1948 · Near Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan
Fukuoka: an F-61 night fighter and the 'rifle bullet'
Part ofOrdered to fire
Crew sketch from the Project Blue Book file: 'Unidentified target as observed by pilot', 15 Oct 1948, 2305. A teardrop body 'approximately the same as conventional fighter-type aircraft' in length, with no discernible wings, tail surfaces, canopy or power section. Microfilm copy, poor legibility; header name blacked out in the released file. · U.S. Air Force, Project Blue Book (Maxwell AFB microfilm, roll 4, frame 395), via the NICAP compilation of the case file
When15 October 1948, 23:05
WhereNear Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan
Backing2 independent
Evidenceofficial records
On the night of 15 October 1948 a U.S. F-61 Black Widow near Fukuoka got six radar contacts on a target that sped up to about 1,200 mph each time the fighter closed. In the moonlight the crew saw a bullet-shaped object 20–30 ft long with no exhaust. Project Blue Book carries it as 'Unknown'.
Evidence, in date order (2)
- Oct 1948Far East Air Forcesofficialintelligence report and follow-up (they conflict on altitude and distance)
- Project Blue Bookofficialcase 218, evaluated 'Unknown' Blue Book 218
How plausible · High
A trained night-fighter crew had six radar contacts plus a visual on a bullet-shaped object, logged by Blue Book as Unknown.
- ●●Access Pilot and radar operator.
- ●●No gain sought Official report.
- ●●Character record USAF crew.
- ●●Independent convergence Radar and visual; ground radars.
- ●●Checkable details check out FEAF report; Blue Book.
- ●●Physical traces or official reaction Airborne radar.
Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.
Claims
Six airborne-radar contacts at about 5,000–6,000 ft; the target accelerated to about 1,200 mph on each approach. In moonlight a 'rifle bullet'-shaped object 20–30 ft long with no exhaust.firsthandOn the recordF-61 pilot and radar observer, FEAF intelligence report (via Blue Book)
Ground radars at Shigamo-Shima and Fukae-Shima tracked the F-61 intermittently.firsthandOn the recordFEAF report
Where
Near Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan
36.0°N 138.0°E · region only
In The picture
On the recordThe firmest layer is the one trained observers and instruments wrote down. Belgian gendarmes watched silent lit triangles in 1989-90 and ground radars tracked the wave; the Air Force sent F-16s and released its own data, though a radar study it released in 2025 puts the fighters' lock-ons down to their tracking softw…