Today in UFO History

August 12, 1953 - Near Rapid City, South Dakota, USA:

The Ellsworth Air Force Base UFO incident

The August 12, 1953 Ellsworth Air Force Base UFO incident, near Rapid City, South Dakota, is one of the more notable radar-visual cases of the early Project Blue Book era. It involved civilian observers, military radar operators and Air Force fighter pilots, and was later discussed by former Project Blue Book chief Captain Edward J. Ruppelt.

The incident began after dark when a Ground Observer Corps volunteer near Black Hawk reported an unusually bright light in the northeastern sky. Radar operators at Ellsworth Air Force Base searched the reported area and detected a strong target at approximately 16,000 feet. A second radar system reportedly confirmed the altitude. As the witness watched the light begin moving toward Rapid City, radar operators observed their target moving in the same direction. Military personnel sent outside also reported seeing a large bluish-white light.

An F-84 Thunderjet was directed to intercept. The pilot eventually spotted the light, but as he approached within several miles, the object accelerated and headed north. The fighter pursued it for roughly 120 miles, yet the object reportedly maintained its lead whenever the aircraft began closing the distance. Low on fuel, the pilot finally turned back—at which point the mysterious light allegedly reversed direction and followed him south. A second fighter was later involved and its pilot also reportedly observed the object.

Ruppelt personally investigated the incident and considered the combination of visual observations and simultaneous radar tracking particularly significant. Skeptics later proposed atmospheric effects, astronomical objects and anomalous radar propagation as possible explanations, although incomplete surviving documentation makes the case difficult to reconstruct conclusively.

The exact date is also disputed, with some sources giving August 5 rather than August 12, 1953. Nevertheless, the Ellsworth incident remains one of the classic UFO cases of the 1950s because what appeared to be the same unexplained object was reportedly seen from the ground, tracked on radar and pursued by military aircraft.