Lockheed–Kelly Johnson sighting (1953)
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 7
| Date | 18 December 1953 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Military encounters (topic), Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Government programs (topic) |
| People | Kelly Johnson, Martin Shough |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 49 |
| Year | 1953 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1953 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 5 |
On 16 December 1953 a Lockheed flight-test crew over the Pacific and the company's chief engineer, Clarence "Kelly" Johnson — later the designer of the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes — independently watched a sharp-edged black object hanging apparently motionless off the California coast. Project Blue Book labelled it a lenticular cloud.[1][2]
The aircraft sighting
A Lockheed WV-2, a Navy early-warning radar version of the Super Constellation, took off on a test flight at 4:29 p.m. and was climbing towards 20,000 feet over the sea when, at about 5:00 p.m., its five-man crew saw a dark, roughly disc- or flying-wing-shaped silhouette between Point Mugu and the Santa Barbara Channel islands. The crew were test pilot Roy Wimmer, chief flight-test engineer Rudy Thoren, chief aerodynamics engineer Philip Colman, flight engineer Charles Grugan and flight-test supervisor Joseph Ware Jr. They watched it for about five minutes as they turned towards it without closing the distance; it then shrank and vanished within about a minute.[1]
Kelly Johnson's sighting
At about the same time Johnson and his wife Althea were watching from their Lindero Ranch near Agoura, California. Using 8x binoculars, Johnson saw an intensely black silhouette that stayed still for about five minutes and then climbed away in a shallow climb, vanishing within about 90 seconds. He first thought it might be a cloud or smoke trail, but because it stayed distinct and kept its shape as it climbed, he concluded it was a "so-called saucer". The two groups only realised they had seen the same thing the next day.[1][3]
Blue Book
Johnson gathered five signed reports, with drawings and a map, and sent them to Project Blue Book on 20 January 1954. The case was not investigated further, the sighting map was later lost, and Blue Book's record card classified it as "lenticular cloud". Analyst Martin Shough later reconstructed the sightings from both positions and argued that a cloud does not fit what was seen, though his work does not settle what the object was. The case is notable for the calibre of its witnesses and how little follow-up it received.[1][2]
People and topics
- Lockheed Martin — The aerospace company whose Skunk Works built the U-2, SR-71 and F-117.
- U.S. Navy — The U.S. naval service, whose pilots reported the UAP encounters revealed in 2017.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
- Kelly Johnson — Lockheed Skunk Works designer of the U-2 and SR-71 who reported a UFO sighting in 1953.
- Project Blue Book — The Air Force's public UFO investigation from 1952 until its closure in December 1969.
- Martin Shough — Analyst who reconstructed the 1953 Lockheed–Kelly Johnson sighting and other radar cases.
On the Timeline
- Air Force Regulation 200-2 (26 August 1953) — Air Force Regulation 200-2 tightens UAP reporting and routes key reports away from Project Blue Book.
- SOM1-01 Special Operations Manual (1954) — Engineer Bob Wood reportedly suspects the 'SOM1-01' manual was created as Cold War disinformation.
See every 1953 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "The Lockheed UFO case, 16 Dec 1953", Project 1947 · project1947.com · archived copy
- Martin Shough, analysis of the Lockheed case (PDF), Project 1947 · mail.project1947.com · archived copy
- "December 16, 1953 — nr. Agoura, CA — the Lockheed / Kelly Johnson UFO case", UAP Discovery · uapdiscovery.discourse.group · archived copy
- The Lockheed UFO case · johnmoonerchief.substack.com · archived copy
- nicap.org · nicap.org · archived copy
Further reading
- Project Blue Book — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Project Blue Book records — National Archives · archives.gov · archived copy
- Project Blue Book files — The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Hangar 18 (the legend and 1980 film) — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Skunk Works — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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