On June 16, 1950, a National Guard C-47 pilot saw an equilateral triangle ringed with white lights pass below him near Tucson.
THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTINGS REPORT
1950: East of Tucson, Arizona — The Triangle Under the Guard C-47
At 8:25 p.m. on June 16, 1950, the pilot of a National Guard C-47 flying from Kelly Air Force Base in Texas to Davis-Monthan AFB at Tucson saw an equilateral triangle, about the size of his own aircraft, pass about 1,000 feet below him, heading west at an estimated 700 mph. Ten to twenty white lights were evenly spaced around its perimeter, and no conventional aircraft lights were seen.
He reported it by interphone from Davis-Monthan to March Flight Service, and the 23d Bombardment Wing’s intelligence officer completed a full Air Force Guide to Investigation of Unidentified Aerial Objects on it. The Project 10073 card nonetheless carries a single evaluation, A/C (aircraft), with no reasoning recorded. The Tucson triangle case is an unusually clean description paired with an unusually blunt closure.
Date: June 16, 1950
Sighting Time: 8:25 p.m. MST (20:25)
Day/Night: Night (clear)
Location: East of Tucson, Arizona (map coordinates 32°00’N, 110°35’W), along a C-47 flight from Kelly AFB, Texas, to Davis-Monthan AFB
Urban or Rural: Rural (in flight)
No. of Entity’s: 0 — Not Applicable
Entity Type: Not Applicable
Entity Description: Not Applicable
Hynek Classification: NL (nocturnal light; outline reported as an equilateral triangle)
Duration: Not recorded (time in sight is blank on the form)
No. of Object(s): One
Description of the Object(s): An equilateral triangle with 10 to 20 white lights evenly spaced around its perimeter; no conventional aircraft lights; no trail
Shape/Size/Color of Object(s): Equilateral triangle; about the size of a C-47; color unknown; white lights
Distance to Object(s): Passed about 1,000 feet below the C-47
Height & Speed: About 11,000 feet; estimated 700 mph; heading west
Number of Witnesses: The C-47 crew; the card shows a single observer, a National Guard pilot (Santini per Project 1947), and the Guide to Investigation lists two names, a lieutenant colonel and a staff sergeant, in handwriting that is poorly legible
Special Features/Characteristics: Observed from the air; clear weather with 30 miles’ visibility; reported by interphone from Davis-Monthan AFB to March Flight Service; investigated by the 23d Bombardment Wing intelligence officer
Case Status: A/C (aircraft) per the Project 10073 card, with no stated reasoning; catalogs including Project 1947 and the FUFOR Index list it as unexplained
Source: Project 10073 Record Card; Guide to Investigation of Unidentified Aerial Objects (Maj. Lawrence C. Paulson, 23d Bombardment Wing); Project 1947; FUFOR Index
Summary/Description: A National Guard C-47 pilot saw an equilateral triangle ringed with white lights pass 1,000 feet below him at about 700 mph.
Related Cases: None identified in the archive
Detailed Report
The card. The Project 10073 card gives the date of information as June 16, 1950, the location as Tucson, Arizona, the source as an NG pilot, the time as 20:25 MST and the shape as an equilateral triangle. It lists the size as C-47, the course as west, the speed as 700 mph, the altitude as 11,000 feet, one object and aerial observation. A handwritten evaluation reads A/C.
The Guide to Investigation. The form records the place of observation as Tucson, Arizona, at 32°00′ N and 110°35′ W. The observer was the pilot of a National Guard C-47 en route from Kelly AFB, Texas, to Davis-Monthan AFB, reporting to March Flight Service by interphone from Davis-Monthan. What attracted his attention was the object passing his aircraft. There was one object, estimated to be the size of a C-47, with the shape of an equilateral triangle. The altitude is given as approximately 11,000 feet, with the object 1,000 feet below, heading west at an estimated 700 mph.
Lights and conditions. Page two of the form says white lights, estimated at ten to twenty, were evenly spaced around the perimeter of the object, and that no conventional aircraft lights were seen. There was no trail. Projections, maneuvers and the effect on clouds are listed as unknown, and the object left view in flight. Weather was clear with 30 miles’ visibility. The interrogator was Maj. Lawrence C. Paulson, Intelligence Officer, 23d Bombardment Wing (Medium).
RESEARCHER’S NOTES
A Description With No Reasoning Attached
- The A/C label: The card says aircraft and nothing else. The form itself describes an equilateral triangle the size of a C-47 with white lights around its edge, and no conventional lights, so the evaluation needs a reasoning the file does not provide.
- Closure geometry: Both the C-47 and the object were heading west; at 700 mph versus a C-47’s cruise speed the object was overtaking the aircraft. That is a calculation from the form’s figures, not something the file states.
- Estimating speed at night: The 700 mph figure and the size comparison are the pilot’s estimates; nothing in the file describes how he judged them against the dark sky.
- No BBU tag: Catalogs list this as a Blue Book Unknown; the card in the file says A/C, so this archive does not tag it.
- Legibility: The cover pages and the observer names are only partly readable in the scan.
The Tucson triangle shows how little a one-word evaluation can settle. A pilot gave a precise description to an Air Force intelligence officer, and the card closed it as aircraft without saying which aircraft could fit. The description is preserved here as given.
“No conventional aircraft lights were seen.”
— Guide to Investigation of Unidentified Aerial Objects, 23d Bombardment Wing, June 1950
