Project Blue Book: Exposed

January 7, 1948: The Case of Thomas Mantell

Captain Thomas Mantell, of the Kentucky National Guard, has the distinction of being the first man killed during an attempted intercept of a flying saucer. Controversy arose when Air Force explanations failed to explain anything and when they began to contradict one another. The Air Force wanted an explanation for the sighting and, by examining the case, we can see that they didn't care if they were right about their conclusion or not. In the end, the driving factor was being able to slap a label on the case and close the file.

It was just after one o'clock in the afternoon (1:20 p.m.) that the tower crew at Godman Army Air Field at Fort Knox, Kentucky, spotted a bright, disc-shaped object which they failed to easily identify. Others have suggested that the Kentucky Highway Patrol first saw the object and alerted the men in the tower. That doesn't really matter today. What is important is that object was brought to the attention of the base operations officer, the intelligence officer and finally, the base commander, Colonel Guy F. Hix. None of them were able to identify it.

For about an hour and twenty-five minutes, dozens of people including Colonel Hix, watched as the UFO seemed to hang motionless in the southwestern sky. In the towns of southern Kentucky, people watched the UFO, some claiming it drifted silently and slowly to the south. Others thought that it hovered for a few minutes and then resumed its slow flight. The witnesses were clearly describing something that was moving very slowly.

At 2:45 p.m., the situation suddenly changed. A flight of F-51 Mustang fighters (it should be noted here that the designation of the Mustang had recently been changed from a "P" for pursuit, to an "F" for fighter) flew over Godman Army Air Field. With the UFO still visible, the flight leader, Captain Thomas Mantell, was asked if he would investigate. Mantell replied that he was merely ferrying the aircraft but that he would attempt to intercept. He began a spiraling, climbing turn to 220 degrees and 15,000 feet.

As he reached 15,000 feet, Mantell radioed the tower. Records of that transmission are in dispute. Mantell did say that the object was "above me and appears to be moving about half my speed." Later he would report that it was "metallic and it is tremendous in size." With the UFO still above him, he reported he would continue to climb.

At 22,000 feet, the two wingmen who had stayed with him, Lieutenant A.W. Clements and Lieutenant B.A. Hammond, turned back. The oxygen equipment of one of the fighters had failed and military regulations required that oxygen be used above 14,000 feet. Hammond radioed that they were abandoning the intercept, but Mantell, who had no oxygen equipment on his aircraft, continued to climb. He did not acknowledge the message from Hammond.

For thirty minutes, as the flight chased the huge object, each of the wingmen broke off the intercept. Now, at 3:10 p.m., Mantell was the only pilot left chasing the object and he was alone at 23,000 feet. He was still climbing toward the UFO but made no more radio calls to either his wingmen or the control tower at Godman. By 3:15 everyone had lost both radio and visual contact with him.

Fearing the worst, a search was launched and just after 5:00 p.m., on a farm near Franklin, Kentucky, the remains of Mantell's F-51 were found scattered over about a half a mile. Mantell's body was inside the broken cockpit. His watch had stopped at 3:18 p.m. From the evidence it seems that Mantell was killed in the crash of his aircraft.

An investigation was begun immediately. It was a two pronged attack. One was to determine what happened to Mantell and why he had crashed. The second was to identify the object, or objects, that he had chased.

According to the Army Air Forces Report of Major Accident, aircraft number 44-65869, which was built on December 15, 1944, crashed 3.5 miles from Franklin, Kentucky. The narrative section contains a description of the accident. It stated, "On 7 January 1948 at approximately 1450–1455, Captain Mantell was leading a flight of four (4) P-51 aircraft on a flight from Marietta Air Base, Marietta, Georgia to Standiford Field at Louisville, Kentucky. Nearing Godman Field, Kentucky, the flight was contacted by Godman Field Control Tower and requested to identify an object in the sky if the mission would permit. Captain Mantell replied that his mission was ferrying aircraft and that he would attempt to identify the object in the sky. Captain Mantell began a maximum climb in left spirals until about 14000 feet and from there a straight climb at maximum, on a compass heading of approximately 220 degrees. No conversation between Captain Mantell and any member of his flight revealed a clue as to his intentions. One pilot left the flight as the climb began, the remaining two discontinued the climb at approximately 22000 feet. When last observed by the wing man Lt. Clements, Captain Mantell was in a maximum climb at 22500 feet, the aircraft in perfect control. Captain Mantell was heard to say in ship to ship conversation that he would go to 25000 feet for about ten minutes and then come down. Transmission was garbled and attempts to contact Captain Mantell by his flight were unanswered. Lt. Clements was the only pilot equipped with an oxygen mask. This flight had been planned and scheduled as a ferry and navigational trip at low level."

It continued, "Consensus is that Captain Mantell lost consciousness at approximately 25000 feet, the P-51 being trimmed for a maximum climb continued to climb, gradually leveling out as increasing altitude caused decrease in power. The aircraft began to fly in reasonably level attitude at about 30000 feet. It then began a gradual turn to the left because of torque, slowly increasing degree of bank as the nose depressed, finally began a spiraling dive which resulted in excessive speeds causing gradual disintegration of aircraft which probably began between 10000 and 20000 feet."

The report pointed out, "Since canopy lock was in place after the crash, it is assumed that Captain Mantell made no attempt to abandon the aircraft, and was unconscious at moment of crash or had died from lack of oxygen before aircraft began spiraling dive from about 30000 feet.

"Parts of the aircraft were found as far as six-tenths (estimated) of a mile from central wreckage. The parts were scattered north to south. The aircraft came straight down in a horizontal position and landed on the left side. The left wing came off while in the air and landed 100 feet from the central wreckage. The aircraft did not slide forward after contact with the ground."

It was noted in the record that Mantell had "Violated AAF [Army Air Forces] Reg. 60–16 Par. 43. However Capt. Mantell was requested by Godman Field Control Tower to investigate objects in the sky, causing this Officer to go above limits of AAF Reg. 60–16."

They recommended, quite naturally, that all pilots again be briefed on the use of oxygen equipment and the effects of the lack of oxygen on the human body and mind.

It's clear from the reports and documentation available that the cause of the accident was Mantell's violation of the regulations and his climb above 25,000 feet. Contrary to what some writers have suggested, there were no mystery wounds on Mantell's body, the aircraft was not riddled with nearly microscopic holes, or that outside forces knocked the plane from the sky. Mantell had made a tragic mistake by climbing too high. The lack of oxygen and oxygen equipment is what killed him.

But even with a mundane explanation for the crash and Mantell's death, there was no explanation for what Mantell had chased. That was the second prong of the investigation.

Air Force investigators, or in this case, Air National Guard investigators, explained the UFO as Venus. According to the astronomical charts available, at the time of the initial UFO sighting, Venus could be seen in the daylight sky in the approximate location of the UFO. Satisfied that they had found an answer, they completed their work.

Astronomers consulted acknowledged that Venus would have been visible, but doubted that a random search of the sky would have found it. Although bright enough to be seen in the daylight, it would have blended easily into the surrounding sky. If there was even the lightest of haze, Venus probably wouldn't have been visible to those on the ground. Or, in other words, Venus was not an acceptable explanation, and the cause of the sighting would have to be found elsewhere.

Later, official investigations suggested a huge balloon, or two balloons, and finally two balloons and Venus had caused the sighting. The investigating officers believed that someone in the tower sighted Venus, lost sight of it, but then as they searched the sky for the unknown object, spotted one of the two balloons. They suggested that Mantell had chased a weather balloon.

There were those inside the military who weren't happy with that answer. They spent a great deal of time on the Mantell case probably because of the sensational aspects of it. Here was a World War II ace killed while chasing a flying saucer. There was a closed casket funeral and a secret investigation. It certainly had all the elements of a great mystery, a great story and a grand conspiracy.

At one point Air Force investigators settled on Venus as the final answer. In the official files, one of the reports goes into depth about Venus. "However, under exceptionally good atmospheric conditions and the eye shielded from the direct rays of the sun, Venus might be seen as an exceeding tiny bright point of light. It can be shown that it was definitely brighter than the surrounding sky, for on the date in question, Venus has a semi-diameter of six seconds of arc… While it is thus physically possible to see Venus at such times, usually its pinpoint character and large expanse of sky makes its casual detection very unlikely." They were, in effect, saying that Venus was visible but they didn't think it was the answer.

The Air Force investigator was not finished with the Venus double-talk, however. He wrote, "The chances, of course, of looking at just the right spot are very few. Once done, however, it is usually fairly easy to relocate the object and call the attention of others to it. However, atmospheric conditions must be exceptionally good."

What all this does, is suggest that after saying the object might have been Venus was that it couldn't have been Venus. Although Venus was in the right spot at the right time, it probably does not account for the object seen by those in the tower.

Venus was no longer the preferred answer. The official report said, "It had been unofficially reported that the object was a Navy cosmic ray balloon. If this can be established, it is to be the preferred an explanation."

But this report was anything but consistent. Having said that it was Venus, that it wasn't Venus, and that it was a balloon, the investigator now explained why it wasn't a balloon. "If one accepts the assumption that reports from various locations in the state refer to the same object, any such device must have been a good many miles up… 25 to 50… in order to have been seen clearly, almost simultaneously, from places 175 miles apart."

Now, having run through all sorts of explanations, the investigator wrote, "It is entirely possible, of course, that the first sightings were of some sort of balloon or aircraft and that when the reports came to Godman Field, a careful scrutiny of the sky revealed Venus, and it could be that Lieutenant [sic] Mantell did actually give chase to Venus."

Having gone through all that, the investigator now explained why he believed that Mantell had chased Venus. It did not appear to move away from him. Of course, if the object was, in fact, an extraterrestrial spacecraft, it might be that it was maneuvering to avoid the close approach of Mantell's fighter. That idea didn't seem to cross the mind of the Air Force investigator, and that says something about the mindset of the military as they were writing their reports.

The final conclusions of the report are a masterpiece of double-talk. Now the investigator wrote, again, that it was Venus, but for that explanation to work properly, he needed a balloon and one other object as well. Given these three items, though there is no evidence that all three existed, he believed he could explain the case. He wrote, "Such a hypothesis [that is, Mantell chasing Venus] does still necessitate the inclusion of at least two other objects."

All of this suggests something about the investigations as they were being carried out in that era. It was a search for labels, but not necessarily a search for solutions. They were willing to accept nearly anything as an answer as long as they could remove a mysterious case from the files. And Mantell's case, because of the sensational aspects, as well as the public interest, was certainly one of those to be solved at all costs.

By late 1948, the Air Force became disgusted with the idea of UFOs. In the reports Air Force officers created, they explained as many of the cases as they could and suggested the remainder could be explained if there was sufficient information. They found nothing to suggest that UFOs were real. The problem, if ignored, would go away.

In 1952, a major magazine wanted to print an article about how spectacular UFO sightings had been explained through proper research and investigation. Because the spin of the article was that flying saucers did not exist, the Pentagon cooperated with the writer and the magazine. High-ranking Air Force officers assured the magazine editors that Mantell had chased Venus. In a move that was sure to anger the reporter and the magazine editor; a week after the magazine was published, the Air Force released a new answer. Mantell had chased a balloon.

In the early 1950s, the UFO project was reorganized, and cases that had been "solved" were again examined. Ed Ruppelt, seeing that the Mantell case was one of the thickest, asked for a microfilm copy of it. Unfortunately, something had been spilled on part of it, so that it was difficult, if not impossible, to read.

Ruppelt had one advantage that those who had made the original investigations didn't. He knew of the Navy's high altitude research using huge balloons that were called "Skyhook." He tried to find records that would prove that Skyhook was responsible, but could find nothing that would put one of the balloons over Godman Field at the right time. Because he had no conclusive evidence, he left the case listed as a "probable balloon."

Ruppelt did try to find the evidence. He gathered wind charts that showed if a balloon had been released from Clinton Air Force Base, Ohio on January 7, 1948, it might have been in the right position to cause the sighting over Godman Army Air Field on that date. But Ruppelt could not confirm it.

In 1956, Ruppelt published a book about his experiences as the chief of Project Blue Book. Because he was seen as an insider, when he drew conclusions, they carried some weight. When he said that he could find no records that proved a Skyhook balloon, or any other balloon was responsible, people listened.

Later, the controversy continued to rage. Dr. J. Allen Hynek, who was the scientific consultant for Project Blue Book, said that he didn't believe that Mantell was chasing Venus. He did say, however, "It is possible that Venus was also a cause to this sighting, and was observed by some of the witnesses on the ground. However, the prime culprit is believed to have been the Skyhook balloon released by the Navy. Captain Mantell was attempting to close in one this balloon which was still more than 40,000 feet above him."

When the Air Force ended the barrage of answers, the civilian UFO community was only too ready to pick up. Many of those writing about the Mantell case have suggested that the object was first spotted on radar. There are no accounts of radar sightings in the official records. Ruppelt makes no mention of it. In fact, the earliest reference to radar that I can find is in a book published in 1956. After that book appeared, others have picked up the idea that radar confirmed the UFO.

Others have claimed that Mantell was a World War II ace. Military records show that Mantell was a transport pilot during the war and therefore couldn't have shot down the five enemy aircraft necessary to become an ace. This doesn't mean that Mantell wasn't a good pilot or that he was a careless pilot. It merely proves that he wasn't a fighter pilot and didn't shoot down enemy planes.

In fact, he seemed to have been a very brave man. According to a letter sent to me by Mantell's sister, Bettye Mantell Risley, "Tommy was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his calm and courageous action on D-Day [that is, the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944]. On that day he was ferrying a glider plane to a designated point behind German lines. His instructions were to cut the glider loose and return to base if attacked. Tommy was attacked but proceeded to [his] destination where men in the glider would be with others for mutual safety. He was then able to get his badly damaged plane back to his base in England."

Others have created rumors apparently to make the story more exciting. There are claims that Mantell's last words, suppressed by the Air Force, were about seeing men inside the craft. Others have claimed that Mantell's body was never found. Others have said that Mantell's F-51 had been disintegrated by a ray from the object. None of these claims are supported by fact or documentation or even witness testimony.

So what did happen to Mantell? Can we, after fifty years make any determination about the case? I think the answer is yes, and now that we have access to all the information, we can supply the answer to the mystery.

In a statement given on January 15, 1948, T/Sgt Quinton Blackwell provided clues about the Mantell mystery. Mantell and his planes did attempt to find the object and "At about 1445 or 1450 National Guard 869 [Mantell's plane number] notified Godman Tower he was [at] approximately 15000 feet."

Mantell is then quoted as saying, "I have an object in sight above and ahead of me and it appears to be moving at about half my speed or approximately 180 miles an hour." That, of course, is Mantell's estimate and should not be considered a hard fact.

He was asked for a description, and again, according to Blackwell's statement, said, "It appears to be a metallic object or possibly a reflection of the sun from a metallic object, and it is of tremendous size."

The last communication from Mantell came at about 1515 or 1520, that is, about a quarter after three in the afternoon. He told the men in the tower, "[The object] is directly ahead of me and slightly above, and is now moving at about my speed or better. I am trying to close for a better look."

Other statements of the witnesses, taken at the time of the event or shortly after it, provided additional clues. One of the witnesses said of the object, "It was huge, fluid. It had a metallic sheen and looked like an upside-down ice cream cone."

There are also a number of drawings in the official file. These were made by the men who were in the tower during the incident. The drawings look like an upside-down ice cream cone. Or, to put a different face on it, they look like a skyhook balloon seen from a long way.

The solution to this case would have come much sooner had the Air Force not been interested in disproving UFOs but had been interested in finding answers. Clearly Venus has nothing to do with this sighting. The fact that it was in the sky near the right location at the time is irrelevant and has confused people for much too long. Venus, as a culprit, has been eliminated from the case.

Second, there is no need to create a number of balloons or other unidentified and unreported aircraft in the area to find a solution. All the talk of another balloon or object is also irrelevant.

Given the descriptions provided, the fact that Skyhook balloons were being launched, and given the size and shape of those balloons, it seems reasonable to believe that Mantell chased a Skyhook. Neither he, nor anyone else at Godman Army Air Field, would have been familiar with the Skyhooks. They were classified in 1948. They certainly would have been huge, fluid, and would have looked metallic because they were made of polyethylene.

When the file is carefully studied, when the descriptions are considered, and when the nonsense is removed from the case, there is but a single conclusion. This was a Skyhook balloon.

By studying this case, we do see the mindset of the military officials. Because of that mindset, they did more damage to their investigations than they did to anything else. Had they been honest and candid as they began their search they would have been believed. Clearly, in 1948, without the knowledge of the existence of the Skyhook project, they should have declared the case to be unidentified.

But rather than that, they kept manipulating the data to provide multiple answers to the case. Even if the evidence didn't fit the facts as they knew them, they chopped and cut until they did fit and by doing that, created an air of suspicion about their investigation.

The Mantell case is a tragic accident. Mantell tried to fly higher than his aircraft was equipped to fly. Lack of oxygen at high altitudes is a very real problem. It affects judgment and it can kill. Air Force pilots are routinely exposed to the altitude chamber in which they learn the effects of oxygen deprivation. Even the simple task of separating playing cards into black and red becomes impossible. Judgment is clearly impaired and irrational decisions are made.

Mantell was killed in an aircraft accident. He was chasing a Skyhook balloon. This case should now be eliminated from the UFO case files.