Ellsworth Air Force Base B-36 Crew Sighting 1953

On August 12, 1953, a US Air Force B-36 Peacemaker crew operating out of Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota encountered a metallic disc that paced their aircraft at 30,000 feet over the South Dakota landscape. The disc demonstrated knowledge of the B-36's course and speed, maintaining position alongside the aircraft for approximately 5 minutes before departing at high speed. Ellsworth AFB radar confirmed the contact. The encounter was given urgent priority treatment because the B-36 Peacemaker was Strategic Air Command's primary nuclear delivery aircraft — capable of carrying and delivering nuclear bombs to Soviet targets — and the existence of an unidentified craft able to operate alongside and apparently observe a nuclear delivery aircraft was considered a critical intelligence and security matter. SAC filed an urgent-priority intelligence report to Air Force intelligence. The case was classified above normal Blue Book levels due to the nuclear delivery aircraft context.