ACUFO:

ACUFO is my comprehensive catalog of cases of encounters between aircraft and UFOs, whether they are “explained” or “unexplained”.

The ACUFO catalog is made of case files with a case number, summary, quantitative information (date, location, number of witnesses...), classifications, all sources mentioning the case with their references, a discussion of the case in order to evaluate its causes, and a history of the changes made to the file.

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Glacier National Park, Montana, USA, on July 9, 1947:

Case number:

ACUFO-1947-07-09-CLACIERNATIONALPARK-1

Summary:

In their 1998 book "Alfred Loedding and the Great Flying Saucer Wave of 1947", US ufologists Michael D. Hall and Wendy Connors indicated that they found and article titled "Kalispell Pilots Sight 'Flying Saucers'" in the newspaper Flathead Monitor, Montana, USA, on page 1 for July 10, 1947.

The report came from two men flying over Glacier Park, Montana, USA, on July 9, 1947, at 03:53 p.m. MST, who said they spotted seven flying saucers heading in a northwesterly direction. The two men were Ed Johnson and Joe Dimio and they noted that the craft were only visible for a short period, indicating they traveled at a fairly fast rate.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	July 9, 1947
Time:	03:53 p.m.
Duration:	Short.
First known report date:	July 10, 1947
Reporting delay:	Hours, 1 day.

Geographical data:

Country:	USA
State/Department:	Montana
City or place:	Glacier National Park

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses:	2
Number of known witnesses:	1 or 2
Number of named witnesses:	2

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	The Press.
Visibility conditions:	Afternoon.
UFO observed:	Yes.
UFO arrival observed:	?
UFO departure observed:	Yes.
UFO action:	Flew away fast.
Witnesses action:	Observed.
Photographs:	No.
Sketch(s) by witness(es):	No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es):	No.
Witness(es) feelings:	?
Witnesses interpretation:	?

Classifications:

Sensors:	[X] Visual: 2. [ ] 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:	1
ACUFO:	Insufficient information.

Sources:

[Ref. mhc1:] MICHAEL D. HALL AND WENDY CONNORS:

A report that never reached Dayton [US Air Force base in Ohio with the office supposed to deal with flying disc reports], but is of interest came from two men flying over Glacier Park, Montana, at 3:53 P.M. MST. They spotted seven flying saucers heading in a northwesterly direction. The two men, Ed Johnson and Joe Dimio, noted that the craft were only visible for a short period—indicating they traveled at a fairly fast rate. 5

The source "5" is detailed as: "Kalispell Pilots Sight 'Flying Saucers,'" Flathead, Montana, Monitor, 10 July 1947, p. 1..

[Ref. jah1:] JAN ALDRICH:

N - 07.09 - 1553 hours. USA, Montana, Glacier National Park.

Private Plane, 2 pilots, 7 objects heading to the Northeast visible for a short time. Seemed to disintegrate. (PJ47 p 102 )

"N" means this is a new case not in November 1997 ACUFOE Catalogue.

[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH:

1087: 1947/07/09 15:50 1 113:45:00 W 48:38:00 N 3333 NAM USA MNT 3:7
GLACIER Nat'l PARK,MT:2 Pvt.PILOTS:7 SCRS >>NE:disintegrate?:NFD/local news
Ref#171 ALDRICH, Jan: PROJECT 1947 (research) Page No. 98: 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	47.07.09
TIME	15:43
COUNTRY	USA
PLACE	Glacier Park, Montana
	?
TYPE OF PLANE AND WITNESSES	two pilots
UFO DESCRIPTION	seven flying saucers on a northwest course, seemed to disintegrate
Radar
G
X
E
SOURCES	03

The source "03" is referenced at the end of the catalog as:

Project 1947 Reports, newsclippings and documents (cases from Jan Aldrich and Barry Greenwood)

[Ref. gvo1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

1947, July 9

USA, Glacier Park (Montana)

Two men flying over Glacier Park at 15:53 saw seven flying discs heading northwest. Ed Johnson and Joe Dimio noted that the craft were visible only for a short time, and therefore were traveling at very high speed. ("UFOs: A Century of Sightings" by Michael David Hall, Galde Press Inc. 1999, p. 63)

OTHER VERSION: They saw seven flying discs traveling northwest that appeared to be disintegrating (Project ACUFOE, catalogue 1999, Dominique Weinstein)

Aircraft information:

There is no aircraft information, but evidently it was a private small plane, such as a Piper Cub of a Stinson 108.

Discussion:

I have not found any information on the two pilots so far - their names are quite common, and there are therefore too many matches with too many different individuals.

The sighting is not detailed enough to allow an assessment of its cause - possibly a formation of military aircraft. The unusual aspect of the case lies in the fact that the two pilots reported their encounter to the press.

Evaluation:

Insufficient information.

Sources references:

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

[fdm1] ? "Kalispell Pilots Sight 'Flying Saucers'", article in the newspaper Flathead Monitor, Montana, USA, page 1, July 10, 1947.
[mhc1] * "Alfred Loedding and the Great Flying Saucer Wave of 1947", book by Michael D. Hall et Wendy Connors, Rose Press publishers, USA, page 87, 1998.
[mhl1] * "UFOs: A Century of Sightings", book by Michael D. Hall, Galde Press publishers, page 63, 1999.
[jah1] * "ACUFOE in 1947", catalogue by Jan Aldrich, on his Project 1947 website, USA, October 1999, at https://www.project1947.com/47cats/acupdt.htm
[lhh1] * "*U* Computer Database", ufology database by Larry Hatch, USA, circa 2002.
[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.

File history:

Authoring:

Main author:	Patrick Gross
Contributors:	None
Reviewers:	None
Editor:	Patrick Gross

Changes history:

Version:	Create/changed by:	Date:	Description:
0.1	Patrick Gross	June 6, 2026	Creation, [mhc1], [mhl1], [jah1], [lhh1], [dwn1], [gvo1].
1.0	Patrick Gross	June 6, 2026	First published.

This page was last updated on June 6, 2026.