Project Blue Book Case #1198. On May 10, 1952, witnesses near Ellenton, South Carolina, observed disc-shaped objects in restricted airspace above one of the most sensitive nuclear facilities in the United States — the Savannah River Site (SRS). This massive Department of Energy complex produced tritium and plutonium-239 for the nation's nuclear weapons program, making it one of the crown jewels of the American nuclear deterrent.
Ellenton was the town that had been relocated — its entire population displaced — to make way for the Savannah River Plant's construction beginning in 1950. The facility, operated by DuPont for the Atomic Energy Commission, encompassed over 300 square miles of restricted territory with some of the tightest airspace restrictions in the country. Any unidentified object in this airspace triggered immediate security protocols.
The disc-shaped objects were observed during a period when nuclear facilities across the country were reporting unusual aerial activity. Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, Hanford, and now Savannah River had all contributed Blue Book unknowns — a pattern that deeply concerned both the AEC and military intelligence, regardless of what the objects actually were.
The Savannah River Site's security forces, AEC investigators, and Air Force intelligence all participated in evaluating this case. No conventional explanation was found — no aircraft, drone, balloon, or natural phenomenon could account for the disc-shaped objects over this critical nuclear production facility.
The case was classified "Unknown," reinforcing the disturbing connection between nuclear sites and unidentified aerial objects.