PROJECT BLUE BOOK

'
P.OJECT L73RECORD
.. DA.E·TIME GROUP 2. LOCATION
6 0es 67 07/03002 Tamnetturg ali, sulirornia
. SOURCE 10. CONCLUSION
.ilitary Sighting: Other: Probable (MIRAGE)
: NUMBER OF OBJECTS Rader: Other: (BIRDS AND ANOMOLOUS PROPAG.ITON)
See Case
5. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 11. BRIEF SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS
See Case
6. TYPE OF OBSERVATION that continued for 3/4 hour of an object over the ccean et -
bearing of 290 deg and an elevation of 10 to 15 deg. 2e
Ground-isual (RADAR) object displayed no appreciable motion. The missile-trackin
7. COURSE radars, were,at 20l5 asked to radars, were,at 20k5 asked go into search mode and look mode and look
for the object sighted visually. The result for the object sighted visually. The result was that many
See Case objects were quickly
8. PHOTOS See University
COMMENTS:
Yos
XOONo
9. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
n Yos
TCXNo
FORM
FTD S£P63 0-329 (TDE) Provlous ditiona dl thia form =ay be ued.
3 .

weather report, which is i included as a part of
Evaluation and Concluslons
Radar Tests October 9th and November Sth
On October 9th, under weather conditlons similar to October 6th
was fired up to determine if the same targets could be seen again. - In
fact, targets having the same general characteristics were acquired, but
they were reported to be not as strong. Two other operators, working
on an unofficlal basis with a different radar, indicated that they they
the 10th.
On November 8th, the night of our second visit, the same or similar
those present (Blackmer, Brook, Collis, Herold, Lhermitte) Immediately
strength. This informatlon was not available, because the operators
and 9th.
Birds?
The behavior and characteristics of the targets appeared to be
consistent with the hypothesis that was developed during the discusslons

hypothesis. What had apparently been overlooked initlally (and for a
while It fooled the experts) was that, with the fourth-power law
operating, the signal strength produced by a bird close in, with radars
of the great power of the FPS-16 and especially the TPQ-18, would be
very large, but It would drop off extremely rapidly with increasing
distance. It became apparent, from examination of the data available
from the tape and the printouts, that the high signal strengths were.
associated with targets at close range. No attempt was made at the time
4f
to one another.
The author is not aware of the exlstence of any procedure to be
foilowed that would lead
radar targets of
anomalous echoes from objects on the ground, etc. In the absence of
situatlon reasonably, and their performanca Is not to be criticized.

second, because of the availability of the hard data. There is no other
numbers, representing quantitles like range, azimuth, elevation, and
veloci ty. Information, from which signal strength could have been
computed, would also have been available had tha operators thought to
print It out, but they did not. I It was necessary, to relate signal
strengths and ranges for these events, to got back to the tape of the.
assigned precise times (fortunately, the tape contained good timing
The detailed weather study, by Loren Crow, was not avallable at the
tIme of the November trip to Vandenberg, and It was not known at that
time that the weather conditions were in fact so unusual. The reader's
attention is Invited to Figure 4 in Crow's report, in which
indicated that at VAfB, although return flow (that is, an on-shore breeze)
the flow at 2,ooo ft. was still from the northeast, so that there existed
a narrow tongue of warm, dry air overlying the cool, moist alr. This

report that condltlons were very favorable indeed for optical mirage and
scintlllatlon and for anomolous radar propagation.
Outoa6
of events was an optical sighting at 8:0o pm There is a strong
possibillty that the stimulus for this sighting was due to the running
lights of a ship below the horlzon, seen as a result of mirage. The
conditlons for such a mirage were present, but it must be pointed out
tlon of a ship's lights below the horizon. Hence, either their reports
of the elevation angle are incorrect, or some other explanation must be
found.
A further fact Is of interest, and that is that, in the Operations
They turned out to be
chiee thair Idantiry confirmed hu thair slow snaad. Sinca thera ls no

correct, becausa they would be belaw the horizon. Computations show,
however, that, with mirage condltions, the running lights of ships would
be visible at the 8o-mile range indicated by the radars.
If one is satisfied to overlook the Inconsistent report of the
elevation angle of t
its cause to optical mirage, then one can say that that Is what set off
the ensuing chaln of events. The operators of the missile tracking
radars Insisted that they had never, except on one or two occasions
weather report is available, It also would seem hlghly probable that
sOme There
continuitles, and, together with the unusual circums tances for visual
observation, the conditions were prasent to produce what happened - a
wild avenian in whlch !itarallv hundrads'of uFns were ohserved

the alrcraft need not have been scrambled. It is unlikely they will be -
through the adoption of appropr ate operating procadures or in some
other manner, to other operators of powerful tracking radars.
Thanks
Special appreciation is extanded to John Payer for his assistance Special appreciation is extended to John Payer for his assistance
in arranging the meetings, discussions, and subsequent radar experi-
ments that led to the probable solutlon of this case. He went cut of
his way to help.

O TJOT 21 432
. REATC
0 17
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wesher datd sn varB
in Thai date. 26,cchc0er
7 02,coks7 7Oct
may YAVAR PRIORITY
0 WP3137 LT. Col. 898-1450 et63711
PTTEZYUW RUWJSLA9312 UEDFIF.
0 ZNY EEEEE
Foldin
0 P 132014Z OCT 6T7
FM HQ AFWTR VAFB CALIF s Tha sajnd T
3 • Thamg haad t haadd t
TO RUWMFVA/ADC ENT AFB COLO TO RUWMFVA/ADC ENT AFB COLO
0 RUWMDSA/27 AIRDIV ADC LUKE RUWMDSA/27 AIRDIV ADC LUKE AFB ARIZ C AFB ARIZ
RUEDFIF/FTD WPAFB OHIO
• RUEFHOA/ CSAF all t all t at d
RUEFHQA/ OSAF WASHDC and to
BT
UNCLAS E F T O BLUE SURF WTOOP-4 23343 OCT 1957
FOR FTD (IDEIR) WPAFB: CSA OI
SUBJECT: UFO REPORT
UFO. ON THE :E EVENING OF 6 OCT 1967, SEVERAL UFO SIGHTINGS WERE
REPORTED BY CIVILIANS IN THE LOMPOC/VANDENBERG AREA, SUBJECT
REEPORTS WERE TELEPHONED TO THE AIR FORCE WESTERN TEST RANGE (AFWTR)
RANGE OPERATIONS CONTROL CENTER (ROCC). THE ROCC DUTY OFFICER ?
• CONFIRMED VISUAL SIGHTINGS O OF UFO AND DIRECTED RANGE METRIC V
TRACKING RADAR SYSTEMS TO ATTEMPT ACQUISITION. FPS-16, TPQ-18
AND GERTS SYSTEMS (C BAND, K-BAND AND X-BAND RESPECTIVELY) 2A1
O 3
ACQUIRED MULTIPLE SOLID TARGETS AT VARIOUS aZimUTHS anD ELEVATIONS.

C
PAGÈ 2 RUWJSLA9312 2 UNCLAS E F T O
NO KNOWN AIRCRAFT FROM ANY OF THE WEST COAST MILITARY COMMANDS WERE
OPERATING IN OR ABOUT THE VANDENBERG AFB AREA. THE PACIFIC MISSILE C
RANGE (PMR) WAS ASKED TO BRING ANY AVAILABLE METRIC TRACKING RADAR
TO BEAR IN THE VAFB AREA TO CONFIRM AFWTR RADAR CONTACTS. PMR CONFIRMED AA
M rde
UACO
were thes 10n20 its on
THE PRESENCE OF MULTIPLE TARGETS IN VAFB AREA. THIS WAS REPORTED T
e
THE ISTRAD COMMAND POST. THE 27TH AIR DIVISION OF ADC WAS OF. T
H E
E L
SIGHTINGS. THE ADC SCRAMBLED A TOTAL OF 3 ADC SCRAMBLED A TOTAL OF 3 FLIGHTS FLIGHTS 2 AIRCRAFT EACH TO AIRCRAFT EACH TO
AFWTR CONTROL FOR INVESTIGATION OF CONTACTS. A COMBINATION OF METRIC O
0
TRACKING AND SURVEILLANCE RADARS WERE TRACKING AND SURVEILLANCE RADARS WERE USED FOR AIRCRAFT VECTORING TO USED FOR AIRCRAFT VECTORING TO O
vr 0ll all g
INTERCEPT. EACH FLIGHT WAS VECTORED TO NUMEROUS STRONG RADAR TARGETS. INTERCEPT. EACH FLIGHT WAS VECTOR NUMEROUS STRONG RADAR TARGETS.
ae
RADAR CONTACT WAS REPORTED SEVERAL TIMES BY THE AIRCRAFT, HOWEVER
TARGETS WHEN APPROACHING AT CLOSE RANGE. ONE
VISUAL REPORT WAS CALLED FROM THE AIRCRAFT FLIGHT NUMBER 2, BUT WAS
LOSTON CLOSING. SUBSEQUENT ATTEMPTS TO REACQUIRE WERE NEGATIVE.
UFO INVESTIGATION WAS TERMINATED AT 393EZ 7 OCT.
THE WEATHER WAS CLEAR AND VISIBILITY AT LEAST 12 MILES FROM THE
C
BEGINNING TO THE TERMINATION OF THE PERIOD IN QUESTION. INVERSION
CONDITIONS EXISTED THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD. ONE METRIC RADAR (TPQ-18)
RECORDED LONG AND SHORT RIODS OF. A 3 HOUR PERIOD.
C

4
PA3T 3 RUWJSLA9312 UNCLA3 E F T 0
REDUCED METRIC DATA CONFIRMED TAR3ETS BETWEEN 3003/780D FEET IN
ALTITUDE. ALL TARGETS WERE PREDOMINATELY IN THE WEST TO SOUTH WEST
AREA (SEAWARD) WELL ABOE THE RECORDED INVERSIION CONDITIONS WITH
RANGES VARYING FROM OVERHEAD THE TPQ-18 RADAR TO 65, 000 FEET IN
HORIZONTAL RANGE. TARGET VELOCITIES VARIED FROM 20/62 FEET/SEC.
VISUAL SIGHTINGS COULD NOT BE CORRELATED WIITH RADAR T TARGETS. WITH
SIMILAR WEATHER CONDITIONS EXISTING ON 9 OCT, AN
ATTEMPT WAS S MADE TO DUPLICATE RADAR TARGET ACQUISITION EXISTING THE
NIGHT OF 6 OCT 1 1967. THE SAME METRIC RADARS DID LOCK ON TO MULTIPLE
TARGEIS OF STRONG SIGNAL STRENGTH IN VARIOUS WEST QUADRANT AZIMUTHS
AND ELEVATION ANGLES. NO VISUAL SIGHTINGS WERE ATTEMPTED OR REPORTED AND ELEVATION ANGLES. NO VISUAL SIGHTINGS WERE ATTEMPTED OR REPORTED
9 OCT. PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS INDICATED METRIC TRACKING RADAR DID TRACK
.. EXCEEDINGLY STRONG TARGETS, WHICH TARGETS ARE TENTATIVELY IDENTIFIED
AS POSSIBLY BEING CAUSED BY SOME KNOWN REFRACTIVE CONDITIONS. THE
VISUAL SIGHTING MAY BE RELATED TO A MIRAGE EFFECT. FURTHER RADAR VISUAL SIGHTING MAY BE RELATED TO A MIRAGE EFFECT. FURTHER RADAR
TESTS, IF ANY, AND A FOLLOW-ON REPORT, INCLUDING STATEMENTS TESTS TF ANY AND LLONON TAIOLLIDTAIA NTC S OF VISUAL VTSIIA!
SIGHTINGS WILL BE FORWARD ED UNDER SEPARATE E COVER.
BT
O
NNNN
0

10
PREPARED FOR
UFO INVESTIGATION
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO
2 By
LOREN W. CROW
Certified Consulting Meteorologist
April 24, 1968 Report#

WiTNEsses: Numerous (see body of report)
INVESTI GATORS and others (see body
of
Abstract
The October 6th events began at 8:00 pm with the visual sighting
a
The object displayed no
appreciable motion. The missile-tracking radars were, at 2045, asked to
The
result was that objects - many objects - were quickly picked up and result was
tracked. tracked. There were no known alrcraft There were no known alrcraft In the area at this time. A In the area at this time. A
series of remarkable events then ensued, of whlch the most important series of remarkable events then ensued, of whlch the most important
are the following:
1. Observations of radar targets continued for a period of over
four hours.
2.
strong - up to 80 at reduced
instrument gain.
3. The objects characteristically, but not always, permitted
radar lock-on.
4. Most of the observations were made over the sea, but there were
some seen to the east and north - over the land.

April 24, 1968
Kr. Robere J. Low
Project Coordtndtor
U.F.o. Inventlgation
202 Noodbury Hall
University of Colorado
Boulder, Coloredo 80302
Dear Bob:
The following is a sumanry of venthor conditions surrounding UFo
visual and radar sightings nedr Vandenbers Alr Force Base between.
7:30 P,M, and midnight on Ceteber 6, 1967.
1 SOURCES OF DATA
Rodiosonde and wind data from -
Nicholns Island, San Diego
Surface veather observations surrounding the thmeg o
from -
southern end of the San Joaguin Valley. Most of the surge of vamm olr
pm moved southwestward from the southern part of the San Jonquin Valley
between midnight of Oetober 5 and 3:oo P.if. of Getoher C. Wenther
stattons near the coast from Santa i da to Long Dench ell shoved
abnormatty varm temperatures at a tlme of dey when ordinarily a sea
- influence.
A
reconstruct an epproxtmnte pattern of the forward edge of the wurn, dry
57

300°, temperdtures hold obove 8o with maxliana of 90° A portion of
the heating of thls air would have baen caused by dynsmte heaelns as it
moved downslope from the San Gabrtel Mountalns.
The abnormality of the warn air is indiooted in Figure 3 by the apoxoxd-
mate difference In air terperatures betwcen 6:0o A.M. and S:oo P.ll, The
blue proflle oE normal, Oecober 6 torperature vas tade op fron long term
average maxtmea and mintmun teperaturos and an assumied een breese influened,
The rod shoded aroa indieates the opproxduate abnorealley of worm
as compared with typieal weather for Cetober 6. The hatched area shows
the abnormality romaining afear thd air had boon modiffed by its path
over water.
REPEAC RY ATR
true
position.. The obnormal refroaclon resyonge for mirages is
inveriably associated with abnormal temperature distribution that yield
abnorial spatiel varlations in the rofrdetive index, Complex wperature
distributions produce correspondingly couplex intrages".
The layer of worn, dry air above cooler water Eron the ecoan vould have
been partleularly conduoive to anomnlous propdgation of ony radar unit
seanning the atmosphere at low dngles. A sonewhst less important sogment

depend on the persistoncy of the flow patterns
Figure 4 contains the wind and temporature profiles for San Micholas
Island and Vandenberg AFB beginning with relense times of 3:l5 P.M. and
4:O8 P.M. PST respectively on Cetober 6, 1967. At Vandenberg ArB (shown
dry air prevailed r all levles above the surfoce at 4:00 P.11. (For
the lovest point the profile, surface temperatures reported at 7:30 P.M.
have been substituted,) The vertiaal sounding of
wind valocity and direction for San Nicoles Island are indicated by the
dashed lines in Figure Temperatures even varmer than over Vandenberg AFB
were reported in the ascont above San Nicholas Island. For emphasis,
the aren shaded in red indieates how nuch varmer the temporatures wore
over San Nicholas Ioland than at Vendonberg Avb during the mid-afternoon
continuing
changing eastward to the coastline could have produced snomalous propagation
cchocs on rodar. Visibility observations wore generally l2 miles or
greater at all stations and no clouds were reported by the observer at
Vandenberg AFB between 7:0O P.M. and midnight. Pt. Mugu reported a fow
stratus clouds offshore in the Remerks Column boglnning at 7:oo P.M.
continuing through ll:oo P.M.
The detailed observations are being retained in my Should they be
of further use to you please let me know.
Sincerely yours,
norliCrow
Loren W. Crow CCM

OBakerst
Sta. Maria
'Vandenberg AFB
Sta. Barbara
Oxnard
2 Dt. Mugu
E3D0 E3 Do
11k
12.
Q San Nicolas
u a
fis.1. Forvurd Ndge ot Worn, Dry Air Koved fron Liod Ost Ovlr th: Deant as,
Kndicated by Veerors of Gunthveve Nourly Wiad Velendates And Dirnrtloe
ontil thg Eud of Korthanst Plos at Four DirSerant it ttots.

p Bakersf
Sta, Maria
Vandenberg AFB
Sta. Barbara Barbara
27 27
minsT mi.in 6 Tr
60 mi. in 9 Oxnard Oxnard
2 hrs. hrs. t. Mugu Mugu
— E3
g 4
Wa a77 Le i..coo1ad.ai diag Li ..coo1ad.ai diag
10oiotire irom valol is i6 o a; ovar odoin
comn p
nO0T 3 w.k. P.d.
1 (O San Nicolas
.
\
p g
LL.2. Hoturs Vlow of Xodltied Alx Arrivins Over tho StrtloL Fron d veetor
3601 Let.sa. Moon aid S:0o P.l.

Vandenberg AFB Santa Maria
^ Oct. 6, 1967
90 Normal
KEY Warm Air -
Lend to Ocean
Modified Air -
Z Ocean to Land
30
70
60
50 1
pr
Santa Barbara Oxnard AFB
90
80
7
00
50
1 Hours 06 03 10 12 14 16 18 20 06 03 10 12 14 16 18 20

-
60
50
Hours wours o'6 0o 08 10 o's 10 12 1Z 14 14 1'6 1'820 o's 05 08 10 O'8 10 12 14 16 13 12 1.4 16 13
Fig. 3b. Fig. 3b. October 6, 1967 Warm Air Temperature Proffles October 6, 1967 Air Temperature Compared Compared with Climatic with Climatic
Data for Same Date. Dato for Same Date. Note Modified Return Air Note Modified turn Air is Still Above Mormal. is Still bove Normal.
1 p
pom gm pm grmm gy
pring poing pring pm
-
4
-

bud Gnd td
Vandenber AFD — Temp. Velocity
Dew Point Direction
Son Micolas Islend x --x x--4
×-~x 2— - x
Wind VelocitKnots
MB 0 5 10 15 20K
700
1
A 10,000'MSL
750
800 - S
00 0
1
vo Hoility ! 850
1
- ;
900 7 4m:1
950
1000:
1000 994 ISan Nicolas Is.
1004 Vandunberg AFB
Ad OF ?
0o(c 10,0 20° 300 Wind Direction
Fig. 4. Proffles of Teuperature, Dew Point, Relative Homfdity, Wind Direction and Velocity at
Vandenber Ard and Sun Nicolas Island durins Late Afternoon October 6, l967.

Vandenberg Sighting Report 2
5. There were several visual sightings In addition to the initial visual
sighting at 2000.
6.
to investigate; they found nothing.
7. the exercise terminated at approx-
being observed
but remained completely unidentified.
8. The tracking radars had produced (and the results were available to
elevation, and velocity, printed out at 15-second intervals.
Detalled Description of Sightings
Information Avallable Before Investigation
was visiting at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena on other contract business. A telephone call from
the office in Boulder advised that Blue Book had notlfied us of a very
decided to
agreed
to accompany

are officials of the Western Test Range.
milltary and civil aviation. He has 10,000 hours as an air-intercept
years! experience. He also has been an air-intarcept controller.
served the night of October 6th as Range air-control officer.
ears' experience with ground and al rborne electronics systems.
are radar
operators, employed by private contractors che base, and all had
extensive experience In radar operatlon. They displayed an Impressive
understanding of the sophistlcated radar systems they were operating and
a good comprehension of radar engineering principles. is a member
of the sacurity force. He does not have a strong background of technical
training.
Radars
The following radars were involved in the sightings:
FPS-16 - C-band tracking radar wl th a 1.2 beam.
2. TPQ-18 - C-band tracking radar with a 0.4° beam.

operation In which the target is seen by reflected radiatlon
from the transmitted pulse).
4. M33.- X-band tracking radar.
5. ARceR - L-band search radar.
Details of the Sightings
2000 to 2045 - Atherton observed visually from his house near
Lompoc, for one half hour, an object at azimuth 29o. He
called also at home, three miles to the south, who
confirmed the slghting at an azimuth of approximately 280
at an altltude of 10 to 15. observed the object
through 7-50 binoculars and reported it looked to be the
span of an aircraft. But there was no motion. It was fuzzy,
like a top spinning. .
2045 called Ralston at Range Control Operations (located
at an altitude or 900 to 1,10o ft.). confirmed the
visual observation, said it appearad to have white, red, and
They "looked llke
out several miles, at approximately lo,o0o
was suggested that the object looked like a hellcopter.

position was not determined with sufficient accuracy that It
could be statad unamblguously that it was a simultaneous
optical-visual sighting. Original interpretation was a
hellcopter, with another one assisting.
2100
all
operations ceased. Com Fleet Alr, Alameda  no aircraft
In the area. 15th Air Force at March AFB - countermeasure
flights In the area? No. NORAD - nO. FAA Center,Los
Angeles - no.
2100 - Point Mugu fired up FPs-16 and reported that they saw
tarae thartnaline because.
narrow beam of the radar. Lock-on, automatic track mode.
2100 - TPQ-18 at VAFB brought up, and It sees many targets. One,
at 8 nautical miles' range, 4,o0o ft. altitude, 290° azimuth,
proceeded south at slow speed. At one tlme the TPQ-18 saw
4 targets but usually 2. Point Mugu saw as many as 8.
M
that is,
they did not establish that they were looking at the same
time a strong target approached and went right overhead.

VAFB but not In the Colorado Project flles).
Radar observations:
a. Up to 14 targets were seen.
b. Velocities ranged from 0 to 80 knots, with rapid changes
In altitudes.
c. The radars would lose their locks and then reengage.
d.
thing, but the operator did talk about having a good thing, but the operator did talk about having a good
deal of clutter or, perhaps, jamming. (The surveillance
radar operates at a frequency qulte different from the
tracking radars.)
e. Point Mugu reported a target "bigger than any flat-top
at three miles."
As the radar activity Increased, the number of visual
observations decreased. The radars attracted all the
attention.
g. The target that went directly overhead Is the one that
produced an 8o db signal. Three persons went outside
the radar shack but were unable to see it.
h. One of the strongest target of all really "moved out
in azimuth." A total of eight objects appeared on the
radar to emerge from this one. After the separatlon

Vandenberg Sighting Report 7
occurred, it was necessary to go to manual gain control
to separate the signal
Visual sightings:
a. There were many visuals, but they declined in number as
the radar activity increased.
b. One visual moved toward the observers so alarmingly that
one of them finally yellad, "Duck." .
c. One object, dull In color but showing red; white, and
green, moved generally south and finally out of visual
range.
d. Another, with the color of a bright fireball, moved
on
Richard Hami l tom and another radar operator, Carl Balley
ported that, "The radar didn't get locked onte what we
got the telescope on it." Then it grew smaller and
smaller until it disappeared. Duration: 1-1/2 to 2
minutes. Moved only in azimuth. Observed it through 13-
aircraft landing Ilghts except yellower. T The time of
thought it could not be a balloon because the report did

appeared to the north.
2
g. This covers only the most interesting of the visual
sightings.
23l0 - Air Defense Command scrambled the first of three flights of
fighters to investigate the situation. The first and third
flights came from Ontario, Callfornia, and the second from
Oxnard. At this time the tape of the conversations with the
radar sites and other bases gave evidence of a good deal of
confusion but not alarm or panic. The fighters were handed off
to VAFB (Ralston) by the FAA at LA and controlled locally.
that night were only 5 to
something
d he couid see It repeatedly, he could see
it only at distance. As soon as he closed in, the object would
disappear. Another aircraft did lock-on
-- t.