED REPORT
The Brookley AFB report records a single observer who watched from her bedroom at about 10:00 p.m. on September 23, 1952. She saw five bluish-gray lights in an indefinite pattern pass slowly overhead from south to northeast in a straight line, with a soft whoosh that was unlike a jet. She first thought they were a helicopter.
A few minutes later a small airplane passed, flying higher and faster than the lights, which gave her a direct comparison. The base intelligence officer estimated the lights at about 2,000 feet and about 75 mph, judged her reliability excellent, and found no aircraft or weather balloons that could account for them. Because the report reached the base about twelve hours after the sighting, no interception or other action was taken.
RESEARCHER’S NOTES
Chickasaw 1952: A Slow Formation and a Passing Airplane for Comparison
- Comparison object: The airplane that passed minutes later gives the witness a built-in reference. She described the lights as slower and lower than it, and different in sound from a jet.
- Reliability: The intelligence officer rated her reliability excellent, which is stronger language than most civilian reports in the month’s files receive.
- Limits: There is one witness, no duration, and a twelve-hour reporting delay, so there was no chance to check radar or send up an aircraft.
- Estimates: The 2,000-foot and 75 mph figures are the base’s estimate from her description, not measurements.
Chickasaw is a quiet, slow, silent-ish formation seen by an excellent witness with a good comparison object. It is unexplained because the base looked for the obvious answers and found none.
