PROJECT BLUE BOOK

PROJECT 10075 RECORD CARD

Object which at first was believed to
be an a/c on fire in the SE at an
estimated 10,000 feet observed by
Object did not move but
was in a fixed position, was round &
glowing white or silver light.
Similar reports fm surrounding cities]
Movement was of vertical climb only.
Last estimate of alt 60,000ft. Observdd

in morning to be still visible. All

observations were of singée white
object rising. No radar pickup,

policeman.

ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52)

1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS
*@ Was star
13-14 December enfie C 15 Posably Balloon
3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION
0 Was Ai Fr
Local X@ Ground- Visual 0 Ground-Redar a Probebly Aircraft
GM 14/0847-1505Z_ 0 Air Vi sual C Air-Intercept Radar | 7 Possibly Aircraft
15. PHOTOS 3. SOURCE O Was Astronomicol
0 Yes O Probably Astronomical
0D Possibly Astronomical |
_x@ No Civilian & Military ‘
e : 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE O Other
As REROAW. OF ORSERY AE 0 Insufficient Data for Evaluation
a O Unknown
6 hours one rising
10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING Il. COMMENTS

Considered as a weather balloon
or balloon manufactured by civilia

by investigating officers. VOREEE |
with this evaluation,

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' Civil Defense on |
Emergence y Alert ©

Air Force Intelligence offiters® -were. investigating’ re-
ted sightings of unidentified flying objects: over
rthern California today—unable to y erolait why hun-
ds: of ons on the ground could see. therpwnile..
couldn't; --aigetar aga» ee
‘is morning’s ; predawn. tiriexplained activity: was’
rg

~.

terest, said. er oh

Takes”

wade ighting in*recent years, experts,-who ~ ;
RY bags rea ptoliow the subjett with eerin-

There was widespread inter- yi

ie +

“~.

, .

‘-

"stan

= with: the arrival of .
Fel on" “its flight= path ‘pa eek a

“3. est... in the’ sightings - because |

ey; occurred. Polncideotally.

net? Venus: nus<e ei ye ee :
The’ Air’ Firek began sweep

PI) — Sig- ing” “the skies in the northern
ar 2  space}part of the State after: bright,
abi. BR *|pulsating lights were seen’and
goal of fiy.,Police. and. Civil. Defense: yor .
planet: Ve- thorities= rushed: toa ‘st ..
les *f, rom emergency. readiness; S04"

Mariner
the Gold-}.
ingsstation} >
\eronauti
tration and|T&C®
a jammed
at NASA

3 scheduled
vill achieve
ithin about
aus, attain.
t this-after-

d the com-
apparently!
normally, |
indicated,
er the va-
same into

‘A. spokesman» at - ‘Ham
Air Force Basenear San’ Sian.

cisco” soy ohh ‘report: ‘from. the
rithg ottice 2 ‘at Salinas was
err iete a.m aterting~
the Air Force to the fact that.
a large unidentified eying o>
ject” 2 “‘going back and forth
and changing colors” high in
the sky over: King City.. Te
The. Air: Force’ spokesman

alerted. the. State  CiviEDe..
fense headquarters ‘at. Sacra-:
mento. Defense officials in
turn called the 23th 2ath..Combat
Center of the . North ~Ameri;

Hamilton where the chief cons
troller ordered: a‘radar sweép:

nning. de-

eo At. the same times the. Fed.

said the USAF immediately

a
; ;

a th

can Air Defense Command at _

‘
.
oo

y:

Baatthin about! The Air Fore.

Spokesman
. tain.S4/d the UsSar immediately

ss
yeeees this. after. alerted the
aa ei -

* apparently! North
xb 4’/Can Air Defense
ee me icated, Hamilton Where the
emescr the Va-

; troller Ordered
aa 2M into)

} ¢ 5
mening de.; At the same

rae iClatt in Norther

ibe alert for UFO or
M! fieg aircraft.
©! Pilots flying in th
Ya! q
elthat they c
iwere unab!

as, however, "

; much
Imeleor activity in the area,
ed by the Pilots’ reports to the FAA

Bicreas. A half hour ] a 20
v? trans-/Peport from the Sheriff's Cffice
i ecraft/ Vas flashed to the Air Force—
Se Si was/ Saying the UF Was back and
foe Lo ee ex-/NOw orbiting the Greenfieid_
|Solidad-King e

ity area.

. As ‘radar Probed for jt and

Pande nal Jet interception

Hie Gs for 42 was being Considered, the UFO
ers Vente! suddeni® Climbed Straizht uy

penus and lisanpeared to the south,”

in the|®, Hamilton AFB spokesman

‘Said.

| Twenty-three Minutes

make}, 9:20 a.m.) the sheriff’.

Venus! fing at Solidad

later

ae |

of-

oi told Hamilton

AFB Officia)s that the UFO

a'had returned for the third
light time.

ay he 447.'~

Tense headquarters at. Sacra.
£5 fa cart [mento Detense offic;

28th Combat
ly. (renter of the
hormally. |

Command at

chief con-
a radar Swee

} time the Fed.

Betned on/@al Aviation Agency at Oak.

“109 day, !and directed all civilian air-
bs a | .

the Predaun
arkness flashed r

afer a Sécond

| ae iene = 1 bk) | 6 naked he
MOYSKY OVE Ing Cit
Cnte ye

p.
us

ey en

ae ey
Seiehey me

we

it Peas

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
WASHINGTON

THE INSPECTOR GENERAL USAF
19TH DISTRICT OFFICE OF SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS
TRAVIG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA

Det 1902, Castle AFB, Calif |

REPLY TO OST 14 Dec 1962

suasecr, Unidentified Flying Object

Tor De ‘oN &

1. The following information was received by Special Agent James M. Cerra, |
| Fresno Region Office, Region 1, 115th CIC, United States Army, and furnished |
&& to Special Agent David E. Sharrier of this office: !

|

At 0427, 1 December 1962, the King City Unit of the Monterey County
Sheriff's Office, inquired of the Greenfield Unit whether or not they saw an
object visible in the east. The Greenfield Unit answered that they did see
an object which appeared to be changing color from a bright glow to a dull
appearance. This object was drifting in a southerly direction. This was
also observed by the Monterey Unit of the Monterey County Sheriff's Office
and they estimated the altitude to be 10,000 feet. It was also observed

at Fort Ord, California, and by Unit 115 of the Monterey County Sheriff's
Office.

————

It was described as very brilliant and approximately 10,000 feet in
altitude. The Greenfield Unit observed it at O07, 14 Decenber 1962, and
it was described as being similar to a ball of rire. At 0521, the object
was not visible.

Hamilton AFB, California, checked all stations to ascertain if it were
a weather talloon or an extremely fast moving aircraft. There was also
ie observed a halo which was assumed to be a vapor trail. At O617 the last

transmission was received by the mobile unit of the Monterey County Sheriff's
Office * }

/

Commander

vee SP aa ee

CITY OF GREENFIELD VOabaS

POLICE DEPARTMENT

PHONE ORANGE 4-5511 @ P.O, BOX 306
GREENFIELD, MONTEREY CO., CALIF,

12-13-62
Detailed report of sighting UFO 12:00MN 8:00AM watch

4330AM 12-14-62, While on routine Police patrol in the City of Green-
field, Monterey "County, Californias; I observed a brilliant glowing object
at an "estimated 10,000 feet in the sky Southeast of this city. I
immediately stopped my cruiser to better observe this object, which at
first appeared to be an aircraft on fire. On closer inspection, the
object appeared as a round glowing, brilliant, white or silver light,
which remained in a fixed position in a near cloudless sky. Because

this object or vehicle appeared to be in the area of King City, twelve *t
miles South of Greenfield, I contacted the King City Police, via Police
radio, and was advised that they to were able to locate the same object

I have referred to, however they said it appeared to be in the area of
Coalinga several miles Southeast of their city. At or about the time of
King City's confirmation of sighting, other Police units in the cities
of,Soledad and Gonzales, to the North of Greenfield, made similar reports
of this object. After making radio report to the communications control
center in Salinas, I continued to observe this brightly, glowing, object

at frequent intervals through binoculars. When compared to the brightest
stars visible, the object under observation looked much larger and brighter
than any of them. I observed the Russian "Sputnik" on two orvits over

San Francisco and Oakland, but the object I saw this morning appeared

much larger and brighter than "Sputnik", however, unlike "Sputnik" this
object's movement appeared to be one of vertical climb only, moving from

an estimated 10,000 feet on first sighting at 4:30AM to 60,000 feet on

my last observation at 7:05AM.

ee eee ee

Patrolman Charles CRISP a Police Officer of the King City Police Depart--
ment and an off duty Military Police Sargeant,-qgRM—MM, and I made a
fifteen minute observation of this glowing object, using 7X50 powered
binoculars. We observed from 5:45AM to 6:00AM from El Camino Real at
Maple Av., Greenfield, and are in agreement that the thing we viewed
shone with a constant, brilliant, white or silver light, which appeared to
climb vertically an estimated 20, 000 feet in the time we watched. |
At no time after sighting this bright object was I able to detect the i
slightest Zig-Zag or erratic motion, and I did not see any streamers or
comet-like appearance to the thing t viewed. My last ooueeve ©+0R of this
ste G was made at the home of Sokstabte and Mrs.

St., Greenfield, who agree with me, the object, we watched at 7308 AM
WAS ” mnen prighter than the moon which was clearly Visible in the early
morning light.

It is the opinion of the writer that any report of erratic movement or
change of course in flight, or any attemot to describe this object as
saucer shaped, missile shaped, or of conventional aircraft design is
erroneous, and the product of a Hyper-active cs ket

Huck Fun
Nick Hienz, /Patrolman G.P.D.

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HEADQUARTERS
93D BOMBARDMENT WING
UNITEO STATES AIR FORCE
CASTLE AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA

| REPLY TO

ATT™H OF: JXOTL

Susyect: Unidentified Flying Object

To: AFSC (FID)

1. An investigation of an unidentified flying object was made on 19,
20, and 21 December 1962, on the basis of attachment 1 to this report.
Prior to making this investigation, calls were made to Hamilton and
Beale Air Force Bases to determine if action had been taken by either
base.

2. The following military and civilian organizations were contacted
during the course of the investigation, and all willingly cooperated,
end provided as much assistance as possible.

@. Provost Marshal's Office, Fort Ord, California.

b. Detachment 7, 16th Weather Sqdn. USAF, Fritzsche Field, Fort
Ord, California.

c. US Naval Air Facility, Monterey, California.

d. Monterey County Sheriff's Office, Salinas, California, and Sub-
Units at Monterey and King City.

€. Police Departments of King City, Greenfield, Soledad and Gonzales,
California.

f. FAA Weather Station, Salinas, California Airport.

g- California State Division of Forestry, 480 Calle Principale,
" Monterey, California.

3- Description of the object was consistent, except for some minor var-
jiations, The object was round, varied in size from a large grapefruit

to the size of a dinner plate (10 - 12 inches). There was only one
object, white in color, and very bright. There were no trails or exhaust,
but ground fog and some traces of clouds were present. A halo errect

was attributed to ground fog. There was no sound. One observer in
Soledad stated he was receiving squelch on the police radio shortly

after he saw the object at 0930Z 14 December, and believed object could
have been causing squelch. No other observers reported squelch on the
police radio.

4, Observers first noted the onject because of the very bright light.
Two observers at Fort Ord believed it to be a very bri nt star. Angle

when first observed was approximately 15° to 20°, altitude estimated

at 10,000 feet. Object appeared to the southeast of all observers.
Three observers placed the object over the city of Coalinga, California.
Angle at disappearance was approximately 50° to 55°, and altitude esti-
mates varied between 25,000 and 60,000 feet. There was very little
horizontal or diagonal movement, and there was no rapid movement in any
direction. There was a gradual rising movement while the object drifted
to the south and finally disappeared as daylight came to the area. Two
observers described the disappearance of the object as being similar to
the light in a television set when the set is turned off. The object
was visible for slightly more than 6 hours; however, no one observed it
for the entire time, but rather at intervals. Also, to some observers
the light disappeared and then reappeared.

5. The manner of observation was ground-visual, and one observer used
binoculars (7 X 50), the object was not reported by USAF radar sites in
the area.

6. Time of sighting was 0847Z through 1505Z, 14 December 1962. Light
conditions were night for most of the time, and dawn for a brief period.

7. Three observers were located near the main gate to Fort Ord, Calif.
on State Highway 1. ‘Two observers were located in King City and Green-
field, and one observer was located in Soledad.

8. Personnel observing the object are as follows:

a. Patrolman TARRY SCHUMACHER, age 25
Monterey Unit of Monterey County
Sheriff's Office. No previous military service, but a fairly
reliable observer.

b. Private First Class ROBERT E. IASSEN, age 21
U851488370, Fort Ord, California.
Reliable observer.

c. Private First Class JOHN T. OWENS, age 22

RA19616474, 298th Military Police Company
Fort Ord, California. Reliable observer

d. Patrolman ALBERT ANDRADE, age 29

King City Police Department
Fairly reliable observer, no previous military experience.

©. Patrolman RICHARD MARTINEZ, age 27
King City Police Department
Only partly reliable, not experienced as an observer, no pre-
vious military experience.

'
}
}
;
'
'
}

f. Patrolman NORMAN L. (Nick) HIENZ, age 41

Greenfield Police Department. Very reliable observer, retired
Air Force veteran, Master Sergeant, considerable experience as
an observer.

g- Constable MNP ace 65
Greenfield Police Department
Reliable observer, long time resident of the area.

h. Patrolman JOSEPH E. MORANDA, age 34
Soledad Police Department
Very reliable observer, no previous military experience.

9. The nearest weather station was the FAA Station located at the
Salinas Airport. William H. Hender was the specialist on duty at 12342
14 December, when the station received the first report of the object.
He reported nothing unusual, and did not see the bright light. His

report of weather conditions for the period 0855Z through 1255Z on 14
December 1962 is as follows:

08552 3/10 cloudiness at 4,000 10 mile visibility
0955Z 1/10 cloudiness at 4,000 10 mile visibility

1055Z clear no clouds 10 mile visibility
1155Z clear no clouds 10 mile visibility
1255Z clear no clouds 8 mile visibility

He also stated that at 1247Z, 14 December, the Oakland Air Traffic Con-
trol Center at Fremont, received a call from a Pan-American Airlines
pilot who saw a heavy meteor display. The area of the display was to
the south and east of Salinas. Vertical temperature gradient, wind

direction, and velocity were not available. Wind direction was from
the south southwest at 190 .

10. Weather balloons released either by the US Coast Guard weather
station at Morro Bay or the weather station at San Luis Obispo, Calif.
could have drifted into the area and account for the sighting.

11. An improvised balloon released by a private citizen or prankster,
could also account for the sighting. The balloon could be made of trans-
parent plastic material which can be purchased at any dry cleaning estab-
lishment. Large envelopes or balloons, single or double thiclkmess, 6

to 8 feet long can be made and filled with natural gas used in private
homes. Evidence that plastic bag balloons have been made and used by
pranksters, has been found by the California State Forestry Division

in Monterey County. These balloons were filled with natural gas and
fitted with an improvised device which would burn through the plastic
and cause a bright flash as the gas ignited. It would be possible for
an individual to assemble all the necessary equipment and launch a
balloon without any assistance. Attachments 3, 4, and 5 are photographs

of the balloons and devices found by the California State Forestry
Division 480 Calle Principale, Monterey. Mr. Richard E. Diltz, an
associate state forest ranger, stated that it was possible to attach

a flashlight or lantern to one or more of the plastic bags with masking
tape, or any material strong enough to hold the weight. Mr. Diltz also
requested that no information concerning the plastic balloons be released
to newspapers or magazines.

12. The behavior characteristics of the object were that of a balloon.
The source of the balloon cannot be positively determined.

CHESTER d fhnege 5 Atch

Major, USAF 1. Ltr, Report of UFO
Investigating Officer Report of Patrolman Hienz
- Photo of balloon

Photo of balloon

Photo of balloon

Vi FW