Soviet TU-2 pilot/defector (unnamed, subject of debrief)

1948-09-05 / West coast of Holland, 5155N/0355E / unresolved

On 4 November 1948, USAFE transmitted intelligence cable TT #1524 to General Cabell and the USAF Directorate of Intelligence. Three crews of the 307th Bomb Group had sighted an aircraft on 5 September 1948 off the west coast of Holland at 30,000 feet, assessed as a single jet-propelled aircraft employing probable rocket assists, rated B-2. The cable also reported a flying saucer hovering over Neubiberg Air Base for about thirty minutes, and relayed the Swedish Air Intelligence Service's conclusion that such phenomena "cannot be credited to any presently known culture on earth."

Unidentified aircraft sighted at 1402Z 5 Sep 48 off west coast of Holland at 30,000 feet altitude; initially cruising at normal jet speed on heading 120 degrees; subsequently left smoke trails and condensation trails with sudden acceleration and climb; assessed as single jet-propelled aircraft employing probable rocket assists with tremendous reserve power beyond normal cruising speed for jets of the 1947 variety; never within identification range