Hebgen Lake disc report (1949)
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 7
| Date | 17 August 1949 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Crashes & retrievals (topic), Bases & Area 51 (topic) |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 41 |
| Year | 1949 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1949 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 5 |
On 9 August 1949 a guide at Hebgen Lake Lodge, near West Yellowstone, Montana, reported seeing seven disc-shaped objects pass overhead, two of which he said crashed nearby. Air Force investigators searched the area and dragged the lake without result, and the case was closed as an exaggerated account.[1][2]
The report
According to the 48-page Project Grudge file, the sighting took place at about 9:30 a.m. in clear weather. The guide described seven greyish-white circular objects, each about the size of a car tyre, some with a hole or dark centre, flying south-west at about 1,500 feet with a continuous siren-like sound lasting five to ten seconds. Investigators estimated their speed at more than 1,000 mph. He said one had crashed into the lake and another into woods on the opposite shore.[1][2]
The investigation
On 17 August 1949 an incoming message from Great Falls Air Force Base, Montana, to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base relayed the report. Agents searched the wooded area and dragged the lake, finding nothing. The witness was described by his peers as reliable but prone to exaggeration. Ten pieces of plexiglass later recovered in the area were found, when assembled, to form an astrodome — the observation blister — from a C-47 aircraft.[1][2]
Conclusion
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The file, once classified SECRET and now part of the declassified Project Grudge records, judged the report an exaggeration and the sighting a likely misidentification. Writer Nick Redfern has suggested an object might still lie in the lake mud, but there is no evidence for that. The case illustrates how the Air Force investigated alleged crashes in this period, and how a dramatic report could shrink under scrutiny.[1][2][3]
People and topics
- U.S. Air Force — The U.S. military service that ran the official UFO projects from 1947 to 1969.
- Air Force Office of Special Investigations — The Air Force's criminal investigation and counterintelligence agency.
- Project Grudge — The Air Force's skeptical UFO project of 1949–51 that replaced Project Sign.
On the Timeline
- Alleged CIA report on recovered disc technology (1949) (17 August 1949) — An alleged CIA report names a secret Defense Department program for exploiting recovered disc technology.
- Bell Labs source on 1950 crash files (1950) — A Bell Labs source says a former NASA employee had technical files on a 1950 crash retrieval.
See every 1949 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- Project Grudge report, Hebgen Lake, Montana (Aug 1949), UFO Scans · ufoscans.com · archived copy
- Nick Redfern, "A crashed UFO in a Montana lake?", Paranormal Searchers (Feb 2016) · parasearcher.blogspot.com · archived copy
- Project Blue Book — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- List of reported UFO sightings in the U.S. — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- mysteriousuniverse.org · mysteriousuniverse.org · archived copy
Further reading
- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Hangar 18 (the legend and 1980 film) — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Mariana UFO film (Great Falls) — 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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