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COMFT. CHG. 1

DIO-LIND Serial 30-49

23 June 1949

Subject: Unidentified Flying Objects - Report of.

REPORT: Unidentified Flying Objects Observed in Oregon 27 May 1949.

On Friday, 27 May 1949, source was flying his own SNJ-type aircraft from Red Bluff, California to Burns, Oregon, a distance of 305 miles. He left Red Bluff at 1332 P.S.T. and arrived at Burns at 1458 P.S.T. (slapped time: 1 hour 26 minutes). Source landed at Burns after circling the town twice, which consumed about ten minutes. While an SNJ's normal maximum speed is 170 MPH, source "demolished" his plane (which he had purchased at War Surplus, lightening the plane by about 500 lbs.) and it makes around 200 MPH true air speed. While on this flight he made 212 MPH ground speed; source estimates he had a tail wind of 15 to 18 MPH.

At 1425 Pacific Standard Time, Friday, 27 May 1949, source observed the own reflecting on an object or objects at a considerable distance ahead, a few points to the starboard. He continued to watch the course taken by the reflecting material expecting it to materialize into conventional aircraft as the distance lessened between him and the object or objects. As the objects reached the long bluffs (shown on the Boise (Y-2) Aeronautical Chart as Hart Mountain) which run for a number of miles along the east side of some dry lakes (Swamp, Flagstaff, Campbell and Stone Corral Lakes) he saw that instead of a single object there were several, which seemed to be flying in formation.

At this point the objects appeared to have changed their course so that they were paralleling his course (southwest to his northeast) and were following the bluffs' rim at about 1000 to 1500 feet below source's altitude, as a distance which he estimates to have been 5 1/2 to 7 1/2 miles. Sources in certain that it could not have been as far as 10 miles since the bluffs were less than 10 miles away and he could see the objects outlined against the bluffs.

The objects that source saw are described by him as follows: Size of each object: Considerably smaller than a fighter plane, probably less than 20' in length. All of the separate objects appeared to be the same in size.

Shape of object: There was no break in the outline. Sources is certain he would have recognised conventional aircraft. They had a solid configuration, and no great thickness. They were elongated oval, perhaps twice as long as wide, and perhaps five times as long as thick. Source points out he observed the objects from an angle from above and could not easily estimate their thickness; they could possibly have been egg-shaped, and could conservatively have been perfectly oval. The objects seemed definitely solid objects - there was nothing ethereal about them.

Speed of object: Source is confident they were traveling at least as fast as source's own plane (212 MPH). Source had a tail wind of 15 to 18 MPH and the objects would therefore have been doing over 230 MPH air speed. The objects were traveling south/southwest, opposite to source's course. Calculating the speed of the objects, several different ways from the facts at hand, the speed of the objects varies between 190 to 260 MPH. Source concluded at the time of observation that he could not possibly have seen around and caught up with the objects. They were definitely traveling at least as fast as source's plane. No trail of smoke was observed. The speed of the objects appeared to be at least

Terrain, elevations, population, etc. in area: All which was between 4000' and 5000' above terrain. During most of the time of observation, the objects were 1000' to possibly 1500' below source's plane. Towards the end of sighting when source had begun to down fall he was still on a level with them in altitude.