A US fighter pilot was reportedly left shaken after he spent 30 minutes duelling in the sky with a white shape that appeared to totally outclass his fighter plane.
Lieutenant George F. Gorman was a veteran World War 2 aviator but was stunned by the eerie encounter he had in the skies over Fargo, North Dakota.
And his so-called "dogfight" with a UFO on October 1, 1948, is one of the most baffling encounters from the early days of the phenomenon.
Gorman is alleged to have witnessed a bright white ball of an object which seemed to totally outclass his P-51 Mustang.
Serving with the North Dakota National Guard at the time, the pilot was on a training mission when he spotted the object at around 9pm.
It was also seen by those on the ground and a civilian plane – but when Gorman flew to intercept he ended up in a game high speed cat and mouse with the shape for 27 minutes.
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The official story is that the experienced and level headed Gorman simply encountered a lighted weather balloon or became confused by a particularly bright Jupiter.
But that reportedly never washed with Gorman, allegedly telling pals he was "never convinced that he had been duelling with a lighted balloon for 27 minutes".
Gorman died in 1982 so is no longer around to tell his story – and The Sun Online made approaches to speak to his surviving family via social media but with no response as of time of publication.
His tale is an enduring mystery – and one that continues to inflame as UFOs have now taken centre stage in Washington DC as the topic steps out of the realm of fringe conspiracies.
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Chris Lehto, an experienced F-16 pilot who has investigated the Gorman case, told The Sun Online: "xxxxx."
The incident began as Gorman and his wingmen were flying back towards Hector Airport.
With the others peeling off, Gorman decided to stay airborne so he could practice night flying in cloudless skies.
And after swooping over a packed stadium where the North Dakota Bison were taking on the Augustana Vikings, Gorman spotted something in the sky he couldn't explain.
It was a white blinking ball of light.
Gorman radioed to the air traffic control tower, but they said they only had him and a nearby civilian Piper Cub on their scope.
Pulling his P-51 round, he went to investigate – and suddenly the object sped away from him, accelerating to around 600mph.
It was blinking on and off. As I approached, however, the light suddenly became steady and pulled into a sharp left bank
What followed next was nearly half an hour of aerial chicken as Gorman engaged with the object at full speed.
The shape swooped directly over his plane and appeared to totally outmanoeuvre his P-51.
He described it as "clear white and completely without fuzz at the edges"- and it performed acrobatics such as 180 degree turns, sudden steep climbs, and head on passes with his plane.
"It was blinking on and off. As I approached, however, the light suddenly became steady and pulled into a sharp left bank," Gorman told investigators.
As the "dogfight" unfolded, air traffic controllers in the tower at Hector Airport also spotted the light – as did the civilian pilot and passenger in the Piper Club.
Gorman pushed his plane to the limit – at one point even briefly blacking out due to the forces and speeds involved – but still couldn't match the UFO.
And then 27 minutes after the encounter started, the UFO pulled away in a vertical climb – moving so far and so fast that the WW2 veteran lost sight of the shape.
Shaken and disturbed, Gorman landed his fighter plane.
And in the coming hours, he found himself having to issue sworn statements to the US's first official UFO investigation, Project Sign.
What could be described as "men in black" descended on Fargo, interviewing those involved and even checking the P-51 with a Geiger counter for radiation.
They found the Mustang was considerably radioactive – but this fact has since been attributed to the altitude he was flying.
"I am convinced that there was definite thought behind [the UFOs] maneuvers," Gorman told investigators.
"I am further convinced that the object was governed by the laws of inertia because its acceleration was rapid but not immediate and although it was able to turn fairly tight at considerable speed, it still followed a natural curve."
He went on: "When I attempted to turn with the object I blacked out temporarily due to excessive speed.
"I am in fairly good physical condition and I do not believe that there are many if any pilots who could withstand the turn and speed affected by the object, and remain conscious.
"The object was not only able to out turn and out speed my aircraft … but was able to attain a far steeper climb and was able to maintain a constant rate of climb far in excess of my aircraft."
Project Sign's g-men assessed Gorman as being a "sincere and serious individual" who was "considerably puzzled by his experience and made no attempt to blow his story up".
Air traffic controller Lloyd D. Jensen meanwhile was assessed as "reliable, deliberate and calculated in his observations", as was his colleague H.E. Johnson – who they said was "stoical, quiet, not easily impressed".
PROJECT GRUDGE
Piper Cub pilot Dr. L.N. Cannon was assessed as " highly alert, quick witted, and very capable" – but he is said to have been "not impressed by the incident", instead believing the object was simply a Canadian fighter jet.
Project Sign investigators are reported to have initially believed "something remarkable" occured that night over Fargo.
But in later UFO probes – Project Grudge and Project Blue Book – saw the case re-evaluated and shelved as simply a weather balloon.
For many however, this explanation remains unsatisfactory, and Gorman's story remains an extraordinary early encounter with a UFO.
Gorman never spoke publicly about the encounter after the initial buzz – and was reportedly threatened with court martial if he did so.
But his story is another piece in the early UFO puzzle which is returning to the fore as the stigma around the topic breaks down.
US officials dismissed UFOs at the conclusion of Project Blue Book in the 1960s – stating there was nothing to see.
And yet now around five decades on the debate has returned and is now being treated as a serious national security issue.
The topic which was for decades considered a fringe and wacky damaging topic is now being openly spoken about by very senior figures, including former President Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
US lawmakers commissioned the Pentagon UFO report after a stunning string of leaked videos that showed military encounters with objects such as the infamous “Tic Tac”.
Washington is pressing on with discussions around UFOs, with new legislation being proposed to protect whistleblowers.
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Questions remain whether the objects being encountered by the US are previously unknown drones, natural phenomenon, black technology – or perhaps something more alien.
And last week, The Sun Online revealed one family’s hunt for answers after a US pilot died in a crash while chasing a UFO.
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