Cooks Springs, Alabama, USA, on July 8, 1947:
ACUFO-1947-07-08-COOKSPRINGS-1
In his 1967 book "Report on the UFO Wave of 1947", US ufologist Ted Bloecher indicated that a pilot who declined to make his name public told the Birmingham newspapers on the 8th of July 1947 that he had seen an object during a flight and wanted to know whether there had been any other reports of "flying saucers" at the time.
The pilot said he took his plane for an early morning flight, and at 7:05 a.m. CST had seen the object as he flew over Cooks Springs, because a bright reflection ahead of him, "like that from a mirror held against the sun", caught his attention.
The pilot changed his course, believing he had gotten "on the beam" of an approaching plane, but none appeared. Then, in the direction of the source of the flash, he saw, silhouetted against the mountains, a "round object about the size of an automobile wheel."
He tried to catch up with it, but the object was too fast for his plane. The object diminished to "about a foot in diameter and then disappeared into the haze."
The pilot said he spent 30 or 40 minutes searching the area around Highway 78, ten miles east of Leeds, over which the object had first been seen, looking for a water tank or something else that might have caused the bright reflection, but he found nothing. A later check with the airport control tower at Birmingham revealed that no other planes had been in the air in the area at that time.
Later ufology sources indicated that it had been published in the newspaper Birmingham News, of Birmingham, Alabama, on page 1 for July 8, 1947.
| Date: | July 8, 1947 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 07:05 a.m. |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | July 8, 1947 |
| Reporting delay: | Hours. |
| Country: | USA |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | Alabama |
| City or place: | 10 miles East of Leeds |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Reporting channel: | The Press. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | Day. |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | Yes. |
| UFO action: | Flies away. |
| Witnesses action: | Observed, tried to approach, searched in vain. |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | Puzzled. |
| Witnesses interpretation: | Flying saucer. |
| Sensors: |
[X] Visual: 1.
[ ] Airborne radar: N/A. [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages: |
|---|---|
| Hynek: | DD |
| Armed / unarmed: | Unarmed. |
| Reliability 1-3: | 2 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 2 |
| ACUFO: | Insufficient data. |
[Ref. tbr1:] TED BLOECHER:
Ted Bloecher indicated that a pilot who declined to make his name public told the Birmingham papers on the 8th of July 1947 that he had seen an object during a flight and wanted to know whether there had been any other reports of "flying saucers" at the time.
The pilot said he took his plane for an early morning flight, and at 7:05 a.m. CST had seen the object as he flew over Cook Springs, because a bright reflection ahead of him, "like that from a mirror held against the sun", caught his attention.
The pilot changed his course, believing he had gotten "on the beam" of an approaching plane, but none appeared. Then, in the direction of the source of the flash, he saw, silhouetted against the mountains, a "round object about the size of an automobile wheel."
He tried to catch up with it but the speed of the object was too great for his plane. The object diminished to "about a foot in diameter and then disappeared into the haze."
The pilot said he spent 30 or 40 minutes searching the area around Highway 78, ten miles east of Leeds, over which the object had first been seen, looking for a water tank or something else that might have caused the bright reflection, but he found nothing. A later check with the airport control tower at Birmingham revealed that no other planes had been in the air in the area at that time.
[Ref. mhc1:] MICHAEL D. HALL AND WENDY CONNORS:
These authors indicate that on Tuesday 8 July 1947, at around 7:05 a.m. CST, a private pilot viewed a very strange sight from his small aircraft while over Cook Springs, Alabama. Silhouetted against a nearby mountain, he noted a circular object with a mirror-like finish. The pilot attempted to close in, but its speed was so great, it soon flew out of sight.
The authors indicate that the source is: "Birmingham, Alabama, News, 8 July 1947, p. 1"
[Ref. jah1:] JAN ALDRICH:
D - 07.08 - 0705 hours, USA, Cook Spring, Alabama.
(PJ47 page 95)
"D" means "New details for cases already in the ACUFOE Catalogue".
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH:
1035: 1947/07/08 07:10 2 86:25:00 W 33:35:00 N 3333 NAM USA ALB 7:6
COOK SPRINGS,AL:1/Pvt.PLANE:FLASH:1M SCR SEEN AGAINST MTN:LOST/HAZE:/r187#702
Ref#171 ALDRICH, Jan: PROJECT 1947 (research) Page No. 95: IN-FLIGHT
[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 his catalog as:
| DATE | 47.07.08 |
|---|---|
| TIME | 07:05 |
| COUNTRY | USA |
| PLACE | Cook Springs, Alabama |
| P | |
| TYPE OF PLANE AND WITNESSES | pilot |
| UFO DESCRIPTION | a round object, size of a car wheels, diminished in size and disappeared |
| Radar | |
| G | |
| X | |
| E | |
| SOURCES | 365 |
The source "365" is referenced at the end of the catalog as:
report on the UFO wave of 1947, Ted Bloecher
[Ref. gvo1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
1947, July 8
USA, Cook Springs (Alabama)
At 7:05 a.m., a private pilot observed something strange while flying over Cook Springs: a circular object with a mirror-like polish silhouetted against the mountains. He attempted to get closer, but the UFO’s speed was so great that it quickly disappeared. ("UFOs: A Century of Sightings" by Michael David Hall, Galde Press Inc. 1999, p. 57)
OTHER VERSION: He observed a round object about the size of a wagon wheel; it decreased in size and then disappeared. (Project ACUFOE, catalogue 1999, Dominique Weinstein)
There is no aircraft information, but evidently it was a private small plane, such as a Piper Cub of a Stinson 108.
Cooks Springs (not Cook Springs) is an unincorporated community in St. Clair County, Alabama, United States. Cooks Springs is located along Interstate 20 and U.S. Route 78.
|
The pilot witness, certainly more eager to learn whether others saw the object than to let himself be known at the risk of beings scoffed at, did not provide very good information on what he saw:
There is no sighting duration, the sizes given are apparent sizes without references (the size of a car wheel, but at what distance?), we do not know how long it took to "diminish" and be lost from sight or lost in the haze, etc.
Insufficient data.
* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.
| Main author: | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Create/changed by: | Date: | Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | July 10, 2026 | Creation, [dwn1], [tbr1], [hwc1], [jah1], [mhl1], [lhh1], [dwn1], [gvo1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | July 10, 2026 | First published. |
