Top 12 Most Famous Ball Lightning Sightings in History: The 5th Remains Unexplained to This Day

7. The Soviet Airbase Phenomenon (1955)

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One of the most fascinating and thoroughly recorded ball lightning incidents in military history happened in August 1955 at a Soviet military airbase close to Moscow. Many staff members, including radar operators and experienced pilots, saw an amazing ball lightning display lasting almost an hour during a regular thunderstorm. The phenomena started when multiple glowing spheres—from the size of a golf ball to that of a basketball—were seen rising from the sky and headed toward the airfield. The way the ball lightning interacted with the advanced military machinery on the facility made this event very unforgettable. Radar operators noted unusual readings matching the optical reports, implying that the events had clear electromagnetic characteristics. Certain of the spheres were observed hovering close to airplanes on the tarmac, momentarily malfunctioning electronic systems. From their cockpits, pilots who were airborne at the time claimed to have seen balls of light that were quite agile and able of quick acceleration. The most remarkable feature of this occurrence was the claimed behavior of the ball lightning when confronted by ground crew: the spheres seemed to react to human presence, moving away or disintegrating when people got too close. Classified Soviet military reports, later deleted and distributed to the scientific community, painstakingly recorded this event. Combining the thorough observations made by experienced military people with the supporting radar data, the Soviet Airbase Phenomenon has become pillar in ball lightning study. It has given important new perspectives on the possible electromagnetic character of ball lightning and its consequences for electronic devices. Moreover, this event attracted more attention in ball lightning in military and scientific spheres, which resulted in more methodical research of the phenomena in connection with aviation safety and possible creation of new technologies motivated by its features.