How Pursuing a UFO Didn’t End Well for This Brave Fighter Pilot

On the morning of January 7, 1948, four Kentucky National Air Guard pilots were out on a regular patrol in their Mustang P-51 fighter planes when a transmission came from the Fort Knox airfield’s Godman Army Airfield control tower. An unidentified flying object has apparently been observed in the skies, so three pilots rapidly climb to the surface to learn more.

Mantell took the Mustang P-51 at 42,500 feet. In 1956, a pilot named Doug Matthews demonstrated this by flying a plane named The Rebel to a new altitude record for this aircraft category. But it wasn’t something you see every day. Well, Matthews went to great lengths to ensure his attempt at a world record would go off without a hitch.

Now that they were swiftly ascending, however, the trio finally caught sight of whatever it was that had caught the interest of the onlookers below. In their pursuit of the mystery object, they passed through an altitude of 15,000. At the height of 22,500 feet, however, the lack of oxygen began to have a detrimental impact on both Clements and Hammond.

Thomas Francis Mantell Jr. was born in Franklin, Kentucky, in June of 1922. Among his three brothers and sisters, he was the oldest. He attended Louisville Male High School and subsequently enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps as a cadet pilot in 1942.

After graduating in 1941, Lieutenant Mantell was posted to the prestigious 9th Air Force’s 440th Troop Carrier Group, a unit that played a vital role in World War II. His responsibility was flying C-47 Skytrains, which were significant modifications of the Douglas DC-3 commercial airline.

WWII had grown into a worldwide battle by 1943 when the young lieutenant was sent there. Mantell served his time in the RAF at Bottesford, a rural airport located roughly 100 miles north of London. The Allied facility served as a launch pad for bombing attacks and parachute operations.

Next up was Operation Market Garden, in which Mantell and the rest of the 96th would play a pivotal role. The goal of this mission was to provide the Allies a foothold in Western Europe to counter Hitler and the Nazis’ impending invasion of France. This time, it was the Netherlands and its border with northern Germany that was under attack.

Mantell and his team stepped in to help at this point. But this was going to be different from the objective he had on D-Day. His C-47 Skytrain would be towed by a glider carrying combat-ready soldiers instead of carrying paratroopers. His “Vulture’s Delight” plane would be tethered to a Waco CG-4A glider via cable.

Over the Netherlands, Mantell’s plane pulled that ponderous glider as Operation Market Garden got underway. The Skytrain was rocked by continuous anti-aircraft fire above the Netherlands, and its tail eventually caught fire. As the plane’s ammo exploded, the pilot fought the blaze. Mantell should have released the glider before reaching the designated landing zone, given the state of his aircraft.

Mantell’s plane was barely functional when he arrived in England. Although Operation Market Garden was a significant loss for the Allies’ war effort to defeat Nazi Germany, Mantell’s bravery under fire was noted. Consequently, he was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts.

By then, Mantell was an experienced pilot who had seen action before. However, before this, he had been flying cargo planes like the C-47 Skytrain. Mantell was assigned to the facility now known as Louisville International Airport, which was formerly known as Standiford Field. There, instead of the tranquil Skytrains, he would be flying the fierce Mustang P-51 fighter jets.

It was an ordinary day in the summer of 1948 until the Kentucky Highway Patrol reported an unusual sighting in the skies. This bizarre occurrence had everyone, from Fort Knox’s Godman Army Airfield staff to citizens of Madisonville, Kentucky, abuzz with anticipation.

Reports of UFO sightings across the US in 1947 and 1948 had people in a state of alarm, but their concerns were largely swept under the rug due to top-secret government investigations. The US Air Force was authorized by the government to launch Project Sign—a mysterious, classified mission designed to delve into the mysteries of Unidentified Flying Objects.

Legend has it that, in the summer of 1947, something remarkable happened on a ranch near Roswell. People claimed it was a spacecraft crash landing, and the headlines said as much. But while alien stories abounded throughout the years and continue to captivate us, we can now be sure that it was actually nothing more than an Army Air Force weather balloon after all.

The tension was palpable as Colonel Guy Hix made his way to the control tower at Godman Airfield. When reports of a UFO in the sky had been broadcast that morning, it sent a frenzied buzz through the base. Sergeant Quinton Blackwell and two other air traffic controllers were adamant they had seen the mysterious object soaring through the sky particularly close to their location – and with good reason, everyone was now on edge.

Hix was stargazing one night and came across an object that defied his expectations. Using binoculars, he noticed the brilliant white color of the thing – it was a quarter the size of the full Moon. He observed it for a solid 90 minutes, yet it had not even moved an inch. As if fate had something to say in all this, four Mustang P-51s were flying in the sky, getting close enough to validate Hix’s observations.

Captain Mantell was determined to track down this unexplained object, despite the protests of his fellow pilots resulting in Lieutenant Robert Hendricks returning back to base. Mantell and his two remaining companions forged ahead in the four P-51s, pushing towards their eventual confrontation with the strange, otherworldly artifact that lurked high above.

The confusion surrounding Mantell’s fateful report is well documented, but one thing is certain – upon sighting the mysterious object, the Captain immediately threw his plane into a harrowing ascent. Lieutenant Clements later recounted his experience of the events, claiming that he and Hammond followed in pursuit of their skipper as he called out to have seen the strange metallic shape ahead.

As the sun set over the horizon, Captain Thomas Mantell’s comrades watched him climb into the sky, chasing after some unknown mystery in the clouds. It started off as a routine mission, but very soon, it became something far more extraordinary. But, it would turn out to be his last journey.

Captain Thomas Mantell’s tragic death in 1948 has gone down in UFO lore as one of the earliest incidents of alien contact, but accounts from United States Air Force officials paint a different picture. Captain Mantell had exceeded an altitude of 25,000 feet and, despite all his training, suddenly blacked out from oxygen deprivation.

The eerie silence took over the small rural town after 3:18 in the afternoon on January 7th, 1948. It was only a few moments prior that Colonel Mantell had been at odds with a mysterious unidentified object in the sky, and shortly afterward, local firefighters were left to recover his broken body.

The terrible loss of a distinguished military hero coupled with a reported UFO experience was bound to be a media phenomenon. This was also perfect fodder for the many conspiracy theorists and UFO believers across the country and the world. Strange rumors quickly spread among the community.

It goes without saying that not a single piece of proof supported any of these claims. However, the concept of UFOs being flown by aliens has captured the public’s interest. Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt, while researching his 1956 book The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, decided to investigate some of the most outlandish explanations.

The mysterious question of what Mantel had been pursuing seemed to have an answer when Lieutenant Clements reported that Mantell had spotted a bright shining object that looked like a star at 12 o’clock.

The tragic death of Captain Thomas F. Mantell on the 7th of January 1948 has since become emblematic of a mysterious and unknown force in the sky. Though, in reality, the Mantell incident had much more mundane origins. The presence of well-classified U.S. Navy Skyhook weather balloons ended up providing an entirely logical explanation that has since been backed up by extensive circumstantial evidence.