THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTINGS REPORT

1952: Florence, South Carolina, the Tilted Saucer Glow

Shortly after 5 p.m. on November 16, 1952, the airport manager, an airline pilot, a weather observer and radio and tower operators at Florence, South Carolina watched a bright object thick in the center and tapering to the edges, like a saucer tilted at 30 degrees. It glowed extremely brightly for about six minutes, west of the field at roughly 10,000 feet, and drifted southwest without a sound.

A jet was due over Florence at the time, and ATIC’s evaluation was that the object could have been a jet at high altitude. The witnesses noted no sound and no contrail, and Shaw AFB reported no jets aloft, so the explanation fits less neatly than the card suggests.

Date: November 16, 1952

Sighting Time: Shortly after 5:00 p.m.

Day/Night: Dusk

Location: Florence, South Carolina (airport area)

Urban or Rural: Airport / small city

No. of Entity(‘s): None reported

Entity Type: Not applicable

Entity Description: Not applicable

Hynek Classification: NL (Nocturnal Light)

Duration: About 6 minutes

No. of Object(s): 1

Shape of Object(s): Thick in the center, tapering to the edges, like a saucer tilted about 30 degrees

Size of Object(s): Not recorded

Color of Object(s): Extremely bright glow

Distance to Object(s): Not recorded

Height & Speed: About 10,000 feet, moving from west toward southwest

Number of Witnesses: Several, including the airport manager, an airline pilot, a weather observer, and radio and tower operators (one a CAA communicator of 11 years)

Special Features/Characteristics: No sound and no contrail; a scheduled jet was due over the field; Shaw AFB reported no jets aloft

Case Status: Evaluated by ATIC as a jet aircraft (a jet was due over Florence); the witnesses noted no sound and no contrails

Source: Blue Book file (record card); contemporary AP wire

Summary/Description: Airport staff and an airline pilot at Florence, South Carolina watched a brightly glowing, saucer-shaped object for about six minutes on the evening of November 16, 1952. It made no sound, and Shaw AFB had no jets aloft.

Related Cases: The same-evening Landrum, South Carolina film sighting on the November 16th–30th page

DETAILED REPORT

The report names a mix of experienced observers: the airport manager, an airline pilot, a weather observer and radio and tower operators, among them a CAA communicator with eleven years in the job. They saw a bright object west of the field at about 10,000 feet that was thick in the middle and tapered toward its edges, the effect of a saucer tilted at about 30 degrees. It glowed extremely brightly and moved southwest over about six minutes.

ATIC’s evaluation was that a jet aircraft was due over Florence at the time and the object, moving slowly and without sound, could have been a jet at high altitude, with no contrails noted. The witnesses heard nothing, and Shaw AFB reported no jets aloft.

The Blue Book card header reads November 17, while the AP wire gives November 16 shortly after 5 p.m. The wire date is used here. The sighting falls on the same evening as the Landrum film case about a hundred miles to the northwest.

RESEARCHER’S NOTES

Florence 1952: Airport Professionals and an Unheard Jet

Witness quality: The watchers were airport and airline people who see aircraft every day, and the file lists their jobs rather than just a count.
The jet question: ATIC settled on a scheduled jet at high altitude. Against that, the witnesses heard no sound, and Shaw AFB had no jets aloft.
Date conflict: Card header November 17, AP wire November 16. The wire is the contemporary source and is preferred.
Same evening: Landrum, Anderson and Marion also reported lights that evening; the file does not connect them directly.

Florence carries an official jet explanation and a set of airport professionals who saw something glowing, slow and silent. The file records both and does not reconcile them.