Incident #390 Sighting Report — New Orleans, Louisiana, 7 July 1949

On 7 July 1949, at approximately 0930 hours, a civilian observer in New Orleans, Louisiana, reported sighting an unidentified aerial object. The observer, an insurance salesman and bird enthusiast, was driving near the intersection of Fillmore and Elysian Fields Avenues when he noticed a bright, silver, cigar-shaped object in the sky. The object was traveling in a northerly direction at an estimated altitude of 2000 feet and appeared to be moving at the speed of a large transport plane. The observer reported that the object remained in sight for approximately three minutes, during which time it climbed slowly and eventually disappeared into a 'pinpoint' in the distance. The observer noted that the object had no visible projections, fins, or exhaust trails, and made no sound. The weather conditions at the time were clear with unlimited visibility. The incident was immediately reported to the District Intelligence Officer of the 8th Naval District and the Intelligence Officer of the 4th Army. An investigation was conducted by the 9th District Office of Special Investigations (OSI). The investigator, Alvin E. Cambre, interviewed the witness and concluded that the object was likely an aircraft reflecting sunlight. This conclusion was supported by the observer's own initial impression that the object might be the reflection of the sun's rays on an airplane in a steep bank. The OSI report, dated 13 September 1949, classified the incident as closed, stating that no further investigation was contemplated. The document includes various administrative records, including correspondence between the U.S. Coast Guard, the Fourth Army, and the Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, confirming the reporting and subsequent closure of the case under Project 10073.