On 7 January 1948, 25-year-old Captain Thomas F. Mantell, a Kentucky Air National Guard pilot, died when the P-51 Mustang fighter plane he was piloting crashed near Franklin, Kentucky, United States,
Kentucky National Guard image of Mantell
Three F-51D Mustang of the 165th Fighter Squadron, the unit in which Mantell was serving
A Skyhook balloon is filled aboard the USS Currituck (AV-7) during operation "Churchy".
Captain Thomas F Mantell, Jr. Marker in Franklin, KY about the crash of his aircraft and death in pursuit of a UFO in 1948.
UFO is a 1956 American semi-documentary about the development of the UFO phenomenon in the United States. Clips from the documentary have often been used in other UFO documentaries and television epis