On August 4, 1950, six people at a Pine Bluff power plant and air field watched a bright silver disc cross the sky.
THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTINGS REPORT
1950: Pine Bluff, Arkansas — Six Witnesses and a Bright Silver Disc
Shortly before noon on August 4, 1950, workers at the Arkansas Power & Light plant in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and a woman at Toney Air Field, about a mile away, watched a bright silver, disc-shaped object cross the clear sky toward the northeast for about twenty seconds. One man spotted it, telephoned the air field and told her to look for it; she saw it too. They put its apparent size anywhere from 12 inches to 50 feet and its speed from about a fighter plane’s to faster than a light plane’s. It tilted slightly to the east and kept going, and one witness said it emitted four balls of smoke before it was out of sight.
The Fourth Army intelligence officer who investigated recorded something unusual: the plant superintendent said all five men were of high character, were not in the habit of dreaming up stories and were sincere and reliable, and a police chief confirmed none had a record. The investigator added that all of them were young and not fully matured but believed to be telling the truth. The Blue Book listing evaluates this Pine Bluff, Arkansas UFO case as A/C.
Date: August 4, 1950 (Friday)
Sighting Time: Shortly before noon, about 10:30 to 11:00 a.m.
Day/Night: Day (clear sky)
Location: Pine Bluff, Arkansas, from just outside the Arkansas Power & Light plant and from Toney Air Field, about a mile northeast of the plant
Urban or Rural: Edge of town, industrial and airfield
No. of Entity’s: 0 — Not Applicable
Entity Type: Not Applicable
Entity Description: Not Applicable
Hynek Classification: DD (daylight disc)
Duration: About 20 seconds by one account; individual estimates ranged from a few seconds to a few minutes
No. of Object(s): One
Description of the Object(s): A bright silver, disc-shaped object that tilted slightly to the east; no sound, no trail, no projections; one witness saw four balls of smoke emitted before it went out of sight
Shape/Size/Color of Object(s): Disc; apparent size from about 12 inches to about 50 feet in diameter by two estimates; bright silver; brilliant by reflected sunlight
Distance to Object(s): About a mile away by one estimate, “far away” by another, near and beyond Toney Air Field
Height & Speed: Altitude not stated; speed about that of a fighter plane or faster than a light plane; flight to the northeast
Number of Witnesses: 6: five Arkansas Power & Light employees (ages 20 to 29) and a 26-year-old woman who helps at Toney Air Field, where her husband is the operator
Special Features/Characteristics: One witness phoned the air field so another could look; all had 20/20 vision on investigation; one witness, a former Army artilleryman, formerly wore glasses and no longer needs them
Case Status: A/C per the Blue Book August 1950 listing; no card in the uploaded file
Source: Fourth Army letter to Air Materiel Command, August 17, 1950; Incident No. 5055, Guide to Investigation of Unidentified Aerial Objects (interviews August 11, 1950)
Summary/Description: Six people in two places watched a bright silver disc cross northeast and tilt, one saying it emitted smoke balls.
Related Cases: None established
Detailed Report
The report. Headquarters, Fourth Army forwarded the Pine Bluff case to Air Materiel Command on August 17, 1950, with a Guide to Investigation labeled Incident No. 5055. The observation was on August 4, shortly before noon, and the interviews took place on August 11.
The sighting. The observers’ positions were just outside the power plant building, and at Toney Air Field about a mile northeast. The plant observer noticed the object, called the air field by phone and told the woman to look for it. The Guide records one object, bright silver; one witness said it appeared about 12 inches in diameter and another about 50 feet, with at least one calling it disc shaped. The direction was northeast, beyond Toney Air Field; the object was in sight about 20 seconds. Its speed was compared to that of a fighter plane and said to be faster than a light plane. There was no sound, no trail, no projections; one witness saw it emit four balls of smoke before going out of sight. It was brilliant by reflection from the sun, tilted slightly to the east, and continued northeast until out of sight; the sky was clear with no clouds.
The witnesses. The Guide lists a general helper who wore glasses in the Army but no longer needs them, an oiler aged 29 who had served on a 155mm artillery crew and was discharged as a Technician Fifth Grade, two other general helpers aged 21 and 20, a fifth man and the 26-year-old woman at the air field. All were recorded as 20/20. The power plant superintendent said all his employees were of high character and believed to be honest. The police chief, without checking records, said none had a record. The investigator wrote that all were honest, loyal and trustworthy, young and not fully matured, but believed to be telling the truth.
RESEARCHER’S NOTES
A Good File on an Ordinary Evaluation
- A/C evaluation: The Blue Book listing evaluates the case as aircraft. The file does not state which aircraft, and the description of a silver disc that tilted and emitted four balls of smoke is not one an aircraft explanation obviously covers.
- Estimates: The size range (12 inches to 50 feet) is an apparent-size estimate, not a measurement; the interviews took place a week after the sighting.
- Two vantage points: A one-mile baseline between plant and air field gave two views, and the witnesses disagreed about distance, which is typical of an unknown-distance object.
- Investigator’s note: The “young and not fully matured” comment was the investigator’s caution, not a finding against the witnesses.
- Missing card: The uploaded file has the Fourth Army letter and Guide but no Project 10073 card; the A/C evaluation comes from the Blue Book listing.
Pine Bluff is a well-documented small case: six observers, a bright silver disc, a smoke detail and a Fourth Army investigator who vouched for them. It was filed as an aircraft, and the file never says which one.
“not in the habit of dreaming up stories”
— Arkansas Power & Light superintendent, as recorded in the Fourth Army Guide to Investigation, Incident No. 5055
