May 31, 1952 — Cheorwon, South Korea
About 4:00 a.m. Over a ground radar site near Cheorwon, South Korea, several US soldiers see a bright UFO that looks like a falling star, except that it stops falling and begins to climb again. It then moves northeast at 150 mph, reverses course twice, moves in jerky motions, turns seemingly simultaneously, then climbs at a 45° angle and disappears from sight within 3–4 seconds. One guard hears a pulsating sound. An F-94 attempts to intercept the brilliant white object, which takes clearly evasive maneuvers with superior speed, maneuverability, and climbing ability. It pulls away at 30,000 feet. The object is tracked on the F-94’s airborne radar.[Eberhart]
Air Intelligence Reports (AF-112):
Lighted Balloon Explanation:
Sources:
Brad Sparks, Blue Book Unknowns Catalogue, Case 601, p. 136;
Richard Haines, ADVANCED AERIAL DEVICES reported DURING THE KOREAN WAR, pp. 63–64;
“Aircraft / UFO encounters file, Military, Airline and Private Pilot UFO sightings from 1942 to 1996” catalog by Dominique Weinstein, 1997;
J Allen Hynek, The Hynek UFO Report, pp. 87–90;
Robert Powell, UFOs: A Scientist Explains What We Know (And Don’t Know), 2024, pp. 65–66;
NICAP, “Jerky Object Observed and Tracked on Radar”;
Patrick Gross, “UFO US Military Reports, Korea, 1952”