Selfridge AFB Radar Tracks Unknown Target at 47,000 Feet
On the night of March 9, 1950, radar operators at Selfridge AFB, Michigan, were monitoring routine night flying by F-80 Shooting Stars of the 56th Fighter-Interceptor Group.
Narration
A razor-thin radar return at 47,000 feet defied every known aircraft.
Selfridge AFB, Michigan, March 9, 1950 — F-80 jets patrol the cold night.
Radar crew members reported the high-altitude contact before the duty officer confirmed it.
Something hung at 47,000 feet — silent, invisible, impossibly high above Michigan.
A first-person officer's report documented the contact, later found in Hynek's research files.
The return vanished. No explanation was ever officially established.