Case files / saudi-arabia-b52-1957
The blip behind the B-52
- When
- January 18, 1957, at night · 1957 on the timeline
- Where
- At 39,000 feet over eastern Saudi Arabia
- Reported by
- The tail gunner of a U.S. Air Force B-52 from Castle Air Force Base, California
- Released
- October 23, 2026 (seventh release)
- Status
- Reported by the crew; never identified
According to an Air Intelligence Information Report in the seventh release, B-52 number 394 of the 93rd Bombardment Wing, out of Castle Air Force Base in California, was flying a Strategic Air Command mission at night on January 18, 1957. It was at 39,000 feet, at roughly 27 degrees north and 47 degrees east, over eastern Saudi Arabia.
Just before the bomber met its refueling tanker, the tail gunner picked up an unidentified aircraft on the A-3A gunnery radar. The return sat at the 6,000-yard marker, the center of the scope, for about five to seven minutes. When the B-52 banked to the left, the return slid off the left side of the scope and was gone.
The report says the turn itself may explain why it disappeared, but adds that the return seemed to leave in the direction of the Baghdad flight identification region. It was smaller on the scope than the return from a second B-52 flying at the 5,000-yard marker at the same time. The report includes a sketch of the scope and went to the 16th Air Force, Strategic Air Command headquarters, the 93rd Bomb Wing and Air Force headquarters.
The war.gov description notes that the wording reflects the crew's view at the time and is not proof of what the object was or what it could do. No file in the release identifies it.