U.S. Air Force Analysis of Flying Objects in the United States, 1-100

On 13 Oct 47 at 5:30 - 5:45 A.M., Mr. C. D. Bates in the company of Judge Hasmay were proceeding north on the highway to Minneapolis some 14 miles north of Dampkin. It was not yet dawn. Sky to northwest clear with stars visible. First noticed a blue light to the northwest at an elevation of 25°. It was moving eastward with the speed of a meteor. First thought to be aircraft light but as it moved across sky it grew larger and kept getting closer to the earth - apparently traveling from NW to the SE. When first observed it seemed the color and size of a first-magnitude star. At a point slightly west of due north at about a 10° elevation it exploded, throwing a brilliant & reddish tinged cone of fire forward and downward. No noise was heard. The cone appeared to be composed of fine specks of incandescent material with some larger pieces - much like an explosion of a sky rocket. But at no time was any tall seen - simply a bright ball growing larger and then the explosion. The ball seemed to grow in size - an anolygous comparison - the spread in diameter between a golf ball to a football. It appeared as a ball of blue fire until the explosion. NOTE: Mr. Bates account tallies with that of Judge Hasmay with the exception that the judge apparently did not notice the blue tinge until the time of the explosion.