Project 10073 Record Card and Summary of Information: Unidentified Object Sighted Over Fort Benning, Georgia, 12 Jan 51

This document contains a summary of information regarding an unidentified object sighted over Fort Benning, Georgia, on January 12, 1951. The report, prepared by the 111th CIC Detachment, details an observation made by a member of the 516th Ordnance Man. Co. and nine other individuals. The witness observed a very bright, round object with a fan-shaped wake, which remained stationary for approximately 20 minutes before moving directly south at a high rate of speed. The object was estimated to be well above the cloud layer, which was at approximately 1,000 feet. The witness compared the size of the object to an ordinary kitchen match held at arm's length. A subsequent check with the Muscogee County Air Force and Lawson Air Force Base confirmed that no weather balloons had been launched in the area at that time. The document also includes a reference to Project Twinkle and a separate, brief report from January 12, 1951, regarding a tear-shaped object with a small tail observed by ten Los Alamos employees, which descended slowly and caused the sky to light up for approximately one second. The primary document is marked as unclassified and includes instructions for periodic downgrading and declassification.