Savannah River Plant sightings, 1952

The FBI's Savannah office sent an urgent teletype to the Director on May 12, 1952. It said four DuPont employees at the Savannah River Plant near Ellenton, South Carolina, saw four disc-shaped objects approach the "four hundred area" from the south at about 10:45 pm on May 10 and disappear to the north (teletype). The same employees reported two similar objects at about 11:05 pm, one from the northeast at about 11:10 pm, and one more at about 11:15 pm (later sightings).

The teletype described the objects as about fifteen inches in diameter and yellow to gold. It said they moved fast, at high altitude and without noise. It said the eighth object came in so low that it had to rise to pass over tall tanks in the area (description). The witnesses said the objects weaved left to right but held a general course, and were visible for only a few seconds (page two). The Savannah office said it was not actively investigating and was passing the information to the Bureau (Savannah office).

A handwritten note records that on May 14 an AEC official and an Air Force OSI officer were advised. It adds that AEC and OSI said they were conducting no inquiry (handwritten notes). On May 15 J. Edgar Hoover sent a confidential memorandum repeating the account to the Air Force Director of Special Investigations. It said the FBI was conducting no investigation. Copies went to Army G-2, Naval Intelligence and the AEC Director of Security (memorandum). The memorandum described the objects as "allegedly" moving at high speed and the low one as "reportedly" so (memorandum).

A second teletype, dated August 9, 1952, said the AEC security office had reported that two DuPont employees saw a blue light with an orange fringe, shaped like a saucer, over the four hundred area at about 9:30 pm on August 8. It was said to be moving fast to the northeast (August teletype). The pages given contain no explanation for either event and no conclusion.