Project 10073 Record Card and Air Intelligence Information Report — Battle Creek, Michigan, 21 October 1951

On 21 October 1951, at approximately 1625Z, a civilian pilot flying a Navion aircraft near Battle Creek, Michigan, reported an encounter with an unidentified aerial object. The pilot, who possessed fourteen years of flying experience, described the object as a highly polished, silver, disk-like craft, approximately 30 to 40 feet in diameter, featuring a dome-shaped center on top and an oval underside. The pilot observed the object approaching head-on at an extremely high rate of speed. Fearing a collision, the pilot maneuvered, and the object passed approximately 1,000 feet below his aircraft. The pilot reported no vapor trails, no sound, and no visible means of propulsion or vents. The sighting lasted between three and five seconds. Following the encounter, the pilot orbited the area but was unable to relocate the object. He subsequently reported the incident to the State Police and the Airport Manager at Austin Lake, who in turn notified the 30th Air Division. An investigation was conducted by 1st Lt. Robert K. Hall of the 30th Air Division. The investigating officer interviewed the pilot and concluded that he was a stable individual, despite his visible distress during the interview. The 30th Air Division checked radar records for the area and found no targets that could be correlated with the sighting. Furthermore, a check of military flight records identified a B-47 aircraft in the vicinity, but no connection was established between that aircraft and the incident. The official conclusion reached by the Air Force was that the object was a balloon, noting that the description was in accord with balloon observation. The report was processed through Project 10073 and monitored by Lt. E. J. Ruppelt of Project Grudge.