Project Blue Book Case #1390. On July 5, 1952, witnesses in Norman, Oklahoma, observed a bright object in the sky. Norman was home to the University of Oklahoma and, critically, the National Severe Storms Laboratory and meteorological research programs that made it one of the most weather-observant communities in the country.
The presence of trained meteorological observers in Norman added credibility to any anomalous aerial report from the area. These were people who studied the sky professionally, familiar with every atmospheric phenomenon from lenticular clouds to ball lightning to sundogs. Their assessment that an object was not a weather phenomenon carried exceptional authority.
July 5, 1952, came at the beginning of the great wave's explosive phase. Norman is approximately 20 miles south of Oklahoma City and Tinker Air Force Base — a major Air Materiel Command depot and, later, the home of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center. Tinker's operations were well-known to Norman residents.
The object did not match any Tinker AFB operations or civilian traffic from Oklahoma City's airports. Its brightness and behavior were inconsistent with atmospheric phenomena — a particularly meaningful determination given the meteorological expertise present in the community.
The case was classified "Unknown."