USS Supply UFO Sighting

On February 28, 1904, three officers aboard the USS Supply witnessed one of the earliest documented military UFO sightings. Lieutenant Frank H. Schofield, who would later rise to become Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, observed three bright red, egg-shaped objects approach the ship in formation before ascending into the clouds. The sighting was officially documented in the Monthly Weather Review, making it one of the first UAP encounters to appear in a government publication.

The Sighting

The encounter occurred at 6:10 AM on February 28, 1904, in the Pacific Ocean off San Francisco. The weather placed the ship below clouds, but visibility was clear at sea level. Three naval officers observed the objects, with Lieutenant Frank H. Schofield serving as the primary witness. All three were experienced naval officers and trained observers.

Schofield himself had a distinguished background. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he was already an experienced and rising officer at the time of the sighting. He would later become an Admiral and serve as Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet from 1927 to 1929. He was a credible, trained observer with no history of unusual claims.

The Objects

The three men observed three distinct objects with a bright red coloration and an egg-shaped appearance, flying in echelon formation below the clouds. The largest of the objects appeared to be approximately “about six suns” in size, a striking description that conveys the scale of what they witnessed.

The objects’ flight characteristics were remarkable. They appeared below the cloud cover, flying in tight formation, and approached the ship before ascending rapidly and climbing into the clouds. They remained visible for over two minutes before departing at great speed. The echelon pattern they maintained was a military-style formation with coordinated movement and consistent spacing, strongly suggesting intelligent control rather than any random or chaotic natural phenomenon.

Official Documentation

The sighting was published in the March 1904 edition of the Monthly Weather Review, an official U.S. Weather Bureau journal with scientific credibility. This created a permanent government record of the encounter. Schofield’s account described clear observation conditions, noted the presence of multiple witnesses, provided detailed descriptions of the objects, maintained a professional tone throughout, and offered no speculation about the objects’ origin.

The significance of this documentation cannot be overstated. It represents the first military UFO report to appear in an official publication, made by credible witnesses who had nothing to gain from fabrication. There was no Cold War context or political motivation behind the report. It was a pure observational account that predates the aviation era and the explanations that came with it.

Historical Context

The state of flight technology in 1904 makes this sighting particularly compelling. The Wright Brothers had flown only in December 1903, and there were no powered aircraft operating at sea. No balloons were present in the area, and no dirigibles were operating off the California coast. There was simply no conventional explanation for what the men observed.

The Navy of 1904 was familiar with all known vessels, trained to identify objects at sea, experienced with weather phenomena, and capable of recognizing balloons, birds, and debris. These objects matched nothing known to naval observers of the period.

Analysis

The objects could not have been aircraft, as none existed that could operate over open ocean. They were not balloons, given their wrong shape and formation flying. They were not birds, being the wrong color, far too large, and exhibiting a climbing behavior inconsistent with any known species. They were not meteors, which do not fly in formation, approach a vessel, and then ascend. And they were not weather phenomena, as they appeared as distinct objects moving in coordinated fashion.

The echelon formation is perhaps the most significant detail, as it suggests intelligent control, coordination between the three objects, and a purposeful flight path. Whatever these objects were, they did not behave like random natural phenomena.

Lieutenant Schofield’s Career

What makes Schofield’s testimony particularly compelling is what happened after the sighting. His career not only continued but flourished. He was promoted repeatedly, eventually reaching the rank of Rear Admiral and being entrusted with command of the entire Pacific Fleet in 1927. The sighting never affected his career trajectory. A man trusted with such responsibility was not a crackpot or an attention-seeker. He was a naval officer who reported what he saw, and his superiors evidently found no reason to question his judgment or credibility.

The Legacy

This case represents pre-aviation era evidence of unidentified aerial phenomena, documented by the military and published in an official government journal, observed by multiple trained witnesses, and never satisfactorily debunked. It also establishes early patterns that would become familiar in later UAP reports: formation flying, objects approaching military vessels, rapid ascent capability, and technology that defies known explanations.

The Question

On February 28, 1904, three naval officers watched something impossible. Three red objects, egg-shaped, flying in formation. They approached the USS Supply, then climbed into the clouds and disappeared.

This wasn’t a pilot seeing something through a cockpit window at 500 miles per hour. This was three men on the deck of a ship, watching for over two minutes, in clear conditions.

Lieutenant Schofield would go on to command the entire Pacific Fleet. He wasn’t a crackpot. He wasn’t seeking attention. He was a naval officer who reported what he saw. And what he saw doesn’t fit any explanation. Not in 1904. Not now.

The first documented military UFO sighting in American history. Recorded in a government publication. Never explained. Never debunked. Just observed, and filed away.

For over a century now, we’ve known that something was in the sky that morning off San Francisco. Something that three trained naval officers couldn’t identify. Something that behaved like no known object. Something that remains, to this day, unidentified.

Sources

• Wikipedia search: “USS Supply UFO Sighting”
• Chronicling America (Library of Congress) — Historic US newspaper coverage (1690–1963)
• Chronicling America — Historic US newspapers (1690–1963)