Project SIGN Incident #72 Assessment — Alaska, 1947

This document collection contains correspondence and assessments related to Project SIGN, specifically concerning the investigation of unidentified flying objects. A primary component is the assessment of Incident #72, which occurred in Alaska in 1947. The official record for this incident is noted as missing, and the available information is described as too scanty and garbled to reach a definitive conclusion. The assessment suggests that while the report might describe a daylight meteor, the subjective nature of such accounts often makes it impossible for astronomers to verify the identity of the objects reported. The document also includes a memorandum from the Air Materiel Command to the Air Weather Service, dated January 5, 1949, which discusses the responsibility of Project SIGN for collecting and investigating reports of unidentified flying objects. It highlights that the Air Weather Service was tasked with assisting in the identification of potential weather balloons, noting that many reported sightings could be attributed to routine synoptic balloon flights. A list of incident numbers is provided, which the Air Weather Service identified as having a high probability of being balloons. Furthermore, the document includes an 'Incident Index' containing Dr. Hynek's evaluations extracted from the Project GRUDGE report, categorizing various incidents by their likelihood of being astronomical, balloons, aircraft, or other phenomena. The overall tone of the correspondence reflects an administrative effort to filter and categorize a large volume of sighting reports, with a clear emphasis on identifying conventional explanations such as weather balloons to reduce the number of unexplained cases.