Watchers UFO Archive

UFO case file · UFO-3585

Temple unidentified-object report — March 23, 1966

CE3United States1966-03-23

Temple, Oklahoma, United States

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Illustrative reconstruction • Watchers Project — Temple unidentified-object report — March 23, 1966
Illustrative reconstruction • Watchers Project — Temple unidentified-object report — March 23, 1966

Case description

William Eddie Laxson, a civilian instructor at Sheppard Air Force Base and an experienced pilot, reported finding an unusual apparatus across Highway 70 south of Temple, Oklahoma, around 5:05 a.m. on March 23, 1966. The surviving NICAP and Project Blue Book material provides substantially more detail than the imported one-line catalogue entry. Laxson described a silver, wingless, fish-shaped machine with a top canopy, landing supports, a small door and lights. He saw an ordinary-looking man in military-style work clothing and a cap inspecting the underside with a flashlight, then boarding by steps. The object reportedly rose vertically with a hissing or drilling sound before departing. Letter-and-number markings were recalled inconsistently across records. Laxson said he returned to his car for a camera but obtained no photograph. A truck driver supplied a related observation; that does not make him an independent witness to the close view of the apparent crewman. Blue Book retained the case among its unidentified reports, a classification that does not establish extraterrestrial origin. The illustration includes Laxson, his car, the human-looking worker and the reported apparatus, without converting the worker into a biological alien.

Recorded details

Craft description
Road blocked by a wingless aircraft, perch fish-shaped
Coordinate precision
LOCALITY_APPROXIMATE
Date precision
EXACT_DAY

Case videos and witness interviews

Sources and further reading

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