Project 10073 Record — Incident #332, Tucson, Arizona, 28 April 1949

This report details an investigation conducted by the 17th District Office of Special Investigations at Kirtland Air Force Base regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon sighted in Tucson, Arizona, on 28 April 1949. At approximately 1745 hours, three witnesses—a caretaker, a florist, and a stable owner—observed a large, cigar-shaped, silvery object in the sky northeast of Tucson. The witnesses, who were standing near the intersection of North Campbell Avenue and East Hedrick Drive, described the object as being roughly the size of a city block or a B-29 aircraft. They reported that the object appeared to be rotating, had no visible wings, fins, or tail surfaces, and exhibited no exhaust or vapor trails. One witness noted two circular holes near the front of the object, which he compared to eyes or portholes. The object was observed for a duration estimated between 12 and 40 minutes, during which it traveled in a curved trajectory from the northeast to the southeast and finally to the southwest before fading from view. The witnesses estimated the object's speed to be in excess of 500 miles per hour and its altitude between 25,000 and 30,000 feet. The sky was reported as clear with no clouds and excellent visibility. The investigation included interviews with the witnesses and checks of their character and reliability, which were generally assessed as fair to good. The Air Force also reviewed local flight schedules and weather data, confirming that no balloons or testing devices had been released in the area at the time. Despite these efforts, the object remained unidentified. The report includes copies of witness statements and maps of the sighting area, and it was forwarded to the Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for further review as part of the ongoing effort to document such phenomena, referencing the earlier Project Sign.