Military1948

Secret Navy Skyhook balloons behind many early saucer reports

When: 1948
Sources: 2 public sources

A Skyhook balloon; the secret Navy program explained many early saucer reports US Navy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Large plastic Skyhook research balloons, about 100 feet across, were flown in secret for the Navy, unknown to most Air Force pilots. Blue Book chief Edward Ruppelt and the Condon report later cited them as the likely cause of many reports, including Capt. Thomas Mantell's fatal 1948 chase.

Sources

OfficialScientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects, Section V, Chapter 2: UFOs 1947-1968 (opens in a new tab)University of Colorado for the U.S. Air Force (Condon Report), copy hosted by NCAS / 1969
FirsthandThe Report on Unidentified Flying Objects (Edward J. Ruppelt, 1956) (opens in a new tab)Project Gutenberg / 1956

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Where it fits

Earlier in MilitaryArmy intelligence report judges Kenneth Arnold credible16 Jul 1947 Later in MilitaryMantell incident7 Jan 1948

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