July 22–23, 1952 — MacDill AFB, Tampa, FL
10:30 p.m. An air traffic control tower operator at MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida, watches for 30 minutes a red-greenish-blue object to the west-southwest at about 45° elevation with 2 other objects to the north of it, smaller and lower in elevation. He sights another object to the south-southeast about 30° elevation at 11:30 p.m. MacDill radar tracks an object at 12:03 a.m. 37 miles away at 41,200 feet altitude heading almost directly toward the base at 532 mph. It also tracks an object to the south-southeast at an altitude of 41,000 feet (reportedly Navy and CAA radars also track the object). At 12:08 a.m., the pilot and copilot of a B-29 bomber on landing approach are vectored by MacDill tower operator to investigate the UFO. They see a high-speed object at 40,000 feet heading towards MacDill and traveling faster than the B-29. The B-29 fire control radar locks onto the object and prepares to fire just as the UFO changes course and disappears at 4,600 mph. Four airmen at the MacDill radar site see an object as it passes nearly overhead. MacDill radar loses the object at about 12:15 a.m. Civilians in Tampa also see two yellowish-orange discs maneuvering around the air base. [Eberhart] There are two other blue book cases for Orlando, FL at 1030pm that match the description as the MacDill AFB case.
Telex:
Sources:
“MacDill Mum On Saucers Spotted Here,” Tampa (Fla.) Daily Times, July 23, 1952, p. 1;
Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1952 July 21st–31st, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, pp. 16-18;
Brad Sparks, Blue Book Unknowns Catalogue, Case 709, p. 156;
