Air Defense Alert – 6 December 1950 – Unidentified Aircraft Encroach Northeastern U.S.

Background

On December 6, 1950, at 10:30 Eastern Time, an estimated 40 unidentified craft traveling at 32,000 feet, were seen on radar. Within minutes, the White House was notified. Within the next 20 minutes, the CIA, JCS and many others were also updated on the situation.

Then, approximately 35 minutes after the alert began, the original 40 unidentified tracks faded out, and one C-47 flight in the area remained. Fighter jets were scrambled, and intercepted the one plane they were able to identify, which was an American flight out of Otis Air Force Base.

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Were the blips simply the product of the radar malfunctioning and “seeing” objects that weren’t really there? Or was this something else?

The below documents came from the United States Air Force Declassification Office. The Black Vault has numerous other FOIA requests open, and this page will be updated when those cases complete.

Document Archive

United States Air Force

Air Defense Alert – 6 December 1950 – Unidentified Aircraft Encroach Northeastern U.S. [5 Pages, 1MB]

 

 

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This post was published on March 3, 2021 5:14 pm

John Greenewald

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