August 5–6, 1953 — Rapid City, SD
Around 8:00 p.m. Ground Observer Corps observer Phyllis Killian spots a UFO in Black Hawk, South Dakota. Soon after, radar at Ellsworth AFB near Rapid City tracks a “well-defined, solid, and bright” object. The base scrambles an F-84 and the pilot sees the UFO. Many witnesses see the object accelerate and climb. The F-84 pursues but can reach no closer than 3 miles. Now low on fuel, the F-84 returns, followed by the UFO. Immediately, another F-84 is sent up. Before long, the pilot receives strong radar returns of a target right in front of him. Fear prevails and he breaks off the chase. The UFO goes off the scope, traveling northeast. Reports soon come from Brunswick of a fast-moving, bright blue object, similar to the Rapid City object. It hovers near an air filter center, performing more maneuvers and disappearing after midnight. Before it leaves, three more UFOs are seen at 10,000 feet for three hours. Ruppelt personally investigates and calls it “the best” in the USAF files, Hynek writes that the “entire incident…has too much of an Alice-in-Wonderland flavor for comfort.” Menzel blames the star Capella. The official file is several hundred pages long. [Eberhart]
Record Card:
Map:
Plot Map:
Radar Scope:
BB Summary:
Timeline:
Ruppelt Trip Report:
Letter Howell Bennett to J Allen Hynek:
Sources:
NICAP, “The Rapid City / Ellsworth AFB Incident (RV)”;
Brad Sparks, Blue Books Unknowns Catalogue, Case 984, p. 209;
Edward J. Ruppelt, “What Our Air Force Found Out about Flying Saucers,” True, May 1954, pp. 19–20;
Edward Ruppelt, The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, pp. 232–235;
Edward Condon, Final report of the scientific study of unidentified flying objects conducted by the University of Colorado, pp. 132–136;
Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1953, August–December, The Author, 1990, pp. 2–3;
Michael Swords and Robert Powell, UFOs and Government, p. 215;
Jan Aldrich;
Patrick Gross, “The Ellsworth AFB Radar Multiple Visual Case, 1953”;
Powell, Linda. Against the Odds: Major Donald E. Keyhoe and His Battle to End UFO Secrecy. Anomalist Press, 2023, p. 137;
