Promontory Point / Great Salt Lake, Utah, United States
The Claimed B-17 Nine-Disc Encounter
A later account attributed to a retired USAF colonel identified only by initials says a B-17 crew saw nine disc-like objects over Utah on 16 July 1947. The problem is archival: contemporary 1947 sighting indexes and NICAP's own 1947 wave reconstruction contain no matching report for that date/locati
Why This Case Matters
A useful late-testimony case because military credentials and detailed narrative initially sound strong, yet the contemporary 1947 record is conspicuously silent.
Chronology
- 16 Jul 1947 alleged B-17 encounter
- no contemporary report located
- decades later retired colonel provides account
- story enters modern UFO databases
- archival cross-check finds no matching 1947 record
The Witnesses
Evidence
The following evidence types are documented for this case:
Conventional explanations: Late memory error, date/location conflation, borrowed 1947-wave narrative or fabrication are strong possibilities.
What Remains Unresolved
- Witness identity
- aircraft serial/mission
- crew roster
- original statement date
- whether event occurred on a different day/place.
Key Takeaways
- Military status cannot compensate for a missing contemporary record when a case is claimed to occur in one of the best-indexed weeks of the 1947 wave.
Sources
Primary and secondary sources for this case file: