Washington State UFO Investigation (1952-1960)
This is the FBI Seattle field office's Washington State unidentified-flying-object file, a 55 page aggregation of mounted newspaper clippings, civilian telephone-complaint memos, citizen letters, and Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) correspondence spanning roughly 1952 to 1960. Two features distinguish it from a routine sighting log: it opens on the July 1952 national UFO wave as reflected in Pasco-area press, and it contains a June 1954 cluster around McChord Air Force Base in which an unidentified object was tracked on radar and engaged by scrambled interceptors, which is materially heavier evidence than the single-witness norm.
Key excerpts
“GAIL P[OLLOCK], Pasco, Wash. ... supervisor of a local ground observer group at Pasco, reported sighting two half-moon shaped objects about six times as large as a half moon. One object formed into a large fireball ... Both objects were estimated to be at about 1000 feet altitude ... They were observed for a period of ten minutes. (p. 22)”
“An unknown blip or target was picked up on TIMOTHY radar [scope] ... [GCI] took immediate action to vector two fighter interceptors, Blue 1 and 2 (who were on CAP) ... [the target] separated into two nuclear [nuc clear, that is, distinct] blips. (p. 31 to p. 32 area)”
“[Upon] examination I am ... convinced it was a radar target balloon made of transparent plastic ... before it began to move. It moved at incredible speed toward the east disappearing over the eastern horizon in about [seconds]. (p. 11 area)”
Alternative hypotheses
most probable for the bulk).
anomalous propagation, weather targets, or friendly aircraft confusion).