OtherUnresolvedAmbiguous
Long narrow high-speed object observed — near Moscow, August 1948
Aug 3, 1948Approximately 25 km NW of Moscow, USSR (approx.)
Analysis — our summary
An American newspaper correspondent approximately 25 km northwest of Moscow observed a long, narrow, high-speed object shining brightly in reflected sunlight on August 3, 1948. The object was traveling at high altitude from southwest to northeast and resembled an airship, but moved at a speed far exceeding any known airship. No technical measurements were recorded.
As reported — verbatim from the document
“Long, narrow, shining object moving SW to NE at high altitude and high speed, approximately 25 km NW of Moscow, resembled an airship but speed was too fast for any known airship.”
Analyst notes — caveats & confidence
Single witness (American correspondent), no technical measurements. Object described as resembling an airship but at anomalous speed. OCR quality poor. Date is from document text; location is approximate centroid ~25 km NW of Moscow city center.
Provenance
Source document38_143685_box7_Incident_Summaries_101-172.pdf
Document typeincident summary compilation
Reporting agencyOther
Source pages178
DeclassifiedFirst public at this release (2026)
Held classified~78 years (≥, to this release)
Extraction confidence LowHow 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.