During the early morning hours of July 17, 1957, the crew of a United States Air Force RB-47 electronic intelligence aircraft tracked an unidentified object for more than an hour while flying across the southern United States. The object was detected by onboard electronic intelligence equipment, observed visually by crew members, tracked by ground radar, and repeatedly demonstrated flight characteristics inconsistent with known aircraft.
On July 17, 1957, an RB-47H Stratojet assigned to the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing departed Forbes Air Force Base on a routine electronic intelligence training mission. The aircraft carried a crew of six, including pilots, navigators, and electronic warfare officers responsible for monitoring radar emissions.
While flying over Mississippi, the aircraft's electronic countermeasures equipment detected an unidentified signal unlike any known radar source. As the flight continued westward across Louisiana and Texas, crew members repeatedly tracked the source using onboard electronic intelligence receivers while several crew members also reported observing a brilliant bluish-white light outside the aircraft.
Ground radar stations independently tracked an unidentified target corresponding with the aircraft's position and observations. During portions of the encounter, the object appeared to maneuver intelligently, changing direction and speed while maintaining awareness of the aircraft's movements. On several occasions the object accelerated away before reappearing many miles ahead of the RB-47.
The encounter continued for approximately ninety minutes and involved simultaneous electronic intelligence detections, airborne visual observations, and ground radar tracking. Following the mission, the United States Air Force conducted an investigation through Project Blue Book. Although numerous conventional explanations were considered, the available evidence did not fully account for the combined electronic, radar, and visual observations.
Astronomer Dr. J. Allen Hynek later described the RB-47 encounter as one of the strongest military UFO cases investigated by Project Blue Book due to the extraordinary combination of independent sensor systems and experienced military observers. Today, the incident remains one of the most significant documented military UAP encounters in United States Air Force history.
| Date: | 1957-07-17 |
| Location: | Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma |
| Country: | United States |
| Category: | Military / Radar-Visual Encounter |
| Credibility: | Very High / Airborne ELINT, Ground Radar and Military Witnesses |