Dept. of DefenseUnresolvedAmbiguous
Yellowish-white sphere oscillating and heading east — Muroc AAF (Incident #3)
Jul 7, 1947Muroc Army Air Field, Muroc, California11,000 ft
Analysis — our summary
On July 7, 1947 at approximately 1010, Major J.C. Wise (Test Pilot) observed from the ground at Muroc AAF an object off to the north at 10,000-12,000 ft altitude. The object was initially assumed to be a weather balloon, but was observed oscillating in a forward whirling movement without losing altitude, traveling at 200-225 mph heading west to east. It was yellowish-white in color and estimated to be a sphere about 5-10 feet in diameter.
As reported — verbatim from the document
“Off to the north about 10,000 to 12,000 feet altitude, was an object that I assumed at first to be a weather balloon, but after looking at it for a while I noticed that it was oscillating in a forward whirling movement without losing altitude. It was traveling about 200 to 225 MPH, and heading from west to east.”
Analyst notes — caveats & confidence
Observer is a test pilot — aviation-experienced witness. Initial balloon hypothesis rejected due to oscillating forward movement. Single witness.
Provenance
Source document38_143685_box7_Incident_Summaries_1-100.pdf
Document typeincident summary collection
Reporting agencyDept. of Defense
Source pages209
DeclassifiedFirst public at this release (2026)
Held classified~79 years (≥, to this release)
Extraction confidence ModerateHow cleanly this record could be parsed from the source — driven by legibility & redaction. It is not a measure of how credible or anomalous the sighting is.