NARA RG18: Army Air Forces Flying Disc Investigation - 1948 Operations (Hobson Ohio, Horten Brothers, Fighter Alert)
Date
February - June 1948
Document Type
Gov. Investigation Report
Authentication
VerifiedRedaction Status
▐ Partially RedactedIssuing Authority
Headquarters Army Air Forces / Air Intelligence Requirements Division (AFOIR)
Summary
A collection of Army Air Forces (AAF) flying disc investigation documents from early 1948, filed under NARA Record Group 18. The collection documents three distinct operational threads: (1) the Hobson, Ohio sighting of May 8, 1948 - forwarded by the FBI from NYC Central Railroad workers who observed a phosphorescent disc at 6-8 miles altitude with a phosphorescent trail, traveling at "a great amount of speed" at a 90-degree heading; (2) AMC's February 1948 proposal to station fighter aircraft at all bases on continuous alert to intercept flying discs, and the rejection of this proposal as "not feasible" without complete radar coverage; and (3) the February 16, 1948 AFOIR contact with the Horten Brothers (German flying wing aircraft designers), with the European Command directed to interrogate them about the relationship between their designs and observed flying disc characteristics, referencing ATSC Technical Note 1703. Declassification authority NND 760191. Released via PURSUE Release 1, February 25, 2026.
Significance
Documents three significant threads of the early institutionalized flying disc investigation. The fighter intercept alert proposal - and its formal rejection on grounds of inadequate radar coverage rather than disbelief in the phenomenon - establishes that AAF leadership in early 1948 considered the flying disc problem significant enough to warrant standing combat air patrols, but lacked the infrastructure to execute. The Horten Brothers interrogation directive is the earliest documented official AAF effort to determine whether German advanced aviation technology could explain observed flying disc characteristics. The Hobson Ohio case establishes FBI-to-AAF reporting channels as an active sighting collection pathway by May 1948.