Raleigh NC: Pilots chase four 100-ft metallic discs
Miami Airlines pilots observed four large round metallic objects descending near Pope AFB after takeoff from Raleigh, NC. They pursued briefly before the objects accelerated away rapidly.
Background
Sighting and Pursuit
On October 15, 1950 at 16:20, the Miami Airlines DC-4 took off from Raleigh, North Carolina. Captain George A. Woodward and co-pilot William Bardsley noticed four round, metallic gleaming objects descending slowly near Pope AFB (today Pope Field) at Fort Bragg. Each object resembled two saucers placed one on top of the other, measured about 30 metres across, and flew in line at 7.5 metre intervals.
Behaviour of the Objects
The pilots chased the objects for around three minutes, but these drew steadily away and then accelerated at enormous speed. At the same time a similar object crossed the path of a US Air Force jet near Pope AFB.
Witnesses and Sources
Primary witnesses: Capt. George A. Woodward, William Bardsley. Reports in NICAP documents, in local newspapers such as the Lumberton Robesonian (16.10.1950) and the Florence Morning News (16.10.1950), and in Loren E. Gross, UFOs: A History, Vol. 7 (1982, pp. 39-40). The event is among the early pilot sightings of large, manoeuvrable UAP.