Project SIGN Incident Reports #155, #156, and #157 — Columbus, Ohio, July 1948

This document contains a series of reports and correspondence related to Project SIGN, specifically focusing on three sightings in Columbus, Ohio, on July 31, 1948. The reports detail observations by multiple witnesses, including a housewife and a teletype operator at a State Highway Patrol radio station. The witnesses described seeing objects that appeared to be floating in the sky, with some reports noting multiple objects in formation and others describing a single, oblong object resembling a gasoline drum. The objects were described as having no wings or motors, and in some instances, they were observed trailing black smoke and possessing a dull light. The investigation, conducted by the 109th CIC Detachment, concluded that these sightings were likely related to 'county-fair' type balloons. These balloons, which were common in the region, were often equipped with fire-pots to provide hot air for lift, which would explain the smoke and the light observed by witnesses. The document includes official correspondence between the Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the Air Weather Service, requesting assistance in identifying potential balloon sightings among the Project SIGN files. The correspondence emphasizes that the Air Weather Service was the only agency capable of assisting in this manner, aside from the U.S. Weather Bureau's information on ball lightning. The document also includes a list of incident numbers that were considered to have a high probability of being balloons. The final assessments for incidents 155, 156, and 157 explicitly identify the objects as balloons, noting that they were retrieved and investigated. The reports highlight the importance of distinguishing between unidentified aerial phenomena and routine meteorological or recreational balloon flights.