Project 10073 Record — Flying Disc Found in Shreveport, Louisiana, 7 July 1947

This document details the investigation into a reported 'flying disc' sighting in Shreveport, Louisiana, on July 7, 1947. The initial report, received by the Air Training Command, involved a witness who claimed to have observed a circular disc whirling through the air at approximately 1805 hours. The witness described the object as having smoke and fire spouting from its sides and emitting a sound similar to a policeman's whistle. The witness claimed to have retrieved the object after it fell into the street. Subsequent examination by military authorities revealed the object to be an 18-inch aluminum disc, constructed using an electrical starter from a fluorescent light, condensers from electric fans, and coiled copper wire. The investigation quickly determined that the object was a hoax. A local manufacturer of electric fans admitted to creating the device as a practical joke intended for his employer. He further confessed to using an acetylene torch to apply soot to the edges of the disc to create the impression that it had been whirling at a high rate of speed. The creator stated that he had climbed to the top of a building and tossed the disc in front of his boss's car, though his boss failed to notice it. The investigation was officially closed after the perpetrator's admission, with the military concluding that the incident was entirely a practical joke and that no further investigation was warranted. The file includes correspondence between the Air Training Command and the Army Air Forces in Washington, D.C., as well as internal summaries and photographic evidence of the recovered device.