Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA, on July 6, 1947:
ACUFO-1947-07-06-SIOUXFALLS-1
The Weird Unsolved Mysteries magazine, USA, on Fall 1947, in an article about how the "flying saucers" mystery begun indicated that the KYW radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, apparently citing "The Esso Reporter", commented about pilot Gene Graves, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, who was already in the air, saw a silvery object "shooting across the sky."
He radioed back that he was chasing it, but without success, and it soon was lost to sight.
The date, either of the sighting or the report, would be July 6, 1947, and the hour, either of the sighting the report, would be 11 p.m.
| Date: | July 6, 1947 or before. |
|---|---|
| Time: | ? |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | July 6, 1947 |
| Reporting delay: | Hours, days. |
| Country: | USA |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | South Dakota |
| City or place: | Sioux Falls |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 1 |
| Reporting channel: | Local radio. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | ? |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | Yes. |
| UFO action: | Flew fast. |
| Witnesses action: | Oberved, tried to chase the UFO, in vain. |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | ? |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Sensors: |
[X] Visual: 1.
[ ] Airborne radar: N/A. [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages: |
|---|---|
| Hynek: | ? |
| Armed / unarmed: | Unarmed. |
| Reliability 1-3: | 1 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 2 |
| ACUFO: | Possible extraterrestrial craft. |
[Ref. wum1:] "WEIRD UNSOLVED MYSTERIES" MAGAZINE:
|
RADIO STATION KYW..., Philadelphia, Pa. "The Esso Reporter." 11 P.M. Sunday, July 6, 1947. Commentary to the effect that Gene Graves, flier, of Sioux Falls, S. Dakota, who was already in the air, saw a silvery object "shooting across the sky." He radioed back that he was chasing it, but without success. It soon was lost to sight.
Note: the xerox of the article was done by US ufologist Loren E. Gross and published in his 2001 "UFOs - a History - 1947 August 1st - December 31st" monograph.
Nothing is said of the plane; but it was likely a small civilian private plane.
|
KYW was a commercial AM radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was one of the oldest continuously operating radio stations in the United States.
"Your Esso Reporter" - not "The Esso Reporter" - was an American syndicated radio news bulletin sponsored by Standard Oil of New Jersey under the Esso brand. It was a five-minute program aired since 1935 four times a day on radio stations in cities in the USA where Esso operated.
So we can understand that KYW was airing "Your Esso Reporter" on which this sighting was commented.
I was unable to find any other information of this report so far; it does not seem to have appeared in the 1947 Press or in the ufology literature. There are many "Gene Graves" that piloted in the US in 1947, so that I was unable to decide who it was.
The date of the sighting is lileky before July 6, 1954; possible July 5, 1947: as a time is given, "11 p.m.", as a private pilot seldom flies by night, the "July 6, 1947" date given is likely that of the radio report.
The fact that the object was said to be "silvery" also suggests it was daytime sighting.
Possible extraterrestrial craft.
* = 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 | June 22, 2026 | Creation, [wum1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | June 22, 2026 | First published. |
