Smoke Sighting over Chaplina, Northeastern Siberia

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (IR-37-49) issued by the Headquarters of the Alaskan Air Command on August 16, 1949. It details a sighting reported by a pilot on July 29, 1949, at coordinates 64°10'N - 172°00'W, located in the vicinity of Chaplina, Northeastern Siberia. The pilot observed four heavy black puffs of smoke at an altitude of 2,000 feet. According to the report, these puffs formed slowly and dissipated rapidly at regular intervals of one to two minutes, with each subsequent burst forming after the previous one had dissipated. The weather conditions at the time were described as having 10/10ths cloud coverage with tops at 1,200 feet, but with unlimited visibility and blue sky above. The report was reviewed by the Director of Intelligence, Lieutenant Colonel D. W. McKinney. The official conclusion reached by the preparing officer is that, while the behavior of the smoke did not exactly match the known characteristics of anti-aircraft bursts, the possibility exists that the phenomenon was indeed the result of anti-aircraft firing. The document is marked as unclassified and includes instructions regarding its downgrading and declassification schedule under DOD Directive 5200.10.