Levelland, August 24, 1952: the top that whistled.
THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTINGS REPORT
Levelland, Texas:
A Spinning Top That Hovered and Whistled, Then Came Back, August 24, 1952
On the night of August 24, 1952, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Sharp of Levelland, Texas watched an object shaped like a spinning top change color from red to yellow to blue and trail a fiery tail. It hovered for 20 minutes with a shrill, whistling sound, then flew away on a north-northwest course over three minutes. About an hour later the same or a similar object returned and repeated the maneuvers.
The Levelland, Texas UFO sighting of August 24, 1952 predates the famous Levelland wave of November 1957 by five years and is a separate case. It is a Project Blue Book Unknown, BBU 1969, with a total observation time of 23 minutes.
Date: August 24, 1952
Sighting Time: 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
Day/Night: Night
Location: Levelland, Texas, United States
Urban or Rural: Rural
No. of Entity(‘s): Not Applicable
Entity Type: Not Applicable
Entity Description: Not Applicable
Hynek Classification: Nocturnal Light (NL)
Duration: 23 minutes in total across two visits (20 minutes of hovering on the first, then 3 minutes of departure)
No. of Object(s): 1 (the same or a similar object appeared twice)
Description of the Object(s): An object shaped like a spinning top that changed color from red to yellow to blue, had a fiery tail, hovered with a shrill whistling sound, and left on a north-northwest course
Shape/Size/Color of Object(s): Spinning-top shape; red, yellow and blue; size not recorded
Distance to Object(s): Not recorded
Height & Speed: Hovered for 20 minutes, then flew away north-northwest over 3 minutes; speed not recorded
Number of Witnesses: 2 (Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Sharp)
Special Features/Characteristics: A shrill whistling sound; color changes; a fiery tail; a 20-minute hover; a return an hour later that repeated the maneuvers
Case Status: Project Blue Book: Unknown (BBU #1969)
Source: Don Berliner, Project Bluebook UFO Unknowns; Hynek-CUFOS re-evaluation; Jan Aldrich (BBU 1969)
Summary/Description: Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Sharp saw a spinning-top-shaped object change color from red to yellow to blue, with a fiery tail, hover for 20 minutes with a shrill whistling sound and fly away north-northwest over 3 minutes. The same or a similar object returned an hour later and repeated the maneuvers.
Related Cases: Duncanville, Texas, August 18, 1952; the Levelland, Texas wave of November 1957 (a separate series of reports)
Detailed Report
The Sharp report is known from the Blue Book Unknowns lists. At 9:30 p.m. on August 24, 1952, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Sharp saw an object shaped like a spinning top near Levelland, Texas. The object changed color from red to yellow to blue and had a fiery tail. It hovered for 20 minutes and made a shrill, whistling sound, then flew away on a north-northwest course over three minutes.
About an hour later, at 10:30 p.m., the same object or a similar one returned and repeated the same maneuvers. The total time recorded for the sighting is 23 minutes.
The sources reviewed do not give the Sharps’ ages or occupation, the object’s altitude, or a Blue Book evaluation beyond Unknown. The case is different from the November 1957 Levelland wave, in which motorists reported vehicles stalling near glowing objects.
RESEARCHER’S NOTES
A Sound, a Spinning Top and a Return
- The sound: A shrill whistling sound is unusual among 1952 night-light reports, which are mostly silent. A sound argues that the source was close or that the witnesses were describing a nearby aircraft or an atmospheric noise.
- The return: A repeat visit an hour later gives the observers a second look at the same behavior, though the two visits could involve different objects.
- Color changes: Red, yellow and blue changes through a fiery tail are also what a bright meteor or a low-flying aircraft with flames from an exhaust can produce. A 20-minute hover is not typical of either.
- Two witnesses: A husband and wife are two observers who may influence one another’s description; the record has no separate statements.
- Not the 1957 wave: This case has no direct link to the 1957 Levelland wave except the town.
The Sharp sighting is a short night report of a hovering, whistling object that came back. Blue Book carried it as an Unknown, and the record does not go beyond the witnesses’ description.
An object “shaped like a spinning top” changed from red to yellow to blue and hovered for 20 minutes with a shrill whistling sound.
— Summary of the Levelland, Texas report of August 24, 1952 (Berliner; paraphrased)
