The Mantell UFO Incident 1948: The Day a Pilot Chased a UFO and Never Came Back

Quick Info

January 7, 1948, near Franklin, Kentucky, USA. Captain Thomas F. Mantell Jr. and three other P-51 Mustang pilots from the Kentucky Air National Guard chased a massive, metallic, cone-shaped object seen by Godman Army Airfield personnel. Mantell climbed to 25,000 feet without oxygen and crashed fatally.

Project Sign investigated. Official explanation: Skyhook balloon. The case remains controversial and is one of the earliest post-Roswell UFO tragedies.

Timeline of Events – January 7, 1948

The sighting chain unfolded over roughly 90 minutes on a clear, cold afternoon. Times are approximate, based on USAF logs, witness statements, and Project Sign reports.

13:15–13:20 (1:15–1:20 p.m.) Godman Army Airfield (Fort Knox, Kentucky) control tower receives a call from the Kentucky Highway Patrol reporting a large, circular object near Maysville, moving west toward Godman. Tower personnel look but see nothing initially.
13:35 p.m. Tower operator T/Sgt Quinton Blackwell spots a bright, metallic object to the southwest. He describes it as "very bright" and "round." Other personnel (including Lt. A. W. Hammond) confirm. Object appears to be at high altitude, moving slowly.
13:45 p.m. Godman tower contacts nearby Clinton County AFB and asks for P-51 Mustangs from the 165th Fighter Squadron, Kentucky Air National Guard (already airborne on a routine training mission). Pilots are Captain Thomas F. Mantell Jr. (flight leader), Lt. A. W. Hammond, and two others.
14:00 p.m. Mantell flight is vectored toward the object. Mantell climbs to 15,000 feet and reports seeing it: "It’s metallic, looks like a cone or inverted cone, very large." He continues climbing without oxygen (P-51s not equipped for high altitude).
14:15–14:20 p.m. Mantell reaches 25,000 feet. His wingmen break off due to lack of oxygen equipment. Mantell continues alone. Last radio transmission: "I’m going to 20,000 feet and if I’m no closer I’ll abandon chase."
14:25 p.m. Mantell’s P-51 crashes near Franklin, Kentucky (about 90 miles southwest of Godman). He is killed instantly. Wreckage shows no fire or explosion — plane appears to have spun in from high altitude.
14:30 p.m. onward Object is no longer visible from Godman. Search parties find Mantell’s body. No debris from the object is recovered. Project Sign is notified. Investigation begins.

January 7, 1948 – A Routine Training Flight Turns Tragic

Captain Thomas F. Mantell Jr. was a 25-year-old World War II veteran, experienced P-51 pilot, and flight leader in the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 165th Fighter Squadron. On January 7, 1948, he and three wingmen were on a routine training mission near Godman Army Airfield at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

At approximately 1:15 p.m., Godman tower received a call from the Kentucky Highway Patrol reporting a large, circular object near Maysville, moving west toward Godman. Tower personnel looked but saw nothing initially.

Around 1:35 p.m., Tower operator T/Sgt Quinton Blackwell spotted a bright, metallic object to the southwest. He described it as "very bright" and "round." Other personnel (including Lt. A. W. Hammond) confirmed. Object appeared to be at high altitude, moving slowly.

"It was very bright and round. It looked like a balloon but moved too fast and changed direction slightly. We watched it for minutes."
– T/Sgt Quinton Blackwell (Godman tower operator, 1948 report)

Godman tower contacted nearby Clinton County AFB and asked for the P-51 Mustangs to investigate. Pilots were vectored toward the object. Mantell climbed to 15,000 feet and reported seeing it: "It’s metallic, looks like a cone or inverted cone, very large." He continued climbing without oxygen (P-51s not equipped for high altitude).

"Mantell said it was metallic and very large. He kept climbing. We broke off at 15,000 feet due to lack of oxygen. He went on alone."
– Lt. A. W. Hammond (Mantell’s wingman, 1948 testimony)

Mantell reached 25,000 feet. His last radio transmission: "I’m going to 20,000 feet and if I’m no closer I’ll abandon chase." Then silence. His P-51 crashed near Franklin, Kentucky (about 90 miles southwest of Godman). He was killed instantly. Wreckage showed no fire or explosion — plane appeared to have spun in from high altitude.

The Object – What Witnesses Described

Godman tower personnel and Mantell agreed on key details:

Shape: cone-shaped, inverted cone, or circular
Size: very large (estimates 50–100 feet or more)
Colour: bright metallic, silver or white
Movement: slow horizontal motion, possible direction changes
Altitude: high (20,000–25,000 feet when Mantell chased it)
No sound: no engine noise reported

"It was bright and metallic, like a balloon but much larger and moving too fast for wind drift. It changed direction slightly."
– Lt. A. W. Hammond (Godman tower, 1948)

Great video on the Mantell UFO Incident from WartimeStories

▶

Skilled WWII Pilot Reports Chasing Unidentified Object and Mysteriously Dies

Project Sign & Official Explanation

Project Sign (predecessor to Project Blue Book) investigated. They interviewed tower personnel, Mantell’s wingmen, and locals. Physical evidence: no debris from the object. Mantell’s crash attributed to hypoxia (oxygen deprivation) after climbing too high without oxygen equipment.

"If it was a balloon, why did it change direction? Why was it so large and metallic? Mantell knew what a balloon looked like."
– Don Berliner (UFO researcher, later analysis)

Official conclusion: The object was a Skyhook high-altitude balloon (classified project at the time). Skyhooks were large, reflective, and could appear metallic and cone-shaped when viewed from certain angles. However, critics note:

Skyhooks drifted with wind — no sudden direction changes
Mantell was an experienced pilot — unlikely to misidentify a balloon
No Skyhook launches were officially logged in the area that day

Legacy in 2026

Over 78 years later, Mantell 1948 remains controversial: a fatal pursuit, credible military witnesses, no debris from the object, and an official explanation (Skyhook balloon) that many feel doesn't fully fit. It was one of the first cases to spark cover-up theories and influenced Project Sign’s early "Estimate of the Situation" (which suggested extraterrestrial origin before being rejected). The tragedy of a pilot’s death chasing a UFO continues to haunt UFO research.