Birmingham, Alabama sightings
6 July 1947 · Birmingham, Alabama
Summary
Staff Sergeant Ira L. Livingston reported seeing seven to ten round objects over Birmingham, Alabama, at 2045 hours on 6 July 1947. His checklist, Incident # 56, gave the speed as 500 to 600 mph, the size as 2 feet in diameter and the direction as southeast. It listed one photograph. In a sworn statement dated 7 July 1947, Livingston said a neighbor, Herman M. Sockwell, called him out to see the objects. He said he never saw more than one at a time, and that his belief in seven to ten was personal.
The Age-Herald reported hundreds of callers the same night, each with a different account. A Birmingham News article said Maj. Jack C. White, commandant of Birmingham Army Airfield, ordered an alert. Lt. L. S. Robinson circled the city for an hour and 15 minutes at 4,000 to 5,000 feet and reported no unnatural objects. Police headquarters logged reports from 8:10 p.m. for about 20 minutes. Age-Herald copy reader Robert Crossland made a 15-second exposure that showed two round white spots.
The press carried mundane explanations. William B. Hayes suggested a carnival beacon at Siluria striking high overcast. One resident said he saw DC-3 landing lights and 17 lightning bugs. Howard Blakeslee of the Associated Press called the objects eye and light tricks.
On 8 July Major White sent the photograph to Fourteenth Air Force. He wrote that local professional photographers thought the spots were not negative flaws. He had not seen a disc himself. Fourteenth Air Force replied that it had made no investigation because the case was isolated. Air Defense Command forwarded the report to Army Air Forces on 25 July. An Air Materiel Command document listed the case among observations of lights and noted a photograph was taken.
Where the files disagree
Two documents give different accounts of the same detail. Both are quoted as written; we don't say which is right.
Name of the neighbor who called the sergeant
“attention was called by a neighbor (a Mr. Herman M. Sockwell)” page 122 →
“attention was called by a neighbor (a Mr. Herman H. Bodwell)” page 163 →
What the files say
“The discs were silent and appeared composed of a single light.”
Page 122 →“I did not at any time see any more than one at the time and even though there could have been only one, my personal belief is that there were seven (7) to ten (10).”
Page 14 →“He was unable to report any unnatural objects.”
Page 10 →“This Headquarters has made no investigation of "Flying Disc" reports because this is an isolated case.”
Page 5 →“it is the general opinion in Birmingham that "something was in the air."”
Page 7 →
Explanations in the record
What the documents themselves say the event was, as recorded. Not our assessment.
- William B. Hayes suggested a carnival beacon at Siluria, about 20 miles south, reflecting off high overcast clouds. — FBI file on 1947 flying saucer wave, Arnold sighting, page 13
- A resident of East Lake said he saw the landing lights of a DC-3 and 17 lightning bugs. — FBI file on 1947 flying saucer wave, Arnold sighting, page 12
- Howard Blakeslee of the Associated Press said such objects were a combination of eye and light tricks. — FBI file on 1947 flying saucer wave, Arnold sighting, page 10
- R. H. Vaughn III believed the discs were a natural phenomenon like the Aurora Borealis. — FBI file on 1947 flying saucer wave, Arnold sighting, page 13
Related
- Releases: Release 1, Release 3, Release 5
- Programs: Project Sign
- Search the transcripts for “Birmingham”
- All cases