Gorman Dogfight
Encyclopedia
The Gorman UFO Dogfight was a widely-publicized UFO incident. It occurred on October 1, 1948 in the skies over Fargo, North Dakota
, and involved George F. Gorman, a pilot with the North Dakota National Guard
. In 1956, USAF Captain Edward J. Ruppelt
wrote in his bestselling and influential The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects that the Gorman Dogfight
was one of three "classic" UFO incidents in the late forties that "proved to [Air Force] intelligence specialists that UFO's were real." Ruppelt himself, however, supported the notion that the UFO was in fact a weather balloon.
in the North Dakota National Guard. On October 1, 1948 he was participating in a cross-country flight with other National Guard pilots; he was flying a P-51 Mustang
. His flight arrived over Fargo at approximately 8:30 PM. Although the other pilots decided to land at Fargo's Hector Airport, due to the clear, cloudless conditions Gorman decided to get in some night-flying time and stayed aloft. Around 9:00 PM he flew over a football stadium where a high-school football game was being held. He noticed a small Piper Cub plane flying some 500 feet below him; otherwise the skies appeared clear.
Shortly after he noticed the Piper Cub, Gorman saw another object to his west. When he looked for the outline of a wing or fuselage he could see none; this contrasted with the Piper Cub, whose outline was clearly visible. The object appeared to be a blinking light. At 9:07 PM Gorman contacted the control tower at Fargo's Hector Airport and asked if they had any air traffic in the area other than his P-51 and the Piper Cub. The tower answered that they did not, and they contacted the Piper Cub pilot, Dr. A.D. Cannon. Cannon and his passenger answered that they could also see a lighted object to the west.
After his near-collision, Gorman lost sight of the object; when he saw it again it appeared to have made a 180-degree turn and was coming at him again. The object then made a sudden vertical climb; Gorman followed the object in his own steep climb. At 14,000 feet his P-51 stalled; the object was still 2,000 feet above him. Gorman made two further attempts to get closer to the object, with no success. It seemed to make another head-on pass, but broke off before coming close to his fighter. By this point the object had moved over the Fargo Airport, in the control tower the air traffic controller, L.D. Jensen, viewed the object through binoculars but could see no form or shape around the light. He was joined by Dr. Cannon and his passenger from the Piper Cub; they had landed and walked to the control tower to get a better view of the object.
Gorman continued to follow the object until he was approximately 25 miles southwest of Fargo. At 14,000 feet he observed the light at 11,000 feet; he then dived on the object at full power. However, the object made a vertical climb. Gorman tried to pursue but watched as the object passed out of visual range. At this point he broke off the chase; it was 9:27 PM. He flew back to Fargo's Hector Airport.
arrived to question Gorman and the other witnesses. Project Sign had been created by the US Air Force in late 1947 to investigate UFO reports. The officers interviewed Gorman, Dr. Cannon and his passenger, and the control tower personnel at Fargo's Airport. The officers also checked Gorman's P-51 Mustang with a geiger counter
for radiation. They found that his Mustang was measurably more radioactive than other fighters which had not flown for several days; this was taken as evidence that Gorman had flown close to an "atomic-powered" object. The Air Force investigators also ruled out the possibility of the lighted object being "another aircraft, Canadian
Vampire
jet fighters, or a weather balloon." Their initial conclusion, writes UFO historian Curtis Peebles
, was "that something remarkable had occurred" to Gorman in the skies above Fargo.
However, further investigation by Project Sign personnel soon revealed flaws in the evidence. A plane flying high in the Earth's atmosphere is less shielded from radiation than one at ground level, thus the geiger-counter readings were considered invalid evidence for stating that the lighted object was atomic-powered. In addition, the Air Weather Service revealed that on October 1 it had released a lighted weather balloon from Fargo at 8:50 PM. By 9 PM the balloon would have been in the area where Gorman and the Piper Cub passengers first saw the lighted object. Project Sign's investigators also believed that the incredible movements of the object were due to Gorman's own maneuvers as he chased the light - the object's maneuvers were an illusion brought about by the movements of Gorman's fighter. The Project Sign personnel also noted that none of the witnesses in the Fargo Airport control tower reported the remarkable maneuvers described by Gorman. The investigators also believed that, as the weather balloon passed out of sight, Gorman had come to believe that the planet Jupiter was the UFO, and had been chasing the planet as he flew south of Fargo before giving up and returning to land. By early 1949 the Gorman case was labeled by Project Sign and its successors - Project Grudge
and Project Blue Book
- as being caused by a lighted weather balloon.
, a physicist
at the University of Arizona
, and retired US Marine Corps Major Donald Keyhoe
, disagreed with the Air Force's conclusions and continued to regard the case as unsolved, other UFO researchers agreed with Project Sign's conclusions in the case. As UFO historian Jerome Clark
writes, "unlike some Air Force would-be solutions this one seems plausible" and that, in his opinion, "After the Mantell Incident
the Gorman sighting may be the most overrated UFO report in the early history of the phenomenon."
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
, and involved George F. Gorman, a pilot with the North Dakota National Guard
North Dakota National Guard
The North Dakota National Guard consists of the:*North Dakota Army National Guard*North Dakota Air National GuardIt is part of the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services.-External links:* compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History...
. In 1956, USAF Captain Edward J. Ruppelt
Edward J. Ruppelt
Edward J. Ruppelt was a United States Air Force officer probably best-known for his involvement in Project Blue Book, a formal governmental study of unidentified flying objects...
wrote in his bestselling and influential The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects that the Gorman Dogfight
Dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is a form of aerial combat between fighter aircraft; in particular, combat of maneuver at short range, where each side is aware of the other's presence. Dogfighting first appeared during World War I, shortly after the invention of the airplane...
was one of three "classic" UFO incidents in the late forties that "proved to [Air Force] intelligence specialists that UFO's were real." Ruppelt himself, however, supported the notion that the UFO was in fact a weather balloon.
Background
Although he was only 25 years old when the incident occurred, George Gorman was a veteran fighter pilot of the Second World War. After the war he became the manager of a construction company; he also served as a second lieutenantSecond Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in the North Dakota National Guard. On October 1, 1948 he was participating in a cross-country flight with other National Guard pilots; he was flying a P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
. His flight arrived over Fargo at approximately 8:30 PM. Although the other pilots decided to land at Fargo's Hector Airport, due to the clear, cloudless conditions Gorman decided to get in some night-flying time and stayed aloft. Around 9:00 PM he flew over a football stadium where a high-school football game was being held. He noticed a small Piper Cub plane flying some 500 feet below him; otherwise the skies appeared clear.
Shortly after he noticed the Piper Cub, Gorman saw another object to his west. When he looked for the outline of a wing or fuselage he could see none; this contrasted with the Piper Cub, whose outline was clearly visible. The object appeared to be a blinking light. At 9:07 PM Gorman contacted the control tower at Fargo's Hector Airport and asked if they had any air traffic in the area other than his P-51 and the Piper Cub. The tower answered that they did not, and they contacted the Piper Cub pilot, Dr. A.D. Cannon. Cannon and his passenger answered that they could also see a lighted object to the west.
Dogfight with a UFO
Gorman told the tower that he was going to pursue the object to determine its identity. He moved his Mustang to full power (350 to 400 MPH), but soon realized that the object was going too fast for him to catch it in a straight run. Instead, he tried cutting the object off by turns. He made a right turn and approached the object head-on at 5,000 feet; the object flew over his plane at a distance of about 500 feet. Gorman described the object as a simple "ball of light" about six to eight inches in diameter. He also noted later that when the object increased its speed, it stopped blinking and grew brighter.After his near-collision, Gorman lost sight of the object; when he saw it again it appeared to have made a 180-degree turn and was coming at him again. The object then made a sudden vertical climb; Gorman followed the object in his own steep climb. At 14,000 feet his P-51 stalled; the object was still 2,000 feet above him. Gorman made two further attempts to get closer to the object, with no success. It seemed to make another head-on pass, but broke off before coming close to his fighter. By this point the object had moved over the Fargo Airport, in the control tower the air traffic controller, L.D. Jensen, viewed the object through binoculars but could see no form or shape around the light. He was joined by Dr. Cannon and his passenger from the Piper Cub; they had landed and walked to the control tower to get a better view of the object.
Gorman continued to follow the object until he was approximately 25 miles southwest of Fargo. At 14,000 feet he observed the light at 11,000 feet; he then dived on the object at full power. However, the object made a vertical climb. Gorman tried to pursue but watched as the object passed out of visual range. At this point he broke off the chase; it was 9:27 PM. He flew back to Fargo's Hector Airport.
Gorman's account of the incident
On October 23, 1948 Gorman gave a sworn account of the incident to investigators. His statement was often reprinted in future years in numerous books and documentaries about UFOs. The statement read:
I am convinced that there was definite thought behind its maneuvers. I am further convinced that the object was governed by the laws of inertia because its acceleration was rapid but not immediate and although it was able to turn fairly tight at considerable speed, it still followed a natural curve. When I attempted to turn with the object I blacked out temporarily due to excessive speed. I am in fairly good physical condition and I do not believe that there are many if any pilots who could withstand the turn and speed effected by the object, and remain conscious. The object was not only able to out turn and out speed my aircraft...but was able to attain a far steeper climb and was able to maintain a constant rate of climb far in excess of my aircraft.
Air Force investigation
Within a few hours, military officers from Project SignProject Sign
Project Sign was an official U.S. government study of unidentified flying objects undertaken by the United States Air Force and active for most of 1948....
arrived to question Gorman and the other witnesses. Project Sign had been created by the US Air Force in late 1947 to investigate UFO reports. The officers interviewed Gorman, Dr. Cannon and his passenger, and the control tower personnel at Fargo's Airport. The officers also checked Gorman's P-51 Mustang with a geiger counter
Geiger counter
A Geiger counter, also called a Geiger–Müller counter, is a type of particle detector that measures ionizing radiation. They detect the emission of nuclear radiation: alpha particles, beta particles or gamma rays. A Geiger counter detects radiation by ionization produced in a low-pressure gas in a...
for radiation. They found that his Mustang was measurably more radioactive than other fighters which had not flown for several days; this was taken as evidence that Gorman had flown close to an "atomic-powered" object. The Air Force investigators also ruled out the possibility of the lighted object being "another aircraft, Canadian
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
Vampire
De Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Following the Gloster Meteor, it was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF. Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, the Vampire served...
jet fighters, or a weather balloon." Their initial conclusion, writes UFO historian Curtis Peebles
Curtis Peebles
Curtis Peebles is an aerospace historian for the Smithsonian Institution and the author of several books dealing with aviation and aerial phenomena....
, was "that something remarkable had occurred" to Gorman in the skies above Fargo.
However, further investigation by Project Sign personnel soon revealed flaws in the evidence. A plane flying high in the Earth's atmosphere is less shielded from radiation than one at ground level, thus the geiger-counter readings were considered invalid evidence for stating that the lighted object was atomic-powered. In addition, the Air Weather Service revealed that on October 1 it had released a lighted weather balloon from Fargo at 8:50 PM. By 9 PM the balloon would have been in the area where Gorman and the Piper Cub passengers first saw the lighted object. Project Sign's investigators also believed that the incredible movements of the object were due to Gorman's own maneuvers as he chased the light - the object's maneuvers were an illusion brought about by the movements of Gorman's fighter. The Project Sign personnel also noted that none of the witnesses in the Fargo Airport control tower reported the remarkable maneuvers described by Gorman. The investigators also believed that, as the weather balloon passed out of sight, Gorman had come to believe that the planet Jupiter was the UFO, and had been chasing the planet as he flew south of Fargo before giving up and returning to land. By early 1949 the Gorman case was labeled by Project Sign and its successors - Project Grudge
Project Grudge
Project Grudge was a short-lived project by the U.S. Air Force to investigate unidentified flying objects . Grudge succeeded Project Sign in February, 1949, and was then followed by Project Blue Book. The project formally ended in December 1949, but actually continued on in a very minimal capacity...
and Project Blue Book
Project Blue Book
Project Blue Book was one of a series of systematic studies of unidentified flying objects conducted by the United States Air Force. Started in 1952, it was the second revival of such a study...
- as being caused by a lighted weather balloon.
Aftermath
The Gorman Dogfight received wide national publicity and helped fuel the wave of UFO reports in the late forties. Although some UFO researchers, such as Dr. James E. McDonaldJames E. McDonald
James Edward McDonald was an American physicist. He is best known for his research regarding UFOs. McDonald was senior physicist at the Institute for Atmospheric Physics and professor in the Department of Meteorology, University of Arizona, Tucson.McDonald campaigned vigorously in support of...
, a physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, and retired US Marine Corps Major Donald Keyhoe
Donald Keyhoe
Donald Edward Keyhoe was an American Marine Corps naval aviator, writer of many aviation articles and stories in a variety of leading publications, and manager of the promotional tours of aviation pioneers, especially of Charles Lindbergh.In the 1950s he became well-known as an UFO researcher,...
, disagreed with the Air Force's conclusions and continued to regard the case as unsolved, other UFO researchers agreed with Project Sign's conclusions in the case. As UFO historian Jerome Clark
Jerome Clark
Jerome Clark is an American researcher and writer, specializing in unidentified flying objects and other anomalous phenomena; he is also a songwriter of some note....
writes, "unlike some Air Force would-be solutions this one seems plausible" and that, in his opinion, "After the Mantell Incident
Mantell Incident
The Mantell UFO incident was among the most publicized early UFO reports. The incident resulted in the crash and death of 25-year-old Kentucky Air National Guard pilot, Captain Thomas F. Mantell, on January 7, 1948, while in pursuit of a supposed UFO....
the Gorman sighting may be the most overrated UFO report in the early history of the phenomenon."