Plevna, 1948: vendedor na estrada de Montana acompanha luz silenciosa por vinte minutos

RESTRICTED | CHECK-LIST - UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS | Incident #130 | 1. Date: 17th May 1948 | 2. Time: Night | 3. Location: Between Plevna and Miles City, Montana | 4. Name of observer: W. A. Bonneville | 5. Occupation of observer: Territory Mgr., B. F. Goodrich Company | 6. Address of observer: [address omitted] Bismark, N. D. | 7. Place of observation: Ground, Route #212, West of Plevna, traveling west | 8. Number of objects: One | 9. Distance of object from observer: At closest point, approx. 2500 feet | 10. Time in sight: Some twenty minutes | 11. Altitude: N/S | 12. Speed: Twice the speed of the Northwest Airlines planes | 13. Direction of flight: West, slightly south, then west | 14. Tactics: Performed arc | 15. Sound: None | 16. Size: Fairly large compared with an aircraft | 17. Color: White - (might have had slight bluish-white tinge) | 18. Shape: Ball | 19. Odor detected: N/S | 20. Apparent construction: N/S - but apparently meteor-like | 21. Exhaust trails: A long bright light shooting from under it | 22. Weather conditions: Moonlight, but cloudy | 23. Effect on clouds: N/S | 24. Sketches or photographs: None - Map forwarded showing location of object | 25. Manner of disappearance: Flew in a dark cloud bank | 26. Remarks: See Supplement

RESTRICTED | THE B. F. GOODRICH COMPANY, Minneapolis 3, Minnesota | [address omitted] Bismark, N. D. 5-23-48 | United States Army - Intelligence Div., Washington, D. C. | Gentlemen:- On the night of May 17th at about 11:30 PM driving from Baker, Montana to Miles City Montana on U.S. Highway #12 just West of Plevna, Montana before getting to the hills I noticed a very bright object in the sky to the North-west. The sky was overcast in the West but to the South the moon could be seen at times - with a broken sky. Having traveled this same route for many years - about 15, I am pretty well used to open prairie road at night and can tell a star from an unusual object when I see it. Northwest Airlines travel a Western route just North of this route also, but I stopped at the Powder River Bridge where the road dips considerably down from a high ridge - cut off my car motor and watched this object as it sailed around in the sky - which at times close and others seemed to speed away into the heavy cloud bank to the West and then later reappearing, at a very bright white light at what I would judge about not more than several miles away or closer. I carry a pair of field glasses with me, and after stopping the car engine watched this thing through my glasses, which seemed to appear as a small object with a long very bright light shooting from the under part of it. Because of the speed of the object and the darkness it was very difficult to make out what it might be, but I am sure that if I had had a more powerful glass I might have made it out. I am perfectly sincere and do not drink so the foregoing is absolutely the truth. With some of this newspaper fun about flying saucers etc, this had all of the appearance of just that - and in stopping the car if this had been an aeroplane I would certainly have been able to hear the motors. I stopped at a service station just before getting to the Powder River Bridge but they had all gone to bed so did not have anyone along with me to witness the object as it flew through the air. It stayed around this area for about 20 minutes and then flew off through the heavy cloud bank to the West. I am enclosing a map showing the location of the foregoing. Yours very truly, The B. F. Goodrich Company /s/ Wm. Bonneville, Territory Manager | COPY

The B. F. Goodrich Company, 1653 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota | RESTRICTED | [address omitted] Bismarck, N. Dakota, June 18, 1948 | Col W. R. Clingerman, U. S. Army Air Forces, Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio | Refer - MCIAXO-3 | Dear Sir: - In reply to your letter of June 15th in which there are several questions which you desire answered to the best of my ability - with reference to the object which I saw flying through the air between Plevna and Miles City Montana on the night of May 17th, I will answer them and give you a graphic description again with a little more elaboration than my previous letter - if that is possible. Question: - Did the entire object appear to be glowing, or did it give the effect of carrying lights. Answer: This thing seemed to be a ball of bright white light - and I could not make out if it was being carried or just what made it go - however, it did disturb me quite a little because after stopping to view it at the Powder River Bridge I could not hear motors humming such as an aircraft in these parts might have, and I therefore tried to find out just what it was by the use of my field glasses. (b) Question: - An estimate of the size of the object in comparison with some other known object. Answer - the size of the light which was very brilliant would indicate that it was fairly large compared with aircraft - and I would say that this exceedingly bright light which was one light and not several was as bright as the headlight on a locomotive, only about three times that bright and without direction. By this I mean that this light simply glowed very bright and was not a directed light. (c) Question: - An estimate of the speed of the object in comparison with the jet type or conventional aircraft. Answer: This object flew at about twice the speed of any aircraft that Northwest Airlines planes fly - because it would appear coming thro where I was traveling west on Highway #212 or #12 as we call it out here appearing only faintly first and then growing larger as it approached over the hills north of the highway - until it seemed to hang there off in the northwest of me brightly and then would turn south toward the highway where it became real bright and then would start back West again and fly out of sight. This thing did this several times - which actually got my goat - if I may put it that way. (d) Question: Did the object appear to be circling at random or did it follow a definite flight pattern. Answer: As I have explained before - the object appeared first when

RESTRICTED | the West - then turning slightly South and turning in a big swing and then heading West again - flying out of sight into the dark black cloud bank out of sight - then reappearing, and it did this several times. (e) Question: - Is it possible that its disappearance into a "heavy cloud bank" might have been caused by clouds obscuring reflected moonlight from a highly polished surface. Answer: - No - I have seen aircraft many times on moonlight nights - but this was not anything like that - this thing glowed brightly white light such as any real white brilliant light might. The moon was not bright enough to reflect polished light unless the craft might have been South of me in the direct light of the moon - which showed (the moon) from time to time through the clouds. This object was in the black section of the sky over to the North of me and slightly west, and was a steady oncoming light growing brighter as it came, and had the appearance of something carrying this light in the air - but without sound, and it certainly was close enough to me to have heard motors. I thought it might have been some kind of a jet aircraft that I perhaps had never seen - because we as civilians know very little as to what might be going on in defense or experimental mechanics however I felt it my duty to report the thing regardless as to what it might have been. This was somewhat difficult for me to do because of the crackpot stories making the rounds in some sections about flying saucers etc., but for the life of me this had all the ear marks of just that kind of a deal. I have traveled this road about which I have related this sighting many many times and at night Winter and Summer - and have never before in my life seen anything like this - so naturally I was somewhat alarmed about it, and have steadfastly kept the whole thing to myself. I will certainly be on the lookout for the damned thing the next trip I make through this same area which is generally after dark - because most of the time I work from Lemmon South Dakota or Hettinger North Dakota along this highway to Miles City which is about one days work with my Dealers. In times like these I feel as before stated anything of this nature which we are not familiar with we are duty bound to report to our Defense Forces who may be better equipped to understand the unfamiliar than we are. Yours very truly, W.A. BONNEVILLE - Territory Mgr for the B. F. Goodrich Company | WAB