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1957 · Over Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma (from Gulfport to Oklahoma)

The RB-47 radar-visual case (1957)

On the record
Strength B · 8/10
Evidence 3/4 · Witnesses 3/3 · Backing 2/3

Visual from the crew, ground radar and airborne ECM in one event, written up by the Condon study; the original data were taken by intelligence.

Plausibility Very high
Score 18 · 11 factors for, 0 against

A multi-sensor military case with a named crew, written up by the Air Force's own scientific study; data taken on landing fits secrecy.

See the factors ↓

Unexplained
An RB-47 paced through the night by a light 'as big as a barn', as the crew describes it (July 1957). · Illustration for uaptrail.com
When17 July 1957 (the Condon report gives 19 September 1957)
WhereOver Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma (from Gulfport to Oklahoma)

In 1957 (17 July in later research; the Condon report and Gerb give 19 September) a USAF RB-47 reconnaissance crew on a training flight over the Gulf states was paced for more than 600 miles by a light the pilot, Maj. Lewis D. Chase, described as "as big as a barn". The object was seen by the crew, tracked by ground radar and picked up by the aircraft's electronic countermeasures gear at 2,800 MHz. The Condon report lists it as case 5, and intelligence personnel took the ECM and radar data on landing. It is not the June 1955 RB-47 sightings over the Canadian Arctic, which are a separate record.

How plausible · Very high

A multi-sensor military case with a named crew, written up by the Air Force's own scientific study; data taken on landing fits secrecy.

  • ●●
    Access SAC aircrew and ECM operators, plus ground radar.
  • ●●
    No gain sought Nothing to gain.
  • ●●
    Consistent over time Visual, ground radar and ECM agree.
  • ●●
    Character record SAC reconnaissance crew.
  • ●●
    Independent convergence Three independent sensor channels and several crew.
  • ●●
    Checkable details check out Condon case 5 and the Blue Book file exist.

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 2026-10-24.

On the record

  • Condon report case 5.
  • The Blue Book file for 19 September 1957.Blue Book

Claims

A light "as big as a barn" crossed in front of the RB-47 "at a velocity far higher than airplane speeds" and paced it for over 600 mi.The 1950s Del Rio, Texas UFO CrashesfirsthandOn the recordMaj. Lewis D. Chase (pilot), Condon report case 5
The ECM reconnaissance gear registered a strong signal at 2,800 MHz from the object, and ground radar tracked it.firsthandOn the recordCondon report case 5
Intelligence personnel took the ECM and radar data on landing.The 1950s Del Rio, Texas UFO CrashesfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedCondon report case 5, per Gerb
The RB-47 came from Carswell AFB, like Willingham's 1955 flight.Del Rio 1955The 1950s Del Rio, Texas UFO CrashesanalysisLeadUAP Gerb (Sam)

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…

Connected cases

Blue Book 1959RB-47 crews: unidentified aircraft over the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (1-8 June 1955) 1955Del Rio 1955 1955

Sources

Mentioned on (1)

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