Samuel Stratton and the SAC base overflights
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 8
| Date | 20 December 1978 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Nuclear & missile sites (topic), Military encounters (topic), Government programs (topic) |
| People | Samuel Stratton |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 86 |
| Year | 1978 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1978 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 10 |
In October and November 1975 unidentified aircraft, often described as helicopter-like and sometimes unlit, repeatedly appeared over nuclear weapons storage areas and missile sites at several Strategic Air Command bases in the northern United States. In December 1978 Representative Samuel Stratton of New York, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, raised concerns with the Air Force about the security of nuclear bases.[1][2]
Loring
At Loring Air Force Base in Maine on 27 October 1975, security personnel reported an unidentified aircraft at about 150 feet near the northern perimeter, showing a red light and a white strobe and apparently interested in the nuclear weapons storage area; radar showed a second unknown aircraft 10–13 miles away. National Guard helicopters failed to identify it and the base went on high alert. Another unlit craft appeared on 28 October, which a military report said showed "clear intent" towards the weapons storage area, and incidents continued on at least four nights. The base arranged for pursuit into Canadian airspace if needed.[1]
Other bases
On 30 October a similar encounter took place at Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Michigan. In November Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana reported bright lights and jet-like noise; NORAD logs show interceptors scrambled without identifying anything. A security message titled "Defense Against Helicopter Assault" went to northern-tier bases including Minot, Pease, Plattsburgh, Wurtsmith, Malmstrom, Fairchild and Barksdale.[1][3]
Disclosure
The records became public through Freedom of Information requests in the late 1970s, and The New York Times reported in 1979 that the Joint Chiefs of Staff had received several briefings and that Air Force investigations found no cause. The Washington Post reported an Air Force directive of 11 November 1975 telling public affairs staff not to link the sightings unless asked.[1][4]
Stratton's inquiry
On 20 December 1978 Stratton raised his concerns with the Air Force. The testimony says the Air Force's legislative liaison gave him an incomplete answer, as later-released documents showed that bases such as Minot and Malmstrom kept files on such overflights going back to the 1960s.[4][5]
Status
The 1975 incursions remain unexplained. Theories range from Soviet or criminal reconnaissance and helicopter pranks to genuine UAP. They are among the best-documented episodes of unknown aircraft over U.S. nuclear sites, and resemble drone incursions reported at U.S. bases in the 2010s and 2020s.[1]
People and topics
- Samuel Stratton — New York congressman who questioned the Air Force about base overflights in 1978.
- Strategic Air Command — The Air Force command that controlled U.S. nuclear bombers and missiles.
- Malmstrom Air Force Base — A Montana Minuteman missile base linked to UFO reports.
- NORAD — The U.S.–Canadian air defence command.
- Freedom of Information Act — The 1966 U.S. law that lets the public request government records.
- The New York Times — The newspaper that revealed AATIP in December 2017.
- House Armed Services Committee — The House committee that held a UFO hearing in 1966.
- U.S. Air Force — The U.S. military service that ran the official UFO projects from 1947 to 1969.
- Unidentified anomalous phenomena — The U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects in the air, in space and underwater.
On the Timeline
- Claims of CIA funding of UFO researchers (15 December 1978) — The same researchers claim the CIA secretly funded selected UAP researchers.
- Hynek on the Robertson Panel's legacy (1979) — Hynek says the Robertson Panel set an unwritten Air Force rule to play UAP down.
See every 1978 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "The bizarre mystery of unexplained aerial incursions over Loring Air Force Base", The War Zone · twz.com · archived copy
- "What were those mysterious craft?", CIA reading room · cia.gov · archived copy
- "Unidentified flying objects over Malmstrom AFB, November 1975", The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- Lawrence Fawcett and Barry Greenwood, Clear Intent (1984), Internet Archive · archive.org · archived copy
- Patrick Gross, "The 1975 SAC base overflights", UFOs at close sight · ufology.patrickgross.org · archived copy
- archive.org · archive.org · archived copy
- ufohastings.com · ufohastings.com · archived copy
- ufohastings.com · ufohastings.com · archived copy
- ufohastings.com · ufohastings.com · archived copy
- ufohastings.com · ufohastings.com · 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.
No discussion yet.