Captain William Ryherd Hamilton Field observation
Document coverPage 1 of 65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_2 · View original on war.gov
Captain William Ryherd, an instructor pilot at Hamilton Field, and 1st Lieutenant Ward L. Stewart observed two circular, white, shiny flying objects at approximately 8,000-10,000 feet on July 29, 1947.
“On 29 July at 1450, Captain Ryherd and a student, 1st Lt. Ward L. Stewart, landed and parked an AT-6 near the hangar. Walking from the aircraft toward reserve operations, and looking westward just over the hangar, Captain Ryherd saw a P-80 flying southward toward Oakland. Above this P-80, at approximately 8,000 to 10,000 feet in altitude, Captain Ryherd saw two flying objects traveling the same direction as the P-80.”
Verbatim from 65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_2 · View original on war.gov
Case details
- Date
- 1947-07-29
- Precision
- day
- Location
- Hamilton Field, California; direction of Oakland
- Country
- United States
- Region
- California
- Branch
- USAF
- Unit
- 415th AAF Base Unit, Training Unit, Hamilton Field
- Sensors
- eyewitness
- Shape
- Circular, like a ball on the bottom but not completely round
- Size
- Approximately 15 to 25 feet in diameter; solid, white, somewhat shiny
- Altitude
- 9000 ft
Resolution
Ryherd explicitly stated objects were not airplanes. Speed exceeded P-80 capability. No sound, vapor, smoke, or visible trails observed.
Source document
Agency: FBI
File: 65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_2
Case ID: 1947-USAF-B381CC
View original on war.gov →Extracted via LLM. Verbatim excerpt validated.