PROJECT BLUE BOOK

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Excerpt from Daily Intelligence Brief - Secret, Auth: CG, AMC, By:
Spencer Whedon, Date: 9 March 1950.

he AMC INVESTIGATION OF R&PORTS ON UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (RESTRICTED)

AMC investigation of reports on the presence of an unidentified
object in the air near Wright-Patterson AF Base, on 8 Mar 50, indicates
that the reports resulted from 2 phenomena: ice-crystal clouds which re-
flected sunlight and registered on radar scopes; and visibility of the
plant Venus, which is sometimes observed in daylight. Wright-Patterson
pilots, dispatched to search for an object which had been resistered
on radar scopes, reported nothing but ice haze and clouds. Another
pilot reported an object believed to have been Venus.

The following was sent in telecon to A-2
Ref AMC Daily Intelligence Brief dtd 9 March 1950.

AMC investigation of reports on the presence of an unidentified
object in the air near Wright-Patterson AF Base, on 8 Mar 50, indicates
that the reports resulted from 2 phenomena: ice-crystal clouds which
reflected sunlight and registered on radar scopes; and visibility of the
plant Venus, which is sometimes observed in daylight. Wright-Patterson
pilots, dispatched to search for an object which had been registered on
radar scopes, reported nothing but ice haze and clouds. Another pilot
reported an object believed to have been Venua.

UNICLASSIFiED |
‘eee YEAR INTE At

Boe. DOWNGRADED AT eee YEAS
dias CLASSIFIED APTER to 2b:
’ i DECLA DOD DI it 2, ; i, l 1)

LL a ee our 3 - A
comet ? D _ UIST Base = 7 — - a

12 Apr 50
AT OlV n Ltr

Unideatified Flying Object

ae sete !
* Se tty at
earorvare =o. wie Date 12 Apr 50
; fee 4. Recommon®’ this material parehecked by elec- No. 1

.“$ronics people, eet action be taken as you deem appro=-
“phate,
a 2. Provably, ¢ oat of ware. an answer is required; however, Policy would
- @ppear to be the-logical office for action. If you concur, adequate background
information should be furnished for their preparation of the indorsement.

/s/ R.C. BRIXNER, Captain, USI
Chief, Evaluation Div,

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rm 6 vreAR INT}

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Lasts = sory wy Pty
Due DUD Was aera

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AAINGR ADED A” * aking yo YEARS

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4 UNCLA: OSIFIED

7": ATO? 9 £

le TYorwarded fof consideration as noted in para 2 of
Comment No. 1.

2. Detailed study has been made of attached letter and 2
inclosures from Continental Air Command. /7inal analyses
were delayed awaiting receipt of twenty-four hour weather revorts for 8 and 9 Mar
1950 for Selfridge Ay3 area. —

3. Attention is invited to recommendation in para 5, page 2 of basic letter.
It is recommended that the following information be incorporated in reply to
Continental Air Command's recommendation:

a. Concer as follows with conclusions reached by Continental Air Comeand

in regard to incident deecrided in basic letter and ite inclosures:

(1) *the magnitude of the velocity and accelerations of the thrse
dimensional movements of the ‘object’ reported are beyond the
capability of known heavier or lighter than air vehicles in
controlled flight.*

(2) ."gapporting this is the fact that the ‘object’ was revorted as

- Pemaining stationary in free space for a eine ates of two
ss ~ pinutes.*

be There is a conflict in data on the incident; one witeces states that
the incident occurred on § March (see Incl. 2, page 2, lst para.) and other wit-
ness states incident occurred on 9 March (see Incl. 1, pages 1, lst varas}ax-:)

Ce What is believed to have been a similar incident, also observed by
radar (SO5-584), occurred at Wright-Patterson AYB on the morning of 8 March 1950.
At approximately 0745 two airline nilots revorted that they had seen a long
slender body at about 10,000 ft approaching from the northwest. The odject was

tirough up by observers at the Vandalia control tower who observed the object
inoculars. The control tower vectored an 7-80 aircraft to the anprorxixeate

position of the ‘object’ but the pilot could see nothing al-

though the control tower was still in visual contact with it.

Later, an F-51l attempted to track the object. It could aot

intercept it. Turing this time radar had not been able to detect any stranze
objects of any sort. However, at adout 1150 hours signals of large amplitude
were being received on an SCP-584. An F-80 was vectored to the approximate loca-
tion of the targete and reported back that strips of ice laden clouds running
northwest ‘to southwest were visible at approximately 19,000 ft. This information
concurred with plots obtained by the radar and gave concinsive evidence that the
radar targets were in fact reflections from the ice laden clouds. The earlier

~ wigual sightings were apparently due to the morning mun shining through the

“. dee laden clouds causing an optical illusion.
4 d. Althongh the ‘object’ observed on radar at Selfridge AYB was
characterized by velocities ranging from zero to approximtely 420 mph, and
erratic changes .in altitude which showed no intelligent maneuvering, the obdser-
- vations could easily have been the result of turbulent conditions in ice laden
atmosphere. A study of the weather in the Selfridge AYB area during twenty-four
hour periods om 8 and 9 March shows that such turbulent conditions could have
prevailed, Such conditions are not unusual for that time of year.

2, Ag in the case of such inéidente examined in the past, there has
deen no evidence that unusual observations have deen the resnlt of a new technolog~
ical advancement by an alien power. In every case where there has deen suffi-
cient usable data, it haa veenftaat a seeminzly unusual observation was the
resuit of misidentification. It was for this reason that requirements for
special investization of euch incidents and the entire "Project Grudge* (unidenti-
fied aerial objects) were cancelled by Hq. USA earlier this year. ‘The discontin~-
mance of scectal reporting and considerasion has “* stonved She revortsa of sucn

DOWNGRADED AT 3 YEAR INTERVALS

OUNIOL Acard _ DECLASSIFIED AFTER 1° YEARS.
WIA i DOD DIR 5200.10

_—

“Gx *

APOIV

Unidentified Flying Object

', ABOIP

incidents. Cursory examination of such reports ae have Come to the attention
of Ha. USAT have merely confirmed the conclusions which 2 (continued

- Jastified discontinuance of the special considerations once

given thea. Hq. USAF has outstanding requirements with all commands, domestic,

and overseas, for the collection of technical intelligence. ‘These are con-

tinuously re-eaphasized and focused on priority items.

DOWNGRADED -.

Paw 1
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DECLASSI! > = = oF ee sha
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UNCLASSIFIED , DOD Dit d2v0.10

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RESTRICTED
Telecon No. 241 18 apr 1950

ALEC Item 11
From Lt Col Linstrand CLA to Maj Boggs D/I- dq USAF

The following reports of an unguided object in the vicinity of W-P
aFb are forwarded, reference telephone conversation Maj Boggs 17 Apr:

Report by Captain Robert M. Howe: @ Mar 50:

"At approximately 7:45 A.M. I was informed by the control tower
Patterson Field to search for an unidentified object which was high
over tice field. ‘The tower told me this object had been originally
reported by two airline nilots to the vandalia control tower. The
pilots described it as a long, slender body at an estimated altitude
of approximately 10,000 feet and approaching from the Northwest. By
the time I received this information the Vanaaiia control had the object
Sighted with their field glasses,

"At approximately 8:10 A.if. Major Kenneth ©. Chilstrom took off in
an F-80 to search for it. At this time and for approximately the next
hour the Vandalia control tower had the object visually located, sand they
gave this location as about 155-160 degrees bearing fron the tower.

They did not know the altitude or distance from the station, but they es-
timated it to be at the height of the hish cirrus clouds over the field.
These clouds were at an altitude of 30,000 ft.

"At approximately 8:30 AM I called Colonel Osgood of the Electronic
subdivision to get any radar assistance the Division might be able to
give. I also contacted Captain Whiting of the all weather division
for assistance of the all weather search radar which is located at
Jamestown, Ohio. At this time, the Vandalia tower was still in visual
contact with the object, and they were attempting to direct Major Chilstron
to its location, but the: were unsuccessful. At one time, Major Chilstrom
said the tower identified his position as'anparently fairly close to the
object' but he was unable to identify any object or body of any kind.
Shortly afterwards, however, a National Guard pilot from Vandalia,

Colonel Shaefer, sighted an object when he was on the ground, and he took
off in a F-51 and attenpted to track it. After ne landed, 1 talked to
Colonel Shaefer, and he reported to me that he followed it for 2) to 30

minutes and the object did not change its position.' Because of this
Colonel Shaefer thought it might be a»'heavenly body'. During all
of this time, neither radar was able to detect any strange bodies of
any sort.

"at approximately 11:30 Au i received a telephone call from
the Tlectronic subdivision radar st*tion. The operator in charge
reported to me that the operators had an unidentified object in
their scope 35 miles east of the station at a relative bearing of
105 degrees to the station. Tuis object had an echo.lOU mils in
width. At this time I called Colonel Vatson, ‘ilitery Intelligence
Division and relayed this information to him. ". ° i

"I wish to report that I contacted the base operations office at
Patterson Field immediately after i attempted to establish the radar
search and advised the operations officer on duty to cmtact any
interested organizations of either the base or Headvuuarters AMC.

"at 10:00 AM I contacted the public relations officer of
Headquarters AMC ani notified the officer that a report of an un-
identified object had been made. I also notified this officer that
both the electronics division and ail weatiucr Givision had assisted
in the search for the unidentified body. To the best of my hnowledze,

i do not recall divulging any additional information to the public
relations office."

Heport by lr. James an‘ Mr. Johnson, 9 Mar 50:

" At approximately 11:30 AM., 8 Liarcn 1950, Nr. it. L. James
and the writer were informed that unidentified signals of very large
amplitude were beings received on the 301-58, in Area B. It was
also reported that unidentified objects described as celestial bodies
were observed ecrlicr in the day. lr. James and the writer proceeded to
tne radar site in order to observe the signais and suggested that,
althoughtthe signals were undoubtedly weather conditions, it would
be advisable to check by performing an air interception. 4n F-80
aircraft was vectored to the approximate location of the targets and
reported back that strips of ice laden clouds running northwest to
southyest were visibie at approziuetely 10,0U0 ft. This information
concurred with plots obtained by *h- radar. forming conclusive evidence
that the radar targets were inifact reflections from the ice laden
clouds.

"It 2s delieved thit the vasible sightings wey muve coeen due to
the earty morning sun shining through the ice laden clouds causing
an optical illusion."

— aE = Fiver Chases—
———_—~

Object, Says

‘

It Was Star

’

“I feel darn foolish about this
whole thing...

“I’m convinced I took off and
went chasing a star or some
kind of celestial body.”

That's the way Lt. Col. Dale.
Shafer Jr. air national guard,
pilot, last night described his
“flying saucer chase” yesterday
when a strange object was sighted
in the sky over the Dayton Mu-
nici airport.

“I was having some coffee
when word came from the con-
trol tower that some kind of an
object had been sighted,” the of-
ficer explained. “A short time
later—about 9 a. m.—I was up in|
the sky trying to find out what
all the excitement was about.”
Like Evening Star

“I saw it, all right... a light
about the same as you see when
you look at a star in the eve-
ning.”

He flew his fast F-51 fichter
* slane to an altitude of about 33,-
OO teet and was probably the
_ ast person to actually see the ob-
‘ject because ground observers re-
‘ported it disappeared behind a
cloud vank.

' “Tt didn't wiggle one iota,” the
pilot said.

“That's why I'm convinved that
ft was some kind of a celestial
body and not a flying saucer,” the
officer sald “Tf it had been a
saucer it would have unquestion-

'

ably shown some inevement.”

George Barnes, airport control
tower operator, whu first re-
ported seeing the object in the
predawn sky was quoted as say-

ing he saw “definite movement

—-s

Appestedt To Move

Li kow “af, Sherman Sayidlvy
chief tower operator for the CAA
Who also observed the ‘spot in the
sky” sald that it appeared to
move,

One observer described is. ‘The
thing looked like a bullet and it
left @ vapor trail behind it.”

Another person said: “It seemed
to suddenly stop then made a)
long sweeping climb.”

Adeline Rudick, a TWA ticket-!
counter employe said when she
first saw it the thing appeared
in the sky—“like a bright and
shiny dime.”

Shafor said he called Dr. Louis.
Saletel, dean of science at the
University of Dayton and asked
him if it were possible to see a
celestial body in this position and |
at the particular time of day. +

The officer said the dean re-
plie¢: “Yes."

Last night, Brother Saletel sald:
“Vetus is very bright these days
andLit is entirely possible this
planet might be visible during the
daylight hours.” - ;

One of the operatives said
was connected with the “office

at investigation” at Wright

It was also reported that
fet plane pilots from the AMC
ight test division took off and
tried to locate the “thing.” Ac-
cording to PIO sources neither of
the pilots reported seeing the ob-

Dayton “JourwAl—
HERALD FNAR LO

, toward the southwest.” | ject.

“Flying Saucer” Didn’t Wigs
Airman Believes It Was Star

“I feel darn foolish about this'000 feet and was probably the
whole tiing ... ‘last person to actually see the ob-

’

, ject because ground observers re-
“Tim convinced I took off and: pred it disappeared behind a
. went chasing a star or some kind qjoud vank.

of celestial body.” | “It didn’t wiggle one iota,” the.
That's the way Lt. Col. Dale! pilot said.
Shafer Jr. air national guard “That's why I'm convinved that
pilot, last night described his it was some kind of a ce!estial
“flying saucer chase” yesterday | body and not a flying saucer,” the
when a strange object was sighted officer said. “If it had been a
¢ in the sky over the Dayton Mu-'saucer it would have unquestion-
nicipal airport. ‘ably shown some inovement.”
“Ll was having some coffee | George Barnes, airport control
when word came from the con-,tower operator, who first re-

DAYTs a/ 7 H trol tower that some kind of an ported seeing the object in the

object had been sighted,” the of- predawn sky was quoted as say-

ficer explained. “A short time ing he saw “definite movement |
s 4) AP, So later—about 9 a. m.—I was up in toward the southwest.” |
, 7 the sky trying to find out what Cikewise, Sherman Seydier, |
ail the excitement was about.” chief tower operstor for the CA.\
“T saw it, all right... a light who also observed the ‘spot in the
about the same as you see when sky” said that it appeared to
you look at a star in the eve- move.
ning.” ; One observer described_is he
“lrevtie® his fast F-51 fighter, thing looked like a buiiet and it
plane to an altitude of about 33,-| lett a vapor trail behind it.” :

ss eee eer ae eS Sa ee, RE ES oe Oe PO 2 ee

Kone

FINAL GALLEY PROOF

Galley 31~THE WORLD OF FLYING SAUCERS

Venus as a Morning Star

One of the “best” UFOs of the year 1950 appeared when Venus
performed in plain sight of the ATIC offices at Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio [2, p. 103].

About midmorning on March 8 a TWA plane, coming in to land
at Dayton municipal airport, was circling to get into the traffic pat-
tern when both pilot and copilot noticed an extremely bright light
hovering in the southeast. Much brighter and larger than a star, it
appeared and disappeared in the high, thick, scattered clouds, The
tower operators, who also saw it, immediately telephoned the Ohio
Air National Guard and officials at ATIC. Within minutes the UFO
had attracted an audience of exceptionally well-qualified observers.
Air Force experts on unidentified flying objects watched it from the
ground, technicians studied returns on the radar screens at the labo-
ratory at Wright Field, and the pilots of two hastily scrambled F-51s
tried to intercept it.

The radar operators, who reported returns from both UFO and
pursuit planes, called the pilots and vectored them in toward the
target. Both pilots could see the light at first, but when they had
climbed to about 15,000 feet they found themselves in clouds so
thick that neither could see the other plane, and the unknown was
no longer visible. Since ground radar reported that the planes were
getting closer to the target, the pilots decided to continue, on in-
struments, but they separated to avoid the danger of colliding with
each other. In a few seconds they were deep in dense clond. Flying
conditions were far worse than they had expected and the planes
were icing up fast. Nevertheless the pilots kept climbing until
ground radar advised them that they were almost on target. Real-
izing that it a solid object actually were ahead of them they would
hit it before they could see it, the pilots immediately descended to
below the clouds and circled, hoping for a break in the overcast,
until] ground radar reported that the target was fading fast. The
planes then Janded. When the clouds broke momentarily, after about
an hour, the UFO was not visible.

A conference took place at ATIC that afternoon to discuss the
identity of the mysterious light and the cause of the radar echoes.
A check showed that the position of the UFO had been identical
with that of Venus. The light, the conference concluded, had been
Venus. One pilot later disagreed, arguing that the light had not
looked to him like a planet and that if the object had been Venus
it should have appeared, but did not, at the same time on the fol-
lowing day. The prevailing weather conditions, however, would
have distorted the image and made it unlike the pale Vight of Venus
occasionally visible in the daytime. It was not visible at all the fol-
lowing day because of different weather conditions.

The radar returns, the investigators found, had come from the

Oe eT TOA aude and were unrelated to the light, Both planes had

“ROUTING AND RASORDSSREET—— WRK MA Lenin CoWase

Use this form fer inter-office correepondence Use authorized office avyembole ta designate Place Initials of dictator and typist, satéphone
within headgqeaartors. addressor and addressee. number and location te right of slensters.
Namber all comments consecatively. 4 socio woculies shames ot tenes. te ot fem
Use entire @idth of sheet, beth cide. praper suacing of typecritten siguatare. Separate comments by berisentel lines aereee pore.
suasect Unidentified Object Incident of 5 March 1950
to FROM bare «3615 Mar 50 comment wo. ]

MCIAXA, Col Hemstreet (to note)
MCIA, Col Feiling (to note)
MCI, Col Watson (to-note)
MCIAXA-1, Mr. Rodgers (to

(In Turn) Project GRUDGE)

,

1. At 1020, 8 Mar 50, Col Watson called the undersigned stating that various
reports on an unidentified object had reached his office, and that I was directed to
investigate the matter and take whatever steps I felt necessary. Col Watson referred
me to Capt Howe, Ext 6106, and Sgt Guzi, Ext 2210.

2. The undersigned contacted Capt Howe immediately and received the information
relative to his activities as contained in inclosure 1. Following the receipt of this
information by telephone, I requested Capt Howe to prepare the inclosure as quickly as
possible in order that the facts as I received them could be recorded without distortion.
I next called Sgt Guzi and obtained information that the radar scanner that he was opera-
ting gave a signal of tremendous size and that the random motion of the signals precluded
Cloud formations. He further stated that the range of the signal covered 90° and was
fram 20-1,0,000 distance in range. These reports varied until 11,0, at which time he
notified me that he had lost the signal because the object had come closer to the field
than fifteen miles.

3. At 1030 various crews were alerted to accomplish the following tasks:

a. Messrs Deyarmond and Kobernuss assigned to Vandalia Airport to interrovate
‘personnel reported to have observed the object. Investigation report contained in
inclosure 2. ,

b. Mr. Johnson disvatched to the radar site in Area B to investigate un mown
radar targets. Report of investigation is contained in inclosure 3. ee er:
‘hh. Col Feiling contacted Col Paul in Flight Test Division to arrange for dispatch-
ing-of observation airplanes, and repaired to the radar station in Area-B to utilize th
radar search facilities and a mobile ground transmitting station in order that the air-
craft could.be properly orientated. Arrangements‘ with+lsi Prom, Ext 20310, Area-B, we:
accomplished to bring the mobile transmitting station into operation at the radar site,
using channel B for contact with the airplanes.

5- the final results of the investigation indicated that the object seen at
Vandalia Airport was prooably the planet Venus, and that the contact with WPAFP resulte
in the radar scanning of ice laden-clouds which gave registration on the radar scope tt
aopeared to be an unidentified object of tremendous size. The dispatching of the air-
craft to the scene of_the unidentified object disclosed the fact that the radar scope t

picked up the ice ladan, clouds.——., |
—r DOWNGRADED AT 3 YEAR INTERVALS
—2o-9 “O DECLASSIFIFN Mt vy 1° YRaRns
1 - Wea ay INCLASSIF leD :

= ee —

WECIS fas 9 4Mn 250M So
AMC Form Neo. 5 (Rev 29 iwi 47) =

_—

4]

. This form replaces AMC Ferm Ne. 13-3, which
= be used until stecks on hand are exhausted.

$ ®@ “9 B Pa. iJ

AMC EXPSHIMENTAL TeST PILOT SCHOOL
FLIGHT TEST DIVISION
WRIGHT=._ATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE

DAYTON, CHIO

6 March 1950

SUBJECT: Report of Unidentified Coject in Vicinity or
Wright-Patterson Air sorce base

At approximately 7:45 A.M. I was informed by the Control
Tower, Patterson rield to search for an unidentified ob ject
which was high over the field. The Tower told me this
object had been oriszinally reported by two airlins pilots
to the Vandalia Control Tower. ‘The pilots descrided it as
a long slender socy at an estimated altituce oi’ ap proximately
1U, uu0 ft and appro aching from the north west. By the time
I received this information the / ndalia Control Yower had
tne object sisnted witn their field slasses,.

At approximatel; 6:10 Aa.ll. Major Kennotn OC. Chilsctrom
took off in an F-60 to ssareh for it. At this time and

for approximately ths next hour the Vancalia control Tower

had the object visually located, and they gave this locaticn

as ubout "155-lov° bearings from tie Tower", They cid not

know tne altituce or ulistance trom the staticn, but trey
estimated it to de at the heizht of the hizsh cirrus clouds

over the field. -+nese clouds were at an altitude of 5U,U0U rt.

At epproximately 5:50 A.M. I called Cclonsl Ossood of
the nlectronic Suscivision to zet any Racar assistance the
division might be adle to give. [I also contacted Captain
Waiting of the All ‘“jeather Division for sssistance or the
All jeather Search Rader whieh is located at Jamestouwm, Chio,
At this time, the Yuncalia lower was still in visual contact

- be". . >» bao - . 4 - -- . + 4 * im oe $= ~ #
with etc) objec 79 ~=- 2 ney were ° EG ’ ‘ELE. ue " : a a wi?

= .] ~=- ~’

= vw

= > 4 +]
was uneble to identi-y any object cr boucy of any Kine,

CALlistrom to ee LOocetion, out they were unsuccessful.

At one time, Major Chils trom saic the Tower identified his

position as "Cesarentiy fairly close tc the chject", but he
ae +-

Shortly afterwards, however, a National cuard pllot from
YVancalla, Colonel shaelter, sisnted an ch ijicet wnen he was

on tne zround, and e took orf in an He5l and atte..pved

to track ite After he lancec, I tained to Colonei Siserer,

; and he reported to we that "he followed Lt for 20 to 50
dinates and the object did nut chenze its position", Because
ot this, Colonel Shaerer thought it misht be a "heavenly
bcay". During all of this time, neither Radar was adle to
detect any strange socies ci’ any sort.

At approximately 11:50 A.M. I received a telepnone call
from the Electronic Subdivision Rader station. The operator
in charge reported to me that the operators huc an unidentiried
object in their scope 55 miles east of the station ata
relative bearing of 105° to the station. This objest sad
an echo 100 mils in width. At this time I called Colonel
Watson, Military Intelligence Livision and relayed this
informatlon to him.

I wish to report that I contacted the Sase Operations
office at Patterson Field immediately arter I atte .pted
to establish the Radar search and ac ‘vised the op erations
officer on duty to contact any interested organizations
of either the Bese or “cecadaquarters, AiC.

At 10:00 A.ii. I contacted the Frublic Relations
Officer of Headquarters, ALC and notified tne officer that
a report of an unisentified coject “ad been mace. I also
netified this officer tiat botna e blectrcnics Division
and All Weather vivision had assisted in tue search for
tne unicentified cody. To tne bess ot my knowledse, I co
not recall divulzing any additional intoriiation to the

rucvLic telations Office.

C7 a

sere ERT NM. HOWE
aptain, USAF
TOLISA

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LT ie a I — — _ #
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REPORT OF INVESTIGATION CONDUCTED AT VANDALIA ATREORT REGARDING SIGHTING
OF "STRANGE OBJECT”

l. Two representatives of the Intelligence Department, Hq AMC, W-P AFB,
Mr. Albert Deyarmond and Mr. Fred Kobernuss, talked with several people at
the Vandalia airport with regard to the sighting of an unidentified object on
the morning of 8 March 1950,

2. Names of people who were interrogated with regard to this phenomenon
are:

a. Mr. George Barnes, Airport Traffio Controller;
CAA (Dayton Tower)

b. Mr. Sherman Seydler, Chief Airport Traffic Controller;
CAA (Dayton Tower)

oe Mr. Stevens; Chief, Weather Bureau

d. Mr. Fordham; Weather Bureau

e. Lt Colonel Dale E. Shafer; Chief, Operations Officer,
National Guard Squadron at Vandalia airport

3S Interrogation of Mr. Barnes:

Mr. Barnes stated that at approximately O650 he sighted an object
in the direction of E/NE; that is at a bearing of about 70°. The reason
for noticing this object was that it moved rather fast and seemed quite
luminous. It appeared bullet shaped and left a vapor trail in its wake. The
vapor trail was approximately six times the object's diameter, and the end
of the vapor trail remained at the same distance behind the object throughout
the course of movement. When the object finally stopped it was at a bearing
of approximately 120° (possibly 180°), and in the general direction of S/SW.
It took approximtely five seconds for the object to travel from the 70°
bearing to the 120° bearing. The angle of elevation during this entire move-
mext was 15° above the horizon. The "object" diameter seemed to be about two
feet. After the object stopped, he decided to cail several other people who
were at work at that time (abat 7:15 A.M.) and requested them to taxe a look
at it through binoculars. Mr. Seydler, Miss J. Eesling, and several others
came to th tower arm observed the object. The sbject hovered in the posi-
tion for several minutes and seemed to be a sphersa. Its brilliance suggested
that it caild possibly have been mde of aluminum. A TiA flight, lo. Zl,
piloted oy Captain D. W. Milier, was coming into the Vandalia airport at
about the time this object stopped its horizontal travel. The pilot was
notified and requested to locate the object, but did not do so until he was
told t turn in a direction of S/S¥. Pilot Miller radioed in that he had
@ighted the object but could not determine what it was. At about the same
time Wir. Barnes called ths Patterson Tower. By that time the object had
begun to ascend. It was kept in sight for about 26 - 5 hours by means of

Oe em

binoculars, and all that time it Was ascending at what seemed to be a
‘terrific speed. It was definitely going into the wind while rising, and its
size seemed to decrease about one-half from that when it was first sighted.
At approximately 10 A.M. the object a aappeeres due to cloud cover closing

in.

TAC. ee ‘DOWNGRADED AT 3 YEAR INTERVALS;
Me as aes ee 1 5e DECLASSIFIED ATT"R 12 YEARS

aaa DOD DIR 5209.10

id
UNCLASSIFIED

4. Interrogation of Mr. Seydler:

Mr. Seydler observed the object between the hours of 0300 and 1900.
He noted that the sphere seemed to be thin when it turned; however, he be-
lieved that sun reflection might have had something to do with this appari-
tion. He claims that the object travelled to a height above 50,000 feet
since high cirrus clouds were present at approximately 29,000 to 50,000 feet
and he thought that he noticed the clouds to be between the ground and the
object. He could not determine the distance of the object in any other way.
He further gave information as to the strength of the surface winds at the
time. He stated that ground surface winds were south-westerly and blowing
at 25 mph. The TWA Flight lo. 21 reported high velocity winds at altitude,
and the pilot thought they were westerly in direction. Mr. Seydler stated
that the captain of the TWA flight saw the object approximateiy 15 minutes
after the object was first called to his (the pilot's) attention. (NOTE:
Mr. Barnes omitted this piece of information during his interrogation.)
Furthermore, Mr. Seydler also remarked tmt the pilot did not see the ob-
ject too clearly and would not definitely describe it as man-powered or

of being a type of flying saucer.

5. Interrogation of Mr. Stevens:

Mr. Stevens came into the tower at approximately 0750 and observed
the object with binoculars and the mked eye. He stated tit it seemed to
be a very luminous disk and reminded him of a cosmic balloon. He stated —

— aes ee ee

that the object ascended into the “wind and was under observation for approxi-
mately two and one-half hours until cloud cover obscured it.

6. Interrogation of hir. Fordham:

Mr. Fordham observed the object a few minutes after it had stopped,
(as told to him by Mr. Barnes) and continued to watch its progress as it
ascended. His opinion was that a meteor or some other celestial body had
come into the earth's orbit and by some means or other became a temporary
satellite. He mde some mention of the fact that the object resembled a
weather balloon of the type he hhad_observed during his past years of weather

ee ae + +

forecasting experience.

a —_——— ——,

———— eee ee

Ve Interrogation of Lt Colonel Shafer:

Lt Colonel Shafer observed people rushing past his office at a few
minutes before 0800 and therefore decided to see what the excitement was
about. He went to the tower in order to observe the object which had been
reported to be visible from there. At first sight, it impressed him as being
no more than @ star although he claims that other people observing the object
were observing various details which he could not see. He observed it with
both the naked eye and binoculars, and did not notice anything unusual sdout
the object and his opinion did not waver from his original impression; that
is, that the object was a bright star. However, since Mr. Burnes, who was
the only cone to have seen the object move in a horizontal direction, insisted

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that this had happened, Colonel Shafer decided te chase the object in an
F-51. Colonel Shafer reported to the tower at various times during his climb
to altitude and said that at no time during the climb did the angle of
elevation (about 40°) between him and the object vary, neither did the
azimuth vary. According to Colonel Shafer, the object was at a bearing of
165-170° and no variation in this position was noticed during the entire
flight. Colonel Shafer maintains that the object was a star since its angle
of elevation never varied (that is, when seen from the ground or from the
air), and furthermore, that its bearing of 165-1709 did not change. Colonel
Shafer stated that he reached an indicated altitude of 58,000 feet but that
he could not approach the object and decided to return to the Vandalia air-
port since his oxygen supply system maintains a pressure altitude of only
$5,000 feet within the cockpit. He did remember that as he gained altitude
the intensity of the object increased, but this only strengthened his
opinion that the object was 4 star. After returning to his office he de-
cided to call the University of Dayton and consult an astronomer there.
The astronomer notified Colonel Shafer that the angle of elevation and the
general bearing of the ob ject corresponded with the position of the planet
Venus at this time of year.

8. Comments of Intelligence Department Representatives:
It appears that the object observed at the Vandalia airport on

8 Miarch 1950 was the planet Venus. Mr. Barnes, who first observed the object,
is on the "graveyard" shift and perhaps was somewhat exhausted from his night
duties. A morning mist was present on 8 Murch and this mist may have caused
a refraction of the light rays transmitted by the planet Venus thus giving
the appearance of a luminous sphere travelling at a rather high rate of speed.
It should be remembered that the object was observed before sunrise (at ap-
roximately 0650) and that the sky was beginning to become quite bright, and
that movement of mist and/or smoke could have given the appearance of vapor
trails emanating from the object. After the object had apparently stopped;
ir. Burnes notified several other people so that his story could be confirmed;
however, 811 of these witnesses saw the object at approximately the same bear-
ing; thst is, 160-170° and watched it ascend in a cirection from N/NE to S/Si.
This corresponds to the ceneral celestial path of Venus. It is therefore
concluded that the object was, in all probability, the planet Venus, and
that some unusual phenomenom such as peculiarities of light rayjg refraction
gave the appearance of a luminous sphere travelling at high speed.

JNERADED AT 3 YEAR INTERVALS:
DECLASSIFIED ACTER 12 YBARS,

; ar a a DOD DIR 5200.10.