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Declassified UFO / UAP Document

Project J0073 Record - Sighting of Unidentified Object, 19 May 1950

📅 19 May 1950 📍 100 miles east of Misawa Air Base, Honshu, Japan 🏛 Dir of Air Int Req 📄 Air Intelligence Information Report
F-80JapandropsonderadarProject J00731950

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AI-Generated Summary

TL;DR

Two F-80 pilots sighted a stationary, box-kite-shaped object near Misawa, Japan, on 19 May 1950. Intelligence officers suggested it was likely a weather dropsonde, despite timing discrepancies.

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (Th-132-50) dated 20 June 1950, concerning a sighting of an unidentified object on 19 May 1950. Two F-80 fighter pilots reported detecting an object via ground radar at 1030Z, 100 miles east of Misawa Air Base, Japan. Upon reaching the area at 1040Z, the pilots observed an object they described as resembling a box kite, with dimensions of approximately 36 inches by 24 inches. The pilots made several passes at the object, noting it appeared to be made of metal, had no visible means of support, and remained stationary. The observation lasted until 1052Z. The report also notes that a dropsonde was released from an RB-29 weather reconnaissance aircraft in the vicinity at 1000Z, which reached the surface at 1015Z. The approving officer, Major H. J. Chisholm, concluded that while the object was similar in appearance to a dropsonde, the discrepancy in the time element prevented a positive identification, and the report was forwarded for information purposes. The document includes statements and sketches from the pilots, Captain R. L. Thomas and 2d Lt. C. F. Wenzel. Additionally, the file contains an unrelated newspaper clipping from the Dayton Journal-Herald dated 22 May 1950, regarding a separate sighting in Montrose, Colorado, which is explicitly marked as 'NO CASE (INFORMATION ONLY)'.

Since the object cannot be positively identified as the dropsonde, due to the incongruity of the time element, this report is forwarded for your information.

Official Assessment

Since the object cannot be positively identified as the dropsonde, due to the incongruity of the time element, this report is forwarded for your information.

The object was likely a dropsonde released by an RB-29 weather reconnaissance aircraft, though the timing of the release and the sighting created an incongruity.

Witnesses

Key Persons

  • Felix ZanonWitness in a separate, unrelated newspaper report

Organizations

Military Units