This event is included along with the NASA incidents of the 20th Century since breaking the sound barrier, although an Air Force project in 1947, was a step on the road to the exploration of space.

In October 1947, the courageous test pilot Chuck Yeager flew the Bell X-1 experimental rocket plane in excess of the speed of sound for the first time in human history. His landmark achievement was kept top secret for some time afterward. There was fear that the Soviet Union might make use of such information for military purposes.

Recently, whilst watching an aviation documentary on the History Channel, I noticed something unusual in the background of an engine test of the X-1. (Then) Captain

Yeager was looking on as the test was being conducted. Apparently no one noticed at the time that there was a very high speed white object streaking across the desert skies in plain sight!

I've looked at this clip dozens of times now. I've enlarged it to pixilation ,speeded it up, and I've slowed it down. I'm convinced that this object is not an airplane or other conventional craft.

The airspace in this vicinity was highly restricted at that time; indeed it is STILL highly restricted today. So the only craft authorized to fly in the area would necessarily have been military. In those days, there were only three kinds of surface applied to US Air Force planes. Bare metal, olive drab (a.k.a. OD Green - this color was used during WWII and there were very few painted like this left in active service by 1947), and orange on some experimental craft such as the X-1 itself.

The object in question is not only pure white in appearance, but if you look carefully at the embossed animation below, you'll see that it is REVERSED in shadowing. It is seen with the lighter portion on the bottom and the darker on top. This pattern doesn't correspond with ANY type being flown by the US military in 1947.

The year 1947 was a very big one for U.F.O. sightings, being second only to the amazing year of 1952. It was the year that "Flying Saucers" came on the scene in a big way for the first time. It was also about the time the US military coined the acronym U.F.O., for Unidentified Flying Object, as well.

Could one of these things have passed over Muroc Dry Lake as Yeager and his support crew were readying the X-1 for its record breaking flight?

Let's have a look at the visual evidence for the possibility, shall we?

The anomalous object is within the yellow circle. The red arrow indicates direction of travel.

Captain Chuck Yeager (Right foreground) looks on as his ground support team tests the rocket engine destined to carry him and his rocket plane beyond the sound barrier.

For an airplane to go past this swiftly in the original film, it would either have to be flying near the speed of sound at some distance away, or it would necessarily be close enough for positive identification as a conventional aircraft. In that time, only the X-1 was capable of exceeding the sound barrier in level flight.

For this reason, and the fact that the object very closely resembles an object I saw for myself in 1974 (3rd event), I believe it to be an Unidentified Flying Object. These were reported virtually everywhere in 1947.

This 250% zoom is composed of 16 frames in normal color. In these enhanced images, the object is being tracked rather than passively letting it cross the field of view.

The object is larger, and one can see some of the imperfections of old film as well. In addition, it is on the verge of pixilation. But the anomaly is still relentless in its flat trajectory toward left screen.

This is the embossed version. It allows you to follow the object with a 3D effect against a neutral grey background.

This is where the "plot thickens". Note that the shadowing on the object is REVERSED from that on the X-1 in the foreground. Conventional aircraft of any sort simply can't do this.