◆ CASE FILEThe facts, corroborated
Two Schoolboys' 'Comet with a Tail' over Ludington
On the afternoon of 20 April 1949 two high-school sophomores in Ludington, Michigan, saw a fast white "flying disc" with a tail "a block long" cross a cloudless sky and vanish over Lake Michigan. The Air Force had the Office of Special Investigations look into it, and OSI closed the file without an explanation. This is the record of what two boys reported, not a verdict on what crossed Ludington.
◆ THE SHORT VERSION
- Two Schoolboys' 'Comet with a Tail' over Ludington is a reported UAP case in Ludington, Michigan, USA, Wednesday 20 April 1949, afternoon.
- On 20 April 1949 two Ludington High School sophomores reported a fast white "flying disc" with a tail "a block long" that disappeared over Lake Michigan.
- The sighting reached the Air Force through a Grand Rapids Press clipping, and Air Materiel Command asked the Office of Special Investigations to investigate.
- OSI closed the inquiry in September 1949 with all leads exhausted and no explanation.
- The record card gives 21 April, but the newspaper's "Wednesday afternoon" places the sighting on 20 April.
- For this case Fractured Realities holds 1 distinct source, 1 corroborating primary document and 1 claimant on its resolved list.
- The archive grades it L4 · OFFICIAL RECORD — a released government record names who saw it, the top of our scale, though no independent testimony sits beside that record.
Counts are resolved totals of what sources say, computed 2026-10-12; the reported details above are claims in the record, not findings. A record of reports, not a verdict on what happened.
EVENT DATE
Wednesday 20 April 1949, afternoon
LOCATION
Ludington, Michigan · USA
COORDS
43.95°N 86.45°W
INDEPENDENCE
L4 · OFFICIAL RECORD
SOURCES
1 distinct
CLAIMANTS
1
STATUS
Known from released government records
NUMBERS COMPUTED 2026-10-12 · RESOLVED COUNTS, NOT A VERDICT
