OGDEN — Rumors of secret supersonic planes, and even alien spacecraft, were used to explain mysterious booms heard over Utah Tuesday night, but Vietnam War veterans were in the best position to make a correct guess.
Hill Air Force Base said today that B-52 Stratofortresses from Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, were conducting bombing runs at the Utah Test and Training Range Tuesday evening.
B-52s can’t go supersonic. The thunder of their bombs is probably what Utahns heard, said base spokesman George Jozens.
The rumbling, around 9 p.m., caused windows to rattle all over Top of Utah. The University of Utah seismographic station said its ultra-low frequency listening device picked up the sounds, but no earthquakes were detected.
The B-52 is a 1950s-vintage Cold War bomber that saw extensive service during the Vietnam War. Its high-altitude strikes were devastating because the bombers flew so high they could not be heard on the ground.
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