It is possible that the object was a Skyhook balloon, but the case has certain features which leave one wondering. Years after Ruppelt left the air force, Blue Book files indicated there were still no Skyhook plots available, although by then such plots should have long since been declassified.
Clifford Stone, a twenty-year U.S. Army veteran, has informed me that a navy colleague of his checked the Office of Naval Research for Skyhook balloon plots. The man said that ONR records indicated there was definitely no launch of a Skyhook balloon from at least January 6 to January 8, 1948, but also that probably none had been launched since late December 1947. No reason was given for the lack of precision in this matter. If true, however, it throws doubt on a likely Skyhook launch of January 7. Of course, the matter cannot be settled until someone publishes the actual records.
It is also intriguing or coincidental that one of the other UFO sightings of January 7, 1948 came from none other than Clinton Army Air Field, where Skyhook balloons were launched. From 7:20 P.M. to 7:55 P.M., base personnel with field glasses studied an object that initially looked like an aircraft in trouble. It “seemed to be pretty high in the air,” appeared to change color from white to red, to hover and then move “with great speed.” During rapid descents, it appeared in the form of a cone or upside-down triangle. When it climbed, it seemed to turn itself right side up. A “green mist” was seen following the object, which headed southwest rapidly and disappeared at about 7:55 p.m. It so happened that Venus did set in the southwest that evening at about that time, and the air force therefore concluded that this had caused the confusion. Seen through the Earth’s lower atmosphere, Venus can create odd illusory effects. Moreover, while all of the personnel explicitly stated that the object was too bright to be a star, none of them mentioned the possibility of Venus in their report, or seemed aware of its presence. Still, the heading of Venus (245 degrees) was not exactly where the personnel placed the object (210 degrees). The precision with which base personnel noted the object’s location and behavior leave just enough doubt that some other explanation might be the answer. One thing seems clear: it was not a Skyhook balloon. If nothing else, the sighting shows how complex analyzing a typical UFO report can be.2
During February and March, there was talk within Air Material Command about authorizing a comprehensive plan to intercept UFOs. Indeed, Col. Howard M. McCoy, chief of intelligence for AMC, sent a proposal to Air Force Headquarters to station fighter aircraft at all bases on a continuous alert status for just this purpose. The proposal was rejected on March 3 as not feasible. In the first place, said Headquarters, the outlay of aircraft and personnel would be too great. Second, proper interception was not considered possible, “except by accident,” without complete radar coverage, which was beyond the capability of the air force. Finally, Headquarters doubted the ability of air force pilots to follow up effectively from the many civilian reports that would be expected from such a scenario.3
On March 17 and 18, the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board met at the Pentagon for briefing and conference. Colonel McCoy was present and spoke briefly on the subject of UFOs:
This can’t be laughed off. We have over three hundred reports which haven’t been publicized in the papers from very competent personnel, in many instances. ... We are running down every report. I can’t even tell you how much we would give to have one of those crash in an area so that we could recover whatever they are.4
McCoy’s statement contains two main points of interest. First, that the subject of UFOs was serious, despite public statements to the contrary. There can be no question that McCoy was speaking the truth in this matter. Second, that no crash debris had been recovered. An interesting statement, especially considering that it was at Wright Field where alien bodies were supposedly kept, according to some defenders of the crashed disc theory. As chief of intelligence at Wright Field, McCoy would seem to be in a position to know whether or not such notions were true. Recall Gen. Arthur Exon’s statements that rumors of alien bodies circulated throughout Wright Field immediately following the Roswell crash. All one can say is that McCoy told members at this meeting that nothing had been found. The statement may or may not have been truthful, and may or may not have been based on good information. We simply do not know.
