Dept. of DefenseUnresolvedAnomalous kinematics
Aluminum disc at ~30,000 ft performing 90-degree turns — Portland, Oregon (Incident #7)
Jul 4, 1947Portland, Oregon30,000 ft
Analysis — our summary
On July 4, 1947 at 2305, Earl B. Patterson (Portland City Patrolman and former Air Corps pilot) observed a single aluminum-colored disc flying in a southwesterly direction over Portland at an estimated 30,000 ft. The disc traveled at a terrific speed — faster than anything the witness had ever seen — left no vapor or smoke trail, and was able to change direction at a 90-degree angle without difficulty. The witness believed it was radio-controlled due to the abrupt directional change capability.
As reported — verbatim from the document
“Disc was aluminum in color and traveled at terrific speed - faster than any object witness had ever seen... it could change direction at a 90° angle without difficulty.”
Analyst notes — caveats & confidence
Observer is a former Air Corps pilot and experienced aviation observer. Single witness. No photographs.
Provenance
Source document38_143685_box7_Incident_Summaries_1-100.pdf
Document typeincident summary collection
Reporting agencyDept. of Defense
Source pages209
DeclassifiedFirst public at this release (2026)
Held classified~79 years (≥, to this release)
Extraction confidence ModerateHow cleanly this record could be parsed from the source — driven by legibility & redaction. It is not a measure of how credible or anomalous the sighting is.