Project 10073 Record Card and Related Correspondence — Presque Isle, Maine, March 1951

This document collection contains reports and correspondence regarding unidentified aerial phenomena observed in March 1951. The primary incident occurred on 25 March 1951 at Presque Isle Air Force Base, Maine, where an observer in the weather office reported a spherical object at an azimuth of 290 degrees. The object, which was visible for approximately ten minutes, appeared to descend slowly toward the horizon and exhibited color changes from yellowish-white to brilliant red at six-second intervals. The report was confirmed by a CAA control tower operator at Limestone Air Force Base. Official conclusions attributed the sighting to the planet Venus, suggesting that peculiar atmospheric conditions caused the observed color shifts and apparent movement. The file also includes a report from Bell Aircraft Corporation regarding a separate sighting on 14 March 1951 at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. In this instance, personnel observed 14 to 20 white, swirling bodies that moved in a V-formation and exhibited a vibratory motion. The witness, a Field Test Director, noted that the phenomenon was distinct from bird flights or Project Sky-Hook balloons. Additionally, the document includes a brief mention of an unidentified oblong object reported by a Los Alamos employee on 1 April 1951, and a report from Albuquerque, New Mexico, on 12 March 1951, involving a ball-shaped object that descended rapidly. The collection also references the 'Project Twinkle' final report, dated 27 November 1951, authored by L. Elterman and approved by P. H. Wyckoff of the Atmospheric Physics Laboratory.