Document · 31 May 1952
Project Blue Book case files: Chorwon, Korea, May 1952
The Project Blue Book case files on the sightings of 31 May 1952 just south of Chorwon (Cheorwon), Korea, held by the National Archives in its sanitized version of the Blue Book case files: “Chorwon, Korea, May 1952” (20 pages) and “Korea, May 1952” (3 pages). Our copies are the page images from the NARA catalog, OCR'd for search.
They contain the record cards, the reports of Detachment 1, 6004th Air Intelligence Service Squadron (52-93 and 52-94, two airmen on guard duty at a radar site; 52-106, the F-94 crew of the 319th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron), the airmen's sketches and statements, Far East Air Forces comments, and a FEAF compilation of earlier Korean sightings, including F-94 crews chasing and shooting down lighted balloons in May 1952.
Source: U.S. National Archives, Project Blue Book (local copy)
Facts and claims
- documented The Project 10073 record card for Chorwon, 31 May 1952 (0345 local, nine minutes, one brilliant white object, “AF Personnel”, ground-visual and air-visual) marks the conclusion “Unknown”, with the comment: “Sighted by F-94 and visually from an AC/W site at Chorwon (middle of Korea at 38° parallel) From maneuvers Blue Book feels there is a faint possibility of this being a balloon. No info on balloon releases known.” Source: doc-bluebook-chorwon-1952.pdf
- documented A second record card, for the ground sighting by an airman at the same time, marks “Probably Balloon” (annotated “w/ flare”) and “Probably Aircraft”, with the comment “Poss of jet with a high powered spot light”. Source: doc-bluebook-korea-may-1952.pdf
- documented The Far East Air Forces deputy for intelligence, Brig. Gen. Charles Y. Banfill, commented that the maneuvers the F-94 crew described were at variance with those of the ground observers, that the performance reported indicated the object was possibly a light carried by a high-performance aircraft, and that “no explanation has been found for failure of the ground radar to ‘paint’ the object at any time”. Source: doc-bluebook-korea-may-1952.pdf
Connected files
Programs
- Project Blue Book (case file of)
Incidents
- Chorwon F-94 engagement (documents)
Mentioned in this file
- National Archives and Records Administration (Organization)
More documents
- Project Blue Book case file: Haneda AFB, Japan, August 1952
- Brazilian Air Defence Command report on the events of 19–20 May 1986 ("Official UFO Night")
- Spanish Air Force file 670603: aircraft and radar encounter over Montánchez, 3 June 1967
- Project Blue Book case file: Minot AFB, North Dakota, October 1968
- CIA/FBIS Foreign Press Note FB PN 90-123: "USSR: UFO sightings no. 2 — General Maltsev comments" (1990)
- Spanish Air Force file 791111/791117/791128: unusual phenomena in Valencia, Motril and Madrid, November 1979 (the Manises case)
Links
- National Archives catalog — Chorwon, Korea, May 1952 (NARA ID 28942408)
- National Archives catalog — Korea, May 1952 (NARA ID 28942404)