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Clay Center, Kansas, USA, on July 6, 1947:

Case number:

ACUFO-1947-07-06-CLAYCENTER-1

Summary:

In the archives of the U.S. Air Force is a report of an observation dated July 6, 1947, collected from a witness on July 16, 1947. The witness was a military pilot, Major Archie B. Browning.

While flying at 13:45 in a B-25 bomber from Ogden, Utah, to Kansas City, Missouri, USA, approximately 100 miles west of Kansas City at an altitude of 10,000 feet, he noticed a very bright object down and to his left, about 10 miles from his aircraft.

His first impression was that it was the top of a water tank. He checked his aircraft’s position, which took about 5 seconds, then looked again to his left, and he then saw a round, disc-shaped, very bright silvery object that appeared to be flying 1 to 2 miles off his left wing, at the 11 o’clock position, at 11,000 feet altitude.

The brightness of the object was very intense. The object’s diameter was estimated between 30 and 50 feet. It was moving in the same direction and at the same speed of 210 miles per hour as the observer’s aircraft.

However, when the pilot began to turn toward the object, it completely disappeared. The weather conditions at the time of the sighting were "CAVU", a military term meaning perfect visibility.

Despite various public announcements in the press stating that the U.S. Air Force was investigating these widely reported phenomena at the time, it apparently did nothing regarding this observation, which was only mentioned again on January 5, 1949, in an internal letter from the "Sign" program, responsible for the collection, investigation, and interpretation of data related to unidentified flying object sightings, listing by case number sightings of unidentified flying objects considered to have "the highest probability of being balloons", including this one.

At the time of its new "Grudge" program, which succeeded "Sign", the Air Force had appointed astronomer Joseph Allen Hynek as a consultant; he was supposed to review past and future cases and find "astronomical explanations" (misidentifications of celestial bodies) where applicable.

Hynek wrote a brief case analysis based solely on the original 1947 report, noting that there was no astronomical explanation for this case. However, Hynek noted that since the object was approximately opposite the position of the sun at that time, he thought - though it was not proven - that the object could have been a direct reflection of the sun "on a continuous object - thin clouds, ice crystals, or something similar".

Hynek then made an error in interpreting the report, which led to his explanation: the pilot had said he "checked his position" for about 5 seconds, during which he obviously was not looking at the object. When he looked again, it was no longer below the aircraft but above it. Hynek, who was not an aviator, clearly understood "his position" as the position of the object, whereas the pilot had been checking the position of his aircraft. Because of this misunderstanding, Hynek believed there was a "contradiction" casting doubt on the report: the pilot would have seen the object below, but when he "checked its position", it would have been above. What the report actually indicates is quite different: the object had climbed.

Instead, Hynek concluded that the object had either been low or high, and that if it was high it could have been a reflection of the sun on a cloud "or something similar", and if it was low it could have been a reflection of the sun "glinting" off a railway track or a river.

The Air Force then listed the case evaluation as: "Astro (SUN REFLECTIONS)".

(Over the years, Dr. Hynek, initially completely skeptical and unmotivated, would completely change his opinion on UFOs and become one of the founders of civilian ufology in the United States.)

The case, in the form of summaries of the original 1947 report, entered ufological literature from 1977 onward, when the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) came into effect and microfilmed U.S. Air Force archives became accessible to researchers at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.

The complete official documents, including the Air Force’s explanations for this case that I present here, were compiled and made available online by researcher Dan Wilson for The NICAP Website in the 2000s.

Data:

Temporal data:

Geographical data:

Witnesses data:

Ufology data:

Classifications:

Sources:

[Ref. aaf1:] U.S. AIR FORCE - PROJECT SIGN ARCHIVE:

This letter by Project "Sign" indicates that as of January 5, 1949, this US Air Force Project missioned to investigate and explain UFO sighting reports estimated that this case (case 89) was among those cases having "the greatest possibility of being balloons:"

[Ref. aaf2:] U.S. AIR FORCE - PROJECT GRUDGE ARCHIVE:

The document below indicates that at the time when Project "Sign" had been replaced by Project "Grudge", their consultant the astronomer Dr. Joseph Allen Hynek ("Dr HINEK" in the document), who was hired as consultant so that he could determine which of the sighting reports had an astronomical explanation, put this case in the category 2.c., "Miscellaneous (reflections, auroral streamers, birds, etc.)":

[Ref. aaf3:] U.S. AIR FORCE - PROJECT BLUE BOOK ARCHIVE:

The document below, a list of July 1947 UFO sightings cases from the Air Force file, indicates that this case, July 6, "Clay Center, Kansas - Browning" had the evaluation: "Astro (SOLAR REFLECTIONS)".

[Ref. tbr1:] TED BLOECHER:

Ted Bloecher indicated that on July 6, 1946, Major Archie B. Browning, Army Air Corps B-25 pilot, was flying from Ogden, Utah to Kansas City when, at 1:45 p.m. CST, near Clay Center, Kansas, he and his crew saw a bright, round, silver-colored object flying off the left wing of the plane at an estimated ten miles away. Browning was flying at 10,000 feet at the time, and the object appeared to be at a somewhat lower altitude.

Browning described the object as "disc-shaped," about 30 to 50 feet in diameter, and flying in the same direction as the B-25, eastward, in straight, level flight.

Browning said it appeared to close in to several miles of the aircraft and when he turned the B-25 toward it for a closer look, the object accelerated and disappeared at a high rate of speed.

Bloecher explains that in the Air Force files, the sighting is explained by Dr. J. Allen Hynek as "astronomical;" which leaves Bloecher wondering "how it got this assignment" as it "seems to be as puzzling as the object itself, unless, perhaps, the position of the object "at nine o'clock" was somehow confused with the time of day."

[Ref. bme1:] BRUCE MACCABEE:

Bruce Maccabee noted that this case is found in the Project Blue Book listing ("Table of Contents") preserved in the U.S. National Archives.

[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN GROSS:

The source "12" is detailed as "Flying Saucer," Minnesota, Report of Special Agent M. B. Rhodes, 18 August 48. Blue Book File #162."

[Ref. dwn1:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:

French ufologist Dominique Weinstein compiled a catalog of the cases of UFOs observed from aircraft. This case appears in the February 2001 (6th edition) of this catalog as:

The sources "336/365 03" are referenced at the end of the catalog as:

[Ref. gvo1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":

[Ref. fre1:] FRANCIS RIDGE - THE NICAP WEBSITE:

[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:

[Ref. get1:] GEORGE M. EBERHART:

The sources are linked to [nip1], [tbr1], [bss1].

[Ref. bss1:] BRAD SPARKS:

Brad Sparks catalogued the case of July 6, 1947, at 1:45 p.m., at Clay Center, about 100 miles West of Kansas City): the Kansas AAF pilot Major A. B. Browning and his crew flying B-25 East to Kansas City saw a silvery circular object, 30 to 50 feet in diameter pacing the aircraft at a little lower altitude then shot off at high speed heading East at 11,000 feet at 210 mph.

He indicates the sources as his contribution to "Project 1947"; FOIA documents, and Bloecher 1967.

[Ref. wia1:] "WIKIPEDIA" (EN):

The source "77:20" is described as "National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (1997). Hall, Richard (ed.). The UFO evidence. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 0-7607-0627-1. OCLC 39544334."

Aircraft information:

The North American B-25 “Mitchell” (photo below) was a high-performance medium bomber, used during WWII in Europe and the Pacific by the U.S. Army Air Forces.

Its crew was normally 8 men, its range was 2,170 km, its defensive armament was, depending on the versions, from 2 to 18 12.7 mm caliber machine guns.

The minimum crew to fly a B-25 safely is 2 pilots, the full operational crew is usually 4–6 people, minus 2-3 gunners in peace time.

It is therefore quite likely that there were at least two witnesses, if not more.

The standard USAAF B-25 "Mitchell" bomber did not normally carry airborne radar. Exception existed but only in the US Marines corps and some tests projects.

Discussion:

The B-25 flight was from Ogden, Utah, to Kansas City, Missouri, a route of approximately 1,400 kilometers as the crow flies. The report indicates that the sighting took place about 100 miles west of Kansas City, placing it over Clay Center, Kansas.

About the witness:

Archie Basil Browning (photo above) was born in Annis, Idaho on September 23, 1919. He graduating from the University of Idaho Southern Branch, then joined the Army Air Corp as a cadet. He received his wings at Luke Field, Phoenix, Arizona, February 5, 1942. He received extensive training as a B-17 and B-24 bomber pilot at Geiger Field, Spokane, Washington. In September 1942, he flew to Australia as flight commander of a B-24 crew. While in the South Pacific, he flew 44 combat missions. His plane was shot up and badly damaged on several of the missions.

One experience as told in the Flying Buccaneers by Doubleday, had a direct effect on the outcome of the war. In March, 1943, his crew spotted and helped destroy a 22 ship Japanese convoy en route to Australia. During the encounter, he lost his navigator and gunman, but was instructed by the 5th bomber command to stay in the target area, report convoy movements and assist the 1st B-17's to the target. Eventually, most of the convoy was destroyed.

He returned to the states in late 1943 with several medals including the Air Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross. His squadron, one of the first to go overseas during World War II had a casualty rate of nearly 90%.

The context:

A good read about this topic is chapter II of Capt. Edward Ruppelt's book.

An interesting bit is:

The sighting:

I explained in the Summary that a misinterpretation of the report led to a highly questionable evaluation of this case by the U.S. Air Force.

How could one believe for a second that, after mistaking an ordinary reflection on a river or a railroad track for something unusual, an experienced pilot would have taken his eyes off it for 5 seconds, and then seen another thing that he would again have considered out of the ordinary, this time in the sky?

It should also be noted that while the object, at first, when it was lower than the aircraft, was estimated to be 10 miles away, when it was higher than the aircraft it was 1 to 2 miles off the left wing, under excellent visibility conditions.

And this would have been a cloud, or ice crystals, or "something else," "reflecting the sun"? The aircraft was flying at 210 miles per hour, and the thing was flying at the same speed, the pilot tells us. At the aircraft's speed, if this thing had been a cloud, a balloon, or "something else," they would have overtaken it very quickly at that distance. And if the distance was greater, then the thing was correspondingly larger.

The idea that the "sun reflection" would have disappeared because the aircraft was then turned toward that reflection does not hold up. A balloon or a cloud would reflect sunlight in the same way from the side as from the front because these are not flat bodies, like mirrors, producing a unidirectional reflection. And one must also accept the notion that a cloud or ice crystals in sunlight "reflect" the sun, whereas sunlight would merely illuminate them. Yet the pilot stated that the brightness of the object was very intense ("The brightness of the object was very intense").

This would have required a silvered, reflective Mylar balloon; but none existed in 1947. Balloons were made of latex or neoprene, white or light gray or beige, and matte. They did not reflect sunlight. The sun could only illuminate them normally. And one would also have to assume that Major Browning had no knowledge whatsoever of the existence of balloons. An ordinary reflection on a river, yes; a reflection on a cloud, balloon, or ice crystals that disappears and is described as "very bright," no.

Evaluation:

Sources references:

* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.

• [aaf1] * Report of 16 July 1947, on witness interview by the FBI and Project Sign letter in the US Army Air Forces archive, National Archive and Records Administration (NARA), Washington D.C. USA
• [aaf2] * Evaluation of the sighting by Dr. J. Allen Hynek for Project "Sign" or "Grudge", in the archive of the US Air Force, National Archive and Records Administration (NARA), Washington D.C. USA
• [aaf3] * List of July 1947 UFO sightings in the archive of Project Blue Book of the US Air Force, National Archive and Records Administration (NARA), Washington D.C. USA
• [tbr1] * "Report on the UFO Wave of 1947", compiled by Ted Bloecher, USA, 1967, updated 2005 by NICAP.
• [bme1] * 1947 sightings list in "UFO Related Information from the FBI Files: Part 3", article by Bruce S. Maccabee, MUFON State Director for Maryland, in the ufology bulletin MUFON UFO Journal, Mutual UFO Network, USA, No. 121, page 13, December 1977.
• [bme2] ? "UFO Information from the FBI Files," article by Bruce Maccabee, Ph.D., in the ufology magazine The UFO Investigator, NICAP, Part II, page 2, December 1977.
• [lgs1] * "UFOS: a History - Vol. 1: July 1947 - December 1948", monograph by Loren E. Gross, USA, self-published, page 5, 1980.
• [cuf1] ? "The Roswell Report: A Historical Perspective", book by George M. Eberhart, Kevin D. Randle and Donald Schmitt, J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS), USA, 1991.
• [prt1] ? Project 1947 Reports, newsclippings and documents, by Jan Aldrich and Barry Greenwood, USA, circa 1995.
• [dwn1] * "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena - Eighty years of pilot sightings - Catalog of Military, Airliner, Private Pilots' Sightings from 1916 to 2000", catalog compiled by Dominique F. Weinstein, NARCAP International Technical Advisor, France, 6th edition, February 2001.
• [gvo1] * "Chronologie OVNI", electronic catalogue compiled by Godelieve Van Overmeire, Belgium, circa 2002.
• [nip1] * Case file in the NICAP Website, USA, Francis Ridge coordinateor, USA, circa 2010, at https://www.nicap.org/470706claycntr_dir.htm
• [fre1] * "The 1947 UFO Sighting Wave - A Comprehensive Chronological Summary of the Period", chronology compiled by Francis Ridge, NICAP Website Site Coordinator, USA, created December 14, 2005, updated November 12, 2018, at https://www.nicap.org/chronos/1947fullrep.htm
• [tai1] * "1947: July UFO-UAP & Alien Sightings Archive", web page of the UFO website Think About It, USA, 2026, at https://www.thinkaboutitdocs.com/1947-july-ufo-alien-sightings
• [get1] * "UFOs and Intelligence: A Timeline", electronic document by George M. Eberhart, May 31, 2022.
• [bbs1] * "Comprehensive Catalog of 2,200 Project Blue Book UFO Unknowns: Database Catalog (Not Yet a Best Evidence List)", compiled by Brad Sparks 2001-2026, Version 1.35, February 3, 2026, page 21, at https://www.nicap.org/bb/BB_Unknowns.pdf
• [wia1] * "Table of reports during the 1947 flying disc craze", list on the Wikipedia (EN), as of 2026, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_reports_during_the_1947_flying_disc_craze

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This page was last updated on June 7, 2026.