Lost Contact: UFOs After Wartime Probes the Death of a WWII Pilot in Pursuit of a UFO

Lost Contact: UFOs After Wartime investigates the mysterious death of Captain Thomas Mantell Jr., debuting on digital platforms October 7.

Small Town Monsters returns with another chilling entry into America’s strangest history. Their latest documentary, Lost Contact: UFOs After Wartime, arrives on VOD October 7 and examines the mysterious death of Captain Thomas Mantell Jr., the only known U.S. military pilot to lose his life while chasing an unidentified flying object.

Set against the backdrop of wartime and postwar UFO sightings, the film unpacks Mantell’s honorable life and the haunting events of January 7, 1948, when the Kentucky Air National Guard veteran pursued what he believed to be a craft in the skies. His fatal encounter has fueled decades of speculation and whispers of government secrecy.

The documentary expands its lens beyond Mantell’s tragic death, exploring records that suggest UFO encounters were prevalent across multiple theaters of World War II and continued into the postwar years. Through archival material, expert commentary, and personal testimony, Lost Contact presents startling revelations while raising a sobering truth: not all heroes die on the battlefield.

Produced by Small Town Monsters, the feature offers both a personal portrait of Mantell’s legacy and a broader inquiry into the era’s unexplained phenomena. It challenges audiences to confront the possibility of a coverup, asking whether Mantell was caught in the first—and only—dogfight between the U.S. military and a UFO.

Lost Contact: UFOs After Wartime will be available October 7 on major streaming platforms including Prime Video and Vimeo on Demand.