ST. LOUIS COUNTY • Nova Hart and his father-in-law, J.H. Jackson, saw the mysterious thing soaring noiselessly over their July 4th picnic near Creve Coeur Lake, in what is now Maryland Heights. Hart said it was silver-gray and round.
"Our wives saw it too, and so did some people in an automobile who stopped when they saw us looking up," said Hart, then of 3969A St. Ferdinand Avenue in St. Louis. "I can say it certainly was strange, and none of us drinks a drop."
Hart and Jackson were the first St. Louisans to report one of the flying saucers that suddenly were all over the American sky in the summer of 1947. Some newspapers called them "flying discs." Eventually, the accepted term became unidentified flying object, or UFOs.
The first sighting was made June 25, 1947, by a private pilot, Kenneth Arnold, who said he saw nine saucers zipping at 1,200 mph east of Seattle. Another aviator spotted them over Bakersfield, Calif. Sightings poured in from Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Idaho and Kentucky. Among the witnesses were the Idaho lieutenant governor and a Weather Bureau meteorologist. Thus began an enduring national craze.
People are also reading…
Military brass scoffed, then dispatched fighter planes to search for saucers. "If some foreign power is sending flying discs over the United States, it is our responsibility to know about it," an Army Air Forces spokesman said.
The wave hit St. Louis on July 5, when Hart told his story. One evening later, Dr. Walter Hoefer, 23 Black Creek Lane in Ladue, saw six saucers flying southeast in formation. People in Shrewsbury, Webster Groves and south St. Louis also saw them. George Malcolm of 5632 Tholozan Avenue described the six as 'silver streaks floating in the air. ... They were round and made no noise."
Reports came from 38 states and Canada. Newspapers dutifully contacted scientists, who suggested weather balloons, reflections from searchlights, vivid imaginations and generalized fear of a world in peril. One California physicist cited the "transmutation of atomic energy."
There already was enough serious news in 1947 to keep Americans on edge. The Iron Curtain ran across eastern Europe. The Soviets coveted the atomic bomb. Communists were gaining in China. Could a visit from outer space be so unlikely, or unwelcome?
Many people got their notions of space travel from "Flash Gordon" movies and radio shows. American rocketry, still barely off the ground, practiced with surplus German V-2s.
Inevitably, reports trailed off, undone by mockery and pranksters. On July 9, nearly 100 people called the Post-Dispatch to report discs plunging from the sky. It turned out that three pilots had dropped them in a publicity stunt for their flying school near Fenton.
But UFOs, or at least sightings, never went away.
1947 UFO sightings shake St. Louis
![Look Back: UFO sightings, 1947](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/b4/0b468cd8-6a71-5778-a845-dba0d6982487/4ff71ad596326.image.jpg?resize=150%2C119 150w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/b4/0b468cd8-6a71-5778-a845-dba0d6982487/4ff71ad596326.image.jpg?resize=200%2C158 200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/b4/0b468cd8-6a71-5778-a845-dba0d6982487/4ff71ad596326.image.jpg?resize=225%2C178 225w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/b4/0b468cd8-6a71-5778-a845-dba0d6982487/4ff71ad596326.image.jpg?resize=300%2C238 300w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/b4/0b468cd8-6a71-5778-a845-dba0d6982487/4ff71ad596326.image.jpg?resize=400%2C317 400w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/b4/0b468cd8-6a71-5778-a845-dba0d6982487/4ff71ad596326.image.jpg?resize=540%2C428 540w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/b4/0b468cd8-6a71-5778-a845-dba0d6982487/4ff71ad596326.image.jpg?resize=620%2C491 640w)
Many people in northern Kentucky claimed to have seen these mysterious streaks, which a Louisville, Ky., Times photographer said he captured on film about 10:35 p.m. on July 7, 1947. The Weather Bureau in Louisville said many callers claimed to have seen flying discs. (AP)
![Look Back: UFO sightings, 1947](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/ed/4ed3b142-3735-506d-9ba4-1c999657e1d1/4ff71acdc0978.image.jpg?resize=150%2C117 150w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/ed/4ed3b142-3735-506d-9ba4-1c999657e1d1/4ff71acdc0978.image.jpg?resize=200%2C156 200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/ed/4ed3b142-3735-506d-9ba4-1c999657e1d1/4ff71acdc0978.image.jpg?resize=225%2C176 225w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/ed/4ed3b142-3735-506d-9ba4-1c999657e1d1/4ff71acdc0978.image.jpg?resize=300%2C234 300w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/ed/4ed3b142-3735-506d-9ba4-1c999657e1d1/4ff71acdc0978.image.jpg?resize=400%2C312 400w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/ed/4ed3b142-3735-506d-9ba4-1c999657e1d1/4ff71acdc0978.image.jpg?resize=540%2C422 540w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/ed/4ed3b142-3735-506d-9ba4-1c999657e1d1/4ff71acdc0978.image.jpg?resize=620%2C484 640w)
Air Force Capt. Edward Ruppelt (left) points to a possible UFO sight in the Southwest as he works on the map with Lt. Anderson Flues in March 1953. They were part of the Aerial Phenomena Section, also known as Project Bluebook, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The Air Force remained skeptical throughout the craze, but dutifully kept records of citizens' reports for two decades. (AP)
![Look Back: UFO sightings, 1947](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/35/53599375-6ee3-5155-94dc-f28bff0188e4/4ff71ae2217b9.image.jpg?resize=150%2C116 150w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/35/53599375-6ee3-5155-94dc-f28bff0188e4/4ff71ae2217b9.image.jpg?resize=200%2C155 200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/35/53599375-6ee3-5155-94dc-f28bff0188e4/4ff71ae2217b9.image.jpg?resize=225%2C175 225w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/35/53599375-6ee3-5155-94dc-f28bff0188e4/4ff71ae2217b9.image.jpg?resize=300%2C233 300w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/35/53599375-6ee3-5155-94dc-f28bff0188e4/4ff71ae2217b9.image.jpg?resize=400%2C310 400w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/35/53599375-6ee3-5155-94dc-f28bff0188e4/4ff71ae2217b9.image.jpg?resize=540%2C419 540w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/35/53599375-6ee3-5155-94dc-f28bff0188e4/4ff71ae2217b9.image.jpg?resize=620%2C481 640w)
The white dot, marked by an arrow, was photographed by Frank Ryman of the Coast Guard near Seattle. Ryman believed it was one of the mysterious flying discs, or flying saucers, that people claimed to have seen in summer 1947. The term for them later became unidentified flying objects, or UFOs. The Post-Dispatch published this photograph on its front page July 5, 1947, along with a story quoting Nova Hart of St. Louis, who said he and his family had seen one flying near Creve Couer Lake on July 4. Hart's was the first report from St. Louis to join a chorus of sightings in 1947 in 38 states. (AP)
![Look Back: UFO sightings, 1947](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/13/9136e7da-926a-5f52-bea0-583bf81fa8ce/4ff71ac6abcc7.image.jpg?resize=150%2C233 150w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/13/9136e7da-926a-5f52-bea0-583bf81fa8ce/4ff71ac6abcc7.image.jpg?resize=200%2C310 200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/13/9136e7da-926a-5f52-bea0-583bf81fa8ce/4ff71ac6abcc7.image.jpg?resize=225%2C349 225w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/13/9136e7da-926a-5f52-bea0-583bf81fa8ce/4ff71ac6abcc7.image.jpg?resize=300%2C465 300w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/13/9136e7da-926a-5f52-bea0-583bf81fa8ce/4ff71ac6abcc7.image.jpg?resize=400%2C620 400w)
A motelkeeper in Piedmont, Mo., proclaims the southeast Missouri town's place in UFO lore in April 1973. About half of Piedmont's 2,000 residents claimed to have seen UFOs in the sky over their town that spring. (Post-Dispatch)
![Look Back: UFO sightings, 1947](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/0f/c0fecc94-c25f-5aee-bc18-7b29f7610dae/56f216cae92ec.image.jpg?resize=150%2C178 150w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/0f/c0fecc94-c25f-5aee-bc18-7b29f7610dae/56f216cae92ec.image.jpg?resize=200%2C238 200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/0f/c0fecc94-c25f-5aee-bc18-7b29f7610dae/56f216cae92ec.image.jpg?resize=225%2C267 225w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/0f/c0fecc94-c25f-5aee-bc18-7b29f7610dae/56f216cae92ec.image.jpg?resize=300%2C357 300w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/0f/c0fecc94-c25f-5aee-bc18-7b29f7610dae/56f216cae92ec.image.jpg?resize=400%2C475 400w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/0f/c0fecc94-c25f-5aee-bc18-7b29f7610dae/56f216cae92ec.image.jpg?resize=540%2C642 540w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/0f/c0fecc94-c25f-5aee-bc18-7b29f7610dae/56f216cae92ec.image.jpg?resize=640%2C761 640w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/0f/c0fecc94-c25f-5aee-bc18-7b29f7610dae/56f216cae92ec.image.jpg?resize=750%2C891 750w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/0f/c0fecc94-c25f-5aee-bc18-7b29f7610dae/56f216cae92ec.image.jpg?resize=990%2C1177 990w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/0f/c0fecc94-c25f-5aee-bc18-7b29f7610dae/56f216cae92ec.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C1230 1035w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/0f/c0fecc94-c25f-5aee-bc18-7b29f7610dae/56f216cae92ec.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C1426 1200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/0f/c0fecc94-c25f-5aee-bc18-7b29f7610dae/56f216cae92ec.image.jpg?resize=1320%2C1569 1333w)
Capt. E.J. Smith, a United Air Lines pilot, describes how he saw flying discs during a flight July 5, 1947, from Boise, Idaho, to Portland, Ore. The first such sighting had been by another pilot near Seattle one week before. Smith said he had been skeptical of the reports until he saw one himself. In the background is co-pilot Ralph Stevens, who told reporters that he saw it, too. (AP)
![Look Back: UFO sightings, 1947](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/bb/ebb5b086-1100-583b-87a7-238454aaeb14/4ff71ac367aa1.image.jpg?resize=150%2C99 150w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/bb/ebb5b086-1100-583b-87a7-238454aaeb14/4ff71ac367aa1.image.jpg?resize=200%2C132 200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/bb/ebb5b086-1100-583b-87a7-238454aaeb14/4ff71ac367aa1.image.jpg?resize=225%2C148 225w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/bb/ebb5b086-1100-583b-87a7-238454aaeb14/4ff71ac367aa1.image.jpg?resize=300%2C197 300w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/bb/ebb5b086-1100-583b-87a7-238454aaeb14/4ff71ac367aa1.image.jpg?resize=400%2C263 400w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/bb/ebb5b086-1100-583b-87a7-238454aaeb14/4ff71ac367aa1.image.jpg?resize=540%2C355 540w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/bb/ebb5b086-1100-583b-87a7-238454aaeb14/4ff71ac367aa1.image.jpg?resize=620%2C408 640w)
UFO hunters set up their equipment at dusk on a farm road near Chaffee, Mo., in December 1977. Chaffee is southwest of Cape Girardeau. UFO hunters scanned the skies of southeast Missouri after the claims of multiple sightings four years earlier in Piedmont, 50 miles west of Chaffee. (Gene Pospeshil/Post-Dispatch)
![Look Back: UFO sightings, 1947](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/e6/ee6c3db9-e6d9-5bdc-8666-765f0804a686/4ff71ad1d65e5.image.jpg?resize=150%2C113 150w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/e6/ee6c3db9-e6d9-5bdc-8666-765f0804a686/4ff71ad1d65e5.image.jpg?resize=200%2C150 200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/e6/ee6c3db9-e6d9-5bdc-8666-765f0804a686/4ff71ad1d65e5.image.jpg?resize=225%2C169 225w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/e6/ee6c3db9-e6d9-5bdc-8666-765f0804a686/4ff71ad1d65e5.image.jpg?resize=300%2C225 300w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/e6/ee6c3db9-e6d9-5bdc-8666-765f0804a686/4ff71ad1d65e5.image.jpg?resize=400%2C300 400w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/e6/ee6c3db9-e6d9-5bdc-8666-765f0804a686/4ff71ad1d65e5.image.jpg?resize=540%2C405 540w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/e6/ee6c3db9-e6d9-5bdc-8666-765f0804a686/4ff71ad1d65e5.image.jpg?resize=620%2C465 640w)
Two boys in Reading, Pa., pose with their creation, which they said they built in August 1950 as a prank "to fool people." With them is police officer John Floyd Auchenbach, who had been dispatched to investigate calls from worried citizens. Auchenbach didn't enjoy the joke. The boys are (left) John Feick, 15, and Paul Fisher, 14. (AP)