Lieutenant George F. Gorman

Fighter Pilot

George F. Gorman was a World War II veteran and North Dakota Air National Guard officer who piloted a P-51 Mustang during the famous "Gorman Dogfight" on October 1, 1948. While practicing night flights over Fargo, North Dakota, Gorman engaged a mysterious, high-speed white orb that outmaneuvered his fighter for 27 minutes, performing impossible vertical climbs and sharp turns that defied conventional aerodynamics.

The incident was witnessed by air traffic controllers and the pilot of a nearby Piper Cub, and was later investigated by Project Blue Book. Although the U.S. Air Force officially attributed the sighting to a weather balloon, Gorman remained unconvinced, stating he was "never convinced that he had been dueling with a lighted balloon." The encounter is cited by former Air Force UFO investigator Captain Edward J. Ruppelt as one of the three classic 1948 incidents that convinced military intelligence that UFOs were a real phenomenon.