Project Blue Book Case #1739. On July 29, 1952, a bright object was observed over Wichita, Kansas — the "Air Capital of the World," where Boeing, Cessna, Beech, and other manufacturers produced a significant portion of America's military and civilian aircraft. More types of aircraft were designed, built, and test-flown over Wichita than virtually any other city on Earth.
McConnell Air Force Base, on Wichita's southeastern edge, was a SAC installation hosting bomber and tanker units. Boeing's massive Plant II, where B-47 Stratojets and later B-52 Stratofortresses were assembled, dominated the city's industrial landscape. Cessna and Beech had their own factories and test facilities.
For an unidentified object to appear over Wichita — where factory test pilots, military crews, and aircraft engineers constituted a significant portion of the population — and to remain unidentified was extraordinary. These were people who built airplanes and watched them fly every day of their working lives.
July 29, 1952, was during the great wave's peak, the same week as the Wichita Falls and Washington, D.C., cases. The nationwide scope of the phenomenon was on full display.
No Boeing test flight, McConnell operation, or civilian aircraft could account for the sighting. The case was classified "Unknown."