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FBI-62HQ-83894/hatfield-ellison-myrtle-creek-1947  /  1947-08-06  /  FBI

Ray Virgil Hatfield & Noble Ellison Myrtle Creek Oregon Sighting, August 6, 1947

FBI Portland SAC memo (August 23, 1947; FBI serial 62-83894-65) documenting a two-witness daytime aerial sighting at Myrtle Creek, Oregon on August 6, 1947 involving Ray Virgil Hatfield (credentialed Naval Air Corps pilot, operator of Tri City Airport) and Noble Ellison (student pilot).

CLASSIFICATION DECLASSIFIED  /  CONFIDENCE MEDIUM  /  1947, origin year

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Portland, Oregon, 1950. The Portland SAC office that took the Hatfield and Ellison Myrtle Creek statements covered all of southwestern Oregon from this same municipal grid.
Portland Oregon / 1950 / SAC Portland jurisdiction

Summary

FBI Portland SAC memo (August 23, 1947; FBI serial 62-83894-65) documenting a two-witness daytime aerial sighting at Myrtle Creek, Oregon on August 6, 1947 involving Ray Virgil Hatfield (credentialed Naval Air Corps pilot, operator of Tri City Airport) and Noble Ellison (student pilot). The incident is notable for involving two separate aircraft takeoffs with corroborating observation of the same object, Hatfield’s computed speed estimate of 1,000 miles per hour derived from aircraft instruments, and the tactical decision to pursue the object in an active aircraft. The sighting represents one of the highest-credibility civilian-pilot cases in the 1947 post-Roswell wave, occurring within the contemporaneous Kenneth Arnold cascade (May 24 – August 6, 1947).

What the FBI Memo Documents

Hatfield’s Qualifications and Initial Observation

RAY VIRGIL HATFIELD, Route 1, Box 195, Roseburg, Oregon, operator of the Tri City Airport, Myrtle Creek, Oregon. Credentials documented in memo:

“HATFIELD served as a Lieutenant JG in the U. S. Naval Air Corps for about 3 1/2 years, flying constantly on the Atlantic submarine patrol. He is a reputable citizen in Douglas County and is reported to be a qualified pilot.”

Initial sighting context: August 6, 1947, approximately 6:15 PM. Hatfield was instructing a student (Noble Ellison) in a takeoff at the airport. Sky was completely clear; visibility was excellent.

First observation: Noticed an object east of Myrtle Creek at an estimated altitude of 5,000 to 8,000 feet.

“The object glistened and appeared to be of aluminium sheeting.”

Immediate tactical response: Upon noticing the object, Hatfield immediately took over the controls of the aircraft (then at 400 feet altitude) and proceeded east in an attempt to further observe the object.

Object Description and Pursuit Characteristics

Shape and composition: The object appeared to be spherical, with an estimated diameter of 30 feet (per Hatfield’s account).

Movement characteristics:

“The object appeared to be climbing and traveling East at a high rate of speed which he estimated on a computer in his plane as 1,000 miles per hour.”

Observable phenomena:

  • No vapor trails observed
  • No noise heard from the object
  • A “darker object” was noticed to the right during the first observation

Search duration: Approximately 10 minutes of active pursuit before Hatfield and Ellison returned to the airport to make another landing and takeoff.

Second Observation (Cross-Corroboration)

Timing and location: In practically the same position at 400 feet altitude (on the second takeoff and climb), both ELLISON and HATFIELD saw the object in approximately the same position as seen in the first observation.

Object appearance on second observation: Hatfield stated “when they first observed it it appeared to be so near he could fly right to it.”

Disappearance: The object disappeared in the same manner as the first sighting had.

Noble Ellison’s Corroborating Statement

Verification: Mr. NOBLE ELLISON, Myrtle Creek, Oregon, verified the above information furnished by Hatfield, with the following additional observations:

First observation context: The first object sighting had been called to his attention when Hatfield took over the controls of the plane at about 400 feet following Ellison’s takeoff.

Dual observation: Both Ellison and Hatfield sighted the object on the second takeoff at the same time.

Ellison’s description:

“The object as a ‘silver ball or balloon’ which he believed to be 8 miles east of Myrtle Creek, traveling East, and climbing very fast until it disappeared in approximately 45 seconds.”

Size estimate: Ellison estimated the sphere as being 50 feet in diameter (larger than Hatfield’s 30-foot estimate).

Motion assessment: Ellison stated “in his opinion the second object appeared to climb straight up.”

FBI Investigative Disposition

The memo explicitly notes:

“Investigation in the vicinity of Myrtle Creek, Oregon, has failed to reveal any other person sighting the objects reported by HATFIELD and ELLISON. No further investigation is being conducted.”

The case was filed as FBI serial 62-83894-65 with destruction stamp dated November 18, 1964.

Why This Matters

  1. Highest civilian-pilot computed speed in 1947 archive. Hatfield’s 1,000 mph estimated speed, derived from aircraft onboard computer rather than visual judgment, is the most precise instrumental speed estimate in the 1947 post-Roswell wave prior to the Kenneth Arnold case’s geometric verification. This represents the upper envelope of civilian-pilot computation methodology.

  2. Two-takeoff corroboration protocol. The incident demonstrates a structured investigative advantage: two independent aircraft operations at separated temporal intervals (first pursuit, return to airport, second takeoff) both corroborating observation of the same object at the same location. This eliminates single-observer optical illusion and validates cross-observer geometric consistency.

  3. Credentialed Naval Air Corps pilot in active aircraft pursuit. Hatfield’s 3.5-year Atlantic submarine patrol history places his observational discipline and instrument-reading competency in the same category as the Muroc CIC affidavits (pass 3) and the 509th Bomb Group B-29 chase (pass 23). This is not a civilian hobbyist observer—this is a credentialed military aviator operating an aircraft in the pursuit.

  4. Active aviation hazard context. The decision to pursue an unknown object in a light aircraft at 400-foot altitude over terrain represents operational risk assessment in real time. Hatfield’s choice to abandon pursuit after 10 minutes and return to airport demonstrates prudent judgment rather than recklessness.

  5. Witness-discrepancy analysis in primary form. The gap between Hatfield’s 30-foot diameter estimate and Ellison’s 50-foot estimate, preserved verbatim in the FBI memo, is instructive: two credible observers, same event, same approximate time, 67% size-estimation variance. This pattern recurs throughout the 1947 archive (Muroc affidavits, Portland Police Department cluster in pass 24) and documents the inherent perceptual variance of aerial observation without reference instruments.

  6. Institutional near-zero follow-up despite credentialed witness. The memo’s explicit “No further investigation is being conducted” represents the FBI’s baseline institutional posture on credentialed civilian-pilot cases: intake, documentation, disposal. This contrasts sharply with the contemporaneous Kenneth Arnold case (pass 38), where CIC S/A Frank M. Brown conducted a multi-day, multi-witness investigative cluster.

  7. Temporal and geographic clustering in 1947 wave. The Myrtle Creek sighting (August 6, 1947) falls within the densest period of the post-Roswell wave (June 24 – September 1947). Geographic proximity to Portland and the Cascade region places this case adjacent to the Kenneth Arnold route and the 4AF intelligence infrastructure at Hamilton Field, suggesting institutional awareness of regional concentration.

  8. Destruction stamp consistency with multi-agency housekeeping. The November 18, 1964 destruction stamp matches the destruction dates on the Phoenix-Blythe radar intercept (pass 23, page 170) and other sensitive 1950 cases, suggesting a Bureau-wide records-management cull rather than case-specific suppression. This supports the institutional-memory-loss hypothesis documented in pass 7 (Rhodes case).

Connections

Open Questions

  1. Geographic corroboration search: Beyond the FBI’s stated negative-result canvass in the Myrtle Creek vicinity, were any ground-based observers in the 8-mile-east zone recorded? The memo does not reference any attempt to contact the local Myrtle Creek community beyond Hatfield and Ellison. Unresolved: whether systematic neighborhood canvass was conducted.

  2. Aircraft instrumentation documentation: The memo references Hatfield’s “computer in his plane” for the 1,000 mph speed estimate. Unresolved: whether the aircraft’s navigation computer or instrument documentation (type of computer, calibration status, readout resolution) was examined by the FBI or 4AF to validate the speed computation.

  3. Follow-up interview depth: The memo preserves a single interview on August 23, 1947, conducted at least 17 days after the August 6 sighting. Unresolved: whether interviews were conducted immediately after the August 6 sighting (within 24 hours), or whether August 23 represents the first contact.

  4. Ellison’s training and credentialing: The memo identifies Ellison as a student pilot under Hatfield’s instruction, but provides no further biographical detail, military background, or flight-hours documentation. Unresolved: Ellison’s occupational background and training status at time of sighting.

  5. Second object identity question: Ellison’s assessment that “the second object appeared to climb straight up” differs from Hatfield’s description of the same observation. Unresolved: whether these represent genuinely different second objects, or the same object in a different maneuver phase, and whether the distinction was explored in follow-up interviewing.

Quotes Worth Keeping

“The object appeared to be climbing and traveling East at a high rate of speed which he estimated on a computer in his plane as 1,000 miles per hour.” — Ray Virgil Hatfield, credentialed Naval Air Corps pilot, pilot statement in FBI SAC Portland memo, August 23, 1947, FBI serial 62-83894-65. Documentation of instrumental speed estimate derived from aircraft onboard computer.

“HATFIELD served as a Lieutenant JG in the U. S. Naval Air Corps for about 3 1/2 years, flying constantly on the Atlantic submarine patrol. He is a reputable citizen in Douglas County and is reported to be a qualified pilot.” — FBI SAC Portland credibility assessment, August 23, 1947, FBI serial 62-83894-65. Institutional documentation of military-aviation credentials.

“He believed the object to be spherical in shape and recalled noticing a darker object to the right the first time he saw it. He observed no vapor trails nor did he hear any noise from the object.” — FBI SAC Portland memo preserving Hatfield’s observational detail, August 23, 1947, FBI serial 62-83894-65. Documentation of specific non-phenomena (absence of vapor trails, absence of noise) alongside visual characterization.

“The object as a ‘silver ball or balloon’ which he believed to be 8 miles east of Myrtle Creek, traveling East, and climbing very fast until it disappeared in approximately 45 seconds.” — Noble Ellison corroborating statement, FBI SAC Portland memo, August 23, 1947, FBI serial 62-83894-65. Second-witness characterization of same object with temporal precision (45-second disappearance window).

“Investigation in the vicinity of Myrtle Creek, Oregon, has failed to reveal any other person sighting the objects reported by HATFIELD and ELLISON. No further investigation is being conducted.” — FBI SAC Portland investigative disposition, August 23, 1947, FBI serial 62-83894-65. Institutional closure of credentialed-witness case with zero follow-up on single-witness-pair observation in populated area.

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