Three UFO Radar Cases
Historical Case Studies: Three UFO Radar Cases _______________________________________ Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan. March 9, 1950 p. 1 Bentwaters-Lakenheath RAF, Suffolk, UK. August 13-14, 1956 p. 5 Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. October 24, 1968 p. 16 Thomas Tulien Sign Oral History Project 2018 Sign Oral History Project SELFRIDGE AIR FORCE BASE RADAR CASE March 9, 1950 On the evening of March 9, 1950, at Selfridge Air Force Base near Mount Clemens, Michigan, a crew of three radar controllers was busy monitoring the night flying units of the 56th Fighter-Interceptor Group at Selfridge Air Force Base. Shortly after sundown, Lt. Francis E. Parker arrived for duty in the radar station, relieving Lt. Frank Mattson on the AN/CPS-5 radarscope while establishing contact with the F-80 Shooting Star pilots that were already airborne. The crew, including Mattson, Sgt. McCarthy, and Cpl. Melton, mentioned to Parker that they had been observing an intermittent target on the height range indicator (HRI) scope of the AN/CPS-4 radar at 45,000 feet altitude and over. At this time, the target was not visible on either radarscope, and since the highest assigned altitude of the F-80s was limited to 24,000 feet, Parker attributed the reports to radio-frequency interference or crew inexperience. But over the next fifteen minutes the crew repeatedly reported a target rapidly changing altitudes on the HRI scope. Eventually, Parker was able to break from monitoring the F-80s long enough to observe the target, which presented “a very narrow and clear-cut presentation on the HRI scope” at 47,000 feet with a range of 70 miles.
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