Rockford, Illinois: Three Jets Fire on UFO; Small Disc Emerges from 'Parent' Before Explosion
On April 8, 1955, in Rockford, Illinois, four witnesses watched three jet fighters engage a UFO; a small disc emerged from the 'parent vehicle,' then the jets fired on the larger unknown, which exploded. Witnesses were told to say nothing.
Background
At 9:30 a.m. on April 8, 1955, four adults in a neighborhood of Rockford, Illinois, observed a UFO and phoned authorities. Soon three jet fighters arrived. At this point the witnesses saw a small disc emerge from the 'parent' vehicle and ascend out of sight. The jets then fired on the larger unknown, which exploded.
Afterward, the witnesses reported that Air Force personnel had contacted them, warning them to say nothing about what they had observed. The editor of the Rockford Register contacted O'Hare Field (outside Chicago) on their behalf and was told that the jets had fired on a weather balloon. On July 28, Air Force Captain Robert White contradicted that assertion by declaring: 'Our aircraft do not fire on balloons, nor would they fire on any target in a residential area unless we were invaded by an enemy force.'